Mirror: Book I - Mind

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 34 - A Gardener's Disease
Chapter 40 - Goodmornings and Goodbyes
Chapter 57 - Secrets and Small Talk
Chapter 73 - Nightmare in the Night
Chapter 77 - The Old Light
Chapter 1 - The New Light
Chapter 2 - Remind
Chapter 3 - Ponyville
Chapter 4 - The Protégé
Chapter 5 - The Observatory
Chapter 6 - Fanfare of Friends
Chapter 7 - Magicians and Mistakes
Chapter 8 - The Equerry
Chapter 9 - Patterns
Chapter 10 - Fickle Florists
Chapter 11 - Audience Zero
Chapter 12 - The Last Report
Chapter 13 - A Reality in Fantasy
Chapter 14 - Diamond in the Rough
Chapter 15 - Denial
Chapter 16 - Apples and Hooves
Chapter 17 - The Ponies' Front of Ponyville
Chapter 18 - Cuckoo
Chapter 19 - Show and Tell
Chapter 20 - Alleyway Alliance
Chapter 21 - Welcome to P.W.P.
Chapter 22 - The Science Committee
Chapter 23 - The Lucky Clover
Chapter 24 - Oneironaut
Chapter 25 - The First Test
Chapter 26 - Mysteries Arise
Chapter 27 - Questions First, Answers Later
Chapter 28 - A Distant Feeling
Chapter 29 - Disdain
Chapter 30 - Downpour
Chapter 31 - The Derivative
Chapter 32 - A Distinct Feeling
Chapter 33 - The Mare in Do Well
Chapter 35 - Anger
Chapter 36 - Bargaining
Chapter 37 - A Bit of Kindness
Chapter 38 - Return to the Ruins
Chapter 39 - Letter Zero
Chapter 41 - A Second Opinion
Chapter 42 - The Prank
Chapter 43 - Eight Phases
Chapter 44 - The Patient
Chapter 45 - Second Chances
Chapter 46 - The Great Seedling
Chapter 47 - A Dying Dream
Chapter 48 - Lament
Chapter 49 - The Last Rain
Chapter 50 - The Haven in the Orchard
Chapter 51 - Depression
Chapter 52 - Beneath the Bakery
Chapter 53 - Sending the Message
Chapter 54 - The Waiting Game
Chapter 55 - The Late Bloomer
Chapter 56 - Infiltration
Chapter 58 - Trophy Cake
Chapter 59 - The Memory Talisman
Chapter 60 - Imagination
Chapter 61 - Discordant Method
Chapter 62 - The Key, the Box, and the Ring
Chapter 63 - The Tantabus
Chapter 64 - The Dying Artist
Chapter 65 - Light and Darkness
Chapter 66 - My Dinner with Discord
Chapter 67 - A Doctor's Oath
Chapter 68 - Glass
Chapter 69 - The Frozen Castle of Forgotten Memories
Chapter 70 - Conscious Zero
Chapter 71 - Attorney of Events
Chapter 72 - Justice Once
Chapter 74 - Courage
Chapter 75 - The Brave Little Unicorn
Chapter 76 - The Reminder
Epilogue - New Memories

Prologue

Once upon a time, in a kingdom conflict of heart and strife of mind, and the struggle for the soul a near hopeless and forgotten art. Two souls interlinked, by star they aligned. Fantasy and Reality were intertwined as one, and that was all it took to realize they were the same telling all along. Feathers, crystals, and flowers, on the horizon looms a dreadful, tall, black tower. The two sides fortify and unite, but against the archonic light, an everlong, never-ending strife. Preparations are but a prolonging to the inevitable war, and the final fight is but a prologue to the endless, undying saga of light versus darkness. Because after everyone and everything, history will repeat, again and again. Because after all, the story never ends.

My Little Pony, My Little Pony~

Aaa-Aaa-Aaa-Aaa~

*click*

On the morning of March 7th, 1936, Hitler and his troops invaded the Rhineland, a vast battalion of German soldiers marching into forbidden territory-

*click*

Clear skies, open weather all throughout south and west counties. You can count on the temperatures rising up until Tuesday, with a high of 89 degrees-

*click*

If the baby elephant becomes separated from the herd, it knows to follow its mothers tracks. This calf has been following her tracks for three days…in the wrong direction-

*click*

Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows, it’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it-

*click*

Now, I don’t know how you ladies like your tomatoes. Sliced? Thick cut? For me it’s diced, same with the onions. Now, add a pinch of salt to soften the texture and bring out the flavor. Ooh, smell that-

*click*

Sometimes trees get a little lonely, so lets give our big fella here a friend. Nice, gentle strokes, just like that. Life is a lot less scary when you know you’ve got a friend-

*click*

Life is like a mirror. Once you’ve looked hard enough and long enough, you’ll realize that the only thing that ever really mattered was-

*click*

-friends~

「Developed for Television by Lauren Faust」

*bee-oop*

The television set switched off. In the reflection of the darkened screen, a figure traveled into the other room. The door shut and the lights clicked off, as though the conversation had never even existed in the first place. All was left alone in the dark, in the cold, in the quiet, in the nothing.

Chapter 34 - A Gardener's Disease

The repetitive clicking of the mechanical cash register emanated throughout the storefront like a monotonous cuckoo clock swinging back over and over again. It was the same order of operations each and everyday, the same customers and the same items, running by the counter top from the moment the mare clocked in to the moment she’s set to clock out this afternoon.

The cashier’s eyes swiveled cautiously against the store’s shelves as she mindlessly rung up one pony after another, to the point where she could quite literally do it all with one hoof tied behind her back. She planned to claim bragging rights when she did it with a blindfold. But now it all felt too comfortable to her, she began to feel like she belonged in the retail business and it was tearing her mind to pieces. It wasn’t what she wanted, but she found herself stuck with it.

“Mare Do Well, Unmasked?”

“Where do they come up with these ridiculous stories?”

“That’s no mare under that mask, anyhow! Are they nuts or what?”

Slowly, the conversation of the ponies dimmed away behind the isles, the only fleeting leeway the cashier had to distract herself before the strange news vanished from ear range. She hadn’t even moved and already the clicking of the register returned to her receptors, the sliding of the items and the nonsensical chattering and bickering of the customers and her fellow employees.

“Miss?”

I can’t take this anymore.

“Miss~?”

I want to get out, I want to be free again.

“Miss!”

Cherry Berry jolted back to her senses and looked forward, an impatient glare staring her down. Several other ponies behind her joined in with their looks and tapping hooves.

“Miss, can I get going awl-ready?” The front of the line complained again. “My dauw-ghter’s cute-ceañera is next week, I haven’t got awl day.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Cherry rushed about. “So sorry, ma’am.”

The rung up was done and the cashier received a snooty turn of a muzzle before the lady trotted out of the store and the next slammed their items upon the counter. Again and again they came by, one by one, in a seemingly endless line.

I can’t go on like this.

Trotting up the path leading down the old park road, the lone mare climbed up a small hill to watch the lasting rays of the sunset pierce the sky with an abundance of oranges, yellows and reds, the hues dancing together like the last song for a dream lost to the wind. For a short while then the pony began to wonder why she was even born an earth pony in the first place, or rather why she was born with such thoughts and such drive that made it near impossible to achieve her greatest dreams, given her current situation and the limitations of her own body. Cherry seemed to understand in that very moment upon the hill that when somepony wanted something, everypony was born with the drive to chase after it, but only very few were ever gifted to achieve it. Despite the warm air, the swell breeze, the fleeting chirps of the birds and the brilliant summer sky beyond, the world seemed like a cold and unforgivable place.

The blonde, pink coated mare looked down into her saddle bag and produced her prized aviator’s helmet given to her by her mother, and gifted by the father she had never met. Her gaze led along the expanse of grass leading down to the river at the bottom of the hill. Cherry Berry raised the helmet in her hoof, reeled back…and failed to cast it away. She clutched the helmet tightly within her embrace, damning herself for ever thinking of such a thing, damning herself to never let her dream die so easily ever again. A new fire glinted within the pony’s eyes as she stuffed the helmet back into her saddle and trotted down the hill, taking one last gaze at the setting sun before trotting home.

“Sis, I’m home~!” Cherry called into her home.

She trotted past her front door and clicked it shut, tucking the mail into her bag before resting it to the front room’s coffee table. As for her calling, there was yet to be a response. Normally her sister would deliver a holler or two, or beckon her younger into the other room to get something or other for her.

Lazy mare. Cherry thought intrusively, getting a little frustrated that the mail was once again left to sit out in the mailbox until she had gotten home from her day job. Then again, they had experienced that garden mishap not too recently, and for all of it Berry Punch might’ve still been a little shaken up. Sure, it was her own fault that her sister decided to bite more than she could chew and drink herself into some stranger’s garden that night, but the onslaught of the crowd’s howling and accusations were simply too much to bare.

For what it seemed worth, Cherry trusted her sister this time around to getting better with her drinking habits. The vacancy of bottles filling the house was a tell-tale sign of improvement, but old habits could always come back to bite a mare in the ass, as mother always used to say. A single minute then had passed and yet her sister had given no response. Perhaps she was taking a bath, or a nap, one of the two was no surprise. In the meantime Cherry pulled the mail from her bag and began leafing through the notes. Store discounts, Barnyard Bargains Sale-athon, all of that nonsense. The return of the “P.F.OP.” meeting is what seemed to catch Cherry’s eye, knowing that it would be yet another gathering to drag her sister to in an effort to make things better for the both of them. With the thought in mind the wondering mare trotted further into her home in search of her sister.

“Berry~?” Cherry trotted into the kitchen. “If you’ve been stealing my oats again, I swear-”

Kitchenware and vegetables were strewn across the room, a bowl of oats splattered against he far cabinet. There her sister laid on the floor, cold and shaking, curled up into a ball like an old lady collapsed upon the bathroom floor. Whistling, ragged breathes struggled to enter and escape the fallen pony’s lungs. In a single heartbeat, Cherry fell to her sister’s side.

“Sweet Celestia, what happened to you?”

Worst yet, hundreds of small, red bumps fell beneath Berry’s eyes, her ears, and dotted her hooves all the way up to her barrel.

The captain of the weather patrol pegasi sat motionless by the bedside as the victim of the bakery fire sat up in his bed taking small sips from his glass of water to speak between ragged, smoke-scarred breathes. His voice was like a raspy buzz at best, and although Sunshower struggled to understand him from time to time she felt that visiting the worn down colt was the best she could do for now. Mr. Cake took a long, weary glance to the open window as evening time was once again approaching, and a heavy sigh escaped his nostrils.

“Makes you wonder sometimes, huh?” He rasped.

“What’s that?” Sunshower asked.

“I can’t be the only pony on this planet who looks out on a sunset…” He took a long, slow breath. “…and wonder for just a small moment what life is really all about.”

The pegasus spared a sight to the outdoors, the air buzzing and birds fluttering by. She traded her gaze back to Mr. Cake with a blank, misunderstood expression. Mr. Cake almost chuckled in response.

“I may not look it, but deep down I deem myself a pretty mean pony, Sunshower.” He went on. “You’d never believe that the kind, patient colt you see out on the show floor is the same as the one cursing and throwing trays behind the kitchen doors. Before I had met my wife I was a manager at one of the plaza cafes in Manehattan. During those days there was no room for creativity, no time to make the perfect pastry. Work, get paid, and head back home stiff as a brittle, knowing I’d have to get up the next morning just to do it all over again.” There was another pause, and another breath. “Ponies always got on my nerves, and the amount of dishes to clean at the end of the day was enough to make me blow a fuse. So, I quit, took a train all the way to Ponyville thinking I’d start a business all on my own. And that’s when I met her…”

Sunshower felt her eyes scanning over the stallion’s form as his speech had gone on. She studied his scars and his bruises, the way the burns singed his yellow fur to deep orange and red, almost as though the etchings of past mistakes were attempting to crawl out from beneath the over-skin. The captain briefly studied her own fur color and its similar hues, and her memory flashed back to her lashings out at her young scout pegasus. When Mr. Cake had returned his sights to Sunshower to see her preoccupied within thought, the colt simply struggled a grin and looked down in front of him.

“You’re not going to make me do all the talking, are you, captain?” Mr. Cake asked her.

“No, sir.” She almost saluted. “I mean-yes, sir. I mean-”

Now the colt was chuckling. “Just try to relax a little more from now on, agreed?”

“Yes…” The pegasus agreed. “I think I do need to work on that a little.”

With that, the stallion nodded and rested his head back. “I’ll be needing to visit Town Hall sometime soon to negotiate insurance claims. Even if the fire may have been our own fault, there’s got to be at least something we can pull out of the damages. It’s all our family has…”

“This never would have happened if Ponyville had a procedure lined up for fire emergencies.” Sunshower noted. “To think that this town has been on the map for over a hundred years, and yet nothing has been done about it. It kind of makes you think…” Her speech drifted away.

Mr. Cake wordlessly looked to his companion, awaiting the end of her sentence, Simply, the mare closed her mouth and stowed her thoughts away.

“No, never mind…” She mumbled.

“You’re a brave pony, Sunshower.” The stallion started calmly. “But you lack clarity. Has anypony ever told you that?”

The mare simply looked upon him with perplexity and slowly shook her head.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, and that means don’t take it at face-value either. A pony doesn’t always have to narrow their life to their work and accept the facts as they see them, because when you do that you’re just taking everything at face-value. There’s more to life than this, and deep down I know you know that. Sometimes…it does good to take a good long look at a sunset to wonder what life is really all about.”

Sunshower sat there with a slow nod buzzing around her head. Her eyes had not even returned to the stallion.

“And it would do your team a favor to ease up on them every now and then…” His voice turned solemn. “Especially Derpy.”

The captain looked up and blinked with surprise. “You heard…?”

“Every word of it.” The stallion admitted with a slow nod.

“I’m sorry.” She worded as though routine.

“Don’t wear yourself down, you’ve only got room to improve now.” He replied, resting back into his pillow. “Besides, I’m not the pony you should be apologizing to. You saved my life and my little foals, I’ll be in your debt for as long as I live.”

Sunshower clicked the door shut and held her hoof upon the knob as Mr. Cake’s words reverberated back through her thoughts. …you lack clarity. Has anypony ever told you that? There was, as far as the pegasus could remember, another pony who had doubted her outlook and experience on life before. There was no doubt in her mind that that pony was in fact her father. The words her old colt had spoken to her that day were all but wisps fleeting in the wind, to become invisible with the rest and never return again. The captain found herself walking down the hospital corridors once again, and a single beat later she looked through an open door to find a familiar face seated next to a respiratory mask, much like the same Mr. Cake had been equipped with, lying within the bed.

“Cherry Berry?” The captain peeked inside.

“I see somepony likes to wander the hospital.” The earth pony chuckled from within.

Sunshower briefly eyed the mare lying in the bed and gingerly stepped inside the room, surmising it rude to simply walk by without even a hello. “Do they pay you to transport patients, now?” The pegasus attempted.

“This one was all hooves, adrenaline too, I imagine.” Cherry admitted. “My sister scares me like that quite often.”

The captain looked the patient up and down. Long, seeping breathes sounded from the respiratory machine while thin bandages covered her hooves and parts of her face. “I don’t imagine this is a common case of the flu?” Sunshower wondered.

“Like nothing I’ve ever seen before.” Cherry explained. “It’s most commonly known as Rose Gardener’s Disease, but the doctors called it a certain type of fungus…”

“Sporothrix.” Doctor Horse iterated. “The fungal spores had entered Berry’s lungs and began mutating as the week went by. Due to her excessive alcohol intake her immune system was unfortunately on the downside, and thus has struggled to fight off the disease. We don’t get many cases of the Gardener’s Disease, but when we do they most certainly aren’t this devastating.” He studied the microscopic sample of the fungus beneath the lens as he spoke on. “As per it’s name, sporothrix generally grows on several types of moss and rose bushes, typically on the ends of the thorns.”

“Berry Punch is no gardener.” Ronin noted. “There’s no way the spores would have entered her system through any open wounds, it’s astounding to believe that breathing them in alone was able to do this much damage.”

“And that, my young investigator, is where the skepticism over these samples play their part.” The doctor scooted aside and ushered the foreigner over. “Take a look into the microscope, tell me what you see.”

Ronin leaned above the lens and slowly lined his vision up with the magnified image until a collection of tiny, blue-violet spheres connected to a thin, jagged line came into view. For all of his time spent gardening and learning about various types of plants back in Neighsia, very few opportunities had come when he was able to take a look at such species on a microscopic level, and each time the sights filled him with awe and wonder. He knew, unmistakably, that the round figures of the dots he saw now were in fact fungus spores, almost unlike the box-like, rectangular structures of plant cells.

“These are the spore samples?” Ronin asked.

“Yes.” Doctor Horse paused. “From the planter outside the window.”

Ronin took a brief, confused glance to the roses lying just outside the open window, and returned his attention back to the lens.

“And these…” The doctor slid the original plate out from the tray and inserted a new one. “Are the samples extracted from Berry Punch.”

For a short second, Ronin could not understand why the lens were filled with nothing but a sick, lime green, only to realize he was looking at a single spore. He slowly turned the knob and zoomed out, discovering that these viridescent behemoths were at least ten times the size of the original spores. They pulsed, oozed and infected every green-free entity in sight. Green… Ronin thought momentarily. Immediately, his mind stemmed back to his first meeting with Rose Luck. Green eyes and roses…no, it can’t be!

“You realize what this is, don’t you?” Doctor Horse asked him quietly.

“Mutation…?” Ronin shook his head, he couldn’t even kid himself. “No, it’s sabotage.”

“And you realize now why I give this information to you.” He scooped the plate back up into his hooves and tucked it away into a small, disc container, sealing it shut with a strip of red tape. “You have your culprit’s weapon, now you need only to find them and use it against their case. If you have any leads, any suspicions whatsoever, I advise you pursue them at once.”

“Thank you, doctor.” Ronin quickly stood and bowed with overflowing gratefulness. “I’ll be sure to repay you one day.”

“All I ask is that you not let this opportunity go to waste. We’re all counting on you, and your partner.”

Ronin gave yet another bow and nod of affirmation as he sped past the doctor and swung open the door, ready to bolt down the hallway in search of his fellow investigator.

“And, Ronin-” Doctor Horse halted.

The colt stopped short and poked his head back into the room.

“When this is all over, be sure to come back and see me.” He nodded subtly. “I will be waiting for you.”

Ronin delivered an estranged but sure nod, and clicked the door shut. Tucking the sealed case into his bag he fastened the latch and began trotting down the hall with the doctor’s words flowing faintly within his mind. Quite unsure of what exactly he meant, or what he might have in store for him when he returned, the young unicorn persisted down the hall and made his exit from the hospital. His hooves carried him to the south part of town, Ponyville’s residential district.

Nightfall strung across the horizon as Ronin rode past the buildings and bounded up the walk to Amethyst’s home. There was a still sense of unease looming around the abode, but regardless he went on and approached the door, eagerly rapping his hoof against the surface and taking a glance or two at the nearby window to attempt and signal somepony within. A solid ten seconds or so passed before he raised his hoof to knock again, but the door swung open, and nopony was there. He looked down, and there was the little sister.

“Ano…” He had forgotten her name.

The little unicorn cocked her head to the side.

“Is Amethyst here?” He asked warily.

She blinked, fixed her head and turned back into the hallway. “Amy, your boyfriend is here~!”

Silence reigned around the halls and the rooms as the little unicorn looked back up at the visitor and delivered a small, knowing grin which simply said wait for it…

Then, there was a watery splash followed by a crash and a bang against the door upstairs. The elder sister tumbled past the doorway and came rolling down the stairs, landing at the bottom of the flight with her head to the floor and her rump in the air. She was soaked from horn to hoof and carried a river of foamy bubbles along with her. As Ronin and the younger sister paused to look at Amethyst as a rubber ducky bounced down the stairs and landed on top of her head. Quickly, the mare took notice to the young stallion at the door and shielded herself with her hooves, one over her chest and the other over her delicates.

The little unicorn blinked again and smirked. “Your boyfriend is-”

“I know he’s here! What does it look like I’m doing?” Amethyst snarled.

“Overreacting?”

The young mare grumbled and got up to her hooves, shoving the little sister away as she went to confront her partner at the entrance. “What?” She blurted. “What do you want?”

Ronin struggled to render his words at the sight of the wet, sleek Amethyst before him. He shook his head and reached into his bag, slowly producing the small, disc case. She stared upon the casing for a long moment until she realized what it meant, and looked back to her partner with searching, anticipating eyes.

“The patterns, they were true all along.” Amethyst mumbled to herself.

The young stallion eyed his companion in anticipation as she trotted to the other side of her room and quietly threw the curtains over the window. She levitated the glass fitting from her desk candle and focused her horn to the wick, generating a small spark and lighting the stick ablaze before resting the case back over. Ronin approached with his sealed disc and quietly set it down as Amethyst eased back on her bed and filtered the memories through her mind.

“I remember now.” She continued. “Every ransacked garden we searched and investigated, only one kind of flower stood among the rest, and those were the roses. If there were any, of course.”

Ronin got to work carefully prying open the sample case as Amethyst went on.

“When we went to help Cherry Berry and her sister, I had noticed that some of the roses were trampled too. That’s when I saw it, the break in the pattern.” Amethyst deduced. “The townsponies might’ve been quick to blame Berry, but that was only a single instance. There’s no reason for our culprit to be as reckless as a drunk, she would’ve been caught by then.”

“Drunk or not, the inevitable would only take place.” The other unicorn levitated the plate from the small case and hovered it before his partner. “This is a sample of the spores Berry had ended up breathing in when she fell drunk in the garden. It’s in my understanding that although they’re mutated with certain types of magical aspects, the host spores originate from the thorns off of rose bushes. Therefore, only roses are immune to its effects.”

“Then it’s true?” Amethyst looked longingly into Ronin’s gaze. “Is Rose Luck our culprit?”

He turned with an uncertain stare to the floor. “I’m not sure why…”

The young mare stood up. “We should turn her in right away.”

“We can’t.”

“Why not?”

“There’s not enough to go off of here, our evidence is too shallow.”

“If we have a suspect then we should at least inform the Mayor.”

“Only if she’ll keep quiet about it, which I highly doubt.” Ronin went on. “If we try to suspect Rose now she’ll accuse us of blatant lies and we won’t have anymore evidence to back up our claims. It’ll only get harder to make her confess after that.”

“Then…” Amethyst’s eyes darted around her room desperately. “We’ll have to test it first.”

“The sample?” Ronin looked at the plate.

Amethyst swung the vase of flowers from her bedside table and over to her desk. “Use these.” She ushered with her horn.

“But…” Ronin studied the bouquet. “These are the flowers I left you on the first day we met.”

“Yeah, so?”

A silent, sharp sting cold as ice pierced the very core of Ronin’s circulatory system. His eyes dulled and threatened tears as he stared at the mare with levels of pain he never realized possible before. “Honestly,” he sulked. “I’m surprised you’ve kept them for this long.”

“There’s no reason to let any good flowers go to waste, what do you think our job’s been all about?” She considered the vase again. “Besides, my mom’s been helping me water them.”

“Ah, now I see why they’re still alive.”

“Just use the spores, already!” The mare snarled, shedding a sliver of the curtains apart and placing the vase upon the windowsill. “I don’t want to breath any of that stuff when I’m sleeping, so aim it near the window.”

He supposed that working in a well ventilated area would be a better suit for the situation, but time seemed to be wearing thin with every discovery they had made thus far, knowing their suspect might be working twice as fast as they were. Ronin stared at the plate of spores for another moment and walked over next to the sill where his partner stood, levitating the glass piece above the bouquet with steadily diminishing hesitance. He scraped the fungus stained surface with raw kinesis and allowed the dust to flutter onto the plants below, rubbing the piece on the petals and the stems for good measure. With quickness and care he surrounded the casing in his field and shut the plate tight over again, resting it to the desk as the two investigators studied the flowers closely.

A nod and a long moment of staring passed by, and the room was silent.

“I don’t see anything happening.” Amethyst noted.

“The infection process may take time.” Ronin followed. “After all, this is only a small dose at best. Who knows how much the culprit used for each raid?”

“For a whole garden? I’d say a helluva lot more, especially considering multiple gardens would decay in a single night.”

“That is true.” The colt replied dutifully. “They probably have an entire arsenal of this fungus ready to use, which might only prove my greenhouse theory…”

The young mare gave a subtle nod as her attention remained stuck to the flowers in the vase. She humphed with frustration when nothing more was happening and her patience was clearly wearing thin. “Maybe it needs some light to work.” Amethyst said, reaching for the candle.

“How is that going to help?”

“I dunno, maybe it’s daylight activated?” She shrugged.

“Are you aware that even if that somehow did work, we would need the sun for that?”

“Or maybe the moon.” The young mare gasped.

“Where do you get these ideas from?” Ronin shook his head.

“No, look!” Amethyst carefully took the vase in her grasp and allowed the flowers to stick their way outside the window. Almost instantly the colorful hues of pink, purple and blue began shriveling and wilting in trade for a dull, wrinkly gray. She pulled the now deceased flowers back inside, almost staring upon the mess with a tinge of sorrow and regret. The two investigators looked the flowers over with mixtures of speculation and disbelief. Ronin traded his sights to the waning crescent in the night sky above, and looked back at their experiment.

“The infection responds when exposed to moonlight…” He stroked his chin, slack-jawed. “This is no means of chemical manipulation. This is unicorn magic we’re dealing with here.”

“Ronin, do you trust my suspicions?” Amethyst began. “Do you really think that Rose Luck did this?”

“You’re my partner, Amethyst. I want to believe everything you say.” The stag furrowed his brow and returned to the window. “But we need to be sure. I think there’s only one chance in finding out if Rose truly is the pony we’ve been looking for.”

Chapter 40 - Goodmornings and Goodbyes

Big, bright, scarlet letters danced a haphazard line above and across the front entrance of the great, tree-shaped, crystal castle, supplied by the early, golden glimpses of the morning sun. The red paint oozed its way down the wall in runny, disorganized lines, splotches of the stuff accumulating pools upon the stairs, the bushes, and the grass below. Four occupants stood outside, staring and gawking at the grandiose display of graffiti, all except for the young, lilac unicorn whom prodded at her chin, trying all she had to make heads or tails of the poorly written Ponish before her. Carefully, she eyed her companions and traded sights between them and the propaganda on the wall.

There the three stood, the Alicorn, the dragon, and the human, mouths still agape, and there Starlight stood awkwardly rubbing her other leg until the urge to break the ice finally came through.

“Yeah, not even my horn writing is that bad-”

“This. Is. A. DISASTER!” Twilight hovered above the ground, holding her head and fluttering about in a nervous, frantic fit. “How could I have let this happen? Where did it all go wrong? If Princess Celestia ever finds out about this, she’s going to kill me. No, worse! She’ll send me back to magic kindergarten, I’ll be solving rudimentary math problems as a princess!”

“Calm down, Twilight, it’s nothing to get all worked up about.” Spike attempted. “Besides, this castle technically belongs to the Pillars, so if anything Starswirl the Bearded is going to have something to say about it.”

The lavender mare swooned and threatened to drop to the earth like a fly, and Spike was ready to catch her in spite of his inferior size. Starlight had at least half the mind to summon a brown, paper bag and levitate it over the Princess’ mouth, to which she instinctively took a hold and began her ritualistic breathing patterns, albeit more hyperventilating than usual.

David stood upon the sidelines watching with an odd, uncomfortable stare, knowing that there wasn’t much in the moment he could do though he wished he could help change everything for the better. It all came down to the fact that this had happened because of him, because of his anger and his misplaced behavior that led to this mysterious act of graffiti painted over the castle’s front lawn. He turned to Starlight, whom still held that same, speculating stare.

“You think they’re trying to tell me something?” David joked.

“’MONKEY GO HOME!’” Starlight read back. “That’s what.”

“Well, it’s official, my career in Ponyville has hit the fan.” The boy hung his head, lumbering back to the castle. “If you need me I’ll be humming the tune to Winter Wrap-up in the fetal position, at the bottom of a cold shower.”

“Not so fast, sulk master.” She willed her magic, yanking him by the collar. “This is the perfect opportunity for you and I to go on a hunt.”

“For?”

“The culprit, of course!” Starlight drew him closer. “I’m willing to bet a hoof and a leg the numb skull who did this doesn’t even know the first rule of ‘rebelling against the system.’ Let the enemy strike you, but never strike back.” She turned back to the castle. “This? This right here is our ticket against their case, straight up vandalism.”

“Their case, huh?” The boy repeated. “You mean to tell me you plan to take this to some sort of court of law?”

“Anything to wipe your name clean and reveal the tyranny of the people.” The unicorn grinned devilishly.

“Jesus Christ, Starlight, were you always equipped with this sort of manipulative thinking?” He shook his head. “I’m beginning to think the forest did something to you. Like it struck a familiar chord, and now here you are ready to…ready to fight for my stead?”

“I mean, haven’t I always?” She beamed innocently.

“What’s the catch here?” David squinted with suspicion. “Why are you so fixed on helping me all of a sudden?”

Starlight’s face fell as she took a glance back to the purple princess a trot and a skip away, still working on her breathing technique, although slowly and much more calm than before. She returned to the boy and drew him in closer once more, a secretive whisper masking over her tone.

“Listen, this is between you and me, got it?”

David blinked, then nodded intently.

“I told you about that village in the desert I used to look after, right? Well, ashamed as I may be to admit it, I was having the time of my life out there in that dry, worthless landscape. Ever since I left that town I haven’t experienced a single shred of thrill that could ever compare to the time I spent in the desert, except for when I fought Twilight, I guess. And that time I brainwashed all of her friends. Also, the changelings came back and we had to take care of those guys. Did I mention I’ve helped save Equestria almost a dozen times now-”

“Alright, I get it, the writers were getting lazy. Can you get to the point already?”

“My point is this:” the pony paused. “I don’t know what you did or how you did it, but you changed something in me. A familiar kind of change, almost as if I feel like my old self again. Like I’ve…woken up from this dream.”

David felt a vital part of himself drop down into his stomach as a dreadful sense of warning and urgency washed over him. Something told him in that moment that he knew the forest hadn’t done something to her, but rather he had done something to her, something that not even he could decipher. For better or for worse, the boy felt that his presence alone had disrupted what manner of balance this realm possessed, and it was one step closer to figuring something out. In which direction? He could not tell. The smile upon Starlight’s face was unmistakably genuine, and the boy couldn’t will himself to tell her otherwise.

“The penalty system is, for lack of a better term, a tedious process.” The cold, stoic tone slithered its way around the room and back to the occupants’ ears, one not so aware of its effects as the other. He continued. “I do advise that you remain patient while we work to evaluate these conditions.”

“My crops are soiled because of her!” The farm pony was furious. “Her and the whole damn weather pegasus crew ought’a be indicted, they owe me big time!”

The pegasus in question sat beside the infuriated earth colt with a frozen, stiff stare aimed straight out the window and into the open air of Ponyville. She studied the clean, blue sky and the tiny number of clouds floating about as her chair mate’s long, strand of wheat threatened to bristle her cheek or poke her in the eye. The stallion took a moment to settle down, fixing his hat and looking back up at the ambassador on the other end of the desk, his stoic demeanor unphased behind neatly folded hooves.

“In light of the fact that the company Miss Sunshower here belongs to is a state provided service, we are to first and foremost address suitable means of authority before we begin the financial processes. These terms can of course be negotiated within a court of law, and the same can be said for whatever penalty is deemed necessary for her supposed violations. That is why, Mr. Greenhooves, I advise that you remain patient for the time being.”

“Pfft, who ya’ callin’ greenhooves?” The pony spat. “That’s ‘Hayseed’ to you, ya’ hook-horned rice goer. I dunno what it is with our government allowing foreigners like you to hop across the ocean and start taking chairs like you own the place, but the line needs to be drawn somewhere.” The old pony grumbled on.

Mikado straightened his posture, something of a subtle move to keep himself at bay. “I respect your political preferences, Hayseed. In my own humble opinion I aim for only the best and most competent occupants to be seated in these chairs, regardless of their ethnicity.” His eyes hovered over to the quieter one. “And what about you, Miss Sunshower? Do you have a say in all of this?”

“I will adhere to the consequences as the court sees fit.” The captain answered carefully. “I realize now that the day the bakery was burning down, my actions were my own. Of that, I am content.”

“So be it.” Mikado nodded, flared his horn and upturned his stack of papers to tap them upon his desk. “The date of the trial has yet to be determined, thus I shall send you updates on any further changes. Our meeting is adjourned.”

Mr. Greenhooves, or rather Hayseed kicked his chair from underneath his rump and stood abruptly, grumbling and growling all the more as his hooves carried him to the double doors leading into the hallway. Oskie, Cskie, Blossomforth, Cloudkicker and Cloud Chaser popped their heads from the door and back into the hallway, hiding from the frustrated farm stallion as he trotted down the hall. The weather pegasi looked to each other after their captain had not showed up after a while, and popped their heads back into the room. There the pegasus was upturning the knocked over chair and resting it back to its feet, hence her unresting need for perfection in play. It gave the old Neighsian plenty of time to make his inquiry.

“Do you have a clear objective, Miss Sunshower?” Mikado asked her.

“I’m sorry?” She spared a side-eye.

Mikado’s gaze traveled to the windows as he spoke. “To my knowledge, your agreement to become captain of the weather team was not entirely of your own volition. Something else has drawn you to the ground below, hasn’t it?”

Sunshower instinctively gripped the thick, cylindrical disc beneath her wing. “It would seem you already have an idea.” She replied.

“Hm, no need to be so cautious, as you always seem to be.” He nodded with a satisfied grin and shooed with his hoof. “But, your business is your own. Very well, you may go now.”

And Sunshower did just that, making a prompt enough exit to bump into one of her crew mates well before the poor colt even realized she was coming. Oskie was knocked onto the hallway floor, rubbing the pain from his rump as his captain quickly apologized and helped the pegasus back up to his hooves. With a quiet, collected demeanor the rest of the team gathered around and shared uncertain glances before the silvery-maned, sporty mare spoke up.

“So, how did it go?” Cloud Chaser asked innocently.

“I’m not going to hide anything.” Sunshower began. “We might be in a heap of a lot more trouble than I first realized. This isn’t just going to affect me, but all of you may be held responsible.”

Silence and wary stares reigned over the crew once more, nopony really knowing what to say or do in that moment, all expect to provide a time of silence for what may have seemed like the beginning of the end for Ponyville’s weather patrol wing. Then, Oskie perked up.

“What did he mean by a ‘clear objective’?” He asked.

Cskie was quick to elbow his rib. “Quiet, idiot!”

“Ouch…” Oskie rubbed his barrel. “I was just curious, sheesh.”

“We weren’t listening in on your meeting, captain. Honest!” Cloudkicker stood at attention.

Sunshower delivered an inquisitive gaze.

“Okay, we weren’t trying to listen in on your meeting, but-”

“It’s okay.” Sunshower reassured. “I think now is the proper time that I show this to you guys.” And motioned her crew closer.

Everypony present paused and gathered around with wide, wondering gazes as their captain slowly motioned her hoof beneath her wing and drew out the item for them to see. What laid in her hoof was a golden disc with elegant markings etched all around, no thicker than a puck and no wider than the circumference of her hoof. Sunshower squeezed the bottom with the frog of her hoof, and the crew mates witnessed in awe as the golden disc opened up to the cardinal directions of a compass.

“This compass was given to me by my mother, and it belonged to my father.” The pegasus explained. “She told me that he had traveled with it for as long as he could remember, but never really figured out how it works or why it acts the way that it does.”

As if on queue, the compass needle spun to one direction and then to the next, as if it were unsure on which way was what, or if it even knew up from down or left from right. The crew watched on with curiosity as the mare continued.

“I never really got to know my father, so I suppose that me holding on to this was a means of continuing the dream he had abandoned after dedicating so many years to it. But why would I want to? If he never took it upon himself to spend some time with his daughter, why should I hold onto a dream that can only, surely send me into a dead-end? If I’m still not sure as to why I’ve held onto this thing for so long, then I guess I really don’t have an objective.”

As clear as day, what the captain had meant to say was that she was lost, and she blinked with dreadful realization as she had just indirectly admitted this to her entire crew. The ponies who depended on her, the ponies who looked up to her, were finally being given the demoralizing and painful to hear truth. Quickly, Sunshower closed the compass and tucked it back beneath her wing.

“That was…uncalled for, I suppose?” The captain mumbled.

“No, of course not!” Cloud Chaser sprung. “It was very thoughtful of you to open up to us for once, captain. It was a very beautiful compass.” She searched her friends for answers. “Wasn’t it, Oskie?”

“W-Wha-huh?” The stallion opened his wings.

“Say it was a fine, beautiful compass.” Cloud Chaser urged.

“Um, yes, of course!” The poor colt fumbled. “I really liked how the needle did its own thing.”

Cloud Chaser swung a hoof over her forehead and quickly turned back to Sunshower. “We’re not here to judge you, captain, we’re here to listen to whatever you’ve got to say. Just because we’re under your wing doesn’t mean you have to keep a straight face around us.”

“Yeah, it’s just like you said.” Cskie followed. “Ponies make mistakes all the time, right? We have no reason to treat you any different.”

“We know that sounds a little condescending, but we mean you well, cap.” Blossomforth spoke.

“You don’t have to hide your feelings.” Cloudkicker provided.

All the support blanketed over the lost and confused captain like puzzle pieces before an elderly mare. So many options were to beheld, so many different ways to fit together, yet the pony was almost always uncertain of how they all fit together. Not everypony would make it through, not everypony would see the same light that which the rest might behold one day, and that answer seemed to come sooner than later as a familiar, gray figure trotted her way up the hall. Sunshower blinked and straightened herself out to the new presence before her, the rest of the crew turning and following suit. It was Derpy, and upon the saddle of her back she balanced a badge and a small sash. Her weather patrol equipment.

“Hello, captain.” Derpy spoke rather properly.

“Miss Hooves.” Sunshower returned formerly. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“And your daughters?”

“They’re doing alright.” Derpy heaved a sigh and attempted her eyes upon the ponies. “I’m not going to keep you here any longer than I have to, so I’ll cut to the chase.” She turned and picked her equipment up in her mouth and dropped it into her hoof, offering the items forward. “I’ve come to resign.”

It was more than obvious before the young mother had even said it, but Sunshower was still struck at a loss of words. Though the pony before her had probably been one of the worst pegasus ponies she had ever had the burden of training, a deep, piercing strike of guilt and regret tugged at her chest and brought her spirits down to the ground. Forget what the poor state of this pony’s work report looked like, she was only trying to feed her family. Sunshower dreadfully knew however that this was for the better, a much more forgiving farewell compared to the sorry fates she and her crew mates might face in the near future.

“I understand.” Sunshower accepted solemnly. “Thank you for your time, Miss Hooves.”

“Of course.” The gray pegasus nodded, and turned to make her exit.

“Er, Derpy?”

She stopped and looked back.

“Where will you go?” The captain asked.

Derpy delivered a reassuring smile. “Where I’ve always belonged.” She said. “The post office.”

Rose Luck’s head hung low past her chest and veiled over with a gloomy, guilt-littered aura. Several townsponies stood on the sidelines of Town Hall as they watched her make her exit through the double doors and out into the foggy, cold, morning air. Sam and Ralph followed close by, along with Mayor Mare, whom met her two investigators standing at the summit of the stairs. There was a slow, curt nod to Ronin and Amethyst before the Mayor returned to Rose with a straight, condescending tone.

“Your penalty is as such: For the next three months you will report to Town Hall every morning to gather equipment and provide community service to Ponyville. Failure to meet this quota, aside from any emergencies, will result in jail time.”

Rose responded with a slow, solemn nod. “I understand. And for what it’s worth, Mayor Mare, I’m sorry.”

“You owe your apology to the townsponies, I don’t have a garden.” The old mare turned and mumbled. With a rather surprising amount of reverence she turned back to her two investigators and regarded them with a confident grin, turning first to the young stallion. “Well, Mr. Edelhoof, it seems you proved me wrong after all. Not many of the ponies I’ve met in my life have been able to do so, let alone be given the chance to.”

“What might that be, Miss Mayor?” Ronin wondered.

“Your companion, Miss Amaranth, seems to have proved her worth after all. I trust you played a big part in her upbringing.” The Mayor smiled, and turned to the young, lavender unicorn. “Meet me in my office later this afternoon, and we can discuss the terms of your new role at Town Hall.” And she winked, gracefully trotting off soon after and back into the building.

By then the scarlet maned mare had taken her leave, a slow and lumbering figure sauntering among the ponies of the plaza square who traded several glares and nickering insults her way. To them, she almost seemed no better than that Berry Punch, no better than that Trixie. Just another mare out to make life difficult for everypony else.

Amethyst stood by and watched with dull eyes as the earth pony lumbered away in the direction of her shop, most likely to inform her friends of the news and prepare for the longest three months of her life. Slowly, the young unicorn’s gaze hovered over to her partner, and Ronin had nothing to deliver but a simple and empty stare, his face almost completely devoid of any emotion whatsoever. Regardless of what he had told her before, regardless of the adamantly stoic culture Ronin had said he had grown up in, Amethyst knew that it was neither for show nor out of habit. Without a single word, whisper or even a breath, the young Neighsian turned and trotted down the steps.

“Ronin…” Amethyst reached.

“There’s nothing more to be done now.” He replied without turning. “We found the culprit, turned her in, and got you back on the path to your career. This is what you wanted, right?”

Amethyst gave a stiff frown. “Yes, but…” And the words failed to arrive.

The stallion’s front remained towards town, more closely in the direction of the train station, and a certain dread flooded the young mare’s senses to let alone even think about what her partner planned on doing next. He wasn’t going to be her partner for much longer. After everything had been said and done, short-lived as it might have been, Amethyst felt as though something were already missing. Something is still missing…

“You never told me why you really came to Ponyville.” She called.

At this, the young stag finally gave a turn, and looked up at Amethyst from the bottom of the steps. The sunlight basked upon his bright, brown coat and deep, burgundy mane. Emerald green eyes shone brilliantly with a calm, patient and knowing look within them. Ronin smiled faintly.

“You’re an ambitious young mare, Amethyst. Though you may be impulsive from time to time, and quite rude too, I know that with a little bit of concentration you can aim all of that energy in the right direction. One day, you’re going to change the world. I just know it.”

His smile faded, his head turned, and without warning, that familiar, fleeting scent flew by Amethyst’s muzzle like a petal lost in the wind. She wasn’t sure as to why she stood there for so long, she wasn’t sure as to why she didn’t move her hooves or roar up her lungs one last time to call to that petal flying away in the breeze. Only seconds later, Derpy came trotting out of the double doors behind her, and trotted up next to her adopted daughter with a slow, concerned demeanor. The young unicorn looked down and to the side, allowing the pegasus to snuggle the pony’s head beneath her chin and against her breast. A moment later, the two parted.

“C’mon, little star.” The mother beckoned. “Let’s go home.”

It was a tenuous, time-consuming trudge up the stairs, down the hallway and into her bedroom. Finally falling onto the plush, warm surface of her bed, Amethyst’s eyes traveled over to the open window and rested upon the bouquet of flowers sitting upon its surface. Every bit of joy, warmth, and beauty that the flowers once held had crumpled away into a shriveling, gray wilt.

Chapter 57 - Secrets and Small Talk

The dim light of the afternoon shone through the stain glass windows lined up across the study chamber’s far wall with an orange, ethereal glow. To the center of the room a wide assortment of papers and print laid before the boy, sprawled over Twilight’s desk, threatening to spill over the side with just how much content there was to sort through. It was more than enough to bring about a snore-fest to the poor sap willing enough to sit through page after page of black and white, and it certainly didn’t help the young Equerry enough that it was all in Ponish. Needless to say, Twilight was with him every step of the way, explaining the most crucial parts and what exactly his role as Equerry had to play in the matters of reconstructing the plaza fountain monument.

“You’re saying you want me to choose what we build on the fountain?” David asked confusingly.

“Not exactly.” Twilight corrected. “Mikado’s construction company has already decided on what they want to put in place of the statue. Y’know, the one that everypony thought you destroyed?”

“For the record I had a little assistance from these two, clumsy guards.” He reminded. “But go on.”

“Since the reconstruction is classified as a utility landmark, all the construction crew needs to do is get the approval of Town Hall and cosign the contract with a government official, including all of her colleagues.” Twilight noted dutifully. “Although you have no official position at the Hall, you are technically a part of their staff, which means the approval of the construction would fall under your signage as well.”

David sat back in the small chair and took a good, long look over the sprawling of papers and parchment, the bigger picture of it all finally reaching the forefront of his understanding. As he understood it, an onslaught of fine print whether it come from newspaper, contract, or any other form of reading was yet another ploy to distract the signer from what they were really agreeing to. Companies would often filter safeguard after safeguard into their policies to ensure the business would almost inevitably come out on top, no matter what the case. It was always about being on top, having all the money, all the power…

“This was all planned from the start.” He realized. “Not to safeguard me against the citizens, but to bring me out of the debt of that dumb, old statue. Wasn’t it?”

“It’s been a tedious process, but the best I could devise.” Twilight cleared.

“So, Starlight was right after all? And to think this Equerry position was taken away from her, especially when she deserved it more than I did.”

“Don’t forget what I said, it was not my intention for you to look upon your assignment with any amount of culpability.” The pony reminded. “Yes, I do admit that it was all for the purpose of absolving you from your debt, and for that I must apologize.”

“What for?” The boy looked up in wonder.

“That day you told me that I lied to you, well…you were right.” The Princess looked downcast. “I haven’t been one-hundred percent honest with you.”

“Don’t sweat it, Twi.” He reassured her. “It’s not like I would have understood what was going on back then, even now it’s all just numbers and letters to me.” He passed a glance to the papers in his hands, glazing over the lines. “All I’m really trying to understand right now is what this Mikado guy’s endgame is. What’s this ‘common goal’ he keeps talking about? And what was up with Rose Luck being the pony he ‘chose’?”

Twilight rested her quill and her hooves to the desk as she took a deep breath and prepared her answer. “Princess Celestia and I had been monitoring Mikado’s activity months prior to his official arrival in Ponyville, wherein preparations were already being made to establish a defensive strategy for the town, that being the plaza reconstruction contract you see before you now.” She elaborated. “In order for Mikado to successfully test the effects of the defensive barrier, he needed an agent to carry out his bidding, and what better subject to carry out this task than a blissfully unaware citizen of the village? Since this barrier is not only classified as a utility establishment, but also to be used for militaristic purposes, the operation was deemed secret and closed off to the citizens, save for certain members of Town Hall staff as well as Princess Celestia and myself, of course.”

David sat back, blinking and dumbfounded. Her supposed lack of honesty had not only stricken the boy, but the whole town for that matter. Perhaps even her closest friends.

“So, you knew about the garden raids?” He surmised. “And not only did you pin the blame against some pony desperate to get her flower shop out of debt, but in the process you managed to rack up hundreds if not thousands of bits in damages.”

“Which are already in the process of compensation.” She added. “Don’t think that Mikado and I would have left any corners unchecked.”

“Still though, all this trouble and commotion. All for some…wacky, government experiment?”

“For the security of this town, it would seem so.” Twilight nodded.

“That’s a pretty demented way to make your citizens pay taxes.” David commented. “Y’know that, right?”

“Up until now, I was given very little information on the details of this plan, and for that I had very little of a part to play in its uprising.” Twilight confessed. “Whether I like it or not, it is my duty as Princess to uphold the safeguard of our nation and its establishments by whatever means necessary.” There was a pause. “As a matter of fact, if any of the other Princesses were to gain word of everything I just told you, you and I could very well be tried for treason.”

Little tufts of cloud formed into a thought bubble above the boy’s head, filtering a depiction of both himself and Twilight tearfully awaiting their deaths with heads locked beneath a guillotine. The executioner was clearly Pinkie Pie in a black-leather mask, which she wore backwards. Applejack pushed her aside and slammed down David’s guillotine.

“That’s…enough questions for one night, don’t’cha think?” He chuckled a nervous fit and rose from his chair. “I sure am hungry. Wonder what that little fire ball of yours whipped up for dinner.”

“David.” Twilight called to him. “I haven’t had the chance to tell you, but I’ve been very pleased as of late, the way you’re managing this situation with Apple Bloom and the citizens and all.”

“Huh?” He turned and looked over her again, wondering what she was on to.

“Believe it or not, I see a little bit of myself in you, when I was a bit younger of course.” She admitted. “When I first arrived in Ponyville, all I could ever think about doing was leading out the Princess’ orders in an attempt to prove that I am in fact her number one, most faithful student. But, it didn’t take long for me to realize that I never would have maintained that image had it not been for my friends. They were the ones who protected me, showed me the way when times got tough.” She paused, gazing over her subject with benevolence. “I know you’ve struggled and felt lost time and time again in the past, but more so it warmed my heart to see you reach out to those you care for and trust.”

“Well, I did end up with a pretty good teacher.” David gave her a wink. “Even if she does keep secret, Princess operations from me from time to time.”

The mare let go a giggle as she rose from her own seat and led him to the door. “Alright, you, let’s go get that dinner you’re dying to dig into.”

“Hold on, it’s not Hayburger again, is it…?” The boy groaned.

“Nope!” She answered rather cheerfully. “Spike thought of something special this time.”

The boy had been instructed to calmly take his usual seat at the dining table, awaiting this supposed “special” dish that the little dragon chef had prepared in the young Equerry’s stead. The double doors from the hall and into the dining area split apart as Twilight entered along with Spike, the Princess seating herself adjacent to the boy just as the little dragon was waltzing up with the dish in one claw and his cooking apron in the other. There was a peculiar, prideful grin strummed across the young lizard’s face, and David wondered for a moment if he had the honors of becoming tonight’s royal poison checker. Spike hopped up onto the stool and set out the plate before him, lifting the lid with a free claw, the waft of cooked meat filling his nostrils.

“This…” He looked down, eyes beginning to well up with tears. “This is…?”

“A sandwich.” Spike stood triumphantly. “Freshly cooked meat, per Fluttershy’s instructio-AAH!”

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing, what I’m smelling!” He scooped his scaly little buddy into a tight, grateful embrace. “It’s a hamburger! A real, live hamburger. No, wait, it’s not steak is it? You know what, it doesn’t matter. Thank you, Spike, thank you…”

“How about you start tasting before you ruin all my hard work!” The dragon shoved away.

“I’m sorry, it’s just…” He wiped an arm over his nose. “I don’t even feel like I deserve this, but at the same time there’s no way I’m going to let this go to waste. I’m sorry I was so horrible before all of this, I was just…”

“Lacking certain nutrients?” Twilight teased. “It may not be exactly to your liking, but Spike and I asked Fluttershy everything we needed to know about preparing a cooked meal for her carnivores, and this was the best bet we had.”

“No, it’s perfect already.” He took another waft of the heavenly scent. “And it smells divine.”

“Well? What’re you waiting for, ya’ dumb ape?” Spike knuckled his shoulder. “Go on, eat up!”

As the dragon waddled over to his chair and feasted into a bowl full of celebratory gems, the boy quietly clasped his hands together and uttered a line or two of mysterious mumbles beneath his fingers. Playing a strange gesture to his head, chest and shoulders, Twilight and Spike delivered one another odded out looks before shrugging and returning their attention to the boy. He licked his chops, lifted the burger, and opened wide.

“And just WHAT the hell do you think you’re doing?” A raspy growl echoed from above.

Every table member present paused. David craned his neck and looked to the open window above. It was his coach, Rainbow Dash, glaring with the intensity of a thousand, roaring manticores.

“…eating a sandwich…” He mumbled innocently.

“Slacking off, are we?” Rainbow dropped from the ceiling and landed before the boy with a metallic boom, plates and silverware flying through the air. “Not on my watch, trainee!”

“Hey-hey-hey, what’s the big idea?!” The boy guarded his sandwich. “I thought you said you’d cut me some slack-”

“And you thought that meant you could get away with slurping up that grease-ridden…whatever the heck that is?” She batted the burger from his hands. “Let’s go, lackey, outside!”

“B-But-”

“Hup-two-three-four~! Hup-two-three-four~!”

“Ow! Hey, watch the ribs!” He whined. “You know that’s my weak spot. Spike, Spike! Wrap that burger up in foil for me! I’m not finished-Ouch! Alright alright, I’m going! Sheesh…”

Footsteps and wing flaps echoed down the hallway and came to a close at the sound of the front doors slamming shut. The pony and the dragon sat quietly within the dining hall, awe-stricken and perhaps even scarred by the severity of the Wonderbolt’s intense training regiment. Alas, there seemed little the two could do about the ill fate of the boy, or were even willing to do, and thus sought to resume to their dinners. If only yet another interruption had not come, this time in the form of a monstrous goat head rising out of the kettle, tea dripping from ear to tooth.

“Did I miss the comedic relief?” Discord gawked about. “Oh, wait, that’s me.”

“Discord!” Twilight pounced, hooves on the table.

“Ah, my dear Twilight, your cry is still but a bird song to my weathered ears.” Singing birds tunneled from the kettle’s spout and rose to the ceiling, exiting out of the open window. “I know you’re hungry, but don’t give chase.” He eyed Twilight carefully.

“Perhaps you wouldn’t mind telling me what it was you were doing with David earlier in the day?” She questioned back.

“I’ll admit, the boy showed a much more surprising amount of tenacity than I first accounted him for.” Discord swirled up and out of the kettle, hovering above the table. “But of course, that all depends on your perspective of his progress. I take it the cat’s out of the bag?” He raised an empty sac.

Twilight peeked upwards, finding Meowf draped over her mane, slumbering away. She levitated the cat to the side with her telekinesis, the little feline scampering out the door, and the mare started again with a deep sneer towards the draconequus.

“If you so much as eavesdropped a single breath from our conversation at Town Hall, Celestia so help me…”

“Oh relax, your royal hiney-ness, it’s not as though I have the time or even the slightest of intrigue to fill myself in on your little schemes with ‘china town’.” The serpent swirled and morphed into his eastern counterpart, an oracle’s orb in his tiger paw. “Nothing that which the likes of my plan could even dare to compete with. This one will bring us to the conclusion of the book, after all.”

“And just what sort of plan is that?” Twilight probed.

“What gives you the gull to consult me on my plans when you’re not even willing to share a sliver of your own?” He snapped his rooster claws, spawning a pair of chopsticks as he stroked it through his long, white, dragon beard. “Sham-fer dispray…”

“David is still my Equerry, and there’s no backing out of that now.” Twilight affirmed. “If it concerns him, then it most definitely concerns me, too.”

“And I’ll let that little note of confirmation be your ticket to this little secret.” Discord went on, swiping his paw around the orb as smokey images of fortunes and tellings swirled within. “Let it be true that you were indeed one hundred percent honest with the boy today. But, one hundred percent is only a tenth of one thousand percent.”

Through the orb came an old yet familiar setting, one that Twilight knew but for one reason or another dreaded to return to. The ruins in the Everfree forest, the Castle of the Two Sisters. She played a downcast glance to her hooves, avoiding eye contact with both the mischevious serpent and her little, dragon companion. Spike eyed his sisterly, motherly figure carefully and worriedly. Discord, still a spiral in the lives of the ponies of Ponyville and beyond.

Silver slivers of light channeled through the small window hung high on the far wall of the holding cell. A single unicorn laid quietly inside, hooves tucked beneath her chin as she laid downcast and defeated upon the matted, dusty floor. She cared not for the dirt matting her hide, the leavens left uneaten from her meal, or even the repercussions she might soon face. Having now spent the better part of the day behind bars, Silver Spanner wondered quietly upon the events of her life that had ultimately led up to this point in time. It seemed no different from spending one’s time cooped up in their room, day in and day out, researching and tinkering and wasting their life away. She lifted her head and looked past the bars, where the guard still stood, stiff and flinchless as a statue.

This guy hasn’t moved a single inch ever since I got locked up in here. She thought to herself. Is he even still alive?

Ralph felt the mare’s eyes hover over his figure. No response arrived.

Guess it’s just a bat pony thing. She surmised. Now that I think about it, he’s the only other bat pony I’ve seen, aside from Princess Luna’s guard that one Nightmare Night.

He already felt the weight of her words before they could meet his ears.

“Say, are you a part of Princess Luna’s night guard?” She started. “I heard she only enlists bat ponies into her ranks. Why is that?”

Silver suspected she already knew the reason why, but was curious to ask nonetheless. Alas, the guard on the other side of the bars remained silent and stagnant as ever.

“I suppose that’s confidential, hm?” The unicorn sighed, dropping her head back onto her hooves. “Sorry I asked…”

The sound of the pony’s hooves rapping against the floor sounded throughout the cell as she went to readjust herself. Ralph spared a glance in the mare’s direction, her back was turned and her hooves were tucked beneath her body. He stared forward, blinked and flickered his ear. It was so quiet one could hear the sound of the dust settling all around them. Only then did the bat pony realize how lonely the nights alone in the barracks had been. He took a breath.

“Sarosians.” He answered.

Silver’s ear flickered. She turned and eyed the guard, whom spared her a passive glance.

“My kind are called sarosians. The name comes from the Saros mountains that which my people had led pilgrimages to during Nightmare Moon’s reign a thousand years ago. To this day we still do. It is a lesser known title, a derivative from the common Equestrian tongue that which we are dubbed.”

“Would you prefer ‘Sarosian’ instead?” Silver fretted. “I apologize if I offended you.”

“I do not contend you to your lack of awareness, or knowledge.” He fessed. “I simply sought to educate.”

Silver glazed over the stallion with a prying, playful grin. She knew the young bat pony, or rather the sarosian, had a heart deep down beneath that plate of armor after all. “I take it you don’t get many chances to tell other ponies about yourself?” She teased.

“For what purpose?” Ralph retorted.

“Whadda’ you mean?” Silver shrugged. “Y’know, to make small talk, I guess.”

“Small…talk?” The cogs in his brain churned.

A grin crept across the young mare’s face, and so she sat up and faced the bars, eyeing the guard past the metal barrier. “Just think of it as a game. Here, I’ll go first.” She took a breath. “Hi, my name’s Silver Spanner. What’s yours?”

The sarosian shed another side-eye, careful not to break his pose.

“…Ralph.”

“Just Ralph?” She cocked her head.

He blinked. “…it means ‘wolf’.”

Silver blinked and craned her head back in laughter as she went to the floor cackling.

“W-What’s so funny-?!” Ralph twisted around.

“You don’t have to give me a definition for every name you tell me.” Silver swept her eye. “What’re you, an encyclopedia?”

The guard avoided her gaze and snarled quietly to the floor, eyes filled with judgment and worry. “I thought you said this was a game…” He glowered.

“It is.” She smiled back. “You’re pretty good at it.”

He studied her toothy grin and the affection behind it for a moment, wondering if she was just trying to get on his good side, or if the pony did in fact mean well. His face softened and he returned to his original stance.

“Do ponies act like this all the time?” He asked lowly.

“Sure we do.” Silver replied happily. “We love to play games, make small talk, host parties, and frolic in the fields like there’s no tomorrow.”

A dejected glance shadowed over the sarosian’s face, to which Silver fidgeted and twiddled her hooves.

“N-Not that I meant it’s exclusive only to ponies, I mean-” She rubbed her mane. “You seem like the type of guy who could go for a trot in the park. Just as long as you bring your sunhat.” She slapped her forehead.

It seemed that the sarosian planned upon no response, the simple posture of his statue-stricken pose giving the unicorn all the answer she needed to know. She sported her own downcast glance and muttered in the pits of her mind.

Way to go, Silver, making the outcast feel more special than he needs to be reminded. She mentally slapped herself. Stupid mare, this is why you’re still single! She flinched and paused for a breath, eyes cast upon the stallion’s back. Poor guy can hardly even do his job, trotting around in the sun all day. Makes ya’ wonder why they deployed him to Ponyville of all places. Maybe that’s why he didn’t answer my first question…

Ralph would have been completely content with returning to the silence that had encompassed the barracks and the holding cells for several hours, alas he felt the mare’s movement tickle his senses. If he were to remain stagnant, he thought, perhaps the pony would cease her charade of conversation. No more games, no more of that silly “small talk.” Ralph knew he wasn’t any good at it, she was just being nice.

“So, what would you do on these pilgrimages?” She wondered.

Ralph quickly glanced over and down. The pony was closer now, hooves hung around the bars and her beaming face casting up at him like that of a curious child.

“To the Saros mountains, I mean.” She finished.

The sarosian stared forward, stifling a sigh. “We would embark on a journey back to our homelands to witness what your astronomers call the ‘saros cycle.’ Every eighteen and a half years the moon strides over a specific position in the night sky, upon the exact constellation that which Nightmare Moon had cast her fabled ‘solar eclipse’ over the sun to shun the harsh light for us sarosians, and bring about eternal, ethereal nights. It is both a glorious and reverenced event for us sarosians, one we can sense without the need of astronomical observation.” He paused, his ear flickered. “I realize that it might be a harrowing event for the ponies of Equestria, but understand that this all but natural to my people and I, comforting even. Her majesty sought it so.” He slowly closed his eyes.

“It’s like your own version of the Summer Sun Celebration.” Silver regarded. “I guess that would make sense, considering that the Celebration each year is the same date Nightmare Moon was banished-” She swiped a hoof over her mouth, timidly eyeing the guard.

Instead, Ralph shook his head in a forgiving gesture, and continued. “As it stands, you and I are from two different worlds. Neither of us are at fault, it is simply the way things are.”

“You make it sound like you’re dissatisfied with that outcome.” Silver noted boldly.

“I hold no prejudice against my race. One is wrong to feel betrayed by the circumstances of their own nature, lest they betray others.” His brow curled in annoyance, not even sparing a glance back to the pony inside. “Please keep your head and hooves within the confines of the cell at all times.”

It was with that note Silver Spanner felt the conversation dwindling to a starved, struggling ember. She led herself backwards and turned around, lumbering to the center of her holding cell as she gazed past the tiny window shedding slivers of moonlight past divided bars of iron. Silver had suspected she would spend the better part of her life surrounded by metal and steel, but this appeared a rather odd outcome, a peculiar one at that. As she eased herself to her haunches and once more laid her hide to the dusty floor, a final, passing gaze washed over the guard on the outside of the cell as Silver rested her head onto her crossed hooves and mumbled into the cold air. She knew that even at such a low volume, he could still hear her.

“Hey, Ralph?” Silver began. “Believe it or not, a lot of the ponies in this town regard you with courage and respect. Not because they’re trying to be nice, but they really do think that. I mean, a bat-erm…a sarosian working in broad day light? Takes a lot of guts, and a lot of grit, too, I’ll bet. Just thought I ought’a let you know.” She shrugged and rested back to the floor.

The sarosian stood deathly still, relaying over the young unicorn’s words and allowing the memories of his home land to wash over and refresh his mind. In spite of his words spoken only mere moments ago, not a sliver of home-sickness plagued him, nor an urge to return. This was his home now, the duty he was bound to, and the loneliness he had steeled himself to endure. For reasons then he could hardly decipher, images of his mother entered his sight, the sound of her voice soft and soothing.

“My little wolf…” She had said that night. “Do not let your appearance suade your heart astray. You are beautiful within, and those with gifted eyes will undoubtedly see a blossom before them.” Ralph quietly regarded the mark upon his haunches as the memories of his mother played on and on, quietly and contently.

Meanwhile, Silver’s eyes danced about the cell room walls as she prodded at her chin, habitual schemes of an escape plan glancing through her mind once again. She paused and blinked rapidly, thinking upon her actions only moments ago. Wait a minute… She thought. If I could fit my head through those bars, does that mean my rump can fit too?

She stood to all four hooves, back facing the bars as she turned and revved herself up into reverse mode. The mare aimed her bottom between a decisive opening and pushed her buttocks against the bars, squishing, slipping and squirming about as her rotundus hindquarters proved a tad too large. Her butt slipped and squished between two openings, cheeks hugging a singular bar. Oh no… She minded depressingly. I’ve been eating too many sugar cubes again.

Meanwhile, the corner of Ralph’s vision was having the time of its life. Whatisshedoing? Whatisshedoing? Whatisshedoing? A hard, furious blush layered over the sarosian’s face, putting his deep gray coating to shame. Is this another game? Am I supposed to say something? Must be a small talk thing, but…nothing about this is small! Okay, my wings are opening up, what does that mean? He fidgeting nervously, ever so slowly gaining more and more sight of the mare’s “exposure.” Maybe I should get a closer look…j-just to make sure she isn’t doing anything she shouldn’t.

Carefully, the stallion turned and lent his gaze over the pony, both of his wings now at full staff. In that moment, the front door to the barracks swung open.

“Hoo boy~! What a night shift.” Sam cam barreling in, resting his spear to the wall. “I think I’m gonna hit the-”

The prisoner and the guard were, for lack of a better term, caught red-hoofed. Everypony present froze and locked eyes into a seemingly endless staring duel.

“Hey!” Sam burst into the room raising a hoof. “What the heck is going on here?!”

“It’s not what it looks like! It’s not what it looks like!” The duo defensively raised their hooves.

“That’s a violation of code eight-zero-one-one!” Sam declared. “Every and all parts of the body must be kept within the confines of the prisoner’s cell.”

The white pony guard marched over and effortlessly pressed his muzzle to the unicorn’s gluteus, pushing her back into the cell, the mare on the other end wordlessly and inexplicably violated in every way she could never dream nor fathom. She sat there for the better part of the night, a deeply disturbed blush painted over her face. Ralph watched as his companion stood by triumphantly and dusted his hooves as though it were a job well done, and perhaps even the only job he had done all day.

“I know how you are around mares, Ralph ol’ pal.” Sam patted the guard’s shoulder reassuringly. “But, that’s why I’m here.”

Ralph resumed his usual demeanor, huffing past the stupid look on the pony guard’s face. “Shut up, Sam.” He sneered.

Chapter 73 - Nightmare in the Night

The lanterns posted among the plaza flared and spiraled to life, a haunting, greenish-blue glow flickering within their foggy casing to fit the theme of the attractions set out before the square. Ponies poured in from their homes to join in on the festivities, many draped in black and blue as a sign of respect towards their nightly Princess, and most others catering to the sillier side of Nightmare Night. Candy and cake laid in bountiful amounts among the many tables, prizes were set out as the children bobbed for apples, the filly with the vampire teeth proving more of a match than any of her friends. Their games were loud and their songs were heard, and the celebrations reached each and every inhabitant to the party, all except for one.

David and Starlight waltzed about the scenery, several ponies regarding their presence dearly, some even considering to applaud the young Equerry and his assistant in their efforts during the trial. Alas, the boy’s mind hung on those lasting thoughts.

“We never did determine who the culprit was.” He noted.

“The culprit?” Starlight replied.

“To who started the fire.”

The pony rolled her eyes. “Okay, I think being an attorney for the day must’ve done something to your head.” The unicorn laughed. “I’m gonna have to teach you how to switch off, pal.”

“I’ll admit, it did a number on me. I’ve never used so much brain power in my life…” He rubbed his temples. “Though, something tells me it’s not over just yet.”

“Why’s that?”

“That Iron Will guy.” The boy cautiously looked around. “Whatever happened to him?”

“Iron WILL-” A voice boomed from behind.

The boy and the unicorn jumped and spun in a one-eighty, once again on the defensive.

“-not be attending the next trial.” The minotaur finished, removing his mic and gingerly stripping his tie from his neck.

“You’re…leaving?” Starlight wondered.

“That’s right, little pony.” The bull looked ahead. “This minotaur has had enough of these peachy, cotton lands you call home. It’s time that the Will returns to his own.”

“So if there’s gonna be another trial after all, who’s going to take your spot?” Prodded the boy. “Mikado is gone, and the trial might as well be said and done for anyways. All that’s left is to find the culprit for the fire.”

“Iron Will has made his negotiations with the judge, she has permitted to withhold the subpoena on the condition that a suitable attorney takes over.”

David looked down, seeing that the tie Iron Will had taken off was now being eaten by a goat, wearing another tie. He burped and baah-ed in satisfaction. Suitable indeed… He thought.

“I didn’t even think that was possible.” He said.

“Where there’s a Will, nothing is impossible!” The minotaur declared.

“No, I meant because I don’t even know what that is.”

“Iron Will finds it amusing that studying the law for three months straight gave little to no advantage over a clueless ape like yourself.”

“Um, thanks?” David shrugged.

“You’ve opened up this minotaur’s eyes. You, and your assistant, that is.” He nodded to the pony. “Know your enemy first, but know your allies better. That’s the lesson ol’ Iron’s pulled out of our experience together, and the lesson I’m taking back home.”

Iron Will gave a nod and turned to make his departure, broad shoulders swinging from side to side as every step was a stomp that rumbled the earth below him. David and Starlight prepared to stand back and watch as he waltzed off into the sunset, but the bull took one last look over his shoulder.

“Iron Will never did get your name, ape.”

The boy held out his hand. “Call me Da-”

“And I have no need to.”

With that, the big, brawny bull snorted and turned back around, walking down the path.

A warm, orange glow showed upon the purple tint of her hide, shining from down below as the unicorn stood atop the Town Hall balcony, overlooking the expanses of Ponyville and the celebrations of the season. Her mind wandered upon the building behind her, the times she had spent within, and all the time she had spent fighting horn and hide to get the career that she had always wanted. Quietly and reverently, her eyes traveled skyward to the countless little white dots revealing themselves along the canvas of black, purple and blue. Among them all, the moon shined far more bright and brilliant than ever before. The name echoed in her mind, over and over…

“Senkō.” She breathed.

“It means ‘light’.” Ronin informed.

The young colt strode down the rotundus path of the balcony, coming to a rest next to his friend, wordlessly joining in on the view. For a long moment after, the awkward spell of silence and uncertainty had returned to the two. The feeling was more than familiar, reminiscent of their first meeting at the train station all those weeks ago. Not a word had been communicated between the other, at least nothing coherent, and Amethyst seemed to find herself at the receiving end this time around. Her stomach swelled with butterflies and her face flushed to a bright red. Ronin gave no notice.

“Why did you really come back?” Amethyst asked him.

“How many times are you going to ask me this?”

“Until you give me the real answer.” She tried.

Ronin felt his response weigh on the tip of his tongue, his hesitation the debate on whether or not he should really say it. The journey to this village was a mere mission, it was all he had ever told himself, and all he had ever deemed it to be…until now. Alas, she and the colt were thrown into yet another awkward quiet, even Ronin himself felt that he should turn to cover the blush rising to his face. Amethyst, however, was a forefront mare. Her prodding would one day get her into situations that she alone could not get out. This was a mare to admire, a mare to look after. It had nothing to do with his mission, Ronin simply felt it was so.

“I’m sorry.” She suddenly apologized.

Ronin blinked. “What for?”

“About the flowers, I mean.” The young mare fidgeted. “I…really did think they were pretty.”

Ronin blinked again, his blush growing all the brighter.

“Do you think we could…go get some more, sometime?” She asked quietly.

And the colt nodded. “Yeah.” He said. “I would love that.”

“I really am glad you came back, Ronin.”

The two hadn’t even realized their faces were only inches apart.

…

“Amy~!!” Came a distant, crying wail.

The occupants of the balcony jumped and turned to find that a little, gray unicorn had made her way to their spot, tears streaming past her cheeks as she pounced on the older mare and swung her hooves from side to side.

“You big, dumb, stupid idiot!” Dinky cried and cried. “You’re the worst big step sister in the history of big step sisters ever!”

“Good to see you too, Dink…” Amethyst deadpanned.

“Why didn’t you tell me you got better as soon as you woke up? Mom and Doc were worried to death about you, too!” The filly broke down into a mess of slobber and snot. “D-Don’t…don’t do that ever again! Okay?” She sniffled. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Did I really upset you guys that much?” Amethyst suddenly realized. “Oh no…how long was I out for?”

“Almost three days.” Came the Doctor’s voice. “But you pulled through after all, dear Amy.”

Derpy trotted from behind, the pegasus and the earth colt greeting with warm, inviting smiles. Amethyst nearly felt herself crumble altogether as she fell into their embrace, the family of four reunited once again. From the loving bundle of fur and feathers, Amethyst peeked out towards her partner, a content smile stretched across the young colt’s complexion. Quietly, the ponies broke away, and Derpy held her daughter’s face in her hooves.

“I knew you would make it.” Tears welled up in the mother’s eyes. “I’m so proud of you, my little Star.”

“Yeah…” She fell back into the pony’s wings. “I love you…mom.”

In the midst of it all, Amethyst’s eyes returned to the moon in the sky, and the name echoed in her mind once more.

As the boy watched the ponies of Ponyville prance and party away into the beginning Nightmare Night festivities, his eyes glanced over to the one pony he had been meaning to speak with for the entire day. Ever since he had come upon such daunting revelations, to be exact. There was Twilight, mingling and providing her Princess speeches to the ponies who so dearly wished to speak with her. He stood afar, allowing the citizens their time and their peace, saying whatever it was they wanted to say to their Majesty. He was the Equerry, after all. Ought he make a good image? The unicorn next to him could see right through his gaze.

“You look like you want to stab somepony.” Starlight mentioned.

David flinched, looking down at his friend. “I-It’s nothing.” He mumbled.

“Bull. I know that look.” Starlight furthered. “I’d seen it a thousand times back at my old village.”

He gave the unicorn a wary stare, if only for a moment. She simply brushed it off.

“Those feelings are better spelt than stored.” She waited in anticipation.

The boy sighed, shaking his head. “It’s about Twilight.” He began. “She’s…she’s been hiding the truth from me this entire time. Ever since I had arrived in this world, she’s done nothing but lie to me.”

Starlight blinked with disbelief, glancing across the crowd of equines and seeing her teacher. The mare’s gaze tightened. “Twilight would never keep anything from you, not unless she had good reason to.” She attempted.

“Reason or not, I’ve got to draw the line somewhere.” A new resolve filled the boy’s eyes. “I’m going to go talk to her.”

“Need me to back you up-?”

He held up his hand, gesturing her to rest. “This is between her and I.” He deemed.

Starlight willed herself still, and watched as the boy weaved away and into the crowds.

David sat upon a barrel, really the only suitable seat size for him, beneath an awning on one of the store sides of the edge of the ongoing ponies partying into the night. It seemed as though they had an almost infinite capactiy for sweets and treats all year round, all day, anytime. Such an appetite had gotten old for the boy, this world and its interests growing thin and weary to his liking, and so he went to scratch that same wound beneath his shirt, upon his chest, over his heart. He rubbed at it calmly and tenderly, yet the memory of the wolves in the castle, their snarling green saliva, their stench, it all stung deep in his mind. Then…there was a blast of rich violet, and a beautiful, winged unicorn of purple coming to his rescue. That same pony who was responsible for beginning all of this was standing idly by at a vendor with her friends, chatting and giggling away into the night as though nothing at all was wrong.

He ceased his scratching and stood, huffing irritably as he followed a path winding around the many ponies, headed straight for the Princess. Only a few feet away from her now, the mare’s eyes went wide and a bright smile strung across her face. David already knew this was going to be difficult.

“Well, if it isn’t the Ace!” Twilight cheered, the encouragement of applause passing all around. “I was wondering when you would finally show up.”

“Okay, okay.” He raised his hands. “Save the praise for Starlight, she did all the work.”

“Oh, c’mon, you were amazing in there!”

“All in good intention.” He settled.

“Care for some punch?”

“Er, no-”

“Or how about the carrot cake?” She offered. “Mrs. Cake and I made it, I made sure to save a slice for you. You deserve it, after all.”

Her face beamed once more, the aforementioned served on a plate ready for his tasting. Alas, the boy dropped his hands, delivering a solid stare her way.

“Twilight.” He uttered, a bit more coldly than he would have liked. “We need to talk.”

The pony’s ears flexed, her gaze swaying left and right. “Is…Is this about the Equerry’s status thing?” She attempted. “You know that I would never actually see you as my property, right? Everything I do for you I mean it for your own good. You mean so much more to me than you realize.”

“If not your property, then what am I to you?” He asked.

“You’re my friend.”

The sharpest, and sometimes the most cunning part of a pony, lied not in a unicorn’s horn, nor a pegasus’ wings, not even an earth pony’s hooves. It was within their eyes and upon their tongues. They possess an erratic sense of discerning between friendly, and not so friendly. When a pony was confronted with a human, what then were they to do? Twilight could hardly notice the pupil dilation in the small of David’s eyes, much smaller than a pony’s, and at this she failed to sense that spark of sympathy that lied within. It was only something she always told herself.

“Is there something bothering you?” Twilight appeared innocent. “What is this really about?”

“Stop acting like you don’t know.” He pressed on. “I saw you, Twilight. The spell, the ruins, the tree…I saw everything.”

The pony’s eyes shrunk to dots, and she knew now what he meant. Her words were caught in her throat.

“It was you. You were the one who brought me here.” His gaze did not waver. “That’s why you showed up in the ruins that day just in time to save me. You knew I was going to be there.”

Twilight remained silent.

“Why did you never tell me?”

“I-I…I couldn’t…” She choked.

A sharp, exhale of annoyance escaped his nostrils. He wanted to be calm, he wanted to be patient, but all the time wasted had bore a deep sense of urgency within, the desire to set things straight. Slowly, he tugged at his collar and pulled towards his heart, until the part of his chest where the scar laid was shown for her to see. David began his tedious and painful trail of speech.

“I don’t care if it’s tacky or edgy or whatever, but this scar right here…it meant something to me.” He told her. “Every morning I would wake up, I would look in the mirror and still see it upon my chest, and it reminded me of something. It reminded me of the pony who laid waste to those timber wolves in the dusty pits of those forgotten ruins, the pony who saved my ass from certain death because I was too stupid to know any better, the pony whom out of the gentle kindness of her heart did everything she could to mend my wounds, give me a place to sleep, food to eat and clothes to wear. It was a gift, and I had walked these streets thinking each and every day that this was all a gift, and it was all because of you. But now…now all I see is…”

The pony remained silent. David struggled forward.

“A mistake.” He said. “I’m just a mistake.”

“No…” She finally mumbled. “No, you’re not a mistake.”

“I don’t belong here, I never did.” He looked around. “This isn’t my home, these aren’t my people. I have no family here, I have no friends.”

“David, please.” The pony shook. “You are not a mistake.”

“Then give me one good reason why I should think otherwise. Right here, right now.” He demanded. “I don’t care what you do. Say something, show me something. Anything that will make me believe…that all of this isn’t a mistake. That this is real, this is genuine.”

Only then did he notice his hands trembling before him. His gaze glossed over his shaking limbs with pity, and past his palms he could see the broken and weary figure of the mare, standing before him as though a child were confronted by her parents. The pony’s head hung low, and only a mere mumble or two could escape past her lips. David’s gaze softened, his hands trembled all the more and began to creep forward as if he had just dropped a delicate piece of art on the cold hard ground and it had shattered into a million, tiny pieces. Hoping to scoop up the bits and fix everything he could, but the damage had already been done. The boy quietly closed his hands and held them at his sides, looking towards the ground. What have I done? He thought.

“We got a problem, Twi?” A southern dialect crept up on the two.

The boy turned to see Applejack standing by and at the ready, as though she were prepared to pull out that lasso from God knows where and string the boy up all over again, just as she had done so right here in the plaza many times now. David decided he wouldn’t fight it this time, what was the point anymore?

“No, Applejack.” Twilight lifted her head. “There isn’t any problem.”

“Sure don’t seem like it.” She snorted, eyeing the boy daringly.

“There are plenty of things left unsaid between you and I, and deep down I know you feel that way, too.” Her eyes hovered back over to the human. “But for right now, this is between David and I.” She deemed.

Applejack’s eyes tightened and her snout scrunched as she looked in the direction of the boy. She maintained her concentrated glare as she turned and walked with her tail swishing back and forth. The mare glanced over her shoulder and called back to the Alicorn. “We’re waitin’ on ya’.” She said.

Twilight muttered back a “be right there” before lowering her gaze once again, gathering her will and her wits together as she prepared to deliver to the boy what he had been waiting to hear since the very day he had arrived. Her gaze traveled up his figure and stopped at his chest, and after a lengthy exhale of strife, she found the strength to look him in the eyes. Her voice a shaky and ragged return.

“You’re right, I did bring you here.” She admitted. “Your bringing unto this planet was entirely my doing, and for that I am sorry. More sorry than my words can even begin to carry.” Her glossy gaze danced between one eye and the other, her focus wavering. “All of this was my pitiful attempt at keeping you from the truth, because I wanted you to be safe. I wanted you to be happy, I wanted you to feel like that you belong, because…” She blinked, shaking her head. “I-I…I don’t know how to send you back.”

Her chin quivered and her lips wobbled, forcing her eyes back to the ground. David stood there in pain and shock, gazing about aimlessly before the question hovered at his lips. “The spell that you cast…?”

“The spell was never meant to be completed.” Twilight returned. “It was impossible. But, that’s why I chose to pursue it, I wanted to make the impossible, possible. That is what I told myself at the time. Maybe you’re right, maybe I did make a mistake, but you are not a mistake.” She looked pleadingly into his eyes. “You…are the best spell I had ever cast.”

A spell that was never meant to be completed. He thought over in his head.

And that was the day it all began. He remembered. The day it was cast upon us…

A ride that will never end.

“I think I understand now what you’ve done.” David said quietly.

He was calm now, seemingly unfazed by the happenings and the situation all around him, as though he were beginning to accept it all at once. Twilight swept past wet and bleary eyes, looking back up at the boy.

“Understand what?” She asked him.

David bent down and held out his hand to the mare. She studied it for a second or two, suddenly realizing the gesture that was laid out before her. For reasons she could not understand, she lifted her hoof and rested it into his palm. They shook, and the boy looked deep into her eyes.

“Goodbye, Twilight.” He said.

He let go, and walked away.

Twilight gave no chase, but simply watched his tall, skinny figure disappear behind the sea of ponies and into the dark veil of the night. Within seconds he was gone. Within that short, silent moment, the pony felt the shroud around her heart deepen, and thus she stood stagnant as ever, plunging into a deep, sightless and soundless nothing.

An eruption of cheering and hoof stomping sounded from the far end of the plaza. Nightmare Night festivities were taking off, and everypony had joined to gather around the presentation stage in anticipation of a worthy introduction followed by a series of performances and charades. The stage itself sought its resemblance with a certain show mare’s stage some couple months ago. The townsfolk had found use in the remnants that Trixie left behind and made do with their celebrations. Alas, as the minutes went by and not a single pony took to the boards above, yawns and moans of displeasure rolled about the crowd.

“Where in the hay is the Princess at?” One mare hollered.

“She should’ve been here by now!” Another shouted.

“Who’s running this gig anyhow?” The crowd became shaken. “I want a refund!”

“None of us paid a single bit for this…”

Seconds later, a certain little dragon poked his head out from behind the curtains, delivering an apologetic grin to the many ponies standing about.

“Don’t you worry, folks!” Spike attempted. “Her Highness will be ready, er…momentarily!”

The lizard dove behind the curtains, barreled over a set of crates, and pattered down the path towards the Lucky Clover. He knew deep down that he wasn’t aloud back in there, and neither was he aloud in there in the first place, per Twilight’s restrictions. However, it seemed he wouldn’t have to worry about that any longer, as the strange feeling of magic took hold of his tail and left him running in place. He looked down, finding that his little claws were still pounding against the dirt, yet the earth did not move. The dragon was yanked backwards, whipped around, and came face to face with a curly maned, pink-coated pegasus filly. The symbol of a rook laid upon her rump.

“Y-You’re…!” Spike alarmed.

“Ssh…” The filly hushed, holding a hoof over his fangs. “That old magician didn’t know a card from a trick. If I show you what I got up my sleeve, I promise I’ll make it worth everypony’s while.”

Meanwhile, Lucky’s bar had never seen so much business from a single customer in ages. Not after a magician in blue had taken the counter for quite some time before leaving, that is. Deep down, Trixie was a good mare, Lucky knew that much. He was more than certain that every bartender across Equestria would see the same, hopeful light in her that he had seen. Of course, it would take a while to get there, perhaps another bartender or two. Lucky wanted to be sure to send her in the right direction, after all. Why? Because he’s listened to practically everypony’s story. He was a bartender.

“If I were just your average, ordinary, everyday pony…” Twilight mumbled over the counter. “Where would you send me?”

“Quite frankly, your Highness, I’m not sure.” Lucky muttered on. “There’s tons o’ places on this earth you know of that I don’t, that I know for a fact.” He shrugged, wiping the counter down with a rag. “’Sides, it ain’t like you’re not already another average, everyday pony to me. At this here bar, everypony’s my customer.”

The Alicorn lied still, shifting the hardly drank glass in her hoof from one to the other.

“And to answer your question, I don’t think you’re ready to leave this town. Not quite yet.”

“Why is that?” She asked him.

“Well, ain’t it obvious? Everypony knows why.” He gave a chuckle. “You got friends.”

“Friends…” Twilight mumbled, peering deeply into the reflection of the glass. But I think I just lost one of them…

“Twilight~!” The doors to the bar swung apart.

She hardly batted an eye as all five ponies squirmed their way inside. She knew their faces, their scent and their smiles, but she would not turn to look. Not yet, at least.

“Why are you all alone?” Fluttershy was the first to call.

“There’s no reason for anypony to mope about on Nightmare Night!” Rainbow Dash added.

“If you’d like, you’re welcome to some of my ice cream instead.” Rarity offered.

“Don’t be a party pooper, make the night super!” Pinkie Pie hopped.

Applejack stepped ahead of the others to finally take her turn, resting a tender hoof to Twilight’s shoulder. At that, the pony in the stool finally turned, gazing over her friends.

“I don’t exactly know what’s going on in that big ol’ brain o’ yours, and neither am I going to pretend that I know.” The earth mare sighed. “But we all make mistakes from time to time. I know I messed up, big time.” She removed her setson, and looked up to the purple pony. “If’n you would look into the kindness of your heart, maybe we could talk about it…?”

The rest of her friends quietly gathered around her, giving their nods of approval and sights of comfort. Twilight turned back to the glass at her hooves, closed her eyes, and delivered a deep sigh as she wordlessly pushed it away. She turned in her stool, facing the five mares before her.

“There’s something I need to tell you girls…”

“Any sign of the culprit, Sam?”

“You tell me, your eyes work better in the dark.”

Ralph let a low, grumble of frustration slip past his fangs as he continued to beat his wings, soaring on into the shadow of the night. He and the earth pony below had scanned the innards and outskirts of the town twice over, thrice then when dusk had fallen and Nightmare Night festivities began on the horizon. A looming, yellow-orange glow emanated from where they had trotted, serving as a small lantern in the distance. Not that Ralph really needed it, though. His comrade was indeed right, the fact that his vision was more than amplified in the darkness, and that alone told the bat pony that if even he couldn’t locate this runaway ambassador they had been searching for, then perhaps nopony could.

And yet, there was something in the back of Ralph’s mind, something that told him if a search came up dry for even the first time, then perhaps it was a fruitless effort. A subtraction. Or, worse yet…

“A distraction.” He mumbled, slowly descending to the earth.

“What was that, Ralph?” Sam trotted up.

The bat pony was blinking rapidly. “What was the last thing Mikado had said?”

“Huh?”

“To that unicorn girl, the lavender one.” Ralph attempted.

“Er…nothing, really.” Sam was left scratching his helmet. “I don’t see what it has to do with anything.”

“That’s because he didn’t have time to answer her.” And the guard’s glance shot back towards Ponyville. “We’ve been searching in the wrong place…No. We’ve been searching for the wrong pony this entire time.”

The stage had been set out before the steps to Town Hall, looking over the plaza square, filled from street to alley way with the near entirety of the town. The Princess was meant to give her speech several moments ago, so where was she? The crowds of ponies were left wondering and murmuring amongst one another, some opting to go home, others choosing the games a mere trot and skip away. All was quiet up on stage, and all was barren.

Then, the lanterns lining the roads suddenly flickered into darkness.

A groan erupted across the audience, but some were filled with excitement. Perhaps the show was finally starting, a grand entrance for the equines across the plaza to behold. Indeed, as smoke and shadow filled the center stage, a spotlight was cast down the center row. The curtains were cast apart, and there in the midst of the shade approached a single, tiny figure.

Cozy Glow.

“Welcome all, welcome!” The winged filly began proudly. “A beautiful night, is it not? For Ponyville’s umpteenth, annual Nightmare Night! I don’t really care which one it is, they’re all the same anyhow.”

Everypony looked to one another in confusion, and the little pony at the stage continued.

“Before we begin, I’d like to give a list of a number of honorable mentions, to all of those who helped shaped this town to the humble village it is today. Now, let’s see here…” Cozy Glow pulled out a rather sizable scroll, letting the paper roll down the end of the stage and down the center lane. A seemingly excruciatingly long list laid out before them. She cleared her throat, opened her jaw in a wide smile, and threw the paper down. “Oh yeah, that’s right. ME!” Her hoof met the scroll as she stomped and kicked like wild, her face twisting and contorting into a bright, brimming red.

A number of the front row ponies began slowly backing away, glancing around with caution and worry. Cozy Glow didn’t waste another second as she lifted her head and brought Spike onto the stage. The dragon was wrapped up in a strange, transparent, scarlet aura. His eyes like pinpricks, speaking nothing but panic.

“Now then, onto the main attraction!” The wild little pony declared. “Watch in awe as I transform this pitiful little bag of sweat and scales into a raging, ferocious, demonic beast of my frustrations, my wrath, and my FURY!”

Past the waving, blue curls of her mane came a singular protrusion. A horn. The scarlet aura spiraled from its end and was cast directly onto the helpless little reptile. The dragon squirmed, fought and shouted, but to no avail. One second, and he was gone. The shadows returned, and all fell beneath darkness. The very next, a low, heart stopping, gut wrenching growl rumbled through the plaza.

Then, the stench of copper filled the air.

Chapter 77 - The Old Light

「Dear Princess Celestia,」

A great distance away from where the village in the valley lied, through the brush and over the cascading green hills, sitting beneath the shade of a tree was a gracious and gifted young boy. He sat there in the afternoon air writing his letter, the thoughts and trials of his journey running through his head, and he came upon one conclusion for certain.

「My name is David, and I am a brony. My species is called human, but I’m more than certain that your faithful student has already filled you in on those details. I write to you in light of recent events that have overcome my life, and what I have learned since the beginning of a new one, here in Equestria.

The reality of my situation is, I am only a single human, and for a little pony this is a big, big world. I was lost, and I was angry. I tried to bring about reason, only to come up short everytime. I’ve learned that sometimes, you can’t always just charge head first into your problems and hope for the best. Sometimes you need to take a step back and look at the little details that make up the bigger picture. Sometimes you need to sit back and relax, and let the sights and the sounds take you away. Sometimes you need to lie down, and maybe if you listen, maybe then you’ll find the answers that you’re looking for. However, what’s most important to realize is that sometimes, all the answers you’ll ever need in life have been right in front of you this entire time.

I told you that I am a brony, but don’t come asking me what exactly that means. Quite frankly, not even I’m one hundred percent certain. Not yet, at least. I don’t know how all of this happened, how I ended up in this place, or where I’m going next. If there’s one thing I do know, then that is because I was put on this planet to find out why.」

“Hey, David~!”

The boy looked up from his writing, a group of ponies awaiting him in the far distance. They hollered and beckoned for his company, and the boy waved back.

“Be right there!” He said.

「I heard this saying from some of my friends, and I decided to make my own version, so I want you to read it. It goes a little something like this: There was a special mark in me, and I realize now the only person who couldn’t see it was me. When I look into the mirror, what do I really see? I pardon this fantasy, and I accept my reality, because now I am no longer within a dream. Now that I’ve broken past that glass…all I really wanna be is me.」

「The student of your faithful student, David」

END OF BOOK I

Chapter 1 - The New Light

Mirror: Book I - Mind
A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fan-fiction, written by Gun_Powder

ACT I

Nescience

Reflections, stretching further than the glimmer on the horizon, further than the shimmer in the infinite skies. It was everything and nothing, existence and absence, fantasy and reality. It was simple, it was clean. It was balanced.

Then, there was a spark.

The light twirled and spun into the darkness that swallowed it whole. It was in the happening blinks of this moment that something else had been disturbed. Something physical, something moving, something breathing, something sleeping. Through the mirror he was twisted, and by some miraculous force, came out whole and unchanged on the other side. An icy shudder and a howling wind shut itself up in an instant, and all that followed was a hard thud to the solid, pitch black nothing below.

Sight was no longer an option, sound a mere parameter, and touch a desperate cling to the unsure existence that laid ahead. Touch. He could feel everything, the dust, the dirt, the stone and the splinters, all with these slim, tingly appendages. Hands. His hands traveled down his body and searched all over, from his leggings to his torso, to the structure of his face and the hair atop his head. He was all there, he was moving, he was breathing. Yet, the questions remained…

I’m lost.

He crouched and crawled through the nothingness, crawled and crawled until he hit a wall, meeting the barrier with a loud thump. Everywhere he placed his palms and every space he felt over his body were like cold, unforgiving needles of ice.

I can’t see, have I gone blind?

A spike of worry sprung from inside. It was then that the panic began to settle in. His hands scurried and his mind began to race.

What if I’ve been kidnapped? Or, what if I got myself into something, and I can’t remember? What is this place? Why am I here?

There came a thud, and he jolted in surprise. Leading his hands over the object, he could determine the familiar, scratchy yet smooth surface of wood brush upon his finger tips. They were wood planks, lined parallel and running up and down the new surface before him. At the top they were cut into a stoney arch, the curve running its length above and down to the floor on both ends, and at the mid-section of the planks was a long, wide strip of metal.

A door!

His heart began to race upon the tiny discovery. Pushing did no good, which told him that it was a portal that led into somewhere, like a chamber or a room. Thus, he sought to pull the strange door inward, searching for a handle. His hands found an iron ring, the odd spell of gothic architecture opening an array of possibilities before his imagination. Tightening his grip around the thought as he tightened his grip on the handle, he pulled, the squeaking splints of wood echoing throughout the room sending chills through his entire body. Stepping back from the door swinging inward, a faint, white-gold glow pooled into the room, which in turned filled his soul with a new light. He breathed, giving him the chance to exhale the most of his worries into the stale and stagnant air of a new world.

Eyes lingered on the path ahead, uncertainty but also adventure swelling within, as he stared down the long, stone-brick corridor. There was a sparkle in the corner of his sight, and he turned to look back into the room. There was a mirror, bits and shards of glass lying about. He approached the shattered form, assessing his own in the reflection of the tiny pieces. He observed the white of his skin, the brushy brown of his hair, and the amber-gold gleam in his eyes. Among the broken shards of the mirror lying before him was a single, peculiar relic. It was in the shape of a heart.

The light shone upon the path ahead, and the boy bravely followed it to its source. There was a ruined chamber with the ceiling broken down, its grainy remnants lying in pebbles and chunks all over the floor. The floor was stone, the walls were stone, everything was cobble and stone to the likes of a great, medieval castle. He paused in the midst of the hallway, thinking to himself. Either this was without a doubt the best damn prank anyone had ever pulled off on him, or he was dreaming. The latter seemed far more credible, he knew better than anyone that for his sake, this would have been a waste of effort. Especially considering how mesmerizing and elaborate the design of it all was. The chamber split into four separate corridors, each being equally as dark and eerie as the other. Stepping over the rubble he tried his guessing with the right, his instincts telling him to do so, and every step he took sent an echoing tap throughout the shadowy hallways. He felt the urge to call out, perhaps a simple “Hello?” would do, but he quickly discarded this idea. A devilish breathe of terror roared its way through the shadows, and his instincts told him to shoot backwards beneath the shelter of the light.

As still as a statue with the light from above casting over him, he knew now that he wasn't alone in this castle. The noises continued for a faintly sum of seconds, the clacking of something on stone could be heard, its rhythm like the gallop or run of an animal on all fours. There was something in here, and whatever the hell it was it was alive, and to the human that meant it was terrifying. Suddenly he felt afraid, very afraid. He knew not what the thing in the darkness was, but he knew that it could get him, even in the seemingly safeness of this light. With a few moments of silent sickness churning his innards around, he mustered up the balls to continue forward. Darkness or light this thing could get him, and he found it better for it to occur further on rather than here. He hugged the wall whilst sneaking through the dark, shooting up like a frightened cat when he collided with something metallic, and conveniently waiting to be knocked over at any moment. The rickety set of iron swayed and fell to the floor with an obnoxious clamor, screeching against the darkened walls and echoing down the halls. No doubt that the thing in the darkness had heard it. Thus, he simply sat there in his crouched position, waiting in the darkness, waiting for something to come and kill him or eat him just to prove how stupid he had been.

There was an effort to make some escape, in the midst of swiping his palms about the darkened floor, wherein he came into contact with what appeared to be a round, metal plate. It was small enough to fit in both his hands, yet carried a lot of weight, as though hefting a block of lead. Then, it clicked in his mind. If this were meant to be a medieval castle, then surely he had ran into what appeared to be a suit of armor. His fingers laid upon what he believed to be the helmet, finding it to be rather unusual in shape. The space in front for the nose was wide and cavernous, and aside from the sights there was a pair of strange holes, one placed on either side of the head. Confused by its form but also eager for protection of some sort, he decided that it would have to do. About to continue onward he felt a lengthy metallic rod slip between his finger spaces. A weapon, perhaps? He could think of almost anything as a weapon, but perhaps this object was specifically designed as such. The far end spread out like wings and swung back inwards, the lines intersecting to a fin tip. The indistinguishable form of a spear.

He continued forward with a cautious gait, especially considerate of the further armor suits or any other objects that may lay hidden in the darkness. A spot of white flickered in the corner of his eye, the guard of his helmet nearly betraying his line of sight. He crept toward the light, care and patience with ever step he laid down. As he drew closer, he caught sight of a few tables and bookshelves, his fears and worries beginning to sooth away as he entered the chamber. This time it wasn't only the ceiling, but a wall with what remained of arched stained glass windows were in ruins as well, rays of sunshine passing through where the structures had once stood. A clear and airy blue painted the skies outside, a bundle of tree tops reaching up and over the broken windows, series of vines climbing their way down as they touched all over the walls and swam to both the ceilings and floors.

It was as if an endless library lined the walls from one end to the next, one would need a map or guide to know where to start. Leading himself to the left most shelf he chose the center book, its cover wearing a mild violet, and the image of a single star orbiting a sphere showed on the front. The pages were glazed over with dust and smelled of mildew and rot, many of the words within becoming faded and blurred as a result of aging. What struck him the most is that even if they could be read they seemed to be in another language, none of which the languages he already knew about could even remotely resemble. It was the sort of material that only historians who studied such things would know. He went to grab a few other books, all of them being a similar or even worse state than the last, the final book he picked practically falling apart in his hands. He tediously pieced the jumble of moldy pages back together, and calmly slid it back into its place. After collecting a few good breathes of air he fixed his helmet back onto his head and marched confidently into the blackness, not after clumsily dropping his spear and making a hell of a racket, that is.

He was once again reminded of the thing which lurked in the shadows as he heard a distant gallop, followed by a sudden repulsive stench, one that made his throat go dry and his nostrils run numb. Despite having never smelled such a vile odor before, his instincts could only tell him that it was the stench of rotting wood. Whatever it really was, he'd be damned to high heaven if he was actually going to stand around and wait to find out. Cautious of the rubble around his toes, he strode steadily through the murky yet dimly lit hallways. Upon turning left into the next lit chamber, he had to first pass through a corridor with twin sets of armor, giving him a chance to get a closer look upon them. He quickly inspected the suits, finding that they most closely resembled some manner of four-legged creatures. The figures were a little small, tiny even, only reaching up to about his waist line. The dots in his mind were beginning to come together, but many parts of him wished to deny these conclusions. Maybe this really is the best prank anyone had ever pulled on him, or so he wished.

The stench suddenly returned and pushed further into his nostrils, reminding him that standing around with his head in the clouds would do him no good. He treaded down the hall and towards the light, cautiously and carefully, and soon came upon what might have been the biggest room in the entire structure. Patches of grass and lush, lime moss stuck to the floors and the walls of the great hall. A twin pair of stairs flew down either side of the stony railing, joining as one as they ran down to the center lane. The long, central path remained untouched, all except for the ruined ceiling's rubble littering the walk of an old, torn carpet rolled forward in between the six separate hallway entrances, the tip of its raggedy tail ending inches away from the massive set of double doors which laid waiting at the end of the great hall. Finally, he caught sight of the tapestries that loomed directly above his head. One was bright, brilliant and golden. The other, a midnight, mysterious black and blue. Day and Night, Sun and Moon.

The four-legged suits of armor were beginning to make more than enough sense now. Upon the tapestries that hung above were two beings. Horses. One bright and vibrant, the other darkened and blue, each to their own respective settings. The stench was completely invisible to his nostrils now, for all of his senses had transferred to his eyes, and now nothing in this impossible world could shake his gaze of the mesmerizing harmony and chaos. It felt as though those forces had begun to spiral and wrestle with each other once more, his emotions blurring into a complex energy of thinking, wondering, and imagining.

Then, it broke. The stench was not only stronger, but it felt closer. As though it had been tracking him, and it had found him.

Upon hearing a horrible, low, rumbling growl and snarl, that ungodly stench of rotting wood and oak threatened to choke him now. He looked to the stairs, and there was the thing in the darkness, drawing nearer and nearer as it crept from the shaded hallways. The thing was like a wolf, bark and bramble, timber and leaves, all held together within an aura of putrid pale green. Its growling rumbled the earth and shook the human's body into a frightful jitter, making him instinctively grip his spear and point it forward. The rumbling grew stronger as another wolf crept from the darkness, and then a third followed closely by. They were massive, the size of tigers, maybe even bigger. Regardless of their ridiculous size, he was out numbered, and beginning to look like a rather tasty appetizer.

His legs began to shake uncontrollably as he steadied down the steps behind him, and with a boom the center wolf jumped from the railing and landed right in front of him. Before he could even get the chance to stare into its tightened, devilish eyes, the wooden wolf leapt forward. The beast threw a simple head butt as he was flung up and traveled down the flight of stairs, the oxygen escaping from his body as his helmet flew off his head and bounced backwards. The wolf raised its rickety paw and pushed down on the boy’s chest, the rotting mass of wood drooling over him as it licked its chops. In that heavy and hazy moment he was certain he was dead, his throat running dry over the unrelenting stench, suppressing any cries for help. He clawed, scraped, cried and fought, but to no avail.

All hope seemed lost.

His helmet bounced backwards, rattling across the ground in slow-motion.

Clink-clank-clunk!

It stopped, someone or something had forced it to the ground, and the wolves preyed upon the matter. The vicious hounds spat drips of green and yellow, barking ferociously at whatever the source was. The wolf’s claws dug deep into the boy’s chest, eliciting a tiny shrill of pain, but the hound was quickly disintegrated by a sudden blast of violet. The boom crackled and sparkled, his ear drums pounding, and the wolf over his chest was gone, broken into a million specs and splinters.

The other wolf began forward, but met the same fate as it was shot away by the same blast. The third swiftly dodged a beam of purple, the sparkling shot zooming past and hitting the far wall. A crack erupted in the wall, slowly climbing its way up. The third lunged forward, but was caught in a transparent blanket of violet. Its body was slammed against the wall, hard, and the crack only doubled in size. The sickly green glow faded from the paralyzed wolf's eyes, and two more of the vicious creatures slipped from the shadows as the crack worked its way across the ceiling. A thundering crumble echoed through the great hall, the human's body still limp with terror as rocks and pebbles rain downed from above.

Suddenly, that same blanket of violet swallowed him whole, and a powerful yet gentle force pulled him backwards. As he slid to a halt upon the path, he caught a glimpse of a lush, light purple figure before a chunk of the ceiling came tumbling down, crushing the life out of the two incoming wolves and gusting up a flurry of dust. A great rush of wind soared down the corridor, filling the hall with a grainy, blinding fog.

A long moment of very much needed silence passed by. As the dust settled into the walls and floors, he tried effort after effort to sit upright, finding it easier to just roll over and bring himself to his palms and knees. Looking about the smokey grains of dust, scrambling to sit on his arse and looking all around.

There it was again, that lush light purple he had seen just seconds ago, and that lush light purple was alive and moving. It had the figure of a horse, but far too small for any grown steed. A pony, he concluded. A vibrant, magical, purple pony. Remembering the lethal beams of violet and purple only moments ago, he put two and two together. This thing, this pony, this strange purple creature like something out of a fairy tale…had saved him. Only one question lingered in the depths of his thought. Why?

Then, the pony turned. Its eyes were big and bright as ever, like a pair of purple jewels on a set of saucers. For the longest time, nothing was said, nothing was done. The human and the pony stared at one another for what seemed like the longest ten seconds the universe had ever beheld. The pony’s muzzle twitched and flicked an ear, opening its mouth as it began to speak. All that followed was silence.

He blinked, but nothing arrived. The pony spoke again, and nothing more. His ears were ringing. Violently, madly. A thumping began, like the beating of a heart. The boy looked down, and there across his chest laid a splotch of red, a line of crimson following over his rib cage. He lifted his shirt, and wished he hadn’t.

The white light of the day was suddenly growing brighter, the air becoming thicker, and that purple pony off to the side was slowly and steadily coming closer. He clutched at his wound, struggled, swooned, and fell back against the dusty, dirtied floor with a defeated boom.

The pony stood over him, visions of sparkles, scarlet and pink blurring past his pale and weary eyes. He took another glimpse downward, just as a glossy puddle of light began to rise from the deep divot in his chest. The stuff replaced the seeps of scarlet, the blood running right back into his wound and rushing through his veins, the newly found sensation making his limbs fall limp and his head hang back on the floor. His mind went into panic, he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t protest. It felt to the boy as though the very life within him was being slowly and soothingly sucked dry, and he wondered for a second in his pitiful and silenced cries if perhaps that was exactly what this thing, this pony was trying to do. Finally, the pony opened its eyes, and a stark-white, blinding, shining light was all he remembered. All before swallowing everything around him into a sightless and noiseless nothing.

Chapter 2 - Remind

It was cast upon you.

What was…?

You must break it.

What…?

The spell…

The sun was shining, there was a gentle breeze. The birds sung, the critters crawled and the butterflies fluttered. The water lapped gently at the tiny grains of the small beach. It was peaceful.

The afternoon air tickled the boy's nose. He sniffed, snorted, and blinked awake. The sun slashed white through the slit of his eyes, and he blinked again and again to shut it away, only for it to remain. His left hand flexed and went to the sand that which he rested upon. It was warm, lush, and ran between his fingers in dusty, channeled courses, cupping it and watching it fall back to the beach he laid upon.

His right hand flexed, and met with an object. It was in the shape of a heart.

Wondering endlessly on his coming to be, the sand seeped and spread away into a vast pool of sunlight struck blue. Freshwater waves weakly lapped their way outwards as the entire expanse was sprawled out and surrounded by the grains of white, patches of soft brown and fuzzy green leading further outwards into flowers and foliage of all sorts. His eyes wandered to the right, the odd relic still in his hand, a faint reminder to the strange events now past. This heart shaped thing, this necklace…a locket? Just what was it?

The darkness, the ruins, the wolves…and that thing. What was that thing? It was bright, and colorful, and purple, and kind of cute, and purple, and it was standing right next to him, and kind of cute, and-

It was standing right next to him.

Glossy, white ovals, the size of dinner plates perhaps, with dazzling black and purple spectacles focused to the center, were what could only be described as its eyes. They were staring right at him, clicking subtly to and fro, as though in deep, quiet analysis of the human.

And then, it opened its mouth.

“Hello?”

It spoke. Not just sounds, but sounds formulated into words, conducting a real sense of communication! Not to mention, sounds formulated into words that represented a form of communication which the boy could actually understand. Had it given him enough reason to formulate a suitable response? Of course. Did he decide that screaming at the top of his lungs and bouncing ten meters backwards was the first thing he should do? Absolutely.

The purple pony was motionless, speechless even. The boy’s screaming came to a screeching halt when he tripped over his own feet. His rump met the rough, and the small pulses of pain reminded him that he was as conscious as ever in this moment, right here and right now. Though, the doubt doubled over him when he looked up to meet the creature’s gaze for a second time. It was still there. Standing, breathing, watching, waiting…had it even moved at all? Whatever this creature was, it was fearless in the presence of the boy, and that had given him reason enough to harbor a fear of his own.

Fear? He recalled. It was the first thing he could fully remember and understand.

Then, a sharp, harrowing sting coursed through his mind. It clicked and crackled and revealed unto him images that he couldn’t quite understand, and the questions arrived like a roaring, relentless ocean wave. Where am I? Where did I come from? Who am I…?

“Who am I…?” He muttered beneath his breath.

“Hey.” Came the soft hum of the creature’s voice.

He looked over, and there the pony was again. Much closer this time, much…smaller than he had remembered. It was little, in fact. Just a little thing.

“Are you okay?” A warm look ran over her eyes.

They were warm, they were tender, motherly even. Yet, no words found their way past his lips, whether he had become mesmerized by this colorful creature’s soothing gaze, or he simply decided not to speak. In a time like this, how could he? Why should he? Perhaps doing so would give him the answers he was looking for. Answers. He thought. That’s right, I need answers. I don’t know where I’m at, who I am, or even…anything really. What’s going on? Why can’t I remember anything?

“No.” It was the only word that could leave his mouth now. “No, no, no-”

“Just take it easy.” She attempted. “Everything is going to be okay.”

“How do you know that?” He was finally talking back to her. “Who are you? What are you?”

“Look at me.”

“W-What?”

“Look.” She instructed. Her hoof was raised, and her bright, fluffy chest was swelling. “I need you to listen to me very carefully, I want you to take a deep breath. Can you do that for me?”

“You…” He shuddered again. “You can talk?”

“I’m certain we’ve already established that.”

He was speechless yet again. A subtle nod and a timid stare told her everything she needed to know. A second later, that tender smile returned to her lips. The practice began, her instructions calm and clear, and soon enough the two were breathing together as though in unity.

His sights dropped down to the sand swallowing his toes, and with that he started a calm pace towards the pond. The waters lapped and whimpered at the pond's edge, calm enough to hold a reflection, yet the image rippled, shaken and distorted ever so slightly. His measly gander grew into a long, hard gaze, soon evolving into a full straight stare as the boy with golden, glinting eyes stared daggers back at himself. Suddenly he sheathed away the daggers, ceased his intimidating posture and leashed the grueling grip which dug his finger nails into his palms. With a slowly slipping inhale and a long leisurely blink into the waters below, in its reflection he found a new, calm and unquarreled figure to present to the strange being, whom very much to his disbelief was still standing there.

“I understand that you must be lost, frustrated, or even frightened, but that’s why I’m here.” She told him. “I’ve been in your place before, and there’s no better odds than having a friend who’s here to help you out.”

The boy paused, slowly turning to her. “A…friend?”

“That’s right.” Her smile grew

“You mean to tell me…” He put the dots together. “You’re my friend?”

“Yup!” She chirped.

“And so that would mean I’m your friend, too?”

And her smile grew all the more brighter. “Together, you and I can-”

Suddenly, she flinched and flattened her ears against her head, timidly backing away. A great, boisterous laugh sprung up from the boy’s lungs, throwing his head over onto his back as he cackled wildly unto the big, blue, open sky.

“Oh, oh boy.” He began to settle down, wiping a tear from his eye. “You sure got me.”

She stood idle, blinking and waiting.

“I get it now.” A snicker and a shake of his head. “I see what’s going on here.”

“Y-You do?” She almost seemed hopeful.

“Oh, absolutely.” The boy triumphed. “This is a dream!”

“I…sure do hope you mean that metaphorically.”

“I appreciate the concern, but I think I’ve figured it out now.” He shook his head again, letting another snicker go.

The creature then was dreadfully worried over how haphazardly confident he seemed on his conclusions. Apologetic was how she intended to appear, but also ready for any more retorts or questions coming her way. Instead it was the boy who made his way to her, one wary step after the other, his sand tattered heel digging into his sand-dusted rump as he took a knee to meet her eye level.

“Well, it’s been a good ride.” He nodded and smiled. “Short as it was, you won’t have to worry about me anymore. I can take it from here.”

“Wait, what?” She started.

“Goodbye, little purple horsey thing.” He patted her mane. “I’ll send you a post card, if you want. Got an address?”

“Um…”

“Ponyland, at Dream Valley? Something girly and sparkly like that, I imagine?” He stood and began walking away. “Got it? Good. Goodbye!”

“Now wait a minute.” She started again. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Home, of course.” He nodded and muttered. “Where ever…that might be.”

“And how do you intend to get there?” She quested, eyes brimming with the hopes that some flying saucer or another would appear out of nowhere.

“By doing…” He raised a single hand, brought his index and thumb into a tiny pinch, and forced onto the other arm. “This!”

The boy pinched himself. He blinked, and waited. When nothing seemed to happen, he pinched himself again, harder. Something impelled him that trying with the other hand would make a difference.

“Hm?” He began scratching his head. “I suppose that’s only used to check if you’re dreaming.”

“Oh dear…” The little horse looked downcast. “I’ve caused you some head trauma, haven’t I?”

“Say…” He blinked, looking back up to the creature. “If I’m supposed to be dreaming right now, then why did that pinch just hurt?”

Her only answer was an apologetic gaze.

“Why did that hurt?” He asked again, looking at his arm in horror.

His head shook and swiveled over and over in a fit of denial as he went to clutch the tufts of grain and dust at his knees, muttering gibbers and yammers about how he was finally going insane, making a rather detailed analogy of how the sand seeping from his fingers resembled the current state of his mind. The mare hadn't any idea what to do with the boy or what to tell him now, only to lay out the space which she believed he needed to adjust.

“Now wait a moment.” He shot up, feeling as though he were on to something. “That other place, those ruins, we were there just a moment ago.” His head swerved in the direction of a collection of thick, sickly green trees lying in the distance.

“I must apologize,” her pose became solid and formal. “I hadn't noticed before, but you’re much more fragile than I had anticipated.”

“Huh?”

“I didn't think it'd take so much energy out of you to heal your wound, but the next thing I knew you had lost consciousness. So, I had to stop.” Her hoof brushed hesitantly over the sand. “Otherwise, I would've...”

His eyes sank back to his torso, focusing on the enlarged spot of crimson which shone like a splotch of chalky rust on iron. In its near center was the torn and curled cut of the cloth where its opening faced inward to the half healed wound. It felt as though the sting it came along with had left long ago, but suddenly returned in a pinching tense as he stroked a finger or two over the open gash. It feels real. He tensed again. Too real.

“I wasn't sure for how long you'd be unconscious, so I brought you here and out of harms way.” Her voice hummed a little low as she eyed the boy with a patient gaze, lending him more time to adjust to his surroundings and the happenings upon his body. Peering from the slash and back to the pony, golden grateful eyes met with disquieted and distressed saucers of velvet, and he nearly thanked the mare all over had he still not been doubting her very existence.

He nodded timidly, letting his stare sink in like the daggers from before, and recoiled as soon as he thought of just how rude or uncanny he might of appeared. “Right,” he smiled brightly and spun himself away. “I'll be off then.” And pushed a few glances to the mare as he hasted together an imaginary set of luggage as if he were racing to run himself out an open doorway.

“Where are you going?” She called again.

“Home.” Nodding back.

“Not this again…” She growled beneath her breath. “Hey, wait up!”

Her hooves pressed forward, skidding into the sandy dirt as she lent a glance to glint of light lying in the sand. She hoisted it with the aura from her horn, and quickly trotted after her company. By then the boy had already partially rounded the lake and led a stretch up upon the hill, a walk far too distanced by the likes of the pony. Not in the slightest of ideas did he know where he was going or what he was doing. The pony herself had been through such trials before.

“Ahem.” She trotted up, floating the relic in front of his face. “I think you’re forgetting something.”

The human tensed and turned, staring daggers back into her eyes. “Stop.” He growled.

“What did you just say?” She squinted harshly.

“I said stop.”

“You don’t understand, I can’t stop.” She retorted. “Take a good look at yourself. You don’t know where you’re going and you can’t even tell me where you came from. As far as I’m concerned there’s a major problem going on with your memory that not even you can assess right now. What makes you think you’ll last a second out there? Especially considering what happened in those ruins-”

“I don’t wanna hear it.” He snorted.

“Please, just calm down and listen to me-”

“Why should I?”

“Because, I’m trying to help you.”

“And that is without a doubt the last thing I want you to do. As a matter of fact, you shouldn’t even be doing anything right now. You shouldn’t even exist!”

The pony’s eyes softened, shrinking and looking askew. She took a step or two back, looking downcast, gaze hovering back over to the pond. In the stretch of silence that followed, hollowed breaths escaped his lungs one after the other as he came into realization of what he had just said. Quickly, he shoved the emotions aside, hammering the quote into his head over and over again.

It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real…

He took another breath, and sank back to his knee.

“I’m…sorry.” He blurted involuntarily. “Look, little miss purple, pony person, I suppose I can tell you that you’re right about one thing. I don’t know who you are, what this place is, or what I’m going to do next. Even if I can’t remember where I come from, I know well enough that…this isn’t my home. I don’t belong here.”

The pony blinked, quietly looking back up into the boy’s eyes.

The stone gray heart locket laid alone and forgotten, a relic left behind in the past.

“You're going to have to trust me when I say this,” the mare let her aura take hold of the locket. “Everything your eyes and ears are telling you right now, it's only fake because you don't believe in it.”

He shot her a silent gaze.

“Even if you don't trust me, then trust yourself.” The locket on a string found its way above and around the boy's head. “Believe in yourself.”

Resting to his chest, he took a long sum of seconds staring and playing with the relic, letting his eyes search the mare's once more. That gaze of purple, that innocent twinkle to her eyes. He stared back down at the gray heart locket in his hand, slowly drawing his other over the seemingly unscathed surface. The pony couldn’t really imagine what was going on in his head at the moment, but she would not intrude upon it. Instead she slowly walked in the direction she knew to take, turning back to see and ensure that she had the human’s full and uninterrupted attention.

“I’m going to let you make your own choice.” She said bravely. “You can follow me and I’ll take you to my home, Ponyville, where we can figure things out together. Otherwise, if you sincerely do not trust me, then I will leave you alone.”

Once again he looked down at the gray heart locket and his expression scrunched as he looked back at the pony and tucked the locket beneath the front of his shirt. He stood up and looked the mare in the eyes. “I can make my own choices.” He said. “Who said I need your permission?”

“That’s the idea.” She told him.

“Well, I don’t.” He confirmed.

“Okay.” She nodded.

“Okay.” He mimicked.

The two stood silently staring at one another until their gazes decided to wander elsewhere, then he crouched over back towards the pond as he murmured to himself.

“Usually when I become aware that I’m dreaming I almost immediately wake up, but since that hasn’t happened yet…” He scratched his chin and pondered. “Maybe this is one of those dreams where within lies a certain objective. Whatever it is I need to accomplish, I need to fulfill that task, and only then can I wake up.”

The pony listened to his ramblings with the urge to interject, but she held her peace and let the boy continue his train of thinking. It was almost interesting to hear.

“I’ve heard of dreams like that before,” he said as he led his hand through the water, the ripples obscuring his reflection. “But, why now? And why here of all places?” Then, he stood up and turned to her. “Alright, little purple pony thing. I’ll follow you.”

She was caught off guard for a moment as her surprised face had to change to that of satisfaction. “You will? Great!” She smiled. “The road to Ponyville is just over that hill.”

“But…” He stopped. “I think we’re both forgetting something here.”

“Yes?” She waited.

“Tell me your name.”

The pony grinned, brushed her mane to the side and crossed her front legs in a cute, curtsy pose.

“My name is Twilight. Twilight Sparkle.”

And there it was again, that odd expression she observed from him as he wasn’t sure whether he should shake his head or nod in agreement exhaling sharply into an unsure chuckle.

“And what shall I call you?” She asked.

His eyes traveled downwards, to that gray, mysterious, stone-like heart locket lying in his palm. In that moment, there was a spark in his eye.

“Call me David.”

Twilight smiled. The boy was caught off guard by her expression as he noticed her lifting her hoof towards him. She was offering a hand shake, or rather a hoof shake. A hand to hoof signature of acquaintance. With hesitance aside he grasped her hoof and delivered the shake. And so it began, the first pony to befriend man, hoof in hand.

“…by star they align.” The unicorn read.

A great distance away from where Twilight and David stood, through the brush and over the cascading green hills, sitting beneath the shade of a tree was a magically talented unicorn. She sat there in the afternoon air reading her book, the texts describing one peculiar thing.

“The star, Regulus.” The unicorn looked up to the sky in wonder. “I know I’ve heard of it somewhere before, but where…?”

Chapter 3 - Ponyville

The boy stood atop a hill and atop this hill was the beginning of a wide, spacious valley, which he took a good, long look down into. In the valley there was a village. Not a winding, muddy maze of plank brown buildings, neither a small bundle of huts with towering chimneys of smoke on the country side. It was just the right sized town for just the right sized people, and these people were ponies.

Ponies, for the most part, walk on all the hooves they were given, which for the most part is four. But a pony does not care how many hooves they were given, they only care about what they can create with them. And if it is said that Ponyville was built by a single pair of hooves alone, how many more hooves need they ask for? Well the other two to walk on, of course. Their wits lie in the earth, the sky, and the magic that surrounds their daily lives. Earth ponies possess an innate sense of talking with their greens, instinctively knowing what to plant, where to plant it, and when. And if it weren’t for their fellow pegasi who brought the spells of rain to their crop, pastry parties and sweet celebrations would never see the light of day. And if it weren’t for the unicorns and their…ah, what do the unicorns do again? Ah, yes! They dictate the lives of others and write the stories they read.

Some say the sharpest part of a pony isn’t the whistling of a pegasus’ wings, nor the point of a unicorn’s horn, but it lies upon their tongues and within their eyes. They possess an erratic sense of discerning between friendly and, well, not so friendly, to which they often favor the former just like any sensible folk. However, for this reason they can sometimes be overly cautious and take to secluding themselves to their stable indoors, yanking the welcome mat right in along with them. If there is one thing a pony will not trouble themselves with, it is the unknown, the unheard of, the truly esoteric. Taboo. They speak of this ilk, among other things, day in and day out as they seemed to have determined that maintaining a perfect, peaceful life is just as important as living one.

Of course, there are ponies who look the other way and head in that direction. The ponies who are thrown into wonder and adventure whether it be their own volition or not. They are the unknown, the unheard of, the esoteric. Rumors straw about this way and that like wild fire in the wind. An esoteric, living here in Ponyville? Could it be true? There is the old saying, spread all across this land and country the ponies call Equestria. If you don’t let adventure into your life, it’ll come barging through your door at any given moment.

…

The doors to the library remained silent and shut. Then, they abruptly burst open.

“Spike~!” The unicorn called. “Spike, are you around?”

She slowed her trot to an even pace as her hooves clopped upon the midnight blue, crystalline surface that was the library floors. A grand athenaeum reminiscent of an obsessed librarian’s wet dream laid before the unicorn. Sun shined through an angled ceiling light onto a lone lectern of mahogany, the velvet-red carpet forked into several labyrinths of golden lined bookshelves reaching at least ten ponies high. Spike, the attendant in question, was only half a pony high.

“I’m right here, Starlight.” Spike called from above.

Starlight watched as the munchkin dragon wrapped one claw around the rolling ladder and snugged a large book beneath his free arm. He kicked off the wall with his stubby legs, rode along the bookshelf’s length while sliding down with the grip of his claw. The ladder met its end, carrying Spike’s momentum forward where he in turn slid the large book beneath his feet and boarded across the carpet to meet his unicorn friend, inches away from her presence. “Ta-da~!” He lifted his purple claws. “I’ve been practicing all morning.”

Starlight was prepared to applaud, but then Spike vomited. Not any ordinary vomit, but rather from the pit of his stomach a fiery green belch rose to the air, materializing into a magical scroll bound by a red ribbon and a golden seal. The little dragon wavered and fell onto his back in an exhausted heap, and the unicorn took the scroll in question using her levitation.

“A letter?” Starlight supposed.

“Huh, whuzzat?” Spike groaned. “From the Princess? Why would she send something at a time like this?”

“Never mind it, it’s obviously meant for Twilight.”

“Don’t you think we should tell her about it?” Spike stood, clutching his stomach.

“I’ll just drop it here for now, she’ll come across it eventually.” Starlight decided, placing the scroll upon the lectern. “Now c’mon, I need your help finding something for me.”

Spike watched as the unicorn practically dove into the stacks and shelves of books, losing herself in the pages and the words. He shared a glance back to the scroll resting upon the lectern, wondering if perhaps he should take it to Twilight right away or follow Starlight’s suggestion. This scroll, he knew, was a message from the Princess of all of Equestria, the very ruler of the land and beholden “Raiser and Descender of the Sun.” To ignore any note, word, plea or cry from her was to mean grave offense towards rudimentary entente. Failure to attend to such basic matters would go down in history as one of the worst possible sins any pony could commit, next to burning books. At least, that’s what Twilight always told him.

The dragon returned his sights to his friend, watching her address the library index. “Starlight,” Spike glowered. “You know you’re supposed to be having tea with some friends right about now.”

“Pfft, whatever, I canceled that date.” Starlight waved her hoof. “Who has tea in the afternoon anyways? Now, are you gonna help me or not?”

“How am I supposed to know what we’re looking for?”

“I’ll know it when I see it.” She replied as she began to spin various books within her field of misty blue magic.

“Let me guess, Predictions and Prophecies?” Spike guessed.

“Predictions and Prophecies?”

“Believe it or not I’ve seen something almost exactly like this before.”

“Well, I’m not looking to predict anything, mind you, and I am most certainly not a prophet of any kind.” Starlight justified. “I’m not looking for things that could happen, I’m looking for things that have happened. Events embedded into history. The raw, down to earth facts.”

“Uh, you do know you’ve been tearing through the fiction section, right?” Spike pointed out. Starlight took a moment to look at the books swirling around her, groaned, and dropped them all at once as she headed over to the accounts and volumes of history.

“I just organized that…” Spike grumbled.

“Correlation? Cremation? No…” Starlight grumbled to herself as she searched and searched for this book she couldn’t quite catch the name of.

“Do you at least know the author?” Spike asked.

“There’d be several.” Starlight replied. “It’s an amalgamation of lesser known accounts and instances across time.”

“How many authors?”

“As many stars in the sky.” She mused

“I don’t suppose something on constellations would help?” Spike scratched his chin.

“Constellations…?” She whispered. “That’s it! Spike, you’re a genius!” Starlight flared her horn and with her magic dragged the dragon towards her and closed her hooves around him in a grateful embrace. She then returned to the shelves and studied the rows of books until she finally found what she was looking for. “Chronicles and Connotations.” She said. “Here we go.” She flipped the book open and laid it down on the lectern on top of the scroll to which she approached, cleared her throat, and began to read out loud.

“Regulus, the Star of the King.” Starlight read. “Otherwise known as the alpha star of the constellation Leon, thus being known as the ‘Heart of the Lion’ among many historical astronomers. Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leon, and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. As a result astronomers have deemed it to be closer to Equis than most other stars we see today.”

“Why would they call it the heart of a lion?” Spike questioned. “It’s just a star.”

“Researchers got pretty creative back then. My guess is that the sheer wonder of the stars alone strongly influenced their enthusiasm in prophecies.”

“So they made prophecies based upon the constellations?” Spike shrugged. “Seems plausible to me.”

Starlight shook her head. “These are just events in history that told us how ponies used to think and live, it’s not as if we need some long deceased wizard’s prophecy to direct our actions.”

“Oh yeah? Well, when Twilight tried to warn everypony about the return of Nightmare Moon nopony listened to her, and look what happened!”

“Oh, Spike~” Starlight cooed mockingly. “That’s a good observation, but let’s not forget the fact that the Princess had banished her to the moon a thousand years prior. Cause and effect, Spike. Cause and e-ffect!”

“Permanently!” Spike argued. “It said she was banished to the moon permanently, but she still returned.”

“The accounts vary, we’re talking a thousand years of translations and reiterations here.” Starlight stated confidently. “All I know is that if history is written by the winners then it can be rewritten by the successors. Just think about it, ponies are always mixing up their views, changing what they believe in. It was never a matter of what is truly right and wrong because they’ll only accept what they feel is right or wrong. Even if you know the truth, who’s going to believe you?”

“Well if even you’ve got your doubts on history then why don’t you tell me what’s got you so hooked on this star business? What else does your book say about it?” Spike pointed to the tome on the lectern.

Starlight turned to readdress the text, searching further down to find that a few side notes had been jotted down. “Strange,” she noted. “It looks like somepony recently wrote in here.”

“What? Lemme’ see!” Spike bolted up to Starlight’s side, peeking over the edge of the lectern.

Starlight continued reading. “After further speculation and astronomical research, it has been determined that Regulus is not one, but rather four stars. The four stars which make up the star system consist of a blue star, a white star, a red star, and an orange star.”

“Ah, jeez.” Spike sighed begrudgingly. “Once Twilight finds out somepony’s been writing in her books, she’s gonna flip.”

“But who wrote this, and why?”

“Like you said, history’s written by the losers, right?” Spike clamped the book shut.

“Winners.”

“Whatever, just-please try to keep this out of Twilight’s sight, if you can?” Spike pleaded. “I don’t want her to have another fit over book etiquette.”

“I thought it was my job to keep secrets from her, you mischievous little lizard.” Starlight teased. She took a glance back to the lectern to find the scroll still sitting there. “When are you going to tell her about the message?”

“Message?”

“Y’know, the one you barfed up?” She levitated the letter for him to see.

“I’ll go...right now!” Spike hopped and caught the scroll midair, prancing past the heap of cluttered books and to the library doors. “Hold down the fort for me?”

“Right, because you were doing a splendid job of that.” Starlight took glances around the mess of books.

Spike gave her a silent chuckle, yanking his body out the hallway and his head following along seconds after as though his neck were a tensioned rubber band.

Starlight took a moment to sigh and breath in the warm, midday dusty air of the calm, crystalline library. Ink stained pages, stained with the words of many, many ponies before and soon to be ponies carried the scent of ages past and times forgotten, lessons taught and although some written time and time again were never truly learned. A pony, Starlight supposed, only ever learned how to read, how to write, how to draw and dance and create music and sing lullabies, to render the resources surrounding them into instruments of antiquity and memory. To write a love letter, to fill out business papers, to compose a list of trinkets or of groceries. A pony changed the world around them to suit their needs, and their needs alone.

The unicorn wondered, if one day, could a pony ever change? If perhaps, one were not to write a poem, neither fill out taxes, nor compose a column of necessities, but to write a spell. Perhaps there was one spell out there that could be written and performed, one that could change a pony and in turn change the world. Well, at the end of the day those were just her beliefs. After all, who would ever believe Starlight Glimmer? Perhaps, she thought, I’ve only to believe in myself?

And so the ponies of Ponyville, lived on. They sung at their parties, feasted upon their pastries, wrote their poems and even did their taxes. Well, almost all of them did their taxes. There was noise in the plaza today, but just the right kind of noise. Noise which one would not mind should it be floating about in the background, the laughter of children and the singing of others barely touching their ears as yet another year to celebrate was graced to the collection of one’s life.

“If only you were given a few more.” Starlight spoke. She stood for a moment staring at an iron plaque embedded onto the side of a stone sundial. Upon the plaque the engraved words were read aloud by the unicorn. “Golden Oaks Library Memorial. In memory of the greatest library Ponyville ever had, and a home for friends.”

Her eyes traveled beneath the short spelled remembrance to find the library’s beginning year, alas it was blank. The end date read Year 5 of the Second Diarchy Age, but still the start date was oddly and intentionally left blank. Not a single pony in Ponyville knew when Golden Oaks Library had appeared and that was because the library was a tree. Ponies described it as being a great oak tree hollowed out from the inside to provide two simultaneous purposes, knowledge and serenity. It was both a library and a home, a monument to all the letters, lessons and legends of past ponies and their triumphs, sacrifices and efforts which all led to the event known as the Golden Oaks Tragedy that which rendered this homely hub of knowledge and peace into a lonely monument of only memory.

Starlight knew still that it was odd how the ponies did not know the true age of the oak tree, that none of them were capable of reading the number of circles expanding out from the heart-wood because the circles, they described, seemed more like spirals than ellipses. It was like nothing any of them had ever seen before, even Twilight, the last librarian to have maintained Golden Oaks admitted that the structure of the tree both inside and out baffled her so. As such many ponies deemed the age of the tree to be the same as Ponyville, some good years over a hundred or so. However, Starlight wasn’t buying it. There was a mystery to the forgotten library, a spiraling complexity to the tree, whose roots hanging within the new castle library to this day have yet to show any signs of rot or decay. Starlight decided in that moment and time to make it her dedication to get down to the root of things, struggling to refrain from the purposeful pun whilst heading back in the direction of the castle.

Only, the castle would have been much more enticing had it not been for the volley of screams bellowing from behind, a group of innocent, wide eyed pedestrians following soon after. Children were wrapped in their parent’s hooves, elders moseyed away on rusted hips and squeaky walkers, and of course, one pony yanked the welcome mat right in along with them, slamming their door and shutting out the terrifying world of screams.

Screaming. Why was everypony screaming?

“The horror! The horror!” A distant, wailing mare cried.

Starlight focused her attention on a passed out mare in the middle of the street and took the time to gasp for dramatic effect before approaching the fallen pony.

“It was awful!” Another mare cried.

“A disaster! A horrible, horrible disaster!”

It was a bright and beautiful sunny afternoon. With the streets now deserted everything seemed quite content, calm and in perfect serenity. Even a few distant chirping birds made sure of that.

“I don’t get it…” Starlight mused.

“Our party, destroyed!”

“Every last party favor, unfavorable!”

“By…by…THAT!”

The final mare pointed her hoof in the direction of, once again, seemingly nothing at all except the quiet tranquility that was Ponyville and its empty streets. As Starlight strained her sights in the direction where the mare had pointed her to, she and her two friends got up and galloped away in the opposite direction, not even wanting to wait a second further to see what might happen. The unicorn steeled herself and pushed forward into the unknown, wrapping around the corner of a building and coming upon the scenery of what appeared to be a party, or at least what was a party. A banner of congratulations over head, drinks and smoothies laid astray, bits of confetti and remnant balloons floating about, but not a pony in sight. As Starlight approached the punch table, finding many beverages seemingly knocked over in a hurry, the corner of her eye caught movement in conjunction with a rustle of noise.

“Is somepony there?” Starlight asked.

She received no response. Even for the outdoors it was dead quiet all around, and the birds were done chirping too. Something was strangely amiss, and the unicorn knew now she couldn’t leave it be. The source of movement then became her primary objective, crouched and on a cautious gait towards the wagon full of hay. Bit by bit, a minute after another and she was close enough to the wagon that she could practically breath on top of it, and in that moment of tension and waiting the movement from before had started up again, this time directly in her line of sight. Whatever the thing was, where it had come from, its strange, small, pink head with tiny dotted eyes and a bush of brown fur upon its scalp was peeking around the corner of the wagon. Understandably, Starlight fired up her horn and blasted it with a bright blue beam of magic.

Zap! Wunk!

The head, now completely encased within a hunk of crystal, succumbed to the planet’s gravity and slammed onto the earth. What happened next was what Starlight could only describe as something she’d seen out of an alien flick.

Two pink claws, colored same as the head, seemed to sprout from its body and grip the earth tightly, pushing against the weight of the hunk of crystal as it lurched forward from out of hiding, and stood bipedal. The creature was tall and gaunt, flailing its pink claws around as though it were in a fit of panic. The crystal hunk around its head had no space for ventilation, it could not breath! Starlight knew this as she had cast the crystal after all, and although she concluded that allowing it to breath would be the humane thing to accomplish, she instead considered the consequences of allowing it more freedom than it might actually deserve at the moment. In the midst of her thinking the creature halted, standing shakily on its sticks for legs. With unpredictable movement, one of its pink claws swung backwards and snagged Starlight by the horn. Now, it was her turn to panic.

Turquoise beams of energy shot in several different directions as Starlight attempted to shake the beasts grasp, but to no avail. She might as well have been wiggling a useless pick inside of a lock, and so she decided that a turning of the key would be required. With the creature’s grasp still tight around her horn Starlight’s thoughts briefly wandered back to the castle library, and in a blue flash of magic she was gone. The creature was gone too, leaving nothing but a birthday banner seared on one side falling down upon a disheveled party scenario, the hunk of crystal left lying on the ground in the center of it all.

The quiet, untouched calm of the castle library was about to be replaced by the incoming explosion of blue, depositing a unicorn and her newfound company into the nearest bookshelf, a torrent of tomes washing over them like a waterfall until they were engulfed whole. The books settled like dust, silence reigned over again for a few, short seconds, and then the shouting began.

Starlight burst out of her side of the pile. “That’s it, show yourself!” She demanded, flaring her horn to a lethal, hot blue. “If you can speak I’d choose your last words carefully.”

“Bad pony!”

“W-what?” Starlight was shocked, it could actually speak.

“I said bad pony!” David emerged from his side of the pile, staring Starlight in the eyes with seething pupils. “I should find a newspaper, roll it up, and…and…smack you with it!”

A hollow ten seconds lingered about in the air, save for the boy’s unkempt breathing as he tried to regain composure.

“So, you actually can speak.” Starlight concluded. “Are those your last words then?”

David opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again.

“No.” He said, pointing at her. “You’re an asshole.”

And thus, those were his last words.

“But, Twilight,” Spike pleaded. “It’s from the Princess!”

“Yes, I know, but I’m not worried about that right now.” Twilight told him.

The little dragon was more or less appalled by this odd behavior. For whatever sort of explanation they were destined to down the hall and through the library double doors, Spike hoped that all the trouble he had gone through would make it a good one. For a lengthy moment the library was completely quiet, Twilight turning her sights to the left and right as though she were looking right past the old, familiar and soothing sight of books lined neatly across the shelves. As a matter of fact, they weren’t, most of them at least, and as a second matter of fact she had not shown a single sign of dismay to their disheveled state. What was this world coming to? Spike thought.

“Where is he?” Twilight turned and asked.

Starlight trotted her way around to get a good look of the library, acting as though the conundrum of books lying about were a complete surprise to her. “Strange, last I saw it was in here.” She said.

“You left him all alone?” Twilight panicked. “Don’t tell me he ran away!”

“Hey, I don’t recall your lack of supervision becoming my problem.”

“Uh, guys?” Spike’s voice called from the other end of the room.

“Fine, you’re right, this whole mess should have never fallen into anypony’s hooves but mine.” Twilight sufficed. “I wouldn’t have asked for your help then. But right now I need it, just this once.”

“It’s not as though I’d turn you down,” Starlight replied. “All I’m trying to say is you’re not making any sense. Whatever this thing is and wherever it came from, I want an explanation.”

“Then why don’t you come find out?” Spike called again.

Their attention was met with the concern of the small purple dragon crouching and peering into an oddly rectangular shaped conundrum of books stacked like a fortress’ walls. There was the addition of squared sections at each corner to represent towers, the uppermost portions of the walls shaped like battlements, and a small moat was even completed to the process. Blue books exclusively were chosen for its resemblance. Comically enough a fish was on the cover of one of the books. The two ponies and the dragon watched with fascination as the final wall was nearing its completion, and a book fell from the upper portion and onto the floor. After a hissed profanity and a short pause, a pink claw snatched the book out of sight for a short second before being tediously and carefully returned to its intended placement on the wall. The book’s title was House Repairs for Dummies.

“Well, what do ya’ know?” Twilight began to smile. “He’s built himself a book fort.”

“What do you mean ‘he’?” Starlight questioned.

“I uh, figured it was obvious.”

“I’m sorry, do you know him?”

Twilight nervously averted her gaze. “Alright, I confess we had a run in at the old ruins. That is to say that’s where I found him.”

“Doing what?” Starlight grew curious.

“All I know is he would’ve been a snack for the timber wolves had I not showed up in time.”

“I meant to ask, what were you doing at the ruins?”

The studious mare seemed to shrink in response to Starlight’s question, not daring to look back into her eyes to avoid the question. No doubt the bookish princess was hiding a secret or two this far into the investigation, and at that Starlight thought she might take it upon herself to increase her witness claims. The quarrel outside quickly dubbed the “ruined party ponies” by Starlight herself might have already gained enough sights of what this creature, this “him” that which Twilight claimed he was, might look like, but all of their accounts were a blur or a glance at best. Starlight knew very few ponies in all of Ponyville capable of staring at a chip in the floor boards or a crooked painting for more than five seconds before having a breakdown. This creature, common as he might be among other Ponyville daily shenanigans, was new game in this town, and Starlight had a habit of showing herself up to be top dog when a potential threat entered their humbled, valley village.

“That’s close enough!” An order rose from the book fort.

Starlight halted in her tracks and the trio outside looked to one another in question. “Hey, bub! Kid? Watch’a doing in there?” Starlight projected.

There was no response.

“Knock knock?”

“No thank you!” The boy responded. “Please leave a message at the tone! Boop!”

Silence ensued.

“That was supposed to be the tone.” He added.

Confused looks were shared.

A growl erupted from inside the fort. “Look, I’m sure you’re a nice little pony…at times, but right now I don’t want anything to do with you.” David concluded.

Starlight found herself baffled, highly responsive even, so much so that she was prepared to either march right into his paper stacked shack or blast right through with her trigger happy horn, either one would work on her account. Alas, Twilight’s account interjected with a lavender wing raised in her tracks, and the Princess stepped around the unicorn with a subtle shake of her head. She turned and inched forward to the supposed entrance of the book fort, beginning with a calm tone.

“David?” She called.

“…Twilight?” A timid response returned.

“Are you alright?”

Silence.

“Listen,” Twilight continued. “I don’t know what exactly went down between you and Starlight, but I’d like to hear your part of the story.” A pause. “A-And I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have looked away from you when we were out there not even for a second. I thought that maybe…” Twilight found her words falling into silence as she wasn’t even sure if the boy was listening to her anymore, and she wasn’t even sure of herself or what she was trying to tell him anymore. She eyed the structure for a moment, unsure of how much room he had renovated for himself in there. If there's anything she's learned about book forts, it's that confined spaces are certainly no remedy for anxiety. She breathed another sigh and called out again.

“Can I come in?” She asked.

“You’re not gonna use your magic too, are you?”

“I have no need to.”

Another spell of silence.

“Okay.” He settled.

Twilight crouched and wormed her way through the tiny opening at the foot of the fort. She wondered just how exactly he intended to get in and out of the fort with an entrance so small, and then she realized that he probably didn’t intend to leave at all, not anytime soon that is. A second later, and Twilight’s head poked through the wall. She peered up and located her human companion fixated in the fetal position on the other side of the small space within.

“Hullo.” She chirped.

“Hey.” He responded feebly. “I-Is the other pony still out there?”

“You mean Starlight?”

“I don’t think she likes me.” He frowned.

“Nonsense, I’m sure she was only taking precautions.” Twilight crawled up to him and sat down. “That’s just Starlight being…Starlight.”

“I don’t think any of those ponies like me.” He gripped his head. “I don’t think I’m going to last much longer in this world after all. Aw, this is all my fault, isn’t it?”

“Hey, it’s okay.” She cooed. “I’m sure you did nothing wrong.”

“It’s my body, and my head.” He rubbed his shoulders. “I get all queasy whenever you guys use your magic on me, like I’m about to throw up, or something.”

“Well then, we’re done with magic for today.” She insisted. “I’ll jot down a list of things that bother you so we know not to do any of that stuff anymore. In the meantime, we’re going to find a way to send you home.”

“Home? Wait, no no, I’m still dreaming, aren’t I?” He panicked mildly.

“Settle down, you’re safe here.” The mare cooed again.

He shook his head and covered his face, whimpering into his palms. “I just don’t know anymore, Twilight.”

The mare simply sat there staring upon the fragile, jumpy and hopeless boy curled up in the corner of his makeshift barricade from the outside world. For someone who appeared rather scary and even disgusting to look at for the inhabitants of Equestria, any one of those ponies from before could see just how frightened he was through his body language alone. It had only been an approximate two hours since his arrival and already his shell was beginning to crack, his trust of things and people wearing thin. Twilight decided to let her instincts take over, just this once.

“When I was younger I used to get scared about so many things, and that was before I realized there’s no reason to be afraid of those things, of course.” She told him. “But you know what I did whenever I got scared? I would build a book fort, one just like this.”

David lifted his face from his palms to peek at Twilight.

“It would take my family hours to convince me to come out.” She giggled. “And by the time they did, I would be so engrossed in a book that I’d forgotten just what exactly scared me so much in the first place.”

And there it was, a smile. The boy’s first smile, though it was more of a grin but a smile nonetheless. It allowed Twilight to smile back, returning the gesture in quiet reassurance that the boy could at the very least feel safe around her and open up to her. Twilight began to survey the books surrounding them until her eyes fell upon a simple text, and remembering not to utilize her magic she took a hold of the book with a hoof and slid it over to her.

“Even though you just only got here the world can still be a scary place, I understand. But just remember that there are things that can make it better, make it all easier to understand.” She slid the book in his direction. “And that remedy may just mean a little bit of reading.”

She wasn’t anticipating any particular reaction out of the boy as he reached forward with his hand and took the book in question. Perhaps it would just be something to occupy him for a moment, perhaps even something he could utilize and prove his intelligence with, as Twilight had no doubt in her mind that he did in fact possess such feats of intellect. However, she watched as his face tightened, his eyes squinting and his nostrils pinching. Something was wrong…

The time of twilight was drawing near, the sun only inches away from the horizon before it would begin its final descent of the day, and in its wake the night would reign. The sun’s setting glow shined through the windows and onto the prismatic floors, walls and ceilings of the deep blue crystalline castle, imbuing hues of orange and red into the dazzling mix of reflective splendor. One might walk through the castle at sunset time and see the resemblance of twilight in the castle’s interior, as well as the exterior, that which those within and the citizens of Ponyville would anticipate the coming of dusk within moments. The castle was like a clock for the beginning and ending of a day, and held within was knowledge as vast as a university library, perhaps even grander and bigger than such.

The boy had finally been left to himself, sitting alone in the great, central chamber of the castle. There was a grand, round table with six crystal thrones, each bearing a unique mark of their own over the center piece. Above the table was what appeared to be a network of roots, the bottom half of a tree uprooted and hung onto the ceiling. Spherical, crystalline orbs of many colors dangled from the branches and shined in the setting sun’s light. At glimpses, he could catch images reflecting in the countless, colorful orbs that dangled all around. It held his attention so, and the two ponies from before stood idly in the hallway, speaking to one another and peeking back in on the room to keep an eye on the boy.

“So,” Starlight began. “He couldn’t understand a word of Ponish?”

“That’s what he told me.” Twilight replied.

“Then isn’t it obvious?” The unicorn tensed. “He’s an enemy of the state.”

“I’d like to know what exactly brought you to this conclusion.” The Alicorn waited.

“What I’d like to know, oh Princess, is why you’ve willingly allowed this foreign, unidentified species, this…kid, to enter into our territory? Into our castle, for that matter.” Starlight tensed again, eyeing the boy through the slit of the door. “Just look at him, he’ll be at our throats the second we go to close our eyes.”

There must have been something threatening in the way the boy nibbled on his carrot, eyeing the decorations above like a lost puppy.

“Starlight, ease up.” Twilight leaned over. “He’s been through a lot this afternoon, you ought to know.”

The unicorn knew exactly what the princess met, and the images of blasting the boy across the library floor with a push-force spell reverberated through her mind. Luckily there was no damage dealt to him as far as she was aware, but the offensive move was certainly mean and uncalled for now that she was fully realizing it. The poor kid, Starlight thought.

“He’s rambled on about some sort of dream or these unwavering hallucinations ever since I found him. He’s probably not even aware that he could be in a state of shock due to the sensory overload.” Twilight explained. “Where ever he’s from he’s not used to seeing this much…how should I put it? Color.”

“What’d you do, drop him on his head?”

Twilight gave her student a raised eyebrow. Once gain, Starlight recalled her misplaced hostility.

“Alright, point taken.” The unicorn grumbled. “But, I still don’t think that’s any reason to let our guard down.” She recomposed. “Call me crazy, but it feels like I’ve had this odd sensation lingering in the back of my mind, and it started just before this new friend of yours decided to show up.”

“If you’re that concerned-”

“Of course I’m concerned!” Starlight blurted, a little louder than she would have liked.

The ponies peeked back through the door, and the boy seemed undisturbed.

Twilight breathed and returned to the unicorn. “Starlight.” She began slowly. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but this isn’t that kind of dilemma.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know you’re eager to take action especially in the face of a new problem, and believe me, I respect that.” The Alicorn acknowledged. “You’re smart, talented, cunning…maybe a little too much at times.”

Starlight waned past the sugar-coated compliments, knowing her Highness was only trying to build up to her point. The lectures, it seemed, never ended with this mare. If there was one thing the unicorn could never get over with this pony, it was the lectures.

“So what you’re saying is…you don’t want my help?” Starlight almost frowned.

Twilight took another pause, glancing in aimless directions before concluding her thoughts. “Princess Celestia had once taught me that there will be times when a pony’s help isn’t needed.” The Alicorn said, looking back to the other mare. “Harsh as that might sound, that’s what I’m trying to teach you.”

Immediately, Starlight knew what the lesson was all about now. Or, at least she thought she knew. Patience was the first value she sought to take up, in spite of the fact that she had never mastered it, never quite learned it, perhaps had never even read the definition of it.

“Then I guess we’ll just have to follow your lead.” Starlight quipped. “What’s your proposal, Princess?”

The Alicorn turned to take another peek at the boy through the crack of the door. Starlight eyed her cautiously, glanced back to the boy, and back to Twilight. A few moments later and the double doors swung open, the two ponies slowly trotting up to the human with mixtures of seriousness and concern in their expressions. David ceased his nibbling and sat up.

“Be at ease.” Twilight calmed. “There will be no further proceedings today.”

Starlight fixed an askew look to her mentor before returning to the boy. His gaze shied away, focusing back on the Princess.

“Your safety and well-being is priority number one.” She told him. “Therefore, I will allow you to stay in the castle for as long as you like. You may choose any of the rooms you desire. My assistant, Spike, will lead you through the castle.”

At that, the double doors behind him swiveled opened to the entrance of the short, purple dragon from before. Spike waddled up and glanced at Twilight before warily glancing to David, sizing him up several times over. David rested over the arm of the chair and looked down at Spike with a curious gaze. It was the first time he had seen the little dragon so close, and a smirk of mischief achieved his lips.

“Hey shorty, where’s Wonka?”

“Shorty?!” Spike blurted.

“What’s the matter, lose your way to the chocolate factory?”

“I’ve never even heard of that place!” Spike scowled. “Twilight, who is this guy?!”

Starlight was busy laughing as the Princess rounded the table to address the two. David couldn’t ignore the almost uncontrollable laughter coming from the mare on the other side of the table, and he supposed it was a step in a somewhat better direction. If anything, the boy knew he wasn’t good at making friends the polite way, so instead he made allies.

By that point, Spike had become far too flustered and frustrated to do anything he was told, and at that David took the opportunity to slip away and roam the castle on his own. At last it was a moment of peace, a moment alone, a moment he very much needed and welcomed with a breathing embrace. He studied the interior of the structure once again, regarding the glittering walls and ceilings, the carpeted floors and the regal banners floating every door frame or so. From the far end of the hall he was wandering through, he at first mistook a bright, fiery light for that of a roaring fireplace, only to discover that the source led to an open balcony area aimed towards the village in the valley. It’s entrance was a giant maw lined with gold and amber and two burgundy curtains, one generously swept aside. He crossed the threshold with calmed steps, subconsciously making sure to take each and every second of the dazzling moment in. His eyes pinched and stretched across the vastness of Ponyville to a sight to behold, and one to behold by all both native and foreign to this land, the setting of the sun. It touched the horizon gently, lines of gold and orange layering one after the other beneath the black-green line it was hiding itself behind. Purples, pinks and blues stretched like canvas markings in the sky, encouraging twilight to claim its time and soon enough bring on the night.

The boy watched, motionless, transfixed to the be-speckled lights until it was gone. His wants, his needs, hopes and dreams and all that which he might of left on earth…disappearing like a fleeting light being drawn behind a shadowy horizon veiled in mystery. Though he had not realized it in that moment, it was the beginning of a new life here in Equestria, here in the humbled town of Ponyville.

Chapter 4 - The Protégé

The clock struck midnight, and Twilight was still sitting in her study, fully awake and completely motionless. She stared at the blank canvas before her, wondering if anything would ever be written upon the paper she laid out for herself. Everything that had happened today seemed to be over with quicker than she had the ability to take it all in, and it was the reason why she didn’t send herself to bed on her usual, scheduled time.

She compelled herself to take a moment to relax, to just sit there and breath calmly, thinking about the events of the day as they rolled through her mind over and over again. Twilight meant to document it all, for the desire to simply write about her adventures were strong, something within her was invigorated, reignited once again. Alas, the words did not arrive, only the events in her head stuck on repeat is what lived.

Only then did she finally remember what her oldest friend and number one assistant, Spike, had brought to her, and what the Princess was waiting to tell her.

The Princess’ letter! Twilight jumped.

She glanced to her right, grasped the scroll sitting on the end of her desk with her magic and brought it to her face. She examined the seal carefully to which she was then able to determine two aspects. One, this was in fact a letter from the Princess, she recognized the special scent of her parchment. Two, the fixing of the seal always told her whether it was an urgent letter or instead something of simple and relaxed matters. A messy, hastily thrown together seal was a tell tale sign of emergency, as Twilight knew the Princess was one to take her time and adhere to delicacy. Thus, Twilight took her own time carefully separating the seal from the scroll, acknowledging the attention to details with her own spark of sentimentality. She slid open the bottom right drawer on her desk, placed the seal inside, and closed it to address the Princess’ letter.

「My Most Faithful Student,

I write to you with inspiriting news. By the time you have finished reading this letter I will be well on my way to the island town of Trottingham in the Griffish Isles, and by the following morning I am to begin negotiations with the representatives appointed there. This shall set into motion the first step to our Peace Era Plan of Equestria act and ensure an extended period of neutrality and peace for Equestria and her subdivisions for many moons.

For the time has come, fellow Princess, to take action and open ourselves to foreign arrangements and negotiate with our neighbors from seaside to seaside for a better world and a brighter future. I implore you to first and foremost extend a regal and friendly hoof to the regent leader and late emperor of Neighsia if we are to entrust success in our plans for the beginning of an era of world peace. Secondly, it goes without saying that a trusting leader pays attention to the enemy, but never her allies. I myself trust that you will put forth your instincts and ensure stability, loyalty, honor and courage among your faithful subjects and honored visitors to your homely and welcoming establishment in Ponyville.

The future is bright and so is your insight and innovative ways, as I always say. I thank thee, dear Twilight, for enduring these last four years with outstanding bravery and remarkable feats of valor. If it were not for your willingness and interventions in times where it was needed most, I fear Equestria would not be the same as it is today. Look forward unto the dawn, my little pony.

Your majesty, teacher and dear friend, Princess Celestia.」

From pure instinct alone Twilight took hold of a quill and a bottle of ink through her horn and laid the utensil to paper. The prompt to respond to her ruler and teacher was rich, perhaps richer than in the old days when she wrote to the Princess nearly non-stop. Every second or third letter consisted of research and writing pertaining to her studies, either academic or personal, and every other letter was a simple gesture of “hello”, “hi” and “howdy” and all the likes. Twilight was keen on choosing the former for this response in particular, a denote of professionalism to show that she was responsive and paying attention.

However, before the words were set into motion the mare with the urge to write realized she was neither of those things, neither before nor in this very moment. She had neglected the Princess’ letter for the entire day, or at least a good portion of it, enough time postponed to tend to Equestria’s most recent resident. Was she even prompted to respond to this letter in the first place? She wondered. Perhaps it wasn’t a matter of response, perhaps this was something else, perhaps a test...as Twilight’s mind usually ascertained such situations when it came to her teacher’s ways. Either way, she knew that the urge to respond to her ruler in one way or another would not let her sleep, lying motionless and staring at the stitching work of her canopy bed. The Princess had addressed her as her student in this letter, an uncommon title nowadays, the old naming which she found at the beginning of every letter sent her way during her first couple of years in Ponyville. If that was the way which she intended to call her, then Twilight would abide to it. The unicorn turned Alicorn decided that she would do what she does best, and that was showing her work.

Twilight lapped the ink in the bottle with the tip of her quill, tapped the rim twice, a third time for good luck, and began writing.

「Dear Princess Celestia,

I write to you in response with my own share of captivating news. Keep in mind that although it is distinctly irrelevant from the topic you discussed in your most recent letter, it is imperative enough that I must inform you of the situation. As such, I will keep it brief.

An entirely new species alien to this world has arrived in Equestria. His name is David, he calls himself a human and as far as I am aware he is harmless and carries the intent for peaceful negotiations. When he had first arrived he could only remember his name and nothing more. He was lost and confused, and so in his hour of need I was compelled to assist, feed and shelter him. I suspect that he may be suffering from some form of head trauma or amnesia and I plan to address these barriers as soon as possible.

Lastly, it would appear that his return home may be severely postponed, due to the abnormalities that his mind and body experience when coming into contact with almost any form of magic. For the time being I have made the decision to withhold any practices of magic until we are reassured of unmistakable evidence following a suitable remedy.」

And then, Twilight stopped. She was prepared to insert a sentence or two more until she realized how ridiculous the entire thing had turned out so far. Oh, how the Princess would have so many questions, not just about David but more importantly about Twilight herself, about her lack of knowledge on the task at hoof, about her inability and failure to safeguard and keep up to date her most profound and proficient field of study. Magic. It was part of the reason as to why Twilight herself was a Princess in the first place, as well as Celestia’s own taking of reassurance that she would make a fine Princess, one day.

Twilight decided to withhold from completing the short letter, and withhold from sending it to the Princess as soon as possible for that matter. Spike was sleeping, and he was as responsible for receiving letters as he was for sending them, and so she planned not to stir his slumber. Though the little dragon had been with her for fifteen long years he was still but a child in her eyes, and always had she felt responsible for his raising, health and well-being. It felt odd to Twilight, almost funny, that perhaps those fifteen years she spent with Spike was what might have really been training her for this day, not her magic. That was only a part of it, she deemed, a part that which she would have to learn to subside from and achieve control. It was magic she knew that got David into this situation, and so the question was would it be magic that would set him free? Twilight wondered for a spell if she could say the same for herself…

Her brow furrowed, the sags beneath her eyes felt heavy and she raised both of her hooves to press them into her sockets and rub tenderly. Exhaling longingly and raggedly into the quiet, castle air, she looked to her bookshelf and pulled towards her the first book on a dictionary of affixes. Hyoo-men. Twilight sounded out in her mind. Hyu-man?

To her growing pile she contributed a book on evolution, a book on various different species across the world, and a book on general animal biology. Twilight rolled out a fresh sheet of paper, lapped the ink in the bottle with the tip of her quill, tapped the rim twice, a third time for good luck, and began writing.

Chapter 5 - The Observatory

Sunlight reached through the translucent, mossy-green windows lined across the wall where the head of the bed laid. One stretch of light fell onto the deep blue sheets, ever so slowly traveling upwards at an angle minute by minute until it finally landed over his eyes. He blinked them open, and the sting of sunlight brought out a tiny wince.

He turned, rolled, and fell out of the bed.

He hit the floor with a thud and decided he would lay there for a moment, gazing up at the crystal ceiling and eyeing the crystal walls. These were not the walls of his room, nor was the ceiling correct, and the bed was much too small hence why he had so clumsily slid off the edge of it in the first place.

He scrambled to his feet as he worked at leveling his breathing, unconsciously allowing the memories of yesterday to seep their way back into his mind. All of it he understood with as much clarity as one might see through looking-glass. Twilight, Starlight, Spike, the ponies, the castle, the library, the ruins…and finally a small sliver of pain over his chest. The scar. He scratched it in unison with walking to the end of his bed and prying open his backpack, looting inside to pull out the same item from yesterday.

The gray heart-shaped locket.

He stood, observing the piece, and glanced over to find a tall mirror on the back of the room’s door. Observing himself up and down, he took the locket and slowly dressed it around his neck to affirm the look he was sporting from yesterday. An orange, buttoned shirt, blue jeans and the necklace over his chest, he wondered what it all meant and what he might find as soon as he had pushed past his bedroom door and into the new day.

Within less than a minute he was lost amongst the maze of corridors leading from his bedroom door, and already he had forgotten the way back. The problem was the repetition, he supposed, no suitable bread crumbs about for leaving a trail. If only he could find the balcony, or the library, perhaps then he could retrace his way back. Instead, he came upon a set of peculiar double doors leading into a vastly open chamber with a high ceiling, coiling around to the top like that of a rotunda. The abundance of books seemed to rival that of the library and he soon found there was a bed with a canopy to his right, and to his left was his pony rescuer.

There she was. Twilight Sparkle, face down on her desk with a pool of drool accumulating onto her paper and threatening to leak over the edge and onto the floor. The boy supposed that he ought to say something, but then again perhaps there was a reason why she had fallen asleep on her desk, books and papers cluttered around her and strewn about on the floor. It hadn’t mattered anymore anyways as soon as he found a crumpled letter crinkling beneath his foot, the sound making the young princess stir. As she blinked drearily he bent down to pick up the wrinkly article, the same strange language before, this “Ponish” putting his investigations to a halt. They both looked up in unison and stared at each other, whereas Twilight’s drool was proving to be a suitable adhesive for paper-stuck-onto-face purposes.

“Spike?” Twilight blinked groggily. “How’d ya’ get so tall?”

“The door was unlocked.” David mumbled.

“Espresso.” She nuzzled her head back into her paperwork. “Sugar’s fine…” and quietly hummed back into slumber.

David stood there, finger raised and mouth ajar. He surveyed the room and came across a conveniently placed brewing stand complete with packs of coffee mix and a mug set off to the side. They laid next to a glass jug filled with water sitting on the window sill’s large counter space. He stared at the setup for a moment wondering what he should do, referring back to the smooshed, snoring face of Twilight Sparkle before realizing that this mare had saved his life only yesterday. The least he could do for her was make her a cup of coffee.

He approached the counter and got to work fidgeting with the materials, finally rendering a satisfying looking cup after four different attempts. Satisfying by his standards, at least. He took a small clump of sugar, mixed it in with a spoon and dinged it on the lip of the mug as he walked back over to Twilight’s desk. The boy whispered, tapped her desk and finally shook her gently to get her awake. She blinked the crust from her eyes and wiped away the accumulation of liquid as she proceeded to stare at the cup of coffee for a short moment before bringing it to her lips. David stood back, hands on his hips as the princess looked to be taking a satisfied drink. The next thing he knew her eyes threatened to pop from their sockets as a fresh, sprinkling wave of cold coffee covered his torso in chunky, choking spurts.

“Spike! What did I say about cold coffee?” Twilight growled, blinked, and her eyes dilated to the size of peas. “Oh my-”

“Sleep well?”

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know it was you!”

“No, I think you did.” He observed his soaked shirt with a grimace.

Twilight fluttered over to the window counter and drew a bundle of napkins with her magic, pushing them against the boy’s chest and working her way down, scrubbing and tearing them in the process. “Did you sleep well?” She suddenly asked. “How’s your room? Is the bed too small? I measured while you weren’t looking. Do you need a night light? I could leave the hall light on.”

“One at a time.” He advised.

“What about room temperature? Do you have special requirements, or do you take any supplements before you go to bed? We could go down to the medical clinic and get you approved for something, but you’ll need a checkup first, see what you’re most compatible with. That reminds me, I need to ask you about your diet-”

“Rip my only clothes or talk my ears off, just do one or the other already!”

Her magic ceased and the napkins feathered to the floor. She was ready to apologize once again but held her tongue in fear of coming off as repetitive, not wishing to push his nerves anymore than she already had. There was a moment of stillness in her study chamber while the kick she had received from the cold cup of…whatever it was started to die down on her.

Twilight looked over to the window sill and brought forth a box of the espresso with her magic. No, it wasn’t just espresso, it was espresso plus-plus, the new store brand she had misread for the original kind. She had to remember to keep on the scarce side with that one. Her sights swiveled over to David who was tiptoeing around the papers on the floor to kneel down in front of her.

“Look,” he said. “I’m sorry the coffee was shanty but I ain’t your Spike. All I wanna know is…” He sighed, shook his head and waved a palm in her face. “No, never mind.”

“It’s okay, ask.” She obliged.

He shook a no with his head.

“David, look at me.” She said calmly.

He did, and her eyes were shining with a familiar warmth.

“I want you to keep in mind that you can ask anything of me, I am indebted to you.”

“Because I made you cold coffee?” He mused.

“No, because-” She paused. “Well, the coffee was nice because you didn’t have to make it and…” leading a mixed gaze over the stain on his shirt. “You did your best.”

“Your home, your rules.” He answered. “But that’s only the small of it. I had time to think it over last night and I think I’ve been missing the most important part of this whole situation.” He noticed her perk her ears in attention and he continued. “You saved my life, Twilight, and I have this awesome scar to prove it!” He lifted his shirt to his neck and revealed the pale of his chest, an indented pink-white streak stretching over his heart.

“Okay, Tarzan.” Twilight chirped nervously. “We’ll have to take a good look at that later, make sure it won’t reopen or cause you any discomfort.”

“Oh, enough about me. I know you must have a lot of questions but I came here to ask if there was anything I could do for you?”

“Put your shirt back down, for starters.”

“For a pony you’re oddly sensitive of human etiquette.” He observed.

“And you’re not?”

They boy opened his mouth, closed it, then reopened it. “Look, I’m on vacation right now, I do not need this.”

She regarded the boy’s talk for a few seconds before cracking a smile. David did the same and they laughed together for a short moment before she turned to her book shelf and stared at the calendar pinned to her wall. “Sunday.” She read aloud, and breathed a sigh of relief. She then gazed down upon her desk finding the children’s book from yesterday sitting among her pile of research texts. The same children’s book which she had tried to get the boy to read only for himself to prove that Ponish was all but a foreign language to him, in its written form at least.

“Why don’t we head to the library?” She obliged.

“That crazy unicorn’s still not there, is she?”

The tall, stained-glass and crystal panes parted for the pony and her newest guest, the scent of books clouding their senses as the sight of sunlight passed through the windows circling the rotunda above. It reminded the boy vaguely of the sights from back home, visions of architecture and flashes of cathedrals, the crystalline structures in his wake reminiscent of such works. Looking around, there laid an enormous stack of texts and tomes, the remains of his book fort slowly being worked back onto the shelves. A reminder to clean up after his ‘defensive strategies’ was noted idly in the boy’s mind, as the pony ahead seemed far more interested in the piece that lied in the center of the grand athenaeum.

It was a globe, encapsulated by a large, wide ring, trimmed gold and decorated with engravings he could not quite decipher. Another spell of Ponish, he supposed. Twilight rounded the structure, glossing over its surface with a hopeful, enthusiastic stare.

“Before we begin, I must ask.” She returned to the boy. “Are you in any way familiar with astronomy?”

He blinked and gave her a grin. “You gonna send me home in a spaceship, or something?”

The mare gave a laugh, even if she wasn’t clear on what he meant. “I’ll take that as a yes.” And beckoned the boy closer. “This device is what we call a Planetary Observation Projector, P.O.P. for short, although sometimes I like to use P.P. because it’s shorter-”

David was bent over, holding a hand over his mouth, struggling to stifle his laughter.

“What’s so funny?” The pony asked.

“N-Nothing.” He waved his hand. “You were saying?”

The Alicorn rolled her eyes before continuing. “Basically, it allows us to survey our solar system and the stars beyond using the most recent image it can provide. And by recent, I mean however many light years away said celestial bodies and cosmological phenomenon are.” She held a bright, brimming smile.

David appeared blank behind the eyes, tempted to scratch his head.

“In other words, the device’s lens will refract the light it receives from observing the skies, and project this light in the form of an image. Keyword: Projection.” She explained. “Think of it as a three-dimensional, sophisticated mirror, if you will. The light that reflects off of its surface is intensified to such a degree that the objects and phenomena that appear in space are projected unto us for convenient and efficient viewing purposes.”

“So…it’s like one of those pyramid thingies?” The boy tried to illustrate. “Like the ones where light passes through, and it comes out as a rainbow on the other side.”

“A prism, you mean?” She provided. “That is part of the idea, so I’d say you’re on the right track.” The pony ran her hoof over the surface of the globe, surveying the engravings until she met a particular one she was satisfied with. “Once we begin our lesson, I’m sure you’ll get a better understanding of how it works.”

“Lesson?” He repeated.

Twilight paused and turned back to him. “It’s safe to say that you and I speaking the same tongue is a one in a million chance, but let’s not bet that your world and mine are so similar. There’s a lot I have to tell you, and this is only the beginning.”

The pony closed her eyes and focused upon the magic spiraling to the tip of her horn. Rich velvet and pink, as the human had seen many times before, enveloped the globe entirely and soon the device churned and spun to life. A repetitive clicking noise could be heard, as though steel pins plucked rapidly at the points on a brass cylinder, a lullaby like trance reverberating throughout the library. Shutters overcame the windows, save for the light that shined from above, and soon the illumination was drawn solely to the globe at the center of the room. The orb spun ever so slowly, spaces of green over an ocean of blue tilted ever so slightly as though it were on an axis, a singular planet in the midst of a deafening, lonely abyss.

“This is the planet that which I along with many others have come to call our home. Its name, is Equis.” Twilight hovered over the grand sphere, slowly orbiting around it as she explained. “You may find that unlike most solar systems that have been studied throughout the cosmos, ours is focused on a geocentric orbit, wherein the planet lies in the center. Because of this, it is otherwise known as the Point of Origin.”

“P.O.O. for short?” He snickered. “Right?”

Twilight paused, staring back with exhaustion.

“S-Sorry, continue…”

“As I was saying,” she resumed. “Equis, the Point of Origin, lies at the center of the solar system wherein a number of celestial bodies fall into it’s orbit.” Upon that note, a vast array of illuminated spheres sprawled and spun outwards from the central orb, whirling past the boy as he turned and watched them fly. Twilight’s horn sparkled and settled as the heavenly bodies lurched to a lowered pace. “Both the Sun and the Moon make one full revolution around the planet for every day that passes throughout Equis. From the point the sun rises to the time that the moon descends, giving way for the dawn.”

“But, the sun is bigger than the Earth.” He noted. “I-I mean, Equis.”

“Yes?” Twilight waited patiently.

“And you’re telling me that the sun travels an entire year’s worth of orbiting in a single day?”

“The course in which we control the sun’s orbit isn’t exactly spherical, and thus we call one full revolution an ellipse, otherwise known as-”

“Slow down there, Princess.” The boy raised his palms. “Did I just hear you wrong, or did you just say that you guys control the sun’s orbit?”

“I thought that would’ve sounded a little off-putting.” She replied. “Which is why I’ve prepared an easy explanation.”

He stood back, ears open and eyes waiting.

“The ruler of our kingdom is an all-powerful, Alicorn leader named Princess Celestia, whom controls the orbit of the sun with a simple whisk of her horn.” The purple, flying pony smiled ever so confidently. “Also, she lives in a castle with her sister, which hangs off the edge of a mountain.”

“Right…” He felt his brain deflate in that instant. “I don’t suppose you wanted to reuse that term? Off-putting, I mean?”

The pony blinked. “I don’t see what’s so difficult to understand here.” Twilight nervously tapped her hooves together. “I thought I had simplified it enough that even a kindergartner would know what I’m talking about.”

“Unless you’re trying to say something about my intellect, I thought this was supposed to be a lesson in astronomy.” The boy shook his head. “Then again, this is your world we’re talking about here. I suppose I’m meant to take everything at face value?”

“Not at all. The pursuit to ask questions is a big reason as to why we’ve come this far in the first place.” She acknowledged. “Therefore, I implore you to ask as many questions as you please.”

“So, you said the moon pretty much takes the same course, right?” He questioned. “I don’t suppose you’re gonna tell me about another, all-powerful pony who controls its orbit, too?”

Twilight could only deliver an innocent, wary smile.

“Right…” He deflated again.

“Perhaps we should move on.” The pony proposed.

A stream of magic spiraled to the tip of the pony’s horn once again. As the images and the lights zipped by, the sun and the moon shrunk to the mere size of a softball, small enough to fit comfortably in the boy’s hands. Asteroids and comets whirled by as the stars sped along their infinite course into the cosmos, and among them came four, particular dots. They were fixed in such a way that the boy might deem it as an upside-down “L” and with that he understood what was being shown to him.

“You may be wondering what constellations have to do with our solar system.” Twilight furthered. “Well, the four stars you see before you now have appeared time and time again throughout our planet’s history. This constellation is known in some cases as the Great Chisel that lies in the Sky. Its true name is Caelum.” The four stars were connected like the shape of a chisel, as the pony had entailed, and the details continued. “Caelum consists of four primary stars in its constellation. Alpha Caeli, Beta Caeli, Gamma Caeli and Delta Caeli. It is with these four stars that a number of both cataclysmic and wondrous events have taken over the will of this world, always influencing someway and somehow, always aiding in one way or another.”

David stood back, taking the time to study the constellation with care and consideration, almost as though the very image itself were trying to tell him something. Something that which he couldn’t quite place his finger on, perhaps even a memory of some sort. He knew his mind to be barren and lacking, and thus sought for answers at every opportunity he might get.

“These stars…” He referred. “You say they have some sort of mystical influence over the planet?”

“It would almost seem so.” Twilight gave a firm nod.

“Almost?” He mimicked.

“I myself, along with many others, have experienced such a phenomenon.” The pony went on. “Just as prophecies and predictions are deemed only to be predictions and nothing more, the speculations surrounding these stars have proven true more times than any historian, researcher, or astronomer can count. Astronomers around the world have tried, but failed to predict its patterns. Fantastical as it is to say, these stars appear to possess a will of their own. It’s no wonder that we as ponies have taken it as a sign from the heavens, a metaphorical take on the marks we bear over our flanks.” Twilight calmly alluded to the symbol over her withers.

The boy surveyed the stars that surrounded them and the observatory device altogether, attempting to take in the knowledge being given to him all at once. Alas, he found his mind wavering at the mere thought of it, and his sights returning to the purple, little pony for help.

“Why are you telling me all of this?” He decided to ask her.

Twilight was on the ground now, closing her wings and slowly approaching the boy. “I figured you would have been asking about it by now.” She fessed. “Yesterday, when I found you in the ruins, the stars were realigned.”

Chapter 6 - Fanfare of Friends

The bright, silvery white banner floated in the air, ascending to the second level of the interior of Town Hall. Starlight stationed it midair and waited to fasten it to the high balcony as her partner beside her motioned with a dusty brown hoof this way and that.

“A little more to the left.” She pleaded. “That’s it, perfect.” Satisfied, the old mare took a step or two back to admire her navigational and decoration correcting skills, turning a curt nod to the lilac unicorn beside her. “It’s always quite useful having a unicorn around.”

“It’s my pleasure, miss Mayor.” Starlight said automatically, ignoring the old mare’s deriding choice of words.

“Princess Twilight left me nearly inoperable with her absence, but you seem to pull through quite alright, young pony.”

“The Princess has been a little knotted up as of late, I didn’t want to interrupt her slumber-I mean, her work ethic.” Starlight smiled innocently.

“And I’ll take a dozen shots of scotch into the wee hours of the morning and still be up before the cock crows.” The Mayor chortled. “But come, the banners are set and we’ve nothing more to see to in here.”

The unicorn lent a final glance to the banner she had hung upon the wooden railing. The sleek, silky white and silver floral patterns were caught glimmering in the open window’s cast of sunshine, the ornate design giving off that of a foreign vibe but one which still sported the Equestrian interpretation of outsider customs. Starlight had been informed that a one miss Rarity of the Carousel Boutique here in Ponyville was tuckered enough from crafting all the banners that not even her unicorn finesse would prove useful any longer.

She thought longingly of her friends and their ability to contribute to the community, her own eagerness crying for a chance to show them what she was made of. Alas, Ponyville was reaching backwards to its former roots, neglecting the vast possibilities of unicorn magic in turn for their earth pony tradition. Starlight herself was in no place to argue, the village was raised by earth ponies and it had been that way for nearly a good century and a half, and they weren’t about to let even the simplest powers of the unicorns take over their crop. Starlight felt that she herself knew this most of all. Agricultural transport was one thing, and when it came to it most farmers opted for unicorn managed services, to nopony’s surprise. Growing crops however? It was an art form, a lifestyle, it was the earth ponies’ way of magic, and that could even be scientifically proven.

Not that a good deal of Ponyville’s farmers cared much for the sciences anyways, but some knew that when it came to quality, only the best of the best could be harvested through trials of patience, hard work, and love. They were adamant on that last part regardless of how vomit inducing the term sounded, a good farmer was good to his crop. If a scientist called their farming skills magic then they were already on equal ground with the mushy talk. Needless to say the disgust they expressed when they gained word of their farmer brethren outside of Ponyville allowing unicorns to oversee their operation nearly broke out into a full on riot, pitchforks and all.

Sweet Apple Acres had been there once and would never go back again, though whispers still linger. Just what was the secret to their success? An entire orchard grown in a single night, thus giving Ponyville the very backbone to work off of to become a successful point of civilization in the first place. It was as if the leprechaun version of Trotty Appleseed had pranced through one night to bless the Apple family with his seed. It was the way most of the school boys told the story, immaturity intended.

The true secret to the Apples’ success, as some ponies knew, was the undeniably sweet nectar and mana of the Everfree forest, zap apple jam. The Apples in question were trailing their way up the path to the plaza at this very moment, the big brother of the bunch hauling a wagon full of barrels while his sister towed at his side. The big, red, hay-haired brother came to a halt and nibbled on the wheat hanging out of his mouth, greeting his grandmother with a simple nod, whereas she stood at their designated "zap apple" vendor. The sister rounded to the back of the wagon and unhinged the gate to haul off a barrel of the stuff, coming back around and dropping the barrel bottom into the red-brown dust at their hooves.

She lifted her most prized possession, a sandy brown setson laying atop her golden mane and wiped the sweat off her orange furred brow. She glanced up for a moment and beheld the gathered ponies bustling about in the plaza, her green eyes locking onto one pony in particular. She glanced back down and rounded to get another barrel, there was work yet to be done.

Three little ponies trotted down the lot leading to the plaza, giggling amongst each other as they nudged one another’s shoulders and took to gawk at the ornate sights surrounding the ongoing festival. Ponies swung around and laughed with each other in a mixture between square dancing and ballroom swaying, they frolicked to the vendors selling cakes and pastries and the concession leading a rather disheveled line into Rich’s Barnyard Bargains, currently hosting the blatantly advertised “now that’s a bargain” sale-athon. The little, yellow pony with a bright, pink bow in her hair beckoned to her two others friends, and the three prepared to indulge to their heart’s content.

“Apple Bloom.” A stern voice interrupted.

The little yellow pony turned to her name, looking up at the sister stacking barrels. “Applejack?” The little pony knew what was coming. “It’s my day off!”

“That don’t mean ya’ go and ignore what I tell you.” Applejack, the elder sister approached her younger. “Today here’s important for us n’ the town too, so go on and tell your friends goodbye, we need ya’ over here.”

Apple Bloom maintained her image in front of her friends and waved her good byes, sighing indignantly as soon as she was sure they were out of sight. “I thought ya’ didn’t want me sellin’ apples no more?” She argued.

“That was before ya’ got your cutie mark, but now since that flank ain’t blank-” Applejack threw an apron over her sister’s head. “I’m gonna put it to work.”

“Never should’a gotten my mark this early.” The younger grumbled.

“Now don’t you go regrettin’ your mark after all you went through to earn it.” Applejack fitted the apron on to her sister. “That there is a symbol of your family and stewardship, it’s what makes ya’ who you are.”

“I’ve had my cutie mark for three years now, y’think I don’t know that?”

“And I’ve had mine ever since you were a wee little baby apple and I still forget that from time to time.”

“Are you two done gabberin’ over there? Come give yer’ granny a hoof.”

Applejack was the first to react but Apple Bloom got over there quicker, if only to avoid a millennium-long lecture from her elder sister. Granny Smith, the matriarch of the Apple family sought after the business endeavors of the orchard, and had been doing so ever since her father had met his time. Some might say she had long left her best years behind, that her episodes of impulse and confusion were tell tale signs of a few loose screws. Little did they know it was a deep sense of pride and a special kind of drive that kept the green old apple going, her kin still as confident as ever in her ability to lead their apple picking business where it was needed most, and that’s all that mattered to her in this world. Family, apples, and love, so her motto said, though most of the time she’d forget the order it went in.

Starlight Glimmer calmly walked out onto the developing scene, scanning the sights carefully and making sure everything was going just as planned, or at least in such a way that a certain, mayor of a mare wouldn’t come throwing a fit. A checklist in her levitation and a watch floating by her side, Starlight kept track of all the little details as she all but gave the ponies a small greeting, and trotted onward.

“Banners? Check.” She noted. “Music? Check. Food and vendors? Check.”

“One, loyal, draconic assistant?” A little voice sounded from below.

Starlight came to a stop, looking about before finally peering down, finding her companion in question nudging her side with a knowing grin.

“Check~” The unicorn chortled on. “How’re the rest of the decorations coming along?”

“As planned!” Spike triumphed. “Or at least I hope they’re going the way that Twilight wanted them to.”

“How come she didn’t come along with you?” Starlight asked.

“Ah, well…you see, she um…” The dragon hesitated.

“Say no more, I already know what it’s all about.”

“You do? Oh, thank goodness.” Spike lifted a tub of jewels up to his jaws. “I thought I was going to have to explain where the excess gems for the decorations went.” And hoisted the lid over his open mouth, gobbling the pail of crystals down in a matter of seconds.

Starlight delivered a roll of her eyes and let another chuckle go, peeking carefully back down at her list as she trotted along. “What’s this now, weather conditions?”

“Rainbow Dash must be clearing the clouds for us today.” Spike noted.

“I suppose so, but…” The unicorn returned her sights to the skies. “I don’t see any-”

With a sudden gust of wind like a roaring, zipping bullet, Starlight’s mane was thrown over the front of her face as she stiffened and nearly wobbled off balance. Spike was already face first into the dirt, and the trail of wind soared ahead as the pony brushed her lavender mane aside, eyeing their assailant with varying amounts of displeasure.

“Whoops!” Rainbow Dash, the designated weather pony called back to them. “Sorry ‘bout that, Starlight, just gettin’ the last of these bad boys rounded up!”

Starlight would have called back with a note of caution and regard to the pegasus’ cloud busting job, had an explosion of party confetti not clouded her words and covered the front of her form from head to hoof. Half of her appeared as a living pinãta, and the other a twitching, angry tail. Spike had learned by now to keep his distance.

“Watch where ya’ step, Glimglam~!” A particular party pony called from behind her confetti cannon. “Here be the testing area! Testing commences…in this area!”

“Thanks for the tip, Pinkie…” Starlight glowered back.

“Pinkie Pie, need we lecture you on properly preserving your ammunition?” Another pony joined in. She flared her levitation and proceeded to pick the pieces of confetti from Starlight’s front half. “So sorry about that, darling, all of us are trying our best here. We promise.”

“That’s alright, Rarity.” Starlight returned. “At least you’re actually trying to help out here.”

“Would it be of any help if I were to tell you you’re stepping in the pies for the pie eating contest?” Rarity informed her.

Starlight’s eyes went wide as a swish and slosh encompassed her hooves and she looked down to find that the other unicorn’s words were indeed true. She wasn’t even going to try and give any further protests at this point, for a grizzly bear had been running loose in the scene behind her, on account of attempting to get first in line for the pie eating contest. Fluttershy, the small yellow pegasus of the group, promised she would get the bear under control as soon as possible. Starlight could only wish that soon meant traveling back in time, regardless of such possibilities.

“How did Twilight survive ten years of this…?” Starlight asked nopony in particular.

As Apple Bloom helped speed the process of filling jar after jar with zap apple jam and passing it to her grandmother’s display, the big red brother of the bunch worked a spigot into one of the barrels. Applejack came around to make sure their new product experiment for this year was going underway smoothly. “Y’sure this is the zap apple juice barrel, Big Macintosh?”

“Eee-yup.” Macintosh quoted.

“Y’made sure the barrel had a juice box and not a jar on it?”

“Eee-yup.”

“And ya’ checked for leaks?”

Mac grumbled. “Eee-yup.”

“Is the sky red and your coat blue?”

“Eee-nope.” He shook his head.

“Alrighty then.” Applejack nudged her brother. “Just keepin’ ya’ on your toes.” And she chuckled to turn away and back to her work, only to find herself encapsulated in a spell of a stare, some manner of a thousand yard stare she wasn’t all that familiar with and hadn’t been for most of her life.

That nagging thought in the back of everypony’s head, that strange calling from life and the mysterious forces from afar, the realization of the world surrounding them and what exactly they were doing with their life, what was the point of everything, what was the purpose of life?

No, perhaps it was just because her green eyes were locked onto one pony in particular. As extensive as the Apple family tree was, the Rich family had its fair share of relatives to boot. A distant cousin of theirs, Davenport, had caught Applejack’s eye a week or two ago and ever since she couldn’t get the darn stallion off her mind no matter how hard she tried. Every glance she took at him was a heart beat she missed out on, and though she had been particularly careful with these “feelings” of hers it was only a matter of time before some ponies caught on.

“Keepin’ on your toes, sis?” Apple Bloom teased.

“Wuh-huh?”

“Ha, caught ya’!” The sibling jumped. “Granny! Granny! Applejack’s makin’ googly eyes at the sofa dealer again.”

“Was not!” Applejack protested. “I-I mean, I never was in the first place.”

“Jackie n’ the sofa dealer sittin’ in a tree, K-I-”

“-L-L-I-N-G.” Applejack shoved her hat over her sister’s face. “And that’s if ya’ go n’ call me ‘Jackie” ever again.” The farm mare warned.

“Now don’t go gettin’ yer’ britches in a bunch, Jack.” Granny interjected. “Why I remember the time when I met your grandfather, it was at the Grand Gallopin’ Gala.”

Applejack groaned at the thought of Granny telling another one of her stories especially here and now, but Apple Bloom was more than happy to watch the salt dig its way into her sister’s wound. Big Mac on the other hoof kept his focus on his work, but his ear aimed strictly in the direction of Granny’s voice said he was more than happy to sit and listen to stories like a grandchild beholding his elder in a rocking chair.

“I was just like you, Jack.” Granny continued. “I’d lay on my rump all night waitin’ for some handsome devil to come my way, that wasn’t til’ I realized if ya’ want your prize then you gotta catch ‘im. I went outta’ my way to show them fancy folk the way a country mare moves her caboose, ain’t nothin’ wrong with showin’ yer colt the thicker parts of yer hide. Only the dumb ones’ll go fer the pretty ones.”

“Darn tootin’!” Apple Bloom hicked. She shoved her sister’s setson back over her head, blinding the mare for a spell. “What’re y’all waitin’ for, Jack? He ain’t gonna stand there all day.”

A pair of tiny hooves kicked at Applejack’s rear and pushed her forward into the crowd of ponies and over an overturned barrel, causing her to trip and fall with a thundering boom. Her setson fell forward onto the ground, and as she looked up she noticed herself to be mere feet away from the Barnyard Bargains vendor, and only mere inches from the sofa dealer’s face, the very stallion that had caught her eye. Applejack blinked, blushed furiously, and attempted to hide her face beneath her hat only to remember it was no longer atop her head. Her bright golden mane was out for the world to see, and the sofa dealer himself was caught off guard by its beauty if only for a second. He cleared his throat, fixed his vest and bent down to pick up the farm mare’s hat.

“You alright, miss?” He offered the setson. “You dropped this.”

Applejack looked away, quickly took her hat, and looked away again as she fixed the setson over her ears and muttered mixtures of gratitude and apologies. Realizing she was too flustered to get a single coherent word out to the stallion, Applejack inverted her frustrations to her natural born instincts and aimed a vengeful glare at her younger sister. The sofa dealer was left in the dust, perplexed and mortified by the sudden shift of the “sweet” orange mare’s behavior. After a lap or two around the plaza, elder sibling chasing the younger, Applejack’s chest collided with another pony’s face, this one stopping her dead in her tracks.

“Mayor Mare!” Applejack gasped, fixing her hat yet again. “Might I apologize?”

“If you would be so kind.” The Mayor grumbled. “Is this any sort of way to prepare?”

“Of course-ah mean-not at all, I mean-!” Applejack kicked the dirt with her hoof. “Trust me on this one Miss Mayor, we’re workin’ mighty hard, was just a minor inconvenience. Won’t happen again.”

“Chin up, mare. You are Ponyville’s prized champion, you’ve an image to maintain.” The old mare fixed her glasses, balancing them to the tip of her muzzle. “Now, I realize the Apples have done a great deal for this town, both in the past and even in the long run. Let’s not let sibling quarrels harm that reputation especially in the light of our esteemed visitor. A foreigner’s welcome is an honorable duty.”

Applejack nodded once more, fixing her setson once again as it seemed to becoming a habit of hers. The little sister peeked around her orange hooves with an innocent gaze.

“Sorry, Miss Mayor Mare Ma’am.” The filly twinkled her lashes. “I’ll try to keep her under control next time.”

“Why if it isn’t little miss Bloom? That chiseled mark of yours must’ve made you grow twice your height since I last saw you.”

“You’re too kind, Miss Mayor.”

“I know, darling.” Mayor Mare patted the filly’s head and turned to the plaza square to assess the progress of the ponies. Meanwhile, Starlight ceased her duteous act for the Mayor to adhere to the growing frown on her farm friend’s face.

“Don’t mind her, she’s just putting on a face for the crowd.” Starlight meant the Mayor.

“I’ve lived here longer, Star.” Applejack replied. “I’d know that more than anypony.”

“I know, us unicorn folk aren’t up to speed in a town of mostly earth ponies,” the unicorn returned with a sigh. “And, probably never will be.”

“Landsakes, girl, ya’ make it sound like we’re at odds with each other!” Applejack shook.

“That’s no way to party, Star!” Pinkie Pie burst from in between the two. “Just ‘cause you’re not fitting in doesn’t mean you gotta squeeze your way out. We know you can do your best, and sometimes, that’s all there is to it.”

“Thanks, Pinkie, but I think I’ll just get by for now.” Starlight sufficed.

“If I might inquire, it seems a tad odd you’ve been attached to the Mayor all this morning.” Rarity noted. “Has there been an exchange in roles?”

“Exchange?” Starlight’s eyes dotted about. “I-erm…I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t tell me she sent you to do all the flank kissing yourself!” Rainbow Dash called down to the group. “Seems like her royal highness has been getting lazier and lazier with every trip to the Hayburger!” And the pegasus cackled from above.

“Now, Rainbow Dash, that’s not very nice.” Intruded a stern yet soft voice.

“I-I, er…” The rainbow pegasus lowered. “Yeah, I suppose…”

“You know that Twilight has been going through a lot of stress lately, especially considering how important these events are to her.” Fluttershy hovered down to the ground to meet the others. “I just wish she would have had the time to evaluate the opening song I put together.”

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy.” Starlight sought. “I can help you out with that.”

“Really? You will?” The pegasus smiled back.

“Absolutely.” The unicorn nodded confidently. “It’s just like you girls said, Twilight has been more than busy as of late, so this switching of roles seems to have somewhat of a purpose after all. I think it’s about time that I stepped up and took her place. Er-! I mean…not exactly take her place as the Princess of Friendship, but…” Starlight hesitantly rubbed a hoof over her shoulder. “What I meant was, maybe I could be a helper of some sort? A Friendship helper?”

“Say no more, darlin’.” Applejack settled her down. “We all know what this is about now.”

“Y-you do?”

“Honest to betsy we’re mighty proud of ya’ for it. This Royal Equerry business ain’t no laughin’ matter, and I know it may not seem like it but we’re rootin’ for ya’.”

“Uh-huh!” Rainbow cheered.

“Go get ‘em, girl!” Pinkie hopped.

“They grow up so fast.” Rarity wiped a tear.

“Um, what everypony else said.” Fluttershy squeaked innocently.

As the cogs and gears worked in the unicorn’s mind, Starlight’s eyes burst open as she released a spasm of nervous giggles. “O-Oh, right! Of course, the Equerry.” She masked her fidgets with laughter. “How could I have forgotten? Wow, I don’t know what I’d do without you girls.”

Plaza preparations were coming to a satisfactory wrap in the eyes of Mayor Mare as she commanded her stylizing decisions this way and that, much to the annoyance of the pegasi who had worked so very hard to hang up lanterns for two seconds, and to the unicorns hanging up banners for half that time. Community driven favors seemed scarcer around the late year and heaven forbid the Mayor would have to force herself to pull from the treasury to convince a few workers, but of course she’d kiss the sweet, gold coins goodbye first. Climbing up to the top floor of Town Hall with her flank follower in tow, Mayor Mare sighed and slumped to her deep crimson “big-wig” chair at her office desk, taking a final glance outside towards the plaza construction and returning to clear the Mcduck coin vault blue-print off her desk so she wouldn’t use it as a coaster like last time.

“I need a vacation.” The Mayor muttered.

Starlight was silent.

“Now.” She emphasized.

“The ambassador will be arriving within an hour.” Starlight looked at her imaginary pocket watch.

“So you’ve done your homework, you’re already twice as much competent as half the staff in this building.”

Competent. Starlight liked that word, perhaps not so much as in context of herself, but the idea of competence in and of itself was an enticing endeavor.

The Mayor groaned. “No, I don’t need a vacation, I need...”

“Time?”

“Correct, rye.” The old mare opened the bottom right drawer of her desk, slipped out the aforementioned ale and provided a shot glass. She offered to the unicorn, who shook her head and mouthed a “nah.” Using the tax return forms as a coaster she poured and supported herself with a healthy dose before bearing the sight beyond the tall window, looking out upon the plaza. She groaned again when she returned to her paperwork. “Garden raids, garden raids, garden raids...don’t these ponies have anything else to complain about?” Looking to the unicorn with a curious squint. “Tell me, Glimmer, how would you have dealt with such nuisances in your town?”

“My town?” The nervous chuckle returned. “Why, that would be quite an honor.”

“You need not act so subtle, Princess Twilight has informed me plenty.”

“She has?” Starlight gulped. She snitched?

“Your township experience is what brought you on board in the first place.” The Mayor informed. “Do not think your acceptance was one of those ‘no hard feelings’ scenarios.”

“So, negotiations were made behind closed doors? Your town, your rules.” Starlight followed up. “But I trust my name was spoken in full behind said doors, many times, so we might as well pretend I was there.”

The Mayor grinned, she knew she was beginning to pry into Starlight’s deeper colors, scratching the surface of the true pony hidden within the little, lilac unicorn. The Mayor believed that this true pony was a potentially useful pony, one who knew both her friends and enemies alike, so much so that they might even serve as her pawns in a game of chess. All one needed was to reach the end of the board and they had that potential, to become anything they desired in the game, and that game was the competition of the fittest. Not of strength, but of the mind.

In the meantime it was starting to make a little sense to Starlight now, the talk of competence, the nonchalant drinking in the presence of others. It showed a degree of trust, but the musk of hesitation remained in the air. It was always in the air. Starlight knew more than most that all it took was a little push for someone to show their true colors.

“The details concerning you being the Princess of Friendship’s student is nothing foreign to me. We are dignitaries living in the same village after all, it’s non-stop communication between one and the other.” The Mayor attempted to divert. “Which is why, you being her pupil, I’m prepared to make you an offer.”

“Will this be behind closed doors as well?”

“If you would be so kind.”

Starlight did not waver her focus on the Mayor as she lit her horn to life and caught the knobs of the double doors behind her and closed them with a reverberating click. The unicorn was left staring at the Mayor, and she worked another supply of rye into her glass, took the swig, and returned to the mare across the desk.

“The business of the Royal Equerry is no laughing matter indeed, only a fool would offer a fool the position, and we both know that the final say comes down to Princess Twilight. Surely you understand that I’m not prepared to let such a fine opportunity go to waste?”

“Neither would Caerus.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“It’s common mythology.” Starlight informed. “Caerus was a pony known for wearing her saddle without a cinch, an allegory of embracing fleeting opportunities. There’s a statue out front.”

“The fountain statue? Yes, I’d forgotten its origin.” She prepared to pour herself another helping. “In any case I don’t need you so adamant on forgotten fairy tales for this job. I ask you then, are you willing to take this offer?”

“Let’s hear the terms.” Starlight waited.

“I will write an official letter of recommendation to the Princess on the condition that we pretend you weren’t behind those closed doors with us when negotiations were made.”

Immediately Starlight knew what the Mayor spoke of and she also knew what it meant. All the old mare wanted was for a pony of equal or higher power to be at her beck and call, far more flexible opportunities for connections and money than what she had now. Though these terms might seem simple in the beginning it was only a matter of time before changes to the rule book would catch up to her. One might learn that once their leash was cut, the fence only stretched so far. The unicorn would get her Equerry spot, but at the cost of information, at the cost of knowledge. Was the risk worth it?

“I’ll give you this answer:” Starlight began. “Go ahead and write that letter but hold it until I’ve had enough time to think about my decision.”

“That decision won’t be made behind closed doors next time around.” The Mayor warned. “Let us not forget your speech on fleeting opportunities.” And so she downed her third shot, smacked her lips and whipped her head to shake the daze. She would have more later tonight anyways. “By the by, Glimmer, what exactly did you accomplish in this little town of yours?”

There seemed to be a long spell of hesitation from the mare, her gaze turning east to the tall window, the plaza and its many ponies outside. The memories of her little village far in the desert those few years ago strolled by like a fleeting opportunity. The question was, would she ever truly return?

“Let’s say that’ll be a story for next time around.” The unicorn decided.

“You’re smart for not taking the rye.” The old mare chortled. Her giggling fit slowly transformed into a fit of hacking and coughing, and soon the old hag was bent over her desk expelling her lung deficiencies over a copy of yet another nuisance, this one in the form of a young foreigner’s application form. Mayor Mare cleared her throat, rubbed her temples and fixed her glasses back onto her muzzle to asses the paper work.

The lad was a young unicorn from over seas, curved horn and everything, even his mane was done up in a silly bun as the photo showed. Yet another applicant, yet another spawn of useless endeavor. What made matters worse was the audience mandate at the bottom of the paper. He would be arriving at the train station just around the time the ambassador would be making his own entrance. “Can’t these foreigners keep to themselves? One is enough already.” The Mayor allowed herself another frustrated sigh.

“Might I assist?” Starlight offered.

“No, I can’t send you even if I wanted to.” She looked around frustratingly. “The vacancy of this building is as soothing as it is frustrating. Wherever did my right hoof stallion go? My courier? What I need for a task this simple is somepony...simple. Somepony..." The Mayor threw her head back and sighed. "Somepony I could just whisk out into town to run some errands!"

A knock was heard at the door, and after a pause a lavender little unicorn head poked its way through, bright purple eyes staring at the two inside.

"Hello?" The lavender unicorn called. "Pardon the intrusion, miss Mayor. My name is Amethyst Star. I was scheduled for an interview-”

"You're hired."

Chapter 7 - Magicians and Mistakes

“Rather tacky, is it not?” A unicorn asked her.

Starlight was caught in a silent stare with the statue in the fountain until the voice drew her otherwise. The questioning mare was none other than the artist, the fashionista, the village seamstress herself, Miss Rarity. She was levitating a bundle of sewing supplies in her magic, mostly likely returning to her shop to get some work done.

“I guess.” Starlight shrugged.

“No need to be alarmed, I catch myself studying the minute details too.” Rarity added. “Every once in a while.”

“That’s the artist in you talking, Rarity.” Starlight remarked.

“And the artist in me says there’s an artist in everypony.”

“I once thought that way, too.”

“What do you mean by that?” Rarity questioned.

Starlight considered her answer. “Never mind.” She decided. “I suppose I’d just be reaching.”

“Found you!” Spike came sputtering up, and skidded to a halt. “Oh, well hello, Rarity.”

“Why if isn’t my favorite little dragon.” Rarity dolled. “Such refined, handsome cheeks you’ve got.”

“Ah, stop it.” The dragon hugged his tail and blushed bashfully as the seamstress pinched his face with her magic.

It appeared that Spike had completely forgotten his purpose for retrieving Starlight, his heart fluttering like a young child’s and the song of birds dancing around the air, increasing in volume for every second more he stared at Rarity. The elegant unicorn had learned by now to accept the young one’s affection towards her in small doses, congratulating him with easy compliments as though to keep his enthusiasm at bay. After seven years the poor dragon still thought he might have a genuine chance, but alas it would always be a relationship much like one between a sister and her younger brother, a friend but not quite a partner. Spike was too hypnotized to even notice half the time, and at the moment he was hovering mid-air before her, hearts popping around his head and half-lidded eyes.

Rarity reached into her saddle bag and produced a small, blue pill-sized crystal. As she had come to call these “Spiky-snacks” Rarity had learned to keep these precious gems and minerals on her should she seek to appease Spike’s “romantic” on-goings. Starlight witnessing both sides of the dilemma, she determined that neither side could be helped, it might as well have gone on like this forever. Rarity wasn’t so prepared to let that happen as she turned to her friend.

“Shall we walk?” Rarity offered. “I hear a certain magician has planned a special return this evening.”

“I’d feel irresponsible to decline.” Starlight accepted. She knew denying the offer would only lead to a domino effect of regrets later on, or at least result in less problems than what the latter had to offer. It seemed as though Starlight’s closest friends were those who knew how to bring trouble to the table, whether it be on purpose of just a hazard of theirs. The unicorn herself felt deep down that she was trying her best in this new town. A new residence, a new beginning.

They walked without a word to one another along the silted roads, Spike hovering behind. A few birds buzzed by and the sun cast its ray at just the right angle upon the intended path they were taking, a collection of posters illuminated silvery-blue by the midday light. The posters featured the silhouette of a unicorn adorned in a cape and a wizard’s cap, striking an eye-grabbing, enchanting pose with the accumulation of pink smoke puffing around her hooves.

「WITNESS: The Great and Powerful Trixie’s Magical Mismatch Show – 2 BIT ENTRY REQUIRED」

The poster was followed by an arrow pointing in the direction of the show, and that was if the forming crowd of ponies wasn’t obvious enough. Some young colts had the funny idea of switching the poster to point in the wrong direction. The two unicorns and the little dragon trotted around the building corner and to the far field where they found a surprising amount of ponies pooled in front of a chestnut brown stage with blue curtains. Half cut logs were set out for seating, which had reached well over its capacity by now, and the jar full of bits stationed at the rear end of the crowd had triumphed past its halfway mark. Spike approached and observed the glass container full of money.

Starlight produced two bits and slipped them through the slot whereas Rarity produced four bits, compensating for both herself and the young dragon in tow. For once Spike couldn’t help but feel immature upon the fact that he was unable to pay for his own entry, and frustrated that he was unable to pay for Rarity’s for that matter. He reminded himself to start asking Twilight for some sort of allowance later that night.

“I’m gonna have a look around.” Starlight told her party.

“The show’s gonna start soon.” Spike hollered.

“Not on my watch.” Starlight winked back.

The unicorn walked the edge of the sea of ponies and rounded to the rear end of the chestnut stage, climbing up the stairs passing behind the curtains, to which she spotted that same moonlight blue mare from the poster striking a forced glare into the light-bulb mirror. There the unicorn magician sat staring at her reflection, muttering orders mixed with compliments in her third person monologue. She took a deep, practiced breathe, levitated the glass of water to her lips, and spat at the sight of the second face in the mirror.

“Did your mother teach you to sneak up on ponies like that?” The magician growled.

Starlight was laughing. “Well, the reactions are often priceless.”

“You’re speaking to Ponyville’s most esteemed, most magical showmare, mind you. Trixie will have to get you back for this, one day.” The showmare rested her glass to the desk and worked the clasp on her cape. “The show’s on in five, what do you want?”

“To apologize.”

Trixie turned a wary eye to her friend. “Is this another one of your pranks?”

“We’ll just say an epiphany struck me last night.”

The magician smirked and flipped her mane. “Basking in the presence of pure talent often elicits such conscientiousness.” She boasted.

Starlight subconsciously brushed the pompous mare’s self-praise to the side, a common speech the unicorn had learned to live with at this point. Most other ponies could hardly stand the waves of narcissism, but Starlight had a way of dealing with such ilk, if only to assert her own dominance. After all… “It takes one to know one.” She said.

“Trixie believes you need to work on your apologies.”

“Apologizing often elicits forgiveness.”

“And what would you need to apologize for?” Trixie probed. “Where does this epiphany of yours come into play?”

And Starlight came out with it. “It took a lot of guts to do what you had done at your age. Most ponies would turn back or settle for less, but you threw caution to the wind and I respect you for it, even more than Twilight.” Starlight glanced to her left and right. “Don’t tell her I said that, though.” Trixie’s gaze spelled confusion, but also pride and admiration. Starlight continued. “The matter of my epiphany is…I haven’t really given you the support you deserve, not only as a sorceress myself, but more importantly as a friend. It’s never easy, is it? Those moments when you’re in the presence of so many ponies that look up to you, waiting for you to say something, to do something. What do you do? What do you say? At that point it’s all just mind over matter, relying on your wits and quick decision making to get you through the day, to just find that happy little haven in the deepest, darkest pit of your mind, that light at the end of the tunnel. You feel that sometimes too, don’t you? Right? Trix… ?”

Loud, eruptious snoring came in response. Trixie was leaning over her table, already defining a pool of drool beneath her hooves.

“Stars above, you brood, grow up!” Starlight shouted.

“-And for my next act!” Trixie startled awake, blindingly stumbling forward and slipping in her own pool of drool. “Uh, ta-da?” She groaned.

“Save it for the audience.” Starlight mumbled, trotting her way towards the exit. “You’re on in five?”

“Four…”

“…three…two…one!” Twilight opened her eyes. “Ready or not, here I come.”

When it came to fun and games the Princess was one to abide to the enjoyment with everyone involved, and that meant no cheating, which also meant this particular charade of hide n’ go seek wouldn’t have a shred of magic involved in it. As she started from the front lobby and worked her way through the corridors, ears perked and eyes peeled, Twilight pondered how oddly childish of a request this was for the boy to make. Sure, he was young but not toddler young. It compelled her to review the fact that she was currently on a scavenger hunt for some bipedal creature from another planet in her own home, and she agreed to it as well. I’ve had my fair share of odd circumstances, but I think I need to start drawing the line somewhere. She supposed.

Meanwhile, David was reassured that the “no magic rule” would give him the time he was looking for. Time away from Twilight, and time to do his own research. It felt near impossible to shake a studious, curious mare of her kind, even if one asked politely for privacy, any longer and the boy felt he would have been subject to laboratory tests. Currently, he had it in his mind that while this was a dream, perhaps this “Ponish” really meant nothing at all. Perhaps it was only gibberish, scribbles and symbols his mind was making up. He had heard somewhere before that the brain was most often unable to retain words and letters written out, that when it came to a certain object or subject to call back on it would rely upon images and looks of said object rather than symbols and words. No doubt the English alphabet was engraved into his mind, but he was convinced that when it came to dreams, memories could not be perfectly replicated, and words were the hardest to decipher.

Without hesitation, he scrambled his way through book after book, hiding underneath the same structure he had built in an attempt to shut out this new, colorful world. Fruitless as his efforts might have been, still being quite novice in this “Ponish”, he was determined to find something in this maze of ink and paper. Just a single phrase, a single word, a single character of hope would do, something to trick his eyes back into a language he could understand. Sometimes… He thought to himself. If you stare in the mirror long enough, you’ll find what you’re looking for.

A book laid in the center before him, toppled over and untouched. It looked odd, and felt odd too as he went to pick it up. It was leather bound, a contentious choice for equines, obviously giving to light that it was an uncommon text and possibly not even from here. In fact, he soon found there was no text within as he went to open it, not a single word. The book was oddly left blank, not incomplete, but it was left that way intentionally. Somehow he just knew it was.

The boy remembered the small resort shelf for books in that odd corner of the library, how the other leather bound books were just like this one, and that one vacant spot in the shelf. Slowly, David closed the book to gaze upon the front cover.

Ten feathers connected to the bottom root of a tree reaching for the heavens, to a fiery crown in the sky with the sun shining from behind. This tree, it seemed all too familiar, like something he had read in a book or seen in a movie once. He could not place the image accurately enough, he thought he knew it, but nothing was clicking. Perhaps once again his mind was playing tricks on him, the dream cackling away, or maybe it was trying to help him?

His train of thought faded at the sound of hoofsteps approaching.

A bright, brilliant crackle of gold overtook the stage, followed by a plume of purple smoke and the echoing roar of the audience in awe. Fireworks whirled and sparklers spun, it seemed as though half the coinage the Great and Powerful mare had earned this round would be spent replacing the introductory light show, but the fans loved it all the more, and Trixie knew it. Starlight, Spike and Rarity had taken their respective places and stomped their hooves upon the ground along with the crowd as the promised magician of the hour whisked away the smoke with a swish of her star-spotted cape. She tipped her wizard’s cap and stretched out her hooves to oblige the applause, to which the audience supplied fortuitously.

“Unicorns, Pegasi, ponies of all kinds,” the sparklers fizzed out as she spoke. “It is with great spirit that the Great and Powerful Trixie informs the that a most great and powerful epiphany has beheld yours truly.”

“Oh, get on with it.” Starlight rolled her eyes. “I’ll fall asleep right in the middle of your show, see how you like it.”

“What qualms you two?” Rarity wondered.

“I guess I should’ve known a few words of sentiment doesn’t work on a narcissist.”

“Starlight, darling.” Rarity patted her shoulder. “Sometimes our views don’t see eye to eye with the other, we can only provide what we know and I think that is enough.”

“Not enough for her.” Starlight grumbled.

“I’ll provide everything for you, Rarity.” Spike beamed. “Everything I’ve got.”

Rarity gave the dragon a wavy grin, clearly she was out of Spiky snacks. Soon enough the trio’s attention was drawn back to the mare on the stage.

“That epiphany entails a contestant!” Trixie proclaimed. “Trixie asks of thee, which among you here is in dire, desperate need of…a makeover?”

A collection of pastel limbs reached out of the crowd skyward, some genuinely interested in the mysterious performance that was to take place and for the chance to be a part of it, while others were hoping to avoid a paid trip to the local beauty salon. A snow white hoof was among those ponies. Starlight eyed Rarity tiredly. Trixie’s eyes weaved about the field of hovering hooves and enthusiastic grins. The pimple-faced kid certainly needed a brush or two, and the local drunk had seen better days. In fact, Trixie was certain the drunk had no idea what was happening right now. The showmare knew that while a volunteer was part of the act, they too needed to be unique in one way or another, yet another part of the show that would stun the audience and leave them wanting more. The average joe would do no good, and this crowd was flooded with them. All except for one, of course. Trixie decided she had wasted enough time for suspense.

“Aha! Yes, you there!” She pointed.

Crickets. A lone stallion mouthed a “me?”

“In the back.”

A mare pointed to herself, brow raised.

“The purple one!” Trixie finally shouted.

Starlight acted as though she weren’t paying attention, that she had better things to do, that the sky was so much more interesting at the moment. She was imagining flying a kite, after all.

“Huh? Oh, I think she means you, Star-” Spike’s sentence cut short as the unicorn bucked her rear hoof and sent Spike forward into the corridor the crowd had parted for him to make his way up to the stage. “-light.”

Trixie grumbled begrudgingly and rubbed her hoof over her eyes. Not the dragon, anypony but the dragon. But alas the little lizard was already bumbling his way down the isle, glancing to and fro at the bewildered equines as he passed by. He begun climbing the steps now and there were no take backs, much to the magician’s disappointment, but the show must go on.

“A courageous act from our little dragon friend, everypony give a big round of applause for Spot!”

“Spike.” The dragon corrected.

“Whatever, kid, just get up here.”

A few ponies began tapping their hooves on the ground, and soon a good deal of the crowd joined in with equal yet estranged enthusiasm. “Okay, that’s enough applause.” Trixie sufficed, and she cleared her throat. “Take a good, long look at our cold-blooded companion, let not the pierce of his eyes nor the stunt of his growth cause you to underestimate him. Within seconds, this scaled shorty shall be transformed into a towering, handsome hunk of glimmering scales and beauty!”

“Handsome?” Spike chirped.

“Hunk?” Rarity followed.

Spike’s fangs showed in his grin, his green eyes bright and hopeful. Chances such as these, he understood, only came once in a lifetime. There would be no regrets, no more being treated like a child, not from Twilight, nor Rarity, not anypony. All he could imagine now was a persona of himself clad in mirth, chivalry and silver-plate armor, a claw extended to the one pony he’s had his eye on for years now. Quickly, he turned to Trixie.

“Make sure to give me a mustache.” He requested.

“Yes yes, you’ll get your refund by the end of the show.” Trixie muttered. “Now hold still.”

Spike could only contain so much of his excitement, his fists clenched and his little feet jumping up and down. Trixie lit her horn, summoning a field around the dragon as he was lifted into the air by a blanket of translucent pink. He eyed the ponies below, almost already feeling just as tall as he imagined he would be in the soon to come future. The audience was washed over with silence as Spike’s form was overtaken by a gleaming white flash of white, causing the ponies to adore in anticipation. Starlight, however, finally took a look at her friend up on the stage to notice that she looked as if she were struggling with the spell.

Twilight was once again tempted to intervene with her magic. She almost felt as though she were wasting her time, even if Sunday was meant to be her “off day.” She could be getting ahead, filing a hundred more reports than she usually does at the crack of dawn on Mondays, or reorganizing her entire library in alphabetical order by the author’s first name instead of the author’s last name. The library seemed to be the most productive chamber in the castle for her, the library...why of course! The library! Why hadn’t she thought of searching there? Twilight merrily trotted her way back to the twin doors and threw them open to the scent and sight of books as far as the eye could see. The tiny book cove, the book fort, was her prime destination. She just knew he had to be in there, where else? As she made a beeline for the fort, the sound of crackling followed by shuffling filled her ears, and then the groaning. Who’s groaning?

“Spike?” Twilight popped her head inside. “What’re you doing in here?”

“I don’t know...” Spike mewled, then beamed. “Hey, how do I look?”

“Uh, like Spike?”

“You mean like Spike, don’t’cha?” He winked and chuckled. “Say, does my voice sound deeper to you?”

“I don’t know what this is about, but I take it you couldn’t find Starlight?”

“No, I found her, she’s right over-” Spike froze. “Wait a second…what am I doing here?”

Spike had blinked away, and a new figure blinked in. The audience blinked, Starlight blinked, Trixie blinked, and a new problem was upon them all. It was the definition of stage-fright, only in the reverse order.

“Dammit!” He growled. “I thought we agreed, no magic.” The boy spun around and froze upon the presence of a thousand eyes. Big, round, the size of saucers, their colors ranging all across the spectrum and not a single one of them blinked. Not a single one of the ponies knew what to say nor what to do, simply staring in wonder if this was the biggest screw-up since the Swarm of the Century or if this was part of the act. Trixie was busy catching her breathe with her cap over her eyes, and she began to giggle hysterically.

“Have I done it? Have I pulled it off?” She felt sure. “Behold, ponies of Ponyville, for I give you-” Trixie stared at the abomination before her and let loose an ear splintering screech. Now the ponies were certain this was not part of the act. In an instant the crowd disassembled like ants pouring out of a hill. Children were crying, mothers were screaming and the stallions braced against the charge of hooves. The young colts broke open the coin jar at the rear of the crowd, scooping as much bits into their hooves and mouths as they could, and the rest of the crowd followed suit on account of the “trauma” they had just experienced. Rarity had fainted at the beginning of it all.

In the midst of it all still standing up on the stage, frozen in confusion and terror, David could do nothing but watch as Starlight abandoned her white unicorn friend’s unconscious side and marched up the stairs to her other unicorn friend.

“Trixie.” Starlight snarled. “What. Did. You. Do?”

“Okay, Starlight, you’ve made your point.” Trixie spoke rapidly. “You win, I forgive you.”

“Stop.”

“I still don’t know what you were apologizing for, but I forgive you!”

“Stop! Look at me.” Starlight held her face between her hooves. “Tell me exactly what happened, what you did, what you felt.”

“I-I don’t know, there was this surge and then poof!”

“Yes, just like all your other shows.”

“Just like them, only...” Trixie peeked around Starlight, staring at the boy. “Oh, by the gates of Tartarus, what is that thing?” She fell to her haunches and curled into a blubbering little ball, shaking in fear of the dismantled state of her show and what it may do to her reputation in the long run, she could not bear to look at the empty, bit jar on the far side of the field where Rarity lay.

Starlight comprehended the poor magician’s miserable attempt to asses the situation and turned to the boy. He was still standing there, staring where the crowd once was and mumbling something to himself.

“Hey, kid?” Starlight started. “You okay?”

“I think I’m gonna be-”

David doubled over, clutched his gut and spewed a fountain of liquid beige over the front end of the stage. The unicorn could only think to flinch away, then forward again to rest her hoof to his back and rub with quiet reassurance. Reassurance of what? She didn’t know anymore, not at this point. It would be a good fifteen minutes before the esteemed ambassador was to arrive, she would have to find a way to clean up the mess and dispel the rumors. They weren’t even rumors anymore, ponies would begin spilling straight facts, more than half the town had seen what had happened. Starlight began to think that perhaps she should have stayed in the office with the Mayor, she should have accepted the offer right then and there, only then would the ponies have listened. It was all wrong, her best friend a quivering ball of tears, the seamstress left unconscious in the middle of the road, and this bewildered, frightened monkey man from another planet hissing profanities as he spat out the last of the stomach fluids caught in his throat. The stench wasn’t helping anything.

“Trixie, get up.” Starlight called.

“The Princess is going to kill me.” Trixie trembled.

“You haven’t done anything to upset her, not yet at least.”

“Not until she finds out I’ve mutated her little dragon into this…thing!”

“This isn’t Spike.”

“Excellent observation skills, Starlight. Did you want to tell me fish swim and birds fly, too?”

“I’m willing to bet where ever our friend here was before he got here, that’s where we’ll find Spike.” Starlight explained. “But let’s not worry about that right now. We are mere minutes away from introducing some snob-snout son of a mule to our humble little village full of flowers, happiness and rainbows. We need to not make this place look like an alien just jumped in and scared the piss out of everypony. What do you say? Are you with me?”

“Your ‘friend’ is gone, what more do you want?”

“What’re you talking about, he’s right-” Starlight looked back, and the boy most certainly wasn’t where she anticipated him to be, only the small pool of vomit left in his wake. Where did he go? Where did he go? Starlight was certain now that the Princess was going to kill her.

“And then what happened?”

“Then I came here, to tell you all of this.” Starlight answered to the Mayor.

The old mare removed her glasses, pinched the bridge of her muzzle with both her hooves as to restrain herself from reaching for the rye drawer. She swatted at the papers lying upon her desk and gazed back out at the window where preparations for the ambassador’s arrival were at their peak, and all of it may very well go to waste thanks to one, particular magician.

“That dunce-capped phony illusionist.” The Mayor grumbled. “What in Tartarus was she thinking? Oh, the nerve of unicorns and their blasted magic, I simply can’t stand it.”

Starlight steeled herself as the insult waved over her, the frustrated earth mare showing no signs of remorse as her irritation only seemed to increase. She could only think about the talk they had earlier, the business of the Equerry’s position and the desire for somepony to fill that role, somepony competent. Alas, the fact that the Mayor knew she and Trixie were friends may have lessened her standing in the eyes of this aging delegate, and so the unicorn began to wonder why she had even informed her of the dilemma of the missing “monkey man” in the first place. Obviously it was a pick of the poison, the best choice against all the odds, a sacrificial pawn. Taking this teeny, tiny problem up with Princess Twilight would have most certainly proffered a domino effect of causes leading to Starlight never reaching that Equerry position, at least not for as long as she lived here in Ponyville. It seemed then that the Mayor was finishing the last of her quieted profanities and grumbles.

“Alright, elaborate.” The Mayor demanded.

“Ma’am?”

“This thing, what does it look like?”

“Well, he’s tall. He has brown, moppy hair-”

“Excuse me, he?” The Mayor gawked. “What is it that you’re not telling me?”

Starlight gulped. “And there’s the slightest, slimmest possibility he’s an alien from an entirely different planet.”

The Mayor’s eye twitched.

“But, he’s friendly. Submissive, for lack of a better term.”

“Submissive, you say?” The earth mare prodded her chin. “Then whatever the case, I believe you’ve already given us sufficient details for two of Equestria’s best to take care of this, for lack of a better term, invasion.” The Mayor sat up in her chair, grabbed a hold of the gavel sitting off to the corner of her desk and slammed it against the wood. “Sam! Ralph!”

Somehow Starlight gained the intuition to look directly above her, to which she stared back at yellow, gleaming eyes hiding within the shadows of the rafters. A pair of leather black wings sprawled out from the center of the darkness, and a shadowy figure made its decent to the floor. The piercing, yellow eyes belonged to a strong, swift stallion with pointed ears, barred fangs, and a gray coat to match his dimmed appearance. His leather black wings folded neatly to his sides as he looked around the room with light pouring in, squinting harshly to the daylight. He regarded Starlight for a moment, then turned back to the Mayor.

“Ralph, where is your colleague?” She asked.

“Sam is-” There was a clatter from above, and a dangling rope coiling next to Ralph was followed by a mass of snow white slamming against the floor. Ralph regarded his friend for a moment. “-innovative, this morning.”

“Neigh, it is well past noon.” Mayor Mare informed.

“You must forgive my fellow bat friend, he is one to mix the times.” Sam stood promptly, his metallic voice ringing against the walls of the metal bucket. “From time to time.”

“Why is there a bucket on your head, son?”

“To protect you and the fair unicorn over there, my good Mayor.”

“From?”

“His own blood.” Ralph explained. “Unfortunately, it does not flow the same as mine, as he has come to learn.”

“My goodness, are you alright?” Starlight reached out with a hoof.

“Miss.” Sam turned to her and proceeded to yank the bucket from his skull, blood pooling around his face and neck. “A guard’s duty is for the cause.”

The unicorn recoiled to the sight of the white, earth stallion with blood seeping from his eyes and nostrils. Starlight seemed to have seen enough bodily fluids for one day. The attention of the room was brought back to the Mayor’s desk as she slammed the gavel on the wood once more.

“Never mind this nonsense!” She barked. “Ralph, relay the current situation.”

“A tall, mop-headed beast has invaded the heart of Ponyville. It would seem we are tasked to capture the creature before the arrival of the ambassador.” Ralph replied with ease.

“Investing in the night guard branch has paid off, I see.” Though her tone remained stoic, the Mayor was quite pleased with the agreement for the royal guards that had gone down only a few months ago. Ponyville was a town of humbleness as it was wonders, a jack of all trades it seemed, resulting in some of the most ridiculous situations that not even the townsfolk themselves believed. As a result, Princess Twilight had finally passed the requirement of a minimum of two royal units to be dispatched to Ponyville for patrol duties, with the inclusion of essential tasks. The Mayor pounced on the opportunity the moment it was mentioned in the documents hoofed over to her. Needless to say what followed was one of the quickest renovations of Ponyville’s local training dojo, which wasn’t even in use any longer, into the barracks for the only two guards in the entire town. “Well? You have your task, get to it!” The Mayor barked again.

“Consider it complete.” Ralph saluted. Sam attempted to follow suit, alas the lack of blood had him wobbling on his hooves.

“And no more blood spill!” She called. “Stick a cloth up your snout, would you?”

Starlight eyed the two stallions making their exit from the office and out to search for the creature, David. She knew the name, the boy behind it, they did not. What then did they plan to do to a creature they called nameless as soon as they got their hooves on him? Was it really in her best effort to hoof this entire situation over to the officials? Starlight knew that didn’t always mean professional. In fact, none of this seemed all that professional, impelling her to consider the weight of her decision making especially in context of the long run. “Two of Equestria’s best...?” She recalled. If David were smart, Starlight supposed, he wouldn’t run. Not unless he wanted things to end up like last time. One guard had wings, the other was the equivalent of a hoofball player, how hard could it be for them to catch one guy?

“Get your bloody hooves offa’ me, you geldie! I have my rights!”

“Not so fast, mop top.” Sam sneered. “You’re under arrest.”

“What for?”

“Impersonation.”

“Of who for crying out loud? I’m just me!” The pegasus cried. “Are my looks really that criminal?”

“Not by those standards.”

The pegasus looked hurt. “Excuse me, officer, but I’ll grant you the honor to know that this mane o’ mine was crafted by the Engraver himself, not even my cutie mark was given this much consideration. And the chiseled jaw? Oh, don’t even get me started on this masters in geometry.”

Ralph was busy stationed at a booth featuring various hats, to which the mare behind the vendor was having the hardest time telling the bat pony that all of the hats would help keep the sun out of his eyes, even though he insisted on taking his time to try every single one. It seemed that Ralph was one to take his time in doing his research and paying close attention to every detail, and though that fact was indeed true, the reality of this situation was his own weakness. Simply, he was just trying to be polite to the mare. Finally he made his purchase, giving the pony three more bits over the actual price, to which she had no qualms and simply wanted to be done with his presence. Ralph walked over to his friend and the supposed suspect with a large, straw woven sun hat shoved onto the top of his helmet, the blue spike piercing tearing through the top.

“Even with my strained sight I can tell this is not the creature we’re looking for.” Ralph mentioned.

“But he’s tall.” Sam looked him up and down.

“He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“Finally, an officer without a brain tumor!” The pegasus beamed to Ralph. “Mind untangling your friend here offa’ me?”

“No, his brute strength proves useful at the moment.” The bat guard lifted his wing and snagged a small notebook from his side pocket, flipping it open as he eyed the pegasus just below the brim of his hat. “Name.” He demanded.

“Let’s just relax-”

“Name.”

The pegasus groaned. “Zephyr.”

“Are you a resident of Ponyville?”

“I’m a pony of Equestria, thank you very much.” Zephyr justified.

“I’ll take that as a no.” Ralph jotted. “Tell me, you wouldn’t happen to have noticed anything strange lurking about recently, have you?”

“Uh, like a couple o’ brutish guards harassing a perfectly innocent citizen of the land?”

“Perhaps you’d like to attempt and prove your innocence on account of your roof-hopping?”

“Pfft, roof-hopping? What is that, you make that up or something?”

“No, the three witnesses prior to our meeting did.” Ralph flipped open his notebook for Zephyr to read, the evidence clear as day. The pegasus wore a disgruntled frown as the bat pony continued. “Now, answer the question more thoughtfully this time.”

“Look, how am I supposed to know which roofs I can and can’t land on? These stinkin’ hay roofs all look the same.”

“I don’t care about the roof-hopping, just tell us about the creature. The tall one.”

“You mean that tall one?” Zephyr pointed ahead. “The one scrounging around the barrels over there?”

“Nice try, rookie.” Sam laughed. “I’m not falling for the ‘look behind you!’ gag.”

“It’s in front of you.”

Ralph squinted and strained his sights behind him to locate a tall, lanky figure with a brown mop top digging one of its limbs into an open barrel. The description fit too perfectly, even with his limited vision in the harsh light of day. “Well I’ll be a rat with wings.” He breathed.

“Ralph, did you just fall for it?” Sam asked.

“Forget that bum, we’ve got the real deal!”

The earth stallion saw what his friend meant as soon as he unfurled his leather black wings and took off towards the figure in the distance. He unhoofed and knocked over the poor pegasus simply minding his own day as he hurled himself forward and dug his hooves into the dirt, charging madly at the bipedal creature ahead with wide, bewildered eyes. The boy looked up from his barrel to be greeted by a devilish figure with black wings eclipsing the sun behind it, descended upon him much like a bat out of hell, and David gave the most reasonable shriek a human being would give should they ever believe a demon was chasing after them. The guards took the sudden wail from the creature as a warning sign, and so Ralph signaled to his friend to flank left into the alley way. As anticipated, the boy took the assumed easiest route of escape, but was soon after caught in their trap. Sam stood at one end of the alley and Ralph hovered at the other. It would have been an easy catch had Sam not been only three-foot-six.

“I’ve hurdled toddlers taller than you!” David quoted as he soared above the guard like a majestic, flying eagle. It would have been an easy escape had David not been six-foot straight. A perfect mold of his forehead became the dent in the wooden sign hanging above, and the boy went down as quickly as he had ascended, groaning and holding a palm to his bruised skull.

Sam spun around and slammed all of his weight on top of the creature, reaching around for his limbs and attempting to strangle him. “I’ve fought fillies more fierce than you!” He snarled.

The shading of the alley way did well for Ralph, and he proceeded to remove his sunhat as he approached to help his friend subdue the monster. Alas, as soon as they were upon the boy, all three within the tussle looked up to find a small witness standing at the alley’s exit. It was a young colt, a milk white, scrawny pegasus with bucked teeth and a brown mane. A flash camera with a buckle dangled from his neck. He blinked once, David and the two guards blinked back, and in an instant the small pony lifted the camera in front of his face and took the shot. An expanse of blinding white encapsulated the royal guards, causing them to recoil and rub their hooves into their sockets, whereas Ralph was worse off than his friend.

“Sam, keep it under control.” Ralph started. “I won’t be seeing for a while.”

“You best keep your eyes closed then.” Sam replied hesitantly.

“Why? What is it?”

Sam rubbed his eyes again and again to be sure he wasn’t imagining things. Their culprit was gone, nowhere to be seen.

The barrels around here may have been small, but if there was one other thing the boy found himself to be good at, squeezing into cramped nooks seemed to be a specialty of his. Currently he was holed up in one barrel among many in the fetal position, just as he did when he secluded himself within his book fort, just as scared and fearful of the world outside, just as confused as though his mind were racing at a million miles a minute. He sat inside encapsulated by mild nuances of thought until he heard voices and felt movement beyond the staves of the barrel. Whomever was outside seemed to struggle lifting his barrel up to the platform, but they managed all the while and were soon trotting off to their destination with a wagon in tow, the clunky sounds of cart wheels rolling outside putting the boy on the fence between ill and ease.

Slamming his head against the wooden sign didn’t wake him up, and neither did that flash bang, or whatever that might have been. No, nothing was working, nothing seemed correct. When would this dream end? For how much longer, he guessed, could he remain in this state before he lost his mind altogether? It seemed at this point that it was a battle for sanity, if only he had something to spill all of this congested thought onto, something to tell about the sounds and write about the sights.

The book, the one he picked up at the library, with the strange tree figure. He made a mental note, amongst his other swarming thoughts, that if he somehow made it back to the castle alive then he’d begin writing in this book, begin drawing too. Yes, drawing, just the thought of it was enough to allow him to look on the brighter side of things. In that moment he scanned the staves and found a small hole that which he could look through. He placed an eye at the small opening just as the cart was bumbling to a shaky halt, the pony ahead whom was pulling gave a huffed, tired sigh as they seemed to unhinge themselves from their ring and trot ahead to other business.

David squinted ahead and located a tall, rotundus building with colorful flags and waving banners. Authentically crafted lanterns were strung across the plaza area, and vendors full of food and knick-knacks lined the outer walls of the surrounding buildings. The vicinity appeared oddly scarce of ponies, only a few dotted here and there whom were constantly scanning their surroundings and checking over clipboards and papers as though they were preparing for something special. David supposed for a moment that it probably gave some explanation as to why those ponies outside of the castle were in the middle of some sort of construction.

At last there was a marble pink statue of a pony resting within the center of a fountain display, and above that were a bundle of winged ponies, pegasi, swarming around and pushing upon the fluffy clouds hovering over the plaza square. If there were a few things he had deduced from his time in Ponyville so far, it was that while unicorns appeared the most curious, pegasi may have been the meanest. He made another mental note to stay clear of them as much as possible.

“Put your back into it, crew!” The captain shouted. “I want clear skies.”

“Clear Skies, reporting for duty.” A pegasus hovered before the captain, saluting.

“Got a few loose feathers, cadet? I said I want these skies open.”

“Yo, Open Skies, here.” Another pegasus honed in. “What’cha need, ma’am?”

“For the two of you to quit playin’ goose chase and get to it!”

“Gee, cap, you seem awfully upset.” Open Skies told her.

“Yeah, it’s just some super important, high profile, big-wig ambassador rolling into town.” Clear Skies followed up. “What’s the big deal?”

The captain kept her mouth shut and shook her head silently. Yelling any further at these two air heads wouldn’t be doing the company any favors, and the last thing she needed was a stern talking to for rustling the feathers on some poor, innocent, precious employee. The overall relaxed and laid back hivemind state of Ponyville’s Weather Patrol team had the whole operation running like a crank-up toy. It only worked for so long until you had to go back and spin the lever all over again. The only benefit the captain saw from this whole ordeal was that she was getting more exercise than usual, given that she was going to have to wait a good month or two before her home gym was finally moved from Cloudsdale and down here to Ponyville. Of all the things she would leave at home, there were three she couldn’t live without. Caramel tea, her home gym, and the compass. She had no idea who made it, where it came from, all she knew was that this compass that could fit in the frog of her hoof had once belonged to her father.

“It belongs to you now, Sunny.” Her mother told her once. That’s what she said when she gave it to her, when she was only nine, and the compass she was staring at fifteen years ago was the same compass lying in her hoof now.

“Head’s up!”

It would then be the same compass interesting enough to drag the captain’s attention away from the current situation, from the large, gray, hefty tuft of cloud slamming straight into her face and sending her plummeting towards the ground in a daze of desperate, broken wing flaps and flailing hooves. She didn’t feel in any particular danger at the moment, but for whatever reason part of her life was meant to flash before her eyes in that moment, almost as if she were on the brink of fatality. If anything, she would make it out of this with a few bruises and a broken rib, nothing severe. Perhaps after being knocked out cold she would wake up from this terrible dream that had her asking the same questions ever since her arrival. Why me? Why now? How did it all come to this? And so the life flashing memories played before her anyways.

Today is the day. Sunshower thought to herself. It’s the last week before intermission. If not today at least, then I’m sure to get that promotion by the end of the week.

“Miss Sunshower.” A stallion holding a clipboard turned around to address her. “The director would like to see you in his office.”

Sunshower withheld her squeal as she enthusiastically followed the stallion up a few flights of stairs and finally to a set of double doors. Entering the room, Sunshower took a seat and anticipated for the words she had been waiting to hear all morning.

“Miss Sunshower,” the director turned around in his chair and held out his hoof. “Good to see you.”

“Likewise.” She smiled, accepting the hoof shake.

“I suppose I’ll just cut to the chase here. I’ve gained word that a former employee and current Wonderbolt, Thunderlane, put you on the top of the recommendation list.”

“That would seem so.” She continued to smile.

“For weather patrol.”

“That would-” Then, she frowned. “I’m sorry?”

“In Ponyville.”

“…”

“Miss Sunshower.” The chief director turned around in his chair. “How might I help you today?”

“By telling me why I am being forcibly relocated to Equestria’s biggest agricultural estate to do-” She reviewed her copy of the transfer forms. “-weather patrol?”

“Let me put it to you this way.” He leaned forward. “Have you ever heard of the term ‘natural selection?’”

“I’m afraid you’ve already lost me, chief.”

“Well you see, natural selection is-”

“I am well aware of the term natural selection and its meaning, I just don’t understand how it ties in to our dilemma.” Sunshower pressed her hooves to her chest dramatically. “If anything, my records ought’a be evidence enough that I-”

“Excel?” He finished. “Well yes, Miss Sunshower. You see that’s just it.”

Sunshower was frozen in her seat as she stared at the stallion, blinking once or twice. “You mean to say that I’m…?”

“The best production floor team member we’ve had in years.” The head chief director turned around in his chair. “That’s her, Miss Sunshower, good to see you.” He chuckled as the pipe in his mouth bounced. “Oh, but not for too much longer now, mm?”

“Oh no.” Sunshower slumped. “Head chief, you’re in on this too?”

“Well, if it weren’t for that captain’s position down in Ponyville, then no, I wouldn’t be in on this.”

“Oh, well thank the stars-”

“But thank the stars it was open because then I’d be sending you down to the cutting room floor to teach all the new recruits basic training.” The head chief laughed heartily as he turned to the chief. “Ey, remember ol’ Windy?”

“Yes, head chief, he’s still down there y’know?”

“Poor colt’s out of our hooves now.” He laughed again, sitting forward. “And soon enough, so will you Miss Sunshower.”

“Chief, please, you can’t do this to me.” Sunshower pleaded.

“Well, yes, I can.” He nodded. “Only, I’m not the one who’s doing this to you.”

“What?” Sunshower paused.

“I said I was in on it, not that I was doing it.”

“Then, who?”

“I’m sorry, but no, it can’t be undone.” Thunderlane turned around in his stool.

“Why?” Sunshower seethed.

“The paper work’s already been filled out.”

“Without. My. Consent?!”

“We were in a rush, alright? I had to pick a successor, and you said you’d be fine with it.”

“I did?” Sunshower cocked her head.

Thunderlane turned around at his cubicle three weeks ago.

“Hey, Sunshower, mind if I put you on the list for Ponyville transfers?”

“Yeah sure, I’ll get to it in a minute.” A rather busy Sunshower replied.

“Cool, thanks Sunny.”

“Damn, I did.” Sunshower shook her head. “Still, what makes you think I’d be up to the task?” She questioned. “Let alone be willing to take it?”

“You always told me you were looking to step up your game.”

“And this was your idea of stepping it up?” Sunshower led her hoof towards the ground below, a far view from their seat in a cafe located in Cloudsdale. She pointed down at the village in the valley, Ponyville. “Look at that, Thunderlane, look! That’s stepping it down, not up.”

“I chose and reserved this position for you, not anypony else. Y’wanna know why?” Thunderlane stared at her whilst she continued to look at the ground with a scowl upon her face. “Because I trust you. I’ve been down there before, patrolling the weather with all the other patrol ponies, and after all that experience there’s no pony I can trust to take up that position but you.”

“Weather patrol isn’t even my thing.” She scoffed. “I have a future to look forward to. Here, in Cloudsdale.”

“Y’know, your mother told me once that your father was just like you.” Thunderlane began. “Until one day, something changed, and he soon found he wouldn’t be spending the rest of his life in Cloudsdale just like he planned.”

She breathed hard through her nostrils, her eyes shut tight “Are you really bringing up my father right now? Are you really that desperate to convince me?”

“All I’m saying is if your father could do it, then so can you.”

Sunshower took a long look past the collection of clouds and over the edge of Cloudsdale, looking at the earth several feet below at a collection of tiny buildings bundled together. She blinked and breathed again. “And if I don’t like it?”

“You can come right back. I’ve talked it over with the chief.” Thunderlane promised. “But you have to actually try it. A full month at the very least. Ponyville needs their captain for the rest of the season.”

“Alright.” Sunshower finally agreed. “I’ll do it. But mark my words, buster, you’ll be sorry!”

“Again, so sorry the Mayor couldn’t be here to oversee your arrival.” The Mayor, or rather her assistant turned around in his chair.

“It’s not like I was expecting a party or anything.” Sunshower sighed, and at this point her mind decided to shut off most of what she was interpreting.

“I can tell ya’ one thing, something like that is difficult for newcomers to avoid.” He chuckled.

“Mhm.” She nodded blankly.

“Really though, we are glad you could make it here on such short notice, our weather patrol team is in desperate need of-”

“Mhm.” She nodded blankly.

“You’ll need to come in eight o’clock sharp tomorrow morning to assess-”

“Mhm.” She nodded blankly, again and again and again.

“Oh, and one more thing, Miss Sunshower…”

She recalled giving one last blank stare and bored nod to his last comment, but as she turned around in her tuft of cloud, the words she thought she had forgotten seemed to work their way back into her mind as the mass of cloudy gray sped towards her like a bullet.

“…this is Ponyville, anything can happen.”

Ponyville’s newest Weather Patrol captain went tumbling through the air in a mass of flailing hooves and desperate wing flaps. She spun towards the ground, twirled sideways, and slammed against the statue centered in the fountain, slumping downwards with a groan as her upper half became submerged and her lower half laid on the lip of the fountain. Moments later she forced herself upwards and rubbed her skull with hisses and curses, and then the stone above her began to crack. She glanced upwards at the statue, its face growing closer and its base crumbling away, Sunshower realized what had happened and knew what she had to do next. She flipped up onto the rim of the fountain, held her hooves skyward and caught the statue from falling off of its pedestal, lest it render into dust and rubble, lest the Mayor find out that Ponyville’s newest captain decided a game of rugby with the fountain statue was the best course of action for their current anticipation. Already it was all too much for Sunshower, the impact had weakened her senses and the statue was much more heavier than she could have imagined, she felt as if she would crumble any second now.

The next second in, she felt the weight of the statue become lighter and lighter as though it were being lifted from her grasp, and that’s because it was in fact being lifted back up and onto the pedestal. She looked up to find her salvation had come in the form of long, pink limbs pushing Caerus back where she belonged. Lifting the marble back in to place appeared effortless for the creature, but even so after he was assured it would move no longer he wiped the sweat from his brow and looked down at the pegasus in the fountain. David gave Sunshower a reassured nod and smile. The captain was dumbfounded.

“FOR THE CAUSE!” Sam charged in.

Ralph caught up to his friend at the very moment the boy was tackled into the fountain, Sunshower still too dumbfounded to do anything or say anything.

“The arms, Sam! Grab the arms!”

“Which ones are the arms?” Sam broke the surface and looked around frantically, but his helmet was on backwards. “By the sun, he’s blinded me!”

The remainder of the minute carried on with the boy wrestling his two detainees in the watery ring until his energy was beginning to give and ponies from all directions were gathering around to see what was the matter. The crowd was at least half the size of Trixie’s at her great and powerful show, so much so that the Mayor herself clamored down and out of Town Hall, pushing citizens aside to weasel her way to the front. “Step aside! Out of my way!” She gasped. “Goodness gracious, can somepony tell me what is going on here?”

“Fear not, good citizens!” Sam triumphed his way over the fountain’s rim, pushing David as Ralph ushered from behind. “The beast has been bested!”

The gawking crowd took a moment to marvel at the sight before them, and in that spell of silence and concerned whispers skipping around the crowd a very audible, very noticeable crack formed at the base of the statue. There was a collected gasp, a pause, and Caerus crumbled forward and splashed into the water below. A heap of marble pink ruin, once a monument to fleeting opportunities and fortune, laid broken in the pool below.

“That statue,” Mayor Mare seethed. “Was over a hundred years old! It had been here since the beginnings of Ponyville.” She looked around fervently. “Who is responsible for this? Front and center, I want names!” Ponies traded looks left and right, most still focused on the boy in the shanty restraints rendered by the guards while others could only avert their eyes. The Mayor marched up to Sunshower with a look of ire. “Well, captain?” The old mare snorted. “Answer me!”

So this was it, end of the line. One little mistake would domino into a series of accusations and lawsuits, ultimately ending her line of career paths, bringing about the end of her dreams. If only she had gotten a wink or two more of sleep, if only she had listened, if only. Lying would do her no good, she had learned that by now, and so the captain puffed her chest and opened her mouth.

“It was me.”

The voice, it was not hers, but the boy’s! She twirled around, astonished it had the ability to speak, astonished that it had just…stood up for her?

“That’s right, you want a culprit? You’re looking at him!” David declared.

“It can talk?” One pony gasped.

“It can evaluate the gravity of a situation despite the absence of key details?” Another gawked.

Concerned glances buzzed around.

“What?” The pony shrugged.

“It destroyed one of Ponyville’s most prized possessions!” The crowd roared with belligerence, hooves smashing against the earth as airborne tomatoes hurled their way to the center of attention. David received a ketchup splatter on his arm and another to his leg. Ralph shielded himself with his wings and Sam turned his helmet backwards.

“Stop! Stop wasting food!” The Mayor howled.

Twilight’s words echoed back into David’s mind as he stood in the midst of the terror and commotion. This was only but a taste of what these ponyfolk were capable of, and he didn’t need any sort of example to know that. It was that instinctual fear deep within that told him everything, that sometimes the most colorful parts of nature were also the most dangerous.

In that instant, a rope swung over his torso and tightened him together like a constrictor, the lead snaking its way back up to where the statue once stood. The food wasting ceased and the crowd fell back into silence as they all trained their eyes upward, a lone mare with a lasso in her tightened jaw. Applejack leapt high above the boy and landed in front of him, tugging on her rope and bringing the human down from the fountain’s rim wherein gravity forced his jaw to the earth. The farm mare snarled, spat the rope from her mouth and turned to the Mayor.

“We’ll run this chimp back to the forest faster than you can blink, Miss Mayor.” Applejack nodded. “Just give us the word.”

“Stop!” A cry wormed through the crowd.

“Apple Bloom?” Applejack scooped her sister up. “Lan’sakes, girl, what’re you thinking?”

“He’s just a harmless, hairless monkey. You can’t do this to him.”

“The kid’s right!” A unicorn stepped forward. “He deserves a trial!”

“What in tarnation?” Applejack glared. “Who in their right mind allows a monkey to go to court?”

“That’s no monkey, it’s a hell-spawn!” One colt cried. “That Great and Powerful witch done it, I saw it with my own two eyes.”

“Enough! Disband, all of you.” The Mayor ordered. “We are moments away from our visitor’s arrival and I will not have this monkey business be the first thing to lay eyes upon.”

From this a familiar lilac unicorn bustled her way through the crowd and emerged in the center. Both David and the Mayor looked to her in unison. “You!” They projected. They shared glances, and the Mayor returned to the unicorn. “Where have you been? I expect you to take responsibility for this circus charade.”

“It’s too late now.” Starlight informed. “The citizens demand judgment, otherwise we’ll never get them out of the streets.”

“Hey, you crazy unicorn!” David hollered.

Starlight appeared offended, an exasperated expression in the boy’s direction.

“Why don’t you warn me next time before you beam me up, otherwise I’ll puke up a storm.”

The unicorn took a hoof back and hovered the other in recoil. The boy’s intensified stare faded with his concerns to the crowd as Starlight was left to her momentary thought. How did he know? She wondered.

“This creature, what does he mean to you?” Mayor Mare asked Starlight. “I want a straight answer.”

Starlight knew in that moment that the weight of her answer would determine the fate of this kid. She knew by now the Mayor was not one to incite action based off of faceless accusations, even in light of the most bizarre and profound of situations. It was no wonder that Ponyville’s mayor could hold the most professional trials any attendee were to ever witness, even if it were for a monkey. Starlight gazed into David’s eyes, saw that same, confused, lost child in them, and returned to the Mayor.

“He is essential to my endeavor as a student.” Starlight decided.

Mayor Mare sized the boy up and then glanced back to the unicorn with a firm nod. She puffed her chest and confronted her citizens. “You want judgment? Then so be it! By the power invested in I, Mayor Ivory Scroll Mare, I declare the beast be indebted to us for the worth of our prized statue, whether that repayment be through manual labor or coinage. I now ask of you, no, I am begging you all to please act like normal, civilized ponies for the next twenty minutes. Is that so much to ask?”

All in all, mild disappointment and disjointed negativity swam about the crowd as the bunches of ponies divided this way and that. At least it was enough to diminish their motivation little by little until they seemed to decide it was time to leave. There was a moment of silence among the shuffling of hooves and whipping of tails before the Mayor spoke again. “And for Celestia’s sake, somepony scoop poor Caerus out of the fountain!”

Chapter 8 - The Equerry

Closed doors and shut curtains surrounded the Mayor’s office save for the slit she left open to glance to the ongoing operations outdoors every now and then, and to keep an eye on the esteemed ambassador’s momentary arrival. Starlight had already been on the job standing next to a shut curtain, glancing outside every now and then, but the Mayor had kept most of the windows shut for a reason. There before her, across from her desk sat an entity from an entirely different planet, and next to him the Princess of Friendship.

“Miss Mayor?” Twilight said.

The grandfather clock’s ticking was all the Mayor was focused on right now, that and the plethora of papers blanketing her desk. A good bottle of rye would go nicely with it, perhaps two.

“Miss Mayor, if I may?” Twilight said again.

“Ponyville is quite a spectacle, is it not?” Mayor Mare decided to ask. “This is my hometown and I have been its mayor for thirty-three years, and in that time I’ve seen all manners of tomfoolery that would make an otherwise lesser pony lose their marbles, so to speak.” She leaned forward delicately, a twitch to her cracking grin. “Would you believe me, your Highness, if I were to tell you I am on the verge of losing my own?”

“You’ve made your frustrations clear as day, Miss Mayor.” The Princess nodded.

“Have I?” She glanced to David. “And you? You’ve been awfully quiet, mister...?”

The boy sat proper in the tiny chair, knees at his chest. “I-I was told not to speak…” He quavered.

Twilight turned and cocked an eyebrow to the lone unicorn standing in her corner of the room. Starlight held onto the curtain, innocently scanned the room with her eyes, and more so looked back out the window as though nothing were amiss. It was in that moment that the Princess detected a strange aura stringing about the chamber, as though somepony were already four or five moves ahead of her. There was no time to be playing catch up, only a dramatic move might alter the implied status-quo, and it was in the depths of her mind that Twilight thanked herself for having thought ahead before coming to Town Hall.

“I will make one thing clear to you, and this is something you ought to keep in mind.” The Mayor started. “Speech does not denote intelligence. Without a name your words are meaningless.”

“Well, there’s plenty of moving speeches quoted by the unknown.” David replied.

“This is the real world, lad. Ponies aren’t going to believe in your story book tales at the drop of a hat, only knowledge and high status are revered and recognized. You are but pen stock in their eyes, an animal of the forest, and that’s exactly where they intend to return you.”

“I will not have you berate my company, Miss Mayor.” Twilight was upfront.

“And what ‘company’ might that be?”

“I assign David to the role of Royal Equerry.”

Albeit perfectly balanced on the bridge of her muzzle, the Mayor’s glasses slid from her face like butter in a pan. The grip Starlight held on the curtain tore instantly, and she draped it over her head to conceal her surprise, her frustration, her anger. Just what in the bloody depths of Tartarus was this mare thinking?! The room was ever so quiet, if only for a spell.

“I beg your pardon, Miss Sparkle?”

“You heard me right. From this point forward, every accessibility within the Equerry’s grasp is now under his control. I’ve already written out the forms.” She levitated a stack of papers to the Mayor’s desk, unable to tell if it were the content of the papers or the fact that more paper work had just been stacked onto her desk is what was making her eye twitch uncontrollably.

“You planned this…?” Starlight mumbled.

“Inadequate.” Mayor Mare denied. “This boy, he is no citizen of Equestria. What of his worth could possibly uphold this role?”

“His person alone, as far as I’m concerned. Nothing within the list of requirements states the need for official citizenship. Nor the need to be a pony, nor to maintain a political standing of any kind.” Twilight confirmed. “I’ve scanned the documents twice over myself, would you like to have a read for yourself?” And began to levitate yet another stack of papers-

“No, heavens no!” The Mayor batted the horrific files away.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that you already know the decision for Royal Equerry ultimately comes down to me, the Princess.” She puffed her chest and nodded confidently in David’s direction. “Without further ado, here you have him, the new Equerry of Ponyville. As long as that title stands, no manner of harm nor eviction shall overtake him.”

For only a few seconds longer did Starlight keep her face beneath the curtains until she finally parted away and breathed for control. The Mayor followed her example in a much easier fashion as she was coming to terms with the current upbringing, understanding as to why Twilight was making the decisions she was even if they weren’t of anything to be too happy about. She wanted to know more, why this strange, alien boy was so important to her, why she intended to protect him so in spite of his impulses and childish exploits. Alas, time was running critically short, the ambassador would be here any minute now.

“If you have any questions then I would be happy to-”

“No, there will be no time for that.” The Mayor cut her off. “Since you’ve already worked ahead of us, we’ll finish what you’ve started.”

“Gladly.” Twilight smiled, rendering a single, important sheet from the stack of papers. The page hovered before David, and to him she provided a quill. “Go on.” She told him. “All you have to do is sign.”

The thought of whether he should try to write in Ponish or simply put his name in English on the paper was what held his hand above the paper for a moment. He glanced to Twilight whom gave him an encouraging nod, and to the Mayor’s glare that told him to get on with it. Though he did not know it, it was the icy stare on the back of his head that made him do it, as he put quill to paper and wrote the five characters of his name in careful English. The deed was done. With the line signed, a choir of entrance horns rose up from the background, causing the Mayor’s ears to perk in their direction.

“Nice sound effects.” David commented.

“That’s the signal.” Mayor Mare rose from her chair. “Starlight, you will tend to my quarters in my absence.”

The unicorn said nothing.

“Miss Sparkle, this has been a…tantalizing experience, to say the least. But, as Mayor of Ponyville I shall uphold these alterations.” She gritted her teeth whilst returning her glasses to her muzzle, and held out a hoof to the Princess.

“I appreciate the cooperation, Miss Mayor.” Twilight accepted her hoof and shook.

It was then that the Mayor led a wary eye to the boy on her left and forced a wavy grin. “Well then, honorary Equerry, we are expecting good things out of you from now on, agreed?”

“O-Of course!” David stood abruptly, grabbed her hoof with both hands and swung up and down. “I won’t let you down, Miss Mayor? Mare? Ma’am? Madame? Boss? Er…Sir?”

“Just get out of my office.”

West of the village in the valley lied the train depot. The platform was dead quiet, save for the colt tending to the ticket booth and the lone lavender mare sitting idly on the bench. She strayed to her left, then looked to her right, unsure in which direction the train would arrive and more unsure of exactly when the train would arrive. All she knew was the mayor had sent her on this task. To pick up and depart with some stranger by the name of Ronin Edelhoof, on which she referenced to the profile that lay within her magical grasp. He was a young looking stallion, possibly no older than herself, with rich green eyes and a dark red coat, his hair a shady and spiky black. She studied the mugshot-like interpretation carefully, noticing the curve of his horn and his mane in a bun. Next to his picture was a depiction of a nine-petaled flower, supposedly his cutie mark. Such a delicate, beautiful-looking mark seemed oddly unfitting for such a rough-looking pony, and in that moment Amethyst wondered just what sort of immigrant she was preparing to encounter, and that was to assume he was an immigrant in the first place, which would further assume that there were more to come. Amethyst felt rather unschooled in the nuances of immigration and crossing of cultures. Ponyville was almost straight ponyfolk save for the minute population of mules and beggars that she saw wandering the streets every once in a while and she already knew the common populace didn’t take kindly to such races. Only the more extravagant and colorful exemplars received praises, like the dragons from the Dragonlands or the yaks from Yakyakistan. Donkeys and mules were only mush upon their haughty taste buds. Such prejudice was on the rise lately, and although her mother warned her to have no business with such quarrels, Amethyst liked to think of herself as neutral to the whole ordeal.

Plumes of smoke rose from under the horizon, and the chugging notes of the train’s engine came into earshot as the Friendship Express rolled into view. Even over the cacophonous cranks of the train the conductor could be heard announcing the next stop, and with a final huff the bread-brown locomotive lurched to a stop. Door attendees slid open the portals for passengers to make their exit, and all the while Amethyst parried her glances between the profile in her grasp and the departing members of the train. The “all aboard!” signal came sooner than expected, the whistle howled and the train was off as quickly as it had arrived. Amethyst desperately strayed to her right and glanced to her left, and spotted a peculiar figure behind the veils of steam. Curved horn, mane in a bun…it must be him. She thought. The mare adorned her “working” smile before sauntering up to the pony.

“You must be new here. Welcome to Ponyville.” She beamed.

The colt stared at her silently.

“My name is Amethyst Star, I’m the Mayor’s accomplice-erm! Assistant-I mean! Employee.”

Silence remained.

“Well? Go on, say something.” She urged.

Crickets. The chirping grew louder and closer until a tiny, black and green insect emerged from his saddle bag. The cricket clicked once, hopped onto the floor and sprung across the platform until it was no more. Amethyst blinked in the direction of the cricket and then returned to Ronin, speechless and waiting. The young pony fired up his curved horn and produced a small, string-bound tome from his bag, to which Amethyst strained her sights upon the title. Ponish-to-Koumanese, Koumanese-to-Ponish Dictionary. A Guide To Getting By.

“Ano…” Ronin began his first words. “You are…pretty pony?”

“Oh, for the love of…” Amethyst growled.

“Do I say good?”

“I can’t believe this.” She stomped a hoof in frustration.

“Genki-des?” The colt murmured.

“Do I look like I speak noodle to you?” Amethyst stared at him.

Ronin simply cocked his head in confusion.

“C’mon, cricket boy.” She grumbled, turning to the stairs at the end of the ramp.

The sound of the mallet striking against the gong reverberated throughout the plaza square, followed by the second wave of horns signaling the ambassador’s entrance. From the sky leading down to a runway channeling down the center of the plaza, a silver chariot with blue, decorative wings rolled into view, pulled by two pegasi of the royal guard. They slowly trotted into a halt and the wheels lurched to a stop, the surrounding ponies throwing pink confetti to the air as to mimic the falling of cherry blossom petals. To this, the tall, elder unicorn housed within the chariot made his way down the steps to take in the scenery. Much to his dismay his sight-seeing was cut short by the sudden confrontation of a baggy, beige mare fixing her glasses and clearing her throat.

“Mr. Mikado, we have been expecting you.” The Mayor bowed her head respectfully.

“Please, we are in your country, are we not?” Mikado raised her head with a hoof. “There is no need for that.”

“My apologies, Mr. Mikado, I ensure you that prior to your arrival I had studied your culture extensively.”

“I can tell.” His eyes gazed about the makeshift lanterns and ceremonial banners. “And please, just Mikado will suffice.”

“Well then, Mikado, shall we be off to observe your crew at work? I assume you must be eager to oversee the operations at the castle.”

“Mm, not quite.” Mikado stroked his short beard. “I do not believe they are ready, we will give them a little more time.” He held out his hoof and the Mayor took it with a flustered chortle. “Come, Miss Ivory, shall we go sight seeing?”

“Nopony had told me you were quite the charmer.” She chortled again.

“Crowds such as these are warming and welcoming, but they frighten me so. Do you know why?”

“Do tell.”

“Like shadows beneath shade they are a single color within many, yet you do not know which one, not until they strike. They say that nature’s most colorful wonders are also its most dangerous, yet nature does not tell you which.” Mikado walked down the path and around the plaza with the Mayor, taking in the sights and studying the vendors. They stopped at the apple showcase ran by the Apples, featuring their zap apple products along with simpler delectables. “This simple fruit is a fine example.” Mikado took an apple in his aura. “Delectable, appealing, and a shiny exterior. However, if one is not careful enough…” He split the apple open to reveal several green and brown spots with a worm swimming around inside, the yellow mush falling apart in his magical grasp.

“Well pardon my Ponish, Mr. big-wig, but it looks like ya’ taint everything ya’ touch.” Granny Smith said from behind the vendor.

The Mayor was ready to give the Apples a stern look for not having checked all their apples, but Mikado began to laugh heartily. “Your elder is perceptive.” He said. “My analogies simply could not rest on words alone.”

“Don’t you fret, dearie, nothin’ gets past this old mare.” Granny confirmed.

“It would seem so. Here, for the apples.” Mikado provided four bits, two for the apple he had intentionally rotted and two for a fresh one. He calmly levitated the fresh fruit beneath his kimono and gave a final nod to the Apples before trotting away. Mayor Mare kept to his pace, making subtle comments and nods towards the homage of oriental decor as though Mikado himself hadn’t already proved his awareness scale from the beginning. It was then that a lavender unicorn trotted up to them fearlessly and effortlessly.

“Now, here is a colorful example.” Mikado commented.

Amethyst regarded the ambassador for only a second before turning to the Mayor. “May I have a word with you?”

“Ah, miss Anemone? Was it?” The old mare chuckled nervously. “I’d like for you to meet Mr. Mikado, our most respected guest this afternoon.”

“Extravagant on the outside, yet an enigma within.” Mikado took Amethyst’s hoof in a gentle shake. “You best please your elders, young one.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Amethyst was quite abrupt as she turned back to her superior. “So, mind trading me the one that can actually speak a coherent language?”

“Excuse us, please.” The Mayor said before bumping Amethyst’s haunches with her own and diving into a heated whisper. “Surely a simple retrieval task wasn’t too hard for the likes of you, now was it, miss Ammonia?”

“First of all, it’s Amethyst Star.” She felt the need to correct. “Secondly, no it would not have been so hard had it not been for the fact he can’t speak anything past ‘chopsticks’. I walked in for a full on interview this morning and I get this? I believe I deserve an explanation.”

“I trust you recognize an opportunity when you see one. Patience is key here, child. Do as I tell you and you will get your reward.”

“So you want me to play babysit, is that it?” Amethyst grew impatient.

“Is that not what you trained for during all those summers?” The Mayor shot back. “Oh yes, I read that resume of yours. I’ll admit it was lacking, but still a good shot over the majority. Your skills may be put into great use one day, miss Amenity. I suggest you find out what those traits are.” Mayor Mare left Amethyst as quickly as she had yanked her away and trotted back in Mikado’s direction, whom was currently staring at a vacant space in the middle of the fountain. Oh, how was she to explain this one?

The purple unicorn was left to stare in the direction of the Mayor and her precious ambassador, and it was at that Amethyst knew she had just been left to do the grunt work. Her agile, young mind had pictured things a little differently the night before. An office of her own, a warm cup of joe on her desk along with the start of the day’s paperwork, whatever that might entail. Even her name would be written upon the door to her office in bold, black lettering on a crystalline window. Alas, the only lettering she had to trot up to now were the pompous pastels of the sweets shop that which her foreigner of a companion stood beneath, looking about his surroundings and glancing at his book every now and then like a confused tourist to his pamphlet. Amethyst hated tourists, and hated foreigners even more, even if this was the one and only Neighsian she had met in her life thus far.

“Finished sight seeing?” She asked him tiredly.

“Town Hall?” He asked concernedly. “We go?”

“I’ll tell you this, the Mayor’s got a special plan for a special boy like you, so why don’t you just sit tight with me for a while?” She looked to the sweets shop. “Listen, I’ll buy you a smoothie. I’m sure they got rice-flavored or something for ya’.”

Ronin simply cocked his head again.

“Pony feathers, I can barely get a word out of you. What am I gonna do?” She eyed his book still resting in his levitation and took it in her own field. “Lemme see that.”

At this, Ronin adorned an annoyed, disdainful expression as the unicorn before him rudely yanked his book away and began flipping through as if it were her own. He would tolerate it, knowing he would not need it after all. As the mare blindly leafed around the pages, two clicks hopped up onto Ronin’s shoulder. A stray cricket had returned to him to deliver the latest intel, and after interpreting the rhythm of the chirps, the colt’s eyes went wide with worry as he looked in the direction where the Mayor was last. There in the distance among the sea of ponies and celebrations was Mikado, and Ronin ducked just in time before his blue, piercing eyes were to land on him. Amethyst took no notice to his odd behavior as the young foreigner ducked away and escaped from the scene.

“…Omae…?” Amethyst read. “That means ‘you’? Honestly, why can’t your folk just speak a simpler tongue, huh?” She looked around worriedly. “Hey, where’d you go? Cricket boy?”

Scaffolding, jackhammers and a hivemind working crew flooded the crystalline castle’s front lawn as Mayor Mare and Mikado walked up the narrow dirt path which striped down the center of it all, ending at the stairs leading up to the doors of the castle. The ambassador took a good, long look around at the ongoing construction before finally resting his eyes upon something that made him squint and pinch his muzzle uncontrollably.

“Tell me my good Mayor, just what is this sore thumb sticking out of the ground?”

“My apologies, Mikado, I will contact our trunk removal services at once.” She aimed to please.

“I was referring to the castle.”

“We consider that Ponyville’s latest renovation.”

“Aside from the statue?”

“Er, yes, well...” She fixed her collar and cleared her throat. “Princess Twilight’s last state of residence had been all but rendered to ash in the midst of recent conflict. Nopony was seriously hurt, as it is safe to say, and as a result the castle was erected in a matter of seconds.”

“And where is the Princess?”

“It would seem a princess’ duty is her priority.”

“Is that so? How rude of her highness.” Mikado muttered. “To insist upon foreign affairs only for her to come up short in the appearance department.”

“If it would please you, Mr. Mikado, I can locate her at once.”

Mikado’s tightened gaze eased up upon the sight of the old mare, and he gave an odd smile with a low laugh. “Miss Ivory you aim to please too much. Come, allow me to return the favor.”

With a calm, graceful stride he led the old mare in the direction of the thicker parts of the construction, an abundance of workers hustling about systematically as though they were aware of their progress and the presence of their lead supervisor and company owner, Mikado himself, in perfect unison. A blue-eyed helmet colt delivered an obedient nod and produced a blueprint for Mikado to take a quick once over. The ambassador looked to the construction ahead, back to the blueprint, and then nodded once more for the work to continue.

In the meanwhile, halfway across town, cricket boy was nowhere to be seen. Amethyst came trotting quickly into the plaza party, barreling past party goers and street vendors until she was in the middle of it all, desperately glancing this way and that for any sign of the one and only job she had been assigned to. It was then that she recalled Ronin’s appearance, most particularly his curved horn, and from that she assumed the rest of the hunt to be a cake walk. She pounced upon the first glimpse of curvature to bestow her eyes, taking a “gentle” hold of him with her magic and turning the runaway colt around.

“This isn’t a quirk of yours I’m gonna have to deal with, is-” Amethyst halted in her tracks, the unicorn with the curved horn…wasn’t even a unicorn at all. A little filly with a perplexed expression stared at her, a makeshift, curved horn hat adorning her head. “-it?” She finished weakly. Suddenly, she looked all around to find curved horns here and there, near and far, and the nearby souvenir vendor could only spell disaster for her.

“Curved horns!” the vendor pony yelled. “Get your curved horns, here! Wanna look a like a bigot but still blindly support your local, foreign ambassador? Then come get your filthy-I mean-curved horns, here!”

A bit fifty to look like that wretched ambassador and his blasted curved horn also meant a bit fifty to look like cricket boy from afar and make Amethyst Star’s one and only job this afternoon a living, fury-inducing hell. The desperate, lavender unicorn bounced from outlet to outlet within the chaos of the market stalls, every little inch of the scenery looking more and more like a visit to noodleland, as she would likely put it. Oriental lanterns hung above and traditional music sounded away in the background, followed by the eruptious volume of the gong. The poor unicorn slammed face first into the giant, rotundus plate of brass, which wasn’t even accurate in the material department to begin with. Her pancaked figure peeled off of the plate, back into the third dimension, and her pupils spun in her sockets like a slot machine until landing on a matching pair of nine-petaled flowers. Of course, that was it! His cutie mark. She was going about this all wrong, and all she needed to do now was locate the boy’s butt mark. If only she could get her eyes to fix correctly on the horizon, for the impact had made her dazed. She squinted ahead and found one Ronin, then three, then six…her ears were still ringing.

Amethyst snarled, chose a Ronin and charged forward. One of these figures had to be the correct choice and not the poor, elderly mare she just tackled.

Ronin sauntered gracefully upon the bamboo scaffolding at least three stories up, peeking through the stalks and down below to the party of two he had been following. After having gained word that Mikado of all ponies was in town, somehow on the same day, somehow at the same time he had arrived, Ronin set out to discover just what sort of business the ambassador was up to now. To come to the central country town of Ponyville of all places. Sure, it was perhaps the biggest agricultural estate known to Equestria and beyond, but what exactly did he want with it? Ronin was aware of the incoming festivities for the village, how all of this construction surrounding him were to provide for the occasion, but the young foreigner was cautious, perceptive. Having met Mikado’s ilk before, he knew he could only be up to no good in the long run, and so he studied him carefully as he led the Mayor around the construction site. As the two made their stop, the boards beneath Ronin’s hooves emitted an odd creaking noise. A split second later, his hind hoof broke through the bamboo and dangled from underneath. Impossible, Ronin knew bamboo scaffolding, he knew where to step and how to position himself. Some amateur must have screwed up the planning, unless…they were built this way intentionally.

There was another creak, followed by a crunch and an ear splitting crack. Ronin looked below him, seeing he was still lodged within all the same. Then he looked behind him, and there she was, that lavender unicorn, the one with the crazy look in here eye. The stupid tourist was walking on the bamboo all wrong!

“No!” Ronin shouted. “Stop, don’t come any closer!”

“You…” Amethyst huffed and puffed. “I’m gonna get that job even if…”

“No!”

“Even if it kills me!”

Amethyst’s front half broke through the floor, her legs sticking out from above. At last, there was complete, utter silence, and Ronin breathed a sigh of relief. If only the flexing of his lungs hadn’t added the final ingredient to their rickety demise. Bit by bit the entire eastern half of the construction site fell to pieces, and as Mayor Mare looked up from her spot, the astonished faces of Amethyst and Ronin were the last thing she saw before everything came tumbling down upon her.

The tacky, pink marble pieces rumbled and rattled until they clicked together, only to break apart once again. The leg of the statue was broken, not to mention other areas had suffered minor damages, and no matter how many times Starlight attempted to fuse the pieces back together with her magic, the bonds would not interlink. She gave a final huff of defeat before walking over to the near wall and slumping to her rump, looking up to her teacher with desperate, tired eyes.

“No doubt about it, that statue was sculpted using earth pony magic. I can’t read the homogeneous lines.” She said. “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do.”

“The statue is of no concern of mine.” Twilight replied. “At the moment.”

“Y’know, it’s no wonder a farmer doesn’t want a unicorn to do an earth pony’s job.”

Twilight said nothing, staring at the ruin of Caerus that lay in the middle of the royal guard barracks. Sam and Ralph had carried the chunks of rock and pebble, showing little regard to what was left and only making matters worse for repairs.

“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” Sam had told her, although he seemed quite uneducated in the meaning of the phrase.

The statue itself was old enough as it was, meaning its original sculptor must be pushing daisies by now, and so it seemed only one option was left for the fate of the lonely fountain in the middle of the plaza. A new statue would take its place, Twilight anticipated, a replacement. She had lost a home once, replacements were nothing new to her, and she knew what needed to happen. Trying to be reminiscent on the old days would only work for so long. Sometimes, all you needed to do was fill the space.

Her sights swung to the east end of the barracks where Sam and Ralph stood at attention eyeing the human all over, asking him dull questions and imagining what might happen to his soft, fleshy skin should they prod their spears at it. David cautiously rested his finger to the head of one spear, slowly wrapping his fingers at its base to lower Sam’s position towards his chest. At that instant the white stallion was mesmerized by the intricacies of his hand. The dexterity, the fingery features! He couldn’t take his eyes off of something he had never seen the likes of and asked the boy just what it would take to rival such biological ingenuity. He told the pony he’d have to speak to his creator about that, but not even he has had any luck contacting him.

A moment later and Twilight was approaching the three to dispel their nonsensicals and order they stop harassing her Equerry. That word, that role, Equerry. Starlight shot a glance over from the other side of the room but quickly hid her concern.

“Your highness, will you not let us escort the boy with you?” Ralph questioned.

“I’ve told you before, he can bring me no harm even if he tried.” Twilight replied.

The words didn’t hurt, not as much as her tone. It was the way she said it that made David feel smaller than he actually was, less noticeable. A strange, cruel thought overwhelmed him in that moment. What if he were to just swing at Twilight, right here and right now? A quick punch, a swift kick, all of it was too easy for her. All she had to do was conjure up a force field, or better yet stop him with her levitation and throw him against the wall, just like she did with those timber wolves in the castle ruins. There was a lot more power than met the eye with these ponies, and so David was becoming more and more aware just how vulnerable he was around every corner, moreso how real it began to feel. Ralph turned to the boy slowly, a stern stare in his slitted, yellow sights.

“We have caught on to your sentience by now, boy, so be wary. The knowledge to understand the law should be reason enough to follow it.”

“Uh...I won’t let you down?” He shrugged.

“Consider your mutilation spree strike one.” Sam butted in.

“It was just the statue.”

“Next time it’ll be strike three.”

“What happened to strike two?”

“Strike twice and I won’t think once!” Sam raised a hoof bump to his friend whom promptly declined.

He hadn’t a clue of what to make of the two guards before him. They were noble steeds, one lived by the guidelines, though not so bright. The other fit his tone near perfectly appearance wise, dark and serious. At the very least they made a charming pair, and although David had no direct knowledge of them prior to his arrival, he decided to categorize them in with the hundreds of thousands of other royal guard clones that walked this pony-brimmed planet. Sam and Ralph seemed generic enough names anyways. For the short time he looked out the window and found evening making its descent on the town, his hand hovered beneath his pocket and onto the item lying within, the small, strange book he picked up from the library. That strange tree symbol on the back, just what was it? Just why was it making him think of home, what he did on Earth, and his familiarity with a certain cartoon show he couldn’t quite place. The memories were all too blurry. He ceased his grip and led his hand away, aware of Twilight’s presence and that this was in fact her book that was in his possession. Perhaps he would inform her about it later, when the time was right.

The boy set his attention to Twilight, whom had been pulled aside by Starlight in a rather abrupt turn. “What’s your plan here, Princess? Should we recruit Fluttershy’s animal shelter for election, too?” The unicorn questioned her intensely.

“Understand that I only did what was best for him.” Twilight raised a wing to ease her student. “This is only temporary.”

“A few weeks, temporary?” Starlight pushed. “A few months? A few years? We don’t have an estimate, you said so yourself. This kid could be here for the rest of his life for all we know.”

“We’ll find a solution-”

“No, you’re going to find a solution.” Starlight accused a hoof. “Me? I don’t want any part of this, not anymore. You can have the Equerry’s title, see if I care. I guess I never should have agreed to come back to Ponyville with you in the first place.”

Starlight marched for the back door, but suddenly dismissed herself with a flash of her horn, and after a split second blue-white bang, she was gone. Sparks sizzled in the air for a few seconds, signaling that she had teleported somewhere very, very far away. An exhausted sigh escaped the Princess’ lips, resting a hoof to her temples for a short moment, and David took a wary step forward.

“Is she gonna be alright?” He asked.

“She’ll be back.” Twilight replied. “There’s nowhere else for her to go.”

“I’m sorry, I must’ve really upset her this time.”

“You do not have to take the fall for another pony, one is enough.”

David recoiled in realization. “You knew?”

“That weather captain must be grateful for what you did. You may have made a lot of enemies, but I’m sure you’ve made an ally. Honestly, it almost makes me think you are worthy of this title.” She felt another grin coming on, but faded as she looked to the evening lights outside, knowing that the day was nearing its end. “C’mon.” She beckoned. “Let’s head back to the castle.”

As the double doors gave way to Twilight and the boy, Spike was more than prepared to give the Princess a heart-felt greeting. The pony bent down to give her little dragon a hug, and over her shoulder the lizard snuck a tight hiss and grimace to the boy making his way inside. David squinted back, then instead diverted his attention elsewhere, lest the little turd provoke him. Spike filled Twilight in on everything he had done in her absence, the routine organizing and cleaning tasks, though he dared not touch David’s book fort. The mare seemed not to mind and sent the little dragon off into the castle to do what he pleased for the remainder of the evening.

“I take it he’s a handful?” David felt to comment.

“Oh, not at all.” Twilight returned dutifully. “Spike is a wonderful assistant, one of my closest friends in fact. Him and I have been together since my studies in Canterlot, when I was only a little filly.”

The boy steadily looked down the hall and up the stairs, wherein the dragon laid at the top, sneering and glaring. He trained two claws over his eyes, and turned them back onto the boy, snarling before retreating up the steps.

“Does uh, every pony get a little dragon of their own?”

Twilight gave a little laugh. “No, Spike was a gift.” She reminisced. “A very special gift.”

“Not sure what you mean.”

“It’s a story for another time.” The pony turned, calling again. “Anyways, there’s something I need to give you, follow me.”

Leading the boy into her quarters, she then approached her desk and opened the bottom left drawer to produce a small, blue box. Encased within on velvet, silk lining was a small crest. The badge itself was made of some sort of cheap yet sturdy metal, in the shape of a shield with a silhouette of a unicorn’s head on the front. On the back was Ponish writing embedded into the metal, and the badge was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand.

“By hoof, by heart, by horn. To city and country we are sworn.” Twilight spoke aloud. “That is what the engraving reads. This is the official Equerry’s badge. Along with many other items, this was issued to me as soon as I returned to Ponyville after my coronation.” She laid the badge in his hand with her magic. “It’s yours now.”

“A little tacky.” He admitted, looking it over.

“Well, I did have to order a replacement.”

“So is it just for keep sakes?” He shrugged.

“Mostly, but if you ever find yourself in a situation with the guards or any other authority, just show them that.” Twilight nodded to the badge. “You’ll be better off with it than you would be without.”

“I’m going to steal so many sweetrolls. Y’know that, right?”

“That’s an extension of regal power you’ve got in your hand there, not a get out of jail free card.” Twilight told him. “I can only hope you’ll recognize the responsibility required to wield it.”

“I don’t know, I...” David looked at the badge and then back to Twilight. “I feel like I don’t deserve this.”

“Please, hold onto it.” She insisted. “This isn’t a matter of whether you’ve earned it, I’m only trying to keep you safe.”

Keep me safe? He wondered.

“Because I’m not always going to be around to do that.” She finished.

I get it now, I’m a burden, and she might as well be putting a sign over my head. David thought on as he blinked and slightly frowned at the badge. Maybe I do deserve this…

“I understand.” He sighed as he stood up and securely placed the badge into his pocket, right on top of the book.

“Hey now, no reason to look so glum.” She tried. “Tomorrow will be better, I promise.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I’ve got something planned.” Twilight smiled.

Chapter 9 - Patterns

“No reason to look so glum, Miss Mayor.” The nurse beamed.

“Why, because only my leg was broken?”

“No, silly, you have a visitor.” Nurse Redheart, a cotton white earth pony with a pink mane and red cross for a cutie mark was always one to see the benefit of the doubt, the brighter side of things. Alas, the Mayor herself found nothing bright, nothing beneficial in the presence of other ponies, especially in this very moment. Lying upon white bed sheets, neck rested into a white pillow and a one broken leg suspended by a white sling that hung from a white ceiling. White walls, white lights, just where exactly did the decoration department go with this one? What was the theme, winter? Perhaps there wasn’t one to begin with, for nothing was around to stimulate the senses and only then could the pain the patient was experiencing be their only modem of focus. What a unique way to enforce discipline, she would have to take notes. Oh yes, that’s right, she couldn’t at the moment. Suspended into this bed and all.

“Mayor Mare?”

She ignored the visitor, she already knew who it was. As tempting as the change of color of the scenery was, Ivory had had enough purple for one day. It was beginning to become her unlucky color, if that were ever a thing.

“Mayor Mare?” The voice repeated.

Blast it, there was only one way to go about this now. This was going to hurt her lungs, perhaps even her rib cage, but if she could do anything to get this child away from her now she would do it.

“For everything that’s happened today I know I had almost zero control over, but more importantly I want you to realize just how sorry I am for all of it.”

Ivory eased up, rested her head back to the pillow, and simply decided to go the other route with this one. Sometimes to get a message into somepony’s skull, all you needed was a calm demeanor and words of intent.

“Would you choose your last words so poorly, Miss Ametrine?” The Mayor finally spoke up.

“Uh...?”

“Because if I could strangle you right now, I would.” Her eyes darted to the side. “You and your friend.”

The foreigner let go of the collection of flowers in his magical grasp and laid them down on the table next to the bed. “Forgive her, she very poor at apologizing.” Ronin nodded.

Amethyst blinked in surprise and looked towards him. “Well that sure was a mouthful for somepony who’s very poor at Ponish.”

“It wasn’t the situation you lost control of, my child.” The Mayor sighed deeply. “It was yourself.”

“You’re saying that with relative experience, I presume?” Amethyst put on her best smile.

“Tell me, and tell me the truth only.” The Mayor started. “Have you come to apologize to me on behalf of your highly anticipated role at Town Hall?”

Amethyst opened her mouth and froze. To tell her the truth and the truth only, to the very mare she had just shattered the left hind leg of moments ago...

“I can see that your mother at least taught you to stay silent if you can’t even tell the truth.” The Mayor sighed again, her eyes scanning the yawn fest that was the white ceiling and walls surrounding her, and the shriek party that were the two ponies standing before her bed. “The truth of the matter is I have been drugged with enough pain killers that I can barely lift any of my unbroken hooves any more than my broken one. Believe me when I say that if I had the strength to do so, you’d be lying in the hospital bed next to mine.”

“Mayor, please, I was only trying to-”

“Whatever it is you were trying I’ve had enough of it for one day. You had your chance to prove your worth, and you’ve failed.”

Amethyst’s eyes began to grow wet and bleary, a familiar sting pinching at the creases which caused her to blink rapidly.

“Do you get the picture, child?” The Mayor asked sternly.

“Y-Yes, Miss Mayor.” Amethyst hung her head as she felt a lump form in her throat.

“Then please, get out of mine.”

The poor young mare’s response was only a hard swallow, and she quickly turned her head and trotted out of the room. A tiny, liquid glint of light hit the floor in front of her as she made her exit. Ronin found himself staring at the exit for a good sum of seconds as he let the clopping of hooves from the hallway ring in his ears. The beeping of the medical machines in the room returned him to his senses as he turned his attention back to the old mare lying in the bed, whom was apparently trying to get his attention.

“Did you hear me?” She asked. “I said you may go now.”

Ronin blinked with an estranged look.

“I am sorry for any mishaps that you may have experienced in your time here in Ponyville, but there is nothing I can do about it now.” She said. “Go and get some rest.”

Ronin looked on at the mare. “There is something you can do.” He finally said.

“Oh? What could I possibly do for you?” She jokingly quizzed.

“Not for me, for her.” He said.

The Mayor squinted harshly.

“You must put your blame on me. I cause her all this trouble, I antagonize her. It was not all her fault.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Give her a second chance.”

She scoffed and laughed a little, but stiffened with pain as she remembered not to move so much. “And why in Tartarus would I do that? You’ve received first hoof experience of the destruction she caused, coming out miraculously unscathed too I must say. Clearly you can see why I wouldn’t give her another opportunity to do it all over again.”

“It will not happen again. I promise.” Ronin insisted.

“You have me unconvinced, still.”

“Please, I must do this.”

“And why is that?”

“I just feel in my heart that it is the right thing to do.” Ronin answered her.

The Mayor stared at the stallion for a moment before briefly rolling her eyes. “Let me guess, you like this girl.”

“She’s very rude.” Ronin said. “And weird.”

“So you’re prepared to make sacrifices for a pony you value nothing about?”

Ronin found himself shut up to her statement as he reviewed its implications.

“Believe me, son, I’ve been there more times than this old mare can count. That I speak with relative experience.”

The young stallion was held by silence again, and so he simply waited in listening intent to see what the Mayor would say or do next. Not as though she could really do anything action wise, but Ronin was waiting for such a thing anyways. A decision at least, and it seemed as though more silence would work in that favor, and so he did just that. Finally, the Mayor sighed deeply, so much so that even Ronin felt a few years of his own life span leaving him. This mare was old, tired, had experienced a day of nothing but disappointment, devastation and disaster, and yet she moved.

“Give me that paper lying on that desk over there.” She commanded. He looked over to find just that and lit his horn to life as the paper floated her way. With a free lazy hoof, she slowly cupped it and rest it to her limb. “The pencil.” She nodded. Ronin looked again and lifted the pencil sitting on the same desk with his magic. The Mayor opened her mouth and parted her teeth to which Ronin became confused at. Where he came from just about every resident was a unicorn, their way of writing accustomed to simply using their horn. He had seen fillies and foals much too young to use their horn use their mouths to write, and so seeing an elder take on this procedure was more than foreign to him. Shortly after, Ronin did as she was silently requesting and carefully placed the pencil between her teeth. She clamped down on the utensil and brought it to the paper. After what seemed like ages of waiting in a mere minute, the quiet scratches of graphite on paper came to a close.

“Here.” She said.

Ronin levitated the paper to his view, getting a brief glimpse of the symbols written upon it. He may have been able to speak clear enough Ponish, but he could not read a word of it.

“An associate will be taking my place for the time being. Go to Town Hall 8 o'clock sharp tomorrow morning and bring that letter to him.”

With the “him” Ronin could only wonder who, but realizing he had a job to do, he bowed his head low enough that he felt the tip of his horn touch the floor.

“I will be sure to express my gratitude. Thank you.” He said.

“Go, off you go.” The Mayor waved a lazy hoof. “Before I change my mind.”

Ronin quickly nodded, folded up the note and headed for the door.

“Oh, and-” She called.

Ronin stopped and turned back to her.

“Don’t forget to tell your friend.”

With a final nod the foreign pony dashed out of the mare’s sight, and she rested her head back onto the pillow. “Celestia help this village…” She groaned.

The flow of Amethyst’s mane and tail were like that of a parachute being caught in one gust of wind after another, up and down, up and down. She placed her hoof to the plasma ball in a bored, tired rhythm, the electricity pulsing through her body and surging through her hair. As excited as her surrounding electrons were, the young mare herself was a slumped over mess of failure on the laboratory work bench. Several other tools, inventions and machinery of “science” filled the room with energized beeps and mechanical whirs, their purposes and inner machinations all but unknown to her. She looked to her side, a dust-brown stallion with a collar and tie tinkering away at one of the control panels. Though he was working intently, the angle of his ear told her that he was listening all the while.

“What do you think, Doc?” She asked him.

“I am always thinking, Miss Star.” He replied politely.

“The Mayor was right, I lost control of myself.” Amethyst admitted. “Maybe it would’ve been better to stay put, but how am I supposed to get anything done?”

“The mind is one’s greatest tool.” the Doctor said. “More mysteries than it has answers to give, and just as deadly as it is wondrous.” He stopped as he looked over to see the young mare still slumped over on the desk, staring into the blue plasma ball. “Alas we sometimes forget to use our minds. Unconsciously our emotions take over and we lose control.”

Amethyst sniffled.

“And it happens to the best of us.”

“At the most inconvenient of times, it seems.” She added.

“Do you inquire that it was all an accident?” the Doctor asked. “That you just so happened to trigger such emotions at that moment in time?

“Well, no. Obviously I was angry for a reason.”

“Precisely.” He tapped her nose, and the static electricity extended to him as well. “Even in times of calamity there is reason yet to be found.”

“But my reasons were petty and childish.” Amethyst argued. “Lashing out just because I didn’t get what I wanted? Some applicant I am. “

“But they were reasons nonetheless, albeit coherent and comprehensible.” The Doctor went on. “Competition has remained true to our nature even in this revolutionary era of our society. Though, we are not barbaric. We do not strive to survive, we thrive. We live.”

“Then why do we still argue and fight?” Amethyst asked innocently.

“Because we are driven, Miss Star.” The Doctor now looked her in the eye. “You are driven, Amethyst, and there’s no doubt in my mind that is the clearest message you got across to the ponies you met today. After all, it worked on me.”

Amethyst allowed a small blush to her cheeks as she looked away. “I can see why mom liked to spend so much time with you.” She said.

The Doctor blinked, his smile formed into a nervous grin and he sported a blush of his own. “Really? Why, I-I hadn’t noticed.”

“Don’t try and back out of this one, buster.” She followed up. “How come you two don’t hang out anymore?”

“Your mother must be quite busy.” He avoided. “After all, so am I.”

“Your inventions won’t keep you from fate, not forever.”

“Tinker with time, and they just might.” He hummed confidently. “They just might.”

Oh no, what have I done? Amethyst thought drearily. Here we go again…

“Time. A fickle thing, is it not?”

“Tell me about it.” Amethyst returned to her boring rhythm at the plasma ball.

“Relativity is quite the amateur approach to its understanding, perhaps even completely incorrect. From what manner of our own perspective, if any, are we to comprehend time when the concept of time itself is but another machination of the mind?” The Doctor continued. “Ever since a particularly compelling time in my life, which was actually last Tuesday when I was asleep in bed, I awoke with a jolt as a staggering epiphany dawned upon me!”

Amethyst awaited with quieted anticipation.

“I had left the stove on!” the Doctor gasped. “I came clamoring down the stairs, hit my head against the floor and my rump was in the air. In my moment of stupor, the world and its walls spun around me so, and it was then that a great thought came upon me, a tantalizing realization, a vision!”

Amethyst was still playing with the plasma ball.

“I should make toast for breakfast!” He hailed. “My kitchen, a mess, and the world outside as beautiful and chaotic as ever. I lent an eye and an ear to the nearby window, where dark clouds of terror and screams of horror flooded the calm, quiet streets of Ponyville. The next thing I knew, thunder crackled and beasts of myth were unleashed upon our streets, for only the six most bravest, stunning and spectacular mares in town could save our flanks from this wrath of wickedness. The battle was on, mare fought beast and beast fought mare, and in the midst of roars, slashes, laser beams and sharks flying around in the air, only then did the utmost greatest idea of the century behold my mind.”

The plasma ball went bzzt!

“I should put butter on my toast!” The Doctor was ecstatic. “I reached over for my self-made glass butter tray and spread a healthy portion from knife to toast. Only, the butter began to wear thin, and I looked over with dismay to find the last of that slippery, white-yellow creamy goodness was now depleted. Gone, reduced to liquidation and finally evaporation. I was distressed, lost and confused, for it dawned upon me. Time was like too little butter over too much toast. In the heart of such a vast, wondrous and complex world, we are only given so much time to understand it all.”

“I believe what you’re talking about is relativity.” Amethyst replied. She sat up and exhaled slowly, turning off of the work bench and for the exit. “Thanks for the chat, Doc. I think I’m going to head home now.”

“Would you care for a stroll?” He offered.

“No thank you.” She declined. “I just need to be alone for now.”

Nighttime made it’s descent upon Ponyville. The streetlight lanterns were lit just as the lasting orange streaks in the sky escaped to where the sun had fallen, and moments later the moon rose and found its place among the many stars. The lone unicorn trotted across cobblestone and soot, past party vendor and beneath the oriental lanterns that were hung up from before. Barren celebrations made places feel far more lonely than they actually seemed. She took one last look to the great building in the middle of the plaza, Town Hall, and sighed to turn in for the night.

Climbing the steps to her abode, Amethyst all but ignored her mother’s welcoming holler as she made a bee line for the stairs, threw her bag past the door into her room, and locked herself inside the bathroom. Hot, steaming streams flowed and filled the tacky-white tub to the brim. As the faucet dripped into silence, Amethyst climbed inside one hoof at a time. A few “ooos” and “aaas” of pain bounced against the bathroom walls, and at last she let loose a lengthy exhale as she sank beneath the hot, soothing waters, muzzle and horn just above the surface. She laid there, still and silent, ears beneath the water and eyes closed. It felt like ages, eons, time was irrelevant now, only she and the water existed together. Nothing could shatter the serenity, and so all thoughts and worries escaped her mind. There was a faint, fleeting scent…flowers? Then, there were three knocks at the door, and her mother’s voice broke through the bubbles and ripples.

There was somepony here to see her. Who could it possibly be at this hour? The Mayor? Her leg may have been broken but Amethyst wouldn’t put it past her to muster the strength to make a personal visit just to strangle her. Perhaps it was Sea Swirl, finally coming to apologize for stealing her slice of cake at the party the week prior. Amethyst at least hoped it got her one hoof closer to a threatening cholesterol level. If neither of these visitors, then who? No, no it couldn’t be. Anypony but him.

Amethyst swung the front door open, and sure enough…

“Ano…” Ronin began. “Good evening?”

“Ano…get out.” Amethyst growled.

“Well, it’s no wonder you spent a century in the bathtub.” Her mother laughed.

A softened-gray, wall-eyed pegasus with a bright blonde mane trotted into view. Though her eyes were misaligned, her smile was the brightest and warmest a pony had ever witnessed.

“Mom, quit it.”

“I ought to thank you for putting up with my stepdaughter for this long.” The pegasus mother extended a hoof. “My name is Derpy, but you can call me Miss Hooves.”

“Ronin is the name.” He shook. “Thank you for accepting me into your home.”

“Nopony is accepting anypony into any home. Got that?”

“Amy, dear, is that any way to treat your special somepony?” Derpy teased.

“Okay you’ve had your fun, now get back in the kitchen.” Amethyst whined.

“Y’see? She sounds just like her father.” Derpy laughed. “Dinner will be ready shortly, don’t be long you two~”

Amethyst eyed her mother trotting around the corner and turned back to the young colt at her door. A bouquet of flowers seemed to appear in his hooves out of nowhere. She eyed the flowers, the boy’s deep, green eyes, and with an exasperated sigh of frustration yanked him inside using her magic. The nearby picture frames and side table vase rattled as she slammed the door shut. Ronin regarded the threshold with eyes wandering the walls and ceiling.

“Is it your mission, all of a sudden, to transform my life into a living hell?” Amethyst questioned.

“I thought this would be very simple, but seeing now that your mother has invited me to eat it would be within my greatest displeasure and upmost rudeness to decline her offer.”

“So what is this? Some sort of tradition where you come from?”

“We call it common courtesy, where I come from.” Ronin informed. “The flowers are a bonus.”

She snatched the flowers out of the way, they crinkled in displeasure to her mare-handling. There was a peculiar item within, and she used her levitation to produce a small envelope with an odd seal. “You really know how to piss a mare off, don’t you?”

“Passion is the quickest way to the heart?” He shrugged insecurely.

Amethyst was prepared to shove the entire bouquet down his throat and kick his rear out the door, but there was a little audience watching closely from the bottom of the stairs behind the railing. A tiny, purple-gray unicorn emerged and looked up at the two with golden, gleaming eyes of equal awe and curiosity. The very next second the little unicorn adorned a serious expression, approached Ronin quietly, and craned her neck upwards to whisper to him.

“You ought to know, her shedding is at the end of every month.”

Amethyst spent the greater part of the evening chasing her little sister around the house.

“Dinky~!” The mother called. “Could you stop running for your life and set the table, please?”

“Yes, mother!” Dinky, the little unicorn of the house, skidded to a halt at the end of the hall. Her elder sister failed to compensate for the sudden stop and went flying head first to the end of the corridor.

She laid there back to the wall, head at the floor and arse in the air, her vision twirling as little Dinky’s and Ronin’s ran circles around her head. A figure appeared at the other end of the hall, a Ronin. First there was one, then two, then four. Amethyst rattled the fogginess out of her brain and sat upright, shoving a hoof in the visitor’s face to signal the rejection for assistance.

The clatter of kitchenware accompanied by the giggles of mother and daughter sounded from around the corner, and so Amethyst busied her way over to join them. The curved-horn colt was left to the homely corridor, fixing the disheveled rug with his magic and resting a picture frame back to its original place. He studied the photo within with care, respect, and a hint of intrigue. In the first photo was a young, tired-looking, gray pegasus, a blonde mane and bubbles for her mark. She was clutching a child, perhaps only four, a little unicorn with a delighted, snotty smile. Ronin moved on to the next photo wherein a purple, lavender maned unicorn had joined the duo from before. She was older than the little sister, yet no photos of her youth or before seemed to be placed anywhere. And there it was, though he did not know it yet, the first piece of the pattern laid right in front of him. Amethyst shoved her face into Ronin’s, her muzzle nearly touching his.

“The sooner you leave, the better.” She warned.

Ronin had been told that before, more times than he cared to count. Obviously this time was one of the softer blows, and she had nearly every right to say it, too. Amethyst was soft real deep down, for he could already see it, but knew that trying to muster that flowery attitude up to the surface would only make things worse. He would not belittle her, he would not test her, not unless the time came to do so. The foreigner went back on his uncle’s words before arriving in Equestria. It was a strange, new land, almost nothing like his home nor his people even though they were practically the same species. Time and nature had drifted them apart, and only now in their moment of reunion do they hardly recognize one another as brothers and sisters.

“Are you two kissing back there?” Dinky teased.

“Zip it, squirt.” Amethyst growled at her sister.

“I was just gonna say there’s food in here, too.”

“Ah, the flowers are not for eating, little one.” Ronin laughed. “They may look delicious, but they carry special meaning in my homeland.”

“Well, we’re not in your homeland, now are we?” Amethyst snapped.

Ronin allowed his patience to be tested once again. The company of four found their respective seats at the dinner table, and with that Derpy lifted the cloth from the pot of brimming macaroni in hopes that the aroma would settle looks of ire traveling from one end of the table to the other. Dinky quickly helped herself to a serving until her mother smacked her hoof and allowed their guest to have the first scoop. He thanked her gratefully and thanked her again for having invited him to the dinner to begin with.

“Please, dear, it’s just common courtesy.” Derpy assured. “I only hope our lack of tradition isn’t too out of style for you.”

“Not at all.” He replied curtly. “I do enjoy a change of culture from time to time.” Ronin felt that was a lie, but he strove to remain polite.

“Where did you say you were from?” Dinky perked up.

“I come from Neighsia. It is a land to the east beyond the Celestial Sea.”

“So like the legend of Mistmane?”

“My home village lies south of Mistmane village. That is where my uncle lives.”

“Wow!” The little filly was ecstatic. “Sis, he’s totally out of your league.”

As Ronin couldn’t help but chuckle lightly, Amethyst lit her horn and flicked a piece of macaroni onto her sister’s face. The younger retaliated by loading her spoon and launching a sum of slimy bits her way. The bickering lasted for only a spell until their mother hushed them and then returned to their guest with that same, warm and inviting smile. A spell of silence then took over, the quieted clacking of silverware and chewing filling the tiny, dining room ambiance until the mother decided to break the ice.

“The flowers are quite pretty.” Derpy commented. “Wherever did you pick them up?”

“I had a few seeds left over.” He replied.

“You grew them?”

“Pfft, yeah right.” Amethyst scoffed, playing with her food. “You really think I’m that stupid?”

“Stupid? No. Rude? Perhaps.” Ronin wore thin on patience.

“Amy?” Derpy looked over. “Is there something you’d like to say?”

“I am sorry, Miss Hooves. She...well, we had a rather bad day.”

“I’m telling you, we-” Amethyst rolled her eyes. “I did not have a bad day!”

“Then what’s with the attitude, darling?” Derpy questioned. “I thought I had told you no shouting at the dinner table.”

“Yeah, especially in front of your new boyfriend.” Dinky jabbered with a mouthful.

Amethyst rose quickly, both hooves slamming to the table and her horn alight with fury. “For the last time, I am not upset! I didn’t have a bad day and this...rice-ball is not my boyfriend!”

“Amethyst Star!” Derpy rose from her own chair. “What a thing to say.”

Ronin breathed for calmness and backed up in his chair. “I’m sorry, I’ve seemed to disturb your household. I best take my leave-”

“No!” Amethyst protested. She wasn’t quite sure why she had said it in that moment, but after a moment of tension she quickly followed up. “Please, stay. Go ahead and eat our dinner, I’m sure you’ll need it. I know I’ve already proved myself a pretentious little wench but even I don’t have the heart to let a lost, little puppy starve out in the streets.”

“What do you inquire?”

“Y’know, I think I get it now.” Amethyst settled down. “I spent a pretty decent chunk of my bath hour just thinking, contemplating, trying to surmise just what the heck a curvy-horn like you is doing in a country town in the middle of Equestria. Thousands of miles away from home and you could barely speak a word of Ponish, or at least you chose not to the moment I met you. You’re out of place, a little pony in a big big world, and so then that very thought occurred to me. You’re lost. You don’t know where to go or what to do, and in your spell of confusion it’s somehow landed you here, in Ponyville, to come and screw up my life, and I wanna know why.”

Ronin remained quiet, a stoic expression adorning his face with the exception of eyes that told a good reader of body language everything they needed to know. Lucky for him the young mare wasn’t quiet adept to such skills. Everypony had secrets, so what? The only catch was that sometimes such secrets were only to be revealed at the right time and at the right place, and he knew this night, the first night of all nights was not that time. Thus, his lips remained sealed.

“I’m willing to forget all of this ever happened.” Amethyst offered. “The chase, the Mayor, everything. All I ask is for you to prove me otherwise, tell me why you’re really here.”

“Just read the letter.” Ronin told her.

That spell of tension in the air returned. Dinky was completely quiet now, her mother waited patiently, and yet a gaze of disappointment befell the purple unicorn.

“Fine. If you wanna eat dinner, then you can do it without me.” Amethyst twirled out of her chair, rounded the corner and galloped up the stairs, leaving her unfinished supper behind.

“Amy!” Derpy chased after her daughter, a door from upstairs slamming shut as soon as she was halfway to the second story. The knocking and calling of her name persisted for some time before the mother finally gave up and trotted back downstairs to wrap things up for dinner and deliver her most sincere apologies to the poor boy. Ronin did his best to explain everything and not to be too harsh on her daughter, or rather stepdaughter as he had come to learn. Derpy eyed the bouquet of flowers resting upon their hallway stand and took a hold of them, a lovely, lavender scent flooding her nostrils.

Several minutes had passed since Amethyst retreated to her room and balled herself up at the front of her bed surrounded by pillows and plushies. The room was dim, the hall light creeping beneath her door providing the only illumination aside from the moon and many stars in the night sky outside. Her ear flicked to the clicking of the front door, and she curiously craned her neck upwards to peek out her window, watching Ronin’s familiar curved-horn figure disappear into the shaded corridors of the night. She huffed drearily and fell back into her pillows, strangling the fluff out of her stuffed owl as the displeasures of the day seeped back into her mind. Nagging, stinging, unrelenting they were. She supposed she would just be a lost little filly for the rest of her life, mooching off of her mother until it was time to put her in the ward, and then she’d work paycheck to paycheck at some dead end job. She’d never find a husband, never have foals of her own. She felt the waterworks collecting in her eyes. Then, the light beneath her door divided and a knock was heard.

Amethyst did not have to answer as her mother quietly invited herself in, leaving a crack in the door as she entered. The weight shifted as the pegasus sat at the end of the bed, crept closer, and began to rub her daughter’s withers. It went like that for a long time, the simple view of the stars upon a black-blue canvas accompanied by the cool, brisk air whispering past the curtains, and her mother’s hoof working circles around her cutie mark. Three identical diamond blue gems. It’s purpose was almost completely unknown to her at this point.

“What is going on in my little star’s mind?” Derpy cooed softly.

“I’m sorry, mom…” Amethyst teared up. “You don’t deserve a daughter like me.”

“I think you owe somepony else an apology.” The pegasus reached over and lifted a familiar bouquet of flowers into view. Her daughter only acknowledged them dryly, and at that Derpy stretched over to rest the woven floral to the desk beside her bed.

The view of the stars now hid beneath a bundle of purple petals, bound together by a pink ribbon with a simple little envelope tucked inside. Amethyst stared at the flowers for a moment, eyes wide and wondering. The placement, the decoration, the scent...he really did put some work into this. After another moment of humming to her daughter, Derpy leaned over and placed a peck on top of her mane, offering her to finish dinner lest it get too cold. The quieted mare moaned a refusal and so the pegasus simply left her at that. For a final moment Amethyst’s room returned to midnight blue walls and the little illumination from beneath her door. Her head felt like a block of lead and her eyes heavier, they fluttered up and down as the whispering winds carried the scent of the petals to her nostrils, and finally it all sung her to sleep.

Hush, little princess, your worries and your fears

One day your prince will be here

Moonlight shall guide you as the night draws near

Soon your prince will be here…

Chapter 10 - Fickle Florists

Sunshine strayed past the window, landing on Amethyst’s face and onto the flower petals lying next to her muzzle. For the dream had only lasted mere minutes yet the many hours of the night were over with in a fraction of the time, and so she blinked the bleariness from her eyes as she sat up, the scent of the flowers remaining to her nose. She looked out the window for a moment letting the memories of yesterday flood her mind, and then she looked to her desk. There the letter sat, unchecked, unopened, and so after a minute of consideration Amethyst sought to change that. She worked at the sealing with her horn and pried away at the parchment. She began to read, and her eyes grew wide with realization. She looked outside, looked to her flowers and then back outside. The scent sung to her.

She rode down the stair rail like she used to when she was younger, hopped and rocketed out the front door, saddle bag slung across her chest, the envelope tucked securely within. The pegasus in the kitchen had been startled by her daughter’s sudden outburst of energy this morning, and so she stuck her head out the window.

“Amy!” Her mother called. “Where are you going?”

“To the train station!” Amethyst hopped over the fence.

“What about breakfast?”

“I’ll be late!”

“For what?”

“My job~!”

A flock of white doves spread to the air and gave way for the mass of purple speeding through the scenery. The unicorn rounded the corner and swung around the lamp pole to maintain her course. She slid beneath the celebratory gong, cleared a row of petunias and catapulted off of the new spring sofa the sofa dealer was putting on display. She soared high and over the empty fountain space where the statue of Caerus once stood, the ponyfolk left in the dust to watch with agape jaws and shaking heads as the unicorn breezed past the buildings and made a beeline for the station. To her dismay several plumes of smoke rose from behind the station, and the “all aboard!” signal echoed across the platform. She would have to take drastic measures, and so Amethyst veered right and began to run alongside the accelerating locomotive. Her eyes dashed across the cart windows. The curved horn, the curved horn, where was it?

“Ronin!” She finally located.

The colt jolted, it was the first time she had called him by his name. He threw up his window.

“Jump!” She yelled.

“What?!”

“Just jump!”

All of it was against his better judgment and he just knew it. For a long time then from that point on, Ronin would not understand why he decided to throw his bag over his back, hoist himself up to the window sill, and jump. Amethyst would never understand why.

“Wait!” Her eyes bubbled. “I meant teleport-”

The full weight of the stallion plus his bag came crashing down on the poor mare, their bodies tumbling and flailing through the grass and flowers as the train puffed and chugged on. Silence overtook the scenery as the carts rode the rails and receded down the horizon, the chugging of the train disappearing little by little into the distance. A gust of wind blew by as a series of groaning emerged from the couple of ponies picking themselves up off the ground. Amethyst spat a mouthful of flowers onto Ronin’s face.

“Way to stick the landing, hops.” She rubbed her temple.

At that, the familiar sound of cricket chirps accompanied their scene. The same, green-black cricket from before hopped up on top of Ronin’s horn and clicked twice. Amethyst stared and blinked at the cricket.

“That’s not gonna happen every time we meet, is it?”

“Forget the cricket.” The colt grumbled. “Why did you tell me to jump?”

“What I meant to say was ‘teleport’.” She corrected.

“So why didn’t you?”

“It’s a three syllable word and I was running. Sheesh, gimme a break.”

“Look, whatever you dragged me out of my train home for better be important.” Ronin demanded.

The mare blinked and placed a hoof to her saddle bag. She flipped the cover open and produced the letter, the item still fairly intact from the fall. The young foreigner stared at it for a moment before returning to Amethyst and allowing her to do the explaining.

“I was wrong. I admit it, I’ve been rude, selfish, and a pretentious...bitch.” She paused. “I wasn’t going to say it in front of my mother, but you’re hearing the real deal now.”

“I’m not sure whether to thank you or make you buy me another ticket home.” Ronin replied dully.

“See, that’s the thing. I know you came here for a reason and the least I can do is help you, because you helped me.” Amethyst told him. “I can’t do this without you.”

Ronin spared a glance in the direction the train had gone to which he saw nothing but the empty railroad shrinking away into the woods, his only way home. The weight of his coin pouch felt sparse already, and this was only day two in this land away from home. He wasn’t even sure if he had enough Equestrian bits left to buy another train ticket home, let alone buy himself a proper meal for tonight. Perhaps this was one of those signs his uncle was talking about, a test. There were many a trials he was destined to face on his journey abroad, and though many of them had already been more brutal than this, short as they were, it seemed as though this one was going to consume the majority of his time spent here. It seemed now that the real test had begun, a test of faith. He turned back and stared into Amethyst’s eyes, pupils of sincerity and apology looking right back at him.

“Was I wrong, uncle?” Ronin muttered to the air. “Is this not the place I am meant to be?”

“What about your uncle?” Amethyst wondered.

“C’mon.” He beckoned, picking up his belongings. “Somepony at Town Hall is waiting for you.”

The young duo climbed the steps to the plaza’s central building and brushed past the double doors, a wave of office noises and the smell of strong coffee immediately flooding their senses. Employees were on the double passing from one office space to the next, trading paperwork and clicking away at their typewriters, for whatever had them busy as a hive had caught them by surprise. Last Amethyst had checked, or anypony for that matter, Town Hall staff was almost never this busy. There were no more laid back and relaxed workers in all of Ponyville besides the Weather Patrol team, and they were a subdivision of Town Hall anyways. A spiral of staircases laid before their next course as they neared the pony behind the receptionist’s desk whom informed them that a substitute was taking Mayor Mare’s place for the time that she was in the hospital recovering. As to how long that would be, nopony could make any promises except for the Mayor herself, and she had yet to get back to them.

“Do you still feel bad for what happened to her?” Amethyst asked Ronin.

“It was not my fault.” He replied dubiously.

“Not so fast, you’re in on this too.”

There they stood in the vacancy in the hallway inches away from the Mayor’s primary office doors. The air felt dreadful and the stillness of the room alone gave opportunity for any amount of tension to release itself all at once. Ronin felt a strange aura in the moment, something close, something on the other side of the door…

“Whether you like it or not, we’re in this together now.” She finished. “Don’t forget that.”

In a swift, unprecedented series of motions the double doors swung open and swept an imaginary gust of wind down towards the center of the chamber following the scarlet carpet within. The desk’s occupant spun around in his chair, eyes piercing, grin growing. Mikado.

“Omae…” Ronin sneered.

“Kore wa ureshī odorokide wanaideshou ka?” Mikado stood from his chair.

“Kondowa nani o shimash'taka, hebi?”

“Son'na, kibishī kuchō. Anata wa mada, onajidesu.”

The lone mare of the room stood herself at an awkward angle and shared glances between the two, sparing their incomprehensible tongues and she wasn’t quite sure why. Was this another tradition of theirs? Were they just tired of speaking Ponish? Whatever was being spoken between them, Amethyst could read something of hostility and rivalry, and thus she felt the need to butt her way in.

“Why does it feel like I just walked into a kung fu movie?”

Their private conversation blinked out like a light switch, and both pairs of eyes locked onto her. Mikado held his grin and made his way around the desk to address the two. Up close now, Amethyst was able to get a better look at the older stallion. His winter-white coat complimented the icy blue of his slicked mane and chiseled beard, provided to the certain sting in his frost-bitten eyes. Every part of this pony seemed cold to the touch, staring at him alone gave one the chills.

“Please forgive us, it would seem we’ve gotten ahead of ourselves.” Mikado apologized. Immediately then, Amethyst studied his tone and rhythm of speech. Despite being pure Neighsian he spoke Ponish very well as compared to Ronin. His pronunciation was on spot, even better than some native Equestrians she had heard before. Furthermore, despite his icy appearance, his demeanor and overall tone was graceful, warm, alluring even.

“I imagine a far more important occasion has summoned you here?” Mikado finished.

Ronin recalled their happening to Town Hall in the first place, and as soon as he got done sneering at Mikado he turned to his companion. “Give him the letter.” He told her.

Amethyst flared her horn and opened her satchel to levitate the item in question forward. With a polite nod, Mikado took the letter in his own magical grasp and opened it, scanning it over with a harsh squint and distressed gaze. “Oh, dear…” He frowned. “Young mare, you must understand that written Ponish is all but gibberish to a foreigner such as myself. Would you be so kind as to read this for me?”

“Yes, sir.” His tone forced Amethyst to oblige, to which she cleared her throat before beginning. “The date reads yesterday, August 31st. With the power invested in I, Ivory Scroll Mare, the Mayor of Ponyville, I hereby fortify this letter as permission to grant the juvenile delinquent…Amulet Spot…” Amethyst rolled her eyes before continuing. “-Access to uphold the first menial task given to her by the current incumbent of the Mayor’s chair.”

Mikado began to nod slowly, his smirk growing.

“This note is to be delivered to Town Hall no later than the morning of September 1st, lest its concurrency expire.” She briefly eyed the other two ponies before looking back down at the letter. “Her signature is written at the bottom.”

“Thank you, my dear.” Mikado smiled and levitated the note over to the desk. “A pity that neither of us can decipher such text, otherwise you would have stayed on that train, Ronin.”

“Straying from my path home was my own decision.” The colt declared.

“Curiosity can be a luring motive.” Mikado chortled. “But more often than not, it betrays the hopeful. If the Mayor’s letter hasn’t already spelled it out for you, then I as her substitute will say it myself. You are not needed here, boy. Go on and run home, if you still can.”

He clenched back the desire to spit in his face, every word that ran from this big wig’s foul lips was reason enough for him to do so. Alas, Ronin held back and practiced a pause of inner peace, if only for Amethyst’s chances to get any job at all today. Slowly, he nodded to his companion, and turned as a means to head for the door and see himself out.

“Now wait just a moment, mister…?” Amethyst started.

“Mikado is the name.” The stallion bowed gracefully.

“Mr. Mikado.” Amethyst fixed her posture. “I may not know what sort of conflict you two have meddled with in the past, but I believe it has nothing to do with his reason for being here.”

“Amethyst, stop.” Ronin scowled. He was halted by her raised hoof and thus she continued.

“After all, it was me who pulled him from the train, so I’d rather not have his presence go to waste.” She felt a lump form in her throat. “If that is not too much trouble, o-of course.” The young mare then steeled herself to brace for anything the obtrusively tall Neighsian might lash upon her for daring to speak out against him, especially when in neglect to his and Ronin’s past that which she knew nothing about. Ronin himself was bracing as well, though his posture appeared more slack and his eyes were relaxed upon Mikado.

The Mayor’s substitute returned to his smile. “You’re right.” He said.

“I am?” Amethyst blinked.

“Why allow family feudalism to get in the way of business?” Mikado approached Ronin, looking him up and down. “I see now the value you hold in your friend.”

“Partner.” Amethyst blurted.

“Indeed.” Mikado obliged. “A truce shall show our commitment to doing our best in this land away from home.”

“Home or here, I’d never truce with a serpent.” Ronin hissed.

“Then, understandably you jeopardize your partner’s job?”

Ronin huffed with irritation, staring ire and daggers right back into Mikado’s calm expression. He looked to Amethyst, softened his gaze, and returned to the “serpent.”

“Truce.” He muttered begrudgingly.

“That’s what I like to hear.” Mikado held out his hoof. “I am afraid the wheat rye I found in the cabinet doesn’t nearly compare to even the most vile saké. A simple hoof shake shall suffice as our agreement.”

The two locked hooves, bowed for a short second, and returned to their poses. It almost seemed as though every bit of tension in the air escaped through the vents and open windows and Amethyst could breath a little easier from it.

“Now then, on to those ‘menial tasks’ your dear Mayor was talking about.” Mikado quickly strode over to the desk.

“Yes, of course.” Amethyst breathed with a sigh of relief. “I can manage a cubicle center for a few months just as long as the employees aren’t annoying. As for my preferences, I’d like a personal office with my name underneath my title written on the door-”

“Office? No no, my dear, this task calls for the outdoors.”

Amethyst’s mouth held agape as Mikado floated a stack of papers to his desk and cleared his throat, reading the fine print.

“The Garden Raids:” He began. “Several reports of ransacked garden beds throughout the residential district have been plaguing Ponyville ever since the beginning of August. The Mayor has been in search of investigators who might be willing to spend their time on this problem.”

“I thought he couldn’t read Ponish…” Amethyst whispered to Ronin.

“Locate the culprit or culprits and report them to both the guard and Town Hall. Simple enough, is it not?” Mikado smiled ear to ear. “What do I care if these ponies’ precious gardens have been soiled? That’s Ponyville’s problem, not mine.” He leaned back in his chair. “Oh, and it’s also your problem now too.”

The room was silent.

“How much are we getting paid for this?” Amethyst asked.

Descending the steps to Town Hall, both ponies were at a complete loss as to what they should do or where to begin. Agricultural estate and development was Ponyville’s number one endeavor, and unsurprisingly, gardening, whether it be produce or floral recreation, came in second place. Just as it was easy for an earth pony to get lost in a big unicorn city, the same could be said for a couple of unicorns roaming a country town, one of them being from a completely different country to boot. Fate had it however that this young colt was somewhat adept in the field of floral expertise, to which Amethyst had high hopes of getting as much use out of him as possible, and it made her a little more glad that she went through the effort of skipping breakfast to catch a train this morning. Still however, the conversation prior left the mare amiss of certain details, and her concern got the better of her.

“So uh, what was up with you and ‘rice master’ back there?” She asked.

Ronin furrowed his brow. “Do not mock my people or their culture.”

“What, you got a soft spot for that guy?” She tilted her head. “Your ‘bamboo banter’ didn’t sound all that friendly. If I were in your hooves, I’d oblige the insult.”

“Your focus is too narrow.” He retorted. “Maybe one day you will understand.”

“Well, duh! Only because you didn’t answer my question.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not in the mood to talk about him. Yes, we’ve bashed horns in the past, but that is all you need to know.” He huffed and trotted off. “Let’s just get this job over with, before I regret having jumped out of that train.”

“Then I won’t waste my breathe.” Amethyst grumbled and caught up with him.

It was only late morning and yet the sun appeared to be in all the wrong places to Ronin. He couldn’t make heads or tails of the weather patterns, as the patrol pegasi weren’t quite up to par with their job just yet, but that seemed to be the least of his worries. He wondered how he would fit into the harmonics of this new land, how he’d be able to tell when it was dinner time without a second glance, or when the hedges needed to be trimmed at just the right height and at just the right angle. Routine always called for the simple things back in his home land. Good food, and the stewardship-like care of the plant life surrounding him. Now, however, it seemed almost as if an entire town’s collective gardens were under his supervision, along with a certain, slightly annoying, slightly useful partner.

“I’m no floral enthusiast.” Amethyst started. “But even I can tell a nine-petaled flower is something out of the ordinary.”

“Where?” Ronin looked around.

“Duh, your cutie mark.” She pointed to his withers. “I was wondering when you were going to tell me all about it.”

Ronin wasn’t sure if she was actually complimenting his cutie mark or just trying to needlessly prod again. Nevertheless the young stallion always sought the need to refresh himself on his lineage, and teaching it to others was the best way to do it as he learned. “It is a symbol of my family’s heritage.” He explained. “It is more than just my cutie mark alone, it has belonged in my bloodline for generations.”

“A family cutie mark, huh?” Amethyst tapped her chin. “Like the Apples?”

“I don’t think apples have cutie marks.”

“No no, there’s a family here in Ponyville we call the Apples. They run an orchard south of here and they harvest for the whole town, basically. I’ve only seen their marks a number of times, but each of them have something to do with apples, even the youngest one with her weird shield thingy.”

“Living on an orchard, I’d find that inevitable.” Ronin added.

“And I suppose your family’s mark follows the same principle?”

“Perhaps, but there’s more to it-”

“So, are you a floral expert?” Amethyst interrupted.

“I’ve…had training.” His eyes darted nervously, a bead of sweat formed.

“So you’re an apprentice?” Amethyst squinted at him, closer and closer. “Say, do you really know anything about flowers or what?”

“I believe I do.” A mare’s voice spawned in between them. “After all, nopony in town knows their flowers better than I do, and that’s a title I aim to keep.”

The investigating amateurs blinked simultaneously and led their sights in the direction of the voice. There was a small shop away from them, and there standing in the stable door window behind a pretty row of yellow daffodils and carnations was a scarlet maned mare with a creamy vanilla coat and vibrant green eyes. The building in question consisted of deep-green framing with grass-green walls and pink little hearts and roses painted all over the struts and edges, complete with a blue and white flower painted onto a pink, wooden sign hanging above the entrance. The roof was of golden hay, like most buildings in the area and several potted flowers adorned the vicinity. Their eyes returned to the mare standing at the entrance of the small shop.

“Can I help you two with anything?” She asked politely. There was a cheery, welcoming smile to her face.

“No thank you, we’re just looking.” Amethyst quickly deduced.

“Uh, yes actually.” Ronin interjected.

Amethyst delivered a grunt and a scowl, and the mare in the window looked on curiously.

“My name is Ronin, and this is my friend-”

“Partner.”

“Assistant, Amethyst Star.”

“Oh, charmed.” The mare curtsied. “My name’s Rose Luck. I welcome you both to my flower shop.”

“Thank you, it’s beautiful.” Ronin replied curtly.

“Well, come on in and see what’s inside!” Rose Luck beckoned them in. She held open the door for the approaching duo and calmly let it close behind them as they got busy taking a gander around the scenery. “Welcome to the Lucky Rose.” She announced, blushing slightly.

The young stallion smiled gracefully at the decor and allowed the aroma of the various plants on display to enlighten his senses. Having always been one to follow his nose he wouldn’t had been surprised if it was for that fact alone that had made them gravitate towards this shop in the first place. An extravaganza of floral products, pottery and plants filled the front room with vine woven streamers hanging above and a skylight to provide extra sunlight to the plants below. All the while, Amethyst was busy rolling her eyes over the shop’s name. The Lucky Rose. She soon found that there wasn’t a single place in the shop where you could look and you wouldn’t find roses. The roses accompanied every shelf, every nook and every cranny, they even grew on the walls. Amethyst hadn’t a clue as to how such a feat was possible and simply hoofed it over to the expertise of earth pony magic.

“Lily, if these two need anything let them know you’re here to help.” Rose called across the room.

A timid Lily poked out from behind the shelves and gave a quick smile and nod before trotting off back to her work.

“That’s Lily Valley. She can be quite shy but she knows her field well.” Rose turned back to the two. “Is there anything in particular you two were looking for?”

There was only a short pause before a lengthy groan filled the silence, and Ronin had assumed Amethyst was having another fit only to turn and see that her face had flushed a furious red, almost as red as the roses surrounding the shop. Ronin cleared his throat and returned to Rose.

“We were wondering if-”

There was another groan, this one louder than before.

Ronin blinked and began again. “We were wondering if you could-”

Another groan, so loud it cut out his words.

“If you could-”

Another groan.

“We’re looking for-”

And yet another groan.

“Some…brunch?” Rose chuckled.

“What?” Amethyst shrugged harshly, and there was another groan.

“A little breakfast to go, ma’am?” Rose teased.

“I’m fine, I just-” The next groan cut out Amethyst’s own words, and she hid the bright blush of her face behind her hoof.

“She must not have had anything to eat.” Ronin explained. “You see, she likes to chase trains for breakfast.”

The unicorn glared at her companion, but began to wobble where she stood.

“Oh dear, you’re looking quite pale.” The floral mare studied her face. She leaned over towards the checkout counter and scooped up a bundle of daisies lying inside of a woven basket. Rose then approached Amethyst and dropped the bundle into her hoof. “Here you go, these are on the house.”

“No, I can’t-” Her next groan thought otherwise. “Um, thank you…Rose.” Amethyst felt defeated. The unicorn was embarrassed to the point of excusing herself to the outdoors to confine herself to her daisy munching. Now that she had thought about it, she was too angry to touch a morsel of her dinner last night and the fact that she had completely skipped over breakfast hadn’t helped much either.

Ronin swiveled back around and prepared yet another apology, but the floral mare was too delightful to interrupt, too welcoming and friendly.

“Make sure you feed her well, you’ll want her nice and plump when the time comes to ask her the big question.” Rose guffawed and grazed Ronin’s shoulder. “Oh, I’m kidding, my mother always made that joke and I just couldn’t help myself.”

“Of course.” Ronin wasn’t quite sure how to respond, as small talk was never one of his allies even in his homeland. He simply sought to get straight to business. “Rose, I must tell you that we’ve come to ask you a few questions.”

“Well don’t let me dampen your mood, hun.” Rose giggled and wiped a tear away. “Ask away.”

"Our investigation lies on behalf of the garden raids that have spawned around Ponyville, I’m sure you-"

“Garden raids?!” Rose pounced backwards and stood on end like a spooked feline, quickly dashing back up to Ronin and holding him by the shoulders. “What do you know about them?”

“Nothing! I-I mean.” Ronin reconsidered. “Not enough, really.”

Without another word the skiddy floral mare quickly surveyed her surroundings, hauled the stallion back behind the counter and into the next room where they stood alone. The slivers of sunlight from outside shot through slits in the shutter windows, and it only took a matter of glancing at the plants displayed to guess that this room was intended for special kinds of plant life that needed little to no sunlight whatsoever, and were in most cases better off without it. Shaded willows and shadow flowers stood around them like little lights in the night, and as soon as the frightened mare was sure nopony else was in earshot she whispered to him carefully.

“Who’s the culprit? Have you caught him yet? What’s his name?”

“Easy now.” Ronin blinked in realization. “Him?"

“I simply assumed.” Rose covered up. “Surely you know more about this situation than I do, right? I mean just look at me. I’m a simple town mare and my poor little flower cove is at stake here, nopony knows where or when this maniac is going to hit next. It’s been one garden after the other and I can barely sleep at night knowing full well my entire shop could be next. If that were to happen I would go out of business! How would I pay may bills? How would I eat? Where would I sleep? Are you-?” Rose stopped mid-rambling. “Are you…writing this down?”

A few more etchings into the little notebook that he held in his magic and Ronin looked up at the mare with an oddly focused expression, a glint of confidence in his eyes.

“Yes.” He replied.

“That’s…good. Very good, actually. I know I can trust you then.” She said.

“Trust me to do what?” He readied his notebook again.

“You’re an investigator, aren’t you? And so is your friend.” Rose nodded reassuringly. “You guys are going to put a stop to this, right?”

Upon this remark Ronin realized the reliance and responsibility the ponies of this town were already beginning to impose upon him and Amethyst. It was that instinctual call to duty and a care for flowers of all sorts that inspired Ronin to puff his chest proudly and project to the worried shop owner with ease. “Ma’am, I will not rest until this garden ravaging maniac is behind bars."

Rose Luck began to swoon dramatically as she leveled a hoof over her forehead. Ronin would have attempted to catch her, but the call to duty was still strong going.

“That is why I’m going to need your help.” He stated.

“Me? What could I possibly do to help?” Rose wondered.

“Well, you do own a flower shop. Surely you know a fair amount of ponies who have been hit by these raids?”

“Hey, you guys are the investigators, not me.” Rose crossed her hooves. “It’s not like I’m keeping tabs on the poor fools who let their gardens fall into ruin.”

“But, surely you keep tabs on your customers’ purchases? I’d imagine an owner so adamant on keeping her shop afloat would have some records lying around.” Ronin noted, and he knew he had her there. There was little chance she was going to back out of what she had said prior especially when she made such a dramatic fuss over the whole ordeal. With that, Rose huffed and told the outlander to wait at the counter while she went to fetch her documents. He stood staring at the basket of daisy bundles and the cash register with a broken ring-up screen and quickly jotted the details down into his notebook. As he calmly did so, a flurry of dust layered onto his page, and he looked up to find Rose had indeed fetched her documents, the entire stack of them twice as thick as his skull. He stared at the intimidating stack of papers while Rose simply said nothing.

“I hope those are ordered chronologically.” He shuddered.

“I dropped them on the way down stairs.” Rose informed.

“Souka~…”

A lonely little filly sat at the curb of the floral shop nibbling away at a daisy hanging off of her lip, and her thoughts would not cease to mock her. She felt as though she were the one who was meant to be in charge, to make the right decisions when the time called for it and be a leader to those in need. In a matter of a few hours she found herself at the receiving end of a generous stranger, and what was worse was that she had caved. So many challenges had faced her all at once and she barely had the wits or intellect to asses them properly. Her thoughts would not cease, the nibbling continued, and the daisy dangled from her lip.

She then sensed a presence to her left and looked accordingly to find a moonlight-blue unicorn surveying several bouquets of flowers on display both inside and out of the window. The unicorn took little notice to the little filly on the curb munching on her daisy bundle, and when she would not stop staring, the blue one grunted and glared over to her.

“Didn’t your mother teach you not to stare at strangers?”

“Not unless they look suspicious.” The daisy still dangled from Amethyst’s lip.

“Beat it, kid.”

“You’re under arrest.” Amethyst snarled.

“Excuse moi? You dare accuse the Great and Powerful-”

“Garden raider!” And they were off. Amethyst charged the frightened magician whom was off like a shot, turning the corner to evade her pursuer, and turning the next for good measure. One more corner turn and surely she would lose her on the next. Trixie turned around to see that the crazy purple mare was still hot on her tail, and so she rounded another corner in an attempt to shake her. Onlookers wondered how long it would take the two to realize they were going in circles around the shop.

Their game of Ring around the Rosie came to a screeching halt as Ronin opened the door just in time for Amethyst to slam against the two-way swivel door, an invention that apparently had unforeseen benefits up until this point in time. A half-eaten daisy would forever stick to the door, and the entire conclusion of the run left Amethyst a shriveled, defeated heap on the ground. Trixies and daisies sung circles around her head.

“I see you’ve kept busy.” Ronin commented.

“Don’t you worry, Ronny boy, I’m gonna get that job in no time.” Amethyst slurred and struggled to stand. “As soon as I arrest our culprit here. Oh, pony feathers, now there’s two of her! Say, who’s your brother?”

Ronin grabbed his partner with his magic and shook the rest of the daze out of her, to which Amethyst blinked and stared at the souvenir resting in his left hoof.

“Do you always carry a bouquet of flowers around or something?” Amethyst complained.

“I didn’t want to be rude so I bought something from her.” Ronin admitted. “But never mind that, I got a list of leads we could start on. Well, actually they’re just customers who’ve shopped here recently, but at least it’s something.”

“Why didn’t you say something? You’re not supposed to do all the work.” Amethyst pouted.

“You were hungry, you need your energy.”

Amethyst sighed drearily. “I know, but you can’t just jump out of a moving train and then go above and beyond for me, that’s not a fair trade.” She slumped to her haunches and stared ahead into the plaza. “I’m just causing more trouble for you and others again, aren’t I? Crud, things weren’t supposed to go like this.”

“You said you couldn’t do this alone.” Ronin reminded.

“I can’t, but it doesn’t help when I feel so disorientated.” The young mare pressed her hooves to her temples. “I can’t seem to organize anything, and that’s what I’m supposed to be all about. I used to be Ponyville’s top organizer, y’know? Supervising events, telling ponies where to go and what to do, and I planned to make it all official when I finally got that job at Town Hall. So much for that dream, I guess.” She shook her head. “You’re not the problem here, Ronin, and I hope you know that. No, I really believe everything went downhill the day she showed up.”

“Who?”

“Twilight Sparkle, that’s who!” A magician barked. “If there’s anything far worse than that hairless chimp she’s sheltered into her big, stupid castle, it’s the face of Princess Twilight Sparkle herself. Honestly, she was a bit less insufferable without her wings.”

“Princess Twilight…?” Ronin repeated to himself, carefully prodding his chin until the realization hit him like a moving train. “Wait a moment, the Princess, that’s it! Amethyst, we’ve been looking in all the wrong places from the start, I’ve got an idea that could get this job done faster than rat poison in a bowl of udon.”

“That saying concerns me a little. Did you grow up with thugs or something?” Amethyst asked.

“Thank you, miss blue unicorn ma’am, these are for you.” He turned to Trixie, swung his bouquet of flowers in her face, and trotted off in the opposite direction with Amethyst in tow. The magician watched with quieted bewilderment as the purple unicorn who had been chasing her only a moment ago was being dragged away by the young stag’s magic, a bundle of flowers levitating by her side. Trixie sniffed the flowers, gave a satisfactory shrug and went about her business.

Chapter 11 - Audience Zero

The Princess sat dutifully and patiently at the end of her desk, hooves folded and tucked beneath her muzzle as she scanned the board over for what seemed the umpteenth time now. Her opponent sat across from her, posture all the same as his hands laid folded beneath his nose, that thinking spark in the small of his eyes. All the pony could think about now was the paperwork piled over her desk, the hearings she would have to attend to in the coming days, the royal councils and the diplomatic meetings, so on and so forth. Not once did she come to think of the board and the pieces laid out before her, at least not for a while now. She had already planned twelve steps ahead.

“David?” She thought she might ask.

The boy blinked. “Hm?” And looked up.

“It’s your turn.”

“I know.” He rested his palms to the desk. “I’m still thinking.”

It seemed that in the past twenty-four hours, he had been doing just that, and that alone. Thinking. Why was he always thinking? Just what exactly was going on inside that head of his? Twilight studied each and everyone of his moves, struggling to understand some manner of cognition from the boy. Alas, it was all like before. His patterns were uncertain and his course a trail blaze, more impulsive this time, eager for an opening. Eager for answers, it seemed.

David simply decided to castle, the only move in chess where two pieces were moved at once. Twilight deemed it was going to be another long and monotonous game.

“Have you been studying the assignments I gave you?” The pony brought up.

The boy blinked again, having expected a quick, feasible move from his opponent. The equine was suddenly speaking to him, and it took a moment for him to register a response.

“I didn’t look into them too much.” He confessed.

Twilight covered a sigh. “It’s important that you learn to read Ponish, you might never know when you’re going to use it.”

“Then I’ll just stay in the castle.” He decided.

“You can’t stay inside forever.” She countered. “You’re the Royal Equerry now, you’ve been given a duty to fulfill.”

“But, Twilight…” His hands trembled. “I don’t know anything about this world. Not you, not these ponies, not anyone or anything.” A long, dreary exhale escaped his lungs as he struggled to continue. “It’s just like you told me, you’re not always going to be around to protect me, and that’s why you gave me this Equerry title in the first place. But, how am I supposed to protect myself when I don’t know the first thing about being the Equerry? It can’t be that easy…”

There was no doubt in the young Princess’ mind that the boy was indeed right. It couldn’t be that easy, suddenly being thrown into a world he had little to no knowledge of, being given tasks that a certain student of hers seemed to be better fitted for…But Twilight pushed the thoughts away. This was all meant for the boy’s protection, and to avoid yet another plethora of paperwork, of course. He knew that now just as well as she did, and she could only hear him out from then on.

“If you want to go ahead and kick me out, send me back to the forest…” David scratched at the scar beneath his shirt. “Then I can’t deny your decision. You are the Princess, after all.”

“Never.” Twilight stiffened.

“Huh?”

Twilight shut her eyes and turned her muzzle to sigh, looking back up at the boy glumly. “I didn’t want to have to tell you this, but do you know what the ponies from yesterday said? The ones who showed up at the castle? They said you were a disturbance, a threat even, and that if we didn’t take action soon then they would. I know you meant no harm to them but that’s what they’ve interpreted from their encounter with you, short as it may have been.”

“Would you, then?” He asked her.

“Would I what?”

“Would you have let them take the initiative on me?”

“I don’t know what they would plan to do with you, and neither do I like to think about it. As I said before I am indebted to you, and I promise you that I will do everything in my power to keep you from harm. As Princess, that is my duty.”

There was a hint of reassurance in his gaze, the smallest sliver of hope that he might be cut out for the tasks ahead of him after all. Alas, his head fell back down to the board in front of him, eyes fixed over their game of chess as though it was the only thing that mattered to him now. Twilight joined his sights with him, peering down at the board with her posture and gaze all the same. Yet, she simply couldn’t see what he was seeing. The moves set out before his eyes were all but invisible to her. Just what exactly was going on inside that head of his?

A stream of fresh, hot water from the shower head matted over his hair and trickled down his spine. Although he had to crouch to compensate for his height, at least it was one of the few things he was familiar with in this world. He almost unknowingly had the luxury of castle life to thank for it. Like the flow of the hot, soothing liquid, dribbling down into the drain at his feet, the thoughts of the day were filtered and washed away.

The boy twisted the valve until the water came to a stop, steam rising and fogging over the surface of the mirror. He draped one towel over his hair while the other strung about his waist, waltzing across the bathroom floor, humming an all too familiar tone as he went about his business.

He walked past the mirror, humming the first part of the song. And he stopped.

The first part of the song.

The boy backtracked, stepping backwards until he was behind the mirror, and hummed the song once again as he walked on by. There it was again, that all too familiar tone. He backtracked once more, and while walking in reverse, hummed the second part of the song.

The first part of the song, and the second part of the song. He wondered endlessly. What song…?

His own reflection met his gaze, and at that instant, the memories were beginning to run through his head all over again. Memories of his past, memories of his home. Friends, family, fun, hobbies, interests…that television show. That song!

It was the opening theme to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

Chapter 12 - The Last Report

It was with upmost certainty that each and every question on a multiple choice exam consisted of a one in four chance of being answered correctly. Accordingly, the chances of failure outweighed that of success. Additionally, the chances that Miss Cheerilee’s class would impose a pop quiz upon any day of the school week were, once again, one in four.

Eighteen little colts and fillies were currently in the midst of such a chance, jotting down their answers to the best of their knowledge and ability. As she weaved around her students hunched down over their tests keeping her eyes peeled for bluffers, note-passers and, Celestia forbid, cheaters, Miss Cheerilee knew that the chances of such fraudulence was a near-solid one in four. Her averages had always shown that while seventy-five percent of her students excelled, the remainder seemed to have their own creative ways of thinking.

The grape-purple, pink maned teacher strode by the windows and gave one glance after another at the world outside. The birds sung merrily in the sunshine as the silver glinted grass basked in its warmth and beauty, the town of Ponyville only a mere hoof or two away, the world of Equestria waiting at the train station dotted in the far distance. She wondered for that moment what her students would make of the world, what the world would make of them, always telling herself that this is what she taught these young fillies and foals for. To fill the world with bright, unforgettable smiles.

A frown formed in the reflection upon the glass, her own, as she trained her sights on the reflection in the pane below. Behind her a cloudy gray unicorn filly carefully leafed from one page of her textbook to the next using a stick, reaching below her desk and straining her eyes in hopes of finding an answer. The textbook slid and drew itself up into her teacher’s hoof, a dejected glare upon the mare’s face. The filly hadn’t even the courage to look her in the eye. Her test paper was rested to the back of the textbook as Miss Cheerilee gripped a pencil between her teeth and began to write on her student’s paper, a share of glances from the other students motioning her way. The paper returned to the desk, and as she walked away with the text book, the student slumped in her desk and looked to see what was written.

「See me after class…」

Several minutes after the tests were turned in, little whispers and murmurs filled the classroom as the students eyed their instructor sketching symbols onto the chalkboard. With every passing graze upon the dusty black canvas the murmurs soon grew into giggles and the laughter into a cacophonous conversation. Miss Cheerilee finished her drawings, clacked the chalk to the tray, and turned to address the children.

“Settle down, my little ponies.” She projected. “It’s getting harder and harder to say that with every passing day, y’know? You’ve all grown quite a bit over these wonderful years.”

A curly-maned glasses filly shot her hoof to the ceiling. “Mith Theerilee, Mith Theerilee!”

“Well, most of you have.”

“Ith there going to be an end uvth the year clath party?”

“Yes, Twist, the end of the year celebration will take place at the Nightmare Night festival.” Cheerilee informed. “There will be plenty of candy and games to win prizes from, your parents and guardians are welcome to join in on the fun.”

“What about the haunted mansion?” An orange pegasus fluttered her wings. “Are we going to have one this year? I heard Rainbow Dash is going to be-”

“We still have a lot of funding to go before we reach our goal.” Cheerilee interrupted. “Don’t forget to spread awareness for our fundraiser, every bit counts.”

Within a second the giggles and the laughter returned as gossip and excitement over the amount of celebrations lining up at this time of the year was beheld with eagerness and anticipation. Like that of a makeshift gavel, Miss Cheerilee fixed the chalk in the frog of her hoof and tapped it against the tray, that tiny tip-tap noise almost never failing to catch the ears of her students. The whispers settled to an agreeable volume before she cleared her throat and proceeded with her lesson.

“I know you’re all eager to celebrate but let’s not allow these distractions to waver our focus for the future. As your teacher it is my duty to prepare you for the world which lies ahead, to inspire a calling to take up a worthy profession and practice stewardship towards everything and everypony around you. That calling has now come to you, my little ponies. You have all grown into wonderful, intelligent young mares and gentlecolts, but always keep in mind that no matter how old you may live to be, you never stop learning.” Cheerilee continued. “That is why today’s lesson goes over the four foundational ‘professions’ if you may call them, of Equestria. Now, I know I’m no artist, but can anypony tell me what these four symbols mean to represent?”

Two fillies raised their hooves, and Cheerilee narrowly avoided Twist as she chose the pony in the back. “Yes, Diamond Tiara?”

The pony in question dutifully postured herself and projected so the rest of the class might hear. “The sun represents Princess Celestia, the moon represents Princess Luna, the heart represents Princess Cadance, and the star represents Princess Twilight.”

“Spot on.” Cheerilee nodded to the pony. “And what, class, are the primary duties of our four Princesses? If you know the answer to at least one of them don’t be afraid to raise your hoof, and don’t fret to take a guess either.”

The raised hooves dotted the classroom here and there, and Cheerilee chose them accordingly.

“Princess Celestia is responsible for raising the Sun every morning.”

“And Princess Luna raises the Moon to bring about the night.”

“Princess Cadance caters to the love we share in Equestria.”

“And Princess Twilight showed that mean old Tirek how a real pony fights!”

The cluster of younglings cheered and high-hoofed one another, their teacher wincing with slight consideration. “I would invest a little more thought into that last one,” she said, “but can anypony tell me what all four of these royal duties have in common with one another?”

Twist’s hoof went skyward, and Cheerilee scanned the room to see that no other pony was willing to take a shot. An internal sigh sufficed for the teacher as she chose the pony at the front of the class.

“They’re all royal figures!” Twist answered confidently.

“That is correct, but not quite what I had in mind.” Cheerilee admitted.

Twist slumped backwards with a blank expression. For a while then the room laid in silence, and she asked once again if anypony might know the answer, or at least something similar to what she might be thinking. In truth there wasn’t one exact answer to this riddle, and a riddle of sorts it was, as Cheerilee sought to see how interesting her students could get with their answers. It seemed they were all insistent upon giving correct answers only, too afraid to get creative, all except for a little gray hoof at the cheater’s desk…

Cheerilee looked in the little unicorn’s direction and nodded.

“Um, well…” The unicorn began. “This is just an idea, but, maybe they’re supposed to work together? Like they’re meant to be in balance with one another. One would not exist without the other.”

For only a moment, Cheerilee’s expression went stoic with quieted awe, surprised in the little filly’s answer. She smiled the brightest she had that day and nodded towards the unicorn. A second later, an objection filled the air.

“That doesn’t even make any sense, you just threw some sentences together.”

The whispers and murmurs floating about spelt disapproval for the little unicorn as they slowly grew into complaints and grunts of confusion. Cheerilee drew the chalk back up in her hoof and tapped at the tray again, ordering her students to settle down.

“Now now, everypony, she has a fair point.” Cheerilee educated her pupils. “The four regals do in fact work in accordance with one another to maintain balance in the diarchy system first established between the royal sisters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Each and every providence gains their influence from not one, but each of the four royals and their responsibilities towards the ponies of Equestria. In turn, the ponies abide to the decrees of the diarchy. So as it turns out, not only do the Princesses work to maintain balance in the kingdom, but the citizens have a big part to play as well.”

Diamond Tiara’s hoof returned to the air, and Cheerilee called to her. “If Equestria had existed even before the coronations of Princess Cadance and Princess Twilight, then what are their purposes?”

“That’s a good question, Miss Tiara. The simple answer to that would be ‘harmonization.’” Cheerilee explained. “Princess Cadance resides in the north while Princess Twilight maintains the mid and southern regions of Equestria, and the royal sisters Celestia and Luna extend their power from the capitol. Harmony within the kingdom is easier to maintain with an overseer to each region.”

Another filly, this one a white unicorn, raised her hoof. “Does that mean some parts of Equestria are less harmonized than others?” She asked.

“Once again, this is where the responsibility and stewardship of the ponies of Equestria come into play. You see, our nation’s harmony does not emanate from the monarchs alone. Simply call back to the tale of Hearth’s Warming Eve and remember that the coming together of the three pony races is what fueled the so called ‘fire of friendship’ in our hearts. The Princesses, all of which are Alicorns, represent the three races in one and in turn bring the ponies together who in return maintain the land, sea, sky, and magic within our kingdom.”

“Will there be more Princesses in the future?” An eager unicorn colt raised his hoof.

“The birth of Princess Cadance’s child may give light to such possibilities, but ultimately that is left up to the decision of the diarchy.” She explained. “I would like you all to keep these four symbols in mind for our next activity.”

As the lesson came to a close, Miss Cheerilee instructed her students to produce pencils and papers to begin jotting down ideas and rough drafts for what was meant to be the final project of the year and their endeavor in the schoolhouse as a whole. Many different powers and influences were constantly swarming around the center of the lives of each and everypony present, whether it be the nuances of daily life, a career, a hobby, some manner of a pass time. Influences of all kinds filled their lives, and so Cheerilee instructed her students to deliver four of the most important influences which structured their current lives, whether it be a place, a thing, a pony, anything. They were then to draw out a symbol depicting whatever they have chosen and provide a descriptive paragraph to tell what the symbol meant to them and how it affected their daily lives.

The little gray unicorn sat at her desk rubbing the eraser to her forehead as she thought long and hard. What in her life could possibly be interesting enough to write a paragraph about, let alone interesting enough to influence her life in any way in the first place. It was only when she lifted her gaze back up to the board and looked upon the four symbols drawn.

The sun, the moon, the heart, and the star. She recalled the answer she had given to her teacher, trying to explain that in some sort of way these four powers were balanced with each other, they worked together.

It was simple then, that she realized in her life she had her mother, her sister, the only pony she considered to be a father figure, and herself. Four ponies whom influenced her life, herself being the greatest and most obvious even if she wasn’t quite sure what about herself compelled her to act, speak, read and write the way she did. The symbol she drew, in turn, was simple and made sense in correlation with the concept of working together. She gave the symbol she had drawn to her paper a subtle nod of satisfaction.

The bell hanging in its housing fixed atop the schoolhouse gave its metallic ring four times over, signaling the end of the day for the school fillies and colts, and in response the students attending packed their things together as quickly as they always had and threw themselves to the outside world with shouts of freedom and screams of thrill. The remaining ponies trotting out the door were quieter than the others, and amongst the silence the gray little unicorn attempted to veil herself. Alas, the teacher caught on quick and rose up with a stern voice, if only to catch the cheater’s attention.

“Dinky?” Miss Cheerilee called.

Dinky’s ears drooped as she turned and left the rest of her classmates to the outdoors. She lingered in the doorway and stared up at her teacher, where she sat from her desk looking back at the young one with an awaiting gaze. She gestured her hoof to the stool before her, and with a heavy silence Dinky dragged herself over and sat down with her head hung low, only to raise slightly when her instructor spoke.

“Do you know why I called you here?” Cheerilee began.

Dinky delivered something between a half shrug and a shake of her head.

The mare raised and propped the textbook on her desk for the filly to see. “Your mother paid good money for this, don’t you realize that?” She said. “What do you suppose would happen if I were to take this away from you?”

“I don’t know.” Dinky shrugged again.

“And what of your mother? I know she works hard for you and your sister both.” Cheerilee ventured. “How do you suppose she would react if she were to learn you’re abusing the resources hoofed over to you?”

“I didn’t know we were going to have a quiz today.” Dinky mumbled.

“That is why you make time for yourself to study the material, so that you might develop good learning skills.” Cheerilee explained. “I’m afraid to tell you that a student who isn’t willing to learn is one who may not succeed.”

Her head seemed to sink even lower, her chin at her chest as she felt her teacher’s mortifying stare embed itself into her skull. So this was it, then? Dinky would not succeed and all of these years in the schoolhouse will have been for nothing, and it wasn’t as if she had any real plans set out for the future in mind. There was still one thing she was waiting on, but it had never showed itself. As the silence ensued, her ears perked to her teacher taking on a more soothing and easing tone.

“Dinky, sweetie.” Cheerilee cooed. “Look at me, dear.”

And finally the filly looked up.

“Earlier today you said something very remarkable. It may not have moved your fellow students but it moved me. I recognized the intuition behind your thought process, you just think differently from other ponies. That’s all.” Cheerilee continued. “You’re an intelligent young mare and I know it. If you just put your mind towards the problems in front of you then I can assure you, one day, you’re going to accomplish some amazing things in your life.”

Her eyes glistened and a lump formed in the young one’s throat. Dinky blinked rapidly and pushed her head back down so that her teacher might not see, but Cheerilee understood how the filly felt. She allowed her student the short time to recover before speaking up once again.

“Do you suppose there might be something that’s holding you back?” Cheerilee prodded. “Perhaps something at home has been bothering you?”

Dinky shook her head.

“If there’s something that’s upsetting or disturbing you then don’t be afraid to speak up. You know that you can talk to me, right?” Cheerilee smiled.

“I have piano lessons.” Dinky said. “But, that’s not the problem. I have them soon, I mean.”

“As in later today?”

Dinky nodded a yes.

“I see. Well then, I won’t keep you from them.” Cheerilee hoofed the textbook back down towards the filly. “I am going to return this to you on the condition that you study it responsibly so that you may retake the test. I am giving you a second chance, Dinky.”

“Okay.” The young unicorn could only think to respond, not quite happy she was getting both a hunk-load more weight added to her bag and a reschedule for a test that had caused her so much dismay in the first place. She fixed the book into her satchel and swung it around and onto her back, scooching her way off the stool and steadily trotting for the door.

“Now, run along, and don’t forget what I told you.” Cheerilee called to her student, watching the gray little dot that was the unicorn disappear into the midst of Ponyville. The aging mare gave a long, disheveled sigh as her eyes scanned across the classroom and landed on the moon symbol she had drawn upon the board for the day’s lesson.

And the night shall reign at the end of every day
Upon a cloud veiled in dreams we will sail away
Moonlight guide thee and reveal the way
Oh, Moonlight Princess, guide us from dismay

Dinky missed one note of the song, she then missed another and sped up to compensate for her mistakes. Her instructor told her to slow down, to which she obeyed, only to be told to speed up again soon after. Keeping in rhythm was important, otherwise the weight and impact of the song was difficult to interpret, and thus the muscle memory and sensibility to the ear could not be recognized correctly. No matter how accurately she attempted to play each and every song, no matter how light or rough she pressed the keys, Dinky always knew that her instructor could sense even the slightest of mistakes she made, but of course the posh, gray earth pony never said anything to her, and she didn’t have to.

It was that flicker in Miss Melody’s ear that delivered the tell tale sign that something was off key, out of tune, almost like a hoof out of place or a painting on a wall slightly askew. That tiny, little, uncompensated detail that drove an otherwise perfectionist type of pony absolutely bonkers. Bonkers, of course, was a word Miss Melody would never use, as was the case with many other carefree and nonchalant words, and so the demeanor had forced Dinky to reconsider her vocabulary when in the midst of these piano lessons. She might as well have fainted or vomited at the mere mention of any swear words.

The little unicorn could tell that despite the difficulties that came with it, Melody was always more than happy to teach somepony in the glorified art that was the piano. She had at first upon meeting Dinky recommended to the young filly that she use her horn to press the keys instead of her hooves. It was the first time Melody had to stifle laughter at one of her students, as Dinky attempted to physically press her horn down onto the keys, slowly hitting one note after the other with robotic like movement. That small skit did however teach Melody that although a unicorn, this young filly was not quite accustomed to utilizing her horn quite yet like most unicorns her age are, already lifting and floating objects around with the use of the simple levitation spell. There had already been several unicorn students of hers in the past, all of whom had used their horns and understandably were able to learn one song after another within a single evening. Most earth ponies had taken their time climbing to such a level, but as always practice makes perfect. As for Dinky, Melody would never quite admit that she was the slowest student yet she had to work with.

As the song came to a close, Dinky’s head hung low just as it had before, the little unicorn knowing full well that she had once again made too many mistakes to go unnoticed and without lecturing. The pony waited on the older mare’s nagging and beckoning to improve herself, the same old words and the same old lessons running from the earth pony’s lips. She sat still facing the keys, not daring an eye over at her instructor as she tensed and waited for the spillage, but it never came. It made Dinky feel uneasy, incomplete, like thunder rolling all around but the lighting would never strike, yet the dread remained. Was Miss Melody finally preparing to get rid of her? She wondered.

“That was good, little one.” Melody said. “You’ve done well.”

I’ve done well? The words echoed back in Dinky’s mind. No, that’s wrong, I’ve done anything but well! And thus the frustration seethed deep within and all over again. Already she had been wrangled into retaking a test she never even anticipated in the first place, and now it seemed that other ponies’ expectations of her were beginning to plot against her.

“I don’t understand.” Dinky denied. “I don’t think I’ve been playing up to your standards.” She attempted that level accent and what she believed to be a careful choice of words, just as Miss Melody seemed to always prefer.

“Do not get me wrong, I was referring to your persistence.” The mare responded. “You’ve played every song and learnt every lesson to the very end, no matter the mistakes made along the way. There are very few ponies who can exemplify such tenacity.”

The little unicorn still wasn’t sure if she was understanding the mare correctly, and not because of the small doses of posh vocabulary, but it seemed as though her instructor were attempting to sugar-coat over the rough edges of the whole ordeal. Throwing in a petty compliment here and there, desperately trying to find some leeway, Dinky had heard it all before and not from Miss Melody alone. The piano teacher then seemed ready to close the lessons for the day, and yet a small question was hanging off the tip of the little unicorn’s tongue, or rather one that was clinging to her chest and refusing to be let free. The tightness increased as the mare wrapped around where Dinky sat and referred to a small calendar hanging upon the wall.

“I’ll be off on a business trip next week, so you won’t have to bother arriving here until the following Tuesday.” Melody informed.

It’s official. Dinky thought. She’s getting rid of me. And so the little one wasn’t quite sure whether to be relieved or distressed, knowing it’d be another heft of news to deliver to her mother sooner or later. If this were the case after all, then Dinky decided to muster up the courage to ask her the question she had held for long enough.

“Miss Melody?” Dinky mumbled softly.

“Yes, dear?” She approached. “Speak up now, you know I can’t hear you when you hang your head like that.”

“Sorry.” She instinctively looked up and projected. “I suppose I was wondering, do you know when a pony usually gets their cutie mark?”

“Their cutie mark?” Melody pondered, a hoof to her lip. “I would imagine that one may appear for when a pony has discovered what their true calling entails.”

“I meant age.” Dinky corrected. “How old do you think a pony can live to be without getting their cutie mark?”

“Oh, I’ve heard of a few special cases before. Some ponies today are well into their senior-hood and still haven’t gotten their cutie mark. “

“You mean I’m going to be an old mare without a cutie mark?” Dinky worried.

“I never said that, I simply meant-” Melody paused, looked upon the young pony’s blank rump, and sighed. “Trust me, little one, I know exactly how you feel. I spent great lengths of my adolescence believing a mark of my own would never appear upon my flank. Fate had it, however, that I was meant to pursue this world with a destiny in hoof after all.”

“What’s the story behind your cutie mark?” Dinky inquired.

“Quite glad you asked, I was only a filly your age and I…I…” Melody paused abruptly and ungracefully, peering down to her rump and looking upon the purple printed treble clef symbol forever embedded onto her withers. She clicked her tongue as though ready to speak again, but the thought left her. Again and again she tried to remember, but simply couldn’t. “My word, has it been that long? I’m sorry, little one, but I simply cannot remember. Hmph, how odd.”

“That’s okay, Miss Melody.” Dinky sighed and faced the piano keys. “At least you have your mark, even if you don’t remember how. Honestly, that would be enough for me.”

There was a spell of silence which surrounded the two as Melody stood idly and pondered over the little one’s words and the calm demeanor mixed in. They were obviously tell tale signs of a youngling’s phases of self-doubt and occasional depression. Natural as it was, Melody knew it could very well grow into a serious matter, but why was she dealing with this and not her mother? Of course, she was this young one’s teacher, a role model and an example of what a proper mare should-Oh for Luna’s sake, why did she have to deal with this?

“Getting your cutie mark is not nearly as important as what your cutie mark might represent.” Melody attempted. “As the saying goes, the two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you discover why.”

“I hope that day will come sooner than later.” Dinky sulked.

“It will, little one, only time will tell.” Melody responded.

The little unicorn walked home that evening brainstorming all of the different ways she was going to apologize to her mother, in the sense that she was thinking ahead of time. Sooner or later Miss Cheerilee was bound to inform her mother of the incident at school, and it was only a matter of walking in to her living room one evening only for her mother to call out to her before she could retreat up to her room. The chances that her elder sister, Amethyst, would be informed of it first were slim, otherwise they might be able to keep the secret between each other. It was what sisters were for, after all. Though they bickered from time to time, the trust and familial ties never died, as Amethyst had sworn to be the best big sister a younger could have the day she was accepted into their little family.

Dinky passed the threshold of her home and quietly crept up to the kitchen entrance, hugging the wall and poking out an ear to listen. She could hear dinner being prepared, albeit haphazardly, and the filly dared not to creep past the open doorway lest her mother see her. The inclination that she had eyes on the back of her head was still molded into her mind, and Dinky wondered for a moment if those eyes on the back of her mother’s head would still have that wall eye she has now.

A moment later and another pony lumbered through the front door, letting her saddle bag drop to the floor as she barely seemed to notice her younger sister playing secret agent in the hallway. Her eyes held bags, her mane was disheveled and her stomach grumbled. Amethyst found the first opportune cushion of the house and threw her form into the plush surface, sinking beneath the soft fabric with a sigh that could settle the entire house. Derpy in the kitchen took notice and carefully turned off the stove and put her spoon to rest before making for the living room, and the little unicorn took her chance to get out of sight. She darted up the stairs and lent an ear to listen to the conversation downstairs, bits and pieces coming in and out of hearing range.

“…I’m a detective now…no it’s not a murder mystery…he’s staying…I told you, he’s not my boyfriend!”

Only muffled voices could be heard as the door closed and Dinky secluded herself to her possessions and belongings, half of which weren’t even hers, and the other half of dreams and pretending what she might be one day. As for now, there were many things other fillies and foals had which Dinky could not, simply due to the fact that her mother made her pay working at the post office, only enough to keep the house afloat from paycheck to paycheck. That, and change was quite difficult to find lying around Ponyville, let alone her own house. The lost and found pile was like a treasure trove to the young unicorn, and every once in a while she’d find a gem among the common rocks. Most everything she “borrowed” from the pile was kept beneath her bed and in her closet, lest her mother discover yet another secret she wished to keep hushed.

There was one item, however, which she kept beneath her bed that belonged to no pony, not even herself. It did belong to somepony, actually, but that stallion had left long ago. Dinky shoved her leg beneath the bed and cupped a hoof around a small box and slid it out into the open. She stared at the small wooden box for a moment before undoing the tiny golden latch and revealing a small, folded paper within. Scanning over the note with her golden, gleaming eyes, she began the ritual just as she always did and read over the first words in her head.

「Dear Daddy…」

Chapter 13 - A Reality in Fantasy

Starlight Glimmer. Just who was she? What was she? Starlight herself did not know, but she found herself thinking about it, time and time again. It was never on purpose, it sort of just happened, and that was how she felt about the rest of the world. About everything she saw, everything she heard, smelled, tasted and felt. It all sort of just happened one day, and nopony for sure knew why or how, all they did was accept it and moved on.

Clearly, Starlight had a hard time moving on.

Of the few things she had left in this world to cope with, magic was one of them. To question the world around her, and through her speculations utilize the arcane arts to acquire the answers she had been in search of for a very long time now, almost the entire span of her life as she knew it.

As she walked down the trail leading through the market chains and shopping district, images of her past reflected back from the deep pits of her mind.

In the valley there was a village, not a winding maze of stark tall buildings, nor a bundle of hay roofed huts on the country side, but it was a village in the middle of the desert. A village of near perfectly identical buildings as bland as the sands surrounding them, organized into two parallel rows leading up to a single, central building in which the overseer of the entire operation had lived. Rows of teeth pushed past curled lips and stretched from ear to ear in big, wide, happily obedient smiles. Eyes darted around nervously, rumors spread, falsehood grew among the ponies. A stone gray slab painted red…

Starlight blinked the memories away, she no longer wished to remember and only longed to forget. But how could she? The unicorn feared that this quest of hers, a pursuit for knowledge might it be, for this single, secret, untapped spell had one home and one home only. That home was the village in the desert.

She shook her head and continued to march forward, a confident stride through the market stalls and a focused wit looming about her. The spell could be found elsewhere and she was sure of it, she rested her faith upon it. If her research skills had taught her anything, it was that one thing had always led to another, providing the theory that anything and everything in this world was in some sort of twisted way, connected. Understandably the spell was one incantation, but likely made up of separate parts. How many different parts? She wasn’t quite sure, not yet at least.

The sight ahead made her stop dead in the middle of the trail, not only because of someone having taken her favorite spot beneath her favorite tree, but rather because of who the someone was. It was him, the boy, the newly appointed Equerry of Ponyville.

David sat beneath the tree, confused and dejected, fumbling a tiny leather tome about in his hands. He stared at the little book as though something might pop out of it, something that would finally tell him where to go or what to do, or what the hell was going on. The sight was all too familiar, he just didn’t know anymore, and so he sat alone. To Starlight the sight was in fact familiar to her even on a personal level, not that she would really want to admit that. As such the unicorn prepared to turn tail and head for the castle, but she remembered Twilight was there. She turned back around, and the boy was still there.

She considered her chances, recent events, remembering the words of her mentor. A solid ten seconds of silence reigned over until finally the mare decided that for once, she ought to listen to what her teacher says from time to time. Starlight calmed her nerves and puffed her chest before approaching the boy.

“You look like you could use a friend.” She said as cheerfully as she could manage.

The boy led a wary eye, and turned to exaggerate a confused glare. “And you are?”

Starlight blinked unbelievably, but suddenly remembered. It must be the head trauma, or whatever Twilight said. She breathed again. Okay, easy does it, he’s just a kid.

“Why, it is I, Starlight Glimmer.” She beamed.

“Oh, brother.” He groaned. “Yeah, I know who you are. I know who a lot of you ponies are.”

“Then why did you ask?” The unicorn was already getting annoyed.

“I’m sorry, did you need something?”

“You’re sitting beneath my tree.” She snorted.

“Oh. Oh. This is your tree? Has your name been written on it?” He stood and began to swivel around the tree, looking up and down and all around it. “Hmm, no name here. What about here? Nope.”

Her horn flickered to life and the bark right next to the boy’s head began to splinter and squeak painfully. Within a second Starlight’s cutie mark along with her initials were sizzled onto the trunk, clean enough for anyone to see, all except for David who could not yet fully read Ponish, but he got the message clear as crystal. The unicorn pursed her lips and blew the steam off of her horn, a confident smirk following soon after. His head slowly turned in her direction, a furious squint running across his slitted eyes.

“Still got a stick up that ass, I see?”

“Wanna try it out?” She snapped.

“You can use mine.” He countered.

“I bet you think you’re hot shit, don’t you?” Starlight crept forward. “How’s it feel to yank the opportunity right from underneath somepony’s hooves? I spent nine months, nine months trying to get that job, and what did you do? Destroyed a historical monument and ran your crocodile tears to the Princess, just so she would make everything better for you.”

“Listen, this was all Twilight’s idea, not mine.” He pointed his finger.

“Nice try, I heard what she said. You planned your snarky little schemes from the start, and now look at where it’s gotten us!” She sprawled her hooves. “Another misplaced, incompetent fool meddling into business they never should have in the first place.”

“Shut up! It’s not as easy as it looks.” He slumped backwards against the tree, pushing his palms into his eyes. “Twilight said if I wanted to make a good impression then I needed to get to know the ponies more, but who the hell wants to be friends with a goddamn alien? She said the Equerry ought to know his way around town anyways, she even gave me a grocery list. Y’know? To practice my Ponish or whatever. I had Spike with me too but he…well, the little guy catches on fast. You get the idea, right?”

“No.” She spoke sternly. “Quite frankly, I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”

“Does anyone?” He laughed, and suddenly winced back. “I never wanted to come here, I never wanted this stupid job. All I want…is to go home. But, I don’t know where to start.”

“You really have no idea what’s going on, do you?” Starlight seemed to take pity.

“Go ahead, rub the salt in.”

“No, that’s not why I’m here-” Starlight groaned and looked upon the diminished form of the boy. His appearance wasn’t looking any better than when she first found him, and at that the unicorn knew she was already failing to prove to herself her own competence. She walked around and sat in front of the human. “Before, I said we should start over. Well, now I’m asking again.”

“How many times are we going to do this?” He asked.

“As many times as we need to.”

David stared at the mare’s raised hoof, the scent of lavender and the complexion of lilac persuading him ever so subtly to accept the pony’s touch. All formalities aside, he had to admit these ponies were unbearably cute, even if they were out to kill him from time to time. Calmly, he raised his hand and wrapped his fingers around her hoof. “Call me David-”

“Yeah, I know. You don’t need to do that.” Starlight reminded. “Where did you say you were from?”

“It’s a place called Earth.”

The boy and the unicorn sat beneath the favored tree, a cast of shade shielding them from the sun as the greater part of the hour was spent in tale to the wonders and intricacies of the planet the boy called his home. He spoke of civilizations both ancient and new, how the influences of the old were accustomed to the ways of the future. Cities like Manehattan, Fillydelphia and Baltimare were in the hundreds if not thousands, with buildings as high as the clouds of Cloudsdale, perhaps even higher. There was something about automobiles, firing mechanisms, weapons of mass destruction thrown into the mix…Starlight had stopped paying so much attention at that point. What intrigued her the most however was when the boy attempted to explain to her the intricacies of what he called the “inter-net.” Whatever this net was and however big it was, the idea of storing vast amounts of knowledge far greater than anypony could ever imagine is what encapsulated her so.

“It’s as dangerous as it is exciting, I’ll give it that.” David told her. “In the end, however, I believe that something like the internet could quite possibly be one of humanity’s biggest mistakes.”

“What makes you say so?” Starlight wondered.

“It’s had greater influences on me and many others for years to come, so much so that entire generations live by it.” He slowly shook his head. “At the end of so many days we’d almost forget that it’s just a computer. It’s not real.”

“But you said you’ve utilized it for worldwide connections, networking, all of that stuff.”

“And that’s the problem, it’s almost as if-” He paused, blinking around his surroundings. “It’s almost as if two worlds were blending together.” He held his hands at the sides of his head, shutting his eyes and craning downwards. “Is that what’s happening here, then? Have I really gone this far off the edge?”

Starlight remained stoic, silent, studying the boy and listening to his mumbles. Her mind cautiously referred back to his first encounter with him, about what Twilight told her that might be happening to him.

The head trauma? She supposed. Even if it went untreated, why would it still be in effect? Perhaps he’s just having these episodes and he thinks he’s hallucinating. Just what kind of world did this kid have to live in that made his mind so fragile? As the unicorn went to conclude her thoughts, David breathed his way back into control and turned to her with a calmed, serious expression. It seemed he had something on his mind, something important to tell her.

“Listen, Starlight, I don’t know how you’re going to take this but you’re the only pony here so far I feel comfortable telling this to.” He began to whisper. “Even if this is all fake, I don’t want to take any chances, but I have to get this off my chest somehow.”

“I’ve dealt with my fair share of oddities.” She affirmed. “Lay it on me.”

He breathed in, and breathed out. “I’m a…”

“Yes?” She waited.

“I’m a bro…”

“Congratulations, I’m a single child.” She informed.

“No, I meant-” He became frustrated and spat it out. “I’m a brony, okay?” And the boy couldn’t stop now. “Back on my planet there’s this television show, and you’re gonna get a kick out of this, it’s called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. The entire show’s premise is based off of six ponies who run around fighting monsters, singing songs and writing these friendship reports or whatever. And guess what? The setting takes place here, in Ponyville. And guess what else? You’re in it too, including every other pony you know, probably. You become one of the main characters for crying out loud, I wouldn’t be surprised if you suddenly turned towards an invisible camera and spouted some trademark line. Hell, I’m surprised you guys haven’t cut to a commercial yet, I suppose you do it while I’m sleeping but then again that’s a long time to wait. A normal episode only lasts about twenty-two minutes. I guess I’m supposed to be glad that the green one who sits all funny hasn’t found me yet, but I’m more grateful the pink one hasn’t spawned out of thin air, especially when she’s had several chances to do so already.” He took a breathe and continued. “The bottom line is I’ve already told you I’m a brony, and that basically means I’m a grown ass man who likes to watch a show for little girls. I’ve watched this show for a good three or four years before I decided to drop it, but none of that explains why I’m here now. This is all some sort of dream and my own mind is holding me hostage, like it wants me to learn something before it decides to cut me loose. That is why I need your help, Starlight. Help me find my way back out.”

The unicorn and the boy sat beneath the shade of the tree, silent, staring at each other. A gentle breeze blew by, followed by a couple of birds singing and buzzing about, one colored gold and the other blue.

Then, Starlight laughed.

She snorted, she giggled and cackled and squealed like a little filly until her roaring ascended to a cacophonous guffaw. It was as though a bomb or missile went off nearby and a nest of birds were disturbed, immediately taking to the skies in varying directions. She laid on her back rolling this way and that, clutching her stomach and kicking her hooves in the air, David was almost certain she’d draw a crowd even this far out away from town. The boy could do nothing but slump against the tree and wait for her little laughing skit to cease, and as soon as she wiped the last of her tears away she laid out her words between broken breathes.

“Oh, goodness.” She snickered. “Oh, Celestia, Luna and Cadance, I have not had that good of a laugh since…well, I can’t really recall a time I laughed like that before. Thank you, I really needed that.”

“No, you don’t understand!” He tried.

“No, really, you don’t know how much I needed that.” She insisted. “Are you sure you’re alright though? I know Twilight said something about your head trauma but I didn’t think it was this bad. Maybe we should get you to a doctor?”

The boy caught his breath and held his tongue as he evaluated the situation. Whether it be a freakishly realistic dream, or a dream like reality, never had he thought the day would come that he would be trying to explain to a unicorn that she is a unicorn, or much rather desperately trying to tell a unicorn just how “unicorny” she was. No matter how much he’d attempt to convince her that everything about her and the world she lives in wasn’t real, at least in his perspective, what reason did Starlight have to believe him?

“Y’know, when I was a kid I used to think that way all the time.” She began. “I would wish up all these crazy ideas and whimsical tales just to make sense of the world and the stars and what may lay beyond. Not necessarily because I enjoyed it, but I suppose it helped me cope. Solely relying upon the fact that we came from this great, big nothing simply wasn’t enough for my childish little mind, but fate had it that with each and every day I grew older, I came one hoof closer after another to accepting that truth.”

“And just what kind of truth is that?” He questioned.

“There’s a fine line between fantasy and reality. Going by that logic, I think it’s safe to say that you’ve already answered your own question.” She explained. “Look, I get it, you’re in a world completely different from your own and it’s obviously taking a toll on your psyche. I don’t know what Twilight has already told you, but I can assure you one thing. Your reality is always going to be what you make of it.”

“I don’t get it.” He shook his head. “Didn’t you just say there’s a distinct difference between fantasy and reality?”

“Reality will always be reality, and fantasy will always be fantasy. What it comes down to is all up in here.” Starlight pointed to her head. “It’s up to us to interpret what is real and what is fake. Or I guess that’s what I’ve always believed.”

David was left staring a blank at the unicorn.

Starlight sighed and lowered her head. “Sorry, I’m not very good at this, am I?”

The boy gave no answer and simply laid his head back upon the tree, closed his eyes and let the slivers of sunlight slicing through the leaves fall onto his face. Starlight was prepared to tell him to take a minute to simply relax, breath, and familiarize himself with his surroundings but it appeared he was already getting the idea, almost as if he knew to do it by instinct. There were no more questions to be asked, answers laid out and comments sparse. The possibility of the boy going haywire and “losing his mind” once again lingered in the field of possibilities, to which the unicorn had a sudden paranoia of almost as if it were her job to babysit the poor kid.

There must be a way. Starlight pondered. A way to make amends with Twilight, win that Equerry title back, and send this sorry twerp back home.

Almost as if he had been reading her mind, the boy displayed the first step to the answers she was looking for. Starlight peered downward, and in his palm laid the Equerry badge.

“Go ahead, take it.” He said. “Even if it’s meant to protect me, it’s not worth seeing someone’s ambitions go to waste. I know that feeling all too well.”

So vulnerable, so open, it was hers for the taking right then and there, and thus the temptation settled deeply within. The pony had to physically shut her eyes and turn her head just to resist the urge, and after a simple pause she shook her head in refusal.

“I can’t.” She replied. “I know why Twilight gave it to you, and I realize now that it’s my job to show you why.”

David wasn’t given a chance to implement his own share of dialogue, as instead a steady, rhythmic beat from seemingly nowhere spawned out of thin air. He could not locate the source of the sound, and could only watch as Starlight dramatically took one hoof after the other in a direction he assumed this supposed, invisible camera was focused upon.

“Let me tell you a story about a unicorn who once beheld this town.” She hummed.

“Oh God, kill me now.” He glummed.

“The Princess had said, ‘come my student, there’s a new assignment for you I’ve found.’”
“She was a sorceress from the mountains, so the news had spread, by ear, word and mouth.”
“Promises were made, her spirits were high, but the situation quickly turned south.”
“’There’s hope for you yet.’ The Princess had said. ‘All you need is a friend or two.’”

They began to walk in tune.

“For a shut-in, book-worm, misfit twit, it was a difficult task to pursue.”
“’Who would want to befriend a pony like me?’ The unicorn cried drearily.”
“It was a set-up, a scam, a sugar-coated, bull-loaded, goaded conspiracy!”

“I get that you’re trying,” David had said, “to convey a message here, albeit unclearly.”
“But what part of this stupid, little musical number, again, am I supposed to take seriously?”

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned,” Starlight discerned, “it’s that true friends are never earned.”
“Those chums and bums who ‘got your back’, I concur, are gonna leave a serious burn.”
“Leave your fate to the universe, convoluted as it seems, but trust me one day you’ll see.”
“That goodness within, the admittance of sin, is what will one day set you free.”

“So what you’re saying-” The background music kept playing. “If I make just one, true friend-”

“One, true friend~!” She tasked.

“Then all of this will surely end?” He asked.

Starlight halted in her tracks. The boy stood idle and waiting, anticipating, an answer of some shape or form. Alas, the mare simply gave a wry, side-eye, an uneasy stare as tough she were torn. It seemed as though the music all around them had ceased into a slow, slugging silence, and all that was left was for the pony to answer.

“If that were true…”

Even after everything had been said and done, neither party felt none the wiser sitting beneath the favored tree, slices of orange light slivering beyond from the sunset on the horizon. Their slumped figures and tired eyes told any passerby everything they needed to know, or even if they cared to concern themselves. Starlight took her gaze up on the boy, a disheveled form looking longingly at the sun crawling beneath the distant hills of Ponyville. He looked over, noticed the unicorn was staring, and casually averted his gaze as he stood and dusted himself off.

“It’s been a long day.” He mused.

The mare perked up. “There’s still daylight to burn! Why don’t we hit the spa?”

“I’ll pass.” He wavered off. “I appreciate everything you’ve done, Starlight. How about tomorrow we try again?”

“Sure, why not?”

David stood silent for a moment, then he held out a fist to the mare. She studied his balled up hand, observed her own hoof, and then pressed accordingly to his knuckles. The boy smiled. He turned, fastened his little bag and walked off with the sun layering over his side, his long shadow rolling over a row of white lilacs. Starlight stared at her hoof then called out.

“Maybe we could set you up for an appointment?”

“Yeah, sure.” He waved nonchalantly, and continued all the same.

There was a pause of quiet that lingered about her, just enough for David to become a speck among the buildings, a dot on the hill, and then he was gone. Starlight groaned and seethed with frustration, slamming a hoof to her forehead as she repeated the word in her head over and over again.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! I wasted an entire day and got nothing accomplished! Nothing! She gurgled and growled at herself. Foolish, useless, incompetent!

“Golly, what a grouch!”

Starlight froze, spun around and came face to face with a pony only half her size. A child, staring up at her with beady, brown eyes and an unrelenting grin. The look on the little one’s face said “I know what you’re thinking” to anypony perceptive enough to recognize it.

“Excuse my behavior.” Starlight covered, realizing she was in the presence of a child, and realizing over again that she was acting like that of a child in the presence of this youth.

“Oh, I wasn’t talking about you, miss.” The little pony twinkled her lashes. “I was referring to your friend. Moping around with a frown, questioning his reality. He just doesn’t know when to give up!”

“I’m sorry, have we met?” Starlight ventured.

“But don’t fret, he’ll be back tomorrow, I’m sure of it.” The little pony began dancing away down the lane. “After all, he doesn’t believe himself any more than you believe him.”

With that, the child took another skip or two down the path, sprouted her little wings, and fluttered off into the clouds without another word. Starlight was fixated on the cloud she had just disappeared behind, wondering if she’d appear from behind it again, but she was gone. The unicorn felt she had been left aloof, dumbfounded and distressed. Just what was she going on about just now?

Questioning reality? She ventured, and remembered her own words. -they’ll only accept what they feel is right or wrong. Even if you know the truth, who’s going to believe you?

A sudden feeling overcame the mare, the call to read, the summoning to compose, and it had her forcing air into her lungs and driving the dirt into the earth as she kicked herself forward and sped down the trail in the direction of the castle. The ability to teleport called back to her mind, but she ignored it in the heat of the moment, swerving around the few lingering ponies of the day and hurdling over one fence after the other. A couple of investigators paused conversing with a mare to watch her run by.

The castle portals swung open and banged against the walls, Twilight really ought to install some door stoppers. The metallic ring bounced up to the library doors which the unicorn burst straight through, flared her horn alive and began tearing through the books on the shelves like mad. She threw together dictionaries old and new, encyclopedias, thesauruses, catalogs, worn out news articles, anything that might give her a shred of evidence as to what the boy had told her. Her eyes scanned over one page after another, but soon she ceased and took to behold a presence she had not been aware of before. A steady tap-tap-tap filled the library air, and Starlight was sure it couldn’t be the grandfather clock down the hall. She turned and internally reveled in the sight of Twilight staring at a chess board with the pieces placed about in such a way that spelt “checkmate.”

“How?” Twilight asked the air. “How could she have won so easily? So flawlessly?”

“Enjoying yourself over there?” Starlight piped up.

Twilight flinched and lifted her head as though she wasn’t even aware of her student’s presence either. “Starlight.” She cleared her throat. “You’ve returned.”

“You look like you’re straining yourself.” Starlight gestured to the board.

“I…” Twilight drawled, looking back down at the finished chess game with mixtures of ire and confusion. She shook her head and went to clear the board. “No, it’s nothing. How have you been?”

“Eh, I could go for a round or two.” Starlight sat on the opposite end of the board.

“Weren’t you just in the middle of something?”

“Weren’t you?”

The castle’s hollowed silence ensued.

“I’ll set the pieces.” Twilight sufficed.

Chapter 14 - Diamond in the Rough

The insistence the boy emphasized to Twilight for his intent to stay indoors meant nothing as she levitated her human across the ground and headed south through Ponyville. A few snickers from the ponies passing by were caught here and there, some joking that Princess was taking her new royal pet for a walk. Although she ignored them all the same, David couldn’t help but cross his arms and pout his lip as he was slowly careened a mere foot or two from the ground.

“You’re lucky I don’t decide to just teleport you.” Twilight said. “I don’t intend this as a punishment, I’m only trying to help you.”

“You’re doing a splendid job already.” He pouted again.

Twilight huffed and brought him forward, releasing her magical grip upon him and letting the boy stand on his own two feet as she looked up into his eyes. “You’re an adult, aren’t you?” She asked. “I trust you know how to act your age.”

“You wouldn’t believe how often I’m told that.”

“There’s no reason to make this difficult, especially for Rarity.”

“Listen,” he knelt down, “I get that you’re trying to do a little good for the both of us but I don’t think she’s going to take my presence all too well. Fainting upon her very first sight of me ought to have raised some red flags, don’t you think?”

“First impressions mean nothing when you have the courage to try again.” Twilight smiled confidently.

David stared at her, cockeyed. “Did you just make that up to try and motivate me?”

“Just get in there!” Twilight jerked her head, then turned. “No, wait, I’ll knock.”

The boy was confused as to where exactly she stood with her trust in him, and they left it at that as she fixed her mane and approached the building before them. An orange flag stood atop golden trimmed roofing patterned in pink-white checkers and light blue bows, whereas fixed into the supporting poles surrounding the central tower was a ceramic pony as to depict a carousel going round and round. The checkered patterns had detailed stitching on each and every tile, showcasing the time and delicacy one might take to construct such fabrics strong enough to uphold a foundation built off of fashion designing.

Instead of knocking, Twilight instead pushed past the front door and called out for her friend while the boy followed her inside, craning his head downward to compensate for his high stature among the tiny, pony-sized architecture. David was quickly fixated to a small mirror looking himself over when Twilight suddenly felt a familiar, diamond blue aura surround her whole and drag her into the kitchen space of the boutique. A wide-eyed, marshmallow white unicorn stood staring at her, confused and antsy all over.

“Are you mad?!” Rarity gawked.

Twilight knew what this was all about. “Please, we’ve dealt with hydras, dragons and all sorts of beasts in the past. A simple human isn’t the end of the world.”

“You simply cannot fathom the terror you’ve brought upon my doorstep.” Rarity continued. “I have traveled into over grown forests, plunged hundreds of feet deep into the earth after being kidnapped by diamond dogs. I’ve even spent twelve hours straight listening to a farm hunk talk about the complete, uninterrupted history of soy beans! If but a single ounce of the terror we call our humble little world were to ever set a claw in this shop, it would be the worst possible thing that could happen!”

“First of all, he’s not even from this planet.” Twilight raised her hoof. “And secondly, before you faint, I’ve brought him here to help you out.”

“What could that…what did you call it? A hubris?”

“His name is David.”

Rarity stared with an open jaw and dumb gaze.

“I found him in the forest and I need you to give him a job.” Twilight paused. “Also, some new clothes wouldn’t hurt.”

“Well, if you wanted some new wardrobe all you had to do was ask, no reason to parade the monkey through town.”

“I meant for him, not me!” Twilight groaned and slid her hoof down her face. “Look, I’ll pay for them too.”

“Twilight, dear, you know you don’t have to pay a bit for my services.” Rarity led her hoof to Twilight’s shoulder. “We’re friends, are we not?”

“So you’ll do it?” The Alicorn beamed.

The fashion designer lent a wary eye out to the showroom where she spotted the boy squatting on a stool, running his talons through his small, top mane. He stared at himself in a small mirror as though he were trying to fix and confirm something. Rarity drew her head back into the kitchen and gave her friend a scrunched muzzle and unsure shrug.

“Please, Rarity, just give him a chance.” Twilight pleaded. “If not for him, then for me.”

“Well, I suppose one day couldn’t hurt.” Rarity reluctantly accepted.

“I knew I could count on you!” Twilight wrapped her hooves around the unicorn and nuzzled her neck. “Now, I have some scripts to attend to. If you have any questions just call me, you two have fun.” And with that, Twilight disappeared in a flash of hot pink and white, sparkles dancing away like dust in the air.

“Now wait a moment, get back here and explain yourself! Twilight?” Rarity called, but only silence answered. “He’s not going to leave excretions on my front lawn, is he?”

In that instant there was a crash from the show room, the sound of glass shattering. Rarity looked over to the oven and supposed that sticking her head inside of it and closing it shut would be a better option than walking out to investigate upon the strange creature her dear friend had just dumped into her boutique. She considered levitating a cloth over her eyes to act as a blindfold so she could pass through the showroom and up to her personal quarters so that she might get an early start crying her miseries away.

Is that the proper way for a lady to think? A voice reached her consciousness.

Rarity looked to her right, a golden fairy-like depiction of her with a haylo floated next to her ear. There was another call to her left.

Twilight admitted it and so did you! You’ve been through worse, have you not? The opposing voice chanted. I’ll cut you a deal, darling dearie. The back door is right over there, go take a stroll in the park and forget this mongrel ever set a claw in your home.

“What a terrible idea!” Rarity talked back to her shoulder. “That beast will tear everything apart while I’m gone!”

Make Twilight pay you back for the damages.

“What a brilliant idea!”

Rarity beamed, then quickly frowned and shook her head violently. Tiny mockeries of herself floated about either side of her head, and it was at this point she began to regret having canceled those therapy sessions with the new doctor down the street.

Do you really think she’d fall for your petty schemes? The brighter argued. Why, she doesn’t even have her sunhat on! How could anypony take a stroll through the park on such a bright, sunny and grueling day?

Tans are in this season. The red Rarity presented herself seductively.

Oh please, your coat shows nothing but the blood of the branded!

“My word, does my imagination really contain such colorful vocabulary?” Rarity questioned herself.

Don’t talk back to me, you poorly roasted marshmallow on a stick!

The two Rarity’s moved in between, pushing their muzzles on each other like sisters in quarrel.

Period rag!

Piss sponge!

“Enough, both of you!” Rarity separated the two. “I don’t even know how you two got here but all I want are answers. What am I supposed to do?”

Oh, Rarity. The shoulder devil laughed. This isn’t one of Twilight’s tantalizing equations, it’s perfectly simple. In your midst lay two decisions, you take one or the other. We agree to the park, yes?

“Which one am I really supposed to choose?”

Ultimately, that is left up to you. The shoulder angel said. Only at the end of time will the tumult of your decisions weigh upon you.

The devil disappeared and then the angel, leaving black and white, tiny clouds of smoke in their wake. The unicorn blinked the images away and rubbed her sockets to make sure the sights were no more. What laid before her was an open doorway, the backdoor leading to the bright and inviting outdoors. In the opposite direction was the path to the showroom, this supposed beast in his newly found den lying in wait. Rarity knew she was better than this. She had indeed seduced dragons and battled bugbears in the past, what was a simple hyoo-mun to her? Gougère, that’s what! Her lungs swelled and her posture tightened, one hoof after the other marched for the opening to the showroom. The human was hovering in the doorway, crouching and peeking at the mare expectantly. Rarity was prepared to do a one-eighty, she held her breath.

“You must be Rarity?” He inquired.

The mare nodded stiffly.

“Listen, you have every right to rip my ugly head off my shoulders after I broke your mirror, but I’m willing to make up for it.”

A broken mirror was the least of her worries. The only thing on the mare’s mind now was to stand so incredibly still, as though struck by a cockatrice stare, that the boy’s beastly eyes would not detect any heat signatures…or however it was supposed to work in the movies.

“I hear you make dresses?” He continued. “Is there anything you need organized? Crimped? Folded? I’m at your disposal.”

It was all too much to take in. The boy knew everything, where she lived, what she did for a living, this one was too good!

“Hey, are you alright?” His eyes danced worryingly. “You’re looking kind of blue.”

Blue? Why, yes. How nice of the young lad to compliment her eyes, which just so happened to be watering and struggling to stay open as she swooned from the left and to the right. David instinctively held out his arms, but drew back when he remembered she looked rich enough to have a lawyer. Rarity fainted.

Time seemed to fade into the void like wisps of gray smoke dissipating upon a black background, the smell filling her nostrils, clouding her senses and leading her to believe that having a house fire was a-okay for business. The business of the boy and the business of the boutique coming together into one, simple task that her one, royal friend had asked of her. She would get to it eventually, she just needed to figure out why she was lying in her bed and smelling smoke.

Smoke…?

Celestia’s sunny arse, that mongrel was setting her house on fire! Rarity yelped and leapt from her bed albeit clumsily as she clamored through the door and missed a step through the hall, careening down the stair well and flailing her hooves wildly in a desperate attempt to break her fall. Her rump did a fine job of that, and she supposed it could have been worse.

“Rarity!” Her little sister squeaked. “You ruined our surprise.”

No, it couldn’t be any worse now. Had school gotten out early? Did she miss picking her sister up? On the contrary her sister was well over the age to have somepony escort her to and from the school house, and it only told the older mare to gather her bearings together before the entire house burned to the ground, let alone find the source of it. The source just so happened to be a neatly cooked egg or two lying in the pan and frying away at a reasonable temperature. There at the stove’s dials stood her little sister, Sweetie Belle, and the young “mongrel” from before crouching down to her level running a talon over the controls.

“Did you sleep well?” The boy asked. “I hope you don’t mind but we made eggs for lunch. I know it’s more of a breakfast thing, but your sister asked and well, I couldn’t decline.”

“Did you know that humans are really good at cooking?” Sweetie approached her elder sister.

“Nonsense, I can’t fry anything past a simple egg.” He chuckled. “Now, about that toast-”

“I’ll grab the butter!” Sweetie pranced to the fridge and levitated the aforementioned onto the kitchen counter, trotting up by the boy’s side as the two grew swell with one another’s company. The boy had to remind her that they did not need a bowl for toast. A simple plate would suffice.

Rarity calmly and quietly assessed the setting before her with her eyes and ears alone before coming to the conclusion that the house wasn’t going to be turned into a hill of ash and soot after all. The unicorn breathed and pushed herself back onto her hooves and rubbed her rump a few times before lumbering over to the dining table like an old mare, fixing her mane and clearing her throat as she found her seat.

“Sweetie Belle, dear.” Rarity pressed her hooves together. “Will you please give our guest and I a moment alone, so that I may come to terms with the fact that an alien is frying eggs on my kitchen stove?”

“Um…sure?” Sweetie shrugged, cockeyed. “Whatever you say, sis.”

“Don’t forget.” David pointed to the dials.

“Oh, right!” Sweetie allowed her levitation and turned off the stove. She gave the boy a gratuitous smile and beamed at her older sister before scampering off past the threshold and into the showroom.

Once the silence had settled in, Rarity waved her hoof in front of the table before her, allowing the beast a seat, and the mongrel in question produced two plates from the cabinet and carefully slid the sunny-side-up meals onto their respective platters. “If only they had bacon…” He muttered.

“What was that?” Rarity perked an ear.

“Sorry, I was talking to myself.” He admitted, walking over with a plate in each hand. “Your sister is very sweet, I suppose she lives up to her title.”

“It would seem so.” She gave him a wary stare. “Might I ask what has compelled you to act likewise?”

“Are you saying I wasn’t always sweet myself?” He gave a small grin and crouched down lower than usual, compensating for the low seating. “Well, sweet isn’t exactly the right word, I would try to go with something like “nice” or “kind” but even then I wasn’t always so much of either of those. I think I’m beginning to see things in a different light, though. This town, these ponies, it ain’t so bad, y’know?”

The unicorn continued her cockeyed, single eyebrow raised gaze at the boy as her eyes varied from him and to the egg in front of her. She dared a small sniff and a prod with a fork at the sunny-side-up substance, the lack of greenery setting her a bit off.

“Don’t worry, it’s not poisoned.” He said, munching on his own egg. “I watched your sister carefully.”

Careful now, Rarity. The mare thought inwardly. He’s trying to sweet-talk your attention away from the primary dilemma here, that being that this mongrel is in fact the elephant in the room. Gaining your sister’s trust, his nonchalant demeanor, that brandish in his eye…

Currently, David was picking his nose and working out a piece of egg stuck between his teeth.

Oh yes, I’ve got you all figured out and you don’t even know it yet. I’ll bet this is all just a test, one of Twilight’s outlandish experiments whereas I am the guinea pig. Alright then, Miss Sparkle, I’ll play your little game, but don’t expect any clearly defined results.

“Say, you’re not internally monologueing, are you?” David questioned, munching on his meal. “Twilight said you might do that.”

“I beg your pardon?” The unicorn was struck out of her daydreaming.

“If you’re not hungry then I understand-”

“No no!” Rarity readied her fork. “Sweetie Belle worked hard to make this just right, I’m sure. It’d be rude of me to let her efforts go to waste, would it not?”

He smiled and showed an open palm to her plate, allowing the mare the time she took to stare at the egg before cautiously scraping and scooping a small portion with her fork, lifted up and into her mouth by use of her levitation. She winced and the fork clattered to the table, but after a calm spell of nothing but the sound of her chewing filling the quieted air of the kitchen, Rarity blinked, swallowed, and blinked again in realization. Her sister had managed to make an actual, edible breakfast, with the help of this mongrel that is. No, “mongrel” wasn’t really sticking that well anymore, there was a bit more of a gentle aura surrounding the boy now and the unicorn wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. By force she digressed and reminded herself not to be swayed from the objective, and so she ate while questioning him.

“I’ll admit you have done a good deed for Sweetie Belle, and perhaps myself as well, but I understand that Twilight had sent you here for a different task?”

“Yes.” He grinned. “To kill.”

“Assassin, I knew it!” Rarity raised her fork in defense.

“Easy, easy! It was just a joke!” His palms were open as he trembled in fear. “Twilight doesn’t know when to give somebody a break, you know? She kept talking about getting me new clothes or whatever but I bet her there wasn’t a single pony here in Ponyville, or Equestria for that matter who sold human clothes, and boy do I regret saying that because then that gave her an idea. She told me she had a good friend of hers who knew how to make anything for anybody, and I guess she meant you.”

“So what you’re telling me is, you’re a customer?”

“More or less?” He shrugged.

The fork surrounded in blue lowered and rested back to the table, and so did David’s palms as he breathed for control and muttered something about crazy unicorns under his breath. He reached into his small bag and produced a tiny slip of paper which he then handed over to Rarity.

“Here, Twilight worked ahead and took my measurements before coming here. The torso, the waist, arm length, it’s all there.”

After taking the paper into her field a pair of red glasses were produced, the boy not quite sure from where, and were affixed onto her muzzle. The fashionista peered at the horn writing and put a hoof to her chin, looking at the boy and then back to the paper. “I hadn’t expected her to go and do part of my work for me.” She gave a chuckle.

“Apparently she had those before we even thought about coming to see you.” He admitted.

“Apparently? As in, unbeknownst to your knowledge?”

“You can see where my odd history with unicorns build up.” He scratched his scalp.

“In completely the wrong direction, I know.” A blue glint caught in her eye. “That is why I have decided to be nothing but ecstatic about this deal! To think, if I had decided to take that stroll in the park, oh the opportunities I would have missed.”

“What stroll in the park-”

“Come hither, darling, the time for talk is over.” Rarity slid aside her half finished egg and drew the boy in her levitation. “Now is the time for inspiration!”

The boy wordlessly skidded across the kitchen and into the show room where he was thrown onto the pedestal with three mirrors surrounding him from his front and sides. The top of his hair was only a few inches from the ceiling, and the reflection in the mirrors only revealed the waist down.

“Hm, that may be problematic.” Rarity added. “Not to worry, you may have a seat there for the time being. Now, let’s have a look at that denim, shall we?” The mare acquired a closer look, still adorning her red glasses. “My word, the stitching on these are quite the craft. Where did you say you were from, darling?”

“Far away.” He replied.

“I see.” She seemed to ignore him for the while, focusing on his fabric.

“Far far away. Come to think of it that might just be the state of my mind…”

“Where ever you may come from the quality of your wardrobe compares to some of the finer material in Equestria, dare I say. I admire the simplistic style and the fine attention to detail it entails. Tell me, do you have a tailor?”

“Listen, Rarity.” David began. “I realize you’re excited here but I don’t exactly have any of those bits on me. I’m sure Twilight would be willing to pay you, but honestly all I’ve come here for are some ideas, that’s all.”

“Perhaps you’re right.” Rarity admitted. “It’d be foolish of me to leap head first into something I don’t even have precise patterns for, not yet at least.”

“What I mean to ask is,” he started. “Is there something that I can do for you?”

“Well, I don’t want to burden you so.” She prodded her chin again. “There is one menial task…”

Another set of boxes levitated from out the backdoor and onto a small cart waiting outside. The wagon in question stood beneath the shade of a tree, the boy peering down for a moment and looking at the etching on the side. Carefully, he sounded the letters out one by one. “P…R…O…?” He read.

“What’s caught your eye, darling?” Rarity moved over with another set of boxes and laid them atop the cargo. “Property of Sweet Apple Acres.” She read.

“I was getting there.” He grumbled.

“I take it Ponish isn’t your first language?”

“No, I’ve been practicing ever since I got here.” He said. “It’s strange, you and I speak the same way but our writing is different. I can only wonder what it might mean.”

“Well, we shall’nt allow it to get in the way of our objective.” She lit her horn for a final time and set the last two boxes to the cart. “This is a simple task, all we need to do is deliver these orders to an address across town.”

“Wouldn’t it just be easier to pull the cart yourself?” David inspected. “It is suited for a pony, after all.”

“This is an earth pony, d-ring rig, not well suited for unicorns such as myself.” She explained. “It belonged to Big Macintosh, hence the name written on the side. Even if I did have the strength to haul it the strap would dig into my rib cage and cause discomfort, and trust me when I say that beauty marks and I do not go well together.”

“I suppose I get what you’re saying, but, can’t you just pull it with your magic?”

Rarity had to grit her teeth and close her eyes for a moment to restrain herself from face-hoofing. Clearly the boy was not getting what she was saying, and thus she sought for a demonstration. She wordlessly walked to the front of the wagon and picked up the ring with her magic, slowly and effortlessly lurching forward to result in only a two inch progression rate. She exaggerated a series of tired panting and looked to her companion.

“Oh woe is me, such a hefty haul is too much for a frail little unicorn such as I.” She winked. “Why, if only a big, tall and erm…tall person were to come this way and help a poor mare out?” She winked again.

David stared at her. “Why not just levitate the boxes?”

“Do you want this job or not?” She finally asked.

He stood there for a moment, stoic, almost as if caught by headlights in the middle of a dark, unlit road. He silently swept past the mare and hoisted the wooden planks that stood at each end of the d-ring, connected to the cart. He stepped forward once and twice, twisted his shoulders around and gave a content nod. The wagon careened forward along with him, and the mare behind masked a concerned look. Was that too naggish? She thought.

They passed by the park with Rarity glancing over at the green expanses every once in a while, collections of ponies staring, stifling laughter and pointing hooves as they whispered to their mates nearby and hollered to those afar. Many eyes were upon them, to which the unicorn following took great notice, and so she looked at the boy ahead to see that he continued forward with that same steady stride, unwavering and somewhat determined, or at least that seemed so from what she could read. If only this boy, this human were a pony, then he’d be that much easier to read, to study his body language, the swishing of the tail or the direction of the ears, they were almost the primary places to look when reading another pony. This human, of course, was far from it, and so Rarity felt at almost of a disadvantage in his presence. She simply could not ascertain his style.

She supposed for a moment that if she were to just imagine this boy as a pony, his looks and his build, then maybe she’d understand him a little better. Perhaps even begin to grow a little more comfortable being around him. It was in this way she would attempt to imagine the clothes he might wear, the style he might adorn.

“Is it the looks?” David suddenly asked.

Rarity was struck from her daze once again. She blinked and assessed her helper. “I’m sorry?”

“I’ve noticed them too.” He said. “I’m sorry to drag you down like this.”

She knew he meant the others, the ones staring them down and trading whispers as though they were a presence to feel prejudice and disdain for. Though Rarity wasn’t one hundred percent sure what he could have done to deserve such ill recognition, she didn’t let it daunt her so. Moreover she tried to act as though nothing appeared amiss.

“Why, whatever do you mean?” She questioned innocently.

It caused the boy to stop and drop the d-ring from his grasp, turning around to address the mare, a dejected appearance to his face. “Listen, Rarity, you’ve had a good attitude towards me thus far, a great one actually. You wouldn’t believe some of the reactions I’ve gotten before. What I mean to say is I know this is making you uncomfortable, you don’t have to keep doing this for Twilight’s sake.”

So he had heard? Rarity thought. Or, perhaps he simply knew. He must feel this way quite often, the poor boy.

“I know we’re already this far in.” He continued. “But you don’t have to keep doing this. If you want me to stop, just say so. I won’t tell Twilight, promise.”

“Now what would compel me to do such a thing?” Rarity was upfront. “So what if other ponies are giving us ‘looks’? If they wish to gawk, let them. They know nothing.”

“I’m just trying to consider your image here.” He fessed.

“My image?” Rarity almost felt offended.She shook her head and stepped a little closer to him, using her magic to fix the collar of his shirt. “Darling, has anypony ever told you to have confidence? No matter who you are or what you are doing, never let anypony or anything discourage you so. Twilight promised me a reliable helper and I have no doubt that I see one standing right before me.”

The boy hid his smile well, but despite her recent fallings the fashion pony had a keen eye to this, even to the expressions of a foreign species. She regarded him more carefully and decided for a more open approach.

“Why don’t you tell me a little more about yourself?” She asked.

He thus felt a little more at ease and resorted to telling her about the finer details that surrounded his life back home. The trips he took, the small feats he made, the friends and family he spent time with delving into these activities. On a wider spectrum it seemed as though his world was all too much to take in at once, and so narrowing down to the calmer aspects is what made life seem all the more in tune with grace and harmony alike. Rarity went on to mention that you can’t always have these finer details of life, for it was the struggles and efforts that brought out the brightest beauties in everypony. They trekked on as he talked, and in her midst of listening Rarity seemed to decide that whether the boy be human or pony, it did not matter. There was a life behind his doings and that was all he really needed to get by.

The market trail, although not as busy as usual, proved another difficult pass as more of the ponies present gave their stares and turned up their snouts. It was enough to make David cease his chattering altogether, but it hadn’t mattered much when their destination laid just around the corner. The unicorn instructed the human to begin carefully moving the boxes so that they were ready for easy transport. The boy took one in his paws and shook it lightly. “What’s in these things anyways?” He asked.

“Careful now, priceless gems.” Rarity informed. “Well, not exactly priceless, but they’re quite up there if you understand. I’ve had these rocks in storage for quite some time, Spike helped me dig them up. Have you met the dragon?”

“The short one? Of course.”

Rarity giggled. “I’m sure you two would get along like siblings.” She turned and brushed past the back door of the building. “Now wait here just a moment, I’ll call you when we’re ready.”

The interior of the shop showcased a wide variety of retro knick-knacks and forgotten gizmos, some looking on the boot-leg side of appearances, and most others having seen better days, but all in all Rarity knew herself to be a sucker for vintage material. “Oh Mr. Biff~” The lady called. “Your delivery is here.”

From the cashier counter fishing around glass cabinets emerged a tall, brawny stallion with a brown mane and sharp, amber eyes. There was but a small stubble to his chin, the signs of a hasty shaving job, and he scratched at it every so often as though he were reaching for something that was usually there, simply wasn’t. Biff smiled and eyed Rarity with enticement and fascination.

“Well, if it isn’t the lovely Miss Rarity.” A strange accent drooled from his mouth. “You brought the stuff, yes? Ready to get down to business, yes?”

“Oh, Mr. Biff, you always know how to talk like we’re in a mystery novel.” Rarity caught herself laughing at her own joke for a little too long. She cleared her throat and fixed her mane. “Yes, I do have the goods. I hope you’ll find my assistant most useful.”

“Eh, assistant?” Biff appeared hesitant. “I thought you said only one of you, that one being you.”

“Yes, well, plans have changed you see?” The mare turned to the door and opened it with her levitation, beckoning the human inside.

David set one foot in and lowered his head before passing the threshold, a couple of boxes tucked beneath his arm, and he raised his nose to the air as he peeked inside. “Smells like a barber shop in here.” He commented.

“By the necropolis, what is that thing?” Biff took a step back. His gaze tightened on the mare. “Miss Rarity, what is the meaning of this?”

“W-Well, you see-”

“You hire a chimp? That is your business, not mine.” He denounced. “I cannot have filthy paw marks on goods, the boss will get upset! I mean-” He shut his mouth, then continued. “This is not zoo! Shoo! Shoo him away, now!”

“Now, Mr. Biff, there’s no reason to get upset.” Rarity pleaded. She felt a finger tap on her back, and she turned to find the boy beckoning her to the side. She approached quietly and listened in.

“Go on and shoo me.” He said.

“What? No, I’m not going to ‘shoo’ you.”

“That’s okay, I know how to make myself scarce.” He lowered his head. “You’ve been kind to me, Rarity, I don’t want to screw things up for you. We’ll call it a fair trade today, agreed?”

She watched him set the cargo of precious jewels back onto the wagon and set off in the direction they had come from. He turned and waved to her with a blank smile, and the mare could only standby and watch as the poor boy set himself upon the path of discouragement once more. Perhaps it was more of a learning experience for Rarity than it was for him, perhaps there was something off about this business bargain from the start. To think that she was prepared to sell her jewels to some…some crook! The amateur business mare turned tail and marched straight back into the shop, tail stiff, ears flat and nose held high. Biff barely regarded her appearance.

“Glad we got that issue sorted out.” He laughed.

“Glad we got this issue sorted out.” Rarity stomped her hoof. “Mr. Biff, I’m sorry, but the deal is off.”

The stallion stopped scratching his chin mid sentence. “Ridiculous.” He scoffed. “Miss Rarity, you always know how to talk like we’re in a comedy.”

“This is no joke, I absolutely disapprove of the way you treated my colleague and I will not have business with anypony who thinks as such.” She turned her snout back up and trotted for the day. “Good day, and good luck, Mr. Biff.”

“Why, you slippery dame! You brood!” He shouted. “This won’t be the last you hear of us! We will ruin you, do you hear me?”

Rarity felt herself shiver and dared not to turn around and look back, the mere act of somepony insulting her and calling her a brood, it was enough to frighten her so. Despite her achievements in business in the past few years, Rarity found herself to be quite inexperienced when it came to the deeper crevices of Equestria. She knew now in her gut that this was a bad call, and so she ventured to take the thoughts off her mind and threw the d-ring of the wagon over her back, fastening it around her barrel. She lurched forward with a pitiful tug, and tried again to hull the cart with her magic. She had only made a few hooves of progress before sighing drearily and hanging her head to the earth. “What have I just done?” She questioned.

Chapter 15 - Denial

Quiet, undispelled and unprovoked focus loomed around the schoolhouse like a pond undisturbed for three days straight. Not a fish to break the surface, not a pebble nor a petal to touch the water, or any company to invade its extended solitude for that matter.

Utensils drove into parchment and all eyes aimed at their desks as the students focused on their work. Miss Cheerilee reclined at her chair and peeked back out at the window for a moment before looking down at the plethora of paperwork and grading she was absolutely thrilled to delve into later tonight. Only now did she think of the outdoors and the world beyond, the ponies she had once schooled before and where they might be in the realm, where they were going and what they were doing.

Then, there was a whisper in the back row, a “psst” and a snicker. Cheerilee told herself to ignore it for the time being, but it did not cease.

“Psst!” Snips hissed to his friend. “Pass the biology notes.”

“But I don’t do my homework.” Snails answered back. “Like, ever.”

“No no, I mean the biology notes.” Snips winked emphatically.

Snails stared at him blankly. Snips rolled his eyes and quietly made a gesture of making a hole with one hoof and letting his other hoof pass through, however that was supposed to be done. Snails had to cover his snout with both hooves to stifle his snickers as he returned a similar wink to his friend and cautiously looked around before secretly levitating the biology notes over to the waiting colt.

Without warning, Miss Cheerilee stepped in and observed the behavior of her two students. The “biology notes” were floating midair between them, and as the teacher looked to them to and fro, finally setting out a hoof to reach for the notes…

“Thief!” A rasp echoed. “I knew it was you!”

The teacher flinched and spun around, a quarrel between two students took place at the door of the school. One was a furious, orange little bundle of feathers whilst the other stood at odds with a white unicorn next to the pegasus’ side.

“Scootaloo, calm down.” The white unicorn pleaded with her friend.

“No way I’m letting her get off that easy.” Scootaloo pushed forward. “She stole your binoculars, Sweetie Belle. I’ll bet she’s taken my comic book, and Apple Bloom’s note pad!”

“I didn’t steal your binoculars, I found them.” The thief pleaded. “I was just trying to give them back.”

“Oh yeah, how about giving us some respect? If you had any!”

“Girls, that’s enough.” Cheerilee marched up. “What’s going on here?”

The teacher peered down at the supposed thief in question. Dinky, standing timidly at the frame of the door, a dejected and sorrowful expression filling her eyes. Cheerilee blinked at her student for a short moment, not exactly sure what to say or do in that short second of idling.

“She stole Sweetie Belle’s binoculars.” Scootaloo accused.

“Did not!” Dinky countered.

“I’ll bet she’s the reason half of the lost and found is missing!”

“All of the lost and found is missing, Scoots…” Apple Bloom corrected.

“Yeah well, whatever! You know what I mean!”

Cheerilee trained her sights back on Dinky, crouching down to her eye level and waiting for the girls in the background to cease their bickering. The teacher looked deeply into her student’s eyes for any sign of hesitance or dishonesty. She knew it was difficult for anypony to keep a straight face in such situations, but Cheerilee simply sought to do her best. She began calmly.

“Dinky.” Cheerilee asked calmly. “Did you take Sweetie Belle’s binoculars?”

“No, I didn’t.” That familiar lump formed in the little unicorn’s throat. “I found them lying on the ground when I was walking home last night, honest.”

“Were they next to the hedges?” Sweetie asked her.

“Yes, they were, I swear.”

Sweetie Belle calmly looked down at the binoculars in her hooves and closed her eyes. She knew her fellow student spoke the truth, and thus she lifted her head to give the pony her thanks. Alas, the pegasus intervened.

“Search her bag, just to be sure.” Scootaloo revved her wings.

“There will be no need for that.” Cheerilee attempted, holding out a hoof.

Scootaloo was quick, however. She pounced up and over her teacher’s hoof and dove for the gray unicorn’s bag. The two tussled for a moment until an orange limb plunged inside the sac, only to find an oddly shaped, small, wooden structure. The little pegasus cocked a brow in confusion and pulled the item forward, questioning its make and origin.

“Don’t you dare!” Dinky charged and pushed the pegasus over, her face hitting the earth. The two were outside now, and the rest of the class followed to find two dusty and dirt matted ponies standing between a small, wooden boat lying on the ground. One of the masts had been broken, and Dinky could only look down with water welling up in her glossy eyes.

She held her little boat close to her chest and turned to the rest of the class with a snot boiling snarl. “None of you know what it’s really like to have things taken from you! None of you go home to an empty house or a handicapped mother! None of you-” She choked, gasped and screamed. “None of you had a dad who never stayed to watch you grow up!”

The dispirited little unicorn shoved the boat back into her saddle bag and hoisted the bundle with her teeth. Slippery tears streamed past her cheeks, into her mane and on the ground as she trotted for the hills leaving little plumes of dust in her wake.

“Dinky!” Cheerilee trotted after her for a second or two, only to watch the tiny dot on the horizon shrink beneath the green hills afar. She sighed and lowered her head, unsure of the future for her little student. Meanwhile, her students stood at the entrance of the school, looking on with shocked and confused gazes.

“You think she stole that boat?” Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom slapped her upside the head.

「My name is David,
and I am a brony.」

The boy stared at his writing, wondering what it meant to himself, wondering what it meant to others, and in the vast scheme of his thinking he wondered if any of this at all, everything he saw, touched, smelled, tasted and heard had any ounce of credibility to begin with. For as far as he had convinced himself, the dream was still real. Like a prison he could not wake from it, and like any sane inmate he sought to play along with the time spent within to maintain what sanity he did have left. He questioned then if in context of the dream, of the talking ponies and magical entities, the cities in the clouds and the unicorns in the streets, had any ounce of sanity to begin with. It was him and his book, the boy and his fanaticism that kept him alive, and he looked back down in his book to reassure himself. The words remained, his name and his status. Alas, something felt as though it were missing, something was always missing. He continued to write.

「I am convinced that this is a test from God. I have played around with my life for far too long, and in the process I have tested his patience. This is where he places me, not in hell, nor in heaven, but on a plane of irony. I can only imagine he has done this to test me, to teach me a lesson, to fulfill a purpose. But, what? 」

His hand ceased movement and the utensil fell from his fingers. He drawled a palm over his eyes and sighed drearily, gazing upon the vacancy of the room he was in. Candy cane columns connected between chocolate coated trusses and railing, a minty green floor complete with an open glass display of sweets and pastries for sale, but not a pony in sight. He sufficed with the solitude and supposed he could do for quite a while without the company of one of those perky equines trotting about. The trotting of their hooves, the whipping of their tails and that oh so subtle flicker of their ears, it was nearly enough to make the boy go mad from time to time. At the spell of silence he allowed his mind to delve back into the momentary critical thinking stage.

「What is the message? Why am I so blind? What is this dream trying to tell me? I hear that in every great story there is a lesson to learn, an epiphany to behold. A message. So, is the goal then to discover this message? To embark upon a journey where as one will lose more than they might gain at the end of it. Is that to say that the message is embedded within the corridors of the journey one walks, and that the effectiveness of the lessons learned are only dependent upon the realization of one’s situation? The reality of my situation is…」

The thought could not be finished. As he sat there, stagnant, a bright, pink-frosted cupcake with deep, red streaks laid upon the table mere inches from his book. How had it gotten there? He blinked at the pastry, looked up, and stared directly into brilliant, sparkly blue eyes dancing with wonder and majesty. The pony’s mane was a deep pink, and her coat lighter. Finally, the pink one had arrived.

It’s her… David thought.

“It’s me!” She hopped and giggled, settling back down into her seat as she looked upon the boy with great concern. “What’s got you in a pickle, friend?”

“Friend?” He repeated the word cautiously, almost as if it were taboo. “I’m sorry, you must have the wrong table.”

“Ah, Davy.” She rested her cheek to her hoof, elbow to the table. “There are no right tables or wrong tables, only tables.”

It’s her, David thought, but then again it can’t truly be her. The pink one, she’s only a smaller piece to this mind-pulverizing puzzle I call a brain hernia or something other. Any of these ponies could have showed up, but it had to be the pink one. I don’t want it to be her. I’m sure plenty of these ponies have plenty of reasons to resent her presence, but I don’t have the same reasons they do. I just don’t want any of this to be happening right now.

“Why not?” She asked. “You wanted a different flavor?”

“Uh…” He hesitated. Note to self, suspend all conscious thought in this pony’s presence.

“Sheesh, it’s not like I’ll be reading your mind all the time, silly.”

“Starting now.” David spoke. “Um, how much do I owe you?” He eyed the cupcake before him.

“My charity comes free of charge, friend.” She smiled in response. “Rarity taught me that one. In fact, she’s on her way to come talk to me about you in a little less of an hour here!”

“The one who makes the dresses? Ah jeez, I better not be seen then.” He made to scurry away.

“Is that what you’re in such a fuss for?” The pink pony giggled and squeaked delightfully. “I sorta took you for more of an Applejack guy, but whatever floats your boat.”

“No, it’s not that.” He disregarded the odd statement. “I had my run in with the unicorn, and trust me the lasso girl already hates my guts.”

“Sounds like mister popular to me.” She took her own share of the cupcakes and began eating them one by one, the wrapper included.

“Yeah, and I’ve got one question for ya’.” He looked her in the eye. “How come you weren’t among them?”

The pink mare emphasized sweat streaming down the side of her face. This one’s good. She thought. Just like Rarity said, perceptive.

“Where’s that voice coming from?” David looked around.

“Maybe it’s your conscious speaking to you again.” She suggested.

“And how would you know that? How do I know that you’re not just my conscious, too? Telling me the things I want to hear and not what I need to hear.”

The sweat drawling down the puffy mare’s face didn’t seem all the emphasized any longer, but rather it carried some weight to it, as though she’d lost the inability to fake it and was actually trying to hide something from the boy. She grinned, smiled, and burst out in a bubbly fit of laughter as she went down snorting and giggling, kicking and holding her tummy. “Alright, you caught me, I give up!”

The boy was more or less at a loss of words, waiting for the pink mare to pick herself back up and rest to the table to continue her explanation. “It’s true, I was just playing fun and games with you. I wanted to see how long I could hold before you figured it out.”

“Figured what out?” He pressed both palms to the table. “I’m not asking for the spoon-feeding anymore, alright? I’m demanding it. I want to know what’s going on here and where you play a role in this grand scheme of shits and giggles.”

“Hush, my child! You are in Pinkie’s house.” She pressed a hoof over his lips. As she drew away he smacked and licked his chops. Tasted like bubblegum and cookie dough. “Thou shalt maintain a clean tongue in thine house under the rock. Teehee! Neat, huh? That’s what papa always used to say, but really I don’t want you potty mouthing around the Baby Cakes. Mama Cake and Papa Cake will be upset, for sure!”

“Okay, no swearing.” He held up his hand. “On the condition that you explain to me what the-” He thought over his next words. “What the…heck is going on here.”

“Well, duh! It’s my Pinkie sense.” She justified. “Everypony knows about my gift, even Twilight. Did you know there was a time when she didn’t believe? I was walking around Ponyville minding my own, and then all of a sudden Twilight burst in a gigantic ball of flames! Or wait, maybe that was Fluttershy? I thought she was the one who exploded, and then she exploded again! Or no, wait-wait, I got it-!”

“Stop.”

The pink pony froze mid air, a garble of cupcake paper in her mouth. David timidly reached for the sloppy wad of wrapping and threw it in the trash can. He followed up with his own speech. “Before you get ahead of yourself-”

“Yuh-huh?” She unfroze.

“This ‘Pinkie sense.’” He began. “I imagine it’s a very important factor in your life, and not just yours but for the other ponies, too.”

“Yupperoni!” She perked up. “Only, it kind of saddens me to break it to you, but you’re not in it.” All of a sudden, the fluffy pink mare sunk like a ship beneath the surface. “It’s almost like saying you’re not invited to the party, which would totally never happen!” And she was back to her old self. “I would do everything in my power to make sure every party you’re invited to has everything you could ever wish for in your life! Like, that engineering degree you never got. Or, or! Your crush from eighth grade. You missed like seven signs from her, pal.”

“Slow down, what the hell are you talking about?” He slapped a palm over his mouth.

“Hell is a place, I’ll let that one slide.” She took another breath, and David almost instinctively pressed his palms over his ears. The pink pony continued. “It took me a while to figure it out myself. The Pinkie sense, it doesn’t work on you. Why? Beats me, bub. I was going to ask Twilight to run her super scientific gizmo gadgets to run some tests but she was too busy writing papers and reading books, how unlike her! Anyways, I knew from that point on I was on my own, and so I repeated the words in my thinking bubble. What would Pinkie do? What would Pinkie do? The exact opposite of what Pinkie would do, of course! It’s not just that the Pinkie sense doesn’t work on you, it’s almost like it avoids you! Like that opposite polar bear thingy Twilight was talking about with magnets one time. In any case I did the exact opposite of what Pinkie Pie would do and sat here all day doing absolutely nothing, like watching paint dry. Did you know I had to do that once? There were like 88 of me in one room! Crazy, huh?”

“Take a breath, Gonzalez. You’re taking up more paragraph space than I am now.” David surmised the situation and began again. “So let me get this straight, if what you say is true in that the Pinkie sense is avoiding me, then how is it that in this moment you and I are sitting at the same table speaking to one another?”

“Y’know, that’s a good question.” Pinkie said.

“…”

“Does that mean you have an answer?”

“Nope.” She chirped.

“Right.” He sighed tiredly, and then felt another pink hoof push up on his lips.

“Ah-ah-ah, no sighs of sorrow shall enter this shop nor leave thine lungs.”

“Now you’re just making things up.” David concluded. “I’ll bet your supposed Pinkie sense isn’t far from that tree, but who am I to judge? If Twilight couldn’t understand it, how could I? You don’t even understand it yourself, do you?”

“Perhaps I can offer you one of the many Pinkie special proverbs?” The party mare suggested.

“Is it something that might go on one of those motivational posters?”

“Take it as you will:” She said. “Some things in life aren’t meant to be understood, you just have to accept them as they are. If you can’t do even that, then maybe that’s the lesson meant to be learned.”

“The lesson…” David whispered back. In that rare moment of silence within the presence of the pink one, he took the opportunity to think over his matters.

Maybe this isn’t really all a dream. No, it can’t be. If it were a dream then some super, bizarre, inexplicable shit would be going down right now, like…like…talking ponies. He shook his head a little in frustration. Even if this is a dream, then what would that make it? Another form of consciousness? No, dream is like a synonym for slumber, to be unconscious. So like…a separate state of mind?

“Did you know that our consciousness is completely separate from our minds?” Pinkie added. “Weird, huh?”

“Where did you get that one from?” He asked.

“Just a hunch.” She shrugged and smiled.

David sat at his chair, knees above the table, hunched down to compensate for the miniature height of the furniture. He looked around with glances of doubt and dejection, and it alarmed the pink mare so.

“Hey, don’t let me stop that train of thought you got going!” Pinkie hopped up onto the table. “Trust me, I’ve dealt with ponies like you before. Of course, you’re not a pony, but wouldn’t that be kind of cool? Then again you wanted to keep this a traditional human in Equestria fic, right? But hear me out, what if the reason you haven’t fully accepted your reality is because you’re not all there?”

“I was told I had arrived here with a case of amnesia. As to how severe? Hard to say when there’s no one around to remind you of how much you’ve lost.” He began to figure. “That being said, maybe you are right, Pink. Maybe there are a few parts of my consciousness I have yet to collect…”

“Like a shopping list?” Pinkie suggested.

“Huh?” The boy blinked.

“The missing parts of your memory are like a shopping list!” She declared. “You have to write down what you know on a list so that you won’t forget it.”

David sat still and stagnant as ever, blinking unbelievably at the mare, as a tiny spark lighted the bulb floating over his head. He blinked again with confusion, batted the strange phenomenon away, and returned to the pony.

“Pinkie, I really don’t know how to say this or if I even should say it, but that was probably the smartest thing to come out of your mouth since we’ve met.”

“Which was only twelve minutes ago, right?” She chirped again.

He nodded subtly, raising his pencil and flipping his book open to a blank page. With the graphite to the paper, his list began muttering from his lips.

“Let’s see…I know my name, some things I did back on Earth…”

“What about your family?” Pinkie tried.

“My…family?”

“And your friends! Don’t you remember them?”

“I’ve nearly forgotten their faces.” A discouraging shadow loomed over his complexion. “I can only imagine the stress I’m putting them through now. If I’m not all there in this world, then who’s to say I’m all there in my own world? For all I know I could be a lifeless, unresponsive body, lying in some hospital bed somewhere.”

The tone and the gaze of the boy hit Pinkie’s gut in a place it didn’t like. An odd sensation overwhelmed the mare, something she hadn’t felt for a long time, and what was worse was that she couldn’t quite place it. Neither where and when she had felt it before, nor how to deal with such stomach twisting uncertainties. In a sense, she felt as though she wasn’t all there either, and at the worst of times, too!

“I think I’m beginning to understand it now.” David continued. “I’m my own separate entity in this realm that my mind has concocted together somehow. I’ve heard radical things going on in people’s heads when they’re in comas, and maybe…that’s what’s happening to me right now.” A palm pushed to the side of his head, elbow rested to the table as he looked down with gloomy disfiguration. Strikes of pain in his eyes. “How long have I been in this state, then? A few weeks? A month? If it’s been that long then what’s happened to my body? I can imagine it like a news paper article or something similar. One morning I didn’t wake up, one of my family members bound to come along sooner or later to get me out of bed, but to no avail. They took me to the hospital, and now I’m a husk hooked up to all these machines and life support. Everyone outside must be waiting for me to wake up and return to the real world, but…” He shuddered. “What if…What if I never wake up? Oh God, what if one of them decides to pull the plug on me?!”

David stood abruptly, panting to catch his breath as he hadn’t realized how heavily he was breathing. He stared at Pinkie, mixtures of confusion dotting her gaze. It couldn’t be helped.

“Pinkie, I’m sorry. Maybe someone else could have that cupcake? I…I’ve got to go.” And he sped off, remembering in the nick of time to duck beneath the entrance before flinging himself to the outdoors. The pink little mare sat small and lonely in her chair, staring at the abandoned cupcake with a stoic stare. For the first time in a long time, Pinkie wasn’t sure whether she had just helped somepony in a good way, or a bad way.

The boy leapt through the streets and came face-to-face with an earth pony. He wore a dusty brown coat, a brown mane and a green tie about his neck. His cutie mark was that of an hourglass, the sand rushing through from one side and to the other.

Time, it seemed, was running thin.

Quiet, undispelled and unprovoked calmness had loomed about the water for three days straight, not a fish to break the surface, nor a pebble nor a petal to touch the water, or any company to invade its extended solitude for that matter. The vast pool was like that of a cool blue mirror, the sunlit sky and clouds above, the sandy horizons and the green-rich trees reflected perfectly within. The reflection invited a new addition, a small pony making tracks in the sand as she approached the waters and calmly observed its still intent. She looked over and beyond her tracks to find what appear to be another set of tracks trailing about in the sands. They certainly weren’t shaped like hooves, nor of any creature the pony could attempt to imagine. They were almost alien like. She stared at the odd tracks for a moment longer only for her curiosity to cease as she reminded herself what she came here to do.

Reaching into her saddle bag she pulled forward the small, wooden boat, the lonely sail pole still broken. She ignored the detriment and set upon the water without a sail, rendering ripple after ripple through the quiet, calm blue as the structure floated at the surface. The boat was kept at bay near the shore via the young one’s supervision, knowing how quickly the shallow gave way to deeper waters if she were to simply take a few more hoof steps out into the lake. For that moment then, staring at her little boat floating on the water, Dinky reveled in the peace and quiet, the finesse and what recluse it provided to her to simply forget about the events of the day and be alone with her thoughts. Alas, like many things on this planet as she had come to understood in recent days, the moment was short-lived. Several more hoof trails came trotting up from where she had entered the lake space, three to be exact, one flanking to her side and the other two marching up with robust, obnoxious gaits. One pony rumbled so loudly she could have heard him coming from a mile away. She dared not turn to greet them, she knew what was to come next.

“How come you were avoiding us, blank flank?” A feminine drawl stretched over the scene. “Didn’t your mom ever tell you it’s rude to avoid your friends?”

Not my friends. Dinky muttered within. Never will be.

She knew the filly’s voice, she had been classmates with the pony for nearly her entire academic career. Silver Spoon, a haughty, spoiled brat. That was the best way Dinky would describe her. Something about her behavior in recent months had told everypony that although she was putting part of her past behind her, there were still some things she was struggling to let go of, resulting in the same sassy and unforgivable attitude she had always claimed in the old days.

However she had come to such conclusions was of short concern to the little unicorn, as all she wanted to focus on now was ignoring the three bullies as much as possible, praying to Celestia that they would get the message and leave her alone. It never seemed to work though, as they teased her, called her names and kicked sand in her face. As the little unicorn was busy rubbing the dust out of her eyes she was caught off guard and held to the ground by the pegasus of the group, his brute strength proving itself as she failed to squirm her way out of his hooves. She watched with desperation as Silver Spoon, the lone earth pony, approached the small wooden boat and planted her rear hoof to the stern. She kicked off, and the miniature model was sent drifting towards the middle of the lake. The poor little unicorn wanted to scream and cry all over again, there was no way she could get her boat back now, not in a long time.

“You bring that back!” Dinky wailed.

“If it’s so important to you then why don’t you swim out and get it?” The boy bully laughed.

“I…” She hesitated.

“Oh, that’s right, you can’t swim. Just like so many other things a filly your age never learned to do!” He was cackling wildly now.

“No wonder that flank’s still blank.” Silver Spoon teased her. “Face it, you probably won’t get your cutie mark until you’re an old mare. You might never even get your cutie mark!”

“Now hold on, guys, I think we’re going about this all wrong.” The bully spoke up. “We should give her a chance.”

Dinky’s heart began to pound upon her chest in irregular beats, an odd sensation of dread and uncertainty washing over her as it seemed the bad guy was doing a one-eighty all of a sudden. For what purpose then? What sort of mischief was he planning with that fake demeanor? She laid on the ground quietly and listened.

“I think she will get her cutie mark one day.” He declared “In fact, I’m pretty sure I already know what it is.”

“What…?” Dinky asked quietly.

“Drowning.”

Her eyes like pinpricks and her heart racing at a million beats a minute, even her frantic squirming and wailing could not allow the little unicorn her escape. The stronger pegasus was already on top of her and pushing her towards the water, sprawling his wings and hoisting her upwards as they soared over to the deepest center of the lake. Below, a black-blue trench of certain demise opened its maw in patience for its next meal, and the unicorn looked up at the mercy of the bully floating her over the water. In that moment, a gut wrenching sickness overcame Silver Spoon’s belly and suspended her heart for a good few seconds. The earth filly went pale, she swallowed hard and began to back away, doing nothing to save the unicorn from this fate. A lasting tear fell from Dinky’s face and into the lake as, a second later, so did she. Silver Spoon’s horrified expression was the last thing the little unicorn set eyes upon before plunging into the water.

She gasped, kicked and squealed, sputtered and choked on the murky blue climbing above her nostrils and filling her lungs. The wailing had done her no good in the long run, expelling tremendous amounts of air and ceasing her buoyancy almost entirely. For a final time her head sunk beneath the blue, bubbles swam in spirals for the surface, and the desperate clawing of her hooves grew shorter, slower, weaker… The worst pain she had ever felt in her life thus far was the empty, unfulfilled pit that which lied in the bottom of her heart. She had never met him, her father.

She opened her eyes one last time, and there was a small light at the end of the soundless, black and blue tunnel. The sun? Fate had it that second chances often came in the form of miracles. Some slow, some wild, and most in shapes and sizes completely and utterly unexpected to the beholder of such phenomena. One pink limb wrapped around and cupped her like a child, and the other clawed for the surface. They climbed closer and closer, reaching for the light. Bubbles surfaced, and there was a great splash. Dinky chocked for air.

“Run! Run for it!” The bullies cried and sped for the hills.

Dinky stared dumbfounded in their direction, and suddenly came to wonder why she had even surfaced at all. She looked up, a bright pink face smiling down at her with reassurance. She gasped wildly and flailed in the monster’s grasp.

“Take it easy, kid.” The boy held her close. “I gotcha.”

She remembered the deep waters and more or less clung to the human like a baby chimp to its mother, shaking and soaked all over. The boy continued a steady pace across the expanse of the lake as he mumbled encouragements and affirmations into the little unicorn’s ear.

The shallows ran up to his toes, and so the boy assumed a walking stride as the water climbed down his waist and past his legs, Dinky beginning to visualize just how tall this monster really was. The warm sands drew near, and the boy crouched to let the little pony familiarize herself with the earth once again. She didn’t know whether to start kissing the ground or run away screaming in terror just like the rest of the ponies, but she vowed never to be caught dead following their suit. She stayed put, frozen and silent, and looked to her left as she watched the lanky monstrosity ease himself to his haunches with an exhausted sigh of relief. He spun his head vigorously to whip the water from his hair, and returned to the pony with that same, warm smile.

“Are you okay?” He asked her.

No response.

“Catch your breathe yet?”

He studied her a little closely. No signs of hyperventilation, nor asphyxiation. Though she seemed alright, there was still no response. Perhaps she was in shock? The boy wondered.

“Listen,” he said. “I know I ain’t a ‘Hasselhoff’ but I wanna make sure you’re okay before you run away screaming like those other ponies did.”

“The other…?” Dinky started. The bullies, she remembered.

“Why, if those kids were still here, I’d-”

“You…saved me?” The little unicorn looked up at him with wide, wondering eyes.

He swept his hair back and grinned again. “Guess I chose the right day to go for a swim.”

“Thank you.” She said gratefully. “I…I don’t know what to say.”

“Got a name, kiddo?” He held out his hand.

“Dinky.” The pony answered, laying her hoof to his palm. “Dinky Hooves.”

The lake waters were calm once again, tiny waves lapping at the shores and at the human’s strange little stubs on the ends of his feet. Dinky traveled her eyes up his legs and about his torso, studying his limbs and looking upon his face carefully. Without a doubt there was that feeling of an alien like creature to his complexion, but the expression he held and the look in his eyes didn’t seem so bad when you studied it for long enough. In fact, Dinky could almost say there was a certain glint in his eyes, a quiet charm, a hint of motivation. The boy caught her staring, and though the filly only turned away for a second, she looked back to see that smile upon his face once again. It seemed he often did that for no reason.

“So, you’re that monster everypony’s been talking about?” She inquired.

“I do give off that vibe, don’t I?” He joked.

“Well, I don’t think you’re a monster, I think you’re very kind.” The filly continued. “You’ve got a heart just like the rest of us.”

“Wow, I’m touched.” He palmed his chest.

“It could use some color, though.”

“Huh?”

“Your heart.” She pointed with her hoof.

David looked down to find the piece dangling from his neck. The heart locket, just as gray and dull as it was when he had first arrived here.

“Oh, that.” He held it in his hand, and the filly got a closer look. David continued. “I found this when I first came to this place, but I have no idea what it means. It’s got this strange aura to it that I can’t quite place, like I’ve held it before but I don’t know when or where. Maybe that’s why I haven’t let go of it.”

“Maybe it belonged to somepony else?”

“You think so?” The boy looked down at her.

“Things don’t just appear out of nowhere unless they have a special purpose.” Dinky thought for a moment. “I think you have a special purpose.”

“You’re a very kind young pony, Dinky.” The boy smiled sweetly at her and rubbed her mane. She was one of the first to allow him to do so and not recoil or runaway. “I could never imagine why those kids would want to pick on you.”

“I can think of a few good reasons…” Dinky sulked and looked upon her rump, still no mark to be seen.

The two sat with their rumps to the sand and beheld the scenery for a while longer, basking in the splendor of the grand blue sky, not a cloud in sight. The reflection at their feet and hooves held a familiar little vessel in the center of its expanse, ripples waving away as it bobbed and bounced along the waters with a little spark of confidence. The boy, in his mind, compared it to that of a candle flame in the hollow void of a dark, empty corridor. It was the only thing to go to now, the only thing to reach for, the only thing in this world to hope for. That one single chance at redemption. David looked to Dinky, back to the boat, and breathed with extensive bliss and tranquility.

“She sails beautifully.” He mentioned.

“It’s a toy model my mom got for my birthday.” Dinky admitted. “But now…” A dreary, gloomy complexion overshadowed the dispirited little girl. The boy could only watch her for a moment and respond with silence.

David stared out at the boat floating upon the waters one last time before standing up and approaching the shore line. He let his feet sink into the shallow as a single thought overcame his mind. The pony watched him quietly, wondering what he might do.

“Hey, Dinky.” He called. “C’mere for a minute.”

Dinky got up on her hooves and shook the sand from her haunches as she timidly approached the waters, not daring to let her hind hooves sink into the shallows. The boy knew deep down that if he didn’t do this for her now, it would hinder years of progress for her.

“I’m gonna teach you something.” He said.

The little pony and the young boy were floating about in the far shallow region. In actuality, David needed only to stand as the water came up to his gut, while Dinky desperately flailed her rear hooves around to keep afloat, clutching onto the human’s limbs with everything she had. There was a worried gaze about her eyes still, a tightness in her jaw as though she were fearing the worst might happen in a single instant. Though the boy knew this was possible, he was bound to not let it happen, and simply set her forth upon her goal.

“Just keep kicking, that’s the key.” He told her. “Kicking and breathing, be sure not to panic.”

“It’s a little too late for that!” She squirmed.

“Dinky, look at me.” He grabbed her attention. “I was just like you when I was your age. Trust me, it’s way easier than you think it is. You’re just overthinking it, that’s all.”

The unicorn recalled what her teacher had said about her, in how she had thought differently apart from her fellow students. Just a different learning curve, that’s all. Miss Melody wasn’t so different either, expelling the truth of the unicorn pianist and how Dinky was unique from the rest of them simply because she couldn’t use her horn. She wished she could use her horn, she wished she could use magic right now! Alas, she was neck deep into this situation already, at the mercy of this gentle giant she had met only mere minutes ago.

“Life isn’t always going to be about thinking, it’s going to be about surviving from time to time, too.” He said to her. “When you’re surviving, you can’t overthink things. You need to act, you need to just go.”

Keep kicking, keep breathing. Dinky spoke to herself from within. Keep kicking, keep breathing. Kicking, breathing. Kick, breath. Kick, breath, Kick-

Dinky gasped, her muzzle just hit something. Was it David? No, it was her boat. Where did the boy go? How did she get all the way out here on her own? The little swimmer turned around to see a delighted pink figure raising both his arms in triumph. She had done it, she swam the distance to her boat all by herself!

Of course, it wasn’t thanks to her efforts alone, and so the pony grabbed a hold of her vessel to deliver her thanks to the boy once again. The excitement, the sensations and the happenings all gave her hope as if she was finally about to get somewhere. She dashed for the shore and emerged from the lake, spinning around and staring upon her flanks to see if anything might happen. She spun around again, this time in the other direction. Still, there was nothing. She slumped to the wet sand and hung her head low.

“What’s the matter?” David walked up. “Catch a leech?”

“You wouldn’t understand.” She pouted. “It’s my cutie mark, or rather lack of one.”

“Hey, don’t worry, kiddo. I’m sure you’ll get one soon.”

“That’s what they all say.”

He felt himself subtly recoil to her remark, taking it a bit too personally. He saw potential in this little pony and insisted on the better for her. “So swimming ain’t your shtick?” He said. “Doesn’t mean you should just give up. Why not try something else?”

“That’s exactly what I’ve been doing.” She listed. “Piano lessons, toy models. But it’s not like I want a cutie mark in something I don’t enjoy doing.”

“Why would you do something you don’t even enjoy in the first place?” He asked.

“Because my mom paid for them.”

The boy found his next words caught in his throat, and at that Dinky continued.

“This whole cutie mark culture is so stupid and it always has been.” She declared. “Parents and teachers rush to get their kids involved in so many different activities, but how do they know what their destinies are supposed to be? How do they know that what they’re doing for their kids is right? They don’t, they just throw them into the blender and hope for the best. I wish I didn’t have to live in a society so adamant on finding a ‘special purpose’ for every single pony.”

At this, David realized that he was supposed to be the adult in the conversation. Any attempts at providing his own half-assed or petty sympathies and relations would prove rather fruitless. Instead, he knelt down to her eye level and chose truthful words.

“Look, I’m not going to act like I know that much about cutie marks because, well, I don’t.” He told her. “If it were me, I would look to somepony for help, a pony that really knows their field.”

“If Doc couldn’t help me, then who can?” Dinky rubbed her eyes. “Unless you’ve got some special leprechaun magic you haven’t told me about yet.”

David looked around in wonder for a moment and then smiled. “Y’know, I think I have just the right kind of ‘doctors’ for you.”

The lecture pointer slapped harshly against the flank of the pegasus depiction on the chart above, circling around the colorful drawing and tapping a few times against the board to draw in attention to the front of the room. The light glistened through the dirt stained window in murky brown rays, shimmering through the dusty curtains and illuminating the only three ponies present in the room.

“Exhibit A.” Scootaloo announced. “As we can see here, the top of the mane consists of the first three pigments: red, orange and yellow. We follow down the nape where the pull consists of green, blue and purple in that order.” The tiny orange pegasus prepared her lecture stick elsewhere. “Exhibit B. The tail consists of all six of the previously mentioned colors, once again in similar order. You may be asking yourself, where is the seventh color to complete the spectrum? That is where it takes us to-” The pointer re-positioned. “Exhibit C. Or, as I like to call it, Exhibit see.” The pointer was resting on the pony’s eyes, and Scootaloo was giggling. “Get it?” She wiped a tear away.

Her two friends stared at her, dumbfounded and unimpressed.

Scootaloo cleared her throat. “As I was saying, Exhibit C. The final color of the spectrum lies within her eyes, which are magenta.” The little pegasus slammed the pointer to the board’s tray and crossed her hooves. “And there you have it, the most awesomest and best flier in all of Ponyville, in all of Equestria for that matter, isn’t named a one Miss Rainbow Dash for nothing!”

A long gawk of silence overcame the ponies huddled up in the clubhouse. Sweetie Belle coughed and looked disinterested, and Apple Bloom made to speak up.

“So you’re telling me you stole the old blackboard out of the dumpster just to tell us this?” She quizzed.

“You don’t understand!” Scootaloo leapt over the lectern and to her friends. “This isn’t a matter of style alone, it’s genetics! Or something in the water, like a radioactive time bomb or those cheesy animatronic dinosaurs you see in the movies.”

“What the hay are you on about, Scoots?”

“Something scientific, that’s for sure.” Scootaloo insisted.

“And what’s so scientific about it?” Sweetie Belle joined in. “All you did was talk about your idol’s mane colors.”

Scootaloo frowned and pushed a hoof into her forehead. Her friends simply weren’t getting the big picture here, and so she had to spell it out for them. “All I’m saying is, doesn’t it seem a little strange that Rainbow Dash is the only pony, aside from her dad of course, who has six colors in her mane? Think about it. Apple Bloom, you and me only have one color for our manes. Sweetie Belle, you have two, and so do ponies like Miss Cheerilee and Mrs. Cake. Twilight is the only pony we know with three colors in her mane, and that’s rare enough as it is, isn’t it?”

She had the two prodding their chins. “She might be on to somethin’.” said Apple Bloom.

“If it’s already hard enough as it is to find a pony with three colors in their mane, why shouldn’t we bat an eye at Rainbow Dash’s?”

“So, have you asked her about it?” Sweetie Belle wondered.

“Huh?”

“Did you ever even think about walking up to her and asking her why she has such a rare color scheme?”

“Well…no.” Scootaloo sweat beads.

Sweetie squinted inquisitively. “Let me guess, you couldn’t accept the truth?”

“Not true!” The pegasus shot back. “I mean-it would be true, but-!” She grunted in frustration. “Fine, I admit it. I was too afraid to ask her because I felt like I already knew the answer. If it turns out that her origins really weren’t that extraordinary to begin with, then wouldn’t that mean she’d stop being such a special pony? To me, at least.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at one another with uncertain looks, worried about their friend. After a long, much needed moment of silence, the little farm pony stepped forward.

“Listen, y’all.” She began as always. “We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, we all know what makes a pony special, and that’s not just because a pony seems different from all the others. Now isn’t that right?”

Sweetie Belle nodded, and Scootaloo raised herself to wipe a tear away. They looked to their friend with perked ears and confident gazes.

“We’ve been gifted to see the potential in everypony not for our own benefit, but for theirs. When we help another pony find out what makes them special, that’s what makes us special, too. So who are we, girls? Are we the Cutie Mark Crybabies?”

“No!” Sweetie Belle justified.

“Are we the Cutie Mark Quitters?”

“No way!” Scootaloo triumphed.

“We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” Apple Bloom leapt for the ceiling and raised her hoof high. The remainder of the Crusaders leapt along with her and smashed their hooves together, falling back to the floor and embracing one another in a bundle of laughter and high spirits.

A short second later there was a knock at the door, and Apple Bloom bellowed for the visitor to make their entrance. The portal opened to a towering figure craning his neck downwards as though compensating to crawl his way into a miniature dollhouse. There stood the boy, peeking down and grinning at the three girls with a look that said he had something to say.

“Say, humans can get cutie marks too, can’t they?” Scootaloo wondered.

“Me? Oh, no. I’m not looking for one of those.” The boy chuckled. “But I do know somepony who is. C’mon, kiddo, don’t be shy.”

The Crusaders looked at the boys feet in question, speculating and awaiting the arrival of this supposed cutie mark wisher on their doorstep. As the gray little unicorn slowly inched her way into view, the Cutie Mark Crusaders all of a sudden didn’t really feel like being the Cutie Mark Crusaders anymore, at least for the remainder of the evening. A hum of awkward silence and raw tension loomed about the four ponies, and the human was almost completely oblivious to the matter.

“I’m sure you’ve met Dinky?” David spoke. “I was hoping you girls could help her, because well, I sort of can’t.”

“I think I ought to head home now.” Dinky mumbled timidly.

“W-What do you mean? We only just got here.”

“I have, um, a test to study for.” The little unicorn fumbled down the steps and looked back at the boy for a final time. “See you around.”

As the sound of her little hooves trotted away into the orchard trees, David spun his head back to the Crusaders with an open jaw and a cocked eyebrow. “Was it something I said?” He asked them.

The girls had sat themselves around the circular table with the boy invited in, crouching and sitting criss-crossed with a focused look upon his face. Fine, plastic plates and swell little tea cups with nothing in them at all laid over a neatly woven blanket to compensate for the table cloth. They all gave their fair share of the story in an attempt to have the boy understand their predicament and what they might try to do next. David nodded again and again, eyes closed. He took the plastic plate beneath his teacup in one hand, and the cup in the other. Raising it to his mouth he blew lightly, made a slurping noise, smacked his lips and nodded for a final time.

“I see.” He said calmly. “This is the first you three have spoken to her since the incident, I presume?”

“We hardly even talked to her before.” Apple Bloom informed. “She’s a real quiet one, that’s for sure.”

“I don’t even think she has any friends.” Sweetie included. “It’s no wonder she got used to you so quickly.”

“Thanks, I guess?” David shrugged.

“When I think about it…” Scootaloo piped up. “Maybe we were a little harsh on her? No, I was a little too harsh on her.”

“Scootaloo…?” The company looked to her, concerned and wondering.

The young pegasus was looking down at her hooves, a sorrowful shade crossing her lips. “You guys heard what she said, right? About her dad…When she’s lived a life like that, you kinda can’t blame her for her outbursts, can you?”

It was for the first time that since arriving here, David had felt a great sense of impairment wash over him. In the days he had spent getting up close and personal with these ponies it seemed as though their lives had transformed from simple television conflict to that of existential dilemmas deep within the psyche of every one of these equestrian creatures. For all he knew he could very well be sitting before an invisible camera this very instant, but it didn’t change what he was feeling in that moment. It didn’t change the fact that not only did he know he was the adult in this situation, neither did he know what to say or do next.

Then, the sound of metal prongs clanging against one another echoed through the orchard, snapping the boy from his daze.

“Soup’s on~!” Came a distant call.

The three ponies looked up in surprise, and Apple Bloom quickly stared out at the orange streaks of light from outside.

“Is it that time already?” She stumbled for the door. “Suppers’ comin’ around, and that means my sister is too.”

“Applejack?” David recalled. He started up and bonked his head on the ceiling, crouching back down and crawling for the door. “Where is she?”

“Trust me, she hasn’t been in a good mood lately.” Apple Bloom warned. “You should go before she catches you-”

“Nonsense, I’m sure her and I just got on the wrong foot. Er, hoof?” David insisted. “Just watch, this time will be better.”

Apple Bloom knew she had no power in stopping the boy anyways. He made his way for the threshold of the clubhouse and took a deep breathe before making his exit. Knowing that sooner or later he’d have to make amends with nearly every single pony this town held in its populace, the agricultural head of the village wasn’t a bad place to start. Applejack was at the edge of the trees when she called for her sister once more, and upon answer David emerged from the clubhouse and peacefully hailed the farm pony from afar.

The hellish flare in the mare’s eyes told the boy nothing about this was going to be so peaceful anymore.

Chapter 16 - Apples and Hooves

The door opened to the household of the Hooves family, a calm breeze passing through the windows and out the door where the scent of dinner filled the little unicorn’s nostrils, instantly inviting her inside. Dinky shut the door behind her as quietly as possible and commenced her routine check around as she snuck her way up to the kitchen doorway and peeked her head around. Her mother was nowhere to be seen and the sizzling in the pan beginning to settle down told her the wall-eyed pegasus had only just recently been there.

The filly looked around in wonder for a moment, her eyes landing on the framed photos sitting upon the dresser in the hallway. The picture of her tired mother and an infant Dinky, followed by a younger Amethyst Star joining the family halfway through. The final photo showcased all of them to the present day, and at that the unicorn looked down to find an envelope torn open sitting upon the table cloth. She took it in her hooves to investigate, and after slowly sliding the note within from the torn opening, those dreadful red lines and capitalized red text met her eyes. They were behind on bills…

She then captured something else in her eye, another note sitting on the dresser. It was an application form of some sort, addressed from Town Hall.

“-And I said ‘sheesh, it’s not like somepony needs a warrant to look at your stupid garden.’ And then she threatened to call the guards on us! Can you believe that?”

Amethyst and Derpy came bumbling down the steps, her sister being a little louder and far more exuberant than usual. It almost sounded like she was finally getting her head wrapped this garden raid investigation, in a bad way, but at the very least it was progress. Dinky had only been keeping small tabs on her sister’s escapades, the matter of studying for her test and the piano lessons that were taking up her schedule not helping all too much. As they made their way around the corner the little unicorn set the notes where she had found them and shrunk away behind the dresser as they passed by.

“I was only three years younger than you are now when I had my first job,” Derpy explained, “and that was the day I realized I was becoming a grown mare.”

“First of all, this isn’t my first job.” Amethyst justified. “Second-”

“It doesn’t matter how many jobs you’ve had, a job is still a job.”

“To get payed chum bits for hollers and harassment all day?”

“So you won’t get paid nothing for begging in the street all life.” Derpy’s wall-eye aligned correctly, a rare sight, if only for this moment. “Honey, listen, I know how you feel about this. It’s hard work, it’s stupid and makes you want to rip somepony’s head off from time to time but you’ve got to face the facts. The roof over our heads and the food on our table don’t come from thin air, it’s called making a living.”

The young, purple mare hung her head and sighed. “I know, mother…”

“So chin up, my little star. Those bad days aren’t going to last forever, not unless you don’t turn that frown upside down.” Derpy giggled. “I got that from Miss Pinkie Pie, she’s such a doll, bless her heart.” The mother looked upon her dejected daughter. “How’s Ronin?”

That got her to look up in surprise. “He’s…alright.” Amethyst fidgeted.

“And not an insult to tell? You two must be making progress, you’ll have to tell me all about it.” Derpy began for the kitchen. “And you too, little missy! I wanna hear all about your day.”

Dinky was caught like a deer in headlights, standing frozen in the stairwell. She knew her mother had eyes on the back of her head, she just knew it.

Over at the Apples residence, the farm house dining area was filled with every member of the estate, the four ponies equally set out on each side of the rectangular table. Though every mouth that night was being fed, not a single one spoke a word. The clang of silverware and the chewing of supper filled the silence of the hushed hall, and surprisingly enough, Big Macintosh of the bunch was the first one to break the ice.

“So, the doctor came over today.” the big, red stallion spoke.

Applejack’s ear flickered in his direction. “Eeyup.” She answered.

“Why?” Granny wondered. “Somethin’ wrong with ol’ DaisyJo?”

“Nnnope.” Muttered Applejack.

“Then what’s the deal, youngin’?”

“He was just wantin’ to see the pigs.” She explained. “Said somethin’ about collectin’ cells or whatever for an experiment, way over my head. I told him to stop talking and just do what he’s gotta do.”

“Collectin’ sales? Why, ya’ sold him a pig?”

“No, Granny. He just took a bit of their blood for samplin’.”

“He hurtin’ them pigs?”

“I stayed and made sure he wasn’t hurtin’ nothin’.”

“Speak for yourself…” Apple Bloom grumbled at the floor.

“What’s that now?” Applejack glared over.

“Talk about protectin’ pigs.” The little sister scoffed. “You won’t even give him a chance!”

“Apple Bloom, we’re not having this argument. Not at the dinner table.”

“And what might that be?” Granny perked up.

“Never mind it, Granny-”

“Darn tootin’ I’ll mind!” The elder persisted. “Listen here, anything that comes crawlin’ up on this here farm is official Apple family business.”

Over at the Hooves residence, the pegasus mother and her two unicorns sat themselves in the dining area to fill their stomachs, yet they held their tongues. Dinky was almost too nervous to eat to begin with, and the odd behavior being displayed stood no chance getting past her mother’s perceptiveness. And by innate perceptiveness, she simply meant motherly instincts. The pegasus was capable of training one eye on the room and the other focused solely upon her daughter, and thus the first question was asked. The little unicorn could already feel herself in a bind, and she quickly succumbed if only to avoid the turmoil and headaches that it might cause later. She thought about the lake, about the little boat that had been bought for her and the bullies who ruined it…and then that small light at the end of that soundless black and blue tunnel…the boy’s hand reaching for her deep down in the bubbling waters.

“Mom.” Dinky said, she sat up straight. “Something did happen today.”

“Why, we oughta’ invite the feller over for dinner, after what ya’ done to him.”

“Are you nuts?” Applejack spat her salad.

“No, I’m old.”

The farm pony grumbled wearily. “Granny, listen, I know that whatever you say goes around here, but I don’t think that’s the brightest of your plans.”

“And why’s that? There somethin’ wrong with him?”

“He’s not-” Applejack grumbled again. “That thing is not like other ponies.”

“He.” Dinky told her family. “Not it.”

Amethyst gasped, leaning in closer. “You’re not talking about the monster, are you?”

“He’s not a monster.” Dinky justified.

“Dinky, do you remember what we talked about with strangers?” Her mother concerned.

“Yeah, but-!” The filly winced. “He’s nothing like that, mom!”

“Well, what’s he like, then? A crazy, goat blood sucker?” Granny joked.

“Could be.” Miss setson was serious.

“Knockin’ on yer door with an axe behind his back?”

“I wouldn’t doubt it.”

“Applejack, quit lying!” The little sister shouted.

“Me? A liar?” The farm pony looked bewildered, and soon angered. “Why, you lil’-”

“Well, if ya’ ain’t gonna tell me anythin’ you know then ya’ just ain’t tellin’ me the truth, Jack.” Granny put up her snout.

“Oh for cryin’ out loud.” Applejack swung over. “Mac, back me up here!”

The stallion in question chewed on his hay hanging from his jaw, munching and mawing slowly. He chewed and chewed until he slurped and swallowed loudly. Nodding once, he rested one hoof to the table, the other to the back of his seat, gave the table a good rap or two before finally deciding to provide. “Kids seem to like the guy.” He noted, nodding again.

“Those kids ran for the hills as soon as they saw him.” Dinky confirmed.

“I don’t want you going anywhere near that lake without me or your sister ever again, do you understand?” Derpy rested a hoof to her daughter’s shoulder, looking desperately into her eyes. “Somepony’s gonna have a word with those kids’ parents.” She began to shake her head. “Those little, no good, rotten sacs of sh-”

“Who did this to you? What were their names?” Amethyst asked with fervent seethe.

“Amy, I don’t want you getting involved.” Her mother ordered.

“I’ll pick you up from school tomorrow, you just show me who did it.”

“Amy!” The mother barked. “If you come anywhere near that school house I will not hesitate to spank you in front of a dozen fillies and colts and drag you by the tail all the way home.”

“That’s just what you’re gonna do to their parents anyways.” Amethyst argued.

“I intend to bring notice to Miss Cheerilee, first.” Derpy’s voice was firm. “We’re going to sit down and have a civilized conversation on who is and who isn’t going to get the hairs ripped out of their heads.”

“Mom, did you not hear what your daughter just said?” Amethyst swung her hoof against the table. “They tried to drown her!”

“That’s not the point…” Dinky mumbled.

“We should take this to court!” Amethyst tried. “We should sue the parents and force the kids into hard labor until their beards touch the floor!”

“He saved me!” Dinky broke away from her mother’s hoof, and the two stared at her.

“Dink…” They both murmured.

“None of that is going to work.” The little unicorn recomposed herself. “I know what it’s like for him, the town hates his guts. They all call him a monster just because he looks different, and they’ll do nothing but accuse him of bad things and look past his good deeds because of it.” Dinky closed her eyes and took another breathe. “What I mean to say is, if somepony or someone gets treated like a monster for saving somepony else’s life, then I don’t care about justice.”

“Well, I do!” Applejack argued. “Somepony’s gotta do somethin’ about that thing, and if it ain’t gonna be any of them then by golly it’s gonna be me.”

“Ya’ oughta’ listen more to what yer sister’s gotta say about the feller. She’s got first hoof experience of him, after all.”

“She doesn’t know what she’s talkin’ about, she’s just a lil’ girl.”

“Can’t you tell when a mare’s grown?” Apple Bloom spat. “Ah’ ain’t the filly I was five years ago.”

“That doesn’t make the filly you are now the one you need to be.” Applejack retorted.

Her little sister seemed to recoil in disgust, and she protested. “What in the sam hill gives ya’ the idea that ya’ gotta be so controllin’ over me for? This is my life! This ain’t how ma or pa would’a tried to raise us!”

“Now you listen here.” Applejack ground her teeth and slit her eyes, ire slithering from her tongue in a low, tensioned tone. “Don’t you wrangle our parents into this.”

“I bet you think yer all high n’ mighty just ‘cause you wear dad’s hat all the time.” Apple Bloom hissed back.

Applejack snorted like a heavy horse and slammed both her hooves down onto the dinner table. Every pony’s dinner platter went momentarily airborne, not even landing back down in time as the infuriated farm mare jabbed a shaking, seething hoof at her sister.

“That does it! Go to your room an’ you can come down n’ finish supper when ah’ say so!”

“What-?!”

“ROOM. NOW.”

The room fell quiet. Apple Bloom stared at her elder sister in a long moment of disbelief before swirling her eyes and twisting around in her chair with fury. Her face contorted into several forms of frustration until she finally stomped her little hooves up the wooden stairs and swung open her bedroom door. “Ah’ hope the ‘monster’ comes n’ eats you for supper!” Was the last thing heard before a deafening slam echoed through the Apples household. Everypony’s ears were flattened and hesitant all expect for Applejack’s, to which they flinched at the reverberation of the slam.

“Consarn it.” Applejack swung back down into her chair, head hung low and hooves to the table. “What am I gonna do with her?”

The silence prompted the mare to look up from her dinner after a long moment to see that her remaining two family members were staring upon her with concerned gazes. Whether it be over what she had done to her little sister or the level of the behavior she had just displayed, Applejack wasn’t too sure, but either way the silence was scraping away at her nerves. She wanted just one of them to say something already, to break the silence so they could properly return to their meals. Applejack realized she would have to be the one to do it.

“Maybe I was a little too harsh on her?” She said quietly.

“She’ll come down if’n she hungry.” Big Mac muttered.

Applejack looked beyond the table to her elder, watching the old mare calmly chew her dinner away. “Why didn’t y’all stop me?” She asked them.

Granny paused, swallowed her mouthful, and silently looked her granddaughter in the eyes. “To me,” she began, “it was more of a matter of stoppin’ myself from stoppin’ you.”

For the remainder of their meal not a single word was spoken between the three. Applejack felt as though for the rest of supper her thoughts were eating away at her mind more than her mouth was prying off of her plate. The quiet, cold nightly air from outside seemed to sweep its way in as Granny and Mac took their leave and turned in for the night. Both of them stopped at the little sister’s door to spare some words before heading to bed, and the lonely farm mare downstairs was left with two unfinished dinner plates sitting beneath a gloomy, yellow light bulb. Thoughts swam in her mind, visions swirled, sounds of reminiscence and faces remembered. Her friends, her colleagues, the sofa clerk, her pet dog Winona, Granny, Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and finally her parents.

There was a silence in the dim of the dining room, the grandfather clock down the hall swaying to and fro as its ticking rhythm echoed about the darkness and hit Applejack’s ears at the same interval each time. The clock struck at nine, a tiny chord playing throughout the halls and summoning a worried sickness over the mare sitting alone. As soon as the chime played its part, the familiar sound of little hooves making their way down the stairs caught her ear. The farm mare turned and looked on at the bottom of the staircase with weary eyes, her younger sister coiling one hoof around the other in a nervous posture.

“I was comin’ down for a glass o’ water.” Apple Bloom mumbled. “And I…guess I could finish my supper too?”

“Of course, sugar cube.” Applejack invited her over.

The filly hopped up into her chair and found her dinner just the way she had left it, barely eaten at all given how much arguing had went down between the two during supper time. Apple Bloom gave a cautious look over to her sister who was now trying to concentrate on her own plate.

“I thought ya’ woulda’ fed it to Winona by now.”

“She’s had her fill.” Applejack replied. “Besides, it wouldn’t taste any good without you.”

Apple Bloom looked down to notice that her sister had put her meal on pause as well. By now the carrots and parley mixed into the stew would have been cold as rocks, and the broth well below temperature. The two siblings joked that it wasn’t as bad as their distant cousin’s infamous stone and stew supper. There was silence once again, and it allowed Apple Bloom to think over her next course of action. The elder sister knew the thoughts were swirling in the little one’s head, and she soon came to realize there was little to nothing she could do to sway her little sister’s ways of thinking. It just wasn’t right, to manipulate her kin even if she felt in her heart it was the right thing to do, because that nagging thought in the back of her head and the strong tug of her heart told her that it simply wasn’t the right thing to do.

“Applejack-” Apple Bloom began.

“I know what you’re gonna say.” Applejack spoke faster than she had thought, but nonetheless continued. “If’n I’m being reasonable about this, then I admit I was the one at fault here. I shouldn’t’ve yelled at you like that, I shouldn’t’ve gotten angry with you. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

“I was going to ask you…” Apple Bloom began again. “Why do you have to hate somepony just because you don’t understand them?”

“You don’t have to hate them, sugar cube.”

“I was talking about you.”

“Oh, well…” Applejack thought for a moment. “I’m a cautious mare, y’see? And besides, hate is a strong term.”

The little sister stared blankly at her elder. Applejack sighed arduously and looked down with a shake of her head. She turned and stared her sister in the eye, resting a hoof to her shoulder and laying out her words as meaningfully and meticulously as she could.

“Apple Bloom,” she began. “I’ve watched you grow up your entire life, from the day you were born to the very moment you and I are sittin’ here. It’s always been in my nature to protect you and make sure you grow up to be a strong, young mare, no matter what the cost. One of these days I’m not gonna be around to do that anymore, and I wanna leave this earth knowing my little sister’ll be stronger and better than I could’ve ever been. You understand what I’m sayin’, sugar cube? It’s a big world out there, a lotta’ ponies’ and people that’ll want to help you, but a lot of them that’ll want to hurt you and steal from you, too. Y’get what I’m sayin’? You can’t just lend a friendly hoof to every living creature that walks this earth and expect them all to treat ya’ the same. Y’gotta go with your instincts, sometimes, know when something feels off or somepony just don’t look quite right-”

“I understand, big sis.” Apple Bloom cut her off, yet acknowledged the bigger pony and put her hoof to her sister’s. “If ma and pa were still here they’d prolly be lecturing me just the way you’re doin’ right now.”

Applejack looked at her sister with confusion, cocking an eyebrow.

“Don’t worry, that was a compliment.” Apple Bloom smiled. “After all, you do take after dad.”

Applejack peeked up at the setson still resting to her head and blushed slightly. She chuckled and held her little sister close. “Well shucks, sugar cube, if it does ya’ any better then I’d say so do you.”

Apple Bloom returned her sister’s embrace. “I’m sorry I insulted you earlier.”

“An’ I’m sorry I shouted.” Applejack caressed her sister’s mane. “I love ya’, my little bloom.”

“Love you too, sis.”

Four plates, four meals, four members and a round table surrounding the castle dining hall with the same-old, undisturbed hollowed out ambiance humming through the cavernous corridors of the crystal palace. Spike sat at his end, heart embroidered apron and chef’s hat atop his spiny head as he stared confusingly at the elephant in the room. Twilight levitated a fork midair, balancing a portion of her food on the end of the prongs which slowly slid off, and Starlight was busy shoving a hoof over her snout and trying her damnedest to stifle her laughter, red in the face and snickering all the while.

David scooped up another helping of his salad, watched a sum of mushy apple bits fall down into his food, and the boy sighed as he looked up and around his audience. He was covered head to toe in yellow and red slimy slivers, the remnants of apples hurled towards him at a million miles a minute. The boy took his index and middle finger, scooped a glop off of his jaw and then held it out to the others.

“Applesauce?” He offered.

Chapter 17 - The Ponies' Front of Ponyville

“What’s the deal with all of these certificates and invitations from Town Hall? I’ll bet that clumsy mail mare goofed up the mail again!” Cranky Doodle Donkey sent the letters careening across the coffee table as he slouched and channeled irritated flares through his nostrils, the nose hairs flapping like flags in the wind. If there was anything Cranky hated more than one misplaced letter, it was multiple misplaced letters.

“Didn’t I tell you already? The first meeting of the bi-weekly Ponies Front of Ponyville starts tomorrow.” Matilda wrapped her hooves around the strewn letters and neatly stacked them together. If there was anything Matilda hated more than her husband misplacing letters, it was him failing to understand the purpose of such letters in the first place.

“The front of a pony’s what now?” Cranky raised a floppy ear.

“P.F.O.P. for short.” His wife informed. “Since I never pursued a college career and instead married you, it’s just another one of my fantastical ideas to gather ponies from every corner of Ponyville into a nice, little community. The main topic? Anything! And that goes for every meeting, no need to recollect on what was discussed before or what might be planned for the future, unless the members request to do so, of course.”

“Why don’t you just start a book club or invite some friends over for tea?” Cranky mused, reclining into his stitched and torn chair.

“Are you mad? My reputation would be curtains!” Matilda swooned. “Just look at the state of this living room, and don’t get me started on the poor hedges out front. It’s been sixty moons since you last trimmed them.”

“We’ve only been here for twelve, dear.” Cranky relaxed.

Matilda said nothing, pressing her hooves to her hips and staring into her husband’s closed eyes. The old donkey peeked an eye open, feeling his wife’s laser vision pierce into his soul. He looked up and around at the front window next to the door, barely a sliver of light crawling its way through due to the overgrown hedges. Cranky prodded his chin.

“Maybe they do need a snip or two.” He mumbled, and turned to Matilda. “On second thought, don’t bother inviting any of your salon-goers. I’ve got work to do and they’ll just slow things down.”

“Well, you won’t have to worry about that. The meetings are at Town Hall every Sunday.” Matilda informed.

“Today is Sunday.” Cranky reassured.

“That’s ridiculous, if that were true then that would mean-” Matilda’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks as she craned her head downwards and stared back at the invitation fliers set all throughout town. “Oh no!” She cried.

“Not again…” Cranky groaned.

“These invitations aren’t for tomorrow, the meeting is today!” Matilda seemingly sprouted wings and soared across the living room, throwing her belongings together and charging for the front door.

“But I got such a good deal on those stamps…” Cranky groaned again. He continued to watch his wife bounce off the walls and dishevel the establishment into a far worse state than which it had begun. She hollered back a few unintelligible rhymes as she barreled past the front entrance and down the street, riding a beeline for the heart of Ponyville. The old donkey traveled back to the letters on the coffee table and picked one of them up, an irritated snort returning to his nostrils as his mind wandered to whom exactly he was going to blame for this.

Unfamiliar sounds bounced off of forgotten walls and slipped past the velvet-black curtains of unaccounted windows, into the warm wind of a bygone breeze, finally leading out into the great green of the unknown. Those sounds pounded against her head like a stick to the rib cage and the walls painted her sights like blood splattered against a perfect white canvas, a story yet to be told. Written with memories, remembered by pain alone. She had forgotten the feeling of pain long, long ago, and along with it her memories. Memories…memories of what?

Melody?

A Melody? Yes, quite. Only…what was this "melody" she was supposed to remember?

Miss Melody? Are you with us?

And then, she jolted awake.

“My my, if my tone truly is that boring you simply should have said so in the first place, dear.” Matilda chuckled and shook her head. “I take it the day was daunting?”

Melody looked around blearily at the ponies sitting before her. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, the figures of nine other equines, save for the donkey to her side, stared upon her with looks of both interest and indifference.

“Give the girl a brandy, that’ll wake her up.” A grape-wine coated mare laughed and held out a hoof to her neighbor, a white pegasus with freakishly large muscles easily equating to the size of three stallions put together.

The big, burly, snow white pegasus went wide eyed at the wine mare’s hoof bump and eagerly accepted the gesture, soon after pumping his over-sized pecs and bellowing into the company of ten. The strong, hearty “YEAH!” that escaped his lungs felt like someone had dropped an anvil from Cloudsdale, the bellowed cry more than enough to shake Melody from her daze and rock her awake. She wobbled in her chair and held onto it with both hooves.

“Celestia’s right flank, why did I sign up for this?” The poor mare cried to herself. She slapped both her hooves over her mouth in realization she had said such a thing out loud, and quickly turned to the one in charge. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say what I did. Truly, it’s been a bad week for me. Oh, I should’ve just stayed in Trottingham…”

“Trottingham?” Matilda spoke up. “You’re from Trottingham?”

“Ah, yes.” Melody answered back tiredly. “My father took my mother on a trip through the Griffish Isles when they were but a young couple. They decided to settle on the island when construction of the bridge was making transportation methods complicated.” She continued her explanations in hopes of making her conversation lively and to put her rude and spooked demeanor behind everything, but the look on Matilda’s face told Melody that she had seen it coming from a mile away.

“And what did your father do in Trottingham?” Matilda prodded.

“Well…” The mare tapped her hooves together nervously, this bit always striking a strange chord or two for some reason. “He was the housekeeper for the local auditorium. A-And my mother helped the local elders sew quilts for petty change. When I look back upon it, it was rather rubbish living…”

“But a living nonetheless.” Matilda consoled and turned to the rest of the group. “Miss Melody’s story is a perfect example of a pony never knowing what events in life might lead them where. Tell us, Miss Melody, did you as a young filly or even a young mare in Trottingham have any idea where you would end up within the next decade or so of your life?”

“If I’m thinking correctly as to where you are going with this, then no, I didn’t even think I’d end up in Ponyville of all places.” She admitted. “It goes to show that whether it be in moments of sureness or uncertainty, one can never be sure to what places and people life might carry them to.”

“I couldn’t have said it any better myself.” Matilda smiled warmly and turned back to the group. “If I am to quote a certain Miss Pinkie Pie: Life is full of surprises, but that doesn’t mean they’ll always be good. Life, in these old, cranky, nagging eyes of mine, is far too long to get a good grip on, but far too short to complain about either. That is why we are all here this evening, and I can only hope that everypony else here has come upon their own volition. Perhaps that would be a good way to start our first meeting as the Ponies Front of Ponyville.” Matilda declared confidently. “Is there anypony here who would like to tell us why they thought coming to this meeting was something they might enjoy or have interest in?”

At the slightest mention of a volunteer, the pre-installed cricket chirps sounded throughout the room, giving answer in compensation to those far too dulled or timid to even acknowledge the old donkey.

“Anypony at all?” Matilda questioned again. “Perhaps we can go back to Miss Melody?”

Why me? The pony whined within. I thought you were done with me…

“Say, what’s your name?” A pony asked.

“Huh?” Melody raised her head, eyeing the wine colored mare from before.

“Everypony’s got a name.” She said. “You can call me Berry Punch.”

“Ah, yes. Octavia.” Melody answered. “Octavia Melody.”

“What’s got you all bummed out, then?” Berry prodded. “Tell us all about it, maybe it’ll make you feel better.”

Octavia slowly turned to Matilda for help.

“You haven’t any reason to fret, dear.” Matilda rested a hoof to her shoulder. “We are here to talk, we all are, about anything and everything. If you do however don’t feel so comfortable doing so, there is no shame in saying so.”

Octavia threw a blank expression to her audience for a short moment before realizing her behavior in the current situation. She was a grown mare for crying out loud, not some quivering foal standing before a classroom struggling to deliver a presentation. The musician fixed her bow tie and cleared her throat. “That shalln’t be necessary.” She stated. She raised a hoof to the small crowd for dramatic pause and slowly lowered it. “I will tell you my tale of woe, the reason for my…sleepiness. It all began at approximately two o’clock in the afternoon, I had just finished composing the lyrical section of my new piece and I was out gathering groceries for my roommate and I…”

A near twenty minutes had passed in the time Octavia had told her tale, the majority of it spent from the two most enthusiastic of the bunch asking question after question concerning the musician’s shopping trip.

“So you uppercut into her jaw and followed with a slam dunk?” One asked fervently.

“I-I’m not quite sure momentum works like that…” Octavia rubbed her forehoof.

“What did this skank look like?” Berry quested.

“I wouldn’t call her as such. I mean, I suppose she did try to steal from me-”

“Did you suplex her?” The first followed up. “Please tell me you suplexed her.”

“Her spine is perfectly intact, I’m sure, and so is mine…”

“So, this skank looked skankish, right?” The wine mare returned.

“I’m not confident on how to answer that.” Octavia replied.

“Perhaps it’s best that we refrain from our interrogation and take Miss Melody’s word for it.” Matilda squeezed her way back in. “Octavia here simply had a bad day, and such happenings are easy to understand even in the light of a simple life style.”

If only it really were so simple… Octavia mused from within. She blinked in wonderment, as though the sudden thought weren’t her own.

“That is why we are all here, to revel in our troubles and find the good in them. To question both the big and small parts of our lives and relate to them with other ponies.” Matilda finished.

“Well, I’d like to think as such, but…” A pony across the room chuckled. “What can I say? I suppose these sorts of gatherings find me instead of me finding them.”

“And to who do we owe the pleasure?” Matilda prodded politely.

“The name’s Lyra. Lyra Heartstrings.” She smiled dutifully at the rest of the members. “Don’t get me wrong, Mrs. Matilda, I may come off as a little snarky, or at least that’s what my best friend in the whole wide world usually tells me, but I’m actually a sucker for social events like these. Sometimes I like to just blend into the background, y’know?”

“Was there anything special that might’ve drawn you to tonight’s meeting?” Matilda wondered.

“Oh, no.” Lyra corrected. “Actually I’ve been meaning to tell you, I never even bothered to sign up. I just walked right in and nopony said a thing.” Her smile did not fade.

“I see…” Matilda’s ears drooped a few inches. “Is there anypony else here who hadn’t bothered to put their name in the book?”

A timid, yellow hoof slowly rose from the scene, next to the white stallion’s round, brawny shoulder. Matilda turned her head in the direction and nodded.

“Yes, Miss Fluttershy, isn’t it?”

“Oh, um, no I didn’t forget to sign in to the book. I was just letting you know that my friends usually tell me I write really really really small, so I was worried that you might not see it. My name, I mean. Sorry.” And the little, yellow pegasus hid behind her long, pink mane.

It seemed as though after the quietest of the group had spoken her piece, the topics laid hush and not a word was put in place of the incoming cricket chirps surrounding the group of ten. An involuntary cough sounded throughout the room, even though nopony present had coughed at all.

“So how’d ya’ end up wandering in here in the first place?” Berry turned to Lyra. “A pony doesn’t just walk into Town Hall for no particular reason, that’s for sure.”

“Now that you mention it, I came here to apply for the position they’re looking to fill in the weather patrol team. Bon Bon kept nagging my head off to get a job, so I thought I’d actually try looking for one this morning.”

“Are you aware that you’re a unicorn, and not a pegasus?”

“Still doesn’t mean I can’t apply, right?” Lyra rubbed her forehoof.

“Hm, fair point.” Berry shrugged. “If it weren’t for my sister trying to apply to that job then I wouldn’t even be here.”

“Is your sister a pegasus?” Lyra asked.

“Heavens, no! The gal’s an earth mare for cryin’ out loud, born and raised from the very soil she tilled back in her day. Well, back in our day. My sis, Cherry, and I have been bonded since birth, like two grapes on a vine I always say.” Berry continued loudly. “Damn gal could never keep her eyes outta the clouds, swirling around in the sky and all that. It’s like the poor girl thinks she can fly! Can you believe that? An earth pony, flying?”

“If your sister is an earth pony like you say, why would she want to apply for a pegasus’ job?” Lyra wondered.

“Same reason you might’ve wanted to apply for that job. Or, maybe not. We’ve all got dreams, don’t we?”

“What are your dreams then?”

“That’s an easy one, drinking myself to sleep!” Berry guffawed and mimed opening a brimming bottle of whiskey, tipping it backwards and pouring the stuff down her throat. “Oh, but don’t let sis catch me saying that, she can’t even stand me joking about the stuff anymore! It’s like she always says ‘go get a job, go socialize somewhere other than a bar, do this, do that, blah blah blah!’ Sis, I love ya’ to death, but I can live my own life thank you very much.”

“Oh, please.” A haughty tone hovered their way. “I know a mare of your ilk could never hold a drink and a conversation at the same time. It’s too bad it takes you almost six or seven bottles to get a single coherent word out, and even then-”

“That’s enough, dear!” The stallion next to her sat up. “We didn’t come here to taunt other ponies, we came to this gathering to get help.”

“Then maybe you should have left me at home, since you seem so enthusiastic about it all.” The snobby mare shot back.

The stallion slicked his black mane back and looked to the host. “My sincere apologies, Matilda. I was hoping this would have gone a lot better.”

“No harm done, Mr. Rich, is it?” Matilda acknowledged. “I understand you own a business here in Ponyville?”

The colt in questioned fixed his tie and puffed his chest. “You heard right. That’s Filthy Rich, to you, owner of Barnyard Bargains and seller of the famous Sweet Apple Acres Zap Apple-”

“We didn’t come here to boast either, dear.” Rich’s wife sneered.

“And this is my lovely wife… Spoiled Rich.”

“A pleasure.” Spoiled hardly looked at the crowd.

“I wasn’t aware our gathering was meant to be a counseling session as well…” Matilda muttered. “Did it give off that vibe?”

Once again, crickets. They seemed to have the most to say during this meeting.

“If our presence is simply too much trouble, Mrs. Matilda, we understand-” Filthy began to rise from his seat.

“No no! Please, sit.” Matilda encouraged. “I’ve said it before and I will say it once again, these meetings are meant to be open to any topic, no matter what they might be about, and that certainly means marriage isn’t out of the question.” She nodded fervently. “Trust me, Mr. and Mrs. Rich, though I may not have been married as long as the two of you have been, I’ve gotten first hoof experience of the dilemmas that I am sure all lawfully wedded duos face. In my humbly educated guess, the first step to take is to simply talk about your problems. Do tell us, what is it that has been holding the two of you at feuds?”

“He buys me too much jewelry.” Spoiled quickly answered.

“Too much?! Just the other night ya’ said ya’ had too little!” Filthy cried.

“I do believe I see what the problem here is.” Matilda included.

“You do?” Both the Rich’s heads turned to her, putting pressure upon the poor donkey.

“Of course! Er…” Matilda struggled. “Your vows! However could you forget your marriage vows?”

“Our marriage vows?” They asked again in unison.

“Why, I remember the vows my husband and I took the very evening our wedding was to commence. Surely the two of you have such endearing thoughts and words that you hold near and dear to your hearts even to this day?”

Filthy and Spoiled stared unblinkingly at the host. “What are marriage vows?” They both asked.

“Oh, dear…Now I really do see what the problem is.” Matilda admitted.

“Your marriage vows?” A hefty voice sounded across the room. “I remember those!”

“I beg your pardon?” Matilda looked beyond and eyed the big, white stallion sitting across from her, the chair beneath his rump warping and struggling to keep him off the ground. Matilda remembered this pony vividly, but for the life of her she could not recall his name, and felt at odds to ask him for it.

“I remember the wedding almost like it was yesterday.” The bulky pony spoke. “I work at the spa, see? You were so worked up over your own wedding that they called me in to give you that tension massage to relax your muscles.”

“I do remember all that weight being lifted from my shoulders.” Matilda recalled. “That was you, wasn’t it? Mister…?”

“Bulk Biceps, ma’am, but you can just call me Bulk.” He smiled from ear to ear. “It was a busy day for all of us at the spa, not because of the wedding, mind you, but one of the attendees was a giant sea monster! The guy’s not so bad though once you get to know him. His name was Steven Magnet. Funky name for a water dragon, am I right? Did you know that water dragons absorb hundreds of gallons of water through their scales? Neither did I! That’s why we were so busy…” Bulk slack-jawed for a moment and shook himself back into focus. “Oh, but what was I trying to say? That’s right! What really amazed me on that day, the day of the wedding, I mean, was that somehow I was able to use my muscle and special talent to play my part and make sure everything went smoothly for everypony. Gosh, I thought I’d be stuck in the gym doing nothing but lifting weights and screaming at the top of my lungs, but just look at where my talents have gotten me. We all grow up thinking that our cutie marks are meant for one purpose and one purpose only, but they’re not. In reality, we can be so unimaginably flexible with our talents that we can help almost anypony in almost any situation. It’s like having multiple cutie marks, but it’s actually just one cutie mark with a whole lot of secret little talents hidden inside.” Bulk chuckled to himself and completed his speech, grinning to the rest of the ponies who felt courteous enough to smile back his way.

There was a smile upon the yellow pegasus’ face, a knowing grin, and so the timid mare spoke up. “I’ve only ever heard this from a few other ponies before…” Fluttershy began. “But, I hear that some ponies will act as though getting their cutie mark suddenly makes them the most special pony in the world, like they’re some sort of special snowflake, or that their cutie mark might be better than other ponies’ marks. I think neither of those things are true. What I really do believe, and this is just my personal perspective, is that the cutie mark itself is what is special, not the pony. Every single cutie mark is unique in its own way. I know it’s safe to think that this thought is mine and mine alone because it was influenced by no pony else but me.”

“Well, there is a special snowflake out there that I know.” Bulk replied.

“Really, who?” Fluttershy wondered.

“It’s just funny.” Bulk chuckled lightly. “My mother’s name is Snowflake, and your speech reminded me of her. Just thought I’d throw that out there.”

As Bulk blushed bashfully, Fluttershy looked back at him and quietly brushed her mane over her eyes and hid her smile, a small, warm blush forming upon her own face.

“There are no consequences to speaking your mind, no matter what it might be.” Matilda reassured the group. “I believe that tonight we have accomplished making this a suitable environment for everypony to speak their peace. As such, I have arranged a closing statement for all of us to keep in mind until our next meeting. A poem of sorts.”

“Oh, that sounds lovely.” Fluttershy replied delightfully. “I do love to read poems from time to time.”

“This one is based off a famous saying by an unknown writer.” Matilda cleared her throat and began. “There’s a special mark in me that no one else will ever see. When they look through that window, I wonder, what do they see? A friend or a liar? A lover or a hater? A person they might want to meet or a person they never ever wish to be? At the end of the day, it’s a mystery. All I know looking through that glass, all I ever really see, is me.”

After a few moments of silence and quieted applause, the ponies gave their goodbyes and disbanded from the room one by one. Octavia was the last to leave the room behind, a dejected form about her face and a slump to her gait. She wondered not if everything in her future would be alright, but rather if anything, even the smallest and tiniest of things, would ever change.

Chapter 18 - Cuckoo

“It started like any other morning. Well, not any other morning, or so I came to learn when I was preparing to unleash the day of reckoning upon some posh, snout-raised thief. What can I say? The mare tried to steal from me, she knew what was coming for her. And boy did she know. Not in the kind of way one might know when the shape of somepony’s hoof has been embedded into the side of their face. Rather, she deflected my blow before I even got the chance to tell her how I really feel. How rude of her. How odd it is that the one pony in this town I finally felt like I could spill all my tale and all my telling to, was the very pony I was trying to wipe off the face of the earth. What can I say? The mare tried to steal from me. What did she try to steal from me, you ask? That’s confidential. Why am I even telling you this in the first place? That’s right, because you’re supposed to be my therapist, and we both came up with this brilliant idea where every Tuesday or so we meet. You get to listen to me, and I get to listen to you. Rather, I have to listen to you, whether I like it or not. Isn’t that right? Here I am, stuck inside of this bland, boring office with a complete stranger breathing over my face as I lie down on a slightly uncomfortable couch, supposedly meant for relaxation. Y’got any breath mints? Not for me, for you, I mean.”

The pony, or rather the therapist, gave what could only be interrupted as a dull and tired stare by the earth mare whom had just unleashed an entire day’s worth of frustrations onto the pony whom was meant to be her designated doctor. It was their first session, and the doctor hadn’t even asked for her name yet.

“Good evening.” The therapist had begun as casually as ever that night. “I am Doctor Pace.”

The earth mare gave a long sigh. It seemed she was going to have to play it his way after all.

“Good evening, Doctor Pace.” She sufficed.

“Please, just Pace will do.” He fixed his glasses and sat back in his swivel chair. “Shall we start with your name, Miss…?”

“Bon Bon.” But that was a lie.

“Had your parents named you after the candy?” Pace quested.

“My mother gave me the name.” And that was another lie. “Yes, the name is loosely based off of the special candies everypony enjoys. I used to run a sweets shop here in Ponyville, and we made and sold plenty of them. Ponies used to love those bonbon treats, they all said it was their favorite.”

“And what do you do now?” He asked. “As an occupation?”

“I work at a grocery mart.” She lied once more, knowing she had been fired just this morning.

By now the stimulation Bon Bon had received from the staggering events that took place earlier in the day had dumbed down to a sluggish, molasses pace. The usual, sugar-high sensory and alertness was nowhere to be found, something in the air had stifled it, taken its place, and thus the mare laid there like a mindless zombie answering question after question with blind eyes and meaningless words. With such attitude, one might wonder why she had even agreed to sign up for a therapy session in the first place. Simply put, it had been scheduled by an untraceable source, and by untraceable that meant non-existent within the realm of the common pony folk. Pace was moving his lips again.

“Your friend, Lyra.” He went on. “What does she do for a living?”

“You mean like a job?” It at least got her to sit up. “Or whatever it is she does with her time?”

“Whichever makes her the mare you come home to every night.” He said.

“That’s just it, Doc-”

“Pace.”

“Whatever. I never know what I’m going to find every time I open that front door. A swarm of parasprites? The entire house flipped upside-down? I’ll admit neither of those are partially her fault, but would it kill her to hold down the fort while I’m out rearranging ways to get the bills paid? She spends more time indoors than she does outdoors for crying out loud. Oh, Lyra Heartstrings, what am I gonna do with you?”

“Lazy, jobless, slob.” Pace listed. “This is how you describe your friend.”

“Way to rub in the deficiencies, Doc.” She wouldn’t give him his name.

“The truth shall set us free, as they always say.” Pace got up from his chair and moved to the window, staring out at the ponies beneath the evening sky. “The sooner we come to face the facts, whether we like them or not, the closer we come to obtaining a solution.”

“And what’s your solution?” Wondered Bon Bon.

“I believe it is time to leave your friend behind and move out.” Pace said grimly. “You do not have to stay here in Ponyville. In fact, there are plenty of places to take up residence in Baltimare and Fillydelphia. I hear you are from the cities, isn’t that right?”

Bon Bon had simply stopped hearing whatever the doctor was trying to tell the mare. Her senses went stiff and her mind came to focus on one pony and one pony alone. Leave Lyra behind? How could I ever do that? She needs me more than she’ll ever know, but more importantly, I need her. And Bon Bon realized it was the first time for that session that she had not been speaking to the doctor.

“Bon Bon~!” A voice came rushing through the front door. “You’ll never guess what I found this morning.”

It had better been good, Bon Bon hoped from Canterlot and back that her roommate would drag a miracle in along with her. It was a severely high expectation to hold upon her friend, considering the sorts of things the unicorn had dragged in along with her in the past. Bon Bon shuddered at the reminiscence. Oh, who was she kidding? She’d better turn around and get it over with.

“I’m rather busy.” Bon Bon decided to say. She did not turn around.

“I found it behind the cafe.” Lyra announced. “Weird, huh? Can you imagine ponies just leaving priceless artifacts lying around like that?”

“You went dumpster diving behind the local coffee shop?” The earth mare shook her head and remained focused on her papers. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Bonnie, what’s wrong?” Lyra approached, brushing a hoof against her shoulder. “Won’t you look?”

The earth pony drew breath furiously and slammed both of her hooves to the coffee table. The cup of brew rattled and spilt over the newspapers, and as the irritated earth mare turned to jab daggers into her friend’s eyes, the unicorn recoiled and laid her ears flat against her mane.

“I lost my job, Lyra.” Bon Bon hummed quietly, teeth grinding. “I have no interest in anything whatsoever except for looking for a new occupation so we can keep this roof over our heads, since I’m the only pony who seems to know how to do that around here. Now, if you would kindly take whatever it is you’ve got in your field there out of my sight and leave me to my scanning, that would mean the world to me right now.”

Bon Bon twirled back around and stared at the tea staining her newspapers. For hours she had been scanning the jobs section, but nothing within her field of expertise or even mild understanding had come up. At this point she wasn’t even reading anything in particular, the mare was simply staring at the black markings upon the gray and hoping that the presence behind her would get the message and leave without a word.

“I just-” Lyra squeaked back, a dejected gaze to the floor. “I just thought I could help. I’m sorry you lost your job, Bon Bon.”

Finally, without another word, a stony clunk could be heard sounding against the kitchen counter, and sets of hooves trotting down the hall and into the room which Lyra had claimed. Silence blanketed over the earth mare sitting alone at the table, and as the mushy, stringy brown pooled across the letters before her, the memory faded away like the blurring letters, and she blinked back to the present.

“Miss Bon Bon?” Pace repeated. “Have you been listening to me?”

“I can’t do that.” The pony deemed. “Lyra is my friend.”

“I’m sorry, Bon Bon, but it appears to be the only way-”

“You don’t understand!” Her shout carried across the room, perhaps a little louder than she would have liked, but the stallion’s attention was at hoof now. “My life is nothing like what it seems, I’ve been living a lie all for the sake of fitting in with people that will never truly connect with me or understand me, and for what? Lyra is the only one who knows, she understands. How could I leave behind something like that?”

“What is it that you aren’t telling me?” Pace prodded, eyes staring and searching. “Is there something you wish to get off your chest?”

“I…” She sunk into the couch, feeling the tension slip away. “I don’t know.”

“Come, Bon Bon, there is no need to feel fear. This is an open environment, a realm of trust.” Pace said calmly. “Has your friend been mistreating you in any way?”

“Of course not.”

“Has she been threatening? Abusive?”

“What? I mean, there was that time she threatened to eat all of the left over oats even though I clearly told her they’re expired…” Bon Bon refocused. “But no, Lyra would never do something like that.”

“Think about it, Bon Bon. You do not wish to move away from your friend because you don’t give yourself any reasons to. You might ask yourself why you would ever want to do that, and it’s okay, all ponies do. You must realize that you do not give yourself reason simply because you do not look upon the situation within reason. Are you following me?”

She stared at the stallion without answer. Sitting back in his chair and fixing his glasses once again, the sound of his pen scribbling a few notes into his notepad was all the mare heard. Bon Bon could only wonder what was being written onto that paper.

“Tell me, Bon Bon.” He prompted. “Have you ever heard of the cuckoo bird?”

“Are you going to play an analogy or something here?” She anticipated.

“Nature gives us answers we never even thought about in the first place.” Pace explained. “The cuckoo bird, for lack of a better term, is deemed to be nature’s most toxic, parasitic bird to ever exist. Next to the mockingbird, of course.” He chuckled at his own joke.

She didn’t get it. It seemed nopony ever got his jokes. “Parasitic?” The pony asked.

“The cuckoo bird will invade another bird’s nest and lay their own egg within. Once the cuckoo inside hatches, the mother of the nest will feed the infectious bird as if it were her own, constantly begging and stealing food until it grows into adulthood, where it will then find another nest to lay its egg in and start the process all over again.” Pace continued. “It will grow so large that the nest it was born in will be crushed beneath its own weight. It’s only a matter of a time then before it moves on to the next nest, planting more eggs and destroying more homes. Do you understand what I am telling you, Bon Bon?”

“You mean to compare my friend to this…cuckoo bird?”

“There is no insult, I can reassure you.” He informed. “I am only trying to get you to look upon the situation with reason. Unless you can name anything beneficial that your friend has done for you, whether it be short term or in the long run, I believe it’s time to look the other way.”

“Lyra doesn’t need to be of any benefit to me, I can take care of myself.” Bon Bon countered. “I treat her like my friend because that’s what friends do, we’re always there for each other.”

“I have no power nor say in what you do in your life, absolutely none.” Pace reassured. “However, if you fail to see the setbacks in your life and do not take action to better your status, you will experience the consequences, and in the long run you will only have yourself to blame.” He reached over to his desk and opened up the bottom left draw, pulling forward a few brochures and hoofing them over. “There are plenty of residential suites to look forward to in the big cities, Bon Bon. A new life awaits you there, a fresh start. I encourage you to consider your future heavily. If you have any concerns or problems, you know where my office is. And there’s no rush, after all, I won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.”

The doctor’s last words echoed through Bon Bon’s brain as she hovered at her front door and slowly pushed the key inside to unlock it. Even though Lyra was at home, Bon Bon had got into the habit of locking the door anyways so that her roommate would not forget to lock it when she herself went out to do whatever it was that Lyra’s do on an odd afternoon in the middle of the week. Probably to go wandering around a crowd somewhere or sit on benches in uncomfortable looking positions.

The earth mare expelled her exhaustion through her lungs, hanging her hat she never really bothered to wear and turning to the coffee table where she expected to find a mess she had yet to clean up. The newspapers were gone, and so was the tea she had spilled. Odd.

She approached warily and took a good long look at the perfect, crystalline glass surface, not a scratch nor smudge to be seen. It smelled clean too, as though somepony had gotten to work on it. Bon Bon turned and came face to face with a hunk of crystal lying on the kitchen counter, a platinum and purple-blue shimmering through the transparency as it revealed an odd shape within. For whatever it was and where ever Lyra had found it, Bon Bon supposed that if it had been lying there unattended for hours and nothing seemed to happen, then perhaps it wasn’t all that bad. Still, however, just what was it? The curly mane earth pony trotted around and eyed the object peculiarly, making out the shape of what appeared to be a face laying within.

“It’s a crystal prison.” Lyra said.

Bon Bon flinched and assumed a defensive stance, calming herself down at the sight of the unicorn. “How long have you been standing there?”

Lyra looked down and around herself, shrugging lightly. She hovered another helping of oats into her mouth and munched on them calmly, approaching her roommate and joining in on the sight they beheld. “Somepony cast an imprisonment spell on something, but I guess whatever was in there it got away.”

“It’s face looks so tiny.” Bon Bon observed. “Are those supposed to be the eyes?”

“There was not a single species in my bestiary that came remotely close to resembling such a facial structure. It’s eyes are facing forward and its mouth looks big enough to take big bites out of something. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“It’s almost always a mystery with you.” Bon Bon mused.

“Whatever this thing is it’s a predator, a dangerous, wild animal, and I’m going to find it.” Lyra bounced up and down with excitement. “I’ll bet it lives in the Everfree forest, or on the outskirts of Whitetail woods. All we’ll have to do is look for oddly shaped tracks, pick up unfamiliar scents, they’re all bound to be connected to it!”

“About that.” Bon Bon paused. “Listen, Lyra-”

“You and I are going to have so much fun together! We can go on hunting expeditions, we’ll live off of forest flowers and wild oats-”

“Lyra, listen to me.” The earth mare held out a hoof. “I need to talk to you about something.”

The unicorn’s bouncing ceased and her expression went blank, a hum of silence building tension before the earth pony resumed her speaking.

“Do you remember the day of the wedding, Cranky and Matilda’s wedding?”

“How could I forget? We were hanging streamers at Town Hall to get ready for the big celebration.” Lyra’s smile was bright as ever. “You and I were having the greatest of times together, just hanging out and being friends. And then that thing attacked the town, that bugbear…” Slowly, her grin faded. “And then you said it found you or something, and then you started telling me all of these things like how you’re really a secret agent and your life is a lie and our whole relationship together meant nothing. Nothing at all! All because you used to work for S.M.I.-”

Bon Bon shoved a hoof over the unicorn’s lips, sushing her and looking around worryingly. “You can’t just say all of that out loud, somepony might hear.” She warned.

“Why? Why all the secrecy?” Lyra whispered harshly. “I get it, you’re a secret agent and you don’t want your cover blown or whatever it is, but why don’t I get a say in it? You can’t just walk into somepony’s life and leave them in the dark about these things for all those years, what if they end up actually really liking you?”

Bon Bon’s eyes went glossy and concerned, eyeing her friend between one stare and the other. The bags beneath her eyes grew heavy, and the earth mare turned with a sigh, a dejected stare at the floor. “This is what I’ve been wanting to talk to you about for so long.” She admitted. “It’s for your own good. There are so many things you don’t know about that would knock you off your hooves and hurt you, even if you were being as careful as you could possibly be. It’s not like any life you know, far from it, actually. It’s a life separated from the normal, and I don’t want you getting involved. Do you understand?”

Lyra’s eyes blinked rapidly and her own sights hit the floor, and Bon Bon rushed forward to raise her friend’s chin with her hoof.

“Look at me, Lyra.” Bon Bon said. They both stared at each other, eyes watering. “I do like you, I really do. You’re the best friend I could have ever asked for, and there isn’t a thing about you that I would change. Except maybe for the fact that you could take the time to look at the expiration date before you eat something.”

It got a giggle out of Lyra, and so the unicorn went to wipe her oncoming tears away, the waterworks no more. Bon Bon recomposed herself and rested a hoof to her friend’s shoulder.

“But still, this is a serious matter.” She emphasized. “Whatever this creature is or wherever it might be, I want you to stay as far away from it as possible. We don’t know what we’re dealing with here and it could mean just as much bad news as that bugbear did, or even worse.”

“But, Bon Bon…”

“I mean it, Lyra. Back off.” The earth pony warned again. “If it comes down to it, I’ll take care of the situation.”

“Can I at least keep the head?” Lyra cradled the hunk of crystal and looked longingly up at her friend with batting eyelashes and puppy eyes.

Bon Bon groaned and rolled her eyes. “Alright, fine. You can keep your weird, crystal, head mold thingy. But keep it out of sight, ya’ hear?”

“You’re the best, Bonnie!” Lyra hopped over and scooped her friend up in a squeezing embrace. “Tell you what, since you lost your job I’ve been wanting to make it up to you. How about I cook you up a nice batch of oats with daisy and parley on the side? I know it’s your favorite.”

“That’s so sweet of you, Lyra.” Bon Bon smiled sweetly as her eyes hovered down to the oats bag that Lyra held in her magical grasp. Her smile went thin, and the earth mare snatched up the bag quicker than the unicorn could react. They were two weeks past their expiration date.

“How many of these have you eaten?” Bon Bon asked her sternly.

Lyra blinked, brushed the oat crumbs from her mouth and gave a suppressed, watery belch. She warily looked over at her friend with a humbled gaze and shrugged innocently.

Chapter 19 - Show and Tell

The boy and his well acquainted unicorn companion walked side by side down the cobbled streets of Ponyville, the sun beaming brightly from above, shining grace and good fortune down into the village in the valley. Or so it was said, by many of the pony folk. Superstitions and folktales were a rarity among the ponies, given that many of their daily concerns included the ilk of fairies and tales of all kinds already. To put one’s trust in the supernatural was commonplace among the equine folk, and Starlight Glimmer was doing just that, and a little more, as she explained her findings to the boy.

“The process of the spell, for lack of a better term, is going to have an indefinite if not permanent effect on your psyche. We can return your body to the point of origin with little to no effort, but what it would do to your brain is a whole different story.” Starlight explained.

David was interested in the environment surrounding them.

“Starswirl’s method of transmutation spells and his theories following the study gave us a few passage ways into what we could do with your molecular structure, your brain included. The neurons, the cells themselves however, they’re all just so delicate. It’d be like trying to scoop mushy, ground-up leftovers without leaving a single morsel behind, because well, one’s brain is like mushy, ground-up leftovers. Are you following me, here?”

“Mhm.” David hummed back.

“Your entire nervous system would turn into goo if we decided to send you back. No joke, you’d just be a hollow, lifeless husk…filled with brain goo.”

“That sounds fantastic.” David replied.

Starlight deadpanned and sighed, muzzle to the earth. “My point is, you would literally have to train your mind to be like that of a unicorn, or at least a pony in general. The reason being is because there are no accounts in the history of transportation spells which attenuate to that of a human’s neuron system. Us unicorns? We were made for these kinds of spells. A human like you? Honestly, I’m surprised you made it here in one piece. And the distance it took too, no unicorn in history could ever-” Her speech cut short at the boy’s actions, and she stared at him with an estranged glare. “Um, why are you doing that?”

David paused, holding the stick he had picked up to his side. “Doing what?” He asked.

“Swinging that stick around like it’s some sort of wand.”

“A wand?” David stared at the stick. “Silly little pony, this is my sword. Oh, but I guess a species with hooves never really would’ve picked up on that.”

“I know what a sword is.” Starlight justified. “I just don’t understand, do humans use sticks as swords?”

“They could.” He pointed and jabbed.

“Do humans think a stick is a sword?”

“You sound like my history teacher, Glimmy, or someone else who was really boring for no good reason.” He gave his ‘sword’ a few more swings and held it up high in the air, a childish smile about his face. “If you never picked a stick off the ground and swung it around like a sword, then I don’t know what your childhood was about.”

Starlight gazed skyward as an inexplicable lens-flare caught upon the tip of his ‘sword’ and beamed across the plaza space. His smile was unwavering, like that of a child who had found the greatest pleasure the world could offer him, and that was the simple, content feeling of finding the good things that lay on the surface of life. So what if it was a stick? If it was a sword to him, then let it be a sword to him. The sight and the small experience forced Starlight’s mind back to her younger days, when she felt tens if not hundreds of times more innocent. Back in those days, there was always one pony by her side, a pony she sought as her equal, her friend, perhaps even more…

“Listen, David…” Starlight began.

“David!” A cheery voice hollered from afar.

“Silver Spanner!” The boy rushed forward.

“Silver Spanner?” Starlight looked up, confused.

The sight she beheld was forced upon her, to say the least. She could not look away for even a second as she witnessed a rusty-brown unicorn with a silver-white mane leap into the boy’s arms, joy and mirth written all over their faces. They spun and danced in circles as David held the mystery mare’s hooves and they twirled around while their laughter filled in the air all the while. A pink, frilly, flowery background with sparkles and lens-flares surrounded their vicinity, and musical strings hummed brilliantly out of nowhere.

“Where is that musical score coming from?” Starlight’s ear flickered. “Say, uh, did I just walk into one of those cheesy rom-coms or something?”

The turntable screeched to a stop. David and the new unicorn were frozen mid-spin, hovering and staring at Starlight from afar. They both dropped to the earth and the boy made a quick apology to his friend.

“I never even thought about introducing you.” David laughed. “Didn’t even cross my mind.”

“Oh, and what did?” Silver Spanner snickered. “Coma induced visions of talking ponies?”

They both laughed together heartily, and Starlight was left on the side lines giggling awkwardly to herself.

“Inside joke, Silver, inside joke.” David shed a tear, and turned to the other unicorn. “Now where are those manners of mine? Starlight, this is Silver Spanner. Silver Spanner, Starlight.”

“Starlight Glimmer?” Silver hurried forward and took the mare’s hoof in hers. “You’re the sorceress unicorn who came to the village, right? I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Y-You have?” Starlight recoiled and immediately regretted the reflex. “I mean, ha-ha, wow! What have you heard?”

“Well, that you’re a unicorn, for one.” Silver shifted nervously. “And er…oh! That’s right, you can perform spells.”

“Right.” Starlight stared awkwardly. “I’m sure most unicorns can.”

“Oh, those are just lame party tricks, am I right?” Silver batted a hoof.

“Now now, let’s not neglect those fancy soldering skills of yours.” David laughed along.

Celestia above, what in the name of Tartarus did I walk into? Starlight thought to herself. It’s like they’re an old, married couple or something, and it doesn’t help that I don’t even know what they’re talking about. What, me? Jealous? Get out of here, consciousness, you’re not welcome here!

“Hey, Glimmy, you’re not monologuing again, are you?” David asked, and nudged an elbow in Silver’s side. “Honestly, unicorns seem to have a tendency to do that sort of thing.”

Starlight shook her head and snapped back to the conversation. “I’m sorry, did I miss a page or two of context here?” She asked them.

“Oh, duh!” David slapped a palm over his forehead. “I think she’s wanting to know how you and I met.”

“You explain it, you tell the story better than me.” Silver bashed.

“Alright, alright. Here goes.” David patted his palms to his thighs and began slowly.

“It was a dark, rainy night, filled with rain and darkness and…other gloomy stuff. A lonely pegasus mare was on her last job for the night, struggling to deliver a single package to her final destination. Little did she know the package was too heavy, and she came tumbling down to the earth in a fit of cries and feathers!”

“If it was too heavy to begin with then why did she even attempt to carry it by herself?” Starlight asked.

“Quiet now, it’ll all be explained in the end.” David reassured. “As I was saying, the package had tumbled down to the earth with her. Lo and behold, the final resting place of the mushy, dirty and broken box was resting on the door step of the house she had been assigned to carry it to. The clatter from outside was enough to bring somepony to the door, and for whatever instinctive reason the mail mare scurried behind the bushes nearby and hid out of sight. The door creaked open, an orange light pouring outside from within, and there caught in the illumination was the box. A single, kind, generous and heartfelt unicorn mare stood at the door, Silver Spanner! She stared at the box longingly before brushing the dirt off with her hoof. ‘My my, what a horribly misshapen box.’ She uttered. ‘I do hope that whatever’s inside hasn’t been damaged.’”

“That’s it? She isn’t even go to read the labeling or question why it’s here?” Starlight interrupted.

“We’re getting to that part.” David confirmed.

“You were like the final piece to my life, the part I was missing all along.” Silver patted David’s shoulder.

“You’re going to spoil the ending!” The boy warned.

“So let me guess, you were in the box?” Starlight mused.

“Not exactly.” A glint caught in the boy’s eye. “It was me, but with a twist!” He continued. “Silver Spanner carried the box inside, and the package rattled and shook upon the floor. As the unicorn stared in wonderment, she hovered a hesitant hoof towards the casing, and it burst open with confetti and sparkly things flying everywhere. Stars shone in Silver’s eyes, for a tiny human had just popped out of the box, a tiny version of me! The boy of wonders! The savior sent from the distant planet-”

“You do realize we found you in the Everfree forest, right?” Starlight interrupted, again.

David keeled over and released a fountain of blood from his jaw, quickly wiping the mess away with a simple swipe of his forearm. “Sheesh, Glim, you really know how to kill a mood.”

“It’s okay, David. It’s a great story, I always love to hear it.” Silver reassured him. “But really, it was a simple meeting. Him and I met the evening the two of you decided to give up looking for a friend, or so he tells me.”

“You mean to tell me the very minute he walked away, he found you?” Starlight looked on, astonished and disappointed.

“Well, we sort of found each other.” Silver giggled lightly. “I was carrying home a box full of parts and supplies I had pawned off of the doctor. Y’know, Doctor Whooves? Anyways, when I dropped a few bolts and screws he was so kind to use his dexterous little fingers to pick them up for me and drop them back into my box. He helped me carry them the rest of the way, and well, the rest is mechanics!”

“I’m not sure how to feel about that saying.” Starlight looked worried. “But, wow, it was really that simple, huh?”

“You were right, Starlight.” David smiled at her. “I guess the universe does have its ways from time to time.”

Starlight was left to stare at the estranged couple wondering just where exactly their relationship had stood. Obviously something of similar interest had brought these two together, something she plainly admitted to herself that she wasn’t too interested in delving into, and the fact that David had managed to acquire a friend all on his own was all the reassurance the unicorn needed in this moment here and now. She supposed for a moment that this strange alien, this young boy, perhaps he wasn’t as incompetent as she had first deemed him to be. It was either that, or the fact that somepony in this town had a very kind, open and generous heart after all.

“Say, are we still on for the pub, tonight?” Silver asked the boy.

“You bet.” He high-fived her hoof. “Though I’ve got to admit, I’m still underage.”

“Relax, you’re an alien for Fleighming’s sake.” Silver waved a hoof.

“Well, it seems like you two have really hit it off.” Starlight chuckled on the sidelines.

“Do you wanna come too, Glimmy?” David asked her.

“No, that’s okay, I’ll just be at the castle if you need me.” She began to walk away.

“Oh, alright?” David scratched his head. “Feel free to come by if you change your mind!” He shouted after her.

Starlight hollered another small giggle over her shoulder and resumed her gait, walking back into the far northern region of the plaza and around Town Hall, hanging her head low and giving a crestfallen sigh. The boy and his newly made friend took their walk in the opposite direction, only for a presence to overcome them soon after. Silver strained her sights and held a hoof above her eyes to shield the sun as a mass of wings descended upon them.

“Who’s that?” Silver wondered.

“Oh no, it’s that bat pony guard again!” David made to break. “I gotta get out of here!”

“Calm down, it’s just the mail mare.” Silver reassured. “The one who delivered you to my home, remember?”

“Huh?” David twisted back around and stared at the pegasus making her descent.

She was not wearing her usual mail mare uniform just as she would be on almost any afternoon of the week. The gray pegasus mother performed an oddly graceful descent and stared upon the boy with a stoic, fixed gaze. Her wall eye was aligned almost perfectly, making her sights appear normal for that one rare moment. The boy stood still as Derpy approached him and looked up with a longing, knowing expression.

“So…” She began. “You’re the one who saved my little girl’s life?”

“Depends on which little girl we’re talking about.” David hesitated.

Derpy got to her hind hooves and wrapped her wings around the boy’s waist. She held him tightly and held the embrace for a long pause. “I can’t imagine how I should begin to thank you. I’ll forever be in your debt.” She told him.

“You and your daughter don’t owe me a thing.” David reassured, returning the hug. “I was just doing the first thing that came to my mind, honest.”

Silver Spanner stared up at David with sparkles in her eyes, her gaze trading between the boy and the pegasus. As the two broke away from their hug, Derpy gestured the boy in the direction of the school house, Silver following closely behind.

“So, are you off today?” He asked Derpy.

“What’s that?”

“Your uniform, I noticed you aren’t wearing it.”

“Ah, about that.” Derpy rubbed a hoof to the back of her head. “It’s kind of a long story, but it’s all in the past now.”

“Are you gonna be alright?” He asked with concern.

“Oh, absolutely. I’ve got a few plans lined up for the future here. Don’t you worry, this mare is finally going places! No more getting bossed around by other ponies who think they can tell me what to do and how to do it.”

“Isn’t that what having a job is all about?”

“Once you climb up enough in the work force you’ll see that you don’t just work for others anymore, you’ll start working together.”

“I suppose they’d want you to think that.” David mused. “Say, where are you taking me again?” He questioned, scanning his surroundings.

“Oh, that’s right, we’re here.” Derpy announced. “Welcome to the Ponyville schoolhouse.”

Damn, a trap. He thought. I knew it!

The dirt path ahead of them curved and led up to the steps leading into the bright red and white building that was Miss Cheerilee’s schoolhouse. The teacher in question stood behind the white fence in the playground area where another mare standing with her, an old, frail look about her, was discussing something in their midst. Derpy obliged the boy forward where he promptly shook his head no and began to back away. The wall-eyed pegasus grimaced and shoved her head to his rump, pushing him forward and to the fence where he nearly flipped and fell over to the other side, catching himself with his fingers to the edge. Miss Cheerilee and the elderly mare beyond ceased their chattering and looked to their side, eyeing the boy with mixtures of curiosity and wariness. He produced his best smile to the two, and at that Granny Smith grinned and stepped forward to greet the young lad.

“Well, lookie who we have here.” Granny looked the boy up and down. “Word around town is a filly napper was wandering around Saddle Lake the other day. But don’t you go gettin’ your stomach in a knot, I know the whole story beginnin’ to end.”

“You do?” David asked timidly.

“My eyes must have something in them.” Cheerilee stepped forward. “I’m sorry, Granny Smith, but is this the…person you have been referring to?”

“Sure as rain, he is!” Granny confirmed. “He’s tall enough, ain’t he? Why, I bet my last good leg he could reach all the way up to Canterlot with those lanky, pink limbs o’ his and have a reach around at Celestia’s flank if he wanted to!” The scraggly, old mare gave her hind leg a good slap and cackled like a dying timber wolf into the open air, taking a moment to breath before settling down. “That was just a-just a lil’ joke there…”

The school teacher took her time eyeing the boy from head to toe, taking a step or two back in the opposite direction. She swept a glance back to her school children and then back to the boy on the other side of the fence, pupils dancing up and down as though she were expecting him to clear the fence any moment now. He in fact could, and would do so for a show of impression.

“Erm…Granny Smith here tells me you had a run in with her family the other night?” Cheerilee asked him. “She stated that she’s willing to vouch for you for your presentation here at the school house.”

“Wait, what?” He stared at her blankly.

“The children here are interested in what you have to say, which is no surprise.” She nodded and cleared her throat. “I just need confirmation that whatever it is you’re going to exhibit to my students is appropriate for their viewing.”

“Wait…what?” He drawled again.

The boy sat with his back to the blackboard and the students at his front, several bug-eyed wonders of astonishment and curiosity filling their gazes. It almost seemed as though they were all too awe-struck, perhaps even frightened to say anything, the dreadful thought lingering in the boy’s head that one of them might burst out into screams and thus cause a chain reaction like tiny little explosions at a birthday party. Maybe if they all screamed hard and loud enough they’d burst into confetti. David realized he was getting ahead of himself and focused his attention back to the class, giving a wary eye to the teacher at the door as she ushered in her children from recess time and instructed them to take their respective seats. Granny, Derpy and Silver stood by the windows awaiting for David’s supposed presentation to which he had absolutely no fore-planning for. His finger raised behind Miss Cheerilee’s back and he tapped her shoulder. The mare flinched like a shiver running up her spine, and she turned with bug-eyes of her own.

“Please don’t burst into confetti.” He blurted.

“Excuse me?” She recoiled.

“I mean-” He started again. “Miss Cheerilee, is it? I appreciate this opportunity you’re giving me here-”

“It’s not just me, mind you.” She corrected. “As I stated before, the children are interested in what you have to say.”

“But that’s the thing.” He warned, twiddling his thumbs. “I don’t know what to say.”

“A lot of ponies-er um, people? Nowadays, they don’t realize that the most reliant conversation starter is to simply state their name. Um, you do have a name, mister…?”

“Call me David.” He held out a hand.

“Just don’t forget to tell the children that.” Cheerilee rested her hoof to his palm. “Believe me, they’re all very excited to see you today. After all, you come from an entirely different planet, correct? I’m certain you could think of the most boring topic to behold your kind and you wouldn’t get a single snore out of the classroom.”

“You’re taking this alien thing pretty well, compared to most others.” David admitted, squinting curiously at the mare.

Shoot, he’s a lot more intelligent than I gave him credit for. Cheerilee thought to herself. His mind wanders around every detail, he has that keen look in his eye. I better get things moving before he finds anything else out.

“You are correct, I do tend to give others many chances over to correct themselves.” She told him. “I teach children for a living, the real challenge is seeing whether or not my work has paid off. So, Mister David, if you’re willing to seize this opportunity then we’re going to need you to be confident in your ability to talk about yourself. Can you do that for our class?”

He felt himself hesitate, the words had hit him without warning. Then, the boy quickly nodded as from instinct. “Yes.” He assured. “I’ll do my best.”

Cheerilee smiled. She nodded and turned to the last of her students filing through the door and to their seats. Dinky timidly shuffled through the doorway and spotted her mother on the far end of the room, then looked to see David standing at the blackboard with wide eyes in her expression. The boy felt his spirits lifted at the sight of the young unicorn, and Dinky gave a cheerful yet nervous grin as she walked across the classroom to greet her mother. The two nuzzled each other, a warming embrace that made the boy’s heart quicken a pace or two. The murmurs floating around the crowd of children were quickly dispelled by Miss Cheerilee’s raised hoof, and the mare cleared her throat to speak.

“Everypony, can I have your attention please?” She began. “First and foremost I’d like to thank Granny Smith and Miss Hooves for their help in organizing the invitation we’ve set up for our very special guest today-”

A white hoof shot for the ceiling, waving around desperately.

Cheerilee sighed. “Yes, Twist?”

“Thorry, Mith Theerilee, I wath retherving a quethtion for the monkey.” She pointed at David.

“Oh?”

“What’th it like being a monkey alien?” The young filly asked without a second beat.

The boy stood there frozen. “I don’t know,” he decided to say. “What’s it like having two tongues?”

Twist’s expression went blank, and she quietly fiddled with her teeth. Cheerilee glanced the boy a death glare, and David simply shrugged. At least she wouldn’t be asking anymore questions now. Another student raised their hoof, and David pointed this time.

“Where’s your spaceship at?” The colt asked.

“In the back.” He mused.

“Do you have eyes on your butt?” Another asked.

“What the hell kind of question is that?”

“Is it true that if you fart, burp, sneeze and hiccup all at the same time, you’ll open a portal to the fourth dimension?”

Silence. David looked over at Cheerilee, shrugging indefinitely. There was a hint of pity in that confused squint of his, and so she stepped forward to divert the course. “Are there any questions that don’t concern the latest issue of Mad Maregazine?” She looked around. “Perhaps something a little more, erm, constructive?”

A bright pink hoofed raised from its seat, a focused gaze in the filly’s eyes. “So you say you’re from a different planet? Are there any similarities here that you would compare to your home?”

David blinked and took a moment to answer. “That’s…actually a good question. My memory is a little foggy, so bear with me.” He paced about slowly. “There are several things my world has which this does not, such as cars, television and phones, but one thing my world doesn’t have that Equestria does is magic.” He explained. “I’ve learned that ponies have used magic to build structures, grow food, control the weather and even create medicine for illnesses. You see, humans were never born with magic, they’ve had to rely on their abilities and the resources nature had given them. It took several generations for us to get where we’re at, and even so our technology grows exponentially, almost too much for us to handle at times.”

The class gave their collective “ooos” and “aahs.” It got a small chuckle out of David.

“Was that how you got here, then?” Scootaloo quickly raised her hoof.

“Wait to be called on, dear.” Cheerilee told her.

“She’s alright.” David reassured. “Go ahead, squirt.”

“Did your spaceship crash land because you couldn’t control it?” Scootaloo revised.

“If only I had a flashy entrance like that.” David chuckled. “I can reassure you however that my coming to this planet was in fact out of my control.”

A vanilla hoof raised from its seat, amber eyes staring confidently ahead. Apple Bloom.

“What’cha mean when you say your memory is ‘foggy’?” She wondered. “Did you lose your memories along the way here?”

“She’s a perceptive one.” David nodded to Cheerilee, and turned back to the children. “I’ve had contact with Princess Twilight and her student, Starlight Glimmer. I’m sure you know the ponies. They’ve helped me since my arrival here and we’ve determined that might be the case. Something to do with some sort of head trauma.”

“That sounds terrible…” Apple Bloom sulked.

“Did you barf?” Somepony asked.

“Several times.” David answered.

“Can you do it again?”

“…No.”

Once again the bright pink filly with her focused gaze raised her hoof. “So you say you can’t remember anything from before, but what about after?” She questioned. “What I mean to ask is, how did you get here?”

David briefly glanced down at the pencil and notepad readied before her hooves. “Are you looking for a comparison?” He asked.

“To what, exactly?” The filly titled her head.

“Let me ask you kids something, do any of you remember being born?” He looked around the room. “I certainly don’t, but it’s the best way I can describe it. If I knew what being born was like, I would probably describe it as such: There was this void, a dark, soundless nothing, and then all of a sudden poof! I was dropped onto the cold, stone floor with nothing to grasp onto but my own body, not knowing where I was or what I was supposed to do. In that short time of uncertainty, I simply existed.”

The boy went on with his tale in the castle ruins deep within the Everfree forest. His discovery of the ancient library, the old paintings and the many rusted over suits of armor. Finally, the menacing threat of the great big timber wolves, practically the size of lions and tigers. The gnashing of their jaws and their oozing green gums was enough to make a filly or two recoil and shut their eyes in fright.

And then, clink, clank, clunk!

Princess Twilight Sparkle had come to his rescue! Together they battled the timber wolves to the death, the final depiction of David standing above a mound of wolves with a spear in one hand and the pack leader’s head in the other. As such, the boy had drawn a quick yet very detailed and artistic depiction on the black board, which elicited a triumphant roar of cheers and stomping hooves from the children and left Miss Cheerilee’s arsenal of chalk sticks at a discouragingly low level. She decided it was time to move on when David tugged down the collar of his shirt to show the children his “war scar.”

“One more question! Please?” Scootaloo frantically raised her hoof.

“Well, I suppose we do have some time to spare.” Cheerilee considered.

“What’s up, sport?” The boy asked her.

“If you had a cutie mark, what would it be?”

David blinked and glanced to Cheerilee with a wide gaze of amusement. The teacher chuckled calmly and shook her head lightly, talking from her desk in the corner. “I suppose I ought to explain, our class is currently working on an end of the semester project, a sort of finale to all the lessons we’ve learned and what might come in the future, which is the ideal theme. The project is meant for contemplating on future goals and brainstorming events and scenarios pertaining to their career paths.”

“Like a ‘where do you see yourself in five years?’ sort of thing?” The boy supposed.

“For the most part.” Cheerilee nodded. “I’m sure the students would love to show you their progress. But of course, Scootaloo’s question…”

“Ah, yes.” David turned back to Scootaloo. “I’ll admit, that’s got to be the best question I’ve heard yet.” He stroked his chin with a peculiar grin, his eyes dancing upon the ceiling in contemplation. “Well, let’s see…that’s an awfully tough decision to make. What would my cutie mark be?” His eyes wandered back down to the class and landed upon the face of the unicorn girl he had first met at Saddle lake. The memories of the water, the rescue, and their talk flooded his mind and instilled him with an unintended spell of silence for much longer than he felt comfortable for. He repositioned his thought process and after deciding upon his next trail of dialogue, gave a small, curt nod to Dinky before continuing. “You see, I think that’s pretty wishful thinking. No offense to your question, Scoots, it was very good, but if I’m thinking this correctly there’s only one right way to go about this. From what I understand, a cutie mark isn’t something you can just pick and choose, it is earned and sometimes even gifted to you. When the time is right, you won’t find your cutie mark, your cutie mark will find you.”

The slow, calm clopping of hooves together came as applause, giving the boy a hard time to hide his smile and blush warming up on his face. He thought for a small short moment, if only Twilight were here to see him…

“But yeah, I would probably have a cutie mark of a dragon or a sword piercing a heart.” The boy grinned. “Something cool like that.”

Once again, the “ooos” and “aahs” of the children filled the classroom.

“I have one, final question, if you’d be so kind.” It was the focused filly again. She almost batted her eyelashes.

The words dispelled his thought and the boy looked over. The curiosity and perceptive behavior of this little one was putting his mind in a strange place, like signaling red flags that he couldn’t quite call out but neither would he completely dismiss. The boy nodded in the filly’s direction. “Go ahead.” He said.

“Since we’re on the subject of cutie marks, it’s pretty safe to say that certain ‘habits’ aren’t exempt from that ilk. My question to you is, what sort of social values do you believe you possess and would attach to your person?”

“So, the kind of person I would like to be for others? Well, let’s think…I do remember a saying or something I wrote in a journal of mine a long time ago.” David told them. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a leader, and I know that doesn’t mean being tough all the time. To be patient with others and myself, to know what to do in any situation, that’s the kind of person I want to be.”

There was an odd spell of silence to this answer. It seemed as though time itself was frozen, nopony had said anything, nopony had moved or dared to even blink. After the hum of speechlessness washed over, Cheerilee rose from her desk and delivered the only appropriate closing she could think of.

“Well then, everypony, I hope you got all the answers you were looking for. Let’s all give a big round of applause for our honored guest.”

Seconds after the little ponies stomped and clopped their hooves together, several of them started to form lines and small groups surrounding the boy as if filing up to receive an autograph from a celebrity or some other famous character, and perhaps that is exactly what some of them had intended to do. Derpy and Granny Smith closed their distance and gave the boy nudges on the arms and knowing looks, each one spelling ‘I told you so.’ Seemingly, everything turned out all right in their little endeavor to the school house after all. Moments later, after the boy had given a series of admirable and perplexed looks at the many school projects the children were presenting unto him, Dinky approached with her project, pulling the piece from her saddle bag.

“What’cha got there, kiddo?” David quested. “Another boat?”

The boy supposed he might’ve spoken too soon as her mother gave a tightened expression, but Dinky was still all the more happy to show him. “A scarf.” The little unicorn answered. “Mom helped me make it.”

“She worked on it all night long, almost didn’t wake up for school this morning.” Her mother informed.

“It’s a very special piece.” Dinky told him. “I even thought you might like to have it, but only after Miss Cheerilee grades it.”

“It sounds like you’ve put your heart into this project.” David grinned widely and expectantly. “Well, let’s see it!”

Without a second more of hesitation, the unicorn pulled the scarf forward and presented it to the boy. Immediately, David’s smile faded.

“I call it the ‘family of four’.” Dinky elaborated. “The four points reach out and come back to meet in the center, like a real family should. And, it’s the four members of our family, myself, mom, my sister, and Doc. Doc isn’t actually a part of my family, and well neither is Amy technically, but I still consider them as such.”

The boy blinked once and twice. Four points? What was that supposed to mean? The boy’s mind began to race for a moment. The very idea that this was just a coincidence, that somehow this little unicorn from a completely different planet was able to replicate an ancient symbol from Earth with no prior knowledge whatsoever…

The human hadn’t realized how long he had been within his realm of inner contemplation. He appeared as though he were brain-dead, a deer struck in headlights, unmoving and staring with uncertainty at the item before him.

“Y-You don’t like it?” Dinky asked after a while.

“What the hay are you doing?” Said a young colt. “Can’t you see he obviously doesn’t like it?”

“Yeah, you’re scaring the monkey!” Another cried.

“That’s not the case at all.” David protested. “Dinky, I love the scarf, I really do. It’s just…”

C’mon, think of something to say. The boy thought rapidly. If you tell them what you really think then they’re going to start asking questions. What is this supposed to be, then? Some sort of trick of my mind?

“It’s okay, I understand if you don’t like it after all.” Dinky quickly hid the scarf away.

“Oh, honey…” Her mother held out a hoof.

The little unicorn shied away from her mother’s embrace and faced the crowd of disdainful stares. She had known this wouldn’t have gone the way she had hoped form the very beginning, and she resented herself for not following her instincts. The little girl sighed and turned to the boy briefly. “I’ll just get rid of it like I should have in the first place.” And without a second beat, the unicorn brushed her way out of the crowd and darted for the exit.

“Dinky, wait!” Derpy raced after her daughter, staring out the door in wonder of where the little one might’ve run off to.

At that point the attention seemed to divert from the boy as the students gave their murmurs and comments on the behavior of the unicorn. The class cheater they called her, the class thief, the class crybaby. There were no better words David could think to place Dinky in the position he believed her to be sitting other than “this kid just had it plain rough.” He began to struggle on his memories of his own school days back on Earth, staring out upon the crowd of little pony heads hopping around here and there, and from the sight of it something occurred to him in that small moment. The pink pony, blue curls, white bow and red eyes, was nowhere to be seen.

“I see you’re still in one piece.” Cheerilee approached the boy calmly.

“Now I’m really concerned on where exactly you stand with your students.” He commented.

“What exactly do you mean?” The teacher raised a brow.

“Nothing by it, never mind.” He waved a hand, then reconsidered. “Though, it sort of pains me to see Dinky get so worked up like that. I wish there was more I could do.”

“I noticed you appeared to be a good friend of hers. You were the one who saved her at the lake, correct?” Cheerilee furthered. “It wouldn’t be too much to ask you to look after her outside of school, would it?”

“Of course not.” David replied.

“Well then, I’m glad.” The mare smiled back.

“Just uh, one thing.” The boy raised a finger. “That filly with the blue curls, she was asking very perceptive questions for her age. Not to say there’s anything wrong with that, but she just struck a strange chord.” David pondered. “What was her name?”

“Cozy Glow.” Cheerilee answered.

Chapter 20 - Alleyway Alliance

The lid of the trash can slammed shut, dust and flies buzzing about, and the red remnants of the world’s most unlikable scarf poking out from over the lip of the bin. The little unicorn was too angry to push the rest of it inside, and so she twisted around with a huff and began trotting away with a snort and a stomping to her hooves. She promised herself then to never try something like that again. No more being creative, no more putting herself out there. She would go the rest of her life without a cutie mark, or anything to show at all, and she was just fine with that.

Although the thought was lingering at the back of her head, clawing at her brain like a griffon’s grip upon her hide, she dared not turn back to look at the scarf and swiftly turned the corner and out of the alley way. In an instant her muzzle collided with another pony’s, and the two equines fell flat on their rumps as they rubbed their noses and blinked the tears of pain away. The little unicorn looked at the ground, a pair of blue glasses upturned and lying in the dirt at her hooves. Across from Dinky sat a dull, gray earth pony with a silver-white mane neatly braided and brushed to the side.

“Silver Spoon?” Dinky gawked.

The earth filly grunted with frustration. “Perhaps a little warning would do next time?” She aimlessly pawed at the ground.

Dinky looked back down at the glasses lying in the dirt, connecting the dots as she aimed her sights back to the pony and began speculating. This was the same pony who watched me almost drown. She just stood by and did nothing. Why should I help her? With that thought in mind, the unicorn rose and dusted herself off.

“Stop following me.” She said over her shoulder as she began to trot away.

“Dinky, wait!” Silver called out. “I’m not here to bully you, I came looking for you because I wanted to apologize.”

Dinky stopped in her tracks, glancing backwards. “What?”

“Please, if you’ll just hear me out…” The earth filly had ceased the desperate search for her glasses, focused on reeling the unicorn back in for whatever purpose she was truly here. If it was important enough to her to ignore the impairment of her vision for even a small moment, then maybe there was a sliver of genuineness within her after all.

The little unicorn remembered what her mother had always told her. Even though it didn’t seem like it, there was some amount of good in every pony you met, no matter how small. Even the most unlikely of those individuals just might turn out to have the best intentions for others. Why then, Dinky thought, would this pony put herself in a vulnerable situation and call out to her seconds later? Perhaps it truly was an accident, perhaps then there was some amount of purpose within her fault.

Dinky stepped forward and picked Silver’s glasses off the ground, carefully lining them up onto the earth filly’s face and over her eyes. Silver blinked a few times, and the blurry world cleared away to reveal the unicorn only inches away from her face.

“Um, thank you.” Silver responded awkwardly.

Silence blanketed the two like a buzz in the air, eyes darting nervously and head scratches shared in rhythms. Even the flies buzzing around the cans back around the corner could be heard clear as ever. A clearing of the earth pony’s throat brought their attention back to the situation at hoof.

“I can’t think of any better way to say this right now, all I know is that I have to say it.” Silver prepared herself. “I never should have done what I did that day, I never should have hung out with those numb skulls, and I never should have just stood by and watched it all happen. For what it’s worth, Dinky, I’m sorry.”

The gray little mare bowed her head, low enough that her braid was touching the ground. On the receiving end, a hint of skepticism lingered, and the little unicorn responded carefully.

“It’s not like you hurt me at all, anyways.” Dinky sighed. “I just want to know why you’re really apologizing to me.”

Silver looked up with an unsure gaze. She knew now only the truth would settle this dilemma once and for all. The little earth pony prepared herself once more.

“Because…” She hesitated. “Because I’m…lonely.”

“Huh?”

“I’m lonely, okay?” Silver burst out. “There, I said it! You can go ahead and bully me now, get your payback while you still can.”

“That’s not-” Dinky shook her head. “What do you mean you’re lonely?”

“Why do you think I was spending my time with those two goonies? I didn’t know what else to do with my time, so I sort of flocked towards the only thing I ever really learned, and that was making other ponies feel hurt so that I’d feel better about myself. But now…” Silver sniffled and shot a dejected look to the earth. “Now I just feel horrible…”

Only a few days ago there was an enemy before Dinky. A bully, a menace, a fiend, but now here she was as vulnerable as ever and showing splashes of her true colors. No bully in Dinky’s book would ever admit these sort of things, or anything concerning their inside life for that matter. Now that the little unicorn had realized it, it could even be a series of problems that led this sad little earth pony to this point in her life. Rejection? Betrayal? A broken household? She could relate with them all and so much more. It was then that a spark of empathy was ignited within the blonde little mare, her amber-gold eyes growing wide with both concern and realization together.

“What about that other girl?” Dinky wondered.

“Other girl?”

“What was her name? Dying…chihuahua?”

“What the heck are you talking about?” Silver looked on, bewildered. “You mean, Diamond Tiara?”

“Yeah, that’s her!” Dinky shot up, caught in Silver’s harsh-squinted gaze. “What?” She asked.

“Nothing, it’s just-” Silver sighed again. “Her and I sort of drifted apart, I guess. Ever since she had that huge meltdown and the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally got their cutie marks, she just moved on.”

“You mean she sort of abandoned you?” Dinky searched.

“It’s a complicated story. The short version is that I heard she’s working for Ponyville’s official news printing service now, I’m guessing her mommy and daddy got her into that program with little to no effort. In any case it’s not like I’ll be getting anywhere near her now.”

“She’s at Town Hall, right?” Dinky asked further. “Why don’t you just go talk to her?”

“I guess I haven’t worked up the courage to do so.” Silver gazed across the alley way. “I’m just too afraid that if I try she’ll push me right out. And then…well, I don’t know what I would do.”

The unicorn was still in the dark as to what exactly this desperate little earth pony was asking of her. Part of her wanted to simply accept the apology, shake hooves and go home, pretending as though none of this had ever happened. Alas, Dinky could not ignore the tiny burning in her heart, that strange scent of empathy lingering in the air. Perhaps then there was something that would come of this encounter, something along the lines of defeating one’s enemy in the best way possible. Many of her scholars and elders had taught her the phrase, she’s even read it in a few books before and knew the saying by heart.

“Listen, I’m willing to forget everything as long as you are.” Silver proposed.

“I am too.” Dinky agreed. “It was all stupid from the very beginning.”

“I just wish things could go back to the way they were…” Silver yearned.

“Well, maybe they can.” The unicorn began. “You want to get your old friend back, right? How hard can it be to just walk in there and say hello?”

“You don’t understand, it’s an office for the local newspaper, not a park. You can’t just walk in there and strike up a conversation unless you have a reason to be there.”

“Then we’ll think of one.” Dinky declared. “It’s for the newspaper, right? Let’s think of an interesting story to give them. Maybe then you’ll get the chance to get a few words in to Diamond Tiara while we’re there.”

“I guess I do feel better about it now that’s somepony’s with me.” Silver blinked with realization. “You would really do that for me, Dinky? We’ll call it a solid. No, a truce. I’ll do anything for you in return.”

Dinky felt a warm smile creep to her face. She raised her hoof and spat in it, holding it out to the earth filly. “Truce.”

“Ew! Why would you do that?” Silver recoiled.

“What? This is how I’ve seen them do it in the movies.” Dinky supposed. “Sorry I don’t have a knife on me, maybe we can find one in the trash bin-”

“No no!” Silver halted. “I’ll just, uh…do what you did.” The little earth pony fixed her glasses and warily looked down at her raised hoof, awkwardly pressing her lips together as bubbles began to seep from the creases. She let a slow, lengthy loogie land onto her frog with an estranged, dissatisfied look.

“You don’t gotta drool on it!” Dinky sighed. “Here.”

The two slapped their wet, slobbery hooves together and shook on it. “Truce.” They announced.

With that, Dinky turned and began trotting in the direction of Town Hall, asking Silver if she was coming or not. She was busy rubbing her hoof into the dirt trying to dry the saliva away. Back in the alley way from which Dinky had vacated, the trash mare made her rounds and lifted each of the bins into her haul for the day, slimy bits of filth piling into her wagon, the forgotten scarf included.

Dinky played a confident stride past the double door entrance of Town Hall with a timid, nervous-glancing Silver in tow, ears flat and eyes bouncing off the wall. They climbed the spiral steps and entered into the office space foyer where a lone mare sat at a desk and directed them towards the printing office, Silver feeling the intensity of hesitance settle in all the more as they made their way through and to the supposed office door of Diamond Tiara. Dinky got ready to knock, but a gray hoof held her at bay.

“Silver?” The unicorn blinked.

“Don’t take this the wrong way.” Silver’s breath picked up. “I appreciate the enthusiasm you’ve shown so far, but I’m not so sure this is such a good idea anymore.”

“It’ll all be for naught if you don’t act now.” Dinky confirmed.

“I can barely stand on my own four hooves right now!” Silver squeaked.

The door knob jiggled, sending the two fillies into a jolt. The panel swung ajar, and there on the other side stood a tall, tan stallion with a slick, black mane and a red tie with a golden money symbol embroidered onto it. He seemed not to notice the two visitors as his head swiveled back and called into the office within.

“Just think about it, sweetie, please.” The stallion sounded desperate. “For your mother’s sake.” He flipped back around and nearly marched over the pair at the door, recoiling at the sight of the tiny ponies before him to which he instinctively fixed his tie and put on his best smile. “My apologies, young ones, are you two here to see my daughter?”

“Daughter?” Dinky wondered, a little regretful she had thought out loud.

“This is Mr. Rich, Diamond Tiara’s father.” Silver informed. “It’s good to see you, sir.”

“Likewise, little miss Silver Spoon. I hope your parents are in good health?” He nodded and turned to Dinky. “And who might your friend be?”

“G-Good afternoon, mister, my name is Dinky.” She paused, then blinked with realization. “Dinky Hooves.”

“Dinky Hooves, hm?” Rich prodded his chin. “Hooves, Hooves…I imagine it’s a rather common surname, but I feel like it might ring a bell.” He laughed and shook his head. “Oh, but listen to an old colt babble your little ears off. Surely you’re interested in my daughter’s work here, so I’ll just let you two slide right in.”

“Thank you sir, it was good to see you.” Silver said confidently.

“Of course, little ma’am, the pleasure is all mine.” He tipped an imaginary hat and called back into the office. “Diamond, honey, you’ve got yourself a couple of visitors.”

“I thought I might’ve heard voices out there.” A feminine tone sounded from within. “Send them in.”

Mr. Rich took the courtesy to shut the door behind them as they entered and took a moment or two to gander at the office space before them. Down the center lane laid a massive, mahogany desk fit for an executive, complete with fine carvings, lacquer coating, and a small name plaque propped onto the top of the desk which read Diamond M. Tiara.

To the left laid a studio space with stacks of newsprint parchment, a small work bench, a state of the art printing press machine which was currently dripping a black, inky drop or two onto the cloth mats planted underneath the machine. To the right hung a cork board with dates, drawings and documents of all kinds beneath a bright, yellow lamp, below it a series of filing cabinets, and to the side a collection of awards and golden plaques showcasing various headlines of the past and achievements concerning the field of news reporting. Finally, back to the center desk and behind it was the back of a large, red office chair with golden stitching and upholstery, to which it slowly spun around in response to the two little mares.

For a fraction within the second Diamond Tiara’s eyes met Silver Spoon’s, all of the confidence the little earth mare mustered talking to her father at the door was completely washed away. Silver froze, although she had already walked enough of the distance to be in clear talking distance with the pony sitting cross-legged at the desk, holding a small note book in her right hoof and scanning over the contents, to which she returned to quickly after looking at her old friend. Silver felt almost completely ignored in that moment, as if she was just any other pony Diamond would have met today. She did not let it get to her, she did not let it crawl under her skin, and instead allowed her patience to settle in.

“Diamond?” Silver took the first step.

The pink little earth pony looked up from her desk. “Good afternoon, miss…?”

“It’s me, your old friend.” Silver responded dully.

Diamond stared at her blankly.

“Y,know? Silver Spoon?”

“Ah, miss Silver Spoon. I’ll have to save your profile in my list of acquaintances.” Diamond rested her notebook to her desk and smiled. “In the meantime, what can I do for you?”

Silver Spoon was at an absolute loss, boiling from within from hoof to nose. She wanted to flip out, to shout and cry at the same time, but instead she only looked over at Dinky with an exasperated stare. The little unicorn shrugged subtly and took a step forward, clearing her throat.

“Diamond, Silver Spoon here has come to talk with you personally.”

“Is that so?” Diamond raised a brow.

She felt like she was getting somewhere. “There’s something she’s been needing to get off of her chest, and you’re the only pony who can listen.”

“I see, I know what this is all about then.”

“You do?” Silver perked up.

“It’s astounding how many ponies neglect the fact that a journalist is one of the most crucial assets to a good news printing agency.” Diamond justified. “Banal as it may sound, it does my heart good to hear you take it to such a personal level.”

“What? That’s not what I-” Silver froze once again.

“Tell me,” Diamond began. “What was your first thought upon walking in here? What captured your interest the most?”

Both fillies were silent. “Was I supposed to answer that?” Dinky asked.

“Was it the inane size of my office chair?” Diamond walked over and gazed out the window as she spoke. “The scent of ink in the air? The sight of newspaper print stacked tall, or the tacky golden plaques over on the far wall, shimmering in the warm, afternoon light? You must be thinking to yourselves, how could some boring old office be interesting in any aspect whatsoever? That, my friends, is the key, the great blockade which banishes all creative thought and passion eagerly waiting to ooze out of the tip of every journalist’s stencil.” Diamond went on. “To put one’s sights, sounds, smells and thoughts into words is a truly tantalizing process, and if one can master it, they have the ability to make anything sound like the most interesting thing in the world. That is the story we strive to tell, that is the scoop.”

Once again, the fillies remained silent. “Was that supposed to be a sales pitch or something?” Dinky asked.

“I always ask the applicant whether or not they think they’re confident enough in their skills, not entirely for the sake of the company, but for the benefit of their passion.” Diamond turned back around and addressed the two. “So, do you two think you have what it takes?”

Silver stepped forward, a desperate look in her eye. “Diamond, please, listen to me.” She pleaded. “I know you’re upset with me, but it isn’t going to do either of us any good by pretending none of it ever happened, let alone act like you don’t even know me anymore.”

“We all deserve second chances, Miss Silver Spoon.” Diamond answered dutifully. “They may not always lead down paths we’ve already taken.”

“Why are you doing this?”

Suddenly, Silver Spoon felt a yank at her braid and yelped quietly as she was pulled back by the young unicorn, her mane in her teeth.

“What the hay was that for?” Silver snarled.

“Don’t push it, Silver, she’s obviously in deep denial.” Dinky told her.

“Huh?”

“I don’t know what you and Diamond went through, but I’ve seen this kind of thing happen before in my family. You’ll only push her further away from you.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?” Silver pouted.

“Isn’t it obvious? She’s already put the journalist job on the table. We’ll take her up on the offer and go write some stories, that way we have excuses to keep coming back.” Dinky explained.

“That’s not a bad idea.” Silver noted. “But can you write a good news story?”

“Well, I do daydream in class a lot…”

Silver groaned irritably and Dinky busied herself with a scratch of her head, the two ponies unaware of an enthusiastic Diamond Tiara creeping up on their little conversation. “So, willing to take a shot?” The news girl asked delightfully. “I can’t give you your badges today, but I’ll write your names down so I won’t forget.”

Silver looked beyond to the blanked out, hollowed soul hiding behind Diamond Tiara’s unwavering smile, and she looked back over to Dinky for a hint of help. The unicorn was stoic, confident, more courageous than Silver had ever seen the mare or known her to be previously. If a timid little pony like Dinky was so confident in a situation such as this, she figured she might as well take the evidence to heart and make her decision. Silver closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to lock away all of the memories of Diamond Tiara and herself for just this one moment. She looked back up with an equally stoic expression.

“This is my partner, Dinky Hooves.” Silver said. “We’ll be the best journalists you’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting…Miss Tiara.”

“I’m confident you will.” Diamond nodded back. “Miss Spoon, Miss Hooves, welcome to the club!” And she held out her hoof for a small sign of initiation. As the two little ponies took their turns shaking the pink earth pony’s hoof, she turned back around and grabbed the small notebook from on top of her desk. “This is for you, I’ve already written a list of locations around Ponyville that might be of interest to a worthy news event. But of course don’t forget, a good news writer has the ability to make anything sound interesting. In the meantime I want you to keep your eyes peeled, your ears open, and that brain of yours creative.” Diamond sighed delightfully and skipped back to her desk, hopping up to the chair and spinning around to face them. “I’m looking forward to working with you girls, you two seem like an excellent pair already. By chance, do you two happen to have a team name?”

“Team name?” Silver wondered.

“I got it! We’ll call you the ‘Scoop Sisters’!”

Silver recoiled in bewilderment, and Dinky began snickering to herself.

“If you have any problems with the name just let me know.” Diamond froze. “Oh, I almost forgot! Just one more thing…” She bent and reached into the bottom left drawer of her desk, pulling forward a small silver bell with a chestnut brown handle resting between her teeth. The earth filly jiggled her head and rung the bell, the tiny little metallic sound reverberating through the studio followed by a spell of silence. Dinky and Silver looked at each other, back to Diamond, and all around the room as they wondered what was supposed to happen next, and upon looking up they caught the sight of a single pony fluttering down from the rafters. His coat was an almost white, vanilla cream, his mane and tail a stark brown, complete with two enormous front teeth hanging from his upper lip and a silver-white feather as a cutie mark. The young colt was a pegasus, and he gracefully descended down to Diamond Tiara’s desk and skipped down to the floor to meet the two fillies below. “This is Featherweight.” Diamond continued. “My one and only news printer and gifted photographer. If you girls need any pictures to help liven up your story, this is your colt for the job.” She looked to the young pegasus with a curt, knowing nod. “Featherweight, you know what to do. Document everything.”

Dinky looked over the stallion carefully, noticing the camera hanging from a strap around his neck, an old fashioned looking model but in very fine, neat condition. The slender, gaunt architecture of his body told Dinky he clearly didn’t work himself out that much, but the solid shade of his coat and the clearness of his complexion told the little mare he was a young stallion who took care of himself well, and if anything the two front teeth were rather iconic. Silver proceeded to glance the pony over and sigh with a roll of her eyes.

“So what’s so gifted about your picture taking anyhow?”

Dinky nudged Silver’s shoulder, a hard stare upon her friend. “It’s called photography.” Dinky corrected.

“I don’t quite call myself gifted,” the boy’s accent pierced their ears. “but, if that is how other ponies must feel, I have no right to disrupt their admiration.”

Dinky’s pupils began to rise, and she was completely unaware of the blush forming upon her face. He sounds like he’s from Trottingham, just like Doc! Dinky exploded from within.

“Well, thanks for all the support, I guess.” Silver groaned internally and headed for the door. “C’mon, partner, let’s go get this over with.”

The gray earth pony was already out the door and far ahead down the hall when Dinky stopped and turned to give a friendly wave goodbye to the young stallion. Timidly, he lightly waved a hoof back and waited for the unicorn to shut the door before allowing a blush to form upon his face. The boy sat back and nervously began preening his feathers, ears flat as he froze and slowly looked back at Diamond Tiara, whom gave the young colt a confused stare. The tiny pegasus spread his wings and darted for the open panel in the large window, fluttering and soaring out to the expanses of Ponyville.

The pair of adolescents walked with heavy hooves down Town Hall’s front steps, more so heavier on Silver’s side, to which she halted halfway down and initiated her ritual sigh and hanging of her head. As the ponies of the afternoon bustled and hustled about their business, Dinky scanned each and every horizon in search of anything that might be of the slightest interest to their first story. It was all going too fast, too many sights to choose from, far too many sounds all commencing at once. A gardener finding a mysterious ball in the hedges he had been trimming, excavators finding a random mattress buried in the ground, an…orange-frog? The little unicorn shook her head to make sure she wasn’t seeing things, and soon enough turned around to the most interesting story to her in that moment.

“I’m sorry to have dragged you into this.” Silver apologized. “I thought it’d be as simple as walking up there and talking to her, but obviously it’s going to be a lot more trivializing than that. You can go home if you want, I’ll figure this all out myself…”

“Don’t go back on our truce!” Dinky reminded.

Silver blinked with realization and looked at her friend at the bottom of the stairs.

“You’ve already apologized to me once, I don’t need to hear it again.” Dinky went on. “If anything, the one pony you need to be working up an apology to is Diamond Tiara, and we’re going to figure that out together.”

“I suppose I’m just…taken back by your enthusiasm.” Silver shyly stroked her braid. “I’ve never had anypony who was willing to do so much for me.”

“You’ve never had a friend willing to do so much for you, right?” Dinky smiled. “Now c’mon, let’s find a scoop to write about. Something that Diamond would say, y’think?”

The little unicorn held a hoof over her forehead and squinted across the sights of Ponyville once more, whereas Silver quickly followed suit. She barely needed to squint herself, locating a pair of familiar colts huddling themselves between a few hedges on the side of a distant building. She nudged her friend in the side and pointed in the direction of the two ponies, nodded and making a beeline in their direction. Unbeknownst to them the pair of young colts were too engrossed in their work to notice the girls approaching from behind, and thus their conversation carried far enough to be within ear shot.

“Take it easy, Snails! That paper ain’t made of steel.”

“Oopsie, sorry Snips.” Snails chortled. “Wait’a minute, why’re we burying the biology notes again?”

“What’re you two morons up to?” Silver promptly asked.

“Yipe!” Snips jolted and spun around instantly. “I mean-what a terrific afternoon to get ahead on those biology notes, right Snails?”

“Did you want the pictures to be facing up or down?” Snails asked dully.

“Zip it, you dunce!” Snips snarled and zipped back around. “Yup, just some good ol’ biological research. Just look at these hedge leaves, so green and, uh…green!”

Silver stared at the two with a slack jawed expression, Dinky obliviously smiling in the meanwhile. The gray, young earth mare shook her head and began to turn around. “I don’t even know why I decided to waste my time with you in the first place. C’mon, Dinky, let’s go.”

Snips and Snails began to wipe the sweat off their brows.

“Now hold on, they might actually have something enticing to tell.” Dinky halted.

Just as quickly as it had gone, the sweat returned, far more profusely this time. This wouldn’t have been so nerve-wrecking had it been fellow boys instead of young girls approaching them, and it didn’t help in the slightest that they all attended the very same classes at the exact same schoolhouse. Snips internally cursed himself for not staying up late the night prior to finish the last few panels of the latest Power Ponies comic, for he knew his end was nigh. Snails in the meanwhile had already returned to his daydreaming, gazing stupidly up at the clouds and the birds buzzing by.

“I can’t believe it’s had to come to this, but I will pay you two anything to never tell a single living soul about this.” Snips bargained.

“What? I don’t want your guys’ money.” Dinky recoiled.

“You don’t? Well good, because I’ve got four good hooves and a few decent organs to spare.” Snips nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll let you pick what goes first.”

“That’s gross!” Silver countered. “Enough of this, just tell us about these ‘biology notes’, stubby.”

“No, please!” Snips pleaded. “How about an eye, or a tooth? My horn? I’ll give you my collection of hoofball cards!” The young colt blinked and looked down in Silver’s hooves. “Say, what’s that?”

“What’s what?” Silver Spoon quickly hid the notepad she had been carrying.

“Wait a second…” Snips began to speculate. “You girls are writers, aren’t you? Journalists?”

“What gave you that idea?” Silver glanced about desperately.

“I see what’s going on here, a trap!” Snips declared. “I know my rights, and my rights state that I’m not obligated to tell you anything.”

“He’s got us there, Silver.” Dinky pouted.

“Fine, whatever.” Silver seethed. “It’s not as if you two had anything more interesting going on in your lives than being stuck to gum. Are we done here?”

“Well…” Dinky considered. She turned to Snips and Snails. “I know you guys aren’t obligated to tell us anything, like you said, but could you at least give a couple fillies some advice or direction?”

“Of course.” Snips chuckled softly. “But it’ll cost ya.”

“We just wanna know if you guys have seen anything interesting around town lately. Y’know, because we’re journalists now.” Dinky took a glance back at Silver. “It’s for something unrelated, but I want to help my friend. You got any ideas?”

Snips considered that telling them to buzz off might be easier than he thought, but false information could come and back stab him sooner than anticipated. There were several, distinct locations which he and Snails had planted their “biology notes” that he wanted everypony and anypony to steer clear from, and the fact that nopony had even knew of these locations in the first place was the best course of steering he could ask for. Alas, he cursed himself once again for being caught, more so doing the deed in broad daylight. Suddenly, his friend got an idea in that hollow head of his.

“Say, aren’t you the girl who almost drowned in the lake?” Snails drawled obliviously. “That sounds like it’d make a great story. You should write about that.”

“Pipe down, ya’ big dummy, she’s right in front of you!” Snips growled at his friend, and quickly turned to Dinky. “Hey, listen, what those kids did to you was awful! Real jerks, and I hate them for it!”

“Yeah, I hate them too!” Snails agreed. “Er, why do we hate them?”

“Why, I’d call them things that I wouldn’t even say in front of my parents, like…shit-heads! Assholes!”

“Um, alright?” Dinky shrugged. “Thanks for doing the hard work, I guess?”

“It doesn’t end there, sister.” Snips pitched. “The way I see it, we unicorns gotta stick together in a town full of earths. If you ever need a couple of colts to teach those bullies a lesson, Snails and I got you covered. Of course, it’ll cost ya’.”

Silver’s ears fell flat against her head as she slowly shied away from the scene, and turned to leave the conversation at that. Her partner took notice and turned back to the two unicorn boys.

“My mom always says violence doesn’t solve any issue, so no thanks.” Dinky told them.

“Oh? Alright, well if you change your mind the offer still stands.” Snips called to her. “Just as long as you got the bits!”

As the two fillies trotted off, Snips waited for them to be out of ear shot, out of sight even before he broke his smile and let a loud, exasperated breath of air loose from his lungs. “Thank Celestia, haha! That was a close one…” He panted.

“Yeah, I totally wasn’t ready to fight those bullies.” Snails admitted.

Snips grimaced again and turned to his tall, seemingly unaware ally. “Forget the bullies! You better be on lookout for the rest of the afternoon, bub! Gimme that shovel…”

Chapter 21 - Welcome to P.W.P.

“Cirrus! Cumulus! Cirrocumulus! Cumulonimbus!”

Grainy, black and white images of clouds filtering through the sky were shown unto the pegasi.

“Rain! Snow! Thunder and lightning!”

Rumbles of thunder and harrowing winds roared by, ponies looking aghast and afraid. Not to mention, a little old-timey as well, whatever that might look like.

“The weather is an ever-changing prospect in the day to day lives of the citizens of Equestria. Therefore, it is up to us, the loyal pegasi of the weather to maintain, control, and enforce the ways of mother nature, with our abilities, given to us by mother nature.”

The crackling voice of the narrator sounded over the ponies’ ears, some listening with interest and intent, others…hardly even present by means of being conscious. The snoring was a tell-tale sign of their eagerness to learn.

“There is no greater force, no stronger will, no mightier wind than the gusts of a weather pegasus. This is the seventh division of the Cloudsdale weather factory. This is…the Ponyville Weather Patrol!”

“P.W.P. for short.” Sunshower announced, swatting her pointer against the black board. The bold, capitalized lettering shone stark white upon the chalky, black surface like an insignia of vivid propaganda to any pony clearly uninterested, but still working for the same name mentioned in chalk. “As I’ve learned the hard way, this is Ponyville.” Sunshower continued. “Though we may be miles away from Cloudsdale, that is no reason to deduct from ourselves the assets and abilities that which our pegasi brothers and sisters have hoofed down to us. As a weather patrol unit it is our duty to stay on course, remain vigilant, get up at five-thirty in the morning, run the safety checklist before entering the work field…Is anypony evening listening to a word I’m saying?”

Snores reverberated all around the room. Amazingly so, Open Skies’ snoring alone sounded like three ponies snoring at once, as many wondered if he did so on purpose. Clear Skies was always ready to give him a boot, kick his cloud, nudge his shoulder, and in this particular case kick his chair out from underneath him.

“Youch! What’s the big idea, Skies?” Open Skies rubbed his rump. “I got up at five-thirty for this?”

“You got here at eight, Owen.” Clear Skies, or rather Skies, corrected.

“Still feels like five-thirty.”

Clear Skies and Open Skies, the iconic duo of Ponyville’s weather patrol team. Curly and Larry might’ve been good names for them, but after having studied them for long enough, Sunshower determined they might as well be siblings, unmistakably brother and sister, and though they claimed having no blood relation whatsoever, ponies still speculated that the familial bonds they displayed were evidence enough to prove their relation. Sunshower was satisfied they had at least sorted out their names so they wouldn’t get confused with common nouns uttered in the work field every five seconds or so. For Open Skies, Owen was a fitting name for his tone of voice and stature, at least for a stallion. Skies was the only thing Clear was willing to go with, as she dared not to completely discard her original name. In more common cases, Open Skies was simply called Oskie and Clear Skies as Cskie.

“Blossomforth, what in Cloudsdale and back are you doing back there?” Sunshower gawked.

“Commencing my daily stretches, ma’am.” She replied. “This is about the time we get out on the field, don’t you think?” The pink and green maned pegasus was fixed into a position one might describe as a half-woven pretzel. Oskie had to refrain from looking back lest he lose what little breakfast he had consumed this morning.

“Neigh, we haven’t gone over basic safety protocols.” Sunshower grumbled in reply.

“I find it incredible she can still speak while looped around like that.” Cloud Kicker commented.

“Do you think she moves her organs and dislocates her bones?” Cloud Chaser followed up.

“Gross! But cool.” Cloud Kicker laughed, and the two pegasi hoof bumped.

“I find it incredible that Ponyville’s weather patrol unit is somehow still standing on all four of its hooves, even after the neglect its foundation has gone through.” Sunshower backed up to the black board and spun it around, the other side depicting a small graph with seemingly no progress at all. “Take a look at this, these readings are based off of records I found while digging around the office last night.”

“That explains the insanely scary, organized state of my work space.” Cloud Kicker crossed her hooves.

“This is the safety and work load checklist evaluation record five months ago.” Sunshower points to a blank, a nothing, zero.

Every pegasi is still and quiet.

“And this is the evaluation record now.” She points again.

“Why are you still pointing in the same spot?” Cloud Kicker asked.

“Because nothing has changed!” The Captain burst. “Let me put it to you simply, my fellow pegasi.” She took a deep breath, and came out with it. “This is an organization, not a playground.”

“You do realize that we work with huge, fluffy clouds floating around in the sky, right?”

“That doesn’t change a thing.” Sunshower argued. “No matter what the situation, there is never an excuse to perform poorly or even at a sub-par level in the line of duty. Keep this in mind, always when you are at work or at home, that we the patrol pegasi of the skies are the final step in this grand system that we call the weather. Thousands upon hundreds of thousands of clouds are produced every year at the Cloudsdale weather factory and sent to various locations across Equestria, Ponyville included. When the weather has arrived and the storm is on the front, it all comes down to us. Should we fail, all of the work the pegasi in Cloudsdale do for us and the citizens of Equestria will all be for naught! I implore you all to think about the stability of your careers especially in the next few weeks here.”

“You don’t mean-?” The crowd paused in disbelief.

“That’s right, pegasi.” Sunshower grinned, turning the black board once again. Somehow the previous writing had disappeared and was replaced with a new insignia. “I’m talking about Ponyville’s annual, final downpour of the season. The Last Rain.”

Groans of displeasure filled the room. “I thought it was about the doughnut party…”

“You’ll get your doughnuts.” The Captain held up her hoof. “But only after you’ve earned them. In conjunction with my late-night research, I followed up with another two hours after midnight to find that last year’s annual Last Rain had just barely slipped by and the weather team had received a mild scolding from Mayor Mare for nearly throwing her usual off-schedule tasks off schedule.”

“Captain, we’re understaffed.” Cloud Chaser raised a hoof. “How do you expect us to do all this work when we’re a few feathers short?”

“As I stated before when nopony was listening, I will be holding interviews later this afternoon.” Sunshower announced. “As for everypony else, I’ve got a plan to rejuvenate your wing power tenfold. All the work you need to do is right here…” For a final time, Sunshower spun her blackboard and the markings on the other side vanished to reveal a new set of figures. They spun and twirled into a series of regimen all serialized to the ponies in witness.

“I have organized you all into roles based upon your work flow attributes.” Sunshower’s pointer spiraled into the black board as she explained, the depictions resulting as such. “Oskie and Cskie, you two are the investigation duo, or as I like to call, Sky Watchers. The two of you are tasked with picking up useful clues and details around the work site. Report them to the station at the end of the day or whenever you feel it to be most convenient, and make conclusions based off of the evidence you have gathered.”

A creeping Cskie quietly fluttered up into a napping Oskie’s sleeping cloud.

“Your ability to work well as a pair is why I have chosen the two of you for this job. No horsing around.”

Cskie sounded her air horn, followed by a surprised and infuriated Oskie nickering hostility towards the giggling mare.

“Lyra Heartstrings.” Sunshower tapped the sheet of paper on her desk, viewing over the mentioned mare’s resume. “Let’s see here, it appears that you went to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns in Canterlot?”

“If I wasn’t sure then I never would have written it.” Lyra laughed from across the desk, rocking in her plastic, kiddy chair.

“Yes…” The Captain eyed both the paper and the mare cautiously. “And it appears you have written that statement in crayon.”

“I must’ve been in a rush, pen ran out of ink.” Lyra chuckled nervously.

“Your entire resume is in crayon.”

Silence emanated from the unicorn, nothing but an awkward grin and darting eyes.

“Let’s get to the bottom of it, shall we?” Sunshower started. “I don’t want to waste your time, my time, and especially not the Weather Patrol’s time. So tell me, would a unicorn such as yourself know any, and I mean any weather manipulation spells that would benefit this organization in either the short or long run?”

Lyra’s eyes went wide, she paused as a small light bulb lit above her head, which was actually just her horn lighting to life. “I can do…this!” She held an opening between her hooves, and Sunshower watched with the upmost dull, unsatisfied, complete and utter lack of amusement a pony could ever muster. Lyra was just flipping cards in her hooves from one hoof to the other, the pegasus didn’t even know why her horn was lit. Sunshower heard a noisemaker go off from underneath the chair, she knew why now.

「Lyra Heartstrings : REJECTED」

“Blossomforth, you are the situational director.” Sunshower elaborated. “Your task is to evaluate new and challenging situations and determine what must be done when an unaccounted for situation pops up. You’re responsible for moving ponies and assigning them with tasks to benefit operation and work flow in the vicinity of the situation.”

Blossomforth looped herself in many knots around a cloud to tie a special weather rope and snugged it taut, carrying several other clouds with her in tow.

“Your flexibility is why I have chosen you for this job.”

“So allow me to get this straight,” Sunshower stared into one eye. “You used to work at the post office?”

“That’s correct.” The wall eyed pegasus changed eye directions.

Sunshower leaned the other way, staring into the other eye. “And why is that?”

“Inane working environment, ma’am.” Derpy answered. “I’ll have you know I treat my coworkers with unconditional respect, but should they ever cross me-”

“What exactly was ‘inane’ about this working environment?” The Captain quested.

“To put it short and simple, my associates and I just didn’t see eye to eye.” Derpy tried to stare straight.

“I see…” Sunshower couldn’t choose which eye to look at. “It appears you’ve already fixed an address for your payroll?”

“Everything is down to the last letter, you won’t have to waste any time with the paper work.” The pegasus mother smiled dutifully. “I’m as ready to work as ever.”

Well, I do admire somepony ahead of their game. Sunshower considered. But still…those eyes. Should I ask? Maybe she has a pet chameleon or something.

“May I ask why it is that you want this career, Miss Hooves?”

“More than anything in this world I want the best for my two lovely daughters, and this work will give us more than plenty to live off of, you won’t see me going anywhere anytime soon.” Derpy reassured. “Aside from that, I will always try my absolute best no matter what the situation. You have my word, Captain.” The gray pegasus raised a hoof and saluted the pony across the desk.

Sunshower stared at her for a moment, considering her determination. She knew that the obvious need for money might be a red flag, but she simply shrugged and raised a stamp to the pony’s resume.

「Derpy Hooves : TENTATIVE」

“Cloud Chaser, you are the equipment and tools manager.” Sunshower furthered. “Your task is to keep tabs on every single piece of equipment in the supply closet, know their uses, and provide them to our team members at a moment’s notice. If a team member is unaware or does not know how to use a certain piece of equipment, which they should via the training program, you’re responsible for teaching them how safely and securely.”

Cloud Chaser could be seen up in the exterior Town Hall rafters doing wing pull ups.

“Your surprisingly strong and dexterous wings is why I have chosen you for this job.”

“And, Cloud Kicker?” Sunshower finalized.

“Yes, yes, yes?” Cloud Kicker trotted up gleefully. “What do I get? A super, secret mission? Laser eye vision? A trip to Whiny Land?”

“You get to file paper work in the office.”

“What? But I was already doing that…” Cloud Kicker pouted.

“There are doughnuts by the coffee maker.”

“On it, Cap’n!” Cloud Kicker saluted.

The Captain of the weather patrol was sitting at her desk reviewing over the progress of the day and scanning over resumes sent in to the station via the hiring notice practically posted all over town. As a result, only three resumes had been turned in. Three, so then where was the third applicant? Her thoughts ceased as Sunshower heard a loud thump clatter upon the roof of Town Hall. The pegasus simply sat still at her desk, staring all about the room as she heard hooves working their way across the roof, down the steps and into the building, where they finally came to a stop before the door leading into the patrol pegasi’s quarters. There was a double knock.

“Come in?” Sunshower sat expectantly, but wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

The panel swung ajar just a crack, enough for a pink, bright blonde-maned pony wearing a leather aviator’s helmet and goggles to poke her head through. She blinked at the Captain, and the Captain blinked back. “Hullo.” She said. “Is this a bad time?”

“Are you one of the applicants?” Sunshower asked.

“Oh, yes!” The mare had to contain her excitement. “For the weather patrol position.” She added.

“That would be correct.” Sunshower confirmed and waved her hoof. “Come in, have a seat.”

Without another word the pony slid inside and shut the door behind her, to which the Captain looked back up from her desk and saw what made her heart sink. The pony didn’t have any wings…She was an earth pony. Despite it, the earth mare found her seat and sat across from her interviewer, causing Sunshower to blink herself back into the moment.

“Miss Cherry Berry, is it?” Sunshower reviewed the resume. “I don’t recall you mentioning you were an…earth pony.”

“May I just say how much of an honor it is to be meeting somepony from the weather factory? Let alone Cloudsdale?” The mare chirped.

“I’m sorry, have we met?” Sunshower squinted curiously.

“It’s a possibility, I meet all kinds of pegasi in my hot air balloon.” She smiled from ear to ear. “Did you know that Town Hall has a landing pad? Neither did I!”

Sunshower peeked out the window, catching a glimpse of the balloon body over head. She snuck a look back at her applicant, noticing the pony’s aviator cap for a second time. The lenses were slightly fogged by what Sunshower could only recognize as the dew weather in the clouds above, evidence that the pony had in fact gained an altitude high enough for weather pegasi to function. Not only that, but she had rode an entire hot air balloon to her interview, even when it seemed that walking would have been the easier option.

“I suppose you don’t have a propeller installed?” Sunshower decided to ask.

“I maintain my route with the slipstreams after finding the right altitude, of course.” Cherry Berry explained. “It’s easy to ride the winds when you’re in Ponyville since it’s not that far from Cloudsdale. It’s common knowledge that this is a stationary front region.”

“Stationary fronts are common sky-highway mechanics.” Sunshower noted.

“Hence why I use them for transport instead of lower regions. I’m in a balloon the size of Sugarcube Corner for crying out loud, you think I actually want to run into other pegasi?”

“And what if, say, we were located on one of the coastal cities?” Sunshower challenged. “How would you compensate for the wind flow patterns?”

“It changes between night and day, doesn’t it?” Cherry Berry prodded her chin. “Fly by morning, return by night. I believe that’s how the saying goes. The sea breeze would be coming inland from the water during the day, so I would have to adjust to lower altitudes at daytime and higher at nighttime. That’s if I’m following the wind flow back towards the city, of course.”

I can’t believe it. Sunshower looked up from the resume. I wouldn’t have even put such a question in the interview for the weather patrol employees, but this mare’s got straight aces. She’s even studied climate operation theory for Celestia’s sake! I thought that was exclusive to some factory employees only. Her eyes began to sparkle, wide and hoping. I’d almost hire this pony right on the spot, if only… Sunshower’s eyes strayed down to the mare’s barrel.

If only…

“Cherry Berry, I have only one final question for you.” Sunshower prepared.

“Anything, ma’am.”

“Can you unfurl your wings for me?”

There was a brief pause, a sting of silence.

“I’m…” The pink mare’s smile seemed to fade. “I’m sorry?”

“Your wings.” Sunshower said calmly. “I would like to have a look at them.”

“I’m sorry, but I-” Cherry shut her eyes. “I don’t have wings. I was born an earth pony, ma’am.”

“This is not a gesture to shame you, I hope you know that.” Sunshower told her. “I only want you to realize just how hard this job would be for a pony without a natural means of flight.”

“You can cut half my pay.”

“I’m sorry, it won’t change anything.”

“Three-fourths!”

Sunshower slouched back in her chair and sighed, composing herself and looking the mare in the eyes. “Don’t get me wrong, Cherry Berry, you have displayed an excellent amount of knowledge in just a few short sentences, and if I were to hire you I would even be willing to lay out a promotion within a month or two notice, but you need to understand where I’m going with this.”

Worst of all, Sunshower was sure the pony already knew the answer, plain as Celestia’s sunlit, cloudless sky. This mode of denial, she knew, was unhealthy to be fixated upon wherein the only antidote was to be told the truth straight. However, for one reason or another she couldn’t quite place, the pegasus felt herself holding back. Finally, she came out with it.

“As Captain, I cannot jeopardize the stability of the weather patrol, more importantly I do not plan to jeopardize yours or anypony else’s well being. I know you plan to get around with your balloon or other means of…aviation, but just think that your co-workers and other ponies would be busy compensating for your mode of operation, working around you and at the same time falling behind on their own work, uh…” Sunshower felt her speech collapse. “Do you see where I’m going with this?”

“I…” Cherry Berry looked down, blinking hard. “I understand.”

The resume slowly found its way across the table and back over to the earth mare sitting in the opposite chair, a crumpled mass of hurt and dejection staring at the floor, her aviator cap slumping over her head. The pink mare’s hoof crawled up onto the desk and pushed the paper back toward the Captain.

“Go ahead.” Cherry Berry said. “I guess I just want some closure.”

Sunshower stared down at the flawless, perfect resume with heavy eyes. She raised her printing stamp, feeling her hoof try to push in the direction of green. She fought it, grabbed for the red stamp, and force her hoof onto the paper.

「Cherry Berry : REJECTED」

Chapter 22 - The Science Committee

Sparkling ribbons of light shone through the tall, arched windows like gold and white trails illuminating Town Hall’s main foyer and lobby space. The entire chamber was decorated with banners showcasing the Equestrian Science Committee’s insignia along with large, bold text which read “PONYVILLE E.S.C. 10” Some had mistaken the “10” for the year while others had mistaken it for the tenth committee meeting, wherein reality they were both right, even though they still found room to argue about it. The Ponyville Science Committee branch had risen five years before their first meeting, which took place at the beginning of the Second Diarchy Age, and thus the annual meetings would be in tandem with the year number as they progressed throughout the years.

Along the rotunda walls of the main lobby, several enthusiasts, lab researchers, and officials sat in their pews. A one Dr. Whooves was one such enthusiast and member of the committee, eagerly waiting for his turn to step up to the podium to deliver his speech regarding his latest research notes and technological breakthroughs. He nodded with mirth to the ponies beside him, in front of him and behind, but none seemed to care nor really share the same attitude he had been displaying that morning during his walk from his laboratory and to the Town Hall meeting. The mumbles and murmurs of the crowds ceased almost immediately as everypony’s attention was drawn to the podium at the center. Princess Twilight Sparkle ascended the steps and produced a neatly stacked sheet of papers to read from, clearing her throat to deliver her introductions.

“Good afternoon, everypony.” Her highness began. “Physicians, astronomers, mathematicians, alchemists, professors and enthusiasts alike, it is my honor to welcome you all to Ponyville’s tenth annual Equestrian Science Committee. In just the past few decades, our technology and research development has increased tenfold, wherein we have achieved extraordinary breakthroughs most specifically in the fields of weather manipulation and…agricultural business.”

Twilight immediately became wary of her wavering tone, especially on those last two words. The statement alone seemed slightly out of place for a science meeting, but she gave it a mental shrug and simply continued to repeat what was to be read off of the papers. She delved into the talk of increases of production flow concerning certain estates and their gross incomes. Organized weather patterns to help said estates, prototypes of equipment and technology to, once again, help said estates grow in their business. It felt like a monotonous list for an accountant reading off numbers with a bored, tired drawl. Twilight almost didn’t care that the one-sided discussion was getting plenty of approving nods from the majority of Ponyville’s finest “agricultural experts.” Where is the science? She thought inwardly.

Finally, she turned the page and her eyes brightened, schematics and diagrams were already in her midst. Patents by the name of Dr. Double-T Whooves laid beneath the drawings, and the Princess almost immediately spotted the stallion perking up from his seat as if by his senses alone he knew he was up to speech.

“And without further ado,” Twilight hastened. “Please welcome, Dr. Whooves.”

As the stallion stood and nodded to his bystanders, there were very few hooves rapping and clopping against the wooden boards, reverberating imitations of pencils and notebooks dropping to the floor, by mistake. Perhaps that’s exactly what they were. Whooves shuffled his way past the other members and to the front, giving a curt nod and grand smile to the Princess, whom warmly returned the favor. He fixed his tie, stepped up to the podium and drew breath for a long awaited speech.

“Gentlecolts, and gentlemares.” He began. “Like the weather, science as we know it is constantly changing in this day and age, and today I present to you a manner in which you will witness the field of technology change like your eyes have never witnessed, nor has your mind ever fathomed. After a particularly traumatic series of events, which was when I stubbed my hoof in my greenhouse last Tuesday, I beheld an astonishing vision. That vision, my fellow scientists, was the new and improved form of the transistor!”

From the far corners of the room, snickers and little groans alike could be heard being passed between one occupant and the other. Twilight gave little notice to their annoyances on account of the Doctor’s presentation, more fixated in the stallion’s showings, but even so the mutterings and mumbles managed to enter her scope.

“This again…” One grumbled.

“Silly, little doctor…” Another chuckled. “…and his silly, little toys.”

Hardly a scientist in sight. Twilight thought.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a projector screen rolled down in front of the banners and a light switched on, revealing a drawing of a simple box with three separate prongs protruding from the base. Twilight Sparkle’s eyes were dazzling with curiosity and wonder, while the rest of the meeting expressed silent gazes of confusion and face-hoofs.

“Imagine,” the doctor continued, “the transfer of information within the blink of an eye. Not a second, not milliseconds, but nanoseconds! With this small yet complex piece of technology, we open up to ourselves an entire world of possibilities.”

“And I’m afraid it will have to stop there.” A deep, Trottingham accent sounded throughout the lobby.

Dr. Whooves froze, the second voice had included itself with an entirely separate podium on the opposite end of the chamber. Where had it come from? And how had he gotten here so fast?

“Dr. Pace…?” Whooves gulped loudly.

“It’s always a pleasure to see you as well, Whooves.” Pace grinned. “Derailing yet another assembly, I see?”

“Derailing?” Twilight stepped forward. “Dr. Pace, is it? I’m sorry, but you must be mistaken. Clearly we are following the agenda as scripted.” She presented the papers.

“I am so sorry, your highness.” Pace humbled. “But it appears somepony had delivered to you an altered version of the schedule. Dr. Whooves, would you be so kind as to explain this?”

“I haven’t a thing to do with it!” The doctor growled a little involuntarily. Ears flat on his head he recoiled and cleared his throat to correct his speech. “This is a science based assembly, not a business meeting.”

“That may be so, but it doesn’t change the fact that the funding for you little project has been denied.” Pace grinned even wider.

“What?” The doctor went pale.

“I’m sorry, did you plan to wait until the end to hear this news? Woe is you, Whooves. Now it seems as though you almost have no reason to be here any longer, isn’t that right?”

“I…I don’t understand.” Whooves pressed a hoof to his forehead. “The research was flawless, the diagrams are perfect.” He shut his eyes and gritted his teeth to contain his frustration, giving a calm stare of ire to the colt across the room. “Whatever happened to doing things in the name of science?” He asked desperately.

Pace gave no answer but a simple chortle and a casual shrug. The spotlight on his side dimmed away as the stallion turned and walked away from his podium, leaving Whooves at a loss of what to do or where to go next. Twilight stood idly by in the midst of the unfolding dilemma, a small spark of sympathy begging to burst out and comfort the poor doctor with everything she could deliver. Alas, the meeting was only roughly halfway through its course, and after Whooves quietly reseated himself, the Princess returned to the podium and flipped to the next page.

The double doors slid apart and released a stream of science on-goers and enthusiasts babbling on about the endless list of agricultural businesses and their profits and how they planned to develop more harvesting technology for next season, gathering more bits and so on and so forth. Who was Whooves kidding? In a town full of farmers it was only natural they’d apply science to such things, and though he saw the good it might do for Ponykind, the doctor felt he was missing the greatness he could achieve from his ancestors and for his successors. The tan, chestnut brown maned stallion with a collar and green neck tie lumbered behind the rest of the members with heavy hooves, looking up to the lightly clouded skies with a longing gaze. He hung his head and began for home.

“Doctor!” A female tone called to him.

His ear flickered and brought him to turn the other direction, where to his astonishment the stallion was coming face-to-face with a concerned looking Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Your majesty!” Whooves pushed his muzzle to the floor boards. “My sincerest apologies.”

“Doctor, I’ve only had glimpses of your research and your work is amazing!”

“I’m so sorry, it won’t happen again-” The stallion blinked with disbelief, looking up. “Come again?”

“Let me just say that I am so happy that the topic of transistors was put on the table. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the concept for months, but it looks like you cracked the code.” Twilight responded with mirth. “An Alicorn such as myself may use magic instinctively, but it’s only natural that an earth pony such as yourself would look to utilizing certain conductive minerals. Whoops! I’m sorry, did I say that out loud?” Twilight blushed and laughed nervously.

To think a Princess would ever apologize to me. For what exactly? I’m not sure. Whooves thought to himself. Perhaps it would develop a new anomaly to base some ridiculous invention off of. The stallion shook his head and snapped himself back to the conversation at hoof.

“Of course, it is only natural, isn’t it?” He dismissively agreed, and sought for explanations to cover his silence. “The transistor is a simple invention with complex properties, but only for the fact that it may function on microscopic levels. That idea alone is what I believe fueled the breakthrough in this technology.” The doctor furthered. “The idea is not to make transistors bigger, but rather make them smaller.”

“That way you can use more transistors at a time and condense the work flow.” Twilight concluded.

“Precisely! Think of a bee hive, the uniform shape of the honeycomb and the way each and every hexagon is interlinked with one another. Where there ought to be space for the edges of the next hexagon over, that is the space of the next hexagon over because the hexagons share their edges together. That is the goal of not only interlinking multiple transistors together, but to reduce and condense the size of the transistor itself in adherence to the semi-conductive properties.” The doctor’s smile seemed to fade a little. “Alas, just as a honeycomb can only contain so much honey before growing wet and soggy, a transistor can only take on so much energy before succumbing to overheating. I do wish summers here were shorter, or to at least be back up in Trottingham where the weather is colder.”

“Actually, Doctor, this is why I came to you.” Twilight explained. “I believe I can develop a suitable remedy for these problems you’ve been running into. In fact, I already have a few procedures lined up that I’d like to test out.”

“My word, you have?” Whooves stood there, jaw-dropped.

“I’ve already devised the requirements for suitable funding, so you won’t have to worry about getting any from the committee.” Twilight’s gaze fell. “It really is a shame they failed to see the potential in your work. I think you spoke some brave words back there, the assembly really should be for the sake of science. It’s what it was built for, after all.”

Whooves’ jaw had nearly hit the floor by this point, and he had to shake his head again to click back into reality. “Your highness, this is a miracle, truly it is. I’m only curious as to what you believe you might gain from it? Surely I am in your debt?”

“As I said before, I’m willing to work together with you, your work has sparked inspiration in some of my own research as well.” Twilight went on. “Tell me, Doctor, have you ever heard of trying to find the key to the mind?”

“The key to the mind?” He repeated.

“It’s a personal term I use in researching the neurological transmissions within our brains.” Twilight pointed to her horn. “I theorize that we might be able to trace these transmissions like pathways and study their behavior, and in that sense one might be able to unlock the secrets of the mind. Just think about it, we could better interpret our dreams, replicate pieces of information from the past that we’ve totally forgotten about, all through means of science. To find the path to the center of it all, that is the key to the mind.”

“This all sounds astounding, but something tells me this kind of experimentation may very well require a test subject, and a live one at that.” Whooves noted. “You wouldn’t be willing to have a willing occupant, I presume?”

“That would be myself, of course.” Twilight confirmed.

“Your majesty…”

“Please, I know what you’re going to say, but think of the possibilities first!” Twilight pleaded. “There have been plenty of researchers in history who gave themselves up for the endeavor of science.”

At this statement the Doctor had immediately and understandably became very worried. His mind wandered back to days spent in Trottingham, when the endeavor of science was the only thing he ever yearned for and the only thing he ever cared about, above sleep, above eating, even above those he came to love and lose. Though she might have been a Princess, Whooves knew the mare was very young, experienced in some fields, but unaccounted for in others. Clearly she had it in her mind to bring the consequences down upon herself and herself alone should anything go wrong, all whilst unknowingly neglecting the fact that in her efforts she just might end up hurting the things and the people she cherished most in this world.

Science has wrought as many plagues as it has cleansed in this world. The memories returned to him. If only there was a way to cleanse the plagues which you wrought. If only, if only…

“If only we had more time!” Came a distant voice.

“Yes…Yes, that’s it!” Whooves twirled around, laughing wildly. “Time is the answer!”

“Uh, a hello to you, too?” Amethyst Star recoiled.

“Heavens and stars, I didn’t see you there.” The doctor took a step back and fixed his tie. “So sorry, dear Amy, have I spoiled your date?”

“He’s not my-!” Amethyst growled and shut down altogether, hanging her head and sighing deeply as she turned to her partner. “This is the Doctor, the stallion who came from Trottingham. He’s a good friend of mine.”

“Ah, a doctor!” Ronin stepped forward, almost bowing his head on instinct. “I specialize in flowers and many herbs myself.”

“He’s not that sort of doctor, in case you didn’t know.” Amethyst informed.

“But a doctor nonetheless.” The colt persisted. “Ronin Edelhoof, pleased to meet you.”

The two met hooves and shook like proper gentlecolts. “It’s a pleasure to meet a foreigner such as yourself.” The doctor smiled. “You’ve come from Neighsia, I take it?”

“The Village of the Moon, to be precise.” Ronin smiled eagerly.

“Whickering stallions, what a story this boy is.” Whooves was breathless.

“He never bothered to tell me that…” Amethyst slumped.

“Have you two met the Princess of Friendship herself?” The earth stallion stepped aside and invited the Alicorn forward. “Her majesty and I were just discussing our latest endeavor.”

“Oh yeah, the one about the toaster?” Amethyst reminded.

“That’s erm…a project I’ve kept dormant, and for good reason.” The doctor quietly hoped his company would not discover the marks behind his ear. “But no, my good Amy, this one involves the business of transistors!”

“So, another word I can’t pronounce?”

“It’s only three syllables.” Ronin drawled. “But, ah yes, we know you struggle with those.”

Amethyst snuck the young colt a sneer, and turned back to lock eyes with the Princess. She and her majesty stared at each other with a hint of ire and uncertainty, more so jealousy coming from the young unicorn mare’s end. She turned and locked her gaze to the floorboards to avoid giving the Alicorn any accidental signs of hurt or suppressed revenge. Amethyst internally told herself she was better now, she was past those days, and yet the lingering thoughts remained. It was almost as if she needed to full-on tackle the Princess to the ground just to make herself feel better.

“Though I must admit, our Princess is quite the dare-devil. Her dedication worries me so.” Whooves mentioned.

“If you’re not up to the task after all then I’ll let you know that the offer still stands.” Twilight said to him. “After all, I am a Princess, I can take care of myself just fine.”

A hint of fury flared through Amethyst. She had to physically turn away to control herself. Ronin looked back at her with concern.

“Well, when you put it that way, how could I decline?” Whooves readied himself. “I’ll take your offer then. We’ll work together to make this project the greatest breakthrough in science since sliced bread.”

“It’s settled then.” Twilight extended her hoof, and once again Whooves raised his own and shook on it. “I’ll make preparations so you can meet me at the castle tomorrow morning. I’d love to stay and chat but it seems now I’ve got plenty of work to do.”

It nearly seemed as though, at least to Amethyst, that Twilight got a certain message about the shaken air surrounding the seething unicorn. As soon as the Princess had spread her wings and taken flight, Amethyst turned back to her company with a hard, solid stare.

“What was that all about?” Ronin questioned.

“Nothing.” She answered sternly. “It’s just…never mind. I’ll get over it.”

Ronin tucked his ears and leaned over to Whooves. “Do mares usually feel this competitive?”

“In all my years of scientific research, mares remain but a mystery, young lad.” The doctor confirmed.

“I can only wonder what kind of research went into your trials.” Ronin chuckled.

“Mares are quite simple, really. However, there is never a clear answer. Never.” Whooves explained. “Hypothesis: Is my secret admirer allergic to flowers? Test: I buy her a bouquet of carnations and present them to her. Results: A honey bee emerges and stings her on the muzzle. Her nose looks like a tomato and the left side of my face is numb and ringing like mad! Conclusion: I probably should have just bought her some chocolates.”

“And what if she’s allergic to chocolate?” Ronin asked.

“Great Whickering stallions…” Whooves pondered deeply.

“What’re you guys talking about?” Amethyst wondered.

“N-Nothing important!” Ronin answered quickly, his eyes darting around nervously.

As Amethyst gave the young colt a hard, speculating stare, a holler from across the Town Hall plaza could be heard from afar. Whooves’ attention was drawn out to a sprawl of tables and chairs sitting outside beneath the awning of a small diner cafe, and there on the adjacent end waving her hoof about sat Rose Luck, calling to the doctor with a swooning, inviting smile. Whooves took a few steps forward and called back to the couple at the stairs to say his goodbyes and deliver his good luck. After a moment more the stallion was off and seating himself with the young, floral mare.

“I’m about ready to call it a day.” Amethyst sighed. “By this point I don’t think we’re going to get any further in our investigations than we already have.”

“Now wait a minute, you mentioned the doctor had a private greenhouse, right?” Ronin suggested. “We could look for clues there.”

“What’s the point?” Amethyst pouted. “If anything had happened to it Doc would’ve told me by now. I guess he’s just too fixated on his date.”

Ronin took a glance over at the new couple sitting outside of the cafe. Their smiles were genuine and their laughs out loud. The young stallion trained a speculative eye on the scarlet maned mare, even being able to spot her green eyes from so far away.

“If the doctor’s greenhouse hasn’t been hit like you said, then maybe that’s another clue.” Ronin speculated. “Think about it, every garden raid we’ve been to has been outside. I know there are very few greenhouses around Ponyville, but even so none of those have been hit.”

“That just means the culprit couldn’t get inside.” Amethyst answered. “It’s not uncommon to see a lock on a greenhouse, and I don’t think broken windows would be the stealthiest of choices for our masked marauder.”

“But that is my point, you see?” Ronin furthered. “What if our culprit didn’t need to break in at all? It would be smart for them to have a base of operations, don’t you think?”

“Are you accusing Doc to be a part of this crime?” Amethyst got up in her partner’s muzzle. “Listen, pal, I don’t know where you get your ideas from-”

“I’m speaking from relative experience.”

“What do you mean…?” Amethyst took a step back. “You were-?”

“Yes, I was once betrayed.” Ronin told her. “By my own relative.”

The young unicorn sat back quietly and considered her partner’s words. She was prepared to tell him that she and the doctor weren’t even related in any manner, but their relationship might as well have been bond enough, and Amethyst took that to heart. She believed the doctor would never do such a thing, never. He was supposed to create things that protected other ponies, not hurt them. She knew for a fact he had never hurt another soul in his entire career as a doctor.

“Relatives can be a fickle business,” a supercilious tone came from behind them. “Wouldn’t you agree, oh brother of mine?”

“I couldn’t agree with you more.” Another followed suit.

Amethyst and Ronin whipped around quickly, their gazes locked as the wind rushed past them and to the characters spinning wildly upon a background of rushing, rising arrays of colors. Two stallions, tall and creamy yellow, both unicorns with red and white manes, began to twirl and dance as though the circus were in town.

“Prepare for conglomeration.”

“In the heart of a capitalist nation.”

“We seek a fair trade.”

“In the midst of your garden raids.”

They both flared their horns, and instantly a plethora of trumpets sounded to complete their introduction.

“He’s Flim!”

“He’s Flam!”

“We’re the-”

“Flim Flam Brothers?!” Amethyst recoiled as though in defense. “I thought the Apples ran you clowns out of town! What gives?”

“Nothing can strike down the strong will of a good business, my dear.” Flam said to her, his mustache shuffling from side to side.

“You stole half the orchard’s supply of apples and tried to overthrow their cider-fest in the middle of their sales hour.” Amethyst reminded. “Not to mention you two lost to the Apples.”

“A strategic maneuver on account of our broken down wagon.” Flim quickly answered, stroking his clean shaven complexion. “You can’t always trust science, but you can trust a good deal.”

“And what might that be?” Ronin butted in.

“What the hay do you think you’re doing? Don’t encourage them.” Amethyst pushed the unicorn colt away. “These guys are nothing but bad news, everypony in town knows it. I don’t blame you because you’re new here, but trust me when I say these bit hoarders will charge you a hoof and a hind for nothing but junk.”

“Not to worry, my dear, the deal is a fair trade we can reassure you.” said Flim.

“You have something that we want, and we have something that you want.” told Flam.

“No bits required.”

“No refunds.”

“After all-”

“Trading is the oldest and fairest business of all!”

“Listen, Abtrot and Coltstello, don’t make me have to take you by the ears and scream into your face ‘we’re not interested’ because right now I’m granting you the kindness of telling you to take a hike.”

“She’s a stiff one, brother.” Flim said.

“I couldn’t agree with you more.” Flam reached into his vested shirt. “Perhaps our therapy cat, Meowf, shall suade her so?”

“Therapy cat? Isn’t that like for ponies in a coma or who feel lonely or something? Hey! Are you trying to call me an old cat lady? I’ll have you know I-” Her speech cut out as her eyes dazzled brilliantly. “Aw~ aren’t you just the sweetest wittle guy? Who’s a good kitty?” Amethyst cooed.

“Now flip the switch, brother.” Flim reminded.

“With pleasure.” Flam activated the toy cat.

“Oh, is he purring?” Amethyst studied the cat. “Kind of sounds like a machine-GAH!”

Meowf lunged forward, limbs sprawled and claws unsheathed, gnashing like a wild, hungry piranha as it tore into the young mare’s mane. She spun around and danced across the walls, desperately trying to yank the cat off of her head, but to no avail. As the screams of an Amethyst bounced upon Ronin’s ears from the background, he decided to leave her be for a moment or two, deducing that she was getting what she deserved at least for the time being.

“You seem to be an adamant salespony, young lad.” Flam addressed Ronin. “You wouldn’t happen to be interested in our offer, would you?”

“I think I know who you people really are.” Ronin said coldly.

“Y-You do?” Flim was genuinely worried.

“Yes, my uncle warned me about your kind.” Ronin explained. “Salesponies like you litter Equestria from one coast to the other, constantly advertising, constantly devising ways to gather as many bits as possible. Does the pursuit of wealth not harbor a realization of greed?”

“Your uncle taught you well.” Flam flattered. “But this is a trade, my dear boy, not an exchange of currency.”

“You do that sort of thing all the time where you come from, right? Trading, I mean.” Flim followed.

“Just what exactly is it that you have that we want?” Ronin tried.

“Don’t you already know? It’s what you’ve been searching for all along.” Flam nodded to Amethyst, who was swinging the cat over her head and slamming him to the floor. The cat turned around and performed a Germane suplex on her. “You and your friend, that is. We hold practically every answer you’ll ever need to your little investigation you’ve got running.”

“I don’t believe you.” Ronin snorted.

“Why not?” Flim interjected. “My brother and I have trotted these lands for years, most specifically the Ponyville region, whereas you only stopped by a few weeks ago? A few days?”

“However could your knowledge compare to ours?” Flam stepped in. “You’re a smart, young stallion, of that I have no doubt, but just think of how much smarter you’ll be when you accept our deal.”

“You see, we too are a part of the science committee, and the talk about those transistors was like nothing we’ve ever seen before.” Flim furthered. “You know the Doctor, right? If not you then surely your friend over there does.”

Amethyst and Meowf were in a heated game of checkers. Meowf hopped over every one of Amethyst’s chips and got “king me” or something. I don’t play checkers, I don’t know how it works. She flipped the board in fury.

“All we ask for is a copy, even a simple excerpt of the transistor blueprints which your doctor friend has stored away.” Flam offered his hoof. “In exchange, we will deliver to you every detail imaginable, every source of information you could ever need to get this investigation of yours off the ground.”

Ronin looked down at his own hoof nearly hovering over to Flam’s as though he were about to accept the trade. The young foreigner had barely gotten a word in and these two were overwhelming him with their chatter, Ronin could barely think straight.

I don’t know what these transistors are or how important they’re meant to be, but despite it, Amethyst and I are desperate for leads. He thought to himself. We’re desperate for anything at this point.

“Deal?” Flim and Flam leaned in closely.

Ronin’s hovering hoof landed onto Flam’s and the two shook on it.

“Brilliant! We’ll be expecting those transistor blueprints later tonight.” Flam smiled widely beneath his mustache. “You know where to find them, correct?”

“Just meet us at the Lucky Clover, 9 o’clock sharp this evening so we can settle the deal.” Flim followed, and turned to his brother. “Shall we call back Meowf?”

“We shall.” Flam nodded, and clopped his hooves together twice.

Amethyst and the automated feline were in the midst of a broken cider bottle slashing fight. The cat dropped the bottle and scurried over to its owners, climbing up onto Flam’s back as the two nodded with knowing gazes towards Ronin and trotted off in the other direction. The lone stallion looked over and approached his partner desperately trying to fix the many disheveled porcupines that was now her mane.

“W-What? What did you just do?” Amethyst eyed her partner wildly. “What did you say to them?”

“Nothing! I just-” He hesitated. “Shook their hoof…”

“On what?!”

“The doctor’s blueprints, they wanted them.” Ronin explained slowly.

“Oh…Oh Celestia…” Amethyst pressed her hooves to the her temples. “This is bad, real bad.”

“Please, understand that I did this to protect them.”

“Do you realize what you’ve done?!” Amethyst shook Ronin by the shoulders. “Where else am I going to get butter for my toast?”

“I knew they were going to try to steal the prints anyways, so I cut a deal with them.” Ronin explained. “This way we have time to give them the ‘prints’ instead of the prints. You follow me?”

“We have to warn Doc about this-” Amethyst froze. “No, no we can’t! He’ll kill me, find a way to bring me back to life with science, and then kill me again!”

“They said to meet up at the Lucky Clover.” He added.

“The bar?” The young mare gawked. “Do they realize we’re, like, fifteen!?”

“The limit doesn’t apply in my country.”

“Well we’re not in your country, now are we?” Amethyst seethed for a moment before recomposing herself. “Enough of this nonsense, I’ve got a plan. C’mon, it’s about time you see Doc’s lab, I guess.” The mare prepared herself to trot off in the direction of Whooves’ home, only to watch a piece of her mane fall from her head and disintegrate into ash on account of Meowf’s plasma vision. “Right after I take a bath.” She decided.

There was nothing more satisfying than watching one’s own creation come to life, whether it be through chemicals or energized coils, either way it was the work of physics. Even though Whooves knew it all to be physics, the mere collaboration of molecules into atoms, atoms into protons, neurons and electrons, so on and so forth, everything still felt so alive to him. For there was living in the non-living, and vice versa. If the very elements that made up what was classified as “life” were thought to be devoid of it, then perhaps the idea of life as they knew it was something that needed serious reconsideration in the field of science.

“Doc?”

Memories of old invited their way into his mind. It’s only one more. One said. It’s not even alive. Another said.

“Yoohoo? Doc?”

Not alive, not yet at least…

“Was your science meeting that bad?” Rose Luck ha-rumphed. “Sheesh, Doctor, why don’t you answer me?”

He shook his head and blinked back to reality. “Why, no, it wasn’t. I mean, yes it was-I mean!” He attempted, and sighed in defeat. “My mind was on something else, that’s all.”

“Why not try living in the moment for once?” Rose teased, ruffling his mane. “That big ol’ brain of yours has gotta take a break sometime, don’t it?”

“If only I could help it.” He chuckled to himself. “Something always seems…amiss. Not exactly in a bad way, but neither a good way, even if I do get excited at each and every opportunity to practice my expertise. Well, almost every opportunity. Whether it be carrying the digits of a cart-rolling momentum equation or schematicizing a brand new butter tray, the call to think, plan, strategize and execute may never leave this tired soul, and that may be because the universe wills it so. The call is external, and the answer rises from within, my heart beats for science, for adventure, for…Have you…? Have you been listening to me? Rose?”

“Ugh, what a sore sight for eyes.” Rose drawled in the other direction. “Repulsive.”

Whooves blinked at the mare and trained his eyes in the direction she had her own, spotting a pair of figures in the distance. One was a perfectly normal looking unicorn with perfectly normal looking…ponyness and unicornyness aspects to her. The other, not so normal, by pony standards. A tall, pink, bipedal creature with brown moppy hair atop it’s tiny head, clothes from the shoulders and down to the calves of its legs. What had the civilians called it again? The monkey? Whooves decided that it needed a new name, then again he could just ask the lad, but where was the fun in that?

“Man.” Whooves stated.

“What?” Rose looked back.

“I had heard that word once before, and never quite knew where it came from or where to place it, until now.” The doctor confirmed, nodding calmly in the direction of the human. “That, my dear Rose Luck, is a man.”

“You are so weird, y’know that?” The mare shook her head, sipping her latte and looking back in the direction of the pony and the human. They appeared to be mirthful and uppity in their discussion, whatever the two were talking about. “Whatever you or anypony else calls it, I don’t like it.” She justified. “I can’t believe the Princess lets that thing walk around town like that. Somepony should contain it or send it back to the forest where it belongs.”

“It couldn’t possibly be that harmful, or at least I don’t believe so.” The doctor commented.

“Have you spoken to it?”

“No, but that unicorn over there seems to be having a wonderful chat with the man.” He pointed out.

The couple snuck a look back to the boy and his friend prancing away into the streets of Ponyville with birds and butterflies buzzing about.

“I realize you have an innate fear of the unknown, Rose.” The doctor continued. “Trust me, I was perhaps just as frightened as you were when I first laid eyes upon the beast, but my perspective of the world allowed me to look the other way.”

“And just what kind of outlook is that?” Rose wondered.

“Well…” There was an astounding choice of words to pick from, the doctor could hardly contain his excitement as he began to expel his vision to the young mare before him. “There’s life all around us, dear Rose, and it comes in many different shapes and sizes, figures and forms. Tell me, have you ever looked deeply and longingly into another pony’s eyes? What do you see when you look into their eyes?”

“I see…” Suddenly, Rose felt the urge of romanticism welling up from inside, her half lidded gaze twinkling beautifully into Whooves’ brilliant, blue beads. “I see a strong, smart stallion, willing to do anything for a mare in need…” She cooed.

Whooves gazed deeply into Rose’s green stare. “I see toast.”

“Huh…?”

“Butter and toast!” The doctor laughed. “Astounding, isn’t it? The ability to see anything from everything, and vice versa. We all stem from the same cluster, the same origin point, why the possibilities are endless!”

“I fail to follow your gaze, Doc.” Rose Luck mused.

“As I’ve said before, there is life in everything around us. The birds, the bramble, the trees, and it doesn’t stop there. Take your teacup, for example, or the table we are sitting at. Who is to say that is not alive from outside of an abiotic classification?” The doctor furthered. “Organic chemistry can be quite the mystery maze, I agree, but does it not occur to these scientists that there are no fine lines in nature? Rudimentary classifications should not strictly indoctrinate what is and isn’t living in this world, or any other world for that matter.”

“Whoa, time out, you’re hurting my brain.” Rose chuckled to herself, shaking her head over the seemingly ridiculous claims this crazy colt was making. “You mean to tell me you actually think inanimate objects are alive?”

“In the traditional sense, no, but what I’m talking about are the very building blocks of creation. They govern both living and non-living things, or at least what we claim to be so.”

“No offense, Doc, but I think you’ve got the wrong perspective here.”

“Wrong perspective…?” The doctor scanned over those words for a moment.

“Trust me, it’s way simpler than you think it is.” Rose looked past the table and pointed in the opposite direction. “See that tree over there? Living. And that squirrel climbing up the trunk? Easy, that’s living too.” She looked down and picked up a small pebble from beneath her hooves. “See this rock? Dead. Well, not like it was living in the first place, but you get my point. Right?”

“I see…” the doctor hung his head. “...that you fail to grasp my understanding of things, but that’s alright. It was expected.”

“Oh, Doctor, it’s not that I don’t understand you it’s just that…” Rose pondered over her next words, albeit shortly. “Well, it’s just that I don’t have to think about it too much because there’s really no so much to think about. Easy, right?”

“Yes, it is easy, isn’t it?” Whooves responded glumly. “After all, that’s what science is for, right? To make things easier for us?”

It was at that point that the doctor sensed his words and mumbles falling upon deaf ears. There was no reason to belittle or desperately attempt to council those who didn’t understand, it was just the way other ponies saw things, how could they help it? Whooves only wished he could help himself see through a different light, if only to lift from himself the burdens which he hoisted upon his haunches since early childhood and onward. He knew it was his fault, he knew that these endeavors would take him places he did not want to go, and yet the calling was still there. Above all else, he pressed onward.

Living, non-living, either way it was all the work of physics. So what if a few lives were lost? It was all the work of physics. A few dozen? A few hundred? Would the numbers ever end? If only, if only…

If only I were never born at all. He thought drearily.

Chapter 23 - The Lucky Clover

A strange, familiar feeling washed over the boy as his eyes were fixed to the stars above, a warm breeze blowing by as he walked side by side with his friend. The street lit corners of Ponyville that night were very sparse, thin and dimmed to the near point of pitch-black invisibility. How could any of these ponies see where they were going at night? The boy wondered.

“A full moon.” Silver Spanner’s eyes shone toward the night sky. “We also call it a ‘bright moon’ or ‘new light’ here in Equestria.”

“It’s very bright.” David agreed. “I can make out the details from here.”

“Do you have a moon where you come from?” Silver wondered.

“We do, and hundreds upon thousands of stars, too.” He scratched his scalp. “Most nights though I couldn’t make out as many stars in the sky since the cities would keep their lights on, shining out what sights space had to offer.”

“That’s why we have most of our streetlamps switched off, to compensate for the brightness of the moon.” Silver could hardly carry her gaze away. “I hear that it’s also a means of veneration to her majesty, Princess Luna.”

“She’s the loud one, right?”

Silver Spanner laughed. “She was quite the boaster that one Nightmare Night, but that won’t be until next month.” The unicorn trotted ahead down the cobblestone street, placing herself at the entrance to a building and looking back at her companion. “Anyways, you ready to get your circuits shorted?”

“About that-” David stopped short before the mare, rubbing his hair. “Not that I really know what that means, but…”

His gaze craned upwards towards the bright neon sign with brilliant lights and finely crafted wooden edges, glowing a murky green in the dim blue light from above. The Ponish written upon the sign made little sense to him, but the icon of the giant four-leaf clover next to the text gave him all the answers he needed.

“I think I’m starting to have second thoughts about this.”

“Now?” Silver stared, brows raised.

“I’m sorry, it’s a condition-”

“You’re a little nervous, so what?” She approached him. “All it takes is getting your hooves in the water. Er, well, your hands I guess.” And she smiled. “You’ll get used to it, I promise.”

“If you haven’t already figured it out, I’m not a very social guy. That’s how I was back home, and I can already tell nothing has changed now.” David hung his head and turned around. “I guess I’ll just take the walk of shame. See you tomorrow?”

“Oh no you don’t!” The mechanic mare swung around and forced him back towards the bar. “You promised we’d do this tonight. More importantly you promised this to yourself, remember?” The boy was resisting, but Silver pushed harder. “You’re the Royal Equerry, you should get to know just about every pony in town, or at least make an effort to.”

“I don’t understand why you unicorns want me to fulfill these tasks that are way over my head!” He leaned forward and leapt over Silver’s head, swinging downward and stopping himself with his hands, only to tumble and flip upside down, his rump to the side of the building and his head on the cobblestone. The boy watched as the pony with a discouraged, lowered gaze slowly approached him. He turned himself right side up and dusted himself off. “I’m sorry, Silver Spanner, but I’m just not cut out for these sorts of things.”

“What did you usually do back on your planet?” She asked.

“Cooped myself up in my room and watched anime.” He admitted.

“Then you and I aren’t so different.” She told him. “We may not have done the same thing, but ever since I was young I found my solace by staying indoors. I’d lock myself in my room and tinker around for hours, completely ignorant to the world outside my window. Whenever I saw how much fun the other fillies and colts were having, I’d let it pass me by. Whenever they invited me to play or go on some grand adventure, I’d always reject them. Only when that yearning to share my laughter with others finally came about did I realize it was too late. My younger years were behind me, and all I had to look forward to was…well, the only thing I ever really learned how to do.”

Her gaze diverted from the cobblestone and returned to the moon above them, the brilliant hues of silver-white and blue casting silent rays of reverence all across Ponyville.

“I know I’m in no position to be arguing about this, but even so I have no reason to give up on making friends, and neither do you. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“I guess so.” David shrugged.

“Just think about it.” Silver Spanner urged. “Deep down inside, who do you really wanna be? Where’s that David waiting to break free and show ponies what you’re really all about? Don’t believe in the David that believes in quitting, believe in the one that believes in winning!”

The unicorn’s quote struck a strange chord within the boy, something deep down that triggered a tick, a click, like a forgotten cog working again within the pit of his dormant mind. His golden eyes slowly swiveled over to the mare, staring her dead on with a fixed, estranged gaze. He was prepared to utter something in return, but her warm smile said it all, and it elicited a grin of his own. The boy knew that nothing more needed to be said, and so he stood and dusted himself off a final time.

“Thanks, Silver Spanner.” He said confidentially. “I think I’m feeling a lot better now.”

“Ready to tackle this bar?”

“Hell no.” He laughed.

Silver Spanner looked at him deadpanned. She flared her horn to life and forcibly dragged him inside of the tavern.

“I didn’t arrange for this!” He cried.

“And you didn’t have to.” Amethyst pushed as hard as she could with her fore-hooves. “Mom’s already all dolled up for you, so get out there and show her how a good stallion treats his mare!”

The Doctor’s laboratory quickly became filled with the noises of bickering and whinnies from both sides of the argument. Whooves had sat himself down for a quiet evening in, a late night snack that meant butter on toast, and just a bit of extra butter for precautions. As expected by his calculations it wasn’t enough, and thus a roaring Amethyst raising Tartarus from the earth had barged her way in throwing objects here and there and making the poor doctor quickly decide if any of the other identical green ties in his closet looked better than any of the others. The one he had been wearing was stained with butter, of course.

“Can’t we just settle down in the kitchen?” He dug his hooves into the floor boards. Whipping around, he pulled forth an accessory. “By chance we could test my new scented candles? Butter scented-”

“Forget the candles.” The unicorn batted them away. “Just take her to the park for me, someplace you don’t gotta pay bits.”

“The sun has fallen beneath the horizon already! We’ll be bumbling in the dark.”

“Please, Doc, you have to understand this is very important.” Amethyst took a deep breath and reconsidered her tone, something more convincing. “Mom keeps talking about how you and her haven’t talked to each other in forever, she keeps bringing up all the times you two had together, all the adventures you had. You remember those times, right?”

“But, why now?” The doctor questioned. “Don’t get me wrong, I admire your mother dearly, but I fail to see the reason behind this sudden undertaking for nostalgia.”

“She misses you, Doc.” Amethyst pleaded up at him with puppy eyes. “She really does.”

There were sweet little lies dabbed into the mixing dough and Amethyst knew it, and she intended to hide it well. It was strange how the Doctor could only ever see the suspicious and deceptive parts of machines as opposed to ponies, at least if they weren’t so upfront about it, and it was that factor which the young unicorn intended to use to her advantage. No matter how deep the gash in her heart would grow for this small betrayal, Amethyst was determined to salvage the Doctor’s work and get her answers. The bait had been cast.

“If this means so much to her…” Whooves sighed, fixing his butter stained tie. “Then alright, where shall I take her?”

And so he bit. Amethyst struggled to contain her enthusiasm as she quickly began to push the stallion out the door, grabbing a long, multicolored scarf off of the coat hangar.

“Wherever you see fit!” She answered. “Here, throw this around your butter tie, don’t want to look like a slob in front of your date, do you?”

“Date?!” The doctor stood on end. “We’re merely friends! Pals, chums!”

“Welcome to my world.” Amethyst grunted, shutting the door. “Have fun!”

She turned and sped for the laboratory, climbing up onto the work bench and clamoring upon test tubes and large coils to reach for the upper window. She undid the latch with her magic and whispered harshly into the night, patiently awaiting a response as soon after, a young stallion’s hooves hung onto the window’s sill in a desperate attempt to pull himself upward.

“Couldn’t we have just waited-” He winced. “-to use the front door?”

“Suck it in, sumo.” Amethyst grabbed Ronin’s torso with her magic and pulled with all her strength.

The sound of a cork popping from a bottle reverberated through the lab as the two young ponies plummeted to the floor boards, the mare first and the hefty stallion slamming from above. Ronin peeled himself off of a dazed, googly eyed Amethyst, transistors and blueprints racing around her head.

“You’ve really gotta work on your landing…” She grumbled.

Ronin lent his hoof and helped the mare to her hooves. “C’mon, let’s find those blueprints.”

“Right. You check here, I’ll check over there.” The unicorn raced out of the room.

“Uh…” Ronin raised his concern. “Why would he keep it in his kitchen?”

“Oh…right.” Amethyst chuckled nervously and scurried herself back into the laboratory, rummaging around a pile of books and notes.

I’m beginning to think I’ve caused her some head trauma. Ronin thought.

Tens upon hundreds of eyes stung into the boy’s back as he timidly followed his unicorn friend across the hard wood floor, a few places slippery here and there, to which the sticky liquid stuck upon the bottom of his bare feet. He acquired a mental side note to get some manner of foot wraps or something of the sort sometime soon, all whilst weaving around a few more ponies whom gave their contributions of wide stares and gaping jaws of disbelief. The boy could tell Silver was trying her best to ignore the looks and whispers, and so David followed suit as the two arrived at her “favorite spot” in the bar, which was in fact right in the middle of the bar, or at least a little off to the side.

“The bartender here knows me well.” Silver beamed. “At least on Friday nights, that is.”

“I thought you said you spent your weekends at home.” David almost whispered.

“With you around, not anymore.” She teased. “He’s a nice stal, I’m sure he’ll like ya’.”

He couldn’t get another word out as a figure from off to the side trotted into view. The stallion in question adorned a dull, gray coat, a spiked back black mane, and the unquestionable cutie mark of three four-leafed clovers. His cloudy blue eyes blinked tiredly and focused on the unicorn.

“Evening, Silver.” He smiled. “Whadda’ ya’ have?”

“Just’a beer.” Silver smiled back. “This here’s my pal, he’s new to town so go easy on him.”

The gray bartender produced Silver’s drink without even looking at what he was doing, taking the time to stare the boy up and down with a stoic and unaffected gaze. “Whadda’ ya’ have?” He repeated just the same.

“Uh, water please.” David mumbled back.

The pony blinked, turned around and fixed the drink into the same sized mug as Silver’s. The boy heard a faucet running, and was presented a glass of a yellow-brown liquid almost completely identical to his friend’s drink.

“I-I asked for water.” He said.

“This is water.”

The murky brown liquid bubbled all the same as Silver’s beer. She licked her chops and downed half the mug within a second, and the rest within the next. “You gonna drink that?” Silver stared at David’s glass.

“What do you mean she cut the deal?” Spike shouted. “Rarity would never do that!”

Starlight gave a shrug. “That’s what she told me.”

“I don’t believe it.” The little dragon denied. “She’d go on and on about venturing new horizons, expanding the boutique.” He shook his head in dismay. “I’ll bet somepony did this to her, somepony threatened her!”

“For what? Some needles and thread?” Starlight joked.

“Somepony was with her that day, somepony went to help her out. But who could’ve…?” The dragon froze, his claw mid-air as something seemed to click in his brain. “It was him.”

“Who?”

“That damn dirty ape…” Spike growled. “He did this!”

“Slow down there, hot head.” Starlight chuckled. “You look like you’re about to shoot lasers out of your eyes.”

“Oh, if only…” Spike began hopping up and down, huffing and puffing as he threw a fist or two towards the air in front of him, a determined look about his face. “Where’s that slimy son of a brood at? Is he at the tavern?”

“Don’t tell me…” The unicorn face-hoofed. “You’re seriously going to fight him?”

“He messed with the wrong pony, and now he’s messed with the wrong dragon.”

“Spike, you might as well be fighting an orangutan. He will throw you around like an accessory sold separately.”

“The heck’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, one part of you will be here, another part of you will be over there-”

“Is he at the tavern or not?!”

“Spike, it’s a family bar.”

“Well then it’ll be a family fight!”

Starlight paused, watching the dragon march onward and for the door.

“Did you just imply that he’s family to you?” Starlight snickered.

The little lizard seethed and whipped around ferociously. “No! I’ll never call that thing family, not in a million years!” He swung the doors open with force. “Rarity is family, to me, and I’m gonna teach him what happens when he messes with my family!”

There was a single small flame sitting between the two of them, a red peach scented candle burning lightly to set the mood. Neither of them were exactly sure who set it up for them, it seemed to appear on its own at some point during the “date.” The date, however, consisted mostly of the mare timidly twirling her neatly braided mane around in her hooves, one eye to the table and the other dully scanning about the room as though there were a million other things more interesting than the stallion sitting right in front of her. The poor doctor didn’t know what else to say either, he hadn’t when he had come at her door to pick her up, and still hadn’t by the time they had finally sat down. It seemed as though that the only way to make this night not a complete and utter waste was to bring up the one thing they vowed never to bring up again.

“Derpy, I-”

“Doc, I-”

They stumbled over each other’s words. Mumbles and apologies were sparred this way and that, until finally the stallion of the night took the initiative.

“I don’t want to waste your time here tonight, Derpy.” He started. “I don’t want to waste my time, I don’t want to waste anypony’s time.”

“Was time always so important to you, Doctor?” She asked.

“I-” He paused, reviewing her words. She had used the full word and not just the nickname, a tell tale sign that things were more serious than usual, which of course went without saying. Only when Derpy used his real name was when business was beyond serious, and not only was she the only mare to ever say it but only had she said it once before. The doctor wondered when such a time would come again, he could sense it at some point in the future.

“I don’t know what this is really all about and neither am I going to pretend like I know, so let me tell you what I do know, Doctor.” Derpy began. “My life never would have turned out like this if it wasn’t for you, you and I both know that. Just because you saved my life doesn’t mean you are indebted to continue taking care of me and my family, in fact it should be the reverse, whereas we are taking care of you-”

“I would never demand-”

“Please, let me finish.” Derpy cut him off. She took a breath and continued. “There’s nothing I love more in this world than my two beautiful little girls, and as their mother it is my duty, no, it is my sole purpose to give them as much support as I possibly can. I would lay down my life for them, Doctor, and quite honestly I would do the same for you. But my girls come first.”

“And I agree, no doubt.” The doctor nodded his head. “I would give everything in their stead, and yours too.”

“I don’t have any problem with you talking to them, I hope you know that.” Derpy’s muzzle pinched, her eyes wandering with uncertainty. “It’s just…”

“It’s just what?”

“It’s just not fair.” The Captain of the weather pegasi mumbled to herself.

She sat in the corner of the booth among her other mates, Cskie and Oskie shuffling their cards and trying to guess each other’s numbers as they bubbled little insults this way and that, whatever the game was supposed to be Sunshower wasn’t quite sure. Cloud Chaser sat next to her staring at a variety of what she deemed to be good-looking stallions through the blurry glass of her half emptied mug, as was her custom just about every Friday night. She never told anypony as such, but Sunshower caught on quick after asking her if the expression was meant to be ‘looking through the bottom of the glass.’ Cloud Chaser explained she’d be too drunk by then, normally waking up in unknown bedrooms the day after.

“What’s that, Cap’n?” Cloud Chaser wondered.

“Nothing.” Sunshower protested. “Forget I said anything.”

“She’s been a social outcast most her life.” Oskie said. “She’s a tough shell to crack.”

“You’ve been a social outcast most your life.” Cskie shot back. “You’re like an open book.”

“Because I’m not symmetrical.” Oskie justified.

“The heck does that mean?”

“Cap, do you sleep with one hoof in or one hoof out?” Oskie asked across the table.

“What do you mean? That question is ambiguous.” Cloud Chaser noted.

“That’s because it’s a trick question.” Oskie explained. “I’ve seen how our Captain does it. Always two pencils lined up at her desk, always has two coffees, always blinks with both eyes.” He went on, grinning stupidly. “There’s no doubt she sleeps with both hooves tucked in, the other two at her sides. Symmetrical, y’see?”

Sunshower barely regarded her comrade’s talk and stared dully at the compass dial in her lap. Her special compass jiggled calmly, albeit not very much at all, maintaining a fixture on north. No activity. She sighed and couldn’t help but lend a discouraged gaze towards her team members, slowly shuffling for the other end of the booth.

“I’ll see you all in the morning.” She spoke quietly. “We’ve gotta lotta’ work to do tomorrow, so keep it on the low, yeah?” And with that, the weather Captain slowly turned tail and walked off without another word. Her crew mates stared at her, even the two drunkest bits showing gazes of concern.

“Did you guys hear that?” Cskie asked.

“Yeah…” Oskie drawled. “She used a casual inflection, our own Captain!”

“Not that.” Cloud Chaser grumbled. “She sounded kinda, I dunno, depressed?”

They all continued their stares, unable to stray away and back to their drinks as their normally confident Captain was parting through the crowd of ponies with her eyes to the floor and her shoulders slumping low.

If only. She thought involuntarily. If only that mare were a pegasus. But if she were born as such, what about the other earth ponies she was born with? What would happen to them? If only fate were a bit more fortunate…

But of course, that was always wishful thinking, like that of a fairy tale come true. Sunshower had stopped believing in fairy tales a long long time ago, as she had forced herself to do so, and would soon need a lot more force if she were to convince herself that the long, tall, pink apeish figure sitting all crooked at the bar was in fact not a machination of her imagination come to life before her very eyes.

As the pegasus’ estranged gaze held its attention elsewhere, her chest collided with a rough, rigid object standing directly in the way of her path. The opposing force seemed to take the collision as well, albeit in a frustrated and grunting manner, as Sunshower rubbed the back of her head and looked up and forward to find she had smashed into another pony. The run of apologies waiting at the tip of her tongue suddenly held still, her eyes fixed on a living figure of her past. She knew this pony.

“Wind Rider?” Sunshower muttered.

The old stag rubbed his mane and blinked blearily, wondering whatever had just hit him. Not an apology nor look of misfortune ran over his tired complexion, only exhaustion, hints of malice and sparks of complete and utter, passionate hate. The cloudy blue stallion, Wind Rider, wore a stark, navy blue flight jacket with fluffy gray lining. The milky white scarf around his neck had been knocked aside, poorly concealing a torn spot upon his jacket where the outline of a Wonderbolt’s emblem used to reside. The pegasus huffed and quickly fixed his scarf, covering over the tell tale sign of an ex-Wonderbolt.

“Of all the ponies…” Wind Rider muttered. “I thought they left you to rot in the weather factory.”

“I’m sorry-” Sunshower quickly stood and fixed her mane, gazing into her opponent’s eyes. “I believe the expression is ‘Don’t we have a lot to catch up on?’”

“Not enough for me to care.” The stallion huffed irritably. “Quite frankly, all I want to know is why you’ve decided to come and rub salt into the wound. Your old colt didn’t have his fill?”

“There’s no need to rope my father into this.” Sunshower trembled.

Oskie, Cskie and Cloud Chaser peered over from where they sat, staring with concern at the Captain and her new conversation.

Amethyst was tucking the rolled up print beneath her forehoof as she sat within the corner of their booth, Ronin by her side cautiously scanning the crowd over and over again for any sign of the business brothers and their promised arrival. The young colt sighed and turned to his partner.

“Think they stood us up?”

“And what would be the point of that?” Amethyst shuffled. “They’re looking for these.”

“And what if they decided to distract us while they go get the real prints?” Ronin argued.

“Please, they may be salesponies but they’re smarter than that.” The young mare informed. “They never actually steal. They’ll trick you, swindle you, play you for dumb, that’s for sure. But they’ll never steal because they know to stay beneath the radar.” She continued staring at her table. “These ponies know how to get what they want without breaking the law, so keep on your toes.”

“I have been.” He nodded. “Are you?”

“I should be doing better than this.” Amethyst grumbled.

“Just be patient, we’ll get there.” Ronin reassured. “We’ll get your job back soon enough.”

“No, not that.” She shook her head. “I mean…” She sighed, slowly turning towards the colt. “Listen, I know it’s a little out of the blue for me to say this, but I don’t think I’ve been giving you enough credit for what you’ve done so far. I don’t know if I’ve said this in the past either, but I would’ve been lost without your help, Ronin.”

The young foreigner blinked oddly at the mare, wondering where her words might go next or if he was meant to spare a few her way. He simply listened.

“Can you make a promise?” She asked.

“A promise?” Ronin’s eyes danced around the room nervously. “I-I’ve never really…”

Her hoof pressed against his lips.

“Just-” She began. “Promise me this. If things start getting really bad for whatever reason, if it looks like we’re not going to make it, I want you to hightail it outta’ here and forget any of this ever happened. I don’t care, just leave me behind. Above all else, save yourself. Is that a promise?” And she moved her hoof back.

“I don’t understand.” He stared at her, cock-eyed. “Why?”

“I don’t want to be a burden to anypony.” She shuffled where she sat.

Suddenly as though all in one swift motion, Amethyst stiffened as her hairs stood on end and she peered across the room to find a pair of familiar ponies sitting at a table with a red candle between them. It was her mother, with the Doctor. The unicorn plucked a picture frame off the wall and held it over her face like a makeshift menu, quickly yanking her partner down with her.

“What’s the big deal?” He asked.

“It’s my mom, she’s here!” She whimpered. “Why is she here?”

“I don’t know, why is she here?”

“I told Doc to take her somewhere nice-”

“We’re sitting in the middle of a country town past nine, nothing else is open but the bar.”

“Alright, I get it, I didn’t think this one through…” Amethyst whimpered again.

Ronin hadn’t time to utter another word as the sound of hooves calmly trotting towards them filled their ears, the two ponies looking up to find their business partners grinning widely at them, knowing smirks across their dappled faces. The two looked to each other, looked back, and once again began their introductory dance.

“Make no promises-”

“In the presence of accomplices-”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it already.” Amethyst huffed irritably. “Just sit down before you draw in any unwanted attention, will ya’?”

“Now is that any way to talk to your partners in dime?” Flim grimaced. “She’s a rude one, isn’t she, brother?”

“I couldn’t agree with you more.” Flam shuffled inside the booth, and so did his brother. “Acting as such will get you nowhere in the sales field, mind you, and the sales field is everywhere these days.”

“Enough talk about bits and money, let’s get down to the real business.” Ronin pressed in. “We have the prints, do you have your share?”

The brothers simultaneously pressed their hooves to the table. “The prints first.” Flam said.

Ronin peeked at Amethyst, nodding subtly. The mare took a deep breath and produced the rolled-up blue tinted paper out onto the wooded surface, pushing it lightly towards the bartering duo. Flim and Flam grinned at one another with devilish smirks, led their gazes back to the papers in front of them, practically gluing their eyeballs to the intricately detailed, schematically diagramed goodness flooding their eyes. Amethyst tapped her hoof upon the table impatiently as Ronin’s eyes wandered the bar for another scan, and in the midst of it all a pair of sky blue eyes had locked with his own green gaze.

“It’s just…” Derpy continued. “I don’t want to encourage them into thinking that you’ll always be at their beck and call. We’ve accepted your kindness time and time again, but we have no right to abuse it.”

“Amethyst, Dinky.” Whooves said quietly. “They’re both bright young mares, absolutely brilliant, I’ve seen it before.”

“And that’s wonderful, but there’s still so much they haven’t been through because of-” The pegasus caught a lump in her throat, she looked away and quietly swallowed. “Because of you.”

The doctor stared at her a little dumbfounded, his gaze slowly hovering across the bar.

“Please don’t take this the wrong way, Doc. You’ve shown my daughters so many wonderful things and I’m grateful for it, but at the same time I feel as if they’re not quite out of the nest yet, that they might think they’ll always be safe with you and me, here in Ponyville.”

Whooves’ gaze was now fixed upon something, upon somepony, his stare unwavering and unrelenting.

“What if something were to happen to you, Doc? What if you were to suddenly disappear, and who would we look to then?” Derpy went on. “All I’m trying to say is, let me be their mother. Do you understand what…I’m saying? Doctor…?”

Amethyst looked at Ronin. “What are you doing?” She peeked in the direction his eyes led and went back. “What are you doing?”

“The Doctor…” Ronin sat, slack-jawed. “He’s looking right at me.”

“Well, stop it! Look away!” Amethyst hissed.

“I…can’t.”

“Dude, stop it!” She hissed again. “What is with stallions and staring duels?!”

At that moment, Flim and Flam began to divert their attention at an angle, wondering whatever the young foreigner was so fixated upon. Amethyst quickly threw her front hooves across the table and held the brothers by their cheeks, their faces smooshed in-between like a sandwich. “My eyes are over here.” She gritted her teeth. “You have your prints, now tell us what you’ve got for us.”

“Doctor, are you listening to me?” Derpy’s gaze began to follow his.

It’s the kid, that Ronin. The doctor thought. Why is the kid here?

Whooves slowly began to rise from his seat. “Yes, it’s just-” He nodded but he felt himself hovering towards the colt in question. “Please excuse me.” He said rather involuntarily.

“He’s coming this way!” Ronin warned.

“Then do something, otherwise this whole gig will be a bust.” Amethyst ordered. “I’ll keep Ren and Stimpy occupied, you keep Doc distracted.”

Ronin needn’t say a word as he hopped form the booth and more or less bolted a beeline around the bar occupants and came face to face with the same doctor he had only met earlier in the afternoon. The doctor blinked and gasped quietly at the same time, stumbling where he stood and staring at the foreigner with wide, wondering eyes. He blinked again as though to clear any doubts and fixed his scarf.

“Mr. Edelhoof?” He chuckled.

“The one and only.” Ronin laughed nervously, sharing his hoof for a shake.

“I’ll admit, I’m tempted to question your age but I’m not a guard now am I?” The doctor subtly peeked around him. “Only, I thought I had just seen-”

Ronin blocked his view.

“I thought I had seen-”

Ronin moved in the way again, craning his neck and staring at the stallion with evergrowing intensity.

“Miss…Amethyst?”

“Amethyst? Why, she went home for the night.” Ronin rubbed his mane. “You must be seeing things. Had one too many, Doc ol’ colt?”

The doctor was unamused.

“Doctor, what’s going on?” Derpy approached from behind, her gaze shifting from concerned to surprised as she spotted the boy in front of them. “Ronin? I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Eto…” He began. Nagaiyo ni nari-souda…

His nostrils huffed with tiny embers and his fists bore bulging, white knuckles. Spike marched towards the front door to the Lucky Clover, but an expanse of sparkling teal magic suddenly came into view and blocked his path. The familiar cyan aura gripped onto the end of his tail, stopping him from going any further.

“Stay out of this, Starlight.” Spike growled.

“I’m not just going to let you walk into a bar, Spike.” The unicorn declared. “No matter how grownup you think your decisions may be, you’re still a child.”

Spike was ready to whip around and protest wildly, thrash and claw to break out of Starlight’s grip, anything to get him inside that bar and whooping some monkey butt like he thought he should be right at this very moment. However, the dragon went to bide his time a bit, knowing this would be a slow and steady process to getting inside. He slowly turned towards the mare, claws crossed beneath his arms.

“Y’know something, Starlight?” He began. “I don’t think anypony has told you yet, but you’ve got this really annoying soft spot for people and ponies who just don’t belong.”

“Okay?” She stared down at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s no wonder you and Trixie became friends, you practically gravitated towards her.” Spike gave a knowing look. “It just goes to show that no matter how hard some ponies may try, they’ll always be stuck with the kind of crowd that’ll give off that certain vibe.” And he subtly waved his claw in front of his nose as though to whisk away a “stench.”

Starlight’s gaze tightened, her jaw clenched and her horn flared just a little brighter, her grip just a little tighter. “Listen, you little-” She closed her eyes tight, took a deep breath and reconsidered her approach. “You listen here, Spike. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I think I have an idea. Whatever you’re feeling towards David right now is nothing but pure and utter jealousy, and that’s something you never showed me when I was around for the first few rounds. I’m trying to give him a chance, Twilight is trying to give him a chance. Have you forgotten that you, Twilight, everypony had given me a chance, too?”

Spike looked away, he did not want to hear it.

“After everything I had done, after all the terrible, horrible things I had said and done, you guys still found it in the goodness of your heart to give me another chance and it meant the world to me!” Starlight hoofed her chest, and she stomped it to the ground. “Why can’t you give him a chance? For once?”

Spike’s sights were slitted, aiming towards the ground as he walked around in circles shaking his head and letting the clench in his fists slowly drain away. By then Starlight had ceased her grip to see what the dragon might do next, hoping for a peaceful ending to this night, hoping that for once she could at least get this one small dilemma done right. A spell had passed, and the dragon looked up.

“Okay, Starlight…” He said wearily. “I’ll give him a chance.”

“Thank you.” Starlight breathed with relief, turning around.

“Right after I’ve knocked his teeth in.”

The unicorn twirled back around instantly, but was frozen just as fast. A spike and a sparkling hiss sounded through the air, a tight, red web of light forming around her figure. The mare was shocked solid, literally, as she soon found that she was unable to move her hooves, unable to twist her body, her ears locked, her tail locked, everything had come to a stand still.

“What-? What did you-?” Conveniently, her mouth was free, and she uttered her protests. “I can’t move! What did you do?!” She tried her horn, but even that was negated.

“Lock spell, twenty two minutes.” Spike held an amulet in his claw. “Plenty o’ time to take care of business.”

“Spike! Get back here!” The unicorn snarled and shouted desperately into the night, but to no avail. The dragon was already far past the door and inside the bar, doing Celestia knows what by then. “I don’t wanna have to explain this to Twilight!” She shouted again.

Sunshower had ceased her intense stare long ago, she only wished to leave the argument be and in fact didn’t wish to argue at all. She only wanted to go home and be alone with her thoughts, but something held her ground, something maintained her station as insult after insult was thrown her way, a few ponies stopping to watch what was going on.

“Your father was a disgrace to our team, it baffles me as to how he made it through basic training even to this day.” Wind Rider went on. “It’s because they had a soft spot for him, didn’t they? Boy, I’ll bet.” He huffed irritably, shaking his head. “I can only wonder what you had to do for them to send you down here.”

The Captain couldn’t stand it any longer, she blinked blearily.

“Oop! There she is.” Wind Rider teased.

“I’m sorry, was that last one meant to be an insult or a note of concern?” Sunshower decided to keep him going, for whatever reason she could not describe other than that it was simple ‘intuition.’

“You wanna talk about insults, sweetheart? Talk about your old colt weighing us down to the level of infantry. I don’t care if it was ‘just his style’ he sure as hell was cramping ours.”

“Infantry?” Sunshower supposed. “I didn’t say anything about military expanses, now did I?”

The ex-wonderbolt was silent. “I’ve wasted my time already…” He muttered.

Bingo. The Captain thought. There’s always some truth in a conversation a pony doesn’t want to engage.

“Hold it right there, hondo!” Oskie said from behind.

“What gives you the gull to talk to our Captain that way?” Cskie followed up.

And here come the rescue rangers. Sunshower groaned internally.

Cloud Chaser stepped up to her Captain’s side, giving the mare a reassuring glance before sneering her way to Wind Rider. “I’ve seen guys with sticks up their asses, but your look says it all.”

Wind Rider purposefully remained a stoic expression. “Beat it before you regret it, kid.”

“Oh yeah, you and what army?” Chaser shot back, she grinned and whispered to her companions. “I’ve always wanted to say that.”

In immediate response, a heavy, brolly pegasus and another stepped seemingly out of thin air, a henchpony on each side of the grimacing, old pegasus.

One was deep orange with a stark brown mane covering his eyes, three basketballs for a cutie mark. The other was brown as mud, a combed blonde mane, blue eyes, and a dumbbell on his rump. They peered down at their little opponents with tightened jaws, snarling nostrils and piercing eyes that spoke nothing but with the intention to maim anything in their sight. The situation had quickly turned from a four-on-one to a five-on-four, both of the big, burly beasts easily summing up the size of two ponies each. In response, Oskie shied away and hid behind Cskie.

Five-on-three.

“You have your stupid prints.” Amethyst became desperate. “The evidence, spit it out.”

“I believe we’ve egged on this frying pan long enough, haven’t we?” Flim asked his brother.

“I couldn’t agree with you more.” Flam gave a satisfactory nod. “Let us give our partner here the evidence she’s been looking for all along without even knowing it.” He cleared his throat, raised one hoof to the table and the other to his breast as though he were delivering a great speech or sermon. Thus, he began.

“The thrush shall knock at the door thrice when the red sun rises over the horizon.”
“The door shall have many eyes but only one shall see the way inside.”
“Once inside there is no place to hide from the coming bellows that which reside.”

The stallion finished, gave himself a small round of applause, and sat back down with a small grin to his brother and back to the mare. Amethyst sat there, staring at them, an involuntary twitch of her eye.

“What?” She blinked.

“What what?”

“That was it? Some fortune cookie reading?!”

“To be more accurate, it’s an excerpt from a collection of ancient haiku’s-”

“You…” The whole upper half of her body lunged over the top of the table, both of her hooves digging into the collar of the stallion’s wardrobe. “You duped us you slimy son of a mule!”

Ronin’s head flicked backwards in response to the stupidity of his partner. Could she be any louder?

At that moment Whooves attempted once again to look in the direction of their booth but Ronin promptly stood in his way, a little too forceful to his liking. He knew now the jig was up, there was nothing more he could do on the conversational side. Derpy seemed to be getting a little irritated herself, and with that in mind Ronin did the only thing he could think of. His horn quietly flared alive.

“I’m so sorry for this.” He said quite abruptly. “But this is Equestrian custom, I presume?”

“What is?”

The doctor was unaware that Ronin had used his magic to tie his scarf to the ceiling fan. As though being swept into the twirling vortex of a tornado, Whooves swung around and soared across the bar, onlookers thinking a bird had just flown by whilst Derpy’s wall eye followed him so, her expression aghast and afraid. The stallion slammed into the wall of the bar, drinks tumbling downwards and onto the floor as a great deal of the sticky liquid coated Wind Rider’s flight jacket, making his already booze ridden coat smell, well, even more booze ridden. Ponies were slipping and falling upon the wet floor, Sunshower’s team staring down Wind Rider’s gang with intensity.

“Fight me like the chimp you are!” Spike howled.

And the room snapped…

“Get that graiser!” Somepony howled from out of nowhere.

The once family friendly bar known as the Lucky Clover twisted into an all-out brawl stadium within a matter of seconds, mugs flying through the air and hooves being thrown left and right. The battle expanded tremendously from the bar and burnt like wildfire to the other wall, shouts and screams replacing the air of heartfelt conversations and late night ramblings. There was a story now to bring home to their families tonight, that is if everypony had made it out in one piece, but the story wasn’t about to end there. The boy began wading through the sea of fighting equines, the upper half of his human stature far more fortunate than his lower half. As he desperately made his way for the door a row of sharp stings struck his calf, wondering if some glass shards had somehow entered his leg. He peaked downwards to find a tiny clump of purple scales latched onto him, and the boy knelt down, prying Spike off and holding him up by the tail.

“Spike?” He winced, his leg bled. “The hell are you doing here?”

“Bring it on, you ugly baboon!” Spike swung his fists in the air. “I ain’t scared of ya’!”

At that moment, a mug flew by and clocked the poor dragon right in the mouth, sending the little lizard into a whole new world of pain. He held his claws over his mouth and pinched his eyes shut, desperately trying to keep the tears at bay. David knelt down once again and picked up a small tooth lying on the ground, most likely Spike’s. The boy and the unicorn quickly ducked behind the cover of an overturned table, a pony nearby attempting to fix up a Molotrot cocktail. David looked on in horror for a moment before snatching up the cloth and pressing it to Spike’s bloodied lips.

“Keep him safe.” He said, carefully handing him over to Silver Spanner.

The unicorn cradled the dragon in her hooves and looked up at the boy. “What’re we gonna do?”

“Where’s the juke box at?” He looked around.

“There isn’t one, they just play off of an old record player.” Silver looked in the direction of the mentioned music player, and the boy nodded back.

“I’m going in.” He said, taking blood from his leg and smearing it over his face like war paint.

David hopped, ducked and rolled past an ocean of hyena possessed ponies, the colorful little creatures twisted into ferocious, blood thirsty animals before his very eyes, and thus the boy was inadvertently reminded of the self-gained allegories from Watership Down. Dodging cider bottles and broken pieces of chairs, he spotted the record player still spinning upon the needle, obnoxiously playing an uppity jazz tune for the bar-goers to get their brawl on the proper way. Soon enough he was in arms reach.

By God, this better work. He slammed his hands onto the disc, halting the music as the scratchy, washy trademark sound effect sounded throughout the room as though it were being played right next to one’s ear. As a result every single entity within, living or non-living, came to a freeze. Liquid cider looked as though it were frozen in space, a stallion was caught mid-punch on the side of his jaw, and Meowf, the Flim Flam brothers’ cat had been rudely interrupted in the middle of another Germane suplex.

“Holy crap, it actually worked.” He said aloud. “For Christ’s sake, it’s a cartoon, of course it worked!”

His next plan was to scoop up Spike and Silver Spanner and hightail it the heck outta’ dodge, alas the mere sound of his voice resumed the bar into play mode, albeit gracefully and with waiting looks posted towards center stage. Every eye in the room was now upon the boy, and the angry little ponies were beginning to wonder why the music had stopped, their expressions twisting ever so impatient with every second that passed. David thought fast, yanking a stool out of a stallion’s hooves, the fact that the pony had a better grip than he did was beyond him. He popped down, swept the microphone in his grasp and placed it to his lips.

“G-Good evening, everyone-er! Um…everypony?” He chuckled nervously. “How we all doin’ tonight?”

The stallion being held by his neck was the first one to choke out a “great.”

“So, uh…listen, I got a real kicker for you all tonight, and it goes a little something like this.” He improvised like he had never improvised before in his life. “So a brony walks into a bar, and the bartender looks at him and says…” A pause, he held a finger out. “…h-hey! Didn’t I tell you? No pets allowed.”

Two corks and a bottle crashing to the ground imitated the sound of the “bad joke” chime. Not a pony cracked a smile, however. The boy tried again.

“Huh, okay…” He thought once more. “Why did the brony cross the road?”

Nopony replied.

“To get to Equestria!” He slapped his knee and cackled to himself. “Get it? B-Because, he got hit by a car and now he’s…he’s…”

Once again, silence encapsulated the bar. Ronin slowly craned his head over to Amethyst. “What-a the fuck-a is a brony?”

“Tough crowd…” The boy tugged the collar of his shirt.

Cricket chirping could be heard emanating through the room, and ponies began to look around in wonder. They spotted a changeling in the far corner, clicking his wings together, and everypony gave him stares. “Sorry…” Kevin apologized.

“Hey monkey guy!” A stallion cupped his hooves around his mouth. “I heard the circus is in town, and they’re hiring!”

“Th-they are?” David replied timidly.

“Nah! They changed their minds!”

The entire bar’s silence was traded for a cacophonous fit of laughter, guffaws rising to the ceiling and pounding against the boy’s ears. “I never even applied…” He muttered. Howls reverberated through the walls and soon enough the patience of the ponies wore thin, airborne cider bottles heading straight for the stage where the boy sat. Sticky cider and glass shards threatened to paint and cut his feet, the final bottle threatening to clock him right on the head. In a sudden, incalculable movement, a yellow-blue blur swept inside and caught the bottle midair, thus stopping it from knocking out the boy cold. Sunshower stood between the crowd and the human, stance held high and cider bottle in her yellow-gold wing. She glanced back at the boy, a knowing smile upon her lips.

“You…?” David was speechless.

“Gotta return the favor somehow.” Sunshower shrugged.

“That was quick…” He muttered beneath his breath. “Too quick.”

Sunshower gave him a sideways glance, and then jolted in surprise.

“I’ve had enough of you for one night!” Wind Rider approached rapidly.

As though in only a single, swift movement, the bottle slid out from Sunshower’s wing. David swung the bottle, hit Wind Rider over the top of his skull, and watched the old colt stupor and stumble for a moment before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and his figure fell to the floor with a defeated boom. All at once everything stopped. Every entity within the room fell deathly silent, and their eyes returned to David, his figure quivering in dreadful anticipation as to what might come next. The bartender, Lucky, emerged from his post and slowly approached the scene as though an investigator were analyzing an outlining of tape on the floor. He studied Wind Rider’s unconscious form, gave it a sniff, and slowly looked to the boy.

“You knocked him out cold, son.” Lucky snorted.

“I-I didn’t mean to, honest!” He waved his hands frantically. “It was just reflex!”

“Would you like to do the honors of throwing his sorry flank in the dumpster out back?” Lucky grinned happily. “After all, you earned it, kid.”

“I promise, it won’t happen again-” David’s head twisted around. “Wait, what?”

“Hey, everypony! Drinks are on me tonight!” Lucky cheered. “The wicked Wind Rider is no more!”

“Hooray for the monkey! The wicked Wind Rider is dead!” The crowd cheered along.

“No, he’s not dead! He’s just-” Lucky sighed but still smiled all the while. “C’mon, son, let’s get you a victory mug.”

Without another chance to utter another word, David felt his weight hoisted up by Sunshower and her team as they paraded him across the sea of ponies cheering and hollering their gratitude and good fortune into the night. That gloomy, glum ambiance about the room seemed to disappear entirely as Wind Rider’s two hulking henchponies hoisted his body out the window, his figure splattering into the sticky cider garbage below. They bumped hooves and joined the rest of the crowd. Silver Spanner looked across the room at David, giving the boy a curt smile and a wink. Feeling a smile curl to his lips, he shrugged and downed his first drink for the night, wrapping his arms around his fellow ponies, dancing and singing songs, telling stories and tall tales alike. For tonight was the end for one of Ponyville’s most hated occupants, the beginning of a new tale from the depths of the Everfree forest, and the shadows lurked beneath the noses of the drunken ponies in the streets…

Many stars above twinkled brilliantly down upon the head-hung-low mare sauntering her way down the cobblestoned streets, making an unbusied, short and slow trot for Ponyville’s one and only iconic bar, the Lucky Clover. She only dared to lift her heavy head to see the building come in sight, but upon the glance she found another figure standing just outside its entrance, and a familiar figure at that. The tired magician took a long, wide gaze at the statue of a mare standing perfectly still, even daring a sniff or two.

“Impressive.” Trixie inspected. “So life-like…”

“That’s because I am-”

“Gah!” Trixie sprung backwards on her rump, fixing her hat and staring dumbfounded. “Starlight? Is that really you?”

“What? Did ya’ think I wanted to stand out here all night greeting our local drunks?” Starlight could only turn her eyes.

“Wha-? Hey! I am no-” The magician stood back up and fixed her cape. “Trixie is no drunk!”

The frozen Starlight released a heavy sigh, peering towards her hooves. “I’m sorry, Trixie, I know it’s been rough.” She admitted.

“What’re you talking about?”

“I’ve seen you walk in here in broad daylight.”

“S-So?” Trixie faked innocence.

“I’ve been a terrible friend to you, I should’ve been reaching out, helping you get back on your hooves. But all I did was-” Starlight paused, catching herself. “No, never mind.”

“Oh, Starlight.” The showmare slowly approached. “As noble as your willingness to sacrifice for Trixie is, it simply doesn’t concern you. This is Trixie’s duel, and hers alone.”

Despite her iconic third-person demeanor, there was a hint of hurt within her subtle wording. Starlight desperately tried to ignore it, knowing that talking any further might deal more damage than was already dealt. Ever since the dilemma in the open field, the show that would’ve gotten her enough bits to move on to the next town had it not been for that human…everything seemed as though it were falling apart piece by piece, day after day.

“But really,” Trixie started, dismissing Starlight’s thoughts. “Why are you standing all frozen like that?”

The unicorn groaned and rolled her eyes. “Spike cast a lock spell on me.”

The magician eyed her friend silently, looking her up and down once again until a spell of the giggles struck her core, causing the magical mare to flip over on her back and hold her stomach, cackles and laughter rising into the night. “You, the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria next to Starswirl the Bearded, let Princess Twilight’s little dragon do this to you?” She howled on and on.

“Go ahead, rub the salt in.” Starlight growled, teeth gritted. Just this once, you worthless, husk of an unfulfilled brood.

“Oh, wow, this is rich!” Trixie climbed to her hooves, wiping a tear from her eye. “Perhaps Trixie should help you then? Hold still now-”

“Ah ah ah! That won’t be necessary.”

“Why? Did you actually want to stand out here all night?”

“It’ll wear off eventually.”

A sudden burst of warmth and light echoed out of the tavern door, swinging open to piles of gluttonously drunk ponies climbing over one another, trying to decipher which way was home. They all poured out like hot sauce out of an expired bottle, the scent oozing around and filling Starlight’s nostrils with a puke-ridden sting.

“Here comes the payload.” Starlight groaned.

A certain, bubbly, grape purple mare chuckled and hobbled her way over to the two unicorns, holding a bottle in one hoof and swinging the other around Starlight’s neck. “Let me tell ya’ bout my best friend here…” Berry Punch slurred and breathed obnoxiously.

“Ugh! Take a hike, beer keg!” Starlight struggled.

“Shoo, you drunk!” Trixie shoved the mare off of her friends shoulders and wrapped her own hooves around Starlight, caressing and fixing her mane. “I’ve got you, friend.”

“Your breath stinks, too.”

Trixie quietly recoiled and attempted to mask the alcohol on her tongue. “Sorry.” She mumbled.

Derpy and the Doctor stumbled out of one of the windows, an option most other ponies were now pursuing given the blockage at the front door. They wrapped their hooves around each other for support and balance, but seemed more keen on bringing each other down after having one too many. Amethyst wrapped around one side of the building whilst Ronin came around the other, approaching the two drunken adults with concerned gazes and words. Derpy lifted her head blearily.

“Whadda ya’ doing out so late, young lady?” Derpy drawled. “If you don’t get back to bed this instant, I’ll-hic-I’ll…well, I’ll do something!” She looked behind her. “Doc, back me up here.”

“I told you already, I’m not a doctor.” Whooves stumbled about. “I’m a bloody…Time Lord! Yes, that’s it!”

Two ponies drunk out of their minds only meant one thing in the presence of two sobers. Amethyst looked to Ronin with a hint of pleading in her eyes and asked if it would be too much to take the Doctor back home. Ronin accepted without hesitance, advising his partner to lay the pegasus on her side when she slept so she might not choke on her own vomit. The young unicorn nodded, shocked to the strange fact, but nodded nonetheless. She raced after her mother trying to fly drunk, and Ronin wondered how he was going to remember where exactly the Doctor lived when all he was telling him was that he lived in a blue telephone box flying through space.

Finally, the barricade at the front door pried free with a bit of crowbar work, and out the door the boy emerged with a little purple dragon scooped up in one arm, a half-drunk Silver Spanner dangling onto his other. There was a swell, blushing complexion about the boy’s smile, a satisfied grin. He gazed up at the night sky with wet, bleary eyes, blinking to get the images straight. He could have sworn he saw figures moving in the constellations, a strange hum calling to him. Must be a side effect. He figured.

“You gonna be okay walking home, dear~?” Silver cooed, tugging his arm.

David belched and looked down. “I traversed light years on my way to this planet, a half-drunk walk home isn’t gonna kill me.”

“You!” Trixie barked.

“On second thought-!” He began to turn around.

“Get back here you hideous abomination! You are the one who ruined Trixie’s show!” The magician whined into the night. “Because of you, Trixie is ruined!”

“Um, okay.” David took a deep breath. “I don’t know how to tell you I’m too drunk to deal with this right now, but I’m too drunk to deal with this right now.”

Trixie stared at the boy, waiting.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry?” He shrugged.

“I’m not going down without a fight…” Spike grumbled, weakly swinging at David’s chest. “Bring it on, ape wars.”

“Spike!” Starlight hollered from where she stood. “Oh stars above, is he okay?”

The boy took a heavy step forward and knelt before the unicorn, revealing the dragon’s tooth in his open palm. “A souvenir.” He said.

“You hit him?!”

“No! He bit me and then a bottle flew by.” He shook his head. “The hell were you thinking anyways, letting him in there?”

“Excuse me, we’re not finished.” Trixie attempted.

“You have no idea.” Starlight grumbled, pinching her eyes. “This is just great, Twilight is going to kill me.”

“Not you, us.” David affirmed. “C’mon, we’ll face her together.”

“What? No! I was just going to make up some story about the tooth fairy.”

“Spike’s too old to believe in that stuff now.” David began rubbing and patting the little dragon’s back, the lizard burped over his shoulder. “Kid drank more than me.”

“Let’s just get him home for now.” Starlight wobbled with little effort as though her hooves were glued to stilts. She desperately looked up at the boy. “Er, a little help?”

“I figured as much.” David sighed and scooped yet another Equestrian inhabitant into his free arm. “I always wondered what it would be like to have my own plush.”

“Just hurry up and get to the castle.” Starlight muttered.

A stiff, motionless unicorn was tucked beneath the boy’s arm as Spike lazily clawed and jabbed at his shoulder, eyeing Trixie left all alone as they walked away into the streets of Ponyville. The magician was left with nothing but the bar before her and the stars above her, not even the rise for protest attempting to well up within her lungs and shout past her tongue. She held it so, resumed a sunken head and pushed open the front door to the bar moments later. She was greeted with the equivalent of an explosion going off in a hoarder’s basement, a single little pony staying behind to clean up the mess while Lucky was busy wiping down the counter, not really cleaning up anything at all. He looked Trixie’s way and smiled.

“Come for a while? We’ve got one stool left.” He said.

The toilet flushed again and again. Spike hurled one supply of bourbon, booze and whatever else after the other, wiping his jaw with the hopes that it was over, only to do the whole thing all over again. Twilight had soaked a cloth in beer and saliva at this point, trading it for another to continue cleaning her little dragon’s lip. She leaned over him resting a hoof to his back, mumbling calming affirmations in between sentences of groundings and allowance deductions.

Meanwhile, Starlight and David stood outside the cracked doorway of the bathroom listening to their little lizard friend’s unrelenting vomit audio. The unicorn finally free of the amulet spell, dangled the said piece in her levitation for her and the boy to observe.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.” Starlight prodded. “I suppose you don’t have any ideas?”

“What makes you think I would?”

“Don’t act dumb, buster.” Starlight squinted. “I know you know things.”

“You do? I mean-” He looked around. “I do?”

“I have a hunch that this night, of all nights, is going to be a night full of epiphanies.”

The bathroom door swung open, and though Spike was still at his puking game, Twilight butted in and flared her horn alive, grabbing the amulet right out of the air and snugging it away. She turned to her student.

“You. The map room. Now.”

Starlight began to turn, looked over her shoulder to stare at David, and trotted down the hall.

“You.” Twilight turned to David. She thought for a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t even know what to say to you, but I’m sure you’ve got a lot to answer for, mister.”

“For the record I did a bit of underage drinking myself tonight.” He informed. “So if you don’t mind, I’m gonna find a bathroom to go and puke my regrets out.”

“You’re old enough to take responsibility, and that includes looking out for Spike.” She continued. “It’s nearly midnight, I’ve got plenty of work tomorrow and a poor little dragon to attend to, and not to mention a student to scold, so I guess I’m letting you off easy for now.” Twilight sighed, turning away. “If you need to take care of yourself I’m not holding you back.”

David stood there motionless, that same strange calling from before when he had looked up at the stars encapsulating his senses once again. He slowly approached the Alicorn, kneeling down before her.

“Twilight, listen.” He began. “Whatever it’s worth to you, I’ve been trying my best. As your Royal Equerry, I think I got just a little closer to the ponies tonight. It wasn’t all just badmouthing and violence, Spike, me, everyone had a wonderful time tonight. It made me realize that if you just try really hard to look out for your friends and keep them in mind, then maybe…just maybe you’ll pull through in the end. I don’t know, I guess once we got our hands and hooves on all that beer we decided it didn’t matter who was a pony and who wasn’t, we all just had one big party. Y’know? Like friends.”

Twilight forced herself to smile and let a chuckle go, shaking her head and looking over the boy with a knowing stare. “Whatever you did tonight, I just hope you got some sort of lesson out of it. I take it this was your first shot at drinking?”

“More or less.” He shrugged, grinning.

“Well, just be prepared to lose all those fun memories by morning.” Twilight gave the boy a small, curt nod, and returned to the bathroom. “Goodnight, David.”

With that note in mind, David took a moment to stare at the door and return his sights to the hallways, where he proceeded to stumble his way through the corridor trying one door after another in finding his room. Plenty of them had beds already set, but he wanted his own bed, the one he had molded himself into and gotten used to over these two short weeks that he had inhabited this strange, magical world. As he opened his door and finally found the correct room, David’s mind wandered to just how much time he had spent in Equestria, all the trials he had been through so far and all the characters he had met. What was he to do when he woke up? Forget about all of it?

No, I won’t forget this. He thought to himself. Not ever. Even if this is all just a silly dream, I’m not forgetting a single second of it. This is my story, my dream. Here, in Equestria.

He eyed the book on his desk from afar, deciding the distance was too far as his body took him over and flopped down onto the bed without his control. His mind wandered over the events of the day, the party at night, the ponies he met and the words spoken all the while. The visions, the sounds and the sights, everything began to blur and mesh together like slippery black and blue spirals swirling around his slowly shutting eyes. A final yawn pinched his lids shut, the world shifting into a sightless and soundless nothing. The stars above twinkled for a final time. The moon shimmered silver.

David fell into a deep, deep slumber.

Chapter 24 - Oneironaut

A mirror.

An image stretching further than that which the waking eye could ever hope to comprehend, a sound far more vast than any barrier could hold, and the touch of a cold, long, dark and relentless nothing. The nothing became something, and the something was the boy.

David floated aimlessly upon a vantablack canvas well before he was even to the point of assessing his current placing, touching nothing and seeing nothing, only he could be seen and touched, for only he existed. It was within the very void of his deep mind that his subconscious figure came into fruition, a chest of secrets as vast as one’s imagination, in particular the boy’s, awaiting the awakening. He opened his eyes, and the endlessness greeted him with a long, dark stare. Everything was tasteless, sightless, soundless, not even an echo called back to him. Upon the very moment that which he opened his eyes and began at his form, one thought in particular fell upon him, an almost innate sense as if he had known it even before it had occurred. Somehow David knew that he was dreaming, and yet he did not awake.

A great, bright beam hailed from above him, his only sense of direction projecting from himself, and he stared longingly into the light as though wondering upon a bedazzled, speckled star. The star was alone, and yet it shone the brightest, brighter than any light he had ever witnessed in the night sky. It’s blue-white beams stretched endlessly upon a dome of tiny little white dots slowly coming into view and surrounding him from all directions. The stars began to spin, speeding up until they spiraled all around the boy, close enough for him to reach out and touch them. The sight was that of ethereal liquid ghosting through his digits, like grains of sand slipping off one’s palm and around their fingers. Galaxies and cosmic swirls soon came into view, quasars, blazars and all manner of universal phenomenon filling his eyes all at once. Above it all, the lone star focused its light upon the boy, analyzing his figure and rendering a glowing, light-blue circle beneath his feet. The images below him spun about the surface of the stars, outlining a much bigger circle the same color as that around his feet. Twelve distinct symbols were housed within their own separate circles accompanied by rune like writings and scribbles. The human stared down at the glowing letters in wonder, watching as the bigger circle began to spin and suddenly stop, pointing to a certain symbol at the circle around his feet. The sign presented before him was that of what appeared to be two horns curling downwards.

Zodiac signs. He recalled. But, this one is-

“Aries.”

A voice whispered from the stars, seemingly coming in all directions. The boy spun and looked around in a desperate attempt to locate the source, only to find the answer he was looking for as he slowly resumed his face forward, a powerful yet terrifying presence reigning down before him. His mind raced and his eyes danced upon the figure before him, breath quickening and body tingling all over. He wanted to scream, to shout, to run, very well tripping over his own feet in the process. Yet, he stood still, whether it be out of complete and utter fear or a sign of obedience as to what the voice uttered next.

“Be not afraid.”

To the naked eye, to comprehension alone the number of circles were impossible to count in the way that they spun and vortexed about the nucleus of their making, and yet the boy somehow knew that there were twelve circles in total. The circles were dotted with gleaming, blue eyes, blinking and staring in every impossible direction, and all at the same time they were fixated upon the boy. In the center of it all was the shadow of a fetal-posed fetus, burning brilliantly within the core of a bright blue flame. The mass of wheels and eyes left the fetus behind and came to the center of David’s circle, surrounding him and looking at him from all directions.

“Be not afraid.” It repeated, again and again. “Be not afraid. Be not afraid.”

Frightened more than he could come to comprehend, he began to crumple and found himself curling inwards, soon to be much like the figure of the fetus that was at the center of it all. He looked up one last time at the silhouette from afar, and noticed one distinct feature from the rest. It had a horn.

This is a dream. The boy reminded himself, and the eyes began to dissipate. That voice…I recognize it! The wheels began to separate.

David stood, faced the fetus from afar, and watched as it expanded in size and grew into the form of a full grown unicorn. The unicorn raised its head, sprouted wings stretching from one galaxy to the next, and the brilliant blue embers that had encased it from before were swallowed inwards, exploding into dozens of white twinkling sparkles as they faded into the background of the stars.

David watched as the winged unicorn flared her wings, sweeping the stars across the midnight black canvas. Her mane and tail swirled about as though drifting in a frail breeze, the mirage supplemented by the immense amount of magical energy pulsing through her being. It was as though the midnight sky were captured within a transparent blanket, billions of stars twinkling within. Her coat was a lush, watery blue and her eyes were like that of diamonds. The nightly Alicorn led a calm, awaiting gaze upon the boy, her eyes looking upon him tenderly as they instilled a strange yet alluring sense of warmth.

“What…?” David found himself to be the first to speak. “What was that?”

“A product of the mind.” She answered.

Her voice was like a smooth stream of water running off the tip of a finely honed cutting knife. There was a factor of intimidation, but beneath lied solace and content. A strange sense of inner-peace that the boy couldn’t quite understand just yet. Regardless, he beheld her all the more from her appearance, to her voice, and back to her focused gaze.

“I don’t understand, I was just in the castle.” He spoke beneath his breath. “What’s going on?”

“Surely you have found yourself asking such a question more times than one can count.” The Alicorn responded. She squinted harshly, albeit momentarily as though taking in some sort of confirmation, and gave a subtle nod. “I have obtained an explanation to the disturbance.”

“What disturbance?” He chuckled nervously. “I’m disturbed enough as it is, thank you very much.”

“And perhaps you should be. The mind is no laughing matter, young oneiro.”

“I don’t even know what that is.” He laughed again, sandwiching his face between his palms. “This is another drug trip thing, isn’t it? Another…another coma?” He began to kneel, scratching at his ears and hair. “No no no. I’m going deeper now, aren’t I? At this rate I’ll never wake up.”

The stars surrounding them appeared disturbed, twinkling rigidly upon the scratchy black canvas. Images swirled and sights warped, causing him to clench his eyes shut and wish again and again for this unending dream to propel him back into reality. It had been fun while it lasted, but at this point he had enough of this trip. Seconds later, he sensed a presence washing over him, the same feeling of the warm, inviting light from before.

He let go of his head, opened his eyes and looked up. The Alicorn stooped to his crouching level, smiled into his complexion and lifted a tender wing beneath his chin. Her look said it all.

There is nothing to fear, little one.

She opened her wings again, this time in an inviting embrace. It was only in that moment David realized how small he appeared, how small he felt, and simply found the rhythm of his breath as he stretched his legs out and straightened his spine. He sat upon the starry, blue surface that which he and the Alicorn resided on, and together they humbled themselves in silence as the sparkles of the night sky found their proper state of being once more.

“Do you sense them just as I do?” She asked him.

He blinked and looked over, her eyes were fixated upon the stars, twinkling brilliantly and with unending enthusiasm. The boy returned his gaze just as hers was, and she resumed her speech.

“Every dot you see, every speckle and every star, is a dream.” She breathed. “The realm that which dreams reside is vast and endless, for not even I have seen the end of its trail. My little ponies slumber through each and every night, and illuminate these skies with astounding, breathtaking endeavors. I often wonder if some stare upon the same sky that which I do each and every night.”

David looked to her. “What was that name you called me?” He asked.

She looked upon him, the boy needing to take a second breath from her striking gaze. “You and I are not so different.” She explained. “Oneiromancy is an art forgotten to time and distraction, an endeavor that which only the most focused of ponies may take upon themselves, and even so they may never unlock its full capabilities.”

“So, this is a dream?” He began to realize more. The boy looked around, staring upon the many stars once more. Each and every single star was another person’s dream, or rather another pony’s. Some were brilliant and bright while others were fading and far away. “Lucid dreaming…” He concluded. “I’m in a lucid dream.”

“That is the very foundation of oneiromancy.” She told him. “Just like I, you too are an Oneironaut. How you have come to achieve such a feat in so little time is beyond me, but I surmise that some are simply born with the gift.”

The night-blue winged unicorn regarded him dearly and returned a small tender smile, to which he took a more humbled and serious attitude towards. He felt as though he already knew her name, but the urge within to ask was rising evermore.

“Who are you?”

“I am Princess Luna, Guardian of Dreams and Bringer of the Night.” She smiled dearly, giving a short bow. “Albeit we do not tread the waking world, our meeting was destined as such, and so I give thee a humble welcome to our kingdom. Welcome to Equestria, David.”

Blue, translucent, cobble-plated pathing was laid out before the two like stepping stones with clear rushing waters roaming by mere inches below their hooves and feet. The Princess of the night and the boy walked side by side gazing over the stars and the cosmos in their midst, both close and far. He once again took a moment to regard his new metal gauntlet enveloped around his arm, and stared back at Luna with a curious squint. The Alicorn purposely showed that she noticed him looking, and with that the boy allowed his speculations to leave his lips.

“How did you know my name?” He wondered. “I hardly knew my own when I got here.”

“It is one of many burdens to know the name of each and every being far before I am to meet them, especially those who dream consistently through the nights.”

“But I don’t usually have dreams, at least not every night.” He shrugged.

“That is because you do not remember them.” She explained. “There may be many that you know of, but recall nothing. However, that number could never compare to the amount of dreams we never even knew we had, or will have.”

Silence reigned about them as they continued their stroll through the starry stair case as it began to swirl downwards. The boy could see another light, similar to the blue, glowing circles with the strange symbols from before. He momentarily recalled the sign that had befallen him, the two horns and that word Luna had uttered.

Aries.

The question laid upon the tip of his tongue, but many more were yet to come, and he assumed he would find many more answers as soon as they had reached the next blue circle below.

“So you say all of these stars, these lights in the sky.” He stretched out his arms over the expanse. “Those are all different dreams from different ponies?”

“My kind are not the only species included, as you might suspect.” She calmly gestured to him. “I visit many dreams during my travels through the dream realm, and I have met a fair deal of species from across the galaxies far and wide. You, I might say are a peculiar little dot, as I have always put you as such. I’ve told my sister, Celestia, about that peculiar star in the sky many times before. She is one of very few ponies that I trust.”

“It sounds like you and your sister are very close.” David noted.

“You speak as though you are exempt of familial bonds.” Luna looked to him. “Young boy, this is why I have ventured to your bubble when I had the chance.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I sense a star is in pain, it is like that of a musician faltering in their song. Scratching at their strings and tearing their chords.” Luna winced visibly. “Your star was in pain because your mind falters, and your mind falters because it strives to complete itself in the midst of so many missing parts and pieces. I could not bear to see you go on like this.”

The boy came to a halt as he began to realize what she had meant. The missing pieces, the faltering state of his mind could very well be connected to the head trauma he had supposedly been experiencing early on in this strange, mind trip of his. If he was in fact in some sort of coma, in another state of mind perhaps…

“So you say my mind is attempting to rebuild itself?” He wondered.

Luna nodded. “Naturally.”

“This world that I’m stuck in, Equestria, the ponies, everything.” His speech hastened. “These are all of the building blocks my mind has been using to try and rebuild my senses, hasn’t it? To recreate that empty void inside my head…but how did it get there?”

“The building blocks of your dreams are your memories.” Luna explained. “But I tell you..."

She took a pause, and began again.

"Neigh, I warn thee. The mind is an incredible tool, it is both resourceful and dangerous. Do not confuse the waking world and the dream realm, as distinguishing between the two can become near impossible at times, so much so that certain oneiros have never found their way out of this realm.”

“Are you trying to tell me that I’m going to be stuck here for God knows how long?” His tone faltered. “It wasn’t even my fault, I wasn’t trying to dream of anything.”

“As I stated, the mind is a powerful tool. One must learn to hone its abilities, to master it.” Luna propered herself, focusing her gaze upon the boy as her starry blue eyes glowed brightly. “That is part of the reason as to why I believe you were sent here, young oneiro. Destiny has drawn us close, and fate has it that one dream, you and I shall meet to unlock the abilities of the mind.”

The stairs below spiraled on and on, and as David continued to stare downwards into its seemingly endless entrancement, he soon realized that the stairs seemed to be getting deeper and his vision getting taller. He attempted to look over back at the Princess, but the images were spiraling and his balance began to writhe and swirl uncontrollably. The stars and galaxies all around began to spin around him as though he were housed in the center of an enormous globe. Only Luna’s voice could be heard, it was the only comprehensible measure as his eyes could barely follow a thing before him. He listened, for it was the only thing he could do now.

“When the night follows over, so shall you, to a den of rest and warmth. Look north, and you shall see my moon.” She followed, whispering strictly yet soothingly. “To embrace the mind is to accept your reality. Know your destiny, but always know that destinies can be chosen. When the stars align…”

Her words were left as that, leaving the boy wondering and spiraling down into the black, endless, nothingness below as it sucked his entire dream whole like a drain swallowing the last of its water.

When the stars align… He repeated in his mind, again and again. When the stars align, when the stars align…

Chapter 25 - The First Test

ACT II

Reminiscence

There in the deep, dark, black void existed a thump. A consistent noise pounding against the walls over and over again. The thumping continued on until he could barely open his eyes, the light shining through the windows blinding him so, and soon enough the thump, thump, thumping upon the walls pounded against his head.

Thump, thump, thump.
And soon, those thumps were replaced by blunt strikes of pain.

He groaned irritably, pressed a palm to his head, only to make the headache worse. What the hell happened last night? The boy wondered. His left leg was the only remaining limb on top of his bed, the rest of his body draping over the side and onto the floor, dragging his pillow and blanket down with him, and strangely enough his head had been placed at the foot end of the bed. He dared to open his eyes against the harsh sunlight, pinching them tight once more, the thumping growing louder, harder, more painful and unbearable. And just like that, his memories clicked back together.

Princess Luna. The sights, the dream, the sounds, everything that had happened, and all prior to the event he had forgotten like a telling lost to time. Whatever the Princess had told him, whatever her words had meant, they hardly made any sense.

“Look north…and see the moon?” He mumbled in remembrance. He strained and gripped his head again. “That doesn’t even make sense, why would the moon ever be towards north?”

And for the umpteenth time in his journey in this new, strange world thus far, the boy found himself reconsidering the nuances that was the magical land of Equestria, and denying its existence all over once again. So what if he had woken up in the same, short bed for yet another count that which he had by far lost the number of? So what if everything his eyes and ears were telling him were as real as the hand plastered over his face? He wiped his palm downwards and pinched the bridge of his nose, groaning again in an attempt to drown out the thumping and pounding within the walls of his head, but alas they would not cease. There was an ache in his belly, a sting about his breath, some bad mixtures of age-old liquid dripping from the tip of his tongue. It only took one, reluctant look in the mirror for him to finally understand what had happened.

Hangover. He surmised. I got a hangover, in Equestria of all places.

Desperate attempts of persuasion invaded his mind as he struggled to his feet and lumbered towards the door. He retold himself as many times as he would need to, over and over again he told himself that as soon as he twisted that nob and ducked beneath the frame, the over-colored sights would clear away and reveal his hallway back home on Earth. His home, his possessions, his family and his friends, it would all be there. Someday, somehow, he would get there. David gripped the nob firmly, twisted, and pushed past the portal.

Princess Twilight remained as still as she possibly could as she wore a blindfold over her face, her ears muffled and her muzzle shut tight. The low, buzzing hum of the power generator and the clicks emanating from the seismometer were the only sounds to fill the library, aside from the occasional shuffling of Doctor Whooves, whom was also maintaining a stoic, still stature in the midst of the first test. Whooves watched closely as Twilight’s muzzle twitched ever so slightly, her left hoof kicked lightly and her right tapped against the armrest of the chair faster than he could fathom.

Involuntary reflexes? The Doctor supposed.

He studied the seismograph’s progress and compared it to four key points in tandem with her brainwave patterns being recorded on the monitor displayed above. The seismograph’s spikes and squiggles were consistent throughout, save for the four points on the graph with ridiculously high frequency results, evenly spaced out along the time frame displayed below. Every time a high spike kicked in, Twilight’s brainwave patterns switched phases. Positive to negative, negative to positive, as the Doctor had put it. Like flipping a light switch from open to closed and vice versa, which was fascinating enough to imply that Twilight’s brain, or even anypony’s brain for that matter would become completely inactive for a short, unprecedented period of time. And yet, the body would still move, the senses would still function properly. The brain, it seemed, was almost a conduit in and of itself.

The Doctor’s mind wandered back to his conversation held with Rose Luck the afternoon of yesterday. He remembered her stating clearly that there were no comparisons to be held between “living” and “non-living” entities, how a tree and a pony both might be living things, but a rock was no different from a machine. Just a lifeless machine, aimlessly ticking away. And yet, here was the Princess of Friendship’s brain, ticking away like that of an organic machine…

How interesting. The Doctor thought. How interesting indeed.

His eyes wandered back to the monitor and the seismometer below it, the first test was nearing its completion, and Twilight would be “waking up” soon. Whooves rested his clipboard to the nearby coffee table and prepared to unlatch Twilight from the machine. Without warning then, the library doors burst open and banged against the walls.

Twilight cringed. “Door stoppers!” She muttered harshly.

Whooves jolted and looked over, and from the portals stumbled the lanky, wavering figure of the boy, gripping his head and bumping into furniture all the while muttering his castle host’s name. The present stallion trotted in front of him as though to guard the Princess, taking on a shaky yet readied stance.

“Don’t come any closer.” He warned. “The Princess and I are very busy.”

“Right, I was just looking for her-”

“Is it feeding time?” Whooves asked.

“What?” David cocked a brow.

“I don’t know what her highness keeps, a food bowl?” The stallion prodded his chin. “Ah yes, bananas! Perhaps she has some lying around.”

“I can’t tell which of those two remarks were more insulting.” David gripped his head again, “Christ almighty…” He muttered, leaning backwards and into a nearby chair. He stared forward and squinted at the odd sight before him. “Is she in the matrix, or something?” He pointed.

Whooves eyed the boy for a moment, if only to observe him curiously and referred back to Twilight, her eyes clamped so in an irritated manner. The stallion practically slapped himself over the head as he rushed over to her side and begun undoing the clamps around her scalp and face. At last the Princess’ eyes opened and she beheld the new sight of the boy, blinking and looking all around as though struggling to recollect memories lost to a night out on the town, or rather a night in on the books.

“Thank you, Doctor.” The mare acknowledged, dismantling herself from the chair and breathing with steady relief. “Have we achieved any of our predictions?”

“Well past that point, your highness.” Whooves trotted over to the charts. “Quite frankly, I’m not certain whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

Twilight joined him for a moment to observe her brainwave patterns plastered onto extensive sheets of spikes and squiggles, along with a vast series of digits and symbols displayed on the green-frame monitor above. “What could it mean?” She thought aloud.

“Your guess is as good as mine, but erm, perhaps you have other matters to attend to before we address our results?” The stallion signaled his eyes towards the boy.

“Oh! Of course.” Twilight trotted over to the human’s side. “Have you met David, Doctor?”

“Albeit indirectly last night.” He stifled a chuckle. “He needs to work on his jokes.”

“That would explain the attitude.” Twilight laughed aloud, looking to her companion and nudging him on the leg. “Sleep well?”

“A little too well…” He groaned again, gripping his head with both hands. “Sorry, I’m not in the mood to talk about it. I’ve come to ask if you got anything for this…migraine.”

“We have coffee.” She offered.

David groaned again. “I’m not a fan.”

“Well, my noble Equerry, I hate to say it but you’ve brought this upon yourself.” Twilight patted his knee endearingly. “I would’ve sent Spike to pick up some migraine formula this morning, but his story is the same as yours.”

He sighed again, shaking his head. “Can’t you whip up some magic spell to take care of it? Maybe numb the pain?”

The Princess gasped and recoiled. “Absolutely not! We know you and magic don’t agree with each other, I’m not risking anything happening to you.”

Well, that was it then. David knew he was in the rough with no easy way out, he’d simply have to live with the pain. He supposed for a moment that Twilight was right after all, he had brought this upon himself, but quietly detested her lack of help. At least her showings of concern seemed to make up for it, somewhat.

His eyes wandered across the room and back to the machine that which he had seen her hooked up to. Three separate tables had been scooted to support a large array of dials, buttons and bright lights set upon dash boards and terminals, all to adjust the display and diagnostics for the small, green monitor with a wire frame background. There was a small black box set further down the line, a wire going to the terminals and another going to the head piece Twilight had been wearing. One might call it a fourth grader’s rendition of a space helmet, a metal bowl turned upside down with Christmas lights taped all over. David felt he was in no position to question its convoluted intricacies, not because everything was that of a cartoon, but because he knew by now the consequences of questioning cartoon logic would only worsen the effects of his over drinking.

Whooves had busied himself with the readings once more, shaking his head once and twice. “It could be a deficiency in the energy transfer, had we checked the nodes?” He asked across the room.

“Thrice over.” Twilight confirmed.

“I’m not sure, Princess.” He sighed again. “It feels like something is missing.”

“Not to worry, Doctor, it’s only the first test after all.” The Alicorn reassured. “Adjustments are bound to be made.”

“You’re right, I suppose I’m getting a little too excited.” He felt his hooves dance with anticipation. “If we want to pinpoint the problem then we’ll need to run several more tests, not to mention in several different varieties.”

“Varieties?” She wondered.

“Look no further, my partner in science.” He waved his hoof over to the human. “An ample and able subject lies right in our midst!”

David looked up. He looked behind him just to make sure, then turned back around. He mimed an accusing finger into his chest and shrugged at Twilight with his eyes. The Princess was ready to speak up, but Whooves hopped and trotted over faster than she could think. There was an odd, sensational mirth in the Doctor’s attitude all of a sudden, perhaps something to do with the pre-mentioned “monkey assistant” business David had heard of.

“I’ve heard a fair deal about you from a one miss Silver Spanner.” The stallion smiled and nodded. “She tells me you’re an excellent assistant, one of the best.”

“I do try my best.” David reassured.

“I never thought I’d see the day that I get to work with a personal monkey assistant, unfortunately those dreams were crushed back in my home town, Trottingham.”

Oh yes, it definitely had something to do with having a lab monkey wandering around, picking its nose and using tools in every different way except the right way. David was confident he was good at that.

“After a particularly traumatizing event in my past that involved some species of primate, more or less, I must say that it is an honor to be working with you.” He took the boy’s hand in both hooves and shook with excitement. “I feel that a more proper introduction is in need. Doctor Whooves, at your service, lad.”

“Slow down, Doctor.” Twilight squished herself in between the two. “I’m not so sure this is a good idea.”

“But think of the possibilities, your majesty!” Whooves tried. “Is it every day that the chance to search the deep depths of a foreign species’ mind comes knocking on your door? I say we cease the opportunity.”

“I’m sorry, Doctor, but it just doesn’t sit well with me knowing that our equipment isn’t as satisfactory as we were hoping it would be. It’s the reason why I placed myself as test subject, just in case something were to go wrong.” Twilight explained. “You and I both know this a daunting task to manage.”

David eyed the machinery set out on the tables once more. His eyes wandered to the head piece until the curiosity finally got the better of him. “So, what is that thing?’

Whooves was the first to perk up. “Essentially, an electroencephalogram, sectioned with bilateral receptors purposed to resonate with pyramidal neuron transmissions in the neighopallium and pegacortex layers of the brain.”

The boy stared at Whooves, blinked, and then turned to Twilight. “So, what is that thing?”

“It reads your mind.” She flat-noted. “Albeit in a narrowed down manner, our current equipment isn’t quite ready to give us the most accurate results.”

“And so that’s what those numbers mean?” He pointed to the screen.

“The key to our majesty’s mind.” Whooves proudly announced. “This black housing unit here was my contribution to the project, which contains hundreds of semi-conductive contact transistors capable of transferring and transforming information sooner than a moments notice. This so called ‘key to the mind’ is her highness’ specialty, I plan to contribute the whole title under her name.”

“Please, Doctor, without the help of your transistors none of this would’ve been possible.” Twilight acknowledged.

“Is this ‘key to the mind’ supposed to be a code name for the project or something?” David asked the two.

“We’re not too adamant on title cards. It instigates unwanted idols, mind you.” Whooves told him. “Rather, it is an ode in some sense, a continuation to the study of the mind that which many scholars have left to gather dust in recent years. The mind and its functionalities aid an endless plethora of mysteries that which have yet to be traced, trialed and triumphed over. Her highness had said it herself that in this field, there is no better place to start than a unicorn. Or, in this case a former unicorn.”

“Testing won’t be localized to unicorns alone, of course, as I plan to extend my research to other species when the time is right.” Twilight furthered. “But the Doctor is right, unicorns have shown to be far more receptive when it comes to mind inducing trials. I’ve read of theories suggesting that overtime, unicorns had developed their horns after generations upon generations of utilizing their brain activity.”

“You’re saying they pushed themselves to the point of aneurysm?” David joked.

“It’s a possibility.” Twilight laughed along. “After all, trial and error has always existed.”

As his eyes laid themselves back upon the device in question, David’s mind wandered back to the only memories he managed to retain from last night. Although his dream with Princess Luna was something to remark, both his words and hers fell flat upon retrieval, much like a tiny, twinkling white light in the midst of its brothers and sisters upon an endless black and blue canvas. The memory was there, but the details were sparse, almost indistinguishable from the others who sung themselves their own justice.

This is only a vision, a trick of the mind, isn’t it? He attempted to reassure himself. And yet I find no way out, even when a possible solution shows itself to me I can only think that it is yet another trick of the mind. Trick of the mind… He repeated the phrase in his head again and again.

“Trick of the mind…?” He spoke aloud.

“What was that?” Twilight’s ears perked.

“I may not be feeling well, but I think I want to give it a go.” He gestured towards the crown piece. “That electro…doo-hickey thing.”

“Surely you can’t be serious.”

“I am serious, and don’t-”

“Great whickering stallions, you’ve got yourself a deal, friend!” Whooves sprung a good ten feet into the air before landing back down in front of David, his attitude reminiscent of that of the pink one. He wasted no time in pushing the poor boy with the butt of his head over to the chair, launching him into the cushion and appearing behind him just as quick. Whooves raised the helmet above his head and slammed it down onto his cranium, prodding at his chin for a moment before making a minor adjustment or two.

“Be gentle with him, Doctor, he’s had a rough night.” The Alicorn winced.

“I think it’s a little too late for that.” David grumbled, feeling his migraine return at full force.

“The man is right, we haven’t a length of time to waste!” The Doctor breezed through his protocol and set the machine into an automatic startup process. “Now, it would help if you were to remain completely still for the entire procedure.” He stood in front of him, fixing the blindfold over his eyes. “Also, try not to think of anything. Just don’t think at all, actually.”

“Way ahead of you.”

“Ah-Ah-Ah! Not a word, mister man.” Whooves set the device into countdown mode and reset the transistor box before hitting the launch mark. “And not a thought.”

The buzzing of the nearby devices whirled to life and grew louder and thicker with every second that went by. David soon realized that it wasn’t the whirling of the machines, nor was it the vibrations emanating off of the head piece, but rather his own brainwaves were bouncing off the walls of the interior of the helmet and pounding their way back into his brain. In tandem, it was almost as though he could feel the very neuron transmissions within his head tickling around his scalp, crawling down his spinal cord and pricking ever inch of his body. The first few seconds felt like a jolt of electricity as though he were strapped to an electric chair, to which he supposed he might as well have been, but he brushed off the sensation as some form of peak voltage output from the devices hooked up to the head piece.

The Doctor’s transistors got to work relaying the electrical signals coming from the boy’s brain, thus storing the information onto the molecular layout of the transistors themselves. Twilight’s eyes were fixed upon the boy for a long moment, a worried stare filling her gaze as she watched little winces fly over his face every now and then. Soon enough his finger began tapping and his leg began to sway back and forth. Whooves trotted up next to her and explained the possibility of the involuntary reflexes when hooked up to the machine, just as she had been doing when in the test subject’s chair. Both their sights wandered to the seismometer and the green monitor above, wherein the same results from before were being displayed. The mare began to frown as the digits and symbols simply repeated themselves.

“It doesn’t make any sense.” She mumbled beneath her breath.

At that, the machine came to a halt and Twilight trotted over to the boy, releasing the latches, the blindfold, and the head piece from his figure. David lurched forward and held his head in his palm, to which the Alicorn lent another hoof to his knee.

“Feeling alright?”

“I don’t know, a little dizzy.” He groaned. “What was that?”

“What was what?” She wondered.

“When I was in there it felt like something was looking at me, or better yet, calling my name.” He shook his head again. “I’m not sure, must’ve been my imagination.”

Twilight’s own thought paused at the mention from his words, and she wondered upon them for a moment. Perhaps it could’ve very well been a trick of his mind, considering his current state, but was there something else perhaps? She wondered if she might dare to prod further, but the sound of the Doctor scoffing with disappointment caused her to look back over.

“I’m not sure, your highness, the results are still the same.” Whooves shook his head.

The boy sat up and looked over with a worried expression. “I’m sorry, did I do something wrong?”

“It’s not your fault.” Twilight reassured. “Our equipment simply isn’t up to our standards, as I stated before. There’s nothing you could’ve done to hinder the responses.”

“Suppose he could have?” The Doctor started. “Involuntarily, I mean. There may be some manner of his genetic makeup, his brainwaves in this case, that resulted in the failure of our system. The same case could even be said for you, an Alicorn. N-Not a means of offense, your majesty.” Whooves hastily fixed his tie.

“But then why would the result be the exactly the same? It’s as if we’re only running a simulation, repeating the same process over and over again.” Twilight expelled a defeated sigh. She looked to the boy with a concerned set of eyes and nodded for the door. “I’m sorry if this has been more trouble than worth for your time. Go ahead and get some rest, I’m sure you’re pretty tired by now.”

“Thanks, Twi.” He acknowledged. “And don’t worry about it, I think I’m actually going to take a stroll to get things off of my mind. Maybe it’ll help a little.”

“Is that so?” She perked up. “In that case, would you be willing to do a small favor? I just need you to drop something off at Town Hall.”

“Hey, I’m your Equerry, after all.” He nodded and grinned. “I’m at your beck and call.”

Twilight nodded to his smile and flared her horn to life, levitating a small scroll into a view, a silver-blue ribbon wrapped around and concealing its contents. “Take this to Mr. Mikado. I’m sure you’ve seen him before? He’s an ambassador from Neighsia, he should be on the second floor of the building. Otherwise, just drop it off in the main lobby.”

With a curt nod and his gait for the door, David smiled confidently this time as he took the scroll out of the air and into his grasp. Two-sided thoughts began entering his mind as he made his way down the hall and through the castle corridors. One side told him of the coping for reality in this realm was to accept his role as the Equerry of Ponyville with both confidence and optimism, even if his person seemed almost completely devoid of it.

The other was a convincing whisper of sorts, one that told him the gateway to exiting this world would finally reveal itself to him through the nuances and mysteries of the mind.

Chapter 26 - Mysteries Arise

“Mom?”

The pegasus did not respond.

“Mom, get up.” The little unicorn nudge her mother. “You’re going to be late for work.”

The gray, blonde pegasus rolled over and elicited a long, heavy groan, pulling the covers over her eyes to shun away the light and the sounds filling the room. Her daughter at the edge of the bed focused with an intense stare, as if staring long enough would make her notice or finally get up and go to work, or do something at least. She rounded the corner to meet at her mother’s face, ready to utter yet another concerned speech, only to receive nostrils full of an odd, lingering odor. The musk from her mother’s breath said it all.

“Dinky…” The pegasus moaned. “Sorry, lil’ muffin…not feelin’ so good…”

“Dink.” Another voice came from the door. “What’re you doing in here?”

“Mom won’t go to work.” Dinky frowned. “Can’t you carry her with your magic?”

The elder sister frowned back and took a moment to analyze the situation, scanning over the defeated form of her mother as the memories from the night prior returned to her. Amethyst trotted inside and ushered her little sister back with a waving hoof.

“Mom’s not feeling too well right now, you should leave her be.” Amethyst told her. “Don’t you have piano lessons today?”

“It’s Saturday.” Dinky informed.

“Well…go on and play with your friends.” The unicorn ordered. “Mom’s gonna be sick all day and I’m not staying here to babysit you either.”

The little unicorn took a moment to stare at the two before quietly hanging her head and following her sister’s commands. Amethyst waited for the door to click shut and the sound of Dinky’s hoof steps to disappear down the steps at the end of the hallway. The young mare glazed over her mother and allowed a tired sigh to escape her lungs.

“How’s the captain gonna take this?” Amethyst asked.

Derpy pinched her eyes and groaned again. “Not too well, I’d imagine.” She dared to look out the window, the light blinding her so. “Guess I better fly over there-”

“You’re better off flying with both your wings tied to your back.” The unicorn settled her mother down. “I’ll tell them you’ve called in sick today.”

“I can’t have you do that, Amy.” Derpy worried. “You’re my daughter.”

“Technically I’m a part of Town Hall staff, we’ll just call it a relaying of messages.” Amethyst reassured. “Leave it to me, ma.”

The pegasus was preparing to work up another round of protests, but the mere action of moving her head in any way, shape or form was enough to send her into a spell of vertigo. Her eyes swirled around her sockets for a moment until the daze faded and she snapped them shut, anything to get the smallest slivers of light away from her sights. By Celestia, it almost hurt to think. Derpy groaned for a final time and grumbled something beneath the covers, emerging again to reopen her eyes, the seams wet and bleary. She sniffled a bit.

“Thanks, my little star.” Derpy managed a smile. “I owe you, big time.”

“Don’t mention it, just get some rest.” Amethyst nodded to the curled form of her mother before trotting past the door and closing it behind her. She scanned the hall to find no sign of her little sister, confirming that she hadn’t been eavesdropping like she had expected her to. Though, the unicorn wasn’t quite sure that was such a good thing, it only told her that Dinky already knew what was really going on. Something told the young mare that today would be more bizarre than most others.

The sun’s rays danced gracefully along the silt and cobblestone streets as the little unicorn trotted along with her new found earth filly friend, their eyes to the skies and their thoughts on their story. It may have only been yesterday that Diamond Tiara had assigned them with the task of writing out an article that might woo her attention, but Dinky could tell Silver Spoon was already growing rather impatient. She had reassured her friend plenty times over that they would find something to write about, but when nothing showed itself or simply came up as a bust, Silver would be on the verge of throwing a fit. Snobby, richy-rich, ungrateful. Dinky wanted to tell her all of these things, but alas the unicorn withheld her true thoughts.

One stark-gray tuft of cloud after another hovered across the rim of the village in the valley, Dinky watching carefully as colorful little dots with wings soared about and brought them into a cluster that the pegasi were building in the center of it all. She wondered for a moment just how much work her mother was missing, how much it might affect the family. Could she even face Miss Cheerilee after this, or Miss Melody?

“Say, Silver?” Dinky prodded.

“Huh?” Silver turned around. “Did you say something?”

“No, never mind…” The unicorn resisted.

“What is it? Tell me.” The earth filly trotted up, raising her brows. “If it’s an idea for a story you better spill it!”

“It’s not that, it was just a stupid question.” Dinky scuffed the earth with her hoof.

Silver looked on at her friend for a moment before sighing and sparing her sights towards the sky. She looked back down at the ground and began. “There’s no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid answers.” The filly told. “Miss Cheerilee had said that once, don’t you remember?”

“I don’t usually listen in class.” Dinky admitted.

“After everything I’ve put you through I at least owe you this much.” Silver tried.

Dinky took a long look into Silver’s gaze before finally deciding to let the weight off her haunches. “Well, okay.” She sufficed. “Silver, do your parents ever drink?”

“Like…water?”

“I mean like alcohol.” Dinky corrected. “Y’know, booze?”

“Oh.” Silver had to take a hoof back. “I wouldn’t say I’ve seen my own parents drink all that much. They know better than to overindulge in that tree sap ponies call a drink.” She played a disgusted raspberry before continuing. “Don’t tell anypony I told you this, but I think Diamond’s mother used to drink a lot.”

“Really?”

“And she still does. Actually, it may be part of the reason why Diamond and I aren’t…” Silver halted mid sentence, her eyes forced to the earth. “Well, you get the picture, I suppose.”

The little unicorn’s mind wandered back to the stallion from yesterday, the old colt holding the door to Diamond Tiara’s office. “You don’t suppose it had anything to do with her father, do you?”

“Mr. Rich? Never, he’s a pushover when it comes to mares.” Silver scoffed. “It’s no wonder he can’t talk his wife out of her drinking habit, he’s the one who keeps making bits for her to spend after all.”

“I think you’re sort of missing the point here.” Dinky deadpanned.

“Whatever, I’ve said too much anyways.” Silver picked up her bag and swung it over her back. “C’mon, let’s go find something interesting to write about before the day gets too boring.”

“I don’t think we’re going to have to worry about that.” The unicorn raised a hoof and aimed it past Silver’s head, to which her friend turned and recoiled wide-eyed at the sight they both beheld.

Town Hall stood a good few trotting distances away from the two, its stature as tall and noticeable as ever. At the base of the building stood a great cluster of ponies crowding around an uncertain source centralized to the front doors, hollering and hounding around as though something worth causing a great, terrible fuss over had just occurred. A spike in the water supply? A shortage on oats? A tall, bipedal, ape-like creature destroying Ponyville’s most prized statue? Wait a moment, that already happened. Surely the ponies weren’t that upset about it?

Dinky trotted near the crowd and craned her sights to find the bipedal creature in question, David standing in the midst of the ponies with wide eyes and an exasperated expression spelt all over his face. Perhaps they were…

“What the hay is going on here?” A voice came from behind.

Dinky and Silver glanced back to find a familiar trio of fillies standing in their midst. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, the crusaders had ran upon the scene to investigate with just as much curiosity as the two young journalists beheld. The howls and cries of dismay from the crowd grew louder and thicker, almost causing the young ones to stumble backwards off of balance. One pony took notice and turned to the young ponies with heated eyes and gritted teeth.

“The heck are you kids doing here?” He asked fervently. “You should hurry home.”

“Not until you tell us what’s happening up there!” Scootaloo protested.

“Look, all I heard was that thing crawled its way up into some poor mare’s chicken coop last night. Dragged the helpless creatures right into the forest.”

“Hold ona’ sec-” Scootaloo paused.

“You don’t suppose that’s why Fluttershy was so upset this morning, do you?” Sweetie Belle added.

“Now scram! There’s no telling what it might do to children like you.” The stallion whipped back around, leaving the children to speculate upon the matter.

“David? He couldn’t have.” Sweetie Belle justified.

“But…did he really?” Scootaloo considered.

Dinky and Silver Spoon trained themselves far off the side lines and observed for a second or two more before the earth filly turned to her partner. “C’mon, Dinky, let’s go.”

“Where to?”

“We’re gonna go take a look at that coop.”

Without another word the two journalists distanced themselves from the crowd and sped off in the direction of the cottage at the edge of the woods. The crusaders watched the little fillies trot out of the plaza square, all except for a certain cream yellow pony with a pink-red bow in her hair. Her amber eyes blazed with fury and her hooves stomped with frustration.

“I don’t believe it for a second!” Apple Bloom shouted. “C’mon, girls, let’s get up there!”

“A wall of ponies is stronger than it looks.” Sweetie noted. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to be caught in the middle of it.”

“Then…” Scootaloo’s eyes wandered upwards, tracking the lantern lines strung across the plaza. “We’ll just have to fly over it.”

“Scoots, you’re making that face again…” Sweetie looked timidly upon her pegasus friend.

Decorations for the esteemed arrival of the Emperor of Neighsia, Mr. Mikado, had yet to be taken down. Thus, the strings hung across the Town Hall plaza leading from one building to the next provided as excellent tightropes for the three crusaders to walk across in order to reach their destination. Only, the girls had never quite trapezed across a tightrope before. Surprisingly so, it was the only activity on their "cutie mark hunting" list they had never touched.

One by one they found themselves clearing the length of the line as the clustered crowd of angry ponies howled from beneath them. Many ordered to barge their way up to the front and give that monkey a piece of their mind, and it only caused the girls to hasten in their treacherous path in order to rescue the boy from the rampaging town folk. At least, they seemed to have convinced themselves they were coming to the rescue, not a single one of them had really planned what they were going to do once they get there.

“Sweetie, are you alright?” Apple Bloom glanced back.

“Fine.” She gulped nervously and shook violently, clutching the rope as a baby would her mother. “Just fine.” She repeated.

“Get a move on, I can’t stay still forever.” Scootaloo worried.

Sweetie Belle became overwhelmed with a sense of vertigo as she peered downwards, a cluster of unicorns with their horns pointed upwards standing right below them. As the young unicorn was on the verge of fainting, Apple Bloom lunged forward and Scootaloo caught her earth filly friend by the tail. The three dangled from the rope as the crowd below appeared completely oblivious to their situation, too transfixed on the uproar at the front of the building. Sweetie Belle reopened her eyes and nearly fainted all over again, finding herself a mere drop and a skewer away as she dangled directly above Pokey Pierce’s horn. Were all of those horn sharpening treatments at the spa really necessary?

“Don’tdropmedon’tdropmedon’tdropme, Ple-he-he-hease~!” Sweetie pleaded with all her life.

Apple Bloom held on tight, but alas her grip was slipping. Sweetie had applied too much treatment to her tail this morning. Scootaloo trained her sights back on the boy at the front door, he was surrounded on all sides and the ponies nearby were barking upon him like hungry, gnashing hounds from hell. They questioned and demanded explanations faster than he could even think to interpret, jaw slacked and eyes frightened. Scootaloo returned her sights to the tight rope, judged the distance to Town Hall, and reached into her saddle bag.

“Hold on, girls.” She began.

“Scootaloo…” Sweetie Belle warned. “Don’t you dare say it.”

“I saw this in a movie once.” The pegasus unsheathed her saddle knife, and laid it to the tight rope.

“Scootaloo~!” Sweetie Belle’s cry swung across the crowd as the rope cut and snapped, and the crusaders rocketed across the plaza now with half the ponies’ attention now hot on their trail.

The end of the hook attached to Town Hall held true and careened the three ponies past the railing of the balcony as though swinging from a vine upon a tree. The boy was caught mid sentence as a looming, dreadful shadow came over him, and the surrounding equines strung their ears backwards and whinnied in fright. David himself wasn’t quite as attentive as the ponies, both on a personal and natural level, and so he was only given a single second of spare time to watch three colorful little blobs hurdling towards the center of his vision at unspeakable speeds, growing wider and louder as the milliseconds turned into a full on collision.

That had done it then, David’s hangover had tripled into a near chunk-hurling migraine from the hellish depths of collateral central. His right side was crumpled against the hard wooden planks, a limb and a few twitching fingers poking out of the debris field. Complete silence swept over the near entirety of the crowd, and atop the poor, crumpled, and defeated form of the boy stood his three saviors.

“Secure the crash site.” Sweetie ordered. “Defend the David at all costs.”

“Don’t you worry, comrade Davy.” Scootaloo patted his dusted hair. “We’re gonna get you outta’ this pickle in no time.”

“Yeah! We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and we’ve come to rescue our ally!” Apple Bloom declared triumphantly.

“Yes, it appears you’re doing a fine job of that already…” Mayor Mare approached the three.

The fillies gasped and quickly confronted her. “Miss Mayor, you’re alright!” Apple Bloom scanned the old mare’s leg. “Ya’ look good as new.”

“I wish I could say the same, little miss Bloom.” The Mayor admitted. “The doctors simply told me to ‘take it easy.’” She shuddered. “Celestia knows I could use a day or two as such.”

“Miss Mayor, why is David being treated like a criminal?” Apple Bloom wondered.

“He didn’t do anything wrong.” Sweetie followed.

“Honest!” Scootaloo added.

“Do any of you three have evidence suggesting otherwise?” She asked them.

The crusaders looked to one another, and came up with blank faces.

“As I thought.” The Mayor furthered. “Nopony has been able to provide a shred of evidence neither in nor against his stead all morning. You must realize that when word spreads, the worst is always assumed and with it miscommunication is bound to happen.”

“You mean somepony’s been spreading rumors?” Apple Bloom concluded. “But…who?”

The three were left to wonder as a bright, teal explosion happened upon the scene and from the fading sparkles of magic emerged a certain, studious unicorn. The crowd reveled in the sight and began again with their uproars and protests, but the unicorn stood her ground. She stomped a hoof to the floor boards and puffed her chest.

“Everypony, disperse!” Starlight projected over the ponies. “There is nothing to see here. I implore you all to go about your business.” Lest the consequences be dire. She finished in her head.

Their roars continued and their protests stronger, one pony threatened to raise a brick and hurdle it towards the stage up front. Starlight caught it with her magical field mid-flight, and immediately thought to return it right back to its sender. A hoof upon her haunches stopped her, and the unicorn turned to find Mayor Mare gazing upon her with an icy, fowl-hinted stare. Her attention drawn away, the brick floating in mid-air left Starlight’s kinesis and dropped down onto the crowd. They all stopped and watched as Pokey Pierce’s horn received a new accessory, skewering the brick right onto the tip of his horn. The weight caused him to stumble and swivel, and his jaw met the earth with a loud bang. “Ouch!” He yelped.

“Hehe, sorry!” Starlight was stuck between laughing or apologizing.

“Miss Glimmer!” Mayor Mare snarled. “I am holding you responsible for this uproar.”

“What? Me?” Starlight hoofed her chest. “Well, actually I was the one who decided to teleport my way up here…but I’m still going to act shocked about it! Why me?”

“Open your eyes! Our ‘Equerry’ lies defeated on the front porch of Town Hall, and this is the second time you’ve decided to conveniently show up when the situation is on the verge of collapse.”

“Now hang ona’ second-!” With a final effort of strength, David pushed himself off the floor and held a finger in protest.

The crowed roared once again in response, obviously his presence alone was a hazard to the little known peace left in Ponyville at this moment. Starlight stared back at David and fired up a threatening teleportation spell upon her horn. The boy stopped, crossed “x’s” over his eyes and rolled out his tongue. The Mayor expelled a tired, defeated growl and ushered the crusaders inside the building to safety.

“Take the boy inside, our ambassador would like to have a word with him.” The Mayor ordered, allowing the unicorn to drag the human inside with her magic as she slipped past them and let the double doors click shut behind her. The old mayor took a deep breath and turned back around as she prepared herself to address the onslaught of objections that were her good citizens of the calm and peace-filled town of Ponyville.

The calling of the birds and the crawling of the critters seemed to grow oddly thinner as the two young girls closed the distance between themselves and the cottage at the edge of the woods. They trotted past the clock tower and summited the hill to find the homely abode in question sitting behind a wavy blue stream passing beneath a bridge. A birds nest and a beehive laid in the midst of the nearby lush, green trees, though not an insect dared to stir nor emerge from their home. In spite of lacking animal expertise, both of the young fillies could tell that it was strangely and deathly quiet for an animal caretaker’s abode. Silver only spared a glance to the moss-topped cottage before peaking around the corner and ushering Dinky along.

“Maybe we should knock first?” The unicorn proposed.

“There’s no time to lose.” Silver objected, and she leapt around the cottage.

Dinky stayed where she stood, in front of the door. Though it felt like nopony was home, she really felt as though she should knock first. This shy little pegasus, this Miss Fluttershy, certainly was a timid one as her name had spelt, and the little unicorn had no intention to frighten, whether or not the rumors of this morning were true. Soon enough, Dinky got her answer. A blood curdling shriek filled the air, followed by the urgent calling of her name. It was Silver, she had found something. The young unicorn sprung from the doorstep and dashed around the cottage, slipping over something wet and sticky. It was red. She looked up, and was greeted by an even greater, vaster sight of red.

Blood stained the walls of the coop and pooled across the grass, twisting and curling into the pit of the forest like a crimson stream of malice and murder. White feathers stained with the stuff dotted the vicinity, and at the base of the broken, torn apart fence laid the dismembered leg of a chicken fallen victim. The girls stared at the horrible mess for what seemed like hours, dumbfounded and shaken to the core. Neither one of them could move, nor speak, nor do anything. Finally, Silver recoiled and pushed her muzzle into Dinky’s chest, wincing with fright and fury. They almost didn’t hear the sound of hooves running up from behind.

“Dinky, what the hay are you doing?” Amethyst honed in on the scene, skidding to a halt at the sight of the massacre. “Sweet Celestia, what happened here…?” She breathed.

Ronin walked upon the site with caution and studied the remnants carefully. The fence torn to shreds, the blood trailing into the forest. It hadn’t stopped there, as he could even see the brush and trunks of the trees within stained and scented with the red, sticky mess.

“Whatever did this wasn’t looking for food.” Ronin said. “No, this was a fit of rage.”

“Dinky.” Amethyst spoke stiffly. “Go home.”

“But, we haven’t-”

“Get your butts home now.” She ordered. “You and your friend. It’s not safe here.”

“Everypony…” Another voice approached, small and quiet, yet cold and rigid.

The company turned to find a butter yellow pegasus with a long, bright pink mane and tail shrouding over her face and body. Her stature appeared weak and fragile, yet the intent within her was like a steady, rising flame.

“Stay away from the coop.” The pegasus ordered. She peered from between her locks and stared down the ponies with a shivering blue stare.

Immediately, Dinky and Silver Spoon recoiled and held one another with uncertainty. It was enough to shake Amethyst and Ronin to their core, though they did not show it. A moment later, the children followed the orders of their elders and rounded back onto the path in front of the cottage. As the sound of their hooves galloping across the dirt died away, the young unicorn mare took a steady step forward.

“You’re Fluttershy, aren’t you?” She asked the pegasus.

The pony did not answer, staring at the earth.

“I don’t know who or what could have done this, but we’re going to find out why.” Amethyst attempted.

“I know why.” Fluttershy’s voice was a mere whisper. “No, I don’t know why. Nature still has a whole forest of mysteries that even I’m not qualified to understand. It isn’t going to follow our rules or our ways, it’s only going to do as it sees fit.” She began to whimper where she stood, her eyes wet and her tone shaky. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want anypony to see this, but now that it’s come to this…”

“Please, allow us to stay and help you clean up.” Ronin obliged. “There’s no reason to go this task alone.”

There was another strum of silence, and as the moment passed by Fluttershy sniffled a few more times and elicited a slow, heavy nod of her head. Every critter of the earth and creature of the air had been hiding beneath their dens and within their nests, finally emerging from their foliage and surrounding the poor pegasus with offerings of solace. Acorns from the winter preserves, half chewed lettuce and worms pulled out of the ground. Fluttershy gave her admiration and acknowledgments to her forest friends, and all the while the investigators stood upon the sidelines with quiet, awkward gazes.

“So, do your crickets do that too?” Amethyst whispered to Ronin.

The calm, teal blue stream which ran along the southern most edges of Ponyville contained a plenty bit of sediments as it roamed through its course and down river. Sand and rocks washed along for days on ends, twigs, leaves, a few ducks…and somepony’s breakfast.

Silver Spoon hung herself over the edge of the bridge which passed over the stream, drawing out long, haggish breathes while clutching her stomach. Dinky stood there to press her hoof to her friend’s back and rub up and down for as long as she needed to. It was something she recalled her mother doing for her, when her tummy wasn't feeling quite right, those long hours spent drooling and whimpering over the opening of the toilet. As Silver stepped back, wiping a forehoof over her muzzle, Dinky gave her the space she needed and waited for the shaken earth filly to speak.

“I’m sorry…” She began.

“Don’t bother.” Dinky sighed.

“No, I have to.” Silver sniffled. “If I knew this was going to happen I never would have said a word to you. I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”

“How many times are you going to say that?” Dinky started. “We’re doing this for your friend, remember? For Diamond Tiara.”

Silver blinked, looking up at the unicorn.

“You’re not gonna give up on her that easy, are you?” Dinky shook her head. “I won’t let you. You’ve got me to look after you, Silver, so no more of that namby-pamby stuff. Okay?” The unicorn took a moment to close her eyes and smirk to herself. “That’s what you and Diamond always called me. Namby-pamby, remember?”

Silver eased herself to her hooves and returned a knowing smile. “For a filly who just witnessed a blood party, you’re toughing it out pretty well.”

Dinky shrugged. “I read a lotta’ comic books.”

Silver giggled, then quickly turned for a more serious demeanor. “You’re right though, I think it’s time we act upon this. Do you think we could get Featherweight to take a few pictures?”

“I don’t know, Fluttershy was already pretty upset about us being there.” Dinky grimaced. “I don’t think she’d take kindly to more visitors.”

“He’ll just have to take a few aerial shots, then. He said he was proficient in them after all.” Silver pushed her muzzle into Dinky’s bag and snagged the object in mind between her teeth.

The little earth mare stood back and gave a good jingle to the silver coated bell in her mouth, bobbing her head up and down, proceeding to look towards the skies in anticipation of their esteemed news photographer. Instead of from a nearby cloud or the sky’s horizon afar, the young colt in question popped his head from behind the other side of the bridge and carried his camera with him, sitting on the railing as he waited for orders. Silver tossed the bell back over to Dinky which bounced off of her horn and fell to the ground, and by that time the earth pony was already pushing her hoof against the photographer’s muzzle.

“Fluttershy’s cottage, south of here.” She ordered. “You’re looking for a massacre aftermath in the backyard. Take plenty of aerial shots and stay out of sight. Blood, guts, body parts, everything. The more gruesome the better.”

Her attitude sure took a one-eighty. Dinky mused within thought.

“And double-check after every photo!” Silver cupped her hooves, calling to the young Featherweight off in flight towards the cottage on his to-do list. The earth filly stood with a puffed, triumphant chest and turned to Dinky, confident as ever. “Let’s head back to my place, we can write the first draft there.” Silver Spoon sped down the bridge and across the cobbled streets quicker than Dinky could anticipate. The lone unicorn looked down and picked up the small, silver bell, safely tucking it away within her saddlebag and making a beeline for her friend trotting off in the distance.

Silver Spoon barreled her way through the double doors to her homely abode, swerving and launching herself into her father’s study just as Dinky caught up at the door, slowly pushing the tall portal aside to reveal a grand foyer and entry way her eyes had never beheld before. The marble walls housed finely crafted columns in between paintings of ponies in fine suits, staring harshly and looking important enough to be remembered in some way, shape or form. Dinky felt as small as a pebble rolling down a hill of diamonds the size of boulders, her hooves calmly trotting across a soft, scarlet carpet beneath a grand, golden chandelier, finally trailing down the hall to a flight of stairs with finely carved, lacquered railing. This place looked a lot smaller on the outside. Dinky thought. She climbed the steps and perked her ears, following the sound of mad scribbles and writing against paper as she turned left and trotted past an archway, leading into what was presumably the study chamber of Silver Spoon’s father.

“Don’t be shy.” Silver invited, not looking up from her writing. “My parents are out at the moment, make yourself at home.”

“Sure.” Dinky trotted up next to the desk. “Need any help?”

“Oh! Of course, you can uh…” Silver tapped her chin. “Um…”

Only a second later did the sound of small yelps and tiny howls fill their ears, followed by the figure of a minute, four-legged creature charging into the study chamber and hopping up onto the desk. The new company slobbered all over Silver Spoon’s muzzle, barking about and licking her from ear to chin.

“It’s good to see you too!” Silver giggled delightfully, but quickly turned serious.” Okay, okay, that’s enough. Down, boy. Heel!”

Dinky watched the little pyrenean pup make a mess of the contents of the desk as he continued to disobey his master and return another onslaught of licks to her face. Suddenly, a bright golden aura engulfed the pup and hovered him away from the desk, the little dog whimpering so and flailing about in the unicorn’s magical grasp. Dinky froze for a short second, wondering if she had just really used her magic, but the sound of a deep, elderly voice from the entrance to the study gave answer to who that golden aura belonged to. There was a tall, bage unicorn stallion standing at the door, a monocle over one eye and a curled mustache over his muzzle, he wore a fine, red vest with golden buttons adorned over a dull, gray button-up shirt. He eyed Dinky for a moment from beneath his monocle, gave a curt nod, and turned back to Silver Spoon sitting at her father’s desk.

“Miss Silver, you know your father’s rules.” He said to her. “If you wish to play with Pearl, it will have to be done outside of his study.”

“I know, I know.” Silver rubbed the saliva off the fur of her face. “I’m still trying to train him. You know I don’t have a lot of spare time these days, Kibitz.”

Dinky raised a brow in question. “You named your dog Pearl?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Silver retorted.

“He’s a boy…” Dinky watched as the tiny pup hobbled his way back into the study and approached her. He gave the unicorn’s hoof a few timid sniffs before giving her a wide, fluffy smile with his tongue rolling out. “Sit?” Dinky attempted. Pearl obeyed, shutting his muzzle. “Shake?” Once again, the dog obeyed.

“How did you…?” Silver was dumbfounded.

“Speak!” Dinky cheered, and the dog followed with a fit of happy barks as he spun in circles around Dinky, playing and twirling round and round. “Okay, he is kind of cute.” She laughed along.

“Our guest seems rather fond of Pearl, perhaps she would like to play with her in the hall?” Kibitz proposed.

“That sounds like a good idea.” Dinky smiled and looked to her friend at the desk. “Silver, you go ahead and write that draft while I keep Pearl occupied.”

“Thanks, Dinky, you’re the best.” Silver quickly resumed to her writing, pushing up her glasses and eyeing the paper carefully as though working on a detailed chemical experiment which required extra precision and caution. The nuances of writing, as Dinky understood, were just as such, and so she sought to leave Silver at peace as she exited the room with Pearl and followed the tall, tan unicorn, Kibitz. The pony and pup sat upon the plush, scarlet carpet rolling about and dancing around one another. Dinky had almost forgotten at that moment that she was in fact within somepony else’s house, and the presence of Kibitz almost completely became lost to her. The old unicorn took note to her observation and began softly.

“Shall I get you anything, Miss Dinky?”

“No thank you, sir.” She answered politely. “When a pony has such a beautiful home and a wonderful dog, I can’t imagine ever wanting anything else.”

“I must thank you for spending your time with Pearl, the poor boy never gets enough attention.” Kibitz explained. “I imagine you own a dog as well?”

“Mom says we can’t afford one, so you can probably tell why I was happy to see Pearl.” Dinky considered for a moment. “How come he doesn’t get much attention though? Doesn’t Silver take care of him?”

“An innate sense of politeness and a dedication to duty restrict me from telling other ponies what I really think of Miss Silver.” Kibitz allowed a small sigh to escape him, looking across the room and over into the study where the filly in question sat. “I can only hope that one day, she will learn.”

Dinky stared across the hall, following the butler’s gaze and into the chamber where Silver was stationed with a pencil between her teeth, writing away on the paper before her until the graphite threatened to give. The young unicorn wondered for a moment why anypony, as wealthy as they might be, would go on to neglect anything they’ve been given in their lives and even when they’ve been given so much. She looked back upon the walls, the finely structured tall windows and the many elegant vases lying in her midst. It was so large, so luxurious, so…hollow. Dinky allowed herself to take in the air and ambiance she found herself in, if only for a moment, and for the split second could feel a strange feeling of being stuck. It wasn’t any ordinary blockade, but this wall felt like that of relentless and unending emptiness.

The pair of amateur journalists stood before Diamond Tiara’s desk in anticipation of her feedback on their first ever story. Silver’s enthusiasm revealed itself moreso as she grinned in Dinky’s direction, raising her eyebrows and squealing beneath her teeth. The little unicorn had only seen such expressions moments before somepony scratched a miss in the Ponyville jackpot. As the young news director eyed the paper before her carefully, Dinky felt her eyes wander in boredom, scanning the room before landing upon a certain pegasus colt tinkering away at the ink machine tucked into the corner of the studio. Featherweight relaxed from his work and suddenly locked eyes with Dinky, to which the filly felt an involuntary blush and grin adorn her face, and so she accompanied the look with a wave. Featherweight smiled, waved back, and had himself caked head to hoof in black, sticky ink as the printing machine all of a sudden blew a fuse. As the poor pegasus struggled to get the contraption under control, Dinky winced and returned her attention to the desk just as Diamond was beginning to speak.

“The prose is smooth, breathtaking even.” Diamond commented. “It captures the attention of the audience.”

“That’s just what we want.” Silver traded nods between Diamond and Dinky. “Right?”

“Yes, but…”

“But…?” Silver’s smile began to fade.

“There’s simply not enough conclusive evidence to support what the story is trying to claim.” Diamond explained. “I realize our photographer was on the case, but it’s going to take more than a few blurry pictures to convince our audience.”

She sprawled out her hoof and leafed open a portfolio containing a collection of developed photos with the label “chicken raid 02” paper clipped onto the side. Dinky took a small moment to chuckle, it almost sounded like one of her home arcade games. Silver lent a hesitant hoof over the desk and took the photo into her grasp, flipping it over and pinching her sights through her glasses. The photo was indeed blurry, causing Silver to toss the picture back up onto the desk and lend a glare to their “professional” photographer over in the corner. Dinky sensed the tension rising within her friend and lent her own hoof forward.

“This is only the first draft.” Dinky tried. “We’ll have enough evidence by tomorrow morning to have the story published on Monday.”

“Sunday.” Diamond bartered.

“Deal.”

“That settles it then.” The news director went on. “If you’re looking for easy evidence then the best place to start is with a few witnesses. Surely you know the pony who went through this tragedy? Why not ask them a few questions, make an excerpt of an interview while you’re at it.”

“That’s perfect!” Silver inspirited. “Let’s head back to Fluttershy’s cottage. She’s probably almost done with the cleanup, you think?”

“For a place that gave you the pukes you sure are in a hurry to go back for more.” Dinky commented.

“That’s what I love to hear, a flash of confidence and determination in our young writers.” Diamond acknowledged with a wide, satisfied grin.

Silver was quick to return the gesture in the small hopes of gaining more attention from the young news director, and the unicorn couldn’t help but give an internal roll of her eyes as her friend wasn’t quite realizing that she was only moving forward in the wrong direction at this point. A constant onslaught of pleasing got nopony anywhere when they wished to be with somepony else, especially one they had been stripped from in the past. At that moment, Dinky’s internal thoughts were strewn to the side as a presence invited itself through the door. She felt the cold sting in the air ripple over her hide far before she had even turned to look and see whom had just entered. For the ambiance of the room grew far more dim, far more serious, and it seemed as though it would be a step backwards, this time in the right direction.

“Mother…?” Diamond hardly whispered, almost instantly breaking character.

Silver Spoon herself was struck frozen, almost dumbfounded, glancing to Dinky as if attempting to call upon her friend for a notion of help. Or rather, perhaps it was a warning, something that which the little unicorn couldn’t quite conceive of.

“Diamond Tiara.” Spoiled Rich stood at the door, gaze glaring over the scene. “What is the meaning of this?”

Barely a word escaped from the young filly at the desk. Dinky had never seen her as such before, not since the great outburst that had occurred at the schoolhouse those couple of years ago. Diamond’s mother, Spoiled Rich, the very mare striding through the room and glancing across the two ponies had been there too. Silver was the first of the duo to brave a stuttering, shuddering phrase.

“H-Hello, Mrs. Rich.” The earth filly could hardly stand. “It’s…good to see you.”

Spoiled Rich froze, a stoic and statue-like trance overtaking the middle-aged mare as her head slowly craned to the side, and peered down at the filly who had just spoke past the brim of her muzzle. Spoiled blinked, huffed, and uttered a single term beneath her breath.

“Mud filly…”

Chapter 27 - Questions First, Answers Later

Noon struck the clock tower, and its chime bellowed across the skies. The shadows of clouds passed over a couple of ponies trotting back north towards Ponyville as they made their departure from the cottage at the edge of the forest.

For the longevity of the short yet oddly lengthy walk, not a single word was spoken between the two as they came to terms with the images embedded into their minds and what was to come next of yet another mystery plaguing the ponies and their humble, homely village in the valley. Ronin had begun ahead of Amethyst trotting over the bridge when she stopped to look over the waters passing through, eyeing the horizon while a million questions a minute were swarming her brain. The young foreigner took notice to her odd behavior and stopped to gaze beside her. It was as though in that moment that a sense of instinct overtook the stag, knowing deep down in his mind that the young mare beside him had a dozen sentences and more to get off of her chest, yet she would never utter a single word unless he were the first to spell.

Ronin took a deep breath, looked over the sights with his partner, and began.

“Back in my home village, we had a neighbor who used to own a chicken coop. He and his wife must’ve had a few dozen hens in there, not to mention a couple roosters. Every morning when the roosters crowed the wife would wake up and go collect the eggs, and the husband would be in the market later that day selling their stock. My uncle always bought two, one for each of us.” Ronin reminisced, and continued. “One day the husband wasn’t there to sell any eggs, so we all figured he might be sick, and went to his house to wish him well. When we arrived not only was the husband well and healthy, but he and his wife wanted us to leave as soon as possible. Nopony knew why they were acting so strange, until word got around. One of the chickens had gone missing. The next day two had gone missing, and then four. Everypony thought their flock might have fallen sick, but still they refused to let anypony in. It wasn’t until one day, everypony finally understood what was going on.”

Amethyst continued to stare along the trail of the stream, her ears perked and content as they listened to Ronin’s story.

“One of the children came running out of the forest and said they saw blood and feathers everywhere. The village picked up their tools and spears and charged into the woods to find out what was the matter. My uncle told me to stay at the house, but I snuck around to see what they would find.”

He hesitated, and Amethyst looked to him. “What was it?” She wondered.

“It was a griffon.” Ronin spoke. “I had never seen a griffon before, I was so scared. I nearly ran to my uncle screaming and crying, but then I took a closer look at the creature. I could see its ribs, its limbs were so thin and its eyes were sunken into its skull. It may have looked mean and vicious, but deep down I could tell it was in pain.” He turned and looked to Amethyst. “It was hungry. It was so weak it couldn’t even fly, and it could barely run.”

His partner took a moment to look back over the bridge, resting a pair of hooves over the edge as she begun to think more slowly and clearly now. It was almost as though the very sound of Ronin’s voice is what calmed her mind and dissipated the disturbing scenes filling her mind. “So, the husband and his wife were feeding the griffon?”

“Out of pity, it seemed.” Ronin nodded.

“What happened next? Did they ever get back to the market to sell eggs?”

“I can only wish that were true.” Ronin sulked. “Eventually, the village ponies ran the griffon further back into the forest until it dared not to return. Soon after, the couple moved out of the village, and the coop never housed another hen nor an egg ever again.”

Amethyst simply could not understand the entire ordeal, simply as though her mind were trying to ignore the outcome. It appeared that nopony had won that battle, no matter how hard anyone of them might have tried. Not the husband nor the wife, not the village ponies, not Ronin nor his uncle, and not even the griffon. When everyone was trying their best to be in the right, they only turned up enough stones to realize that in the end they might have been wrong. Ronin and his uncle weren’t able to celebrate with eggs any longer, the village had lost a good stock, and the griffon had ran off elsewhere, Celestia knows whether or not it survived. All that effort, all that struggle, and for what? To lose? Now the mare had felt that the story only made her feel all the more depressed.

“I just don’t get it.” Amethyst buried her face into her hooves. “Why do we have to lose all the time? Why can’t we all just live together in harmony?”

“My uncle had told me once…” Ronin began. “There will always be something or someone above you, and that also means there will always be something or someone below you as well. In order to live the lives that we do, others must live the lives that they do. That is how the world works.”

Immediately, Amethyst’s mind wandered back to the Doctor and his many words. The way in which he had been a mentor and even a father figure to her all these years struck a similar chord when ever Ronin had went on to talk about his uncle. It was from this that Amethyst began to look upon her partner in a more respected and serious light, briefly glancing his way just in time to catch a few gorgeous rays of sunshine layering over his tough yet young and mildly attractive complexion.

Mildly. Amethyst harshly reminded herself, attempting to shield her blush. Only mild.

The stream beneath the river was calm and quiet, the birds chirped elegantly about the air, and the warm, late summer breeze had fallen still. A distant shriek from around the corner of a nearby building was the next thing to hit their ears. Ronin and Amethyst looked to one another and knew what they had to do, springing from the bridge and in the direction of the shrill.

Several dozen ponies were busy swarming the space at a broken in fence stationed in front of somepony’s home. Two mares sat upon the garden bed within as they seemed to cower and plead in fear, the one being a bit fiercer yet lazier than the other. Amethyst directed Ronin to the front of the crowd as she hopped over the side of the barrier and trotted up to the two ponies.

“It wasn’t her fault!” A blonde maned, pink earth mare held the second pony in her hooves. “She’s innocent, I tell you!”

“Just calm down and tell me what happened, miss…?” Amethyst started.

“Cherry Berry.” The blonde sniffled. “This is my sister, Berry Punch. She must’ve wound up drunk last night and fallen into this garden bed, but now everypony’s calling her a criminal.”

Amethyst began to blink in realization and looked all around her. Berry Punch was covered hoof to hide in mud and dirt, and the remains of flowers were trampled to bits and petals everywhere she laid. She couldn’t have. Amethyst thought quickly. Not on this scale.

“That smelly brood cost me first place in the floral competition!” A haggish mare howled from the crowd.

“Lock her up!” The ponies demanded. “Send her to the Mayor!”

“All right, break it up, everypony!” Sam came trotting in. “Disperse, all of you!”

Ralph followed from behind and flared his big, black wings about in attempt to get the crowd to back down, but the angered ponies persisted.

“Don’t worry, we’re going to get you two out of here.” Amethyst reassured.

“Oh, thank you so much!” Cherry smiled past wet, bleary eyes.

“Not so fast.” Ralph stepped forward, staring upon Amethyst through his black shaded visor. “These two are being taken into custody for suspect of a crime scene.”

“My sister’s not a criminal, I swear!” Cherry Berry pleaded.

“You have the right to remain silent.” Sam ordered, and grinned. “Hey, I always wanted to say that one, too.”

“I’ll have you know that this so called ‘crime scene’ just so happens to fall under my investigation.” Amethyst retorted. “Mine and my partner’s, that is.”

“So, you two are the floral raid investigators assigned by Mayor Mare?” Ralph furthered. “Where is your proof?”

“Well, we…” Amethyst hesitated.

“I can vouch for them.” A mare emerged from the crowd.

“Rose Luck?” Ronin stepped back, looking her up and down.

“These two had arrived at my shop the week prior asking questions concerning their investigation, and Ronin here had received a record of my shop’s transactions to document its history. Would you like to see the fine print?”

“If you’re willing to vouch and show us the evidence then you’ll have to come with us as well.” Ralph nodded in her direction. “For now we’ll need to remove these two from the scene, as they’re causing quite the stir.”

“Right.” Amethyst obliged and crouched beside Cherry and her sister. “Ronin, come help me with this.”

As the two unicorns helped to escort the earth mare and her drunken sister from the dishevelment of the garden bed, Ralph and Sam ordered the crowd to clear a path as they retaliated with their cries of shame and misfortune upon the sisters. Ralph could only think in that moment to shield them with a wing draped over their backs, and Sam offered up his helmet to Cherry Berry whom calmly refused. Berry Punch happily snagged the helmet from his grasp and adorned it onto her head, backwards.

“I know it’s hard to imagine that a humble, small town such as Ponyville would be plagued with any manner of crime to begin with, but we must remain vigilant.” The stallion’s tone slithered about the walls and bounced back to the occupants’ ears. “Especially you most of all, Royal Equerry.”

The ambassador’s gaze hovered from David’s crossed arms and up to his face, a tense yet inquisitive pinch to the boy’s complexion as he remained as calm as he could manage.

“So, what’re you supposed to be? The antagonist of Rush Hour 3?”

“Call me Mikado.” He calmly placed his hooves together, laying them on the desk.

“Alright then, Mikado.” David started. “Who are you and what are you doing in Ponyville?”

“Why, I was invited here by your dear Princess, of course.” Mikado reminded. “I do not believe I’ve been acquainted with your kind before. Might I ask where you come from?”

“Well…it’s complicated.” The boy scratched his head.

Mikado simply responded with tightened eyes and a slow nod, that confident grin still plastered to his face. The two occupants adjacent to him had dawned themselves with tired yet focused gazes, the boy refraining from blinking so much in response to the thumping which had returned to his head only recently, thanks to the help of the Crusaders just outside the door. Starlight sat next to the human with a harsh, serious gaze, playing her usual “professional stare” whenever in the presence of an official or a diplomat. David dared a brief gaze around the room, taking to note the intricately designed silk curtains and banners with designs of finely woven flowers and cherry blossom aesthetics. The old unicorn seemed adamant on redecorating. The very instant Mikado moved an inch the boy’s eyes returned their attention.

“I take it that your role as Royal Equerry has been a daunting one?” Mikado ventured.

“What makes you say that?” David returned.

“We all know the uproar outside wasn’t just for show. If anything, the townsponies appeared adamant to work against you.” Mikado revealed a tinge of dismay. “Some even rumor of driving you away.”

“Not on my watch.” Starlight rose and stamped a hoof to the desk. “As long as Twilight and I are around, David’s not going anywhere.” She declared. “Except home, of course, but we’re working on that. In the meantime, Ponyville is where he belongs.”

“Starlight…” David breathed.

“Be still, mare, I know the boy is not to blame.” Mikado elaborated. “I plan to exonerate him of these petty outcries as soon as he leaves this building. The last thing we need in this town is yet another hindrance blocking our path to a common goal.”

“And what goal might that be?” Starlight tried. “Do you and the Mayor have something planned?”

“We shall say that an asset had wandered upon my doorstep to opportunity.” Mikado barely hid his grin. “Ponyville is an old establishment, one of the first to grace this extravagant country. Alas, age has revealed its wear and might I add its true colors as well. Surely a young, intelligent unicorn such as yourself must understand that with age, change is inevitable.”

Mikado delved into Starlight’s sights with crystal blue, gleaming eyes, causing the mare to go silent for a short spell before considering another approach. “Just what exactly is your purpose here anyway? Why are you in Ponyville?”

“I’m quite glad you asked.” Mikado was all but enthusiastic. “I don’t blame you for failing to recognize me at first, given that my company originates from my home land in Neighsia, but it is there that most of my colleagues and assets have dubbed me as ‘Mr. Mikado.’ You see, the Mikado Construction Co. has expanded past their borders and taken on contracts abroad, including Ponyville, of course. When I had accepted Princess Twilight’s invitation it came in tandem with the contract your Mayor and I had signed onto concerning the development of this year’s night time festivities, better known as Nightmare Night.”

“But you’re also an ambassador, an emperor in fact.” Starlight emphasized. “If you’re here then who’s taking care of business back home?”

“Remote management is no fantasy, Miss Glimmer.”

“Even so, why travel all the way to Ponyville for such a small scale project? Sure, Nightmare Night is a popular event, but you must have bigger fish to fry.”

“’Why?’ indeed.” Mikado grinned again. “Perhaps it doesn’t hurt so much to keep a few ponies wondering, now does it?”

It was enough for both the unicorn and the boy to widen their gazes in curiosity, and the ambassador went on.

“I’ll have you know I’ve taken a peek at your record, Miss Glimmer, and I must say your statistics were more than worthy for the position of the Royal Equerry. Tell me, do you resent your teacher’s decision to adorn your friend here with the role instead?”

Starlight remained silent.

“Don’t be shy now, I’m sure the two of you have had more than enough time to talk it out between each other.”

“There was nothing in my power I could’ve done to overrule her decision. As you said, she is my teacher after all, whatever her plan may be I am bound to it.”

“A safer answer than sorry, I suppose?” Mikado had to stifle a chortle. “I understand if you may not show your true colors to those you do not trust. We’ve only just met.” The foreigner seemed to leave it at that as his gaze hovered across the room and over to David. The old stag took a lengthy sum of seconds to study the boy’s figure once more, the human feeling a tingle of discomfort beneath the curved-horn unicorn’s stinging, blue eyes. “And what of you, young Equerry? Do your feelings toward the Princess waver?”

“I’d have to ask, why so inquisitive?” David kept his arms crossed. “I’m beginning to think I know what that pony meant by ‘hiring for the circus.”

“Your aim’s all over the place, buddy…” Starlight groaned.

“Do my questions bother you so? I do apologize-”

“No, it’s not that.” David interrupted. “In fact, something else has been bothering me this entire time. Something I’ve been thinking about since the moment I heard your name or laid eyes upon you.”

“Do tell.”

“You’re not supposed to be here.”

What had surprised Starlight was not the boy’s sudden, offensive demeanor, but rather the lack of a retort or response escaping the stallion’s lips is what had shaken the young unicorn so. For every phrase and every mention she and the boy could think to utter, Mikado had always lashed back just as fast, perhaps even faster. The stag always had something to say, something to inquire about, but this time he simply fell silent. It was in this sense that the unicorn knew, or rather feared, David might be on to something.

“I’ll admit my memory is a little foggy, but even I should know a character out of place when I see one. Every other pony I’ve met in this town blends into the background like a piece to a puzzle, like they’re supposed to fit somewhere, all except for you. I’m not saying your appearance is the problem, not even your role. It’s your name, your very being here. As far as I’m concerned you probably shouldn’t even exist.”

“And do you realize I could very well say the same about you?” Mikado returned.

The boy paused his momentary thought to consider the unicorn’s retort. Some part of him deep down in his mind told him that Mikado was right, perhaps even more in the right than David could possibly be in this moment.

“Earlier I had asked where you come from and you refused to answer, thus giving the notation that your origins could be considered controversial, mysterious even. You are the one and only of your kind to grace this town and not any one of its citizens entail a single clue as to where you had come from or how you had wound up here. But now that I have you here, I believe it is in my right to ask you, are you supposed to be here?”

“Y’know what’s funny?” David said. “I can’t tell if those words coming out of your mouth are supposed to be my own mind’s words talking back to me, or if I really am talking to a technicolor, ponified version of Jack Frost. Either way, it’s not like I really want to be here.”

“And yet here you are.” Mikado told him straight. “I will tell you this: Questioning one’s reality is only half the battle to truly discovering where they belong.”

Mikado’s glowing blue eyes gleamed for a final time, and as his lasting words echoed around the chamber they sat within, the conversation died down into a quiet, serious tone. For a long moment then no words were spoken, no glances nor looks were sparred. The ambassador mimed a deep, lengthy sigh as his gaze turned to the outdoors, almost as though he were missing out on something that he wished to attend or was expecting an asset of his a few minutes or so too late on their arrival. Those blue eyes blinked once and returned to the two occupants in the chairs across his desk.

“Much talk for a simple delivery task, isn’t it?” He began. “I believe you have something for me from the Princess?”

The boy recalled the item within his possession and withdrew it from his pocket, slowly hesitating to hand the scroll over to the stallion, but alas he had already begun to flare his horn to life and bring the piece to his hooves. Mikado gave a wide, warm grin that only produced goosebumps and chills of uncertainty for both the mare and the boy, as they stared back at him in wonder of what the scroll might entail.

“I acknowledge your forthwith and honesty, young Equerry. Ponyville has plans, and those plans require your adherence.”

“And what-”

“Oh, but of course I won’t tell you all about them, I have a scroll to read.” Mikado waved a hoof in front of their faces. “Now, begone with you.”

The double doors sealed themselves and shut the two out, leaving them to discuss their experiences in the hallway. Starlight and the boy walked slowly down the corridor and descended to the middle of the curving staircase before the human finally spoke up.

“Well, that sure was a waste of breath for a whole lotta’ nothing.” The boy mused.

“That’s where you’re mistaken, my friend.” Starlight grinned devilishly. “An eye for an eye, as they say.” And the unicorn flared her horn alive, bringing forth a deep blue print rolled and bound up in a tight white band.

The boy stared upon the paper with perplexity. “The heck is that? Did you steal it from him?”

“Shh! Not so loud.” Starlight hissed. “I took the opportunity when he grabbed the scroll out of your hand, most unicorns have a hard time tracking other agents when they’re casting their own spells.”

Their gazes wandered curiously back to the big, blue scroll, crouching near the base of the stairs and looking upon the texts as they unfurled the parchment. For the first ten seconds, they weren’t sure whether to flip the paper upside-down or look upon the back for instructions.

“What’d you steal, his manga?” The boy commented.

“I have no idea what this says…” Starlight struggled.

“It’s Japanese.”

“You can read that?”

“A little, I recognize the hiragana.” David pointed out. “That’s katakana too. This says ‘na’ and that says ‘to’.”

“’na-to’, huh?” Starlight wondered. “Night, maybe?” And she looked back upon the print once more. “This must be Mikado’s copy of the Nightmare Night construction blue prints…”

Chapter 28 - A Distant Feeling

The majority of Ponyville’s populace, to some understanding, consisted of earth ponies. Even though many were insistent to claim they possessed a wide range of diversity, it appeared as only a label for the sake of said diversity. Though other races such as unicorns and pegasi were not unwelcome, but they weren’t quite as abundant either, and their presence in the humble town at the center of the valley seemed all but a rarity at most occurrences.

Earth ponies were known for both their physique and strange adeptness to the field of business planning, thus making them masters in the art of agricultural development and other traditional building projects. It was no wonder that Ponyville still rendered their constructs in the old-fashioned hay-roofed, cabin-walls style that many still see today. If anything, the ambiance of Ponyville itself practically screamed the inundation of earth ponies, and any unicorn or pegasi to behold its simple wonders found themselves in a world almost unlike any they had originated in.

It was no mystery that pegasi had come from the clouds, and the unicorns from the mountains, thus the lower percentage populace were responsible for pooling in from cities such as Cloudsdale, Canterlot, Las Pegasus and Manehattan. In the eye of the earth pony, a unicorn or a pegasus was a plus, a steward of utilities and wonders they had little to no control over. In this sense they were a need, used even in the growing and developing midst of the coming modern world. One unicorn, in fact, was currently being used as a living shopping cart of sorts.

A one miss Bon Bon trotted down the silt and cobble path stringing around the Ponyville market stalls with her friend in tow, the minty green, harp-marked unicorn known as Lyra Heartstrings. Her levitational field was stock full with bags filled to the brim with groceries, and the unicorn felt herself having to take a break every now and then from the toll it was taking upon her horn. Bon Bon herself felt at ease avoiding the trouble of having to carry so many groceries at once on her own, and she took a glance back to her roommate whom had her rump in the dirt, wiping the sweat off her brow.

“Get a move on, Lyra!” The earth mare hollered back. “Those groceries aren’t gonna carry themselves.”

Lyra sighed tiredly, faked a smile and made the effort to catch up with her friend.

“But really, I don’t think you should be…’jamming’ at such high volumes.” The earth pony said. “You’re going to damage your ears, Vinyl.”

The unicorn did not respond. Not because she had no desire to, but she was in fact deprived of the ability to get a word past her tongue. Vinyl simply stared off into the space of the market, glaring through her deep-purple visors at the many ponies passing by this way and that.

“It’s bad enough that you can’t speak, you wouldn’t want to bear the weight of another disability, would you?” Her friend inquired.

Vinyl froze and whipped her head around, throwing up her hooves to relay a series of symbols and offended gestures.

“I didn’t mean anything by it!” Octavia panicked. “I like you just the way you are, you know I would never change anything about you, even for the sake of my own benefit.”

Vinyl adorned a calmer posture and nodded in understanding, following up with an apologetic sign gesture. Her earth mare friend leaned forward and rested a reassuring hoof to her shoulder, smiling into her glasses and giving a calm nod. Their short spell of a compromise led on into the market stalls as Octavia resumed her search for ingredients for the coming afternoon. She turned back to her friend and began.

“How about I let you decide what we have for dinner tonight?”

Vinyl gave a shrug.

“Oh, come now, I think there ought to be a change of pace for once.” Octavia studied the stock before her. “How does asparagus sound?” She reached her hoof over the vendor for the last bundle which laid upon the table. Only, once her hoof had landed, a strange, fuzzy and warm feeling contacted with her frog. Gross! Was there fungus growing on this thing? The earth mare quickly returned her sights, only to come face to face with yet another earth mare.

Bon Bon stared at her opposition, confused and shocked, allowing the circuits to click together in her brain as she slowly came to realize just who exactly she was staring at. She looked back down at the asparagus that laid upon the table, a dull gray hoof snugged up next to hers. The earth ponies looked at each other once more, sparks of ire blazing beneath their tightened brows.

“You.” Their tongues boomed in unison.

“Bon Bon?” Lyra approached.

“Bon Bon?” Octavia questioned.

Vinyl, of course, remained silent.

Lyra peeked over expectantly, only to receive a shrug from the other unicorn.

“Uh…Lyra?” Lyra tried.

“Lyra?” Octavia questioned again, then shook her head. “Wait a moment, I met you at the Ponies Front meeting.”

“And what do you think you’re doing with my Lyra?” Bon Bon butted in. “Keep your filthy hooves to yourself, donkey!”

“Well, I never.” Octavia ha-rumphed. “Vinyl and I were partaking in a simple stroll through the market, that is until we were both rudely interrupted.”

Once again, Vinyl delivered another shrug.

“And who’re you calling a donkey, you walking candy wrapper!” The cellist returned.

“Oh, that does it.” Bon Bon seethed. “I’d buck you into last week when we fought for the first time just so you could get your ass kicked all over again, but as you can see Lyra and I are running a little late.”

“I can see the undivided labor at work.” Octavia commented upon Lyra’s dismay.

“Exactly!” Bon Bon seemed to disregard her opposer’s comment altogether as she turned back to her companion. “Lyra, grab that asparagus, we’re leaving.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Octavia countered. “Vinyl, take it. It belongs to us.”

“I saw it first, jackass.”

“Well, I thought of it first, cotton-pig!”

The verbal brawlers pushed their muzzles against one another for a second time, it almost looked as though the two would break out into a full on fight that very instant. Lyra and Vinyl both visibly panicked, sharing uncertain glances as their gazes returned to their friends and met back with glares of impatience. Sweat drops and nervous eye dartings commenced for a moment more before the two unicorns finally made the decision to light their horns and lift the asparagus from the table. It was an involuntary action, as both of their magical fields had met the vegetable at once, and in that moment they looked at one another apologetically.

‘My apologies.’ Lyra said.

‘It’s okay, my bad.’ Vinyl replied.

They both froze. Lyra blinked again and again, and Vinyl stared dumbfounded.

‘You talk?!’ The two unicorns pushed their muzzles together.

‘Wait, I always knew I could talk! Why am I surprised?’ Lyra giggled inwardly.

‘You can hear me?’ Vinyl pushed harder.

‘Yes! Yes I can hear you!’ The minty unicorn bounced up and down.

‘I could never talk! But…now I can. What in the hay is going on?!’ Vinyl squirmed excitedly and adorned an ecstatic grin. ‘Holy crap, talking is so cool. I can’t believe I’m talking right now, after all these years!’ She froze again and looked around. ‘Wait, am I really talking?’

‘I’m not sure.’ Lyra followed up. ‘I can hear your voice but your lips aren’t moving.’

‘Your lips aren’t moving either.’ Vinyl noted.

The unicorns shared their sights downwards and spotted the asparagus still in their grasp, as one held on to the item with their magic so did the other. Vinyl let go, and suddenly her thoughts were her own. Lyra let her magic die, and the monologue of her brain remained to herself. Like that of flipping a light switch on and off, the unicorns tested the phenomenon over and over, sparkled, transparent blankets of red mixing with gold. The earth ponies had ceased their arguing at this point and stood by watching as their mares seemed to enjoy playing with the asparagus like it was some sort of mini-game. At once, they had enough.

“Lyra!”

“Vinyl!”

The unicorns jolted and returned their attention.

“Whatever is taking you so long?” Octavia wondered.

“Quit playing around and grab the asparagus already!” Bon Bon barked.

“Oh please, we’re rivals are we not? You don’t need to be so kind as to finish my sentences for me.” Octavia replied dully.

“Who said anything about being rivals? As soon as we’re done here I’m sure as Celestia’s sun I won’t have a rival anymore.”

“I’ll bet upon Luna’s moon that the concept of a rival won’t even beset your mind once I’ve knocked your skull in.”

Once more, the cacophonous cries of bickering and arguing on the rise filled the quaint, calm area of the Ponyville market isles. Plenty of ears flickered and picked up the sound of debate in the direction of the two and slowly began to gather in anticipation of finding out what was the matter and eager to witness yet another fight break out. Vinyl and Lyra needed only to deliver to one another knowing gazes and grins as they slowly set down the plethora of groceries in their magical grasps, and trotted away from the scene with the asparagus bundle in their telekinetic tow.

The scent of freshly baked goods and pastries accompanied by the linger of coffee and tea wafted from the open stable door of the restaurant and into the outdoor seating area, closed in by a thin red rope fastened from one white and pink striped pole to the next, wherein the faithful telekinetic talkers seated themselves with wary eyes on the crowds outside. A pink vase holding a bright red tulip sat upon a purple, flattop mushroom, serving as their table and the setting place for the very asparagus bundle that had begun this entire state of affairs, and a possible rediscovery in a lost art at that. Lyra and Vinyl sat opposite of one another, both studying the vegetable closely and with quiet concern. The DJ had even gone to lift her iconic purple visors from her eyes and get a better look at the item. Once again they both enveloped the piece with their magic, and their talking continued.

‘What do you think?’ Vinyl started. ‘Spooky asparagus?’

‘I would’ve hoped so.’ Lyra speculated. ‘But no, this is something completely different. I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of telekinetic communication?’

‘And I’m supposed to assume vegetables are good for that sort of thing?’

‘Not unless you boil them.’

Their waitress made to interrupt their staring contest by trotting up with a notepad and pencil, only to notice the asparagus lying upon their table. She eyed the two unicorns curiously, wondering if they planned to share it together, to which Lyra gave a quick, nervous smile and pushed the bundle to the side with a swift hoof swipe. “W-We’ll be ready in just a minute.” She giggled in a nervous fit.

The waitress shrugged and turned to trot back into the building, prompting the minty mare to levitate a saltshaker from a nearby table and rest it between herself and her new companion. Their ritualistic procedure took place once more, and thus the conversation continued on.

‘Wow, that is so much cleaner.’ Vinyl blinked, amazed. ‘It’s like you can actually hear my voice.’

‘It probably depends upon the composition of the object we’re holding.’ Lyra explained, staring at the salt shaker. ‘For instance, an asparagus is only made up of plant cells, so it’s going to make us sound muffled no matter what. This saltshaker on the other hoof contains sodium chloride, an almost crystalline like structure. The more organized the material of the object we’re holding, the better we can hear each other.’

‘Then it’s no wonder they use certain metals for my sound equipment.’ Vinyl followed. ‘But, I’m not actually hearing you right now, am I? And you can’t actually hear me.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, I know for a fact Octavia would’ve dropped everything the moment she heard my voice for the first time.’ Vinyl thought back. ‘But she didn’t, and neither did your friend. They just kept staring at us like our conversation didn’t even exist.’

Lyra blinked with realization. ‘You’re right.’ She pondered, a hoof to her chin. ‘It’s more like we’re speaking to each other through…’

‘…our thoughts?’ The DJ finished.

‘Somehow I knew telekinetic was the wrong word.’ Lyra pondered a moment more. Her friend watched on as though the mare was trying to pop a vein, and a second later a light bulb burst above her horn. “Telepathy!” She said out loud.

Nearby tables ceased their conversations to swivel their attention over to Lyra. The flustered unicorn grinned nervously once more and sat herself down, blushing and giggling in Vinyl’s direction. The white unicorn surrendered a raised brow before moving on.

‘I take it this filly reads a lot of comics?’ Vinyl smiled knowingly.

‘This isn’t just an old mare’s tale, I know I’ve read about it somewhere else before.’ Lyra went on. ‘Telepathic communication, or telepathy. It comes from the Griffish words ‘distant’ and ‘feeling.’

‘Distant feeling…?’ Vinyl surmised. ‘Huh.’

‘We’re communicating to each other from a distance by feeling one another’s horn wavelengths, and using our telekinesis to touch the same object is what makes that possible’ Lyra explained fervently. ‘It’s like talking to each other through a wire or something that would carry our voices.’

‘But only you and I have access to the wire.’ Vinyl concluded. ‘That would explain why Octavia couldn’t hear me, or anypony else for that matter. Ah, horse apples, I suppose this means I can’t talk to her after all, huh?’

‘How come you haven’t talked to her before?’

Vinyl mimed a dotted line slicing across her neck and mimicked a gagging motion. Lyra caught a glimpse of a shiny, silver piercing stuck into the DJ’s tongue, and at that the white unicorn gave a shrug and a shake of her head.

“Oh, right…” Lyra nodded, quickly slapping her hooves over mouth. ‘Sorry! I mean, sorry to hear that.’

‘Don’t sweat it, I’ve gotten used to the whole mute thing by now.’ Vinyl shrugged again.

‘You mean you weren’t always a…mute?’ Lyra prodded.

‘These lips’ve been sealed for so long I can’t even remember the last time anything came out of them.’ Vinyl explained, looking across the other tables. ‘It’s not like I was much of a chatter box when I was a kid, so figuring that one out was like getting clothes for Hearth’s Warming Eve, only you already knew your parents were going to get you clothes.’

‘I suppose that’s an accurate enough way of putting it.’ Lyra glanced about. ‘Though, I could never imagine what that amount of silence in your life must feel like. Don’t you just wanna, I dunno, say something every now and then?’

‘Like I said, you get used to it.’ Vinyl sufficed. ‘It’s just nice that I can actually talk to somepony else for once. Hope you don’t mind me filtering fifteen years of unsung madness through your brain for a while.’

‘Trust me, it’s what I live for.’ Lyra chuckled inwardly. ‘But it’s got me thinking, why us?’

‘Because…the universe hates us?’ Vinyl raised her brows.

‘Besides that.’ Lyra pondered further. ‘As far as I’m concerned, telepathic communication should only be achievable for high level unicorns, and even those guys have a hard time hitting the bullseye.’

‘Hey, maybe we’re just gifted?’ The DJ suggested.

‘And you may not be wrong.’ Lyra furthered. ‘Back in the beginning ages of Equestria, when sorcery was on the rise, unicorns used to communicate to each other like this all the time. Of course, they didn’t need an asparagus or saltshaker or anything silly like that. Some unicorns could even talk to each other from miles away.’

‘If we’re talking about magic then it sounds like they used spells to communicate.’ Vinyl followed. ‘Isn’t that what we’re doing right now?’

‘I suppose that could be the case, but the unicorns of the past were naturals. They didn’t need to concoct any sort of complicated tomes or instructions, they sort of just grew into it. It was an evolutionary stretch.’

‘What if they just didn’t want other ponies to understand what they were saying?’ Vinyl jolted forward as unfamiliar words weighed upon the tip of her horn. ‘What was I talking about earlier? Something about my parents?’

‘How you always got clothes for Hearth’s Warming?’

‘Yeah, Hearth’s Warming!’ Vinyl pointed her hoof. ‘The ponies before Hearth’s Warming Eve hated each other’s guts, so they all stayed with their own respective tribes. Y’know, unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies. Maybe that’s when the unicorns started developing their own ‘horn language’ to keep undercover from the other tribes.’

‘But now that we’re all together…’ Lyra raised her head and looked around. Unicorns, pegasus ponies and trotters of the earth all lingered and walked together like pieces to a background that belonged together. “…that language is dying out.” She finished, spoken aloud.

As the air began to settle and the scent of brew from the open restaurant door seemed to die down, it served as a tell tale sign that their waitress wasn’t coming back anytime soon. Vinyl forced a few awkward glances this way and that as she returned to a spiritually diminished mint-green mare sitting across from her, head hung low and eyes half-lidded. It was within these calm, quiet seconds that not only did Vinyl realize they were finally getting a mental break from their telepathic talk for the first time, but that this was in fact the first time in forever that the DJ was finally relaying every piece of her mind to another listening ear. The white unicorn nervously tapped her hooves together and reset her mind, a mental breath of sorts, to start all over again.

‘Listen,’ She began. ‘This whole talking thing is sorta new to me, like I haven’t been able to communicate like this with somepony else since…well, ever really. And I know we only just met, but it wouldn’t be too much to ask if we could hang around for a bit, would it?’

‘Not at all.’ Lyra replied with mirth. ‘We’ll put it this way. I’m just as enthusiastic as you are lost. So, how about we meet in the middle?’

‘Yeah, I’d like that.’ Vinyl smiled, then paused. ‘Uh…?’

‘Lyra.’ The unicorn lent her hoof. ‘Lyra Heartstrings.’

‘Vinyl Scratch.’ The DJ returned. She took a moment to let go of the saltshaker and levitate her visors back down to her face, to which she considered for a moment and proceeded to shoot a look towards her new friend with a mischievous glint in her eye. ‘Say, wanna see something cool?’

Chapter 29 - Disdain

The castle’s map room was flooded with a bright blue glow as Twilight scanned across the globe from one location after another, keeping the magic in her horn alive to continue her searching. The young Alicorn had recalled the map table’s magic abilities, in the sense that it could acquire the location of a pony via their cutie mark and pin point any location on the planet that which it wished to assign them to. Mysterious as the map was, it almost seemed to have a mind of its own, but in spite of its unexplained intricacies Twilight knew to apply a simple reversal incantation in order to determine where somepony or something had come from. In this case, the amulet from the night before, the very item which her faithful assistant and oldest friend, Spike, had used hovered loosely above the center of the table. Once again, the Princess scanned over location after location, every site and seeing, every nook and cranny, and still she had come up empty hoofed.

She stared at the amulet floating a distance from her as though staring back in mockery, and with that she rested the object to the surface of the table and ceased her incantation. The illusive geography flickered away and left only a reflective plane for Twilight to stare back at. She pawed for her notebook and conjured a quill, scribbling away into the pages as she decided to give the newly found item before her a proper name.

「Negater Stone – Lost Amulet Artifact
Origin: Unknown
Material composition: Unknown
Properties: Capable of nullifying a wide range of spells, including mobility
Notes: Starlight Glimmer fell victim to its use, reporting a lack of magical energy and her inability to move for a duration of at least twenty-two minutes. The wielder of the amulet is not required to possess any manner of knowledge or abilities in the field of sorcery prior to its use. Though it has only been “tested” once on a unicorn, it is assumed that no living creature is invulnerable to its effects.」

Twilight’s eyes hovered across the page of her work, nonchalantly reviewing her grammar and punctuation and relaying the mysterious workings of the amulet back into her mind. Her horn flared alive and she flipped from one page to another to find a small slip of paper folded and tucked away into a forgotten page of her book, to which she carefully levitated before her and undid to review its contents. The first words hit her like a hammer to her chest.

「Dear Princess Celestia...」

The letter meant to inform the Princess of David’s arrival still laid incomplete and unsent, a forgotten script lying in the depths of some tattered old notebook. The young Alicorn wondered for a moment if it was the nerves within her working themselves up for not having written to her superior and former teacher for so long, or if it was the fact that she felt the contents of the letter itself were simply too devoid of details she was looking for.

You’re a Princess now. Twilight forced herself into a fixed mind set. It’s been this way for five years now. When you send something to the Princess, she must expect it to be worth her time. Do not fail her, at least not anymore than you already have.

Twilight’s mind called back to the dilemmas that had plagued Equestria in recent years, how each and every outcome had set herself on a thinner and thinner thread with the Princesses in Canterlot. She could already feel the tension bracing upon the last few hairs that was her royal connection with the only other Alicorns in the entire kingdom, some sparring over an alien entity lost on an entirely different planet had to be taken more cautiously, more seriously, relaying far more details than Twilight had even begun with in her letter. That feedback, of course, would come from the Equerry himself, and so Twilight promised herself to wait and see what the young boy would show to the ponies of Ponyville.

The sun set past noon in the sky, forcing hot rays of stark-white and gold light onto the ponies and the only human of the village in the valley below. His bare feet stung against the heated cobblestone walks, and so he opted to tread through the grass whilst steering clear of more ponies whom were delivering to him their fair share of dirty looks, hisses and scowls.

“Some Equerry you are.”

“Go home, chimp!”

“Even if you were a pony I still wouldn’t serve you.”

“No hooves, no service.”

The bottom half of the stable door to the small perfume and scents shop slammed shut. The mare inside stopped dead in her tracks and looked back at the door, noticing that David’s upper half was still visible. He waved feebly with a broken smile, trying once more. The shop mare huffed, slammed the top half of the door, and hung a sign at her window.

「TWO LEGS? TOO BAD!」

David leaned backwards and distanced himself from the shop, groaning in frustration as he hung his head low in defeat. It was almost funny how comical the townsponies appeared when in deep rejection of the boy, but it didn’t help the fact that he could not get what he wanted. Every serious question of his was shunned and laughed off, every offer he made was treated like the plague, and worst of all…he felt hungry. Weak, as though a phantom weight had fallen upon his shoulders.

As he lumbered away from the store and down the sidewalk with heavy legs, he rounded to the entrance of a small alley way and slumped with his back against the wall. The beating sun still reigned down upon him with harsh streaks of stinging white, and along with it his breath began to escape him.

What is this? Fatigue? The boy thought. It doesn’t make sense. I’m still in a dream, aren’t I? Some sort of hallucination?

Whatever was happening in the real world, he assumed, must’ve been relayed back to his mind within this dream. It was then that he realized for days on end he had gone without his most basic diet, essential nutrition that the ponies of the town might literally cast him out for. Meat. It came upon his mind. I haven’t eaten any meat ever since I got here.

“David?” A familiar tone had come.

The boy raised his head quickly and looked outside the alley, noticing a rich brown mare with a silver mane. She carried a satchel bag at her side, uncharacteristically filled to the brim with gardening supplies instead of the usual mechanical jargon.

“Silver Spanner…” David expelled his breath and struggled to stand.

“What’s the matter? Are you hurt?” The unicorn fretted.

“No, I’m fine.” He finally got to his feet and leaned against the wall. “Just a little tired, is all.”

“You look so…pale.” She noted quietly. “Come and sit down.”

The boy obliged and stepped out of the alley way, resting to the bench nearby as Silver tucked her satchel beneath the seat and got comfortable. David braved a few more glares shot in his direction as he hoped his friend would not notice, their gazes turning to confusion as they noticed the mare sitting next to him beginning to speak.

“Don’t pay any attention to them, they know nothing about you.” Silver provided.

“They must know more than I do.” David stared at the ground. “And I’m beginning to agree with them.”

“What makes you say?” The mare wondered.

“Believe me, I’ve tried to cope but I really don’t belong here. My arrival was a mistake from the very start.” He shook and hung his head low once more, mumbling beneath his breath. “It would’ve been better if I were slaughtered by those timber wolves.”

“Don’t say that!” Silver held his arm. “If you were never meant to be here then I wouldn’t be speaking to you right now, but I chose to.”

“And why do you choose me instead of your own kind?” David’s eyes wandered across the street. “Look at these ponies, they know what’s going on. They look down upon me for the simple fact that I am a human, I am different. Why don’t you join them? If you stay with me, you’ll have nothing to lose.”

“And if I go with them, I would lose you.”

The boy could tell that there was a strange, innate kindness to this young mare’s heart. For whatever she did it was never for her own gain alone, but out of unconditional respect and kindness did her outstretched embrace invite all who were willing to accept. It was the sort of kindness which David recognized to betray him once, both from the receiving and giving perspectives, and though the memories of his own world were vague upon the matter, the feelings and emotions stuck with him all the same.

“You can’t keep this up…” His voice was ragged, he sighed drearily. “You have a reputation, Silver, a life to live. Don’t let me ruin it.”

“If that’s the way it has to be.” She accepted.

“I’ll only hurt you, even without laying a finger upon you.”

“There’s nothing you can do to harm me, I promise that.”

David only chose to stare at her for a while before blinking and resting his back to the bench. The mare was stubborn this morning, it seemed, it was best to leave the conversation and let a new one spawn from the longevity of silence. The sun’s rays began to emit a soothing sort of warmth, and the boy allowed for the moment to at least warm his skin and calm his nerves as his friend beside him reveled in the familiar display of the roads of Ponyville. It was, for the most part, like nothing David had ever imagined, filled with so much more merriment and mirth than any observer from the other side could have hoped to believe in.

“Just look at it this way.” Silver began. “You really don’t know how lucky you are. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had all sorts of different people and creatures pass through Ponyville before. Some were treated better than others, even tolerated more than they should have been. Others were, well, not so lucky. What I mean to say is, it’s not your fault what they think of you and it’s not like you should pay too much mind to it anyways. You are their Equerry. Believe it or not they look up to you.”

“Well, I find that very hard to believe.” The boy replied loosely. “But I think you’re right, I shouldn’t let their words get to my head. There’s too many mysteries popping up now, I can’t afford to let it get in my way.”

“Maybe you should learn to just relax for a day or two?” Silver suggested.

“No, you don’t understand. This is urgent now.” David furthered. “I feel like I might actually be getting a step closer to solving this problem, and that was thanks to a dream within a dream.”

“A dream within a dream?”

“Do you remember the night prior when we were walking to the tavern?” He quested. “When you and I were talking about Princess Luna?”

“You saw her?” The pony was ecstatic.

“She spoke to me, Silver. In my dream.” David relayed. “She said so many things, but I can’t remember what about. That’s why I need to have another dream, I need to be able to control my dreams so I can speak to her again.”

“Then it’s true that you were meant to be here!” Silver jolted with excitement. “Princess Luna’s presence is an extraordinary happening, only very few ponies have met her in their dreams. If the Princess decided to speak with you then it was destiny for sure.”

“I can only hope so, but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.” David cautioned. “All I need is a way to contact her again.”

“Right, let’s head to the bar.” Silver nodded.

“Wait, what?”

“You said you wanted to meet her again.” Silver reminded. “You must’ve gotten so drunk last night that Princess Luna herself carried you home.”

“Although appealing, I can assure that is not what happened.” The boy reconsidered his approach. “Look, you’re friends with that flower pony, aren’t you? The one that owns a shop here?”

“Rose Luck? Oh, of course.” Silver was enthusiastic all over again. “I’m sure she’d love to talk about Princess Luna with you. She’s an avid fan, y’know.”

“If she is, then great. Surely she knows about some flowers or scents that can help someone get to sleep? I’d try chloroform but I’m already on a thin thread with the police.”

“You must be talking about lavender.” Silver reminded. “I haven’t quite memorized the seasons for certain plants but I’m sure Rosey can get you something.”

“Erm, you wouldn’t mind getting them for me, would you?” David scratched his scalp. “I’m kinda walking on eggshells here-”

“You want some lavender but the ponies don’t like your monkey face, got it.” Silver hopped from the bench and began trotting away. “Watch my bag for me? I’ll be right back.”

“Sure thing!” David tucked his friend’s satchel beneath his arm as he called out to her. “Thank you, Silver.”

The cream-yellow, scarlet maned mare in question had just finished resting a basket of flowers to turn her sights, watching the scene from afar slowly unfold as a disgusted pinch adorned her face.

“Oh, Luna on high.” Rose Luck sighed, face-hoofing. “Here we go again.”

“What’s the matter?” Daisy lifted her head.

“She’s talking to it again.” Rose nodded in the direction of Silver and the boy from a distance.

“That’s weird.” Daisy cocked her head in confusion. “It doesn’t even look like she’s afraid. Does she even feel the slightest bit frightened?”

“I don’t know she see’s in that thing. Ugh, Celestia help that mare.” Rose recoiled then snickered. “I bet she’s tried to-”

“She’s coming this way!” Daisy hissed.

“Hey gals.” Silver chirped. “What’s up?”

Rose Luck whipped around, lazily meeting the unicorn’s eyes, delivering a meager shrug.

“Just talking.” Daisy responded cautiously.

“I see.” Silver continued. “Say, Rose, I’ve begun to notice a few sprouts growing in my new garden. Did you wanna come over this afternoon and-?”

“Yeah yeah, maybe later.” Rose flicked her hoof.

“Oh, um, is everything alright?” Silver questioned. “Did I interrupt you two?”

A glare sprung from within Rose’s eyes, and she sneered across Silver’s figure with the same disgust she had been watching with from earlier. “Not at all, Silver Spanner, everything is just fine. Let’s just keep your activity with that thing on the down-low, maybe then we can consider having a civilized conversation.”

“What…thing?”

“Seriously though, hun, I’m a little concerned for you. Celestia knows it hurts to look that thing in the eyes for more than two seconds.”

“He has a name, you know.” Silver justified.

Rose threw her head back and cackled. “Did you actually name that thing? What’s next, are you gonna put a leash on it?”

“What is the matter with you? We’re just friends!” Silver stomped her hoof. “We talk to each other, we help each other, we tell jokes and stories. How is that any different from a relationship with any other pony?”

“Silver, please, this is for your own good.” Rose pleaded. “You stay the hell away from that thing, you don’t know what it could-”

“David!”

Daisy watched from a distance, cocking her head yet again, and Rose was now doing the same. “What…?” She appeared perplexed.

“His name is David, and he is not a thing.”

“So blind…” Rose shook her head, rolling her eyes.

“Silver?” The boy approached from behind. “You said my name?”

“Huh?” The young unicorn flipped around and traded sights between he and Rose. “I mean…yes. Yes I did.”

“Huh?” It was Rose’s turn to look confused.

“Please, come over here.” Silver obliged her partner and presented him before the florist. “Rose Luck, I’d like for you to meet my friend, David. David, this is Rose Luck.”

The unicorn swung her head back and forth, eagerly awaiting for the conversation to unfold as a mighty, sure grin crossed over her lips. The two were staring in every other direction except one another’s eyes, until the boy finally found the courage to shatter the ice.

“Ahem.” He cleared, raising his hand. “Hi there, Rose, nice to meet’cha.”

“Ech!” Rose recoiled and spat at the ground. “Don’t say my name, cretin!” Her ears flat and tail whipping wildly, the floral mare turned and gave a final snort before trotting off and around the corner with Daisy in tow.

“Rose, wait!” Silver gave little chase before stopping and kicking the ground with a hoof. “Dammit…” She mumbled.

“See what I mean?” David followed up.

“I’m so sorry, Rose is a kind mare.” Silver shook her head again. “She’s just-”

“Scared? Hostile? Unwilling to try?” David listed. “She’s not the first.”

“I thought that maybe if I could get her to see, then…”

“It’s fine, Silver, if they don’t want to try then I understand.” The boy began to walk away. “Thanks anyways. Here’s your bag.”

Crouching down he lowered the satchel back on the pony’s back before giving a final, little wave of goodbye. Silver looked to the ground with a long, dejected stare, leveling her eyes up to Rose’s floral shop front until finally they met with the many flowers and plants on display. A wide arrangement of colors stretched across the stools, pots and shelves as though ripe and ready for the picking, and with that a devious thought entered the young unicorn’s head. At that moment a tinge of dread spiked the boy’s back as he turned around to find Silver doing something uncharacteristically terrible. David sped over to her side and held her hooves at bay.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“What does it look like?” Silver shook herself free. “I’m getting your flowers for you.”

“Stop, this isn’t right.” He pleaded.

“It wasn’t right the way she treated you.”

“The feeling is mutual-”

“But it shouldn’t have to be!” Silver groaned and kicked the ground once more. “What right do they have to speak to you that way? You’re just a kid.”

The words struck a strange, almost hurtful chord within the boy as though devoiding him of all the strength and energy he had left for the day. He found nothing to say back to the mare as she continued with her argument. Alas, her words did not spill, and the boy cocked his head wondering if his friend was finally beginning to realize the ugliness he saw in himself. Only, she stared past the side of his face, slack-jawed and wide-eyed.

David went to imitate her sights as crowds of ponies began rushing by and piling down the street. In the distance towering high above the hay-roofed building tops, stood an alarming amount of smoke.

Chapter 30 - Downpour

Sunshower pumped her wings against the breeze and hauled the gray, murky, rain cloud three times her size with Cloud Chaser by her side, heading in the opposite direction of Ponyville. The two pegasi hovered above a few dozen acres of land tilled and seeded with the last of the season’s crops as they were reaching their final heights before the coming cold, and only a few more showers of rain remained before harvesting hour would come around.

The captain of the pegasi paused to gaze over the land, and took a surprising glance towards Cloud Chaser as she expelled a tuckered tuft of air from her lungs and proceeded to rest herself upon the rain cloud they had been hauling. Normally Sunshower frowned upon such misconduct, but she knew her comrade was tired and decided to let her be for a moment longer. If only that new pegasus, this miss Derpy Hooves had arrived to work, the load would’ve been easier to manage.

“Right on time, girls!” A voice cawed from below. “Take’r to the south end and we’ll get a drizzle goin’.”

It was the farmer of the land, obviously looking forward to watering his crops, to which Sunshower took her face behind the rain cloud to shield the displeasure painting her face. Being such an enormous agricultural estate it would make sense to have a division or two that specialized in crop and water management, but of course as Sunshower had come to find out, Ponyville was most notorious for having the inability to think two or three hooves ahead with their heads tucked beneath their asses all the time. Cloud Chaser finally lifted herself from the cloud and fluttered on, beckoning her captain as she took a stride across the distant wispy clouds with her eyes, longing for the sight of Cloudsdale anchored next to Canterlot mountain.

What had come upon her sights, however, was the sight of stark gray clouds building above the horizon. Sunshower pinched her eyes and watched carefully.

“Cap, we doing this or not?” Cloud Chaser questioned.

No, those aren’t clouds. Singes of ash began to enter her nose.

“Cap?” Cloud Chaser hovered by. “What’s wrong?”

“Smoke.” Sunshower hissed.

“What? Where?” Her companion shared the scary sight from afar.

“Hey, what’s the hold up?” The farmer hollered from below.

“Fire.” Sunshower warned. “There’s a fire in Ponyville!”

Well aware that the most available, portable water supply was in her very hooves, Sunshower aloud her body to move on its own and began pushing the haul towards the pillars of smoke. Cloud Chaser hesitantly pushed along side her with questions frantically escaping her mouth.

“Find Oskie and Cskie and have them bring the second rain cloud to the fire, pronto.” Sunshower commanded.

“But, this is for the farm-”

“That is an order from your superior.”

Cloud Chaser took a second more to stare at her captain, desperately glancing back towards the smoke, departing with a quick salute and bulleting herself in the direction of her comrades.

“Whatta’ ya’ think you’re doing?! Bring that back here!” The farm pony stomped an angry hoof.

The captain did not bother to respond. She fastened a rope around her waist, snugged the rain cloud and rocketed across the pasture leading into Ponyville. With the new found adrenaline pounding against her veins she found the haul to be much lighter now, but the frightening sight of the tower of smoke growing larger and thicker by the second is what instilled a deep sense of fear within the mare.

I’ve burdened myself with this responsibility now. She thought inwardly. If I fail, I bring others down with me.

Turning around the corner could have very well been enough to make her faint, but she relied upon the remaining adrenaline. Before her, ponies circled with worries and cries around greedy, rising licks of orange and red flames, almost completely engulfing the bakery known as Sugarcube Corner.

Sunshower followed her body’s motions and swung the cloud above the pillar of smoke, stomping against the sides and allowing the downpour to wash away the hot terror swallowing the pastry shop into ash. Steam bellowed in every direction and stung the eyes of those nearby, causing Sunshower to hover a length or two back to assess her situation. It was in her deepest dread that the roar of the fire persisted, and the flames within had yet to be extinguished. Cloud Chaser needed to arrive with that spare cloud, and fast.

“My husband, he’s still in there!” A desperate wail cried from below.

Sunshower closed up her wings and allowed herself to land nearby, wherein two observers clutched a puffy-eyed Mrs. Cake in a desperate attempt to console her. The captain crouched below her sights and held her face between her hooves, staining them wet with her tears.

“Look at me, ma’am.” Sunshower held her authoritative tone. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Please, you have to save them! My husband went in there to save our baby cakes, but he hasn’t come back out!”

“How long has he been gone?” Sunshower shot, looking to the other ponies.

“A few minutes, I think?” One stallion spoke shakily.

“A building that small, that’s far too long.” Another said.

Sunshower stared back at the flames once more, a gaping, fiery maw inviting her in to certain doom. The store sign above the front door pinched at the iron latch and fell to the ground with a pitiful thud amongst all the roaring, hollowing flames and the desperate cries of the ponies. Once again, that same sense of adrenaline flooded her body, and the pegasus knew what to do.

She picked up the fallen shop sign, ignored the pleading of the spectators, and braced the wooden plate in front of her as she corkscrewed and rocketed towards the second story window. Shards shattered past her face, caught in her mane and scraped her flanks. The air, as expected, became unbelievably hot, but it was so much more than she would have ever imagined. Sunshower amended herself for her smart thinking to start on the second floor to maintain her wits. It was always easier to descend rather than to ascend. She closed her wings, held her breath and slitted her eyes in search of the familiar figure of a grown stallion, or a husband, whatever those were supposed to look like.

The captain recalled what the crying wife, no, the crying mother had told her, and she shut her eyes to put her focus into her other senses. Her ears flickered in the direction of a set of tiny little cries, and so she barreled past a row of flames to come upon the top of the stairs.

There at the bottom of the flight laid a butter-yellow unconscious stallion with two little foals tucked beneath his hooves, bawling and sucking away what very little air they had left. There was a sharp splotch of red on the side of the stallion’s head, and the babies pawed at him desperately to get up, but to no avail. Sunshower’s haul it seemed had unexpectedly grown in number. The stallion was far too much of a hindrance to carry along with the children, causing the captain to prioritize the precious cargo, tucking a baby underneath each wing. Sunshower located the front door and gave it a pitiful, tired buck, only to discover that hefty, burning beams had fallen in front of it. The desperate cries of the ponies outside were all but muffled whimpers past the curtains of roaring, relentless flames.

She looked to the unbroken window resting above the ashy flower beds outside, and once again knew what she had to do.

The shards of glass showed no mercy this time, slicing past her face and gashing into her hide. One stung into her nostril whilst another wedged itself between her gritted teeth. Seconds later the bystanding ponies trotted up quickly and hoisted the survivors up onto their haunches. As Sunshower caught the sight of Mrs. Cake embracing her children with wet, worried eyes, that worried stare remained as she looked back to the captain for guidance on her husband.

Sunshower hissed and snarled with great effort, squirmed and threw herself back down to the earth, crawling towards the burning building, not even bothering to look up as she had her mind set on saving the stallion trapped inside.

The captain collided with something, pink and soft, and looked up. It was Pinkie Pie, holding the weather captain at bay as her crystal, grateful blue eyes told her every word she needed to know. You’ve done your part, you can rest now.

A single heartbeat later, Sunshower rolled to her back and stared skyward. Her teammates had already arrived with the spare cloud, pouring every last drop the dark, murky cargo had to offer, finally snuffling away the lasting flames and embers into a sizzling silence. Her vision began to fade, and all she saw was the rain. Her ears began to quell, and all she heard was the rain. Her senses all shut off one by one, and the last thing she felt was the familiar pitter and patter of rain.

Deep orange light pooled into the room between the slits of the half shaded window, complimentary flowers lying within a vase sitting upon the table next to the late afternoon scene outside. Mumbles filled her ears as the vision began to return, albeit blurry and incomprehensible. Soon enough as the white walls and the white ceiling came into view, so did the familiar voices of her weather mates, all expressing their concern and delivering their respects to a seared and bruised captain lying upon the hospital bed.

Sunshower blinked blearily and shifted her head around. “What…?” She began weakly. “What happened?”

“You flew headfirst into a burning building.” Oskie answered. “What’d you think was gonna happen?”

Cskie promptly swung a hoof upside the stallion’s head and looked back to her captain with condoling eyes. “We were all worried sick about you, captain.” She told her.

“What you did was very brave.” A distant tone entered the room, causing Sunshower’s ears to perk in response as though she might recognize the voice. When she looked up she knew she had recognized it when the sight of an earth mare pushing up an aviator’s helmet from her mane resumed her speech. “I think I speak for all of us here when I say none of us combined could have ever had the courage to do what you did today, Captain Sunshower.”

Cherry Berry stood among the pegasi, shoulder to shoulder in the sun rays shining through the window. The sight itself was nearly enough to convince Sunshower that Cherry was a real member of their team, that she belonged among them.

“You…?” The captain began to question.

“Our aviator here helped haul you to the hospital when the others were busy with Mr. Cake.” Cloud Chaser explained. “Surprisingly so, she was quicker than us.”

A grateful tinge colored the captain’s gaze, only to be replaced with the realization of a missing asset yet to enter her field of thought. “Mr. Cake…” Sunshower sat up. “Sweet Celestia, that stallion. Where is he?”

“The doctors put him in the other room-”

“Is he alright? Did he make it?” Sunshower struggled.

“Easy, cap, you’re still healing!” The ponies panicked.

The captain did not bother to respond. She strained against the sheets and broke through her crew, limping across the room as the worried pegasi wandered after her. The patient’s room door burst open, causing a nearby nurse to jolt in surprise, and Sunshower was down the hall in search of the stallion she had yet to see. Passing and peeking into one cracked door after another, she recognized the sight of egg-yolk yellow, Mr. Cake’s coat color. By the time her pegasi had caught up to her, Sunshower had already seen it all. Bandages covered the baker head to hoof, his fur was burned in so many spots rendering him almost unrecognizable, and the oxygen tank and mask fixed over his muzzle rendered for him what little hope he had left in surviving this tragedy. The stallion, of course, was unresponsive. Nopony knew when he might wake up, or if he ever would again. Sunshower took the sight like the fleeting rays of light from outside, causing her to crumple over her hooves. Her weather mates hurried to her side.

“No, no, no, this wasn’t supposed to happen.” She mumbled. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. If only I hadn’t accepted this role, if only I had stayed at the factory, if only…if only…”

“I’m here!” It was yet another voice the captain had to recognize. She didn’t even have to look up from the floor to know the very wall-eyed, bubble-flanked pegasus whom it belonged to. Derpy fluttered between a couple of doctors tucking their clipboards and a nurse pushing a cart of supplies before tumbling into the room and struggling to catch her breath. “Captain, I’m sorry I’m late, it’s just-”

“If only…” Sunshower seethed uncontrollably.

“Captain…?”

The pegasus spun around, pinned Derpy between the wall and her hoof, and unleashed all of her pain and fury upon the poor mare. “You should have been there! You should have been doing your job!”

“Captain, let off of her!” Cloud Chaser struggled to separate the two.

“When I assign you to a job you do it, no questions asked. To think that the most brainless, useless task of all could’ve very well been the most beneficial to our situation here. If you were out scouting the area like you were supposed to instead of drinking like a mule, we could’ve had everypony out of there, we could’ve stopped the fire well before it had gotten any worse. Is it so hard to ask somepony to do something when you just want them to do it? You’re proof that it is.”

“Captain, I’m sorry, I-I…” Derpy crumpled beneath her. “I don’t know what to say-”

Sunshower yanked Derpy from beneath her wing and shoved her in front of the bruised and burned Mr. Cake. The pegasus shuddered at the sight as her captain hissed into her ear.

“Take a good, long look, Derpy. Y’see that? This is your fault.”

“Captain.” Cloud Chaser began again.

“Is there anything you could say to compensate for this? Is there anything you can say right here and now that won’t convince me to strip you of your title and send you home? Then, mare up, get that head of yours outta’ your ass and SAY IT.”

“Captain, that’s enough!” Cloud Chaser stomped her hoof and flared her wings.

Sunshower broke away and came to terms with her reality, everything she had just said and everything she had just done, she stared upon her weather mate with a fretting, glistened gaze. And then, the downpour began. Derpy crumpled where she stood and pressed a forehoof over her eyes in a desperate struggle to dam the oncoming flow of tears. It was too late, the streams seeped through and rolled beneath her chin. The pegasus gritted her teeth and expelled a tiny whimper.

“I’m sorry, captain, I just-” She couldn’t think of anything else to say. “I’m sorry.”

The gray pegasus let go of a final choke before backpedaling and bumping into various ponies and objects, clumsy as she was. She was down the hall and out the door quicker than Sunshower could think to chase her, but even she knew now that there was no going back, not from anything that had happened this day.

“Where did I go wrong, Cloud Chaser?” The captain swiped a quick hoof over her eyes, staring ahead hard and straight.

“It’s over now, cap.” Chaser simply told her. “C’mon, let’s get you back to your room.”

A solemn, low hum of despair filled the room, the halls and the hearts of the weather team as they walked their captain back to her room and thought of nothing more to do but simply help her back into bed and leave with silent, dejected demeanors. Sunshower tucked herself beneath her sheets, finally giving her wounds a chance to heal, and it was only long after her team was gone and the fleeting lights of sunlight dipped beneath the horizon that she finally uttered the words beneath her breath.

“Where did I go wrong, Thunderlane?”

Chapter 31 - The Derivative

The haze of petals, rich red leaves and samara seeds brought along a breeze down the dirt path, and although the wind blowing through was altogether warm, the boy could detect but a faint nip of cold in the air upon his bare arms, the hairs sticking up on end. Colder temperatures, it seemed, were approaching faster than anticipated.

He allowed a small, exaggerated flehmen to the ambiance surrounding both him and his pink companion as he adjusted the box full of trinkets in his grasp and continued down the path. The pink pony bouncing ahead of him performed a one-eighty mid hop and continued to trot backwards without looking, focusing her bright, blue eyes upon the boy.

“Thanks again for helping me move, Davey. You’re a real handy guy, y’know that?” The bubbly earth mare snorted. “Get it? Handy!”

“Not a problem, Pinks.” David gestured back. “Though, this place seems really far out from town. Are you sure we’re headed in the right direction?”

Pinkie Pie hopped from one side of the path to the other, a swift pink blur each time she passed, uplifting rocks and boulders with little to no effort as though scouting for a particular presence. “Rocks always point to our destination.” She explained. “Just follow one rock after the other.”

“But there’s rocks everywhere.” He looked around.

“That’s how you know you’re getting close.”

David simply shrugged and left it to the pink, little party animal. She had been born and raised in this world, after all, she ought to know better than him even if he was prompted to question her methods from time to time. For a short moment then he lent his sights to the sky and began to wonder why he had been chosen for this particular task instead of one of her friends. Plenty of them had magic and were willing to help, he was sure, even if the luggage seemed a little sparse. From what had survived from the fire of Sugarcube Corner it seemed that strangely enough, Pinkie’s belongings were spared the most as compared to the Cake’s property. That of course only told one where in the building the fire didn’t start.

“Thinking about why I asked for you help?” Pinkie spawned inches away from his face.

The boy froze, ready to catch himself. “Well, no. I-I mean, yes. I mean-!”

He seemed to have already forgotten the strange little pony’s ability to pick the words right out of someone’s mind, or pull out some other form of physics defying nonsense. Whichever it might have been, Pinkie stared upon the boy regardless, eager and waiting. He surrendered with a deflated sigh.

“Alright, you caught me, I suppose I am a little confused as to why you would ask for my help instead of one of your friends.” He confessed.

“That’s easy.” She told him. “You are my friend!”

“No, I meant, why not Twilight or Rarity? They’ve been with you longer than I have, after all.”

“Is this another one of your depreciation episodes or are you just trying to act like a dumb-dumb?”

“Uh…?”

“C’mon, Davey, I know you’re smarter than that!” She hovered and extended a hoof above his scalp, rubbing her hoof into his hair. “Besides, if I’m meant to be honest, I owe you one. Big time.”

David had to take another physical step back with the sudden, solemn tone the pink party mare was now taking on. “What do you mean?” He asked softly, cocking his head in amiss.

“Those poor chickens at the coop, I know it wasn’t your fault.” Her head hung, her body still. “But it’s my fault that everypony thinks it is.”

He continued to stare at her quiet, unmoving form, almost like watching a time-bomb that might go off at any second but with no ticking nor clock to tell one when or how. The most unlikely of utterances and sounds escaped the pink pony’s lips. It was a sigh, long and dreary, settling upon the beginning of a lengthy explanation.

“That morning I arrived at Fluttershy’s cottage to give her some sweets, but she wasn’t answering. I thought to go around back, and that’s when I saw it. The slaughter.” It seemed to sting her every time she used such words, but she pressed on. “I had seen blood before, I grew up on a farm after all, even if we were just pushing rocks all day. I was angry with myself because I knew I should’ve seen this coming, I knew my Pinkie Sense should’ve done what it was supposed to do, maybe then I could’ve stopped what was coming.”

Pinkie took a moment to shake the emotions away with a whip of her head. For the first time David caught a glimpse of her tail twitching with irritation, and he knew it wasn’t because of her Sense. He rested the box to the ground and felt himself moving closer to her as she continued.

“I know I’m a pony who lets my emotions get the better of me, but this was something else entirely. I wanted to scream, I wanted somepony to run with me, I wanted somepony to help. So, I ran into town wailing about the coop and those poor chickens. I should’ve known what they would think, about you, I mean. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I pinned you into that big, stupid mess.”

“Pinkie…” He knelt beside her.

“You must hate me now, huh? That’s okay.” Her mane began to droop towards the ground. “Go on and head back to Ponyville, if you want. I’ll take it from here.”

The boy’s response was quick and natural, as though he already knew what he wanted to do before he even carried out his action. He hoisted the box of her belongings back up into his arms and continued down the path ahead of her, delivering a strong, confident look as he went by.

“I think I understand now why you’ve asked for my help.” He told her. “You’re giving me my chance to be a kind and honest person. Since you’ve been honest to me, Pinkie, I’m going to respect that offer.”

“So you forgive me?” It felt as though a spider monkey had been shot from a cannon and clung onto the boy’s back, trading parts of his vision for tufts of the pink mare’s fluffy, cotton mane. “Oh, this makes me so happy I could just burst into confetti!”

“Maybe you could tell me where to go before you do that?” The boy blew a tuft of mane out of his face.

“You don’t gotta worry about that, silly. We’re here!”

“Wait, what?”

His vision returned to the scenery tenfold and revealed to him a deep tunnel, boring a long hole through the earth. As the two trekked through the path, the foot steps and hoof steps clicking along the cavern walls in tandem, a vast array of colors and lights shined from further down the hallway. Gems, diamonds, crystals and emeralds of all kinds dotted the cave like sun speckles on the surface of the ocean. The boy was too transfixed upon the sight of majesty to notice his companion beckoning him further, to which the pink pony hopped behind him and pushed his rear with her hooves, shoving him out into the open light of an enormous dome with an open ceiling.

Sunlight caught through the gemstones sticking out from what remained of the ceiling and cast hues of green and blue down the cascading waterfalls spilling down the mossy green and fungal filled walls. Directly to the right stood a deep lavender canopy wherein beneath the curtains and drapes laid an extravaganza of several different minerals, showcased upon stark-gray tiles and inside glass display cases. There was a bed with plenty of comfortable cushions and pillows, a small number of potted plants, and a single mare, garbed in a dull blue cloak. She appeared to be an earth pony, sitting with her back facing the two as they quietly trotted inside, and Pinkie quickly turned to David with a harsh “shushing” hoof over her lips.

David stopped in his tracks and stood still with the box still in his grasp, waiting for the pink pony to do whatever she planned to. Pinkie slithered to the ground and crawled in the direction of the mare occupying herself with a book. She could hardly contain her excitement as she lifted her hooves over the mares eyes and gave a tiny, girlish giggle.

“Guess who~?” Pinkie sung.

“Hello, Pinkie.” The mare responded, dull as ever. “I see you’ve brought your friend.”

She hasn’t even turned around to look at me. The boy thought.

“And I see you’re still keeping on your toes, big sis.” Pinkie snorted again. “Teehee! Get it? Keeping on your toes.”

“I get it.” The mare responded, duller than before.

Pinkie bounced backwards and landed beside the boy, nudging forward with another hoof. David promptly set the box down on a nearby table before dusting himself off and attempting to look proper, eliciting another giggle from the pink mare. “This is Maud, my big sister. She’s only two minutes older than me and she has the super power to know when somepony is there without even looking at them. Pretty neat, huh? Did I mention she likes rocks?”

He returned his eyes to the mare ahead, whom still hadn’t looked up from her book to address the human in the room. David took to scratch the scar beneath his shirt nervously before being prompted by yet another pink appendage hoofing him on the back.

“H-Hello? Miss Maud?” The boy began nervously, clearing his throat. “I’ve come to drop off your sister’s belongings. It’s nice to meet you.”

Finally, with a tiny thump her book closed shut and the gray coated, purple maned pony slowly turned in her cushion to study the boy with stale, teal sights. He froze beneath her vision, for a rock-solid ten seconds the two creatures stood before one another staring the other down. Maud trotted over to the boy, slowly, raised her muzzle and gave him a few inspecting sniffs.

“Derivative.” She blinked.

The boy leaned down and whispered to Pinkie. “Is this supposed to be initiation?”

“Well, there are a few ways we could make you an honorary Pie family member.” Pinkie giggled, hopping over to begin tearing through her box of belongings.

“It was a classification.” Maud explained. “You are different, but you’re not that different.”

“I don’t exactly follow…” He gave her a wry look.

“Remember what I said about Maud having super powers?” Pinkie chirped in. “It kinda works like the Pinkie Sense. It’s like each of the Pie sisters have their own abilities! Say Maud, what do you think Limey and Marble can do?”

“We’re not meant to talk about that subject with outsiders, Pinkie.” Maud educated.

“Oopsie! That’s right, sorry Maudie!” The bubbly baker rummaged herself back into her box, falling inside and popping out head first a moment after. The pony gave a flustered blush and “squee” in response.

“Well, I do suppose you could call this ‘initiation’ now.” Maud returned to the boy. “It is true that I have the ability to detect other ponies and creatures from prodigious distances, given that our geographical standpoints and their rudimentary compositions remain unchanged. This other creature, however, I can’t quite calculate its patterns.”

“Other creature?” David stared at the mare, mouth ajar.

“The one that I am quite certain is responsible for killing Fluttershy’s chickens.” Maud’s gaze remained unwavered as she trotted slowly back over to her shelves of books and brushed a hoof over the collection, a wondering twinkle in her eye as she lent a look back over the tome she had just been researching. “These past few months I’ve been exploring the Everfree forest in search of new rock deposits to collect. I wanted to study the composition of the castle ruins and determine the sort of minerals that were used in its construction. But, something was standing in my way, and has been ever since I attempted to go on this expedition. That is why I’m quite glad that my sister brought you along, in fact, I’m ecstatic. Can’t you tell?”

“You’re as expressive as ever, Maud.” The boy mumbled back at dull, expressionless eyes. Clearly this mare’s heart was in it for the rocks.

“I’ve heard that you are the Equerry of Ponyville, assigned by Princess Twilight.” Maud went on. “I don’t expect you to know everything, because you are a visitor to this world after all, but did you know that most equerries in the past had a vast knowledge of the animal kingdom?”

“I suppose those are traits I’ll be picking up along the way, but until then I can only help you out the best I can.” David admitted.

“My question to you is, do you know what this mysterious creature is in the Everfree forest?”

David took a moment to rest and ponder with a hand to his chin. The sudden itching upon his scar beneath his shirt came back to him as he went to scratch away the memories of the ruins hastily returning to him. The sounds echoing against the gray, dusted walls. The snarls of the dreadful timber wolves, the smells. The smells… The boy’s thought hastened.

“There was this smell, I remember, and it stung like copper. Almost like blood.” He recalled. “It was the first thing I smelled when I arrived in the ruins, and it was way stronger than the timber wolves. Come to think of it, is that why you decided to smell me when I walked in here?”

“Your scent told me everything I needed to know. Though your spoors may be different, it’s very likely that whatever this creature may be it is in fact not from this world, much like yourself.” Maud cocked her head, delivering an inquisitive gaze. “Strange, isn’t it?”

In that moment the boy had realized that he very well might not have been the only strange appearance to grace this world on that fateful day. Since his very beginning on this plane there had been another here, lurking in the shadows and hiding beneath the night. It was only a matter of time before this creature, or rather one of them, would decide to finally reveal themselves. When that time came, David had not a clue as to what might happen next.

Sky scrapers climbed high to the hazy blue, clouded skies, obscuring any light, shedding only what was intended to be seen. The bustling of the two-legged walkers hopping all about the city, out and about, on their business and this way and that, were all but a sweeping, winding wind of blurs and fuzz. Noticeable, but nothing important. Or, so the boy thought.

“Your mind is its own entity, young oneiro.” Princess Luna stopped, looked back, and turned to continue down the street. “And because of that, it is dangerous. More dangerous than you could ever imagine.”

David did what he could to keep up with the nightly highness, regardless of the walkers bumping into him and buffering his vision. The Princess herself kept a calm and graceful gait, weaving through the crowds like water between rocks. It was more than just the thought that she might have been here before. Years upon years of practice had turned into habit, instinct even, navigating her way among the corridors of dreams.

“We may let our minds wander in the waking world, otherwise known as day-dreaming, but to wander the realm of dreams is a means to let these notions wander when our thoughts and our entities are at their most active, their most potential.” Luna spoke over her shoulder. “Potential can lead down one of two paths, let not this path be the one in which you might lose control.”

And among the fuzzy images of the walkers passing by, there came a single figure with a gait nearly as level as her highness. Each and every step mesmerized the boy as he stared and glanced over his shoulder to watch. Scarlet and sun yellow colored her hair, a bright and beautiful face, ice blue eyes…all as a woman in a red dress.

“Were you listening to me, David?” Luna called.

“Huh?”

“Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress?”

“I, uh…” He scratched his scalp.

“Look again.”

David quickly glanced back. His hand dropped, and his feet kicked in the opposite direction. Mere inches from his face yawned a wide, green and slimy jaw, rows of razor sharp bark, a sickly lime hound from hell ready to pounce and devour him whole. The boy panicked, threw up his arms and shielded himself.

Luna raised her left hand, and snapped her fingers.

Then, he heard a click, as though everything were frozen in ice. The boy breathed, blinked, and slowly looked back up. The timber wolf, along with the crowds and the city altogether, were suspended in time. Everything was silent, everything was still, all except for Luna and the young oneironaut. It suddenly clicked in his head.

“This…” David slowly realized. “This is a dream?”

“And yet, you threw your arms over yourself when the timber wolf had pounced, much as you would do were this the waking world.” Luna slowly rounded the green, wooden wolf, looking it up and down before returning to the boy. “Tell me, did you really think that you were going to get hurt?”

“I’m not quite sure anymore.” He shakily answered.

“Your mind told you to guard yourself, per reaction to the danger before you.” The teacher quietly touched the wolf, and the apparition faded into speckles of blue. “A reaction to danger is hardly thinking at all. Rather, it is instinct, and instinct can be just as useful as it can be dangerous.”

“So, what are you trying to teach me here?” David paused. “Reflexes? Of the mind?”

“These reflexes will come as such.” Luna explained. “I am trying to teach you to control these reflexes. Impulsivity is hardly a relative term, but an attribute of it at best. No, what I intend to teach you is control, but I will not teach you that.” The Princess spoke vaguely. “After all, this is your dream.”

Chapter 32 - A Distinct Feeling

The repetitive, monotonous, tedious clicking of the white, little statue before them grew all the more tiring to stare at. For every turn there was repeated the same rhythm of clicks, and every click made it all the more harder to look at and hear of. For what seemed like the fifth or sixth time now, the statue completed its revolution, and the song came to a close. Lyra Heartstrings sat at one end of the table, notebook and pencil ready in her levitation, and yet nothing particularly interesting had happened. Her host, Vinyl, looked as though she could release a deep, long sigh into the living space around them, had she possessed the proper vocals to do so. All the DJ could whiny was a whump of defeat as she threw herself backwards onto the sofa, and Lyra sat motionless on her chair, still staring at the statue.

‘How come something never works the way you want it to, especially when you’re trying to show somepony else?’ Vinyl communicated with frustration.

‘Maybe it’s defective?’ Lyra supposed, sending a wave of words back.

‘It was working just fine before.’ The disgruntled DJ began moving the piece around. ‘It’s like it knows when somepony else is in the room. It won’t work unless I’m the only one who can see it, or hear it, I guess.’ The unicorn ceased her fidgeting and stared red-pupil daggers into the statue pony’s glazey, ceramic eyes. ‘C’mon, you mischievous little gremlin-gnome thing! Tell us your secrets!’

Lyra eyed the statue on the coffee table for a moment more, and returned to her friend. ‘Did it ever cross your mind to write these symbols down?’ She asked her.

‘Huh?’ Vinyl blinked back.

‘You claim that whenever the key is turned, the statue lights up and reveals a set of numbers and letters to you, like a series of codes or patterns that are meant to be deciphered by somepony.’ Lyra speculated, pondering over the statue once again. ‘Your roommate picked up this statue, right?’

‘Tavi always had a knack for things an old mare might find interesting.’ And the DJ shuttered. ‘Trust me, you do not want to get stuck in the candle isle with that pony.’

‘Where did you say she got it from?’ Lyra prodded.

‘The grocery store, of all places.’ And Vinyl paused with realization. ‘Come to think of it, she had a pretty crazy story to tell when she got home that night. Apparently some mare at the store fought her for it. As you can see, my girl won it fair and square.’

‘Odd.’ Lyra noted. ‘Bon Bon told me she lost her job because she got into a fight with one of the customers.’ Her sights traveled down to the object. ‘Over a dusty, old statue. That wasn’t even supposed to be on the shelves in the first place.’

Vinyl sat and stared at the statue, the cogs working ever so slowly in her head. Lyra was at an even pace, the pieces forming in their collective thoughts. As a matter of fact, such thoughts were being relayed to one another at the same time, almost without their knowing. The room fell quiet, and the duo of unicorns looked to one another.

‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ Lyra quested.

‘Isn’t that what we’ve been doing this whole time?’ Vinyl wondered.

Then, the front door suddenly swung open.

“Vinyl Scratch!” The mare at the door sneered past a mouthful of groceries. She spat and dropped the bags over the threshold, clamoring inside and shutting the door behind her. “Where have you been? Your help would have been very much appreciated a couple of hours ago! Have you any idea how long it took to-”

‘I see what you meant by that candle isle thing.’ Lyra cautiously surveyed the bags at the door.

Like the flip of a switch, the earth mare came to a halt and noticed the new, minty green unicorn sitting in a rather peculiar manner. Something about the disfigured anatomy of the unicorn’s back made the earth pony’s eye twitch.

“M-My apologies, ma’am.” Lyra jolted upwards. “Um…is this your spot?”

“Vinyl.” The earth pony began more calmly this time. “Have you been…socializing?” She wasn’t quite certain if that was the way she wanted to word it, but all the more knew how hard it was for the DJ to make friends, even acquaintances in the first place, given her lack of speech.

The white unicorn raised a series of hoof signs, to which the minty one assumed introductions were underway.

“Lyra Heartstrings, ma’am.” The guest chirped and held out her hoof. “Sorry if the visit was on such short notice. Your roommate here has been very kind to me, and invited me over to take a gander at this lovely piece you picked up from the store. My grumpy, ol’ mare wasn’t too rough on you, was she? Sweet on the outside, drops you if she feels like it. Am I right? Trust me, I know how that pony can get sometimes. You do not want to get stuck with her in the frozen oats isle-”

There was a near stranger of a unicorn sitting on her sofa, speaking almost a million miles a minute, and in that time the earth pony was given the luxury of peering down at the piece they had set out before the coffee table. The white, musical box unicorn statue she had picked up from the grocery store, the same one that breed of a brood tried to steal from her, and with that the dots slowly strung together in her head. Despite it all, the mare had already neglected her manners.

“Octavia.” She gripped the hoof waiting for her. “Octavia Melody.”

“A pleasure.” Lyra concluded.

She side-eyed the other unicorn, who gave a half-shrug and half-nod.

“You are the one associated with Miss…Bon Bon?”

“I-I suppose I oughta’ head home-”

“No, no.” Octavia calmed again. “You and Vinyl appear to be at good terms with one another, and for that I am glad. I shall respect her wishes.”

Vinyl resumed her spillage of hoof signs and gestures, incoherent words gliding past the other unicorn’s face as the earth pony of the room seemed to take in and perfectly interpret every word of it.

“Asparagus is off the table for the night.” Octavia replied. “I’ll be throwing together a healthy portion of parley and cauliflower cuisine.”

There was another exchange of hoof signatures.

“No, we’re out of tofu.” And the earth mare returned to Lyra. “Miss Heartstrings, would you care to stay for dinner?”

“Oh, absolutely.” The unicorn nodded. “I’m sure Bon Bon wouldn’t mind, she does like the house to herself from time to time. I’d feel bad to turn down such a hospitable offer anyhow.”

“Grand, that settles it.” Octavia adorned a firm smile, and nodded to the two in the living space. She turned and picked up her bags left at the door, throwing them over her haunches without even calling for her roommate’s assistance. “Well then, I leave you two to it.”

Odd stares and half signatures of reassurance were the only responses the ponies at the table could come up with. They watched as the host sauntered along and waddled into the kitchen, rummaging away and tinkering through the cabinets, and thus the unicorns retrieved their horns to the telecommunic object in their midst.

‘She sure calmed down pretty easy.’ Lyra mentioned.

‘That’s Tavi for ya’.’ Vinyl replied. ‘Arguing with a pony who can’t exactly bicker back doesn’t usually produce fiery results.’

‘I figured it was just a Trottingham thing.’ Lyra blinked. ‘N-not that that’s a bad thing.’

Vinyl’s wavelengths crackled. ‘Wait til’ you hear the Baltimare jokes she’s got lined up for me.’

‘Oh, you’re from Baltimare?’ Lyra acknowledged.

‘I grew up around the cities.’ The DJ waved a shrug. ‘Manehattan, Fillydelphia, but Baltimare is where I did most of my time.’

‘Y’make it sound like a prison.’ The minty unicorn crackled back.

‘Easy to fall in, hard to climb out.’ Vinyl rippled another chuckle. ‘Yup, pretty much.’

Octavia busied herself throughout the kitchen, until an odd noise came over her ears. As a matter of fact, there was no noise at all, it was completely silent. Living with a bass-thirsty DJ for the past few years or so, the silence was anything but normal. Almost haunting, to an extent. The gray, earth mare quietly strode up to the threshold of the kitchen and peeked around the corner.

There they were, the sofa couple, not saying a word or giving a sign to one another. They’re just…sitting there, staring at each other. Octavia cautiously shrunk back into the kitchen.

‘So, what’s the plan for our little friend here?’ Vinyl looked back down to the statue.

Lyra trained her sights on the mysterious item, prodding at her chin. ‘The main thing that’s been bothering me is why it showed up at the grocery store in the first place.’ She furthered. ‘If it was never meant to go up on the shelves like Bon Bon had said, then where?’

‘Maybe your friend was the one who was meant to pick it up?’ The white unicorn studied. ‘She seems to know better than anypony that it wasn’t meant to go up for sale, so it probably got mixed in with all the other crap she was working around.’

‘But why the grocery store?’ Lyra asked again. ‘Why not mail it to our home instead?’

‘Maybe somepony goofed up the shipping.’ Vinyl gave another shrug. ’Tavi and I live under the same roof, and that mail mare still finds a way to get our deliveries swapped around.’

‘Bon Bon put a lotta’ emphasis over how important this thing was.’ The minty unicorn stared.

‘How important?’ The DJ prodded.

‘Important enough…’ The other hesitated.

‘Like…super-secret-agent important?’

‘H-How did you know?’

‘Hey, this filly reads a lotta’ comics, too.’ Vinyl smugged back.

Octavia peeked around the corner once again, the silence having become absolutely unnerving at this point. The ponies at the sofa were sitting, staring, and of course silent as ever.

They’re just…sitting there, staring at that silly statue. The earth mare shook. For Celestia’s sake, do something already!

‘Whatever this thing is,’ Lyra went on. ‘Wherever it came from and whoever sent it, something tells me that it might bring us closer to figuring out what Bon Bon has really been up to.’

‘Are you gonna take it to her?’ Vinyl asked.

‘Right now, I’m not sure what we should do with it.’ The minty mare cautioned. ‘Now that it’s fallen into your hooves, it may be best to treat it like any other, ordinary, everyday object.’

“Vinyl.” Came the voice of their grand hostess.

The pair of unicorns blinked away from their study, realizing how deep they had been getting into their conversation, finally acknowledging the earth mare patiently standing by. Octavia glossed over her roommate and raised a single hoof, a peculiar item resting in the center of her hold.

“How many times have I told you not to leave your glasses on the dining table?” The posh pony lectured. “You wouldn’t want to get specks of food on them, now would you?”

The mute unicorn signaled a series of apologies and gratitude before lifting the glasses with her levitation, raising them over her head and resting them to the base of her horn. Octavia gave a satisfactory nod before turning to the guest.

“Would you care for any refreshments, Miss Heartstrings?” She asked her.

‘Just a little water, please.’ Lyra stared at her blankly. She remembered to cease her grip on the statue, and she hesitated upon her next words. “N-no thank you, ma’am.” The pony sufficed.

Octavia struggled to deliver another nod, glanced back to her roommate, and calmly sauntered back into the kitchen. Lyra and Vinyl stared the equivalent of sighs of relief.

‘Don’t take this the wrong way, but her attitude reminds me of my mom’s.’ Lyra mentioned.

‘It’s a Trottingham thing.’ Vinyl waved.

The pair waved another fit of laughter, the static intensifying for a short spell.

‘Cool glasses, though.’

‘Aren’t they?’ Vinyl grinned past her thinking. ‘They’re called Ultra Violet, because they can see these crazy, funky lights that we can’t see with the naked eye. Tavi got them for me.’

‘Ultra Violet lights…?’ Lyra wondered.

‘Wanna try ‘em out?’

‘Uh, sure.’

The minty unicorn raised the lenses in her levitation and fixed them over her eyes. In that moment she surrendered to a frozen, stiff stare, watching hundreds of little blue and white lights fly past her sights. Letters, numbers and all the symbols that which her friend spoke of. Lyra lifted the glasses, and the images were gone. She set the glasses back over her eyes, and there they were again, as plain as the transparent, purple and blue sight could give.

‘Say, Vinyl…’ Lyra started.

‘What’s up?’

‘Did I ever tell you your roommate seems to have a knack for stealing secret agent gadgets?’

Chapter 33 - The Mare in Do Well

Two occupants sat at the opposite end of the table housed within the castle library. Princess Twilight took a short moment more to scan over the report hoofed to her from Town Hall, delivered by the investigative duo sitting patiently in anticipation of her majesty’s answer. Amethyst had to suppress the words back down her throat again and again as the silence began to eat away at her. She suspected that some tale of persuasion might convince the Princess to support their request, but she knew deep down now to trust Ronin for at least this once. Whenever the young stallion said he had a gut feeling about the means of silence, Amethyst strangely felt herself prompted to follow suit.

She lifted a nearby pencil with her magic and began to twirl it in the air, and Ronin gave her a wry look, only to snap his head back over to the Princess as she began to clear her throat.

“Surely you understand that I never sought the need for our guards to intervene, given the mundane severity of these ‘Garden Raids’.” Twilight started.

“Y-Yes, we understand.” Amethyst began. “But you see-”

“But, if the situation is as severe as you say it is, then it is only in my duty to adhere to the cries of Ponyville’s citizens.” The Princess furthered. “I had received Miss Berry Punch’s report yesterday and I’ve already passed her release form to the Mayor.”

“Do we have permission to request aid from the police?” Ronin asked.

“Without a doubt, you can give them this letter.” Twilight rounded a scroll with thin, red binding and a stamped seal, depicting her own cutie mark. “This will tell them everything they need to know. If you do have any further questions you can ask either Sam or Ralph, or come see me.”

“Thank you, your highness.” Ronin bowed dutifully. “You don’t know how much this will aid in our investigation.”

“I’m happy to help. I’m just glad that you two seem to finally be getting along properly.” Twilight noted.

Ronin glanced away with a fluster filling his face, and his partner tugged at an imaginary collar as her cheeks began to flood with a hot, red blush. “Who’s getting along with who? I’m not getting along with anypony!” Amethyst clarified. “This guy is just my partner.”

“Please, there’s no need to hide it.” Twilight chuckled softly. “In fact, I think it’s wonderful that you two have discovered a common bond even in the midst of historical segregation.”

The party of two froze and stared at their aid with estranged gazes and cocked eyebrows, going so much as to trade the glances between one another before returning to the inquisitive, purple Alicorn.

“Is this supposed to be one of those racist jokes or something?” Amethyst wondered.

“Whoop! Sorry, I’ve been letting my research slip, haven’t I?” Twilight let another chuckle escape her lips before continuing. “No, rather it’s something I’ve been reading about, on the matter of different types of unicorns around the world. Ronin, you said you come from Neighsia. May I ask where from exactly?”

“It is a village called Tsukimura, otherwise known as the Village of the Moon. Ponies there will use their magic on the water and bend it to control several different practices and utilities. Historians say it is part of why our horns differ from those on the other side of the sea, given that we bend our magic with the flow of water.”

“Exactly! The unicorns here in Equestria come from more mountainous regions, and many still live up high in places like Canterlot to this day. Back in those days we used to search the mountain walls and mine in caves for gemstones, I’ve even heard some ponies compare our horns to that of a drill.”

“Right, well, evolutional theory is an exciting subject isn’t it?” Amethyst beckoned her partner, flicking her head. “C’mon, Ron, we got a job to do.”

“Ah, right.” Ronin bowed to the Princess once more before making his departure. “Thank you once more, your highness.”

“Of course. Good luck, you two!” The Princess hollered over as the investigators trotted through the double doors. As the metallic clang echoed throughout the chamber, Twilight rested a hoof to her cheek and her elbow to the table, releasing a tired, longing sigh.

“So…” Spike wandered up beside her. “When are you gonna get a coltfriend who knows about science and stuff?”

“Spike!” Twilight twirled around, flustered, slamming a book shut and covering her face with it. “Go dust the bookshelves…or something!”

“Just saying, I could use an extra hoof around here.” The little dragon huffed.

At the southern tail of Ponyville stood what was once called the local training dojo, and even looked as such to this day, but one would find only a couple of bunk beds accompanied by a couple of royal guards, a midst of metal and weaponry lying all about in barrels and open crates.

“Absolutely not.” Sam told them. “I will not follow these orders, neither myself nor my young paladin sitting over there in the dark corner all by himself.”

Their eyes hovered over to the deep, yellow eyes gleaming from within the darkness. “I’m a rank above you, you know.” Ralph muttered.

“And why not?!” Scootaloo was the first to exclaim. “What have you got against Mare Do Well?”

“Yeah! It’s not like she’s done anything wrong.” Sweetie Belle followed up.

“We have several recorded accounts of burglary, break-ins, arson, treason, and assassinations in tandem with mercenary contracts since the pilgrimage era of Ponyville.” Sam told them.

“It’s not like she’s done anything wrong…recently.” Sweetie Belle tried.

“If y’all ain’t gonna do it for us, then what’s stopping us from taking down those wanted posters hung all around town all by ourselves?” Apple Bloom challenged.

The three crusaders squandered where they stood as a tall, black figure with leather wings emerged from the pre-mentioned deep, dark corner on the other end of the barracks. Ralph squinted his eyes harshly against the stark, stinging light from outside, but maintained his serious complexion altogether. “That, young filly, would not only be an act of vandalism, but an aiding towards an enemy of the state. The consequences for such a crime might very well lead to your guardians being thrown behind bars. You may be young, but you at least ought to be intelligent enough to know the law.”

“And you ought to know that a certain Miss Cheerilee might look down upon such accusations.” Sweetie Belle allured. “Mare Do Well is a helper, after all, wouldn’t it sadden her to see all these posters around town?”

There was another glint within the bat pony’s glare, his eyes turning soft at the mention of the mare’s name. “What have you with…her grace?” Ralph questioned.

The fillies gathered within a little circle of their own to giggle amongst one another. They knew they had the hook on the bat pony now, and all it took was a little convincing.

“Why, she’s our teacher, o’ course.” Apple Bloom turned back around.

“Miss Cheerilee is the sweetest and kindest mare a pony ever met.” Sweetie Belle added.

“Yes, I dream that she is…” Ralph looked off into the distance.

“Ralph, you’re doing that pupil thing again.” Sam shuddered. “Where your eyes get all big, it’s freaking me out.”

Scootaloo rushed over to the other guard pony to quickly shut him up as the other two got to work on their sweet-talking. “We’ve known Miss Cheerilee for so long, she’ll listen to almost anything we ask her!” Apple Bloom announced.

“What about that time we poisoned her with the love potion-” Scootaloo’s jaw received Sweetie Belle’s hind hoof, muffling the pegasus’ speech into low, quiet muffles.

“And we’ll send in a good word for you.” Sweetie followed up.

“Yes, that would be splendid…” Ralph’s ear twitched.

“On the condition that you pretty please with pancakes, butter and whip-cream and a double cherry on top, take down those wanted posters-”

“No, not a chance!” Ralph’s senses returned to him as he recoiled and unfurled his wings once more. “You cannot trick me, little mischief makers. The graceful Miss Cheerilee would see no honor in defying the law for her sake. Therefore, I cannot accept your offer.”

The three girls hung their heads and began towards the other end of the room with a means to rethink their strategy. It was at this point they had ran out of just about every choice within their arsenal and were seeking upon more desperate measures, but in the midst of their despair no answer had come falling from the sky like it usually did. They supposed that maybe it was because they were inside a building, but in that case, the miracle would have fallen from the ceiling by then.

“That’s just the sawdust from the remodeling.” Apple Bloom dusted the top of her mane.

Her friends sighed, not a light bulb appearing above any of their heads.

“What happened to us, girls? We used to be so good at this kind of thing!” Sweetie sprawled her hooves.

“Manipulating other ponies into doing what we want?” Scootaloo wondered. “Maybe they’ve just gotten smarter since then.”

“How are we gonna become the Cutie Mark Mare Do Well’s now?” Apple Bloom seethed where she stood and bucked a rear hoof behind her in frustration. “It’s no fair!”

“Ouch!”

The apple girl jolted in surprise and turned to the barrel behind her. “Sorry, mister, didn’t see ya there.”

“Yeah yeah, just keep it down, will ya’?” The wooden barrel snuffed and snorted back to slumber. “What’s it take for a pony to get some shut eye around here?”

Time laid frozen for the three fillies. They looked to one another with confusion, and even though they had witnessed and experienced odder things than a talking barrel, the sight was all too much for them to just walk away like it never even happened in the first place. Apple Bloom climbed up to the rim and opened the case whilst Sweetie and Scootaloo peered in from the sides. There, curled up much like a feline at the bottom of the barrel, was a full-grown pegasus with his hooves tucked into his belly, snoring against the walls of the container. The three fillies slowly leaned up from the entrance and looked to one another with knowing grins.

“You girls thinking what I’m thinking?”

Rarity often took to accomplishing her grocery duties after business hours, given that several of her customers would often file their orders in the morning in hopes of obtaining their piece at some point in the afternoon. Business however became unbelievably slow these days, and though it was no surprise that fashion sense seemed to diminish during the late summer season, the fashionista began to wonder if the recent decisions she had been making on behalf of her boutique were really helping her out in the long run. Perhaps the day would come when her sister would finally come of age to mare the shop herself, and then they could work in shifts! The only problem was actually getting Sweetie Belle thrilled for such an endeavor, which Rarity was quite certain that an adventurous little filly like her had absolutely zero interest in.

As the unicorn rounded the last corner to her road home, bags of produce hovering on each side, she spotted an oddly out of place container next to the front window. It was a barrel, overturned with the lid torn off, no contents lying within all except for a couple of minuscule, dull green feathers. Rarity lifted her head, rolled her eyes and mumbled to herself.

“Honestly, Sweetie Belle, if this is another one of your Crusader projects it wouldn’t kill you to clean up after yourself.” She huffed, fumbling for the keys to the front door. “I thought you and your friends would have grown out of this phase by now.” Oddly enough, the front door was already ajar, and the mare pushed open, allowing the light from outside to fill in the dim space within. “I’ll have to have a word with you about this nonse-eh-EH-WAHAHAAA~!”

Rarity unleashed a blood-curdling shriek as her eyes spotted three dark figures squandered at the far end of the room, their eyes glowing from within the shadow. Torn fabric laid all about, needles thrown out of place and thread strewn this way and that. The green feathers had increased in quantity, leading over to a disheveled figure that which the three figures stood atop of. There was a click, and the lights flipped on. Apple Bloom held a row of fabric across her hooves with a sewing tomato in her mane, the needles held between her teeth. Sweetie Belle was busy measuring the pegasus’ limbs whilst loosely wearing her elder sister’s gloss-red glasses, and Scootaloo stood upon Zephyr’s back whilst fixing a head piece over his mane. Zephyr, the pegasus in question, held a statue like pose as the girls stood frozen staring at the unicorn at the door.

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity zipped over, dropping the groceries. “What have you done?”

“Rarity! You ruined the surprise…” Sweetie moped.

“You’ve torn my fabric, dismantled my sewing supplies, and dragged a guest into our home without even giving me a chance to spruce up the place!” She looked to the pegasus. “Hello, Zephyr, how are you?”

“Hey, Rares.” Zephyr grinned.

“What kind of surprise is that?!” Rarity snarled back.

“Okay, well, it wasn’t exactly a surprise.” The younger admitted. “But, you could have at least waited until we were finished.”

“How could I have known you were up to no good, once again?” Rarity returned to Zephyr. “Shall I get you some tea?”

“Do you have jasmine?” Zephyr asked.

“We have green, chamomile and matcha.”

“I’ll take a juice box.”

Rarity nodded happily and hovered her groceries from the door, shoving them into Sweetie Belle’s chest and growling for her to get into the kitchen. As the younger and the elder trotted into the other room, Zephyr gave another holler in their direction.

“Don’t you worry, Miss Rarity, these girls are naturals.” He called. “Or at least, so they say.”

“Tell me if you can breath when you put this on.” Scootaloo scraped her hooves over the sides of his face and pulled a black-velvet mask over the stallion’s muzzle, causing the pegasus to recoil and stumble backwards. Scootaloo fell from his saddle and landed upon the floor with a heavy thud just as Zephyr began to crash into a nearby bin of discount hats and bureaus. Apple Bloom and her friend watched as a pair of slitted, teal sights shined from beneath a large, dark trilby. The earth filly’s ears perked and Scootaloo’s wings fluttered.

“I don’t think I can read the fine print through these.” Zephyr admitted, fumbling out of the discount bin. “What exactly am I supposed to be doing again?”

“You are the Mysterious Mare Do Well.” Scootaloo began. “As far as the royal guard is concerned, you’re a wanted criminal.”

“But tonight, we’re gonna set out to change that!” Apple Bloom followed.

“I guess I don’t really understand.” Zephyr rubbed his mask. “If this ‘Mare Do Well’ is supposed to be a girl then wouldn’t it make sense for one of you gals to take her place?”

“It’s not about who’s under the mask, it’s the image that they’re lookin’ for.” Apple Bloom explained. “Besides, you’ve got that slender, lanky figure that makes ya’ look like a mare.”

“And you have a natural sense of running away from your responsibilities, Rainbow Dash tells me you’re pretty good at that.” Scootaloo included. “You’re a perfect fit for the role.”

“It’s as simple as apple pie.” The earth filly illustrated. “Scoots here turned in an essay to keep Miss Cheerilee occupied until sunset.”

The school teacher slumped at her desk with a hoof pushed into her cheek, attempting to grade Scootaloo’s essay on her most favored idol in all of Ponyville.

「The ‘R’ in Rainbow Dash represents ‘reverence’ in that we must be reverent when in the presence of Rainbow Dash. Let’s look at the other variations of the letter ‘R’ in Rainbow Dash and ponder each of their meanings. For instance, we can be ‘radical’ in the presence of Rainbow Dash. We can be ‘righteous’ in the presence of Rainbow Dash. We can be- 」

Cheerilee dropped her head and face planted upon the desk.

“Once sundown hits we need you to go out there and track down Miss Cheerilee making her way home.” Scootaloo continued. “No need to get up in her face or anything, just start harassing her from a distance. Chase her if you have to, Rainbow Dash tells me you’re pretty good at that.”

“Just one teeny, tiny question for you girls.” Zephyr quested. “How am I supposed to hold my breath for that long?”

His last words stretched out like violin strings squealing against a misfit note, and the lean, lanky pegasus with a tight rag over his head keeled over and slumped back into the discount bin. A fine, pink and white, feathered hat fluttered down and landed over his rump, one of his legs twitching with little certainty of remaining life.

“I might’ve made the collar a little too tight…” Apple Bloom prodded her chin.

Three little bundles of leaves popped out from beneath a broad green bush, eyes hidden beneath the shade with the respective hues of amber, emerald and lavender. They all shuffled back down into the brush one by one and shoved sights between a single pair of binoculars jutting out from the foliage.

“Anything yet?” Scootaloo wondered.

“Why’re ya’ askin’ me? You can see exactly what I can.” Apple Bloom shoved over.

“We’re sitting in the playground for crying out loud.” Scootaloo grumbled. “Why do we need binoculars in the first place?”

The main entrance to the school was in fact a mere ten feet away from the trio of fillies. They looked upon the front door with respective glances before turning back to Sweetie Belle.

“It’s an aesthetic.” She explained. “We ‘ought to look the part, too.”

Several paces from their setting, two faithful guards each with a lantern attached to their saddle cinch trotted throughout the dim-lit streets of Ponyville just as the sun was beginning to crawl beneath the horizon and the moon began to take its place. Ralph halted for a moment to watch and adore the movement of the celestial satellite taking shape upon the black and blue canvas, various stars revealing themselves and dotting the skies with infinite tales of wonders to gaze and wish upon. His colleague stopped short to fix the intensity of his lantern light, waiting by Ralph’s side to render an excuse for his next course of questioning.

“I know you’re a bat pony and all-”

“The night brings me serenity and allows my vision to settle properly.” Ralph quickly answered. “We’ve been over this before.”

“That’s not it.” Sam admitted, trotting into his partner’s line of sight. “What I’ve been meaning to ask is, why the teacher?”

“What teacher…?”

“You know who I’m talking about, Miss Cheerilee!” Sam spat out.

“Keep your voice down,” growled Ralph. “Imbecile!”

“And why should I? Do I really have to admit for you that you’ve fallen for a silly mare like her?” Sam went on. “It’s no wonder we’ve been going on our patrols more often, even if the light of day hurts your eyes like you say it does. Every time we pass by the schoolhouse you make an excuse that you’re just keeping an eye on the children. Whenever you spot her in public you start acting all funny.”

“You’ve made your point, so what?” Ralph mumbled back.

“So, when are you finally going to talk to her?”

“The moment may come, in due time.”

“It’s because you’re a bat pony, isn’t it?” Sam dared. “You think she’ll turn you down just for that.”

“It’s not as though it’s something I can control.” Ralph seethed.

“You’re framing your own vision of yourself on her eyes.” Sam finally said. “Don’t you get it? The way she looks at other ponies and other things is what you really can’t control. You don’t know unless you try.”

“I don’t want to have this conversation anymore.” Ralph readjusted his wings.

The earth stallion looked upon his friend longingly and gave a tired, lengthy sigh before finally adjusting his lantern to an acceptable setting and continuing on down the street. “You know you can always talk to me, right?” Sam looked back.

Ralph simply delivered a stiff nod, looking straight ahead. “Let’s just focus on our patrol.” The bat pony muttered beneath his breath.

The girls beneath the brush of leaves were toppled over one another with drool hanging from their lips, on the verge of snoring as Princess Luna’s night progressed into a quiet, peaceful slumber. Then, there was a click at the door, and it jolted the fillies awake. Sweetie Belle quickly rummaged for the binoculars, her friends hissing at her to leave it, as once again they were only a mere ten feet away. Miss Cheerilee emerged from the front door of her schoolhouse and closed the entrance shut behind her, expelling a lengthy, exhausted yawn into the air as her hooves tumbled down the steps and dragged across the dirt path leading across the road and back to her abode.

“Zephyr, now’s our chance!” Apple Bloom hissed.

“Yeah, go harass our teacher!” Sweetie Belle joined.

Scootaloo giggled to herself. “To think we’d ever get the chance to do this-”

Her friends quickly shushed her, and watched their target with anticipation.

Alas, nothing had happened. A nearby cricket began to chirp, louder than anything in the night. The girls frowned and hissed to their colleague once more.

“Whoops! Sorry, was that the signal?” Zephyr jolted awake, lifting his head from atop the schoolhouse.

In that moment the teacher stopped to turn around and crane her neck at an odd angle, getting a squinty look at the figure placed above her building. “Who in the hay is that?” She placed a hoof over her forehead. “You, there! Get down from there before you hurt yourself!”

“Oh! R-right, sorry ma’am. My parole officer is supposed to be lecturing me on roof hopping.” Zephyr cackled beneath his mask. “Honest to ma, I’m trying, I’m trying.”

“Zephyr~!” The girls squealed.

“Ah, right! Of course!” Zephyr, or rather the masked mare pounced down from the schoolhouse and landed before the teacher with dust circulating all around them. As the whirling settled the pegasus struck a menacing pose and glared into the mare’s eyes. “Huzzah, good mare! Or…whatever they say. For I am the Mysterious Mare Shoe Sale!”

“Mare Do Well~!” The girls hollered.

“O-Oh, yeah, what they said.” Zephyr resumed. “And I’m here to, um…steal your purse!”

Cheerilee stood there, motionless and unphased. She was empty hoofed.

The girls beneath the bush slapped their hooves over their faces, groaning all the while.

“Where did we find this idiot?” Scootaloo grumbled.

“Uh, in a barrel?” Apple Bloom reminded.

“Hm, you’re right.” Scootaloo realized, and emerged from her hiding spot. “Well, looks like he can’t do this alone.”

“Wait, where’re you going?” Sweetie Belle reached a hoof out.

Alas, the pleading of her friends did nothing to stop her as the little pegasus took to plant herself between “Mare Do Well” and her teacher. Scootaloo recalled the various impressions Rainbow Dash had done of Sweetie Belle’s elder sister and took them as rudimentary acting lessons. All the while Miss Cheerilee was more or less shocked and confused to see her student run out onto the scene, but more over frustrated with her at this point. Obviously the trauma from the needlessly lengthy essay hadn’t quite left her mind just yet.

“Oh no, Miss Cheerilee, help me.” Scootaloo cried as dully as ever, exaggerating a hoof over her mane. “It appears that I have been captured by none other than the dreaded Mare Do Well. Y’know, that pony the guards have been looking for? Why, don’t you think it would be incredibly useful for somepony to call the guards, wink wink, to settle this dilemma? Wink wink?” The filly gritted her teeth.

“Scootaloo?” Cheerilee scoffed. “I don’t know what this is all about, but I better not wake up at the bottom of a pit about to get married to some farmhoof. Are Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle with you, too?”

“This one’s good, squirt.” Zephyr leaned down. “Wanna call it a night and head back to the Mare Cave? I could use another juice box.”

“Oh, for the love of-” Scootaloo unfurled her wing and produced her saddle knife. She placed the small blade within Zephyr’s frog, laid the sharp metal upon her fur, and quickly stroked downward in a swift, slicing fashion. Scootaloo unleashed a cry of pain, unbeknownst to her as to just how deep she had managed to cut, and how much it actually hurt to have her hoof cut by a knife. The blood began to seep, and Cheerilee let a shriek fly into the open night sky as she stumbled forward with her hooves outstretched towards the little pegasus.

Meanwhile, as the duo of guards had begun trotting in the exact opposite direction, Ralph’s ear twitched to the sound of what was unmistakably a scream. Miss Cheerilee’s scream!

“Something is wrong.” Ralph turned the other way.

“What’re you talking about? We haven’t seen anything yet-” His friend turned to him, stopping short and lying stiff. “Uh…you’re doing that pupil thing again.”

As quickly as he had spoken the bat pony spanned his black-leather wings and took to the skies, shouting to his partner below. “Make haste, Sam! She’s this way!”

“Who in the bloody nine moons are you talking about?!” Sam gasped for breath as he struggled to keep up with his comrade, whom was already all but a black dot soaring to the southern reaches of Ponyville. The earth stallion on the ground trotted along heavily as his armor weighed him down and his huffing only got heavier. “This is what I get for all those cake jokes, huh?”

Cheerilee was busy holding Scootaloo at a hoof’s length as she scanned over the pegasus’ self-inflicted wound with motherly concern, but scolded her with the fury of an elder. Meanwhile, the stallion beneath Mare Do Well’s mask had quickly fallen silent as he gazed upon the situation unfolding before him.

“Who thought it was a good idea to give you this knife, young mare?” Cheerilee questioned.

“It’s mine, I found it.” Scootaloo attempted.

“I’m going to have a word with your aunts about this. There’s no reason you should be out at this hour anyhow, what’s gotten into your head? You and I have school tomorrow, you know.” She twisted her sights towards the bush. “And you two, I know you’re in there. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, come out and explain yourselves. Don’t make me count to three!”

In their effort to sort out their plans presumably as grown mares, the Crusaders had ended up being treated only as the children everypony saw them as a few years prior, even before the three had received their cutie marks. Fate had it however that the night was too stubborn to end on a dry and subtle note, and with a final nod from the skies, Ralph reined his terror once more. Yellow, piercing eyes shone from in between twin black veils. The guard barred his fangs and unleashed his cry upon his intended target.

“Mare Do Well! We should’ve known.” Despite the absence of his colleague, Ralph spoke on. “Your reign of terror shall end this night!”

Now, it was Cheerilee’s turn to shriek, and it was the shrill heard round Ponyville as the better part of the residential district flipped on their lights and emerged from their homes to find out what was the matter. Ralph narrowed his descent and aimed for the masked pony, but just as Scootaloo’s prior words held true, Zephyr was certainly quick on his hooves and an expert at avoiding certain consequences.

“Look at yourself, pal! You’re covered head to hoof in armor.” Zephyr taunted. “What makes you think you can catch somepony as slick and quick as I am? Hoo-boy, Rainbow Dash will be so proud when she hears about this.” The stallion crouched low, got a running start, and made to spread his wings as he lifted his hooves from the earth and soared for only a short few seconds. Tumbling and rolling across the ground, Zephyr laid on his stomach whilst clawing at his barrel and pushing his wings with all his might. “Hey! What gives?”

“Hm, I mighta’ made the barrel a little too tight…” Apple Bloom prodded at her chin.

“Are you serious?” Zephyr attempted to spread his wings again and again, but it felt as though he were trapped within a cocoon with no means of escape. “How am I supposed to-”

“FOR THE CAUSE!!”

“Needless to say, the citizens of Ponyville had gone to their homes that night knowing that they’d be safe and sound. The terror of Mare Do Well had been unmasked, and the ponies were more than ready to give back to their community the following morning. The proper way, the good way, the Ponyville way.”

Diamond Tiara finished her narration and slapped the newspaper onto her desk, not bothering to look up at her two associates with her eyes glued to the print. Dinky and Silver Spoon fidgeted about nervously in anticipation of their superior’s opinion, the stress lingering beneath Silver’s hide for long enough until she finally decided to clear her throat and speak up.

“So, you don’t like it?” She asked timidly.

“Like it…?” Diamond responded, coldly.

“We’re sorry, Miss Tiara.” Dinky began solemnly. “We’ll try again tomorrow-”

“I…loved it!” The chair pony scooped up the paper and batted a hoof to the front page. A well-aligned photo of Zephyr Breeze unmasked in his Mare Do Well outfit, held captive by the noble guard, Sam, showed brilliantly and broadly upon the headline. “Mare Do Well, Unmasked!” Diamond read again. “This is exactly the kind of outlandish and ridiculous to believe material that the ponies of Ponyville want and need. It doesn’t matter how ludicrous the content, believe me, readers will eat this stuff up like Celestia’s special recipe.”

“If you say so.” Dinky looked askew. She gave a sideways glance and looked to her partner with uncertainty. As always, Silver Spoon beheld a confident yet oblivious outlook to the news director’s undying boasts. It was only a matter of time before Silver finally understood that the lost embers of the friendship she used to hold with Diamond were most certainly going nowhere.

“Well done, Scoop Sisters.” Diamond chortled to herself and set the newspaper aside. “Keep scooping up those good stories.”

“Hey, about our team name.” Dinky began. “I was thinking we should change it-”

“C’mon, Dinky, we’ve got work to do!” The earth filly nabbed her partner by the hoof and set for the door. “Goodbye, Diamond, we’ll be back soon!”

The filly in the chair lent a lazy, waving hoof at the two as the door clicked shut, and the young mare was left to her own. She peeked around the room cautiously before kicking her rear hooves up onto her desk and devilishly tapping her front hooves together. A sly glint of intention caught within her glare as a grin creased over her lips.

“One down.” She muttered to herself. “Two to go.”

Chapter 35 - Anger

Heat. Wave after wave of grueling, unwavering, unimaginable heat swept across the plaza square and filled the space of Ponyville like a heavy, stifling gas. From a distance the cobblestone walkways looked as thought they were evaporating, the paint threatened to drip and melt off of the shop signs. The welcome mat was dragged back indoors, albeit slowly in ill accommodation to the unrelenting humidity.

As ponies sat beneath the shade, adorned their visors and rolled out their tongues in a desperate attempt for cool air, they took notice to a certain subject who seemed all but unphased by the cruel onslaught of the sun. David walked among them, standing tall and scratching his scalp at the odd dismay of the equines around him.

It’s their fur. He concluded inwardly.

The mares and the colts gave him equal, stinging glares, and turned up their snouts.

They must envy me… The boy supposed.

He supposed further that in this case, he had the upper hand over his disdainful watchers when it came to the common elements. That, however, only fueled the fire evermore as the boy knew the ponies could only ever really wrap their hooves around his shoulders and his arms around theirs, dancing all night long and singing songs when they were all drunk out of their minds. Even in the elegant and enchanting land known as Equestria, such occasions were only relevant every once in a blue moon. The boy considered himself lucky for being able to experience at least one such event this early into his arrival. His mind wandered back to his situation, by means of just how much longer this visit to Equestria would last. How much longer would the dream encase him so, he wondered.

Once again he ran over in his mind that there was still a task to accomplish, he had yet to achieve something before he was able to be set free from this realm and wake up back in his own reality where he could once again take control. The illusion of control, it seemed, was becoming thinner and fading into a far more elusive and ethereal substance as the days went on. David looked back at the ponies, their glares had not ceased, and he already knew enough to ignore them. Fixing his bag over his shoulders he strode on with a tall, proper gait and headed straight for Silver Spanner’s abode.

Within his bag he carried the necessary assortments for what he planned to do with his friend this afternoon. A picnic, as tacky as the matter may have sounded, was nothing short of the exact spell of relaxation the boy was looking for. With newfound enthusiasm he bounded around to the back of Silver’s home and approached the back patio where her new garden lay. The new garden, of course, had fallen to bits and crumbling shambles.

David stopped dead in his tracks and surveyed the muddled display with a wide, wondering gaze. Every single flower, every plant and produce in sight was driven into the ground with a harsh, unforgiving hate. The tomatoes had been smashed to a dirt-riddled, gooey pulp. Potted plants laid in sharp, broken, ceramic and clay pieces with brown-black dirt thrown against the walls. Worst yet, clearly visible hoof prints laid in the midst of the turmoil, even the roses were shown no mercy.

He stared at the horrible mess for a moment more until he heard it. A cry from inside the house. David swung the patio door open, hitting his head on the frame after forgetting to duck, but ignored the pain all the more as he hurried into the living space and found his unicorn friend hunched over the coffee table. A small, unscathed flower in a clay pot laid upon the surface.

“Silver Spanner…?” David approached quietly.

The mare turned, slowly. Wet streams stained her fluffy, red cheeks, the bags beneath her eyes were crimson and her nose shown beat red. She sucked in a gasp and hiccuped again as she struggled to stiffle her tears in the presence of her human friend. A tiny choke escaped her lips, but nothing more, as she turned back to the tiny, potted flower with a weak, little whimper.

“What happened?” David resumed his gait, sat by Silver’s side and rested a hand over her back. It was, in fact, the first time he had physically touched her, aside from shaking her hoof the first time the two had met.

Silver’s silence endured, but the boy pressed on.

“Silver?” He pressed. “Tell me what happened.”

“It’s…it’s horrible…” She sniffled.

“Are you hurt?”

“No…I’m fine.” She rubbed the snot away with a free hoof. David glanced around the room for a box of tissues, but the mare continued. “You saw what happened already, outside…”

“Your garden?”

Silver nodded quietly.

“Why? Who did this?” He pressed again.

For a long moment then the pony did not answer, but she took a breath and cleared her throat, certain to answer to her friend. “Rose Luck.” She said.

It was David’s turn to sit motionless in silence for a short spell, staring at the unscathed flower upon the table, not really knowing what to say or do next. A sudden, seething flare overtook the unicorn next to him as she grunted inwardly and shook from her core. The boy observed how much this ordeal had truly upset her, the true colors Silver Spanner was beginning to show, and the way Rose Luck had hurt her. It spiked something from within the boy.

“This is my own fault, I should have seen this coming.” Silver stuttered on. “It wasn’t just Rose Luck, her friends must have been here, too. They were my friends, but look at what they did! I don’t understand why they would do such a thing.”

The boy was still silent. Slowly, he felt the gap between his palm and his fingers tighten closer and closer until all that remained was a shaking, vengeful fist of pain and fury. Suddenly, his mind touched back to Earth, to his home, and the memories swam through his thought like a regretful revelation. He remembered all the times he felt himself too weak or too hesitant to stand up for those he called his friends. When the insults and the bullying were aimed upon him, his allies had always stood up in his defense. But David…he always felt too ashamed, too thin, too weak to do a damn thing about the pain and dismay he had seen the ones he called his friends go through alone. He decided that this time, things would be different.

“Rose Luck.” David’s voice ironed. “Where is she?”

“What?” Silver dried her eyes.

“Where is Rose Luck?”

“I…I’m not sure.” She blinked and looked up at him. “Why?”

“Silver, you and I both know that you worked your ass off to get that garden outside as bright and beautiful as ever. Rose most of all should know that, and look at what she did.” He rested a hand to her shoulder, shaking his head. “This isn’t right, we can’t let it end like this.”

“What are you going to do?” Fret filled her eyes.

He spared another glance to the untouched flower, stood up, and stared to the outdoors. “I’m going to set things straight.” He hissed.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but what’s done is done.” She brushed his forearm. “Just stay here, let’s…let’s spend our time together at home.”

The boy took a long, solid breath of oxygen through his nostrils, closing his eyes and invigorating himself for the trial ahead. He gazed down at Silver with nothing but intent in his sights, and the words seemed to form on their own. “This never was my home. I’m going now.”

“David, please…”

“You can stay here, if you want.” He strode for the door and swung it open. “I’m going to talk to Rose Luck.”

“David, stop!” Silver stumbled from the couch and bounded towards the boy. “You don’t know what you’re doing!

Her words fell upon a void as the boy seemed already halfway across the road and well on his way into central Ponyville. Silver knew that with his mind set on a stubborn path, words would do little to persuade him now, and so she searched back for some shred of hope, some shred of otherwise in the steadily escalating dilemma ahead. The potted flower, untouched and unscathed, was taken up in her magical, silvery glow. A moment later Silver Spanner was out the door and chasing after the human.

Lily Valley trotted up the path to The Lucky Rose with baskets of blue flower petals on each side of her fixed saddle, rounding to the back where she took a glance one way and the other before sliding through the back door and locking it behind her. The bush nearby produced two pairs of eyes, blinking within the shade and looking at one another before producing a young Neighsian and a young unicorn mare. They both ducked back beneath the bush and stared at the door with a mission in mind.

“You wouldn’t happen to know how to pick a lock, would you?” Amethyst asked.

“To think that our endeavor would lead to us having to commit such heinous acts.” Ronin grunted with displeasure.

“So, you do know how to pick a lock?”

The stag’s expression was deadpanned before he raised his eyes above the foliage and took a few sideways glances. “If anypony asks it was your idea.” He pushed his hoof into her chest before leaping out of the brush and sneaking up to the door.

Amethyst delightfully tapped her hooves together and followed after him. I knew he grew up in a rough neighborhood. She thought to herself.

Ponies parted like lost school fish to a big, hungry shark wading through the water. The Equerry of Ponyville marched across the dirt path with stoic, tense eyes and a tall, intimidating posture. He swung his fists in tandem with his strides and swiveled his head one way and the other, on the constant look out for the very mare he planned to blame and force an apology out of. He wouldn’t have it any other way, he wouldn’t let his friend endure all of this pointless suffering alone.

The Town Hall plaza opened up to him, and there at the foot of the stairs crouching down next to a row of flowers being fitted into their bed, was none other than the scarlet maned mare herself. Her green eyes rested calmly upon the floral decor with care and benevolence, as though a mother were looking after her children. Now that he had finally located her, a nervous spike riled up within his gut, and the human stood still long enough for his friend to catch up to him. The unicorn’s presence, however, was enough to remind him of his objective and the imperative nature it beheld. Bystanders watched from afar as the boy traversed the distance between he and Rose, and the earth pony perked up from her work with a revolted recoil.

“Um…what do you want?” Rose sneered.

“I think you know exactly why I’m here.” David stopped and pointed. “It was you.”

An immediate, subtle pose of defense beheld the pony, too meager for the boy to properly notice. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She brushed her mane. “Get lost, chimp.”

“That!” He exploded. “That’s exactly the reason why you decided to pick on Silver.”

“I told you I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The earth pony gritted her teeth.

The bystanders afar closed the distance to get a better listen as Silver trotted up from behind, the potted flower still in her magical grasp, and she went to brush a gentle hoof across the boy’s ankle. Desperate eyes loomed up at his face, to which the human didn’t even bother to look.

“It’s because you treat me like some kind of animal, like I don’t have a place among your kind.” The boy continued with ire. “And you know what? That’s all fine and dandy. Trust me, the feeling is mutual by now. But there is NO reason SHE has to take any of the blame for it. You wanna pick on someone? Pick on me.”

“We don’t have to do this anymore.” Silver tugged his leg. “Please, we’re done here.”

“Not yet, not until she makes up for what she’s done and apologizes.” David pressed.

Rose Luck’s eyes wandered down and leveled with Silver’s, the unicorn’s stare glistening beneath bleary lens accompanied with red bags. There was something a little sinister in the pits of Rose’s mind, something that told her she was almost enjoying the pain showing in her former friend’s eyes, a friendship she had ended by way of neglect, deception and ruin. Rose hadn’t had her fill, she just couldn’t get enough.

“I bet you wonder why I left that one to rot.” Her tone was slithering.

Silver recoiled and inspected the potted plant briefly, her eyes asking “why” in every way imaginable.

“Alright, I admit it.” Rose looked back at the boy. “It was me.”

“Can’t you pick a little faster?” Amethyst hissed over her shoulder. “I’m tired of making this look like I’m covering you taking a piss.”

“I’m trying my best.” Ronin grunted back. “These Equestrian locks are nothing like the ones back home.’

“Just what kind of stuff were you breaking into anyways?”

“…cookie jars.”

His partner let forth a long, disheveled groan as she slapped her hoof to her temples, quickly opening her eyes and looking back up to find the last thing they needed trotting into view. “I think we’re about to crack open a whole ‘nother jar.” Amethyst warned.

“Oh good, an easy one.” The colt relieved, looking back, only to see what exactly the young mare had meant.

Only a mere few hoof strides from their position, Sam and Ralph trotted across the street with their spears in tow, scanning the streets on some mission of nonchalant patrol, monitoring Celestia knows what. The white stallion looked to his left and finally found something to make a fuss over. Quickly he signaled his comrade whom swung his sights over to the scene, a bright green sun visor shielding the bat pony’s eyes from the harsh sunlight. He squinted and gave a dutiful nod to his comrade in return, and the two began slowly trotting over to the lock picker and his shameful excuse of a cover.

“Go fillying with any locks around here and we’re going to have a real problem.” Sam raised his spear.

Ralph delivered a tired sigh, raising a hushing black wing over his friend’s weapon and pushing it down as he turned and addressed the two. “Might I ask what this is about?” His tone was thick.

“Afternoon, officers.” Amethyst curtsied promptly. “Uh, we’re just your local locksmith…smithers. And we’re here to…smith these locks?” Amethyst emphasized the ending question mark more than she had intended.

With a long, suspecting gaze, Ralph scanned the young colt frozen with a prong shoved inside the keyhole of the door as his eyes swiveled between him and the young mare in front of him. For a moment, the bat pony’s gaze softened almost as though he was willing to buy it. “No you’re not.” Which he obviously didn’t. “We just met you two the other day.”

“Yeah, aren’t you guys the garden detectives or something other?” Sam butted in. “Have you caught that culprit yet, or what?”

“First of all, the means of arresting somepony would fall under our hooves.” Ralph clarified. “Secondly, what business then do you two have with the local floral shop?”

“We’re trying to get inside-” Ronin started quickly. “To investigate!”

“Yes!” Amethyst followed. “In the most not-illegal way possible, of course.”

Ronin nudged her ribs, and the mare promptly bucked back.

“Then why not use the front door?” Ralph investigated.

“Because it’s not open.”

“Thus leading you to an illegal means, ay-kay-ay lockpicking, to enter?”

The duo was once again frozen, shrinking beneath the sights of their opposers.

“The real question is, why not try to pick the front door?” Suggested Sam.

Ralph sighed drearily. Upon the mention, Amethyst and Ronin slowly looked at each other, and silently moved beneath the muzzles of the two officers.

“I mean, think about it.” Sam continued. “Why would you store your most vital possessions in the back of the store where nopony might see somepony else trying to break in? In that case, put a lock on the front door where everypony can see it.”

“Sam…” Ralph grunted irritably.

“If anything, the only reason you’d put such a tough lock on the back door is if you’re hiding something back there that you don’t want anypony to see. Not even guards, like us!”

“Sam! That’s enough.” Ralph barked back. “If somepony truly is hiding nefarious items in the back of their store, then we should already have good reason to investigate the matter ourselves.”

“So, is that why those two were trying to pick the lock?”

Ralph blinked, wide eyed, as though the sun wasn’t even hurting his eyes anymore. His partner adorned a similar expression and shared a glance to the door with his friend, taking in the sudden realization that the young ponies they had just been in the midst of confrontation, were nowhere to be seen.

“You’re going to apologize to Silver, right now.” David commanded.

“And why should I?” Rose returned. “Why should I go back on my word?”

“What ‘word’?”

“After all I’ve done and how far I’ve come, going back won’t make a difference. Even if it is somehow achievable it won’t change a damn thing, and you wanna know why?” The scarlet mane’s sights pierced Silver’s gaze with stinging, green eyes. “The damage has already been dealt. You can tidy up your worthless bog of a garden as much as you want, but the message is still going to stick. It’ll root it’s way deeper into your mind than any of those plants ever could into the very earth they ate. My message will hinder your progress, embed scuffs into your projects and scratches into your work. You’ll look at your blemishes and you will be reminded that I didn’t do it, but you did, and it was because of me.”

“Is this…really what you want?” Silver slowly shook her head.

“Oh, Silver honey, get a clue.” Rose smiled devilishly. “I was never your friend, and I never will be. I just don’t like you, neither does Lily, neither Daisy. So, stop coming to the shop. Stop approaching us in public. For Celestia’s sake, don’t even look at us. That’s all we’re trying to say, dear.”

“And it took all this for you to tell me?”

“No, it took all this for you to realize that.” Rose blinked and teased a pouting expression.

Silver stood as though glued to the earth, mouth open in raw disbelief and eyes dancing upon the ground with numbness and utter pain. She may have realized then and there that she wasn’t bad at making friends. Rather, she might have just been bad at choosing them.

“I hope you realize now why we decided to leave that one unharmed.” Rose gestured to the potted flower. “I know you planted that one with your cute pet here. You want me to paint the picture?” She showed her teeth. “I just wanted to remind you that the only friends you could every truly make in your life are all freaks.”

The unicorn failed to utter a single word in return. Rose turned and silently swiped her tail inches from Silver’s muzzle, sauntering back to her flowerbeds with a prideful smirk across her lips. She stopped, turned, and sneered one last comment. Rose just couldn’t get enough.

“Have fun wiping the grime with your pet monkey. Bitch.”

The air snapped frozen in time. The breeze fell, the birds went mute and the buzzing of the day dampened, softened, and silenced.

Then, David grabbed the flower, raised his pitch, and slugged the potted plant inches away from Roses face.

The ceramic container shattered into a million forgotten pieces lost to the soil below. Dirt speckled her hair, dusted her nostrils and dotted her eyes. The earth mare spat and recoiled, but before she knew it, a certain pale-pink claw reached within the havoc and curled its fingers around her mane. The flower was crushed beneath the boy’s foot as he lunged inside and unleashed every bit of pent up fury he had to surrender.

“Hold it right there!” Sam rushed in upon the scene and raised his spear. “I only just learned how to use this thing yesterday, but that doesn’t mean I’m not excited to use it!”

Ralph promptly trotted inside the broken-hinged door and took a relaxed look around as he raised his sun visor, the shaded indoors providing a soothing change of sights. There was nopony present, only a collection of shelves with several different bottles, all topped with factory-made special rubber stoppers to keep the contents sealed within. Before the guards could even think to investigate further, Ralph’s ears heeled backwards in the direction of the outdoors, and at that his ally immediately gained the assumption that something was amiss.

“A disturbance…” Ralph determined.

“The bar, again?” Sam sighed. “I’m tired of digging ponies out of the dumpsters.”

“No, something bigger.” Ralph’s sights slitted. “In the plaza, ponies are screaming.” He looked to Sam. “We should go.”

“But…”

“You’ll probably get to use your spear.”

Sam’s ears perked up and his smile brightened, following his partner with a new, enthusiastic gait as the bat pony readjusted his sun visor and took to the skies, the white earth stallion following from the ground below. As the two sped off in the direction of the heart of the town, the two faithful investigators poked their heads out from around the corner and gazed upon the new, open entrance to the back door of the shop.

“Either that was pure luck, or the smartest idea you’ve come up with this entire adventure.” Ronin credited the mare.

“Praises later, let’s go.” She ordered, trotting ahead of him. “But that doesn’t mean they’re not accepted.”

The colt took a short second to roll his eyes before running up to join his partner inside the shop. There they stood at the entrance, gazing upon the surplus of odd supplies, knick-knacks, and strange bottles lining the far shelves, each and everyone adorning a strange, blue label taped across the outer surface. Amethyst quietly walked up, locking upon the pieces with an estranged, curious squint, and found a familiar, green liquid-like substance swimming within. Only a second later, a tiny shriek filled the room, and the two looked to their right.

“Lily?” Amethyst prompted. “What is all this?”

“I-I-” She stuttered and shook where she stood. “I thought you two were gone!”

“Tell us what Rose has been up to.” Ronin confronted the mare. “What have you two been planning?”

“Nopony was supposed to know about this!” Lily shriveled backwards, bumping against the table behind her. Where her twin baskets lay, one of the containers fell onto its side and spilled hoof-fulls of the same blue-labeled bottles with their iconic, green glow filling the inside. Ronin and Amethyst were almost as shocked as Lily, to which the mare perked her head back up and looked upon them with a shrunken muzzle and teary, blinking eyes. “Please, don’t tell anypony…”

“Please, I’m begging you-!”

“I told you why I’m here! You knew this would happen!” David snarled fiercely, mere inches from her eyes. The grip on the mare’s mane would not cease.

“Please don’t hurt me-!”

“I’ve dealt with you ponies from day one, and every single day… Every. Single. Day.” The boy’s face revealed contortions of fury, anger shook in his fists and insults slithered past his teeth. “I don’t get a single, goddamn ounce of respect out of you conniving little bubblegum shits! Well, this is it. I’ve had enough. You made me cross the line, Rose Luck.”

Rose tucked her face beneath her hooves and elicited a pitiful whimper. Soon enough, hoofsteps drew in closer, crowds began to gather, and to the boy’s disregard a circle had already been formed.

“No, not just you…” He sneered over his shoulder to the other ponies. “All of you.”

A sinister glare overtook his eyes like a looming, treacherous shadow. The boy’s shade veiled over Silver Spanner, and the unicorn took on a timid stare as she wavered backwards. David’s grip on the mare below him was sure, but he gazed over his quarrel and swept an accusing finger across their line.

“You think you ponies know everything? You’re all just a goddamn comic book! A kid’s cartoon on a television screen! Your thoughts don’t mean a damn and your words don’t mean zilch! Look at me! I am a human-being. I am worthy of thought, I am worthy of respect, I am-”

A crack and a whip flashed across the air. His chest tightened and his stomach curled stiff. The boy hadn’t another word left in him before his weight was forced to the earth with a thundering, defeated boom. It only encouraged the ponies all the more to crowd in closer, raise their voices and rise in number. David quickly looked down, a lasso rope coiled around his torso like a tight, unrelenting serpent.

Applejack. He thought dreadfully.

“I reckon this day would come sooner or later.” The farm mare in question emerged from the parting ponies, tipping up her hat to stare down at the boy with a shaded, pitiful gaze. As her stare continued, a fearful shiver enveloped the human whole as he studied from a ground view level just how small these ponies felt in the presence of his full stature. Knowing full well that he had unleashed uncontrollable amounts of rage only seconds prior, the full scale of his anger reflected in the many blazing eyes of his faithful citizens ready to do with him as they sought.

“Out of my way, out of my way!” The old mare bustled and shoved through the double doors. “What in the name of the royal sisters is going on this time?”

“Miss Mayor, it’s the ape thing, again!” A bystander rushed up.

“Our Royal Equerry…?” Mayor Mare mused.

“That thing has lost it, out of control I tell ya’!” The stallion furthered. “The ponies call for…”

“What?” She adjusted her glasses. “Well, spit it out!”

“Banishment!”

“Neigh to the Equerry~!” A distant pegasus hollered. “Send the monkey home, to the forest from whence it came!”

“To the forest from whence it came, to the forest it shall go!”

The chant of the ponies carried across the expanses of Ponyville and drew in clump after clump of spectators and rioters alike. Pegasi gathered upon tiny tufts of clouds in the sky and watched below, unicorns struggled to levitate their comrades to higher places and earth ponies practically began climbing over one another. The more considerate ones escorted a shaken Rose Luck to safety, and Applejack held her head high circling the boy with the end of her rope clenched between her teeth. She yanked yet again, the human was matted with a new layer of dust, dirt and fear as the roaring of the ponies boomed and the stomping of their hooves shook him to a shivering, cowering mess. The farm mare heard something, a little whisper of some sort, and lent a curious ear to the human’s quivering form below. He clasped his hands together tightly and clenched his eyes shut.

“Please…let me out of this…I’m sorry…” He prayed.

Applejack squinted confusingly, but brushed away the sight and lent a peek up on Town Hall’s balcony. Starlight Glimmer stood before the Mayor, her hooves sprawled and her lips at a rapid pace. Mayor Mare lowered her head, and in response Starlight seethed and flared her horn alive, but her superior’s hoof held her at bay. Slowly, the unicorn looked back at the old mare to find her quietly shaking her head.

“First swing is yours, champion.” A lone stallion approached, and rested a mallet into Applejack’s hoof. “Show it some discipline.”

It seemed as though in that very moment the motions of the day slowed to a sluggish, breath-taking pace as the howls wavered and the dust floated through the air like specs of dirt in space. Applejack’s eyes hovered over the mallet and soon met the figure of the boy, and the farm mare’s attention was almost completely unaware of the unicorn over the railing crying “No!” at the top of her lungs.

Without warning, the hairs of the pegasi stood on end, the crowd immediately fell deathly quiet in the midst of a certain dread overtaking them all, that something was wrong. Then it happened a blinding light followed quickly by a crackling boom like the glory of the heavens reigning down upon them all ruptured the core of the riot. The pegasi on the clouds shook and swiveled through the air, many of the ponies of the ground bounced backwards, and the light gave way to a single mare, a single Alicorn forcing her stance to the earth with a final, deafening boom. Applejack stepped backwards in response, but the Princess was not done. She opened her eyes, flared her wings and lit her horn to project her voice.

“ENOUGH!!”

The in-practice thum of her “Royal Canterlot Voice” shrouded over the ponies like a heavy blanket, and at that their tone took on an almost apologetic degree, leaving only murmurs and mumbles of ill concern. The ponies feared that their Princess would be for the human instead of against, and though these thoughts filled Twilight’s mind so, she pressed on with her purpose.

“Does the notion of violence not fill you all with dread and discomfort? What has gotten into my little ponies?” Twilight looked over the crowd. “I will not condone for such actions and you will all leave my Equerry be, is that understood?”

“Your Equerry is out of control!” One hollered.

“Princess, there’s no reason to speak in its stead!” Another called.

Twilight maintained her stature, yet deep within a sense of uncertainty swelled and swirled about. She knew already what the boy had done, she knew now that since the citizens finally had some manner of unfit behavior to pin against him they would stop at almost nothing to get their way and bring him to their so called ways of “peace” and “justice.” In that moment she felt a small rap at her hind hoof, a slender claw desperately pawing at her. Twilight nearly flinched but remained still and looked down. It was David, looking up at the Alicorn as though a child would his mother.

“Twilight…” Fear and tears stained his muddied eyes. “Please, help me…”

Instinctively, the pony curled around and lowered her neck over the boy’s shoulder. David tensed and laid like that for a short silence, not quite knowing what to do or say, only the soothing scent and sight of lavender filling his senses to give him the relief he very much needed in that moment of time. Immediately the sights and sounds of the hot, horrible day all around him fell away into a quiet, castle foyer ruins with settling dust and a single, purple mare looking over his wounds. The memories flooded back through his head like the calm, graceful flow of a quieted river. When he had fought off those timberwolves at the castle and failed miserably, Twilight was there to save him. Twilight was there to pull him to safety and cast her spell upon his wound, thus saving his life.

That action of kindness and virtue led to this, this very moment here in the plaza square where David had made the decision to throw his friendships away, to scream at some poor little pony and allow the town to seethe and hate over his presence all the more. Somehow, something deep down within the boy told him that he did not deserve this from Twilight. Not here, not now.

And yet, the Alicorn stood her ground. Calmly, Twilight gestured the boy to his feet, and the crowd booed on with enraged, shaking hooves.

“Applejack.” Twilight’s voiced ironed. “Undo your lasso.”

“Listen, Twi.” The farm mare puffed her chest. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea-”

“That is an order from your Princess.”

She stared upon her friend with unfathomable amounts of disbelief. Finally, Applejack's muzzle scrunched ferociously and her eyes flooded with anger, and she begrudgingly loosened her grip on the boy. As though clicking a switch on the rope, the tether dangled and feel around the boy’s feet, to which Twilight hovered her sights back over to the farm mare and gave a stoic, grateful nod. Applejack didn’t even bother to look back.

“C’mon.” Twilight said. “We’re going home.”

The second hour had passed since the crowds outside the Castle of Friendship led on their fervent cries of dismay and disapproval to the Princess of Friendship’s decisions this day. In the midst of it all, Twilight’s mind momentarily wandered back to her letter to Celestia, and knew now that if she still had no knowledge of the human’s presence in Ponyville, she most certainly would by sometime this evening. The mare trotted by and gestured Spike away from the window, closing the curtains shut with her magic as she walked him back down the main foyer. Twilight watched as her little dragon clamored up the stairs to his room, awaiting for his little claws upon the crystal floors to die away before toeing her way over to the double doors where the displeasure of the ponies outside had only increased in volume. She rapped on the door twice and slivered it open, enough for the stallion standing guard outside to whisper back through the crevice in the door.

“How is it, out there?” Twilight asked.

“Not many have left.” Ralph answered. “We’ll be here until nightfall, I’m sure.”

“Don’t push yourselves.” She furthered. “And don’t hesitate to call for help.”

“Princess Twilight!” A mare from the crowd spotted her. “Why is the creature here?!”

“Who is he?! What does he want?!” Another hollowed.

Quickly, the Princess shunned herself beneath the cover of the doors, causing Sam and Ralph to respond with leveled spears as the crowd pushed once more. The Alicorn inside slumped against the door and eased herself to the ground with a long, burdened sigh, but rose back up with a flicker of one eye and a gaze toward the map room door. With poise wings, a puffed, fluffed chest and a stoic, stagnant expression, the pony trotted for the chamber in view and poked her head inside. There, just as she expected but still surprised to see, was David. He sat in the Element of Loyalty’s seat, his head hung low, resting in his palm, and his tired, slitted eyes focused on the item that lay before him. He flipped through the pages of his book over and over again like a tape on a constant loop of play and rewind. Twilight trusted then that he had been given enough time to think, and approached without another spell of hesitation.

“David.” She began calmly.

No answer. The boy was deathly quiet.

“Please don’t make this any harder than it already is.”

He shook his head and snapped his book shut. “And why shouldn’t I? What’s the point anymore?”

Twilight was silent, staring on.

“Don’t you get it?” He tightened a fist. “I don’t belong here. I never did.”

“You’re my Equerry…”

“I DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS!”

His out-lash reverberated throughout the castle corridors. For a long moment of silence then, he and the mare stared at one another for what seemed like hours. The hum of the halls returned like an unrelenting stifle of pain in the back of one’s thought, and with that the boy took another moment to breath and rest himself back into the chair, albeit roughly and with much uneeded noise. Twilight, on the other hoof, felt the same levels of frustration and anger slowly welling up from within, and she physically trotted around, attempting to look the human in the eye.

“I know this isn’t like you, so stop acting like you’re so upset.” Twilight gave him a glare.

“Uh, hello? The whole lot of Ponyville tried to kill me just now!” He stood up. “What makes you think any part of this is an act?”

“You know exactly what I mean.” Her gaze tightened. “Stop acting like you’re in the right, I know you’re not the only victim here. I know what you did to Rose Luck, and even if she is to blame for the travesties she’s committed, that is no way to show your concern.”

“So, what? You’re gonna let her off scott-fucking-free?”

“Language.”

“You lied to me, Twilight. You said if it ever came to this, you wouldn’t side with them.”

“I…did not lie to you.” She blinked. “I told you that I would never let them take the initiative on you, but you’ve wrought this upon yourself. You truly don’t realize how lucky you are right now, huddled inside the very castle that which I provided to you unconditionally. I…no, my friends and I fought for this castle! To be a haven of friendship and harmony for all, not to be abused and misused like it is now.”

“Oh, yes. All hail the Princess of Friendship!” David threw up his arms. “Ah, but whatever happened to Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight froze where she stood, her pupils dilated in an uncomfortable manner. The boy barely had half the mind to notice he had struck an oddly sensitive chord within her, and thus he continued.

“You know what I think might’ve happened? She was replaced, traded away for the so called ‘greater good.’ Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like it was her fault, obviously people had gotten too sensitive that she was following her own agenda and needed to suit the personality of someone who would bow to rule and authority, even if it meant shoving her muzzle neck deep into their flanks.”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight hovered over the edge.

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” David shook his head. “You are not like you. You are the one who has lost your sense of self. The Twilight who actually gave a damn about magic, who had a drive, who had a passion, is gone. Replaced by some…embarrassment of her former self.”

The mare stared back at the boy for a long, quiet moment, and she calmly regained her focus before revving up her next line of the sparring argument.

“Say what you will about me, I have no qualms on whatever your preferences or regards to my duty as a Princess may be…but allow me this to get one thing straight to you. I will not abuse my magic in risk of harming others, I will not use it for my own personal gain, and I will most certainly NOT do any more damage with it than I have already DONE!”

Her final outburst led on a little longer and a little harsher than she intended, and the reaction had shown in the boy’s face. It was that of confusion but also a mixture of disappointment, disagreement on his end. Slowly, Twilight found herself in need of taking another breath with how powerful her words may have been carried, a slight sizzle lingering upon her horn giving tell-tale sign that she may have misused the fabled “Royal Canterlot Voice”, in spite of what she had just uttered. Finally, she rested her eyes easily upon the human standing before her and aimed to finish their debate.

“I don’t know what’s going on inside that head of yours, but all I want…” She paused, stifling a hiccup. “All I want right now is for the old David to come back. The kind, gentle boy I met before any of this had ever even started. I don’t know where you came from, I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I know that there is good in you.”

His gaze returned a long moment of disbelief before he finally gave a short, light chuckle, shook his head and dropped his hands to his trousers. “So that’s it then?” He shook his head again.

Twilight stared on, waiting.

David turned around and picked up his book resting on the table. He gave the cover a final once over, stared back at Twilight, and threw the book onto the ground.

The impact reverberated like a heavy, hollowing strike to the core of the lone little pony in the room. Her hurt gaze quietly crawled up from the defiled tome on the floor up to the firm, stubborn and unapologetic stare the boy was giving to her now. Deep down she could sense the hint of hurt behind those amber-gold eyes, deep down she knew he had regretted what he had just done.

And thus, without another word spoken between the two, the human turned for the door and blasted past them. He stomped his way up the stairs, bumbling past a short mass of green spines and purple scales. Spike had lost his footing and stumbled to the floor with a scared, shocked gaze towards David’s staggering height. The boy said nothing and walked on. He grumbled through the hallway and located his bedroom door among the many in the corridor. One final sight swept across the crystalline halls before he lumbered inside and slammed it shut behind him. In all the while, Twilight’s eyes returned to the book upon the floor. Spike crept his way past the map room entrance clutching his tail with both claws, spines low and timid to any outbursts that might occur. The little dragon observed the mare for a long while before finally deciding to walk up and slowly tug at her tail with a shaky claw. The mare did not move. He rested the same claw upon her haunches and struggled the words past his quivering lips.

“Twilight?” He mumbled. “Are you okay?”

A single, wet drop struck the floor below. Spike looked up as she choked out an unintelligible set of words, and draped a wing over her face to hide her tears.

“Oh, Spike…” Her words finally arrived. “What have I done?”

Chapter 36 - Bargaining

Midnight.

All of it was quiet, all of it was motionless, and the veil of Equestria’s night shadowed over the Village in the Valley like a warm blanket putting the tired tantrum of a child to rest. It was all sightless, it was soundless, it was nothing.

The boy laid with his eyes to the ceiling, and neither did his eyes feel open nor closed, he simply saw nothing. He heard nothing, he felt nothing. He took a deep, long breath, his chest heaved and his long legs dangled off the end of the severely under-sized bed, and as his breast took to rest, the sightless and soundless mind became flooded with all the things he had seen, everything he heard and everything he dreaded. Fear is what it was, and slowly he began to understand, as he lay there within his room pondering with ill-thought over the events of the day, fear is what had driven him.

Fear was there from the very beginning, when he rose from the darkness of the ruins and raised his spear against the wolves, that was fear. The days spent wandering Ponyville, looking for answers to his dilemma, the growing dread that he may very well be stuck here for longer than he would have ever liked is what rested upon his shoulders each and every waking hour. The ponies did not fear him, they hated him. They were all so much more powerful than him in so many ways, and the boy could not let these thoughts of his go. They hated him, and he hated that they hated him, so much so that he feared it. As he understood, one cannot hate fear without fearing it, and thus it was hate that fueled fear. Hate and fear, hate and fear, hate and fear…

The boy opened his eyes, and he saw something. It was a path, a trail, a way out. He took a glance out his window, gaining one last glimpse of the midnight black and blue expanse in the sky, and made for his rucksack resting against the dresser. Quietly, he threw together what little belongings he had, zipping up the sac and throwing it over his shoulder. He stood, stared at himself in the mirror on the door, and slowly his eyes wandered down to the lone item resting upon the dresser.

The heart locket, gray and dull as ever, shined hopelessly in the glimpse of the moonlight passing by.

I need to get out of here. He snuck past the door and cautiously clicked it shut, leaving the locket behind.

Lying within the shadow faintly illuminated by the dim light of her small lantern was the magically talented unicorn, Starlight Glimmer. Into the dead-quiet hours of the night she allowed her endeavor for research and a search for answers to drive her until she indeed found an answer, hidden in some-book, some-line, somewhere within the variety lining the walls of the great library. Once again, the very tome that laid before her was the same as she read nearly a month ago, beneath the shade of her favored tree, and the verses from before spelt before her eyes like a riddle unsolved.

“The Star Regulus…” She mumbled to herself. “Regulus…just what could it mean?”

The unicorn’s next set of actions were, more or less, rendered out of pure instinct, as the sound of somepony making their way down the hall impelled her to snuff out the light of her lantern and veil herself beneath the dark. Starlight watched on with a trembling yet focused gaze in anticipation of seeing who might be making their way through the corridors of the castle at this hour. Soon enough her answer was granted as not somepony, but rather someone thought they might be clever enough to sneak their way around in the dark of night. In truth, those in the light know not what dwell in the dark, but those in the dark may see all who wander the light.

David peered briefly past the cracked double doors of the library chamber before continuing on with a cautioned, one toe after the other gait, slinking his way down the hallway til he met the stairs and took the descent with slow, graceful steps. His bare feet aided for a flesh-padded cushion in muffling the sound of his paces greatly, but alas a mare self-trained in the arcane had a sharp sense of magic equipped for herself.

The unicorn waited for his presence to reach the end of the stairs, and Starlight opened her eyes, disabling her invisibility spell as though appearing in the middle of the hallway out of thin air. With another swift yet silent whip of her horn she cast a tiny enchantment to her hooves, and quieted the sound of her hoofsteps upon the hard, crystal floors to a near noiseless muffle. By then the boy had already reach the golden double doors of the castle. As though cradling a child he practiced the upmost care Starlight had ever witnessed in quietly prying the portal open, eliciting only a tiny whine, but just enough for him to slink his skinny figure from one end and to the other. Before doing so he took a cautionary look to the outdoors, proceeded to slip past the crack, and left the door as it was. Obviously the fear of waking anypony up had greatly dawned upon him, which clearly meant he wanted nopony to take notice of his departure, if the sneaking around hadn’t already told Starlight anything, of course. With a spell of hesitation the unicorn stared at the door for a brief moment, and then gained the obligation to follow.

On most nights, if not every night, the lanterns all around town had always been lit to pave the darkened way with dim stretches of illumination. Yet this night, and for reasons that which Starlight could concur as to why, not a single spark nor flame twinkled amongst the hushed, shadowy buildings in the quieted hour of Ponyville. It was the duty of the guards to make their rounds and light the way for those who might be wandering the streets after dusk, yet the trials of the long, hot and difficult day had put their two paladins to a swift rest, and all the more provided for a stealthy escape that the boy had set himself upon.

Starlight reminded herself of her target and locked on to the movement of a figure off to the side of the buildings, more or less avoiding going straight through town and instead opting for the less populated stretches of the valley. Again and again, the same thoughts ran through the mare’s head as she attempted to jump from one conclusion to the next.

Where does he think he’s going? What does he think he has to hide?

Nothing, of course. Absolutely nothing, as there was nothing here for the boy, hence the likely reason for his departure in the first place. But of course, everyone held their own secrets, as Starlight had concluded in the past and would undoubtedly do so again. She knew, from the very beginning, that there was something more to this character than just the simple surface. Twilight might have known, Spike might have known, but did anypony really ever take it upon themselves to search and speculate? It was within Starlight’s instinct to question everything presented unto her, and she dreaded that chance might very well slip away this night.

But, why am I really out here? She paused mid-trot. It’s not as though this kid has actually done anything influential for us here in Ponyville. Why shouldn’t I stop him? Why shouldn’t I just…let him go?

Her sights leveled upwards, to the calm, cool starlit sky above. And among the many twinkled a brilliant star in particular, one that impelled her to keep her hooves moving, for reasons she could not conclude. Almost as if it were destined from the beginning.

Soon enough, the boy reached the top of a hill and took another glance back to Ponyville in the distance. He turned, took his descent to the other side, and the unicorn snuck her way up and peered past the grassy expanse at the tired figure of the human below. He took to rest before the shores of a small, round lake, the water as calm and elusive as ever, reflecting the stars above perfectly. Starlight waited, puffed her chest for a summon of courage, and carefully made her way down the hill in a slow, graceful reveal.

David froze and spared a side-eye to the approaching unicorn before turning his head and looking the mare dead in the eye, to which the two simply stared at one another before one said anything to the other. It remained so for a long while, the distant chirps of nocturnal bugs and animals fading into the background, and all fell to a deathly quiet before Starlight finally decided to utter her verses.

“I don’t suppose you intended to bring any friends along?” Starlight spoke.

The boy continued his glaring stare, his arse in the sand and his elbows over his knees. He shook his head. “I never made any.” He shook again. “Never kept any.”

“You have me…” The mare mumbled.

“Go home, Starlight.”

“Not until you tell me what this is all about.”

Silence. The boy physically turned his head, staring in a completely different direction, trying with all his might to shut out the sights and the sounds of these ponies. Starlight’s patience, of course, was practically on a non-existent level.

“Oh, c’mon, don’t be like this!” She huffed and rounded to meet his eyes. “Look, I get it, you had a pretty crumby day. News flash, bub, happens all the time. The sooner you get it over it, the better.”

He turned again, and the silence went on.

“Is this how you really want things to be? Is this how the Equerry of Ponyville is supposed to act?”

“I’m not your ‘Equerry’, I’m not your friend, all I want you to do right now is to shut up and go home.” David ground his teeth together, fisted his bag and pulled forth a familiar item. “Here! Take it! I didn’t even know why I decided to bring this thing along, but now I know!” He chucked the Royal Equerry’s badge into the sand, a pitiful puff of dust swirling from the impact. “This is what you wanted all along, right? Will this finally make you go away and leave me alone? What’s it gonna take, huh? Some magic spell? Well, here’s your spell, so get out of my sight!”

The mare was more than ready to retaliate, to deliver every bit of her frustrations, her struggles and her fury upon the boy like a mighty, relentless wind crashing down upon a small, unsuspecting sapling. The boy, of course, was only a sapling in her eyes. A mere kid. He was just a boy. Amazingly so, even to her as these thoughts ran their way through her brain, Starlight recomposed herself and took a long breath before lifting the badge with her levitation.

She gave the seal a lengthy lookover, looked to David, and pushed it back into his chest. The boy stood still for a longer moment more, staring at the plate in his hands as the unicorn allowed her words slowly and intently.

“I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I’ve come to realize that’s not what I want. Not anymore.” Starlight told him. “You might call me crazy, chasing after a plate of tin, some silly badge for nine months straight, only to toss it away in just the blink of an eye. The truth is, I’ve always been crazy. The problem wasn’t that I always knew I was crazy, it was accepting it.” Suddenly, her voice was soft and endearing. “I understand what’s going on, David. Just look at me for a moment. I know what’s going on inside that head, all of that chaos swirling around, all of that craziness, you’re not going to be able to interpret it all. I’ve been there, kid…I’ve been there…”

Her haunches fell to the sand, resting warmly upon the beach of the lake as, soon after, the boy almost instinctively followed suit and sat next to his companion with a newfound sense of comfort and ease, despite the trickling of emotions slowly welling up within him. The mare took little notice, and elicited a chuckle.

“Y’know it’s funny.” She began. “I remember so long ago, when I was just a little girl, it was a night as starlight, starbright as this.” Her sights wandered skyward. “And on that night, I ran to the lake, crying over some dismay or another in the world. Life wasn’t fair, as I learned I wasn’t always going to get my way, and everything I did wouldn’t always turn out okay. That night, I met a mare, and to this day I still don’t know her name. But she told me, if I just keep following my way, if I looked ahead into my future and left my past behind, then maybe one day…one day…”

Starlight felt the patter of rain fall upon her hoof. She looked back up, remembering the clear sky above had not a single cloud this night. A glance to her companion’s eyes told her everything she needed to know. This was it, this was the breaking point. Not his dismay beneath the book fort in the castle, not his moment of desperation in the plaza surrounded by the horrors and howls of the pony folk, but it was much more quiet than he could have ever anticipated. David hung his head, pushed his palms into his sockets, and like a blubbering little child he wept. He gasped and sniveled and struggled to suck air in as he wept all the more, and the mare by his side only had one thought on her mind. She scooted closer, pushed her side up to his, and leaned her head upon his shaky, quivering shoulder. In that instant of contact the boy went frozen, the crying stopped for only a moment, and he did not shun the pony away. Instead, he began with simple, choked out words.

“Why am I here…?” He mumbled. “What am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go?”

“We’ll figure it out.” Starlight told him. “Together.”

“I could never figure it out back on Earth, what makes me think I can achieve that here?”

“You never told me.” The mare uttered.

“Told you what?” The boy wiped his nose.

“Well, about yourself.” Starlight went on. “You told me practically everything you could remember about your own world, but I think you left out a vital factor. You.”

The boy delivered another shaking head and played at the sand with his dangling digits. “What’s there to tell you? Just because I’m the only one of my kind on this planet doesn’t make me special. I’m no hero with an epic story to tell, I’m no guardian, no leader. I’m just a…” He sniveled again. “I’m just a kid…yeah, that’s all I’ve ever been, huh? I still am, and I always will be.”

“We all start from somewhere.” Starlight tried.

“That doesn’t mean we all cross the finish line together.” The boy blubbered on. “I know what’s going on here, I know what I am and where I’ll end up. I’m not an idiot, but I am useless. I have no past to go off of, no feats of drama or hell to build my strength off of. I have no strength. I was coddled growing up, I never faced any true challenges, never got into any real fights, and for that it has gotten me absolutely nowhere! I realize now, after all these years, that I could’ve done something to change that. I could’ve said hello to my neighbor and helped him clean his yard, I could’ve volunteered for tryouts like the rest of my friends did, I could’ve mustered up the courage to finally say something to the same girl I had a crush on for four years straight! I could’ve studied more, I could’ve exercised more, I could’ve at least ate my dinner with my family to show that I still gave a crap about them! But no, instead I stayed in my room, I locked myself away from the world. You know what I did? You want to know what I wasted my time doing instead of building relationships, taking care of my body and planning out my future? I sat in my room with my stupid, fucking computer and watched My Little Pony all fucking day and all fucking night! Now, look! Look at where it’s gotten me!

“I dreamed of coming to this place for so long, so so long. Now that I’m here, now that I’m finally in Equestria walking among the ponies, the characters, the sights…everybody here hates me. Everything is out to get me. I can’t catch a single break and that’s exactly what I deserve. I’m no hero, I’m no savior nor some magical messiah. Hell, I’m not even a man. It’s like you said, Starlight, I’m just a kid. I’m just a lost little boy with not a single, intelligent thought running through my head. I act like I know things but I don’t. I put on a straight face even though I know I’ve got glares on my back. You might have expected something extraordinary, something your world has never seen before. Well, now that I’m here, are you impressed? You’re right, if I were in your position then I wouldn’t be either. I would be disappointed, disgusted, devoid of every last sliver of faith or hope I could have possibly retained as soon as I laid eyes upon that worthless, incompetent piece of shit staring back at me in the mirror. I’m fodder, Starlight. I might as well be fertilizer after the timber wolves are done with me. I don’t deserve any of this. I don’t deserve any friends here, I never deserved them back on Earth, what I do deserve is to die alone.

“I really messed up this time, haven’t I? I let myself get out of control, and I shouldn’t have done that. I hurt Silver Spanner, I smashed her one and only surviving flower, all while ruining her entire reputation. There’s probably not a single pony left in town who will want to even look at her after what I did. I screamed at Rose Luck, I shoved Spike out of the way, and I…I…I hurt Twilight. She gave me everything. She saved my life, she gave me a warm place to sleep at night, food to eat and a voice to come home to at the end of every long day. That book…she gave me that book, she gifted it to me, and what did I do? What have I done to repay everything she’s done for me? I treated her like dirt! That’s all I’m good for, that’s all I’m ever going to surmount to! So just…just…” He writhed, twisted and shook as violently as ever. Finally, he burst out. “Just kill me! Right here, right now! I don’t even want to go back home, I don’t deserve it anymore! I can’t bear to face my family anymore, my friends. I might as well be dead now, because I’m not coming home. I’m not…I’m not coming home.” Then, with his knees in the sand and his face to the ground, the boy began to chuckle. “I’m not waking up.” He chortled. “I’m never going to wake up.” He laughed. “I’m never going to get off of this thing. Oh God, this ride…it’s never going to end!” He laughed and laughed and laughed.

It came without warning, a blunt, swift sting slammed against his left cheek. David curled awkwardly to the side and fell to the sand with a disheveled thump, the dust flying all around his vision as the stars twinkled past his blurry, teary eyes. Starlight had hit him.

“Get. A. GRIP!” Starlight shouted into the night. She marched forward and flung the boy upwards with her kinesis, clutching him by the shoulders with two hooves and howling into his face. “I don’t care where you came from, I don’t care what you have or haven’t done, because I have had it with you! I’m done treating you like a child, I’m done calling you a kid, I’m done putting up with your bullshit! Only nine year old little girls cry about your petty little problems! You say you want to die, but you haven’t even lived! You say you want to give up, but you haven’t even tried! What’s it gonna take for you to quit crying like a…a little bitch! Huh? Do I have to hit you again?!” She raised a hoof.

David blinked, once, twice, thrice. “…yes.” He answered.

“W-What?”

“Do it again.” He dared. “Hit me.”

“I-I don’t know…” The mare hesitated. “I was kinda expecting you to start crying again.”

“No, that felt good. It felt…real.” David stopped. “Like it made me a part of this world, if only for that tiny moment that it happened.”

Starlight gazed upon the boy with a concentrated stare. “Are you sure I should hit you again?”

“Yeah, c’mon, go for it.” He scooted his face closer. “I’m ready for it this time.”

“No, I can’t.” The unicorn recoiled. “I probably shouldn’t have done that. In fact, you should hit me back.”

“What? No!” David shook his head.

“I hit you, it’s only fair that you hit me.” The mare justified.

“I can’t hit you, you’re a girl!”

“Yeah? And this girl just slapped your shit.” The pony stood ready. “So c’mon, are you gonna take your turn on me or not?”

“I don’t…I don’t think I should.” The boy shook his head again.

“Pussy.”

“Don’t use that word!” David growled, running his hands through his hair. “Ugh, now I have to do it.” He began to lean down lower.

As the boy stood lopsided trying to fix a fair angle of attack on the pony, all while trying to find the nicest place to strike her, whatever that looked like, Starlight clenched her eyes shut and braced herself, willfully shutting down any and all energy coursing through her horn as to not shield herself and evade the oncoming blow out of instinct. David hesitated, hastily performed the sign of the cross, and threw his fist forward.

“Agh!” Starlight lumbered backwards. “W-What the hell was that?!”

“I’m sorry, you wanted me to, okay?” David shook his hand, hissing air.

“You hit me on the fucking horn.” She grumbled grudgingly, rubbing her horn’s base with a free hoof. “That’s like if I hit you in the balls, dude.”

“It’s that important to you, huh?” The boy chuckled.

Starlight came to a halt, blinking with disbelief at the boy’s sudden, small gesture of enjoyment. Only mere moments ago he was having quite possibly the biggest emotional breakdown of his life, spewing tears, shouting curses. That small lip of a giggle, a tiny little chuckle, and Starlight soon realized that the boy was enjoying this. He was, after all, male. He was a boy, what part about “play-fighting” or even real fighitng wouldn’t deliver a glimpse of mirth to him? In quick response, Starlight stared down the boy’s crotch and chose her target so, charging at him with her horn.

There was only one rule, no magic.

“I had no idea you had that scar on your chest.” Starlight gazed lazily over the lake.

“Well, they do come with a price.” David replied, rubbing the spot on his chest.

A cool, whispering breeze hovered across the still lake and rushed past the occupants of the small beach like bristles in the wind, their tiny wounds stinging against the cold nips of pain, but the change in the air nonetheless suited their needs for a cool down after a few rounds of horse versus human. There was no definite winner, and when there are no winners there are no rules. Well, all except for the “no magic” rule, and that might as well have been the first rule. It was the only rule.

Soon enough, the momentary breeze took its leave and left the pony and the human in a long moment of much needed silence, gazing upon every speckled dot in the blue-black sky, the moon a bright, brilliant crescent. There was a certain star high above the rest, a familiar star, yet one the boy could not quite place anywhere in his memory, and upon the sight the boy’s mind reached back to what the Princess of the Night had told him. Every single star in the sky was a dream, and the brightest star of all was your dream, because that is the dream you could see most clearly.

“Look north, and you shall see the moon…” David muttered, and with that his gaze followed the mentioned direction.

His companion looked on curiously with him, at the crescent above as it shone in the direction of Ponyville, undoubtedly hanging high above the castle on the other end of the village. Almost immediately the doubts returned to him, and he physically turned to look in the opposite direction. Starlight understood him almost clearly, he did not want to return to town, he did not want to return to the castle, and so the question seeped out of her mind and rolled down her tongue.

“David…” She began. “Why did you come out here. Where were you planning on going?”

“Home…” The boy mumbled back. “I thought that maybe-” He paused, looked to the unicorn with an estranged gaze and soon shook the thoughts away. “No, never mind.”

“Don’t you back out of this now, not after we just beat the shit out of each other!” Starlight stood, rounding to the boy’s front and displaying a free hoof to his face. “Look at this, is this my blood or yours? You’re right, I can’t quite tell them apart either, but don’t you see? That’s the point! I don’t know how many times the average pony gets to have a brawl with an alien from another world by the lake-side in the dead of night, but it certainly can’t be more than zero. That makes us above average, that makes us special, don’t you agree?” She didn’t give the boy much time to respond as she leaned closer, eyes twinkling and pupils dancing. “You and I, we’re like brother and sister now.”

David slowly crab-walked backwards, if only to gain some breathing space, and looked upon the mare appalled yet intrigued. “I think I get you now.” His facial muscles revealed all the fear, yet his eyes said nothing but interest. “Now I know why you keep following me, no matter what.”

“What?”

“You’re a psychopath.” David answered.

Every bit of her mind and body froze, save for the intrusive, unrelenting thoughts of her past swarming their way back into the mare’s brain. The days spent in the village in the desert were like memories now shared, almost as if the boy knew exactly what he was talking about, and it frightened her so, if only a little. The unicorn knew now that retaliation would only reveal denial, and denial a long, bumpy road to admittance and confession. Instead, almost purely out of instinct, the pony looked to bargain.

“And…what kind of psychopath doesn’t throw their belongings together, goes walking out in the middle of the night, heading straight into the Everfree forest?”

David’s eyes shrunk at the mere mention of the wooded enigma a fair distance ahead. Bingo. Starlight concluded.

The boy elicited a snicker and dropped his hands to his sides. “Alright, you caught me.” He fessed. “I guess I was heading back to the forest, to the old castle that is, to find some answers on my own. My question to you is, what do you plan to get out of it?”

“The ruins,” Starlight stated. “You’re going to take me there.”

“On one condition.” David held up a finger. “You and I will never speak of this to anyone, to anypony, ever.” He nodded. “Deal?”

Starlight grinned, spat in her hoof, and held it out for him to shake. “Call it a bargain.”

“Your hoof’s already got our blood, sis.” David mused. “You don’t gotta spit on it…”

The unicorn huffed with irritation and brought the boy’s hand forward with a flicker of her magic. There in the night beside the lake they shook, hoof in hand, and the two gazed south at the expanse of sickly blue and green patiently awaiting their arrival. Both were covered in dirt, sand, sweat and blood as they looked to each other with curt nods, and slowly began their gait towards the forest afar.

“So, can we both agree that we’re psychopaths, here?” Questioned Starlight.

“Trust me, it’s not like I’ve got a choice.” David answered.

Chapter 37 - A Bit of Kindness

Two, stone-cold, castle doors waited patiently at the top of a flight of cobbled, ruined stairs, dark vines and ancient greenery slithering from every crack and crevice present upon the old palace grounds. A cold, rushing wind leapt backwards into the forest and tore past the brush and leaves like a scythe slicing through grass. The disturbing sounds of the mysterious woods grew deathly quiet, and all that was left was an empty, hollowed echo bouncing back to the two visitors standing before the murky, menacing door to the Everfree forest.

Despite the dreadful chill crawling down the boy’s spine, David stood at the ready, if only to facade a show of confidence in the presence of his female companion. Starlight puffed her chest and strode forward with an intimidating gait. “Let’s go.” She trotted on.

“W-Wait…” The boy, expectantly, hesitated.

“Scared?” The mare turned on perfect queue.

“No! I’m just…” He glanced ahead, catching glimpses of over-sized insects, ghoulish faces and yellow, beady eyes blinking back at him from within the shadowy depths. “…terrified.” He gulped.

“I figured.” Starlight had to stifle a smirk. “The forest isn’t so bad.”

A blood-curdling howl, as though an animal caught by a predator was being torn to pieces, erupted from the dark depths far within, eliciting a jolt from the boy and causing the mare to go stiff.

“Once you get used to it…” She chortled nervously.

“Listen, I don’t mind a little stroll through the woods in the middle of the cold, dead night as much as the next guy, a magical one at that-” The boy paused a moment, staring at his friend’s horn. “But uh, isn’t there a way we could, y’know, get there faster?”

“Running…?” Starlight guessed.

David huffed and pointed to his forehead.

“You want me to knock you out and carry you there in a body bag?”

“What the hell did I do to make you unleash these psychopathic episodes all of a sudden?” The boy shook his head. “Never mind. Look, can’t you just teleport us there?”

“Ah, that.” Starlight cocked her head to the left and right. “Y’see, the thought crossed my mind well before we even walked up here. It’d be a brilliant plan, if only one of us weren’t prone to unexpected side-effects via magical impulses.”

David raised a finger, hung his jaw apart until he finally walked in a circle with a hand to his chin. “Right.” He muttered. “No easy way out. Or rather, in.”

“Just stick by my side, let a pro teach you how it’s done.” Starlight grinned and flared her horn to life, the surreal, cyan glow covering a vast expanse of the forest ahead. With a whip of her magic the tip of her horn illuminated to life as though a bright, blinding light bulb hung at the end. She waved her light around as a show of guidance, and turned back to her companion with confidence. “I promise I won’t let anything in that forest lay a claw on you.”

“Alright.” The boy finally sufficed. “I guess I’m trusting you.”

“Then let’s go-”

“Wait…!”

“Ugh!” Starlight stomped a hoof. “Now what?”

“I gotta take a piss…”

The unicorn’s face fell to a flat dead-pan. She creased her lips and flicked her head to the side, gesturing for the boy to go take care of business while she dimmed her light and waited. Her eyes glanced back up to the crescent, white light in the sky peaking out from a couple of thin, wispy clouds roaming by. Tonight, she thought tiredly, is going to be a long night.

The thick, narrowing fog parted at the presence of the blinding luminescence wading through the forest one trot after another. Off put by the sudden presence of light in the middle of the night, crawlers and critters alike slithered to the unseen and ducked for cover behind branches and bushes, quietly watching as the set of unmatched figures treaded their way through. The trees, for once, felt as though they were at a reasonable height for a human, and it was for this reason that the boy became aware of the abnormal tendencies that which the Everfree forest was known for sporting, one season after the other. Where most of nature had been taken under the wing of stewardship and jurisdiction by the ponies, the Everfree had been left to do as it pleased, and quite mysteriously nopony ever knew exactly why. Perhaps it was something in the air? Something in the water? Or rather, something in the castle? There was once a division of the ponyfolk, as the boy had came to hear loosely of, but nevertheless it told him about times of confusion, turmoil, and war. It was, for lack of a better term, a great schism, and in the midst of this schism nature wasn’t only taking back what it had once claimed as “it’s own”, but it was up to something a little more, something out of the ordinary. The exact origins of the Everfree forest, to this day, remain but a mystery.

“Is it a bad time to say I don’t actually know how to get to the ruins?” David quivered.

“Relax, I’ve been here longer.” Starlight huffed.

“Does that mean you know where to go?”

“…”

“Starlight?”

“Celestia, Luna and Cadance…” The mare exhaled. “What am I doing right now? This is inane!”

“Hey, take it easy!” David held her shoulders. “Don’t go having a mental breakdown on me now. You’re my guide, remember?”

“I shouldn’t have let you come this far, I shouldn’t have even let you leave the castle.” Starlight grumbled and hoofed her forehead. “What am I going to tell Twilight?”

“What’s the first rule of fight club?”

“Fight club?” The pony squinted, confused. “What ‘fight club?’”

“Nothing.” The boy reminded. “You’re going to tell her absolutely nothing. We agreed on it, we shook on it.”

“I know, I know.” Starlight breathed again, searching for composure. “Just listen to me, because this is the only time I’m going to openly admit this. Not even I am one-hundred percent confident in my magical capabilities especially when it comes to unpredictable places like the Everfree forest. If worse comes to worst, I’m going to have to get you out of here as soon as possible. You know what that means, right?”

Not a sliver of time was given for a proper response. A rustle beneath the brush sounded close by, something far larger than a common squirrel, or even a raccoon. The boy was already ducking behind the unicorn as she took up a defensive stance and instinctively conjured a shield around their form. “Close your eyes.” She commanded. “Cockatrice may lurk around here.”

“Cockatrice?” The boy shuddered at the name.

“They have the ability to turn whomever looks into their eyes into stone.” The mare warned. “That’s not even the worst of it. Manticores, hydras, chimeras, timberwolves, everything in this forest could tear us to shreds.”

The innate sense of fear overwhelmed David so much that he had almost forgotten to do as his companion commanded and shield his eyes. In any other world and at any other time, the instructions alone would seem silly to follow, but it was the dread that drove his hands over his face. He hobbled and quivered like a helpless, little child beneath the blankets, wondering if the monster in the closet would ever come out and eat him alive. It seemed as though a form of temptation had led him into the devil’s den, and now a price to return would have to be paid. The Devil’s barter was that that price could be anything. The catch? The Devil always knew what he wanted, and sooner or later he was bound to get it.

The rustling went on and grew closer and closer, Starlight’s ears perked and her eyes shut, listening closely for the clucking sound that most cockatrice would emanate whether it be chasing prey or feeling threatened. The thickets trembled, the unicorn tensed, and the brushing of the leaves shrunk, smaller and smaller. The air went silent and still as all of her tension gave away in a long, exasperated gasp. Starlight witnessed a small, snow white rabbit emerge from the foliage before her, rubbing its ears and looking around curiously. David poked his eyes out from between his fingers, blinking on rather disappointingly.

“The terror of the jungle, I presume?” The boy gawked.

Starlight let another hoof fall over her face. “Let’s never speak of this too, shall we?” She let the shield fall. “The last thing we need right now is a load of uneeded stress.” And her ears fell flat.

“Not like I wanna burst your bubble but I still don’t think we have a sure path to the ruins.” David noted. “What’s our best bet? Keep heading south until we stumble over a giant, abandoned castle or something?”

“Our best bet would be to…” Starlight quivered.

“Glimmy? You good?” He stared at her.

And the mare crossed her legs. “…find the little filly’s room.”

“Don’t tell me that rabbit gave you that much of a scare.”

“I’ve been holding this light for almost half an hour, gimme a break!” She grumbled, rubbing her temples once more. “Look, just hang out by yourself for a minute while I go tackle this tinkle.”

“No way! That light’s the only thing keeping me from the one at the end of the tunnel.” He pointed to her horn. “Can’t you at least shine it over here while you go do your thing?”

“I don’t know what you guys think our female organs are capable of, but it’s not like I can do two things at once.” Starlight grew irritated. “This requires focus.”

“Fine, whatever! I’ll just sit over here and wait to become manticore feces, see if I care.” David turned abruptly and started towards the trees off to the side, grumbling to himself all the way.

Soon enough, Starlight’s illumination slowly dimmed away into the forest along with the sound of her hooves hitting the ground, and David slowly surrendered himself to the surrounding darkness. He crossed his arms and tucked his hands beneath his pits, shivering in response to the increasing cold as he thought illfully of his partner. Her quick remarks, invoking as they might have been, were made up with her quick thinking and call to action. The boy supposed upon her words spoken only moments ago and thought of them in a more figurative light, that perhaps Starlight was somewhat like a sister to him after all. She at least had the attitude of one, and the likelihood that she only acted this way to the boy and him alone almost gave him all the more reason to invoke a sense of partnership towards her. Perhaps even to be like a brother to her.

Perhaps, the boy thought more carefully, that is what she needed. Perhaps even, that is what Twilight might have meant by responsibility. The sudden thinking intrusions of Twilight’s image and his role as the Equerry irked a strange sense within. Whoa, whoa, slow it down there, you only just got to know this unicorn all over again only a couple hours ago. Let’s not get any finny ideas. He mentally slapped his conscious back in line, one that snapped him back to his reality, lying alone in the cold, unforgivable and unforgettable dark of the deep, Everfree forest. Suddenly, David felt alone, and more importantly Starlight was gone.

She’d be back soon, anytime now. Just any minute now. Any second now…

“Glim?” David looked up.

No answer.

“Starlight?” The boy stood, nervous and fitful. “Are ya’ done?”

Once again, no answer.

And just like that, the dread settled in. The fear stung his body stiff, and the shadowy loneliness of the forest dug beneath his skin and tingled his senses with a quick plague of brief paralysis. Only a deafening shake and boom could make him move now, and he prayed to any higher being out there listening right now that it would come sooner than later. That was what true dread felt like, and his senses were overwhelmed with the ilk at this very moment. The silence of the forest, was in fact, quiet. Too quiet. Deathly quiet. Not a creature stirred, not a critter crawled, it was as though all had stopped to a foreign, evil presence.

And then it returned. The stench.

Every hair on his body stood on end as the scent stung his nostrils and painted his eyes with stale, stagnant fear. It was not the stench of the timber wolves, but rather something more insidious, something which he had not yet encountered until this very night, and his numbed, cold body could not decide whether he was afraid of the creature’s veil of mystery, or if he was afraid to uncover that veil whether he wanted to or not. David finally captured a sense of feeling in his legs, and the boy slowly took one step after the other backwards. His heel sunk beneath a puddle of substance, perhaps mud. He prayed and prayed that it was mud.

Down his vision went, to the sticky substance beneath his foot. The snow white rabbit lay in a heap of its own blood, eyes slit, innards torn from its stomach. David felt a walnut sized lump in his throat and placed a palm over his mouth, blinking fiercely as the stench grew ever stronger. He was too afraid to call out to Starlight, he was too afraid to move, too afraid to do anything. A glimpse of courage allowed him to survey his surroundings with a blurry, teary gaze. He stopped, squinted. The shadows moved.

“David…?”

The lump in his throat immediately fell to his stomach, and the boy gasped for breath. One day… He thought with all his anger, frustration and fears combined. I’m going to skin that mare alive. And he opened his mouth, albeit his voice scratchy and scared.

“Starlight? I’m over here!” He called. “Goddamn, what took you so long?”

“…”

“Starlight…?” He called again, but nothing warm returned. Only the dread.

Something wasn’t right, something was horribly wrong. Why didn’t she have her horn lit? Where was her light? Unmistakably it was Starlight’s voice, but why hadn’t she cast her light again? The boy’s urge to call out once more quickly died within him, and he took another step or two back in the opposite direction of the voice. It had devolved from being Starlight’s voice to someone else’s voice, something’s voice.

And then, David’s voice. “Starlight?” It mimicked. “I’m over here!”

He stumbled backwards and his breath quickened to a pace like never before. The boy was hyperventilating, adrenaline rushing through at blazing, unbelievable speeds. To his most fortunate fate, his body decided then and there that said adrenaline ought to be best used for one purpose and one purpose alone. Run.

Something sticky caught on his foot, he didn’t care to look. The black vines and leaves sliced by like stinging rain tearing through a terrible wind. Every stomp to the earth felt like a hammer to the heart, and every pound to the heart mimicked the rhythm of a large, tribal drum striking faster and faster! The faster he ran, the closer it got! The closer it got, the more he breathed and laughed and screamed and shouted like a crazed maniac sprinting through a world he was lost in and had no way out! He knew he was getting closer now, the light at the end of the tunnel was upon him like the cold, harsh entrance to the world at the beginning of one’s life. The boy knew in that exact moment that had the hammock below not broke his fall, he could have very well been on his way to a new life.

Everything froze in time, the running had stopped, his back was to the ground and the moonlight shone down upon his body with a protective, enveloping enigma. The chase had come to an end.

The eyes beneath the shade of the forest stared upon his figure with a menacing yet patient gaze. Unlike the gleaming, yellow slits from the beginning, two red dots shot spikes through his core, and quickly turned away in response to even the tiniest and slightest glimpses of light. Once again, all fell quiet, all fell calm, and the chase had come to an end.

David laid there upon his back for an unspecified length of time, the cold stone beneath his outstretched limbs providing assurance of his reality as he thought his trials over and over again. Whatever had been chasing him seemed intent, he was sure, on killing him. Not for food, but for the sinister desire of game. For fun. It was in that quiet instant that the words of the elder Pie sister coursed back through his mind. Whatever this creature is, it is not from this world. As Maud had said. Strange, isn’t it? His eyes wandered down and he tilted upwards, bringing his foot to his center to analyze the strange, sticky substance. The stench returned for a short spell, the smell of copper stinging his nose. It was blood, and his own at that.

Mere seconds later, there was a huff, and a puff, and the heavy, noxious breathing hovered right above the boy’s head. A slimy, foggy drip of drool strung down in front of his face like a viscous string of honey, and the new stench itself oddly enough smelled much like it. David slowly tilted his head upwards to find out why.

There was a wet, beady black snout pulsing and sniffing the boy all over. Dark, shaggy tufts of fur and fangs the size of bowie knives smiled back at him with a sinister grin. The light of the moon was almost completely blotted out by the sheer size of the animal before him, standing upon its hinds paws as it groaned and finally burst with a mighty, grizzly roar. Up until now, David had never encountered a bear, and he most certainly didn’t know that he did in fact have the ability to scream like a nine-year-old little girl.

The great, black-brown, fuzzy behemoth neared the little human with a slowed, growling gait, studying him with pearly black eyes. This, the boy presumed for himself, was indeed the end. At least he wouldn’t go out the way he resented, a soft, swift death lying in a hospital bed, and instead the way he wanted, in some sort of cruel, gut-wrenching and entrail-tearing manner, at the claws of a hulkish predator. Accordingly, the boy curled inward and waited for his fate to come crashing down on him…but it never arrived.

There was a softness, a warmth, an inviting coo that impelled him to peak out from beneath his fingers and stare back at the bear whom was currently being subdued by a small mass of butter-yellow fur, a flowing pink mane, and delicate, blue-green eyes. Her soft, gentle voice was more motherly than anything the boy had ever heard, and slowly he unraveled his form to assess the scene before him.

“Now now, Harry, just because he fell into your hammock doesn’t mean he did it on purpose.” The yellow pony, a pegasus, cooed and quietly unfurled her wings.

Harry, the bear, groaned back a response to which the mare translated over in her head and nodded in understanding, scratching a hoof behind one ear and the other. The grizzly immediately took a liking and settled where he stood, barely having the strength to crawl back over to his hammock as a deep, warm sleep enveloped him whole. Upon this, the mare returned her attention to the sudden visitor with his back to the stone wall, and eyed him cautiously yet caringly.

“Oh, you poor poor thing.” The pegasus fluttered over. “Just look at you, you’ve got cuts and bruises all over. You must be so tired.”

Not a word escaped his lips, the presence of the gentle pony alone and her overwhelming grace and kindness was enough to quell the questions bouncing about his mind. Finally, he felt his muscles and tension ease away as he simply gave in to her inviting embrace.

“The forest is no place for the lost and lonely.” She crawled beneath his arm and poked her head out, her sweet, grinning face tucked beside his chest. “We’ll get you all patched up in no time. Can you walk?”

Once again, not a word. He simply gave her a nod and a small smile of gratitude.

“Good.” She smiled back. “Come now, the cottage isn’t far.”

Almost undoubtedly, green was this pegasus’ favorite color. It showed in the exterior and shined from within the cottage as well, from cushions to furniture and even silverware. Oak and birch reigned the living space with cozy wooden floors accompanied by welcome mats lying practically everywhere, and the boy soon realized these were soft places meant for the animals that crawl around the cottage day and night. Critters, both big and small, seldom scattered at such an hour of the night, but the glimpses he caught of the chipmunks and mice running about told him he ought to watch his step while inside. If anything, he most certainly should have been watching his step in the forest in the dead of night. He couldn’t imagine what was going through his mind at the moment when he thought walking through barefoot was a good idea.

David peeked downward at his foot resting above a small, blue tub filled with foggy brown water, most likely small doses of his own blood. The quiet, yellow pony studied the cut in his heel carefully and rinsed the spot thoroughly.

“This might sting a little.” She said calmly, applying a layer of an unknown cream, and pressing a gauze strip to the wound as she wrapped a fluffy white bandage around his ankle to hold it snug. She studied her work carefully and gave an approving nod, turning to the boy. “There now, all better?”

“I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am.” Was all he thought to say.

Her ears perked to the first hearing of his voice. “Don’t mention it.” She replied. “Ponies and critters alike always knock upon my door asking for help, and you’re no exception.” She rose from her stool and began towards the kitchen. “Would you like some tea?”

“Y-Yes, please.” David nodded.

The pegasus returned another nod before ducking back into the kitchen, leaving the boy alone. David took the time to observe his surroundings, sighting bird houses, catwalks and even mouse trails hanging above the rafters to accommodate for the extra residents of the cottage. His desires to get up and explore were put to rest by the sting in his heel, reminding him that he ought to take another moment or two to rest lest the doctor catch him. A moment later and the pegasus was back in the living space with a cute, pink tray lying upon her open wing, two small tea cups and a kettle resting on top.

“You’re Fluttershy, aren’t you?”

Fluttershy acknowledged him and rested the tray to the stool. “There’s nopony else I’d rather be.” She answered with a small blush.

He opened his mouth but shut it back up, lest he say something too stupid or worth nobody’s time. This mare was too kind, too generous even, and he swiftly thought himself unworthy. “I’m sorry, I must’ve caused a bit of havoc for you.” He began. “You’re a very good pony, and you have a lot to take care of, that I see.” He stood abruptly. “I should get going.”

“Now wait just a moment, mister.” Fluttershy hovered in front of him, hooves on her hips and an eyebrow cocked. “You’re not going to leave without taking even a single sip of your tea, now are you?”

“I-I, uh-”

“And secondly, I don’t believe I gave you permission to stand on your wound just yet. I don’t want to see you lay a foot out that door until you’re ready to walk again. Do I make myself clear?”

David blinked, once with shock, another for the registry of her words as he dutifully obeyed and promptly laid his rump back to the couch. Her upfront nature eased away as she rested back to the floor and folded her wings to her barrel, eliciting a small, slow breath.

“Thank you.” She said, and reached for the kettle.

All the while she busied herself with the tea, the boy sat with his hands folded in his lap like a student whom had just received a lecture from the teacher. Or even so, a puppy scolded by its owner. The humiliation settled deeply as one epiphany after another slowly rose to the base of his senses. A teacup filled with a soothingly warm aroma and inviting liquid was neatly rested into his slender, pink hands, and the boy allowed a curt nod before raising the drink to his lips and giving a smack or two of satisfaction. Quietly, the cup trembled lightly in his hands, and once again he told himself he did not deserve this.

“I know you may not want to hear it, most ponies don’t.” Fluttershy began calmly. “But I only ever get assertive with my animals when they don’t do what I believe is best for them. Sometimes, a pony needs to be reminded of these things too. They may think they know what’s best for them, but if you want to show them that bit of kindness you’re so ready to offer, it takes a little push and a shove first.” The pegasus took a small sip, and continued. “We’re all built different, but deep down we all deserve a little kindness.”

And the cup in his hands trembled all the more. Whether it was of fear, of anger, of displeasure or an onslaught of self-victimization, the boy simply could not decide. Only when Fluttershy’s hoof slowly wandered over the boy’s forearm and rested calmly upon his skin did the shaking stop and his eyes wandered to the calm, caring look the pegasus had been maintaining ever since their meeting. Only then did David see it, the bags beneath her eyes and that tired stare in her blue-green gaze. For such a small, harmless, butter-yellow pony, the mare had been through a whole lot, and she understood it all.

“I’m such an idiot…” He rested his head back to the couch and stared at the ceiling.

“Of course not.” Fluttershy returned. “You know I’m here to listen. Tell me everything.”

And so, he did just that. Despite the hour of the night, despite how tired they were, the pony and the human enjoyed little jokes and tales over a set of well brewed tea. The boy told her of his arrival, the encounter in the ruins and what he planned on doing next. To this the mare’s eyes widened in response, not so much out of worry but rather out of realization of a certain friend of hers who lived in the Everfree and would undoubtedly help him on his journey. It was only then that the sudden realization of his own struck David to the core like needles to his chest, and his heart dropped to his stomach.

“Oh my God, Starlight…” He stood abruptly once more. “I left her in the woods all alone!”

“Wait~!” The pegasus called to him.

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy, but I have to get back out there.”

He was gone before the mare had any other protests to provide, but she knew now it wasn’t as though any of them would stop him this time. David rounded the cottage and hurdled the fence dividing the backyard from the tree line of the Everfree. Into the deep dark the boy hustled, this time with confidence, this time with a clear purpose. In spite of being afraid, he faced the fears laid before him.

“Watch out for poison joke!” Fluttershy squeaked into the night.

Chapter 38 - Return to the Ruins

Black leaves and shadowy vines whipped by like razors in the wind, it was all the same as before. The boy pumped his legs and barreled through what slivers and openings he could find, searching for his companion with fervent, open senses, his alertness level cranked past nine.

Any sign of the light was a good sign, he told himself over and over, and in this very moment the unicorn left in the woods could very well be searching for her companion, just as he was for her now. David was confident the pony was still alive. She was Starlight Glimmer, prized student and profound sorceress, what part about her wasn’t capable of surviving the unknown terrors of the Everfree?

In the midst of an opening he came to a screeching halt, and a familiar sticky substance matted his feet once more, part of the red liquid staining his new bandage. The blood and rabbit carcass told him he was right back from where he left off, and with that the woods fell deathly quiet once again. This, he came to understand, was the den. Whatever this beast was and wherever it had came from, it had quickly acclimated itself to this distant, mysterious world. The darkness was its haven, the sinister aura it beheld its home.

And with that, the stench returned. It attacked the boy’s nostrils with ten times the effort from before, threatening to choke his breath, almost causing him to gag from the smell alone.

With great effort he blinked the tears away and wiped his eyes clean, and the boy knew what to do. He stood his ground, planted both feet firmly to the earth and opened his senses to the world around him. Predators like targets, and targets run. He told himself. Do not run.

Predators loved backs, because that is where the eyes were not. When a predator was faced with eyes, it almost always recognized it as a challenge, and only some would face such challenges. Sometimes, they were just looking to pick a fight. Other times, it depended upon how hungry they were. All in all, regardless of their own strength and size, predators always chose the easiest of their prey. Do not become the path of least resistance. David told himself.

He stood there then for a seemingly endless sum of seconds, the ill presence drawing nearer and the stench growing stronger. His heart beat in rhythm with the increasing steps of the monster hidden beneath the shadow. Breath quickening, legs trembling and pupils dancing wildly. Had he made a mistake? Was this the way he would finally go? Was this the bargain that would set him free?

From a great distance a wandering, lime-green light could be seen dancing about the trees and drawing in quickly and closely. The presence of the predator faded just as quickly, the pounding of hooves against the dirt could be heard, and a new figure shot out of the brush and leapt over the boy with tremendous effort. The character in question skidded to a halt on the other side of the human, two bright, green lanterns hanging on either side of her saddle. She turned and delivered a knowing grin.

“Greetings, rafiki.” She clicked her tongue. “You are the bipedal in need, I see.”

David stared on in disbelief. Come dragon, pony, unicorn or pegasus, he realized he had yet to see them all. The rescuer in question wore five rings around her neck, coiled from collar to jaw. Her left front hoof mimicked the gold about her neck, her earrings of the same ilk, and the black and white trade of stripes all about her body told the boy that this was no pony, but undoubtedly a zebra.

“Swahibu mimi, mwema wewe?” She jabbered.

Jaw agape, still staring, he uttered no response.

“Have you no words to say? You still bear a voice, I pray.”

“So you do rhyme after all.” The boy breathed.

“Indeed, I do.” She approached him calmly and turned to unlatch one of the lanterns from her side, its bright, iridescent glow enveloping the two whole. “And this, I give to you.”

“Why, thank-”

“But before I lay it into your sticky paws, might I say how foolish you are, to return without a worthy cause?”

And he was shut up once more without a word to return.

“Your friend, Miss Glimmer, has searched for you all about. It seems that only you had carried a shadow of a doubt.” The zebra went on. “The beasts of the Everfree shun away to the light, especially the one that has kept you in its sight. Keep this lantern by your side, unless you wish to greet your demise.”

Taking the lantern into his grasp, the boy held it to his eyes and studied the features within. Large, transparent lenses resembling an insect’s abdomen were lodged into several slots cut out from a hollowed out oak branch, housing several small firefly’s within. Deep inside there could be seen a multitude of plants and other, smaller insects, providing for an entire ecosystem held inside. “Cool…” The boy shook the lantern like a dollar store toy, to which the zebra simply rested a hoof over his arm and slowly shook her head.

Only seconds later did another light come upon the scene, the familiar cyan glow sending waves of relief through them both, and David’s barrel was immediately strangled by a pair of lilac hooves.

“I thought I’d find your corpse out here, you slippery little bastard!” Starlight nuzzled his stomach.

“Good to see you too…” David chocked the words, patting the mare’s head.

“Don’t you ever do that again.” The unicorn finally broke free, allowing her partner some room to breathe. Starlight turned to the zebra and delivered one gratuitous bow of her head after another. “Thank you, Zecora. I don’t think we would’ve found him in time without you.”

“Zecora, huh?” David tapped his chin, a familiar glint in his eyes.

“She’s the zebra who lives here in the Everfree.” Starlight explained. “You won’t find a single pony who knows their herbs any better. Isn’t that right?”

“Indeed, the realm of greenery is where I exceed. But enough of me.” Zecora digressed. “It is within my upmost concern that I ask thee, what has impelled you to embark on this perilous journey?”

The boy and the unicorn shared respective glances of uncertainty before finally settling upon giving a truthful answer, and with that the mare cleared her throat. “Well, our friend here isn’t from Equestria, as you can clearly tell, but we’re going to find out why.”

“We’re headed to the ruins. Y’know, the old castle here in the Everfree?” David searched. “You think you might be able to tell us where to go?”

A confident grin crossed the zebra’s lips. “Though the forest may be a maze, your answers do not lie afar.” She waved a hoof above her head, pointing to the skies. “You need only follow the brightest star, and soon in the ruins, there you are.”

“So, could you say that again but without sounding like an underground railroad riddle?”

“Just head south.” Zecora groaned. “Trout-mouth…”

“What?” David blinked irritably.

“I think she means follow the river.” Starlight exaggerated a laugh, pushing the boy ahead. “Thanks again, Zecora. I’ll be sure to visit you sometime soon!”

With a ha-rumph and a whip of her tail the zebra left, finding no more rhymes to express her distress. David clutched the lantern in his hand and held it in front of his torso, illuminating the forest around them at a vast range, so much so that the trees a good twenty yards away could be seen clear as day. He nodded to his pony friend with newfound confidence and trailed on into the night, Starlight providing her own light in tow. The two looked up, and found their mark in the sky, following the brightest star as it named their path to the ancient Castle of the Royal Sisters.

A forest of faces, a roaring river, and one rickety old bridge later, the front portals of the ancient ruins stood idly before the two in a foggy, mysterious moonlit light.

Streaks of white fell upon the rickety, wooden doors, threatening to fall apart at any moment. Vines crawled up the stone-gray sides and channeled their way into the castle, a network of greenery lying within every crack, nook and crevice. A calm, quiet breeze blew by. David looked to Starlight, and Starlight to David. The two nodded to each other ceremoniously, and pushed their way past the doors.

A great, broken chunk of the ceiling laid in the center of the main hall, a forgotten testimony to the short lived battle that had taken place only weeks ago. The snarls of the timber wolves and the sound of an Alicorn casting beams echoed upon the boy’s ears, all quelled by his feeble, helpless cries. Though it felt strange, he regarded the setting as many would an old monument or a memorial to one of the many, many wars. This castle was, after all, an ancient site to the ponies of Equestria. David glanced to his friend with a sliver of wonder. Then, something metallic collided with his foot. He looked down, and in the dust found his helmet, and his spear.

Starlight took her glances to the torches and décor of days of old, quietly regarding the amount of dedication and time it took to pull off such feats of architecture even with a means of sorcery, of which she was undoubtedly familiar with. Her eyes traveled to the human, whom was currently attempting to blow the dust off of an old, pony-guard helm, and fix the metal casing onto his head. The mare quietly chuckled to herself before approaching him and nudging his side.

“C’mon, Prancelot.” Starlight trotted ahead. “We’re not here to play dress-up.”

David rested the helm to the boulder, kept the spear, and walked along with her.

Books erupted from the ground up in staggering heights and intimidating lengths, threatening to put even the greatest libraries combined to shame. Starlight gazed upon the rows of tomes like a child gawking in the toy isle, and her friend towing behind might as well have been the child who rather wished he were in that toy isle at this very moment. The sight alone nonetheless stole a wonder-filled glance or two from the boy as he reminisced on his first time wandering these ruins. He had all the time in the world now to search each and every book he desired, the white crescent in the sky above delivering tell that there was still a moment to spare in the halls of knowledge. It was irredeemably one of Starlight’s havens.

“It’s like one of Twilight’s wet dreams.” Starlight joked. “Or dust dreams. Get it?” And busied herself by cackling at her own joke, stumbling in front of a nearby torch stand. The long, metal rod tipped and slammed against the bookshelf, bringing a supply of old, worn out pages along with it. The binding tore away like thin, wet straw wrapping, the covers flaked away in the non-existent breeze. Even the words themselves were using canes and walkers.

“Something tells me finding our answers is gonna take a bit of…renovation.” Starlight deemed.

“I don’t think any of these books will give us what we’re looking for.” David surmised. “But, it never hurts to look. Knock yourself out.”

“What were you going to do?”

“Well, I did say I was going home…”

The dark, shaded halls of the forgotten castle revealed nothing particularly new on his return trip. As the pony stayed behind to thoroughly search the athenaeum, David marched alone among the frayed banners and rusted suits of armor, reaching into the far recencies of his mind to attempt a bread-crumb trail back to the place where he had started. Back to where it all began.

Some had called their beginning a home, others had called it the day they were born, a fond memory, or simply passing beneath an arch or doorway to the beginning steps of a simple story. In this world, David called it a cold, dark room. Forgotten to people, forgotten to history, forgotten to time. A hopeless beginning bared only a hopeless end. Bringing his lantern down a lightless corridor and to the foot of a cracked, wooden door, he pressed his palm upon its surface and ventured to find the pieces left behind.

The door slowly creaked open. Twilight lifted her tired, heavy head from her desk with a quick jolt. Her eyes were wet and bleary from the run of tears, and her muzzle stuffed to the point of obnoxious, drizzling sniffles. She blinked and pinched her sockets between her hooves, shaking away the haziness to get a better register of her surroundings. Tomes and scrolls lay strewn across the desk’s surface, ink splotched and scribbled in several spaces as though done hastily and with unkempt irks of emotion. Her chambers were the same as ever, crystal blue walls and velvet curtains hovered in a dim, gloomy orange provided by the single candle set beside her paperwork. The pages below were stained wet with only what Twilight could imagine, drool and sorrows. Her expression fell to a low, depressing gloom, and her eyes danced aimlessly about the sorry state of her desk.

Another spell…failed. She thought to herself.

Her horn flared alive and the magic brushed against the knob of the left drawer. Searching its contents, she set aside a stack of notebooks and a bundle of parchments, hiding the single item stored at the bottom of the drawer. A single, blue, pill-shaped object hovered in her field. The Princess regarded it carefully, eyeing the small glass of water at her bedside table.

“Twilight?”

The mare jolted again, and her sights spun around to the door. There he was, her dragon, her friend, her number one assistant. Spike stood hesitantly at the open door, one claw on the knob while the other held a freshly lit candle. The pony could clearly see the unnerved look in the little dragon’s eyes as the candle flame danced between the stark black and pulsing green of his gaze. Pupils slit, staring upon the blue pill in sight.

“What is that?” He asked cautiously.

“Nothing, Spike…” Twilight quietly placed the pill back inside the drawer. “It’s nothing.” And closed it shut with her wing.

The dragon clenched his jaw and took a heavy step forward, placing the candle tray onto a nearby dresser while making his way towards Twilight’s desk. The Alicorn did not let him get far.

“What are you doing up at this hour?” She asked, a bit more sternly than she would have liked.

“You’ve been up all night.” Spike locked eyes with her. “I brought you candles but you never said a word.”

The mare’s eyes wandered away. Had she really been so absorbed in her work?

“Please, Twilight, don’t be a stranger to me.” His slitted sights grew larger, glossing over in the candle’s low light. “Just tell me what’s going on.”

“I’m sorry, Spike, you’re…” Twilight’s eyes glazed over his figure. “You’re just too young to understand. You should go back to bed now, get some rest.”

“And if I were old enough,” the dragon looked down, shaking his clenched claws. “Would that mean you wouldn’t need me anymore?”

Her ears dropped, her wings fell, and the expression she delivered to her number one assistant was that of fear.

Books laid strewn across the cracked, stone floor in heaps of undisturbed dust, save for the markings left behind by the boy himself. The lantern had provided all the illumination that was needed, and unto him the mysterious contents of the cold, dark room were revealed one article after the other. For one reason or another, his mind was drawn to providing a sense of tidiness about the place in tandem with his desire to search for answers, whatever shape or form they might take. It was clear to David then that despite his hopes, answers of any kind would not come so easily no matter how hard or diligently he searched. He wondered then if the trip was even worth it. It was, in his eyes, a step forward, even though it had brought him right back to where he had started. Right back to where it had all began.

There lied a podium in the center of the room, fit upon a fine carpet surrounded by luxurious pillows and lounging couches of old, yet torn and tattered to time’s tampering. Stain glass windows and shelves of the previously mentioned tomes lined the walls, circling in a rotundus shape back to the door, and eventually to a peculiar piece the boy had not noticed until now. It was a mirror, oval in shape, several cracks branching out from the torso and upwards where the broken pieces fell below, exempting the viewer’s face. There was a presence about this mirror, something the boy could not quite place, though he felt he should know just what it was. Where his heart lay in the reflection, was the space where the mirror had been damaged the most.

“Never. I would never trade you away.” Twilight pleaded with her young dragon. “I would never leave you.”

“Then why don’t you talk to me anymore?” Spike stroked at her coat aimlessly. “Why don’t you listen to me?”

“I-I do, it’s just…” Her words fell away.

“It’s because you’re a Princess, isn’t it?” The dragon sniffed. “I get it now, you don’t have time for me anymore, you don’t have time for anypony.”

“That’s not true.”

“Then show me what you’re hiding.” Spike rubbed his eyes, looking up at the pony. “Show me what’s in that drawer.”

The contents had long been spilled, the secrets already unveiled. Twilight stared helplessly down at the little reptile knowing now that any further notions of protest were simply a means of denial and pushing her youngest yet oldest friend further and further away. Then again, wouldn’t this matter estrange him as well? It was the dueling weights of both decisions that made the mare fear upon either outcome, a matter of picking her poison at her very hooves, and this time the door was locked. The young, energy drained Alicorn let forth a long, weary sigh, looked pleadingly into her dragon’s eyes once more, and slowly opened up the drawer.

The sound of hooves stumbling down the long, dark corridors clicked the boy back to reality, and he lifted his head to turn to the door in wonder of his companion’s whereabouts. He took the cautionary time to equip his lantern and slowly edge his way over to the door, creaking the old portal apart and looking down one path and the other in search of the mysterious sound. From his blind side a bright white and blue flash of light splashed against the dimly illuminated walls, the sound of a magical phenomenon pounding against the stone.

The boy turned quickly to the source and stared on carefully, lantern bright and close to his side. The hall was only a dead end, and all that remained was the smell of soot and an outlining of ash on the cold, cobbled floor.

“Ye olde Incantations.” Starlight scoffed, rolling her eyes in boredom. “I guess even back in the day these old scripts were a millennium too late.”

The hollowed reverberations of the forgotten palace and the weight of Starlight’s mumbling monologue were all that bounced off the old walls of the aged library. She trotted through the lengthy corridors at a steady pace scanning over one book title after another. The search for answers had at this point become reminiscent of a window shopping spree for a mare who didn’t even have a bit on her to spend. In all honesty, Starlight wasn’t quite sure what she was looking for anymore, and was fairly confident that neither did her bipedal friend, wandering somewhere else in the castle, had any clue what he was searching for either. Leafing through at least a dozen books had surprisingly taken a toll on her mental fatigue, the moss growing on the walls becoming far more interesting at this point in her research.

“Who knows?” Starlight snickered to herself. “Maybe the answer was hidden between the moss and the cracks all along?” And came to an abrupt halt, eyeing her surroundings cautiously. “Or, maybe I should stop talking to myself? I mean, it’s not like anypony could be listening to me right now-” She jolted at the sound of pebbles rolling down a broken wall, and whipped her head in frustration. “Get it together, Starlight, you’re a grown mare for crying out loud! And this grown mare just agreed only moments ago to go on some crazy expedition with a two-legged alien from outer space.” She giggled with herself nervously, pacing back and forth. “Honestly, what were we thinking?! It’s not like if we just look between the cracks, woe and behold, there the answer-”

The unicorn stopped at another dead halt, reversing her steps to peer down the shelf she had just passed. Amongst the rows of tattered, dust ridden and dirtied book covers, one bedazzled her eyes so and stood among the rest. “There the answer…lies?” She finished, and with a new surge of curiosity, levitated the fine and finished book from the shelf above.

The make of the tome was that of hard cover, hard leather, with a deep burgundy finish. There were no words on the spine, nor the front or back, only an oddly shaped, golden symbol in the top right corner. A chalice harboring a grape vine and laurel leaves. Carefully and quietly, Starlight flipped the cover aside and opened to the first page. The strange symbols and markings were all but alien to her. Headers, sections and paragraphs appeared to be divided unevenly, yet organized in their way of telling, nearly each and every sentence or line of dialogue holding a strange marker or placer of some sort. Naturally, the pony’s mind referred to that of an instruction book, a tome of direction, one that might after all contain answers. It wasn’t until one phrase in particular stood out to her, a name to be precise, and that was her companion’s name.

David. She read, wide-eyed and wondering. What is this…?

It was the one and only scribble in the book that she could recognize, the one and only word she knew she had seen written before. When the boy had signed his name onto the Royal Equerry forms, he had written it in his language. Why then, of all places, would the name appear again here?!

Suddenly, Starlight snapped the book shut and tucked it back into the corner whence she found it. A nearby magical surge had almost instinctively impelled her to go on the defensive, and thus she dropped all her thought and carefully scanned the environment before her. Her ears perked in the direction of a darkened corridor, and out of the corner of her eye that familiar, two-legged figure walked into the light.

“Easy, now.” David approached, raising both palms. “No one’s taking them from you.”

“Was that you?” She asked fervently.

“Yes, I am me.”

“No, I meant-” Starlight reconsidered, remembering the boy’s vulnerability to the arcane. She assumed a sideways glance to the shaded hallways. “We might not be alone here.”

David’s gaze shrunk with alert and his spear was hoisted to both hands, taking on a defensive stance as he turned about and surveyed the area with a deeply exaggerated combat protocol gig. Starlight watched the boy go on for a moment before stifling a fit of laughter. The boy’s head perked over in annoyance.

“What?” He raised both arms.

“For a local from a whole other planet you sure do get worked up over the slightest of things.” She chortled on.

“I think the presence of a potential intruder is plenty reason to get worked up.” He gripped his spear again.

“Relax, this place was abandoned ages ago.” Starlight kicked the dust about and surveyed the decay of the castle. “If anything, anypony who dares come here is but a simple visitor of intrigue.”

“So then, we only came here for shits and giggles?” His arms dropped. “That’s it?”

Starlight tilted her head left and right, pursing her lips. “Pretty much.” She shrugged. “Disappointed?”

“Why should I be?” The boy sighed and leveled his spear down upon the nearby table, crouching low to seat himself before the old, pony-sized furniture. “I suppose you could say it’s exactly what I expected. After all, I do tend to disappoint myself.”

“What do you mean?”

“Would you believe me if I said this isn’t the first time this has happened?” He asked her.

Starlight looked on at the boy with a hint of interest, drawing closer.

“Not in this setting, of course.” He eyed the walls.

“We all have our stories to tell.” Starlight provided, sitting opposite of him. “I don’t think you would have survived those woods if it weren’t for a bit of experience prior, am I wrong?”

“No, you’re not.” David obliged, eyeing the walls once more and taking a deep breath. “You remember what I said at the lake? All of that ranting and self-scrutinizing, deep down I know I didn’t truly mean what I said, but at the same time it’s the truth. Only the most honest and down-to-earth confessions could be that long and brutal, not even any of the local priests would ever hear something like that.”

“Priests?” The mare inquired.

David chuckled and shook his head. “It was just a part of my growing up. Back on Earth, I mean.” He explained further. “Whenever we did something we weren’t supposed to, priests were the ones who would hear out our sins when we confessed them.”

“Something you weren’t supposed to do?” The mare mimicked, cocking her head. “You mean to tell me you committed a crime?”

“Well, no. I mean, it could have been a crime. Mostly it was considered something that went against mannerisms or just being a dick to your fellow man.” David nodded nonchalantly. “We would call these acts sins, and these sins would supposedly taint our souls, hence for the need of confession.”

“I don’t get it, your planet is weird.” Starlight’s face scrunched with irritation. “Either that, or you’re just leaving out a lot of key details.”

“I suppose I am, it’s a little hard to explain.” He slowly rubbed his hands together, as though pondering and preparing for a lengthy elaboration. “You see, back on my planet there’s a number of belief systems that people would call religion, and they would follow these religions for whatever reasons might have impelled them to do so. Sometimes people were given a choice, others were…not so fortunate.”

“And where did you land?”

“On the fence, I suppose.” His hands rested to the table’s surface, fingers interlocked. “I was raised what they call Catholic, along with my family. Our practices were…derived so to speak.”

“What was the purpose of this system?” Starlight prodded. “You said it was a belief, over what?”

“Hope, I guess.” The boy appeared unsure, shoulders shrugged. “Hope that maybe one day if we kept true to our word and remained as good people then the veil of death would never overcome us. Of course, this is only what I was told, and we’re talking about hundreds if not thousands of years of reiterations. What people believed back then is almost alien to what they believe now.”

“But they were beliefs nonetheless, right?” The pony surmised. “Why would this belief system you speak of have any say in what an individual on your planet might have truly believed, regardless of the times?”

“Like I said about choices, some people were given the time to decide while others were forced into these ways, whether it be by society, the government, or even their own parents. Sometimes even, regardless of what their superiors might have ordered, the sheer amount of emotion alone that some religions would provoke would be enough to draw them in.”

“Alright, so what’re you hiding here?” She side-eyed him.

“I’m sorry?”

“You’ve spoken enough about the followers of these systems being wrangled up for the sole purpose of being a member of such a belief, like it’s some marketing tactic trying to rack up some numbers, but something tells me that was never the original intention here.”

“No, it wasn’t.” He nodded knowingly. “You’re onto something.”

“Does that mean you’re just going to keep me in suspense?”

“If I knew the answer then I wouldn’t, but that’s just it.” He started again. “As I said before, the way people practice their faith now is completely different from the way they did it hundreds of thousands of years ago. In the mess of all these miscommunications and mistranslations, we may never know what the founding followers’ true intentions were.” He paused for a moment before given a silent chuckle. “I suppose that’s what it means to have faith?”

Starlight quietly folded her hooves and looked down at the hard wood of the table, blinking blearily as a wave of memories coursed their way through her mind. She recalled weeks ago where she beheld her conversation with Spike in the library, and what she had said. They’ll only accept what they feel is right or wrong, she reminisced. Even if you know the truth, who’s going to believe you? There were however, as Starlight knew, ways that a pony could influence their system of beliefs so that others might believe such things as well. Not out of emotion, not out of some primal instinct of fear, but to uphold such beliefs to such an extreme that they might as well have been ready to die for it. The unicorn quickly blinked her thoughts away, reassessed her surroundings, and stared back up at David.

“And you said you grew up like this?” She asked subtly. “Your parents, did they ever y’know…?”

“My dad was pretty adamant on raising our family the way the church wanted us to. So, when I hit that rebellious phase and decided to go my own way…oh boy.” He took a pause. “It wasn’t the angriest I’d ever seen him, but it was the longest, most tiring talk of my life. He barely even let me get a single word out.” There was another pause, longer than the last. Starlight’s eyes remained intently on the boy’s face as he peered down at his hands in thought, and finally began to speak again. “I find it kind of funny, a little strange really, I had a sibling before me who was already well on the other side of the fence. When it was my turn I was confused as to why my dad was acting up so much. Hadn’t he been there before? He wasn’t even that angry afterward, it was like when he lost me…he was just heartbroken.”

Suddenly, his face fell forward and his eyes darkened, the pony now unable to look him in the eye and read his emotions, and she felt that the boy hid his face for good reason. “My mother was so upset with me…” He mumbled on. “Hey, you think that…?”

Silence reigned over, the unicorn waited patiently.

“No, never mind.” He muttered back, sank into his seat and lifted his head.

Although he did not look at Starlight, the mare could feel the swelling of his emotions beginning to die down and settle where they perhaps should have been dealt with. A solemn gaze overtook the ponies eyes as she shared the sights with her friend looking over the old castle’s interior, and soon enough the words couldn’t be held back any longer.

“I always wanted to impress my dad.” Starlight admitted, taking a breath. “I thought that maybe if I could be the first one in my class to get my cutie mark, maybe then I could show him my worth, maybe then he would respect me. But, well…I guess things didn’t quite turn out like that.”

“Life always has other plans.” David shrugged numbly.

“I just never thought it would bring me here, but that’s only because I finally decided to accept the help when it was hoofed to me on a silver platter.” Starlight heaved a sigh, her eyes rather disappointed. “Twilight and her friends, we never always got along with each other. In fact, we hated each other. I hated her.”

David sat up, leaning intently. “What happened?”

“So many things…” Starlight’s eyes wandered towards the massive gap in the ceiling, her sights spanning across the hundreds of thousands of speckled, white dots glimmering upon the black-blue sky. Her thoughts swirled and bubbled into reality like a paint splattered onto a canvas, and little by little she painted the picture of her life. A memoir and testimony to her tales in Equestria.

A bright, happy, lilac little filly with pigtails trotted her way up the green, grassy hill and overlooked her home, all a simple village in the valley. It wasn’t a bumbling maze of shacks on the country side, nor a den of huts hidden away in the woods. It was the right kind of town for the right kind of people, and these people were the ponies of Sire’s Hollow.

The little, lilac unicorn peered down the path and looked upon her favorite tree, and beneath this tree sat a lone, unicorn boy. His hues were bright orange, his mane a dirty, rusty red, and the milky white of his fetlocks always gave the lilac unicorn a warm, swell feeling within. She bounded down the path, and her friend immediately perked up to her presence. They embraced, played together, learned together, laughed together, loved…like a pair of inseparable siblings. There they laid side by side upon the same grassy hill, the brilliant blue sky above housed little to no clouds, and the sun shone brightly with warmth, mirth and a little bit of hope. The little filly looked to her friend, and the colt was fast asleep. She began to pick flowers, laying them in his mane, and then she stopped. She looked upon the unicorn, and saw the most beautiful person she could ever know, a true true friend. She dropped a flower, and the petals were sucked into the colt’s lungs. He sputtered and jolted awake, coughing up the floral bits and looked to his friend in wonder. The filly flared her horn and fixed the little colt’s glasses, and soon enough the two laughed together.

The lilac unicorn trotted home with a happy, more than content look upon her face. Then, the sound of glass smashing and ponies yelling filled her ears. Though she felt afraid to go inside, the filly bravely pushed past her front door and trotted into the kitchen moments after. Her mother sat upon the floor scooping up bits to a broken platter, and her father stood watching, staring. The old stallion turned with a cold, dead eye at his daughter, and that happy look about the unicorn’s face was long gone. He peeked down at his daughter’s flank. Still no cutie mark. Despite her mother’s pleas, the child was given very little to eat that night.

The next morning everything was but a hazy, unfiltered blur. Her dear friend had talked on and on about traveling all the way to the capitol to enroll in a school for unicorns. One day he would attend and become a fine apprentice, he would study the arcane and roam all of Equestria through field trips and expeditions. He too would become an important and powerful wizard, he too would one day achieve the likes of the fabled Starswirl the Bearded. She prayed that day would never come. Slowly, the days went on with cloudy, sunless skies, and the nights brought nothing but strife and turmoil. Her father had told her again and again that there was nothing more important in life than earning one’s cutie mark. It is what ponykind had always strived for, fought for, and lived for. Every night she came home without a cutie mark, a punishment was always in line, whether it be a lack of meals or a stern talking to. Every night more the little filly resented her own father, and wished violent and sickening things upon him as she lay in bed, sobbing softly into her pillow.

It was bright and sunny as could be that day, and the filly feared she knew why. There was not a child to be seen within that house, not a friend to call nor a little unicorn boy to find beneath her favorite tree. She sat beneath the shade, having nothing better to do but look solemnly at the ground. She knew he had gone now, to move on with his life and achieve his dreams, and in the midst of it all he hadn’t even realized that he had left his one and only friend behind. Everypony else had reveled in the warmth and happiness of that day, all except for Starlight Glimmer. That day, her warmth, her happiness and her light, had been taken away… One day, she vowed. I will make them all see the light.

“So you see, Spike, all these really do for me is to help calm my nerves whenever I’m feeling stressed or anxious.” Twilight explained to her little dragon. “I’m not sick and I’m not dying. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”

Spike’s thought process seemed to take him a hundred different places at once as his eyes hovered over the strange packaging with uncertainty. “I still don’t understand.” He mumbled. “If you’re always that stressed then why not talk to Fluttershy, or Rarity, or Applejack? They’re your friends. You know they’d be willing to listen to your problems.”

“I wish it were that easy, but you’ve got to remember that just like how I have my responsibilities to look after, so do they.” Twilight calculated in her head. “Rainbow Dash is a Wonderbolt now, Fluttershy has all of her woodland creatures to look after, Rarity has three different shops across Equestria to manage, Applejack will always be tending to her orchard, and Pinkie Pie…well, no promises on that one, I guess. But you understand what I’m saying, don’t you?”

“Are you saying…” Spike paused, looking up at the pony. “Are you saying you don’t want to spend time with them anymore?”

“That’s not true.” Twilight almost felt a migraine coming on. “I would never abandon them, you know that.”

“Then if that’s true, why don’t you see them more often like we always used to? Don’t you remember the good old days?”

“The ‘good old days’…” She shook her head. “It hasn’t been that long, has it?”

“No, it hasn’t, but everything has changed so much in so little time and now they all feel so far away.” Spike began to curl in on himself, clutching his tail and gripping it tightly. “I miss those days, Twilight. I miss the old library. I miss the smell of all those books, even if they did smell like, well, dusty old books.” The dragon chuckled softly. “It’s kinda funny now, that I miss the things I liked the least, isn’t it?”

“Oh, Spike…” Twilight cooed and curled the dragon up in her wings. “I miss those days, too. They were fun while they lasted, but we can’t just hold on to the past.”

“Yeah, the past…” Spike repeated, yawning loudly and stretching his limbs. “If only there were some way…to bring the past back to here…” He shuffled and turned over in the Alicorn’s wings, bending his tail up to his belly and holding on to it, his fangs hovering over the end as though threatening to suck on it like a pacifier.

Twilight’s gaze fell upon her number one assistant as she struggled to suppress her tears and admiration of just how adorable this dragon could be, despite how much he had grown. His scales were still just as soft, and the green glow of his spines as young and bright as ever. Spike was still a child, and Twilight undoubtedly considered herself his mother. She carefully levitated the prescription packaging back over to her study and turned to her bed, lifting the covers and laying the dragon down upon the sheets. She fixed the blanket with her magic and draped the warm, fuzzy cover over the slumbering little lizard, his breath as calm, content, and steady as ever. With a heartfelt calling Twilight leaned in closer and planted a warm, subtle kiss upon the dragon’s forehead.

Minutes, hours, even days felt like they were passing by as the lone Alicorn slowly wandered the halls of her very own castle. The echo, as she had come to call it, had returned in full. Slowly, day by day it gnawed at the void in her heart and shuddered her soul, filling her sights and her mind with nothing but a soundless, sightless, hopeless future.

She took one look upon David’s door, hesitated to lift her hoof, but slowly turned and walked further down the hall. To the foot of the main chamber she came upon, the map room as they had called it. The hanging roots of Golden Oaks Library seemed the bleakest and dullest they had ever been since her settlement in the castle. Each and every orb of memory that hung from the branches twinkled and sparkled with fleeting signs of hope. One orb in particular housed an old yet simple picture, one of her and her friends. Before she had become an Alicorn, before everything had changed. It was only when the tears threatened to well up in her eyes again that Twilight realized deep down, she missed the old days.

She missed those days more than anything.

Chapter 39 - Letter Zero

Through the broken ceiling of the old castle the early streaks of morning light danced and illuminated the shaded halls of the library. Not a visitor was to be heard nor seen, for the two occupants of the chamber were long gone. Their mission said and done, the boy and the unicorn quickly and quietly made their trek back to the Castle of Friendship.

“For a pony so new to Ponyville, you seem to know an oddly large number of hiding spots.” David commented, shuffling beneath the brush with his unicorn.

“I…took a little self-tour.” Starlight chuckled nervously. “Promise not to tell anypony, okay?”

“I don’t think they’d be surprised.”

Starlight withered and turned back to the objective. “Look, we’re almost there. Just keep your head down and we’ll make it back in no time.”

David did exactly as the mare told him, and proceeded to push his head down in an effort to be made unseen. Unfortunately for him, the old, iron spear strapped to his back swung up and around, most certainly not going unseen as it came back around and nearly knocked Starlight in the face. She gripped the end with her magic and growled frustratingly.

“Why didn’t you leave this at the ruins?”

“Starlight, it’s a spear.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“What kind of cruel, heartless creature would leave it there all alone?” He eyed the rusty artifact as though it were his first-born son. “Surely a female such as yourself simply wouldn’t understand.”

The pony groaned again. “If you wanna play your little boy games that’s fine by me. Just keep it out of Twilight’s sight, she’ll tear us new ones if she ever found out we went into the Everfree.”

David took one last look at the spear before giving a deep sigh and tossing it into a nearby bush only a skip and a trot away from the main castle grounds. Starlight passed something between a quick nod and a shrug, gestured for the boy to get a move on, and the two made their final track across the field heading for the castle in the distance.

The echo seemed all the more quieter in the mornings, when the light of the sun passed through the windows and illuminated the crystal walls both inside and out with a mysterious, ethereal glow. It provided for a feeling of invitation, of warmth, and a new beginning to each and everyday. Though the evenings were just as such, the feeling was more for that of a fleeting light, one of urgency and loss, and it was these evenings that the Princess of Friendship seemed to dread the most.

Currently, the Alicorn in question laid her head against the flat crystal and glass of the map table’s surface, slumbering away in a quiet, patient stir. “…twenty-two inches and a quarter…” She mumbled in her sleep. “…cast iron, stone-fire grade…”

Without warning, the map room’s double doors swung apart and hit the walls with a loud, metallic bang, sending Twilight into a spasm of who’s, what’s, when’s and where’s until she finally rose up from behind the table, cross-eyed and wild-maned.

“NON-STICK PANS~!”

Twilight paused, looking around to make sure no one had heard her, only until her eyes landed upon a strange image on the other end of the table. What the young Princess saw at first seemed like that of a mirage, dream-like almost, as a faint, wispy, blue glow encapsulated the figure of a human. On top of it all, a pair of tiny, golden eyes floated in mid-air, gazing upon the purple pony with a shocked, fixed stare. Twilight blinked once, twice for extra measure and rubbed her eyes for good measure. The phenomenon did not cease. Then, it clicked in her mind.

“Starlight…?” She squinted.

“Dammit!” The unicorn hissed, unveiling her invisibility spell. “What went wrong?”

“I-I don’t know.” David looked around. “Maybe she picked up your heat signature?”

“You moron, you were supposed to close your eyes!”

“How was I supposed to know?” He splayed.

“What is this all about?” Twilight made herself known.

Starlight looked to David, and David to Starlight. The two stared at one another expectantly, until the unicorn finally decided to flare her horn and push the boy forward with her magic. His wrapped foot skidded nicely upon the crystalline floors, and without another second to spare the sorceress gave a mighty salute in his honor.

“She’s all yours.” And leaned in closely. “You know what to do.”

With a blue blast of magical sparkles the unicorn was gone, leaving the room to the only human and pony present. David slowly turned back to the Alicorn sitting on her respective throne, mouth agape and eyes dancing around his form as her mind wandered to a million places at once, wondering where the boy had been and what he had been doing to end up in the state he was in now.

Silence enveloped the chamber for a long, uncomfortable while, the echo increased all the more in its longevity as the hushed moments went by. Twilight allowed herself once again to look over the boy with care and concern. The rough, tired look about his eyes and complexion, the dirt matting his clothes, the wrapping about his foot and the scrapes along his legs and arms. It was all a tell tale sign of an adventure untold, but more so it laid itself reminiscent of when she had first encountered him in the Everfree Ruins, when she had saved him from the timber wolves. In that very moment, the itch returned to David’s chest, and with that he ignored the call to scratch it and moved forward with raised shoulders and a confident stride. Twilight remained sitting before him, staring him up and down, awaiting his words.

“Twilight.” He began, breathing shakily. “There’s something I need to say.”

“I’m listening.” She nodded.

“I never should have treated you the way I did.” He said. “Never should have said to you what I had said. I’ve taken the time to reflect over my recent behavior, and I realize now that I was in the wrong. I acted cruel, selfish, and immature. And for that…I deserve punishment.”

Twilight blinked, surprised. “What?”

“Please, Princess.” He leveled himself to one knee, looking down. “You have to understand that my actions cannot go unchecked. If I fail to seek justice for my misplaced behavior, then that means I fail as your Equerry, and I’m not going to allow that to happen.”

Clearly, it was another act, albeit a step in the right direction in Twilight’s eyes. Yet, something felt oddly offputing about her own position over the whole situation, something which made the mare feel as though the boy was putting himself at her mercy. Not because of his blatant choices of vocabulary and self-acclimations, but rather it was the faint reminder for Twilight that she had in fact bestowed the boy with the title and power of the Royal Equerry. Immediately, the pony rose from her throne, a sick feeling overwhelming her senses as she sat within it whilst the boy knelt himself before her hooves, and thus the mare sought to approach him calmly and lift his head with a gentle wing tip.

“I’m not going to punish you.” She stated clearly.

“But-”

“Trust me, I know exactly how you feel.” Twilight told him. “There was a time before this castle had even existed, a time when I was only a simple unicorn. I had once cast a spell that caused the whole town to devolve into madness over a stuffed doll I had when I was a filly. It got so out of control that Princess Celestia herself showed up to neutralize the spell, and proceeded to lecture me in the library soon after. My actions were wrong, of course. She told me that if it were a far more dire situation, the results could have been devastating.” She took a pause, seeing that the boy was listening intently, and continued. “In the end, it was because of my friends that the Princess decided not to punish me, all on the condition that each of us write our own friendship reports to her. I realized that what she wanted was for us to learn, and punishment would not bring about such affirmations. Only when one is given the chance to correct themselves do they truly see the error of their ways. That is what I was led to believe.”

David stared up at the Alicorn with a blinking, confused gaze, yet a tinge of acceptance and understanding shined within. The pony let herself on to stare deeply into those amber-gold eyes if only for a moment, if only to witness the good and potential in this young creature before her. There was a brain behind those set of eyes, a working, widely intelligent and sentient mind. Twilight knew it, she felt it. It moved her so.

“I don’t think I’ve been completely compliant to your needs.” Twilight began.

“No, that’s not it.” The boy argued, shaking his head. “I don’t need to be coddled and I’m done playing the victim. I want to be over this, Twilight. I want to be…” He mustered up his speech. “…useful. Worthy. An example of what a true Equerry ought to be.”

“Then understand, this isn’t just a chance I’m giving you. You deserve this, you have deserved this.” She said, slowly floating a peculiar item into his view. “I’ve told you that I used to write letters to the Princess. Well, I think that now’s the time for your words to reach her.”

It was a scroll, frayed on the edges and bound by a fine, red ribbon. Using her magic she undid the seal and opened the parchment to a clean slate, a canvas awaiting the imprints of one’s thoughts, from the mind and to the quill, to which she placed neatly upon the paper along with a small bottle of ink at the ready. Something deep down told David that she had been planning this. But for what? He wondered.

“You can write anything that comes to mind and the Princess will read it, we have the means to do so.” Twilight confirmed. “Just be sure to address her accordingly.”

“Twilight, this…” The boy wavered, looking back between her and the scroll. “This is all so sudden, I don’t even know how to begin this letter. What am I supposed to say?”

“If you don’t feel ready then I understand, your willingness to give it some thought is a sign that you care.” She took another pause. “I want you to know that I care too. About you, I mean.” Twilight finished, and internally winced over the odd delivery of her line, only hoping that it might not put the mood off balance.

“What if I don’t believe I deserve this?” He questioned. “What if there’s nothing that can convince me that I can do this?”

“Trust me, there will be something.” Twilight reassured with a smile. “Besides, I already have evidence.”

David was not let another word out as the pony levitated yet another item into his view, the sight making his eyes blink wide and blearily. There in her magical grasp lay the book, the very same tome that she had given to him weeks ago, the very same one he had thrown down upon the ground in front of her only just yesterday. Slowly, the book floated downwards out of the mare’s field and landed in the boy’s hands, resting in his palms like an ancient artifact of vast importance, yet a gift from a cherished and loved friend.

“I want you to know that I accept your apology, but that’s not why I’m giving this book back to you. I know that you’ll need it.” Her smile grew bigger and brighter. “How come you never told me that you were such a talented artist?”

“I-I, uh…hehe.” He scratched his scalp, looking anywhere but her eyes. “I…don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Please, don’t doubt yourself.” Twilight began to walk away. “Sometimes, I wish I could trade my talents for ones like yours.”

The boy looked up with a far more confident and reassured gaze as he stood and held the book close to his chest, reminiscing over all the times he had drawing in it throughout his adventures in this town thus far. Quietly, he placed the book back inside his pocket and resumed to the parchment laying upon the table, but was soon after interrupted. Not even before Twilight was able to make it out of the chamber had the double doors swung back open with an abrupt bang. It was Spike, the little dragon panting wildly and out of breath.

“Spike?” Twilight rushed over to him. “What’s wrong?”

“Red. Paint. Words. Castle. Everywhere. Come see!” His speech hastened.

“Slow it down, take a breath first.”

“I think what he means is…” Starlight trotted into view. “You might want to come and see the beautiful piece of art somepony painted above our front door.”

Chapter 41 - A Second Opinion

A wheezing, nickering snore reverberated about the laboratory like a monotonous chime threatening to rival the collection of clocks the Doctor had beheld in his spare room upstairs. His body was slumped over the work bench, his back rising and falling in a strange, disheveled rhythm. Snout buried into his patents, the remnants of yet another long night of study and review laid astrew across his desk and the floor. As his slumbering lumbered on, visions of transistors, princesses, crazy young mares and a certain, wall-eyed pegasus pony found form within his dream. Slowly, the sights and sounds transformed into three peculiar items. A key, a box, and a ring.

Then, there was a knock at the door.

His ear flickered in response, and his body was settled on leaving it at that. Alas, the knock persisted, eliciting a groan and a grumble as the doctor rolled over to reach for the clock on his bedside table. Only, that would have worked a lot better if he had remembered he wasn’t actually in his bed, and instead rolled to the floor with a thundering boom. This time he groaned in pain, and the knock at the door sounded once more, eliciting bickers of annoyance as he scraped the drool-glued papers off of his face and stumbled for the foyer. The light of the morning stung his eyes and caused a sharp recoil, hissing as he strained his sights in search of a visitor. He looked ahead to find nopony whatsoever.

“Damn door-ditchers…” Whooves grumbled again. “And this early in the morning, too…”

“Doctor?”

The stallion jolted and looked around once more, remembering to look down at the sound of the familiar voice.

“Why, little miss Dinky!” His expression grew apologetic. “A thousand of my apologies, I hadn’t seen you there.”

“I know.” The filly nodded, peering up. “Sorry to visit you so early.”

“Not at all, little one.” The doctor smiled and slid his tie back into place. “Is there something I can do for you?”

“Doc, I’d like you to meet my partner, Silver Spoon.” Dinky stepped to the side, allowing her friend to close the distance between her and the earth colt. “Her and I have been writing news headlines for the Free Foal Press at Town Hall. If it’s not too much of a bother, we’d like to interview you over a few questions for our next story.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Silver curtly lent her hoof. “Dinky has told me some impressive things about you.”

Whooves was almost struck off his hooves stunned by the young filly’s well placed manners, he blinked and recomposed himself. “The pleasure is mine, miss Spoon.” He spared his hoof. “Please, come in, I’ll fix you two some refreshments. Do you, by chance, like butter…?”

Another pair of oatster strudels sprung out of the toaster and landed upon the plate balanced in the stallion’s hoof, turning around to deliver the hot, steaming treats to the two fillies seated at his dining table. Dinky bounced up and down in anticipation whilst Silver adorned an estranged expression to the simply baked pastries laid out before her. The little unicorn dug right in without even a thanks, her enthusiasm sign enough to the stallion that she was grateful, and the earth filly gave a polite nod before inspecting her share and taking a small bite. As mixtures of cinnamon and strawberry flooded her tastebuds, Silver elicited a delighted mumble, eyes raised and head nodding.

“Not bad.” She commented. “You have these for breakfast every morning?”

“Well, of course!” Dinky garbled back with a mouthful. “What else would you have?”

“Parley and cauliflower cuisine with tofu imported from Sire’s Hollow.”

“I didn’t even recognize half the words you just said.” Dinky dead-panned.

For a short moment the two fillies stared at one another with expressionless gazes, and then they broke out into a fit of friendly giggles, sharing the small comparisons of their differences. Soon after, Whooves returned to the table with his butter tray, fresh stick laying on top, and a pair of bread slices toasted to a golden-brown perfection. He slathered both surfaces of the toast to one heart-subduing layer after the other before squishing the two pieces together and taking a mighty, delighted chomp out of his “breakfast” for the morning. Now, Silver felt herself truly estranged and repulsed, but withheld her thoughts in the presence of her elder.

“I must say, your new endeavor as a journalist has taken me by surprise.” Whooves added, grinning at Dinky. “I do wish you would have come to me with this news a lot sooner.”

“Why’s that?”

“What can I say? It fills me with mirth to see how far you’ve come along, little miss Doo.” The doctor teased her with the nickname.

Silver slipped a snort. “Doo?” She looked to her friend.

The unicorn paused mid-bite and responded with a tired groan. “It’s the nickname he always used to call me by.” She explained. “My name starts with a ‘D’ and ends in ‘Hooves’, so Doc put two and two together, and that’s how I got the name ‘Dinky Doo’.”

“Dinky Doo Hooves.” Silver nodded with satisfaction. “I like it, it’s cute.”

“And then my mom caught on.” Dinky furthered with an irritated gaze. “There’s no way in Equestria she’s ever going to let me live it down, and don’t even get me started on my sister…”

It was Whooves’ turn to pause mid-bite, looking to the young unicorn with a hint of concern. “By the by, how is your mother, miss Doo-I mean, erm…Dinky?”

“Ever since the fire she’s been getting a little better, but I don’t think she’s going to stay on the weather patrol team any longer. Something about her this morning told me.”

“Oh dear…” The doctor sulked.

“It’s not about the money, that’s what she keeps saying.” Dinky’s brow furrowed. “Amy and I aren’t stupid though, we know she’s been struggling but we can’t tell if she’s doing this because she feels like it’s her duty as our mother, or if there’s some other reason.” The filly went silent for a moment before her eyes lit up, and she leaned over the table towards the grown-up of the room. “Say, you’ve got a lot of money, don’t you Doc? You’ve always helped take care of us in the past, haven’t you?”

“W-Well, I uh…”

“If you lent mom some money, she wouldn’t have to work so much anymore. She could bake you muffins and a bunch of other foods, and you could give her some company. Trust me, I know first hoof how cranky single moms can get.”

“That’s a very bold statement-”

“Whadda’ ya’ say, Doc? Can you do it?” Dinky looked on with anticipation.

The longevity of silence hung upon the cliff of anticipation as the little filly’s ears were dying to hear an answer, but the doctor’s throat got clogged up in the race of his thought, his mind traveling back to events in the past. The talk with Derpy at the Lucky Clover was more than adamant on reminding him of what insult he might inadvertently inflict should he even think about pushing his wealth upon these poor folk. They would have their money, their way of life better for it, but simply enough the relationships would not last. Money, it seemed, always had one way or another of tearing one’s life apart.

“I’m sorry, Dinky, but…” He could already see the little filly’s smile fading, but he continued. “Your mother has made her decision, it wouldn’t be right for me to steer her away from it. It is very admirable of you to be thinking about the integrity of your family, but trust me, your mother’s wit is tougher than a bugbear’s hide. I would know.”

“But, you’re family, too!” Dinky declared. “Don’t tell me you forgot the time when you first met mom. I still remember the story she used to tell me every night before sending me to bed. You were like a hero to her, Doc…you’re my hero.”

“I do remember,” he assured. “Those were desperate measures for the both of us, but that was a different time. As much as it might pain you to hear this, I must agree with what your mother said. It’s not about the money. She wants you to look forward, Dinky, begin planning your future. There’s still no mark upon that flank, I see. What better way to search for your calling than through journalism?”

In that instant, the little mare was reminded of her earth pony friend sitting only a small table space away, eyeing both her and the elder pony with a focused demeanor about her eyes, having listened intently on their conversation. The unicorn eyed her partner and gave a subtle nod before sitting up and continuing with the talking.

“Actually, Doctor, this doesn’t really have anything to do with me getting my cutie mark. To be honest I haven’t been thinking about it recently.”

“Oh? I suppose a short break could do a pony some good every now and then.” The colt pondered, stroking his chin. “I was under the assumption that your piano lessons weren’t quite at par with your field of interest.”

If only it were that easy. Dinky thought. “It’s not that either.” She furthered. “Really, I agreed to become a journalist as part of a favor for a friend.”

“I don’t mean to come off as rude, but I take it that’s my queue?” Silver looked to her friend for reassurance, and returned to the doctor. “As we had mentioned before, we came here to ask you a few questions concerning our next story. Would it be too much to start now?” Without another beat, she raised a notepad and a stencil at the ready, eyeing the stallion intently.

“Of course not, miss Silver, I’m as ready as you are.” The doctor fixed his tie once again, then paused. “Before we begin, though, might I ask what this news article entails?”

“Of course!” Silver beamed. “In fact, we already have a name for it…”

“Raid of the Century.” Diamond Tiara read enthusiastically. “Ponyville’s garden raider brought to justice, once and for all. Ah yes, I’ve been looking forward to this, girls. Let’s see what the scoop sisters have managed to scoop up…this time…”

As brimming as their confidence was when they had first entered the office, the smile plastered onto the pink filly’s face slowly began melting away as she read one line after the other of the Scoop Sister’s latest article. Dinky and Silver Spoon traded wary gazes, and a short gulp caught itself in the earth’s filly throat when she turned to find that her old friend had a serious, irritated gaze about her face. The young pony in the chair slowly shook her head, pushing away the stack of papers as though it were a meal no picky, stuck up snob would dare touch.

“I’m sorry to break it to you, girls, but that was without a doubt the worst news article I have ever read in my entire career. Period.”

Silver stood there, slack-jawed, not knowing where they had gone wrong. Slowly, Dinky made to counter. “I-It’s only the rough draft.” She mumbled.

“Rough draft or not, I don’t see this print going anywhere unless we make some major changes to it, and I mean major major. You may as well be better off scrapping the whole thing and starting again from scratch.” Diamond considered for a moment. “I like the title, though. We can keep that.”

“But…I don’t understand.” Silver Spoon raised her eyes from the floor, desperation behind her glasses. “We poured every last ounce of passion we had into this piece, you couldn’t possibly think it’s that bad.”

“Bad? No. Dull? Absolutely.” Diamond corrected. “The story is as plain as a bagel, and that’s just it. It doesn’t go anywhere. No riveting conspiracies or one question layered on top of the other to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. What we need is a hot, brimming story that’ll keep our readers coming back for more. Hot cakes, girls! I want these papers to sell like hot cakes!” She stamped her desk to sell her point, delivering a short, frustrated sigh before turning in her chair with kicked up hooves and looking to the wall for inspiration.

Once again, the two journalists looked to one another for answers, but not a single word was spoken. Silver felt a stinging pain deep within her gut, the dread that by this rate she would never truly be able to reunite with her friend. It was then that Dinky caught a certain look hidden beneath the glare of Silver’s glasses, a ghastly gaze traded away for an ill-willed, iron-hearted vision. The mane-braided earth pony raised her head and spoke up. “And what would you suggest?” She asked.

Diamond raised a brow, turning back to the girls. “Well, I suppose with a bit of my supervision, there could be some hope for this story after all.” The pony reconsidered the text for a moment before making her conclusions. “You interviewed the Doctor already, correct? This…Doctor Whooves?”

Dinky looked on carefully. “What about him?” She wondered.

“You could say that he was, oh I don’t know, plotting against the ponies of Ponyville with Rose Luck all along.” Diamond suggested boldly. “He’s a doctor, he should know all about plants and other sciencey things. Don’t you think it would make sense for the suspect to have an expert on hoof? Plus, it makes for a far more enticing story than what you two had come up with.”

“But…that’s falsehood!” Dinky burst, a little louder than she would’ve approved, but at this point had stopped caring. “Doc would never do something like that, even if he were on his last hoof!”

“The matter upon which is true and which is false are none of my concern, and that was a decision I had made long ago, long before I had even started this company.” Diamond pounded a hoof over her chest. “If you aren’t willing to write the stories that I need, then what reason do I have keeping you around?”

As the situation grew all the more serious, a desperate gaze walked its way over to Silver Spoon, whom was still maintaining that stoic, unhindered demeanor. The earth filly could only spare her friend a short glance, and it was enough to trigger a sensation of urgency within the little unicorn. A look of desperation filled her eyes, one that said whatever she was thinking simply wasn’t the way back to her friend.

“Silver, please…” Dinky attempted. “This isn’t right.”

“I’m sorry, Dinky.” Silver rejected her. “But, she’s the director-”

“That’s right, I am the director.” Diamond gave a quiet chortle, walking around her desk to approach the unicorn. “And as director, I have the right to strip you of your title just as quickly as I had given it to you. Think carefully now, Dinky, this decision of yours depends upon your whole career.”

Without a second thought, the blonde unicorn looked her new adversaries in the eyes and spoke intently as ever. “This was never a career to me, this was a quest to help my friend find somepony she had lost long ago, but I can see now that not even she knows what’s best for herself anymore.”

Silver blinked in response, a tiny scrunch to her muzzle.

“Is that so?” Diamond looked on dully.

“If this is the way the situation has turned out, then I want no part of it.” With a quick gesture, Dinky produced her badge and her writing journal, hoofing it over to the director. “Take it.”

“Of course, miss Hooves. Your service to our company was…sub-par, at best. We do hope that you’ll read our next article, it’ll be both an enticing and educational experience, I can assure you.”

The irritated little unicorn gave a snort and a whip of her tail as she turned for the door and pressed a hoof to its surface, turning back to give one last look to her earth filly friend. Silver stood idly with a dejected look to the ground, that same gaze of desperation and despair having returned to her eyes, and yet the pony could not bare to look at her partner nor watch her go out the door. Dinky gave a final, tiny sigh, and pushed her way past the portal, the door clicking shut behind her. Silver finally gazed at the door, but hung her head once more and closed her eyes.

“Don’t look so glum, miss Spoon.” Diamond reassured, albeit with little grace. “I know you work best with a partner, so that’s why I’ve decided to give you a replacement.” Quickly, the little director turned back to her desk and produce the small, silver bell from her drawer. She rung it once, but to her dismay no winged colt had come descending from the ceiling like he had every other time. With newfound fury, Diamond swung the bell and hurled it towards the ceiling, a dent forever embedded into the wooden beams as well as the floor boards beneath her stomping, angry hoof. “Featherweight, get down here!” She howled.

The colt from above squeaked and shied his face into view, obeying at the intense snarl of the director as he opened his wings to reduce his speedy descent down to the floor. He stood next to Silver with a mortified gaze, and the filly simply gave him a tired expression.

“Congratulations, you’ve been promoted.” Unceremoniously, Diamond yanked away the pegasus’ camera and hoofed over Dinky’s badge and notepad. “From this point forward, you two will be the Scoop Sisters. Now, go write me some juicy stories!”

“Ma’am,” Featherweight dared. “I’m not so sure the Scoop Sisters will be a working title.”

“Unless you’re stallion enough to think of a new name, I don’t want to hear it.”

Featherweight found himself at a pause.

“That’s what I thought.” Diamond hoisted herself back up into her chair. “Now, listen carefully, because I’m not going to repeat myself. I want those stories ripe, I want those stories juicy, and I want those stories NOW.”

Chapter 42 - The Prank

Mid-day shined across the outskirts of Ponyville like a looming, lost light, leading a young boy astray. There along the dirt path David walked aimlessly with little intention over his mind, wondering if he should simply return to the castle and call it a day. Alas, he was resisting the urge to give up so easily, pushing forward in hopes of finding direction, whatever form they might assume. Surprisingly so, many of the ponies had chosen to steer clear of his vicinity instead of delivering him the usual death-threats or malice ridden glares, and he wondered for a moment if something had changed with them, or if he himself had changed. If one thing was clear to him about these colorful, little equines, while they might have hated what was different from them, they could almost never understand the concept of change.

Soon after, the boy found himself in the epicenter of the cafe district, understandably vacant due to his presence. He scanned the tables and spotted a pair of ponies sitting beneath the shade of an umbrella, one unicorn in particular appearing strikingly familiar. It was her, Silver Spanner, and she appeared to be in deep conversation with the mare across from her gowned in a bright, orange vest. There was a tool belt strung around the mystery mare’s waist as well, and a stark-white construction hat tucked next to her haunches on the seat she lay. Her words were straight and intent.

“There’s no doubt we can find somethin’ for ya’ in the next few weeks here,” she explained. “Contractors ‘round these parts are always beggin’ for some sort of utility pony to have at hoof. What guilds ya’ say you worked for, again?”

“Electrical is my specialty, but I started by joining the waterworks in Canterlot and ran a lot of their plumbing.” Silver illustrated. “After that I moved here just in time for the utility installations to take off, did a lot of the wiring in the residential area and the theater too. Since then, I haven’t found much work…”

“Nothing to fret over, hun.” The mare reassured. “If you’re a hard worker and can be on site by seven o’clock, I’d say you already got your career cut out for ya’. I’ll give ‘em your name and put in a good word for ya’ I promise.”

“Thanks, Ambrosia, I really appreciate this.” Silver nodded slowly. “Though, I’m not entirely sure I want to make this a full on career. Just a way to gather some bits before I decide to move on, you know? Do you think there are any jobs out there that won’t need anypony on it for long? Something like a ‘temp’ contract?”

Before she decides to move on? The boy wondered as he listened in closely. Oh no, she’s not thinking about moving away, is she? This is all my fault…

Ambrosia had begun to open her mouth, but her speech cut short and her eyes blinked in the direction of the boy. David blinked back and realized himself to be unintentionally eaves-dropping, more-so disturbing the comfort of the orange jacket, earth mare sitting across from Silver Spanner. The unicorn’s ears flickered behind her in wonder as she slowly turned in suspect of just who exactly might have been creeping up on them. Although Ambrosia’s face held a more surprised demeanor, Silver Spanner was none the more shocked, none the more enthusiastic.

David looked around as though searching for something to say. “E-Evening, Silver…” He mumbled.

“What do you want?” The unicorn asked bluntly.

The boy was struck back for a moment before continuing. “To apologize.” He put forward.

Silver looked upon his figure for a painfully long moment before giving a sigh and returning to the earth mare. “Ambrosia, this is David. He’s…an old friend, I suppose.”

“Does he bite?” The mare joked, eyeing the boy with caution.

“I do believe he’s had a change of heart.” Silver turned back to him. “But he’s still a little unsure of where exactly it lies.”

“And you have every right to resent me.” David approached calmly. “But I’m willing to put all of that in the past now. If you’re willing to see things the way I do, then I’d be happy to still call you my friend.”

“Since when did seeing things your way ever bring us any good?” Silver questioned him. “Even if you’ve changed like you said you have, what makes you think you’re not going to make the same mistake again?”

“I…I don’t know.” David found himself lost. “But I’m going to try.”

“And there’s no reason you shouldn’t, but that doesn’t mean you have my trust.” Silver turned back around and folded her hooves in, not daring to look back at the human as she went on. “I know you’re a good person, David. I know you can do wonderful things if you just put your mind to it, but I don’t think you’re ready. I’m not ready, not quite.”

I’m not ready… The boy repeated over in his head. “For what?” He asked.

She broke her gaze and dared a final stare back at the boy, eyes and words intent. “Go home, David. You don’t belong here.” She closed her eyes. “I don’t mean that in a demeaning way, because you and I both know you’d be better off on your own world instead of this one. Don’t you understand? I don’t want to see you in pain anymore, there’s no reason for you to be chasing after a pony like me on a planet that isn’t even your own.”

There was a lengthy sum of silence stretched out between their pause as the boy stood there with hands at his sides and his shoulders slumped, the words of his former friend seeming to creep their way into his head as they registered for some form of understanding. Above all, Silver simply did not want the boy to be here, especially here and now. Without another word, David delivered a choppy yet solemn nod as he backed away and struggled to tear his sight away from the young unicorn. He turned and lumbered down the dirt path with the late-afternoon light layered over the direction in which he walked on.

Another silent stretch later, Ambrosia blinked and looked upon the unicorn with wide, wondering eyes, blinking again and checking her ears to make sure she had just seen and heard the events laid out before her. Silver sat on the opposite end giving a nervous gulp of her tea before resting the cup back to the table and looking on embarrassingly at the construction mare.

“I suppose I have a lot to explain, don’t I…?” Silver brushed back her mane.

As though awaiting a far more brighter topic to end the long, grueling day off on, the sun hung silently above the horizon mere inches from its conclusion. The low, warm summer breeze had been long gone, replaced by the chill hum of autumn’s frost-ridden breath, and the singing and fluttering of the birds grew fewer in number with each passing day. It drained every bit of motivation he had left to muster, every step he took upon the dirt path leading to nowhere in particular taking a toll on his energy. He felt as though he were going forwards, only in the wrong direction. He sighed, raised his head, and looked on at the trail before him.

And then, there was a pie.

The pie was just laying there, beneath the shade of a tree, in the middle of the road. Unmoving, waiting. Among everything and anything that could seem out of place in a world of technicolor, talking ponies, it appeared that a simple pie laying in the middle of the road had fit the bill. Was it a pie that was destined to be the answer to all of his questions? If one were to consider the similarities in phonetic pronunciation given the utilization of the English language between “pie” and “pi” then a pie could be taken into account as the number pi, and everyone who hadn’t lived underneath a rock their entire life knew that the number pi was yet to be proven finite. Thus, pi, a presumably infinite number could quite possibly house an infinite amount of answers. Surely one of those answers would have to be the correct one? The only way to find out, of course, would be to approach the pie laying a mere twenty yards ahead of him.

There was no scent, no steam and a terrifying lack of features. Crouching low and inspecting the pie before him, the boy wondered if all baking goods and pastries appeared at such a low level of details, almost as if the piece before him was only a plastic mockery of the aforementioned. A finger lingered above the pastry, and upon a single touch to its surface, the faint tap of skin upon hardened silicone gave answer to his uncertainty.

And then, the “pie” opened up.

David had learned by now to cease questioning the impossible feats this world and its inhabitants often displayed, but what could possibly divert him from the fact that a full grown pegasus had just sprung out of the fake pie no larger than a dog’s food bowl. With another pie in her hoof, to boot. If anything the other pie, possibly even a real pie, should have been the only thing able to fit inside of the fake pie. Just barely.

His sights shot forward, and so did her’s. She was a sky blue pony with every color of the rainbow in her mane, her face bright, brilliant and daring as a devilish smirk stretched across her lips from one ear to the next. As the pie lingered in her hoof, her smile dropped like a slab of lead to a concrete floor. She stared on, dumbfounded at the human in front of her, and their duel lasted for what could only be described as an excruciatingly incalculable length of time.

David side-eyed the rainbow-maned mare, led his gaze up the trunk of the tree and into the branches. The bottom of an anvil was the last sight before the credits to his life began to roll.

Chapter 43 - Eight Phases

Visions of stars swirling about a black-blue canvas on an infinite plain of nothingness and everything swam about in his mind for what felt like minutes, hours, days and weeks even. The bright twinkles on the galactic canvas were all he could see, and for a very long time it was all that he knew. Slowly, those bright and brilliant twinkles upon the infinite reaches of space spun and twirled, and along with them a single note led on for the eternity it took to reach said stars. The single note was but a single sound, and that single sound was divided amongst many sounds. In the infinite vision his senses were now given an infinite variety of sound, and among the many sounds there were but six tones in particular that reached his ears.

Dazzling diamonds and jewels filled his gaze.

“Darling, has anypony ever told you to have confidence? No matter who you are or what you are doing, never let anypony or anything discourage you so…”

The scent of cupcakes and the soft feeling of cotton.

“Some things in life aren’t meant to be understood, you just have to accept them as they are. If you can’t do even that, then maybe that’s the lesson meant to be learned.”

Butterflies fluttered by.

“We’re all built different, but deep down we all deserve a little kindness.”

The rush of wind.

“Step up, or step down. I know you can do either one, so make a decision!”

A disgruntled snort and a pair of green, glaring eyes, accompanied by a rude thump.

Yep, that one was Applejack…

But there was something more, something calm and caring, and at the same time intuitive and searching. Her voice was hushed, yet the hurt within it could be heard as clear as ever.

“You're going to have to trust me when I say this,” her bright, pink aura filled the void. “Everything your eyes and ears are telling you right now, it's only fake because you don't believe in it.”

David sensed her presence, yet Twilight was nowhere to be found.

“Even if you don't trust me, then trust yourself. Believe in yourself.”

And he looked down in his open palm. There in his hand laid the locket. The once dull, gray, heart-shaped locket, was now a bright and brimming red. He stared on at the locket for ages, wondering what it meant, searching for that familiar feeling in the depths of his mind, the deepness of his heart, and the core of his soul.

Another sound had invited its way in, a voice, this one as stoic and familiar as ever.

“The pieces to the puzzle still seem faint, do they not?” Princess Luna asked him. “Like a winding maze they obscure your vision at each and every turn, yet you know the answer rests somewhere deep within.”

He took a slow and cautious peek over his shoulder, finding the very Guardian of the Night looming about her own vessel of soft blue light, gazing down at the boy with a heavenly field of warmth surrounding her. Luna’s gaze turned to the stars, and within them an image formed as she spoke on.

“If only…” she began. “If only one were to look upon the maze as a whole, to gain a perspective upon the grand scheme. Only then might they find the answers they are looking for.”

And upon the stars did an image form, the hundreds of thousands and millions of billions little white dots in the sky aligning themselves to a series of symbols, plain as they were. They all depicted circles, in some sense, some complete and others at a mere crescent or semi-circle. Slowly the images winded around and formed one giant circle, eight of the smaller circles in total.

Quickly then, David took a mighty step or two back whilst fumbling his free hand beneath his shirt and stretching his fingers upon his chest, scraping at the spot where his wound might be. Alas, it was not there, and many of his other features lacked their entirety as he knew them last, or lacked any sort of visual existence whatsoever. Things which were not there, which should be, could mean one possibility among many.

“Another dream…” The boy muttered. “You’ve summoned me again?”

“Neigh, the dream summons the dreamer.” Luna affirmed. “Just as the stars summon the searcher.”

“And what are we searching for this night?” He proposed.

“’Search’ indeed.” She nodded to the boy. “The amalgamation of your dreams lay not in my hooves. Always know this, young oneironaut, that it is you who summons you when among the stars of the sleeping.”

No words came in reply as the boy was only left to wonder upon the nightly Alicorn’s speech, and subconsciously his sights climbed their way back up to the eight figures in the night sky. The larger circle in the center of them all began to descend, and its smallers along with it, down to the invisible, ethereal plain which the boy and the Princess stood. The large center circle placed itself beneath the boy’s feet, a light blue glow emanating from the figure as etchings of landmarks, shorelines and waters shone within. It was a planet, but not his own.

“Is this…Equis?” He recalled the name, looking down.

“And the phases of the Moon.” The Alicorn furthered, watching as the eight circles in question began their orbit around Equis. Slowly they spun about the planet in a quiet rhythm, Luna following suit in the opposite direction, as though she were a cog turning the great wheel of the eight in a perfect, harmonious pattern.

“You said something about a maze.” David looked to her. “Something about finding answers to the puzzle?”

“A dream you still chase after?” The pony questioned.

“And one I mean to accomplish.” He looked to barter. “That being said, I should know…What do the phases have to do with any of it?”

His question hovered about the speckled air as the Princess weighed time upon a response. Quietly, the boy waited, knowing well now already that with the very Alicorn whom governed the dream realm and sought after the night was one to practice patience with, whether it be for her good or, more likely, his own. Luna strode carefully across the ethereal plane before coming to a stop and gazing into the boy’s returning stare.

“The phases are no simple enigma, as many have learned that the very light which shines down upon the waking world every night does in fact emanate from the sun. Sunlight constantly reflects off of the Moon’s surface, only its orbital stance in respect to our planet may tell its sign, whether it be from ‘full light’ to ‘shadowed night.’” She named. “There are eight phases in total. You may better know them as new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter, and waning crescent. Although the satellite of your world may follow a path solely dedicated to its orbit, it is here on Equis that it is within my power to alter the path of our own moon for the benefit of ponykind.” There was a pause. “Or, in rather unfortunate cases, for their certain demise.”

“So, aside from a crash course on elementary level moon science, what exactly makes your moon phases any different from Earth’s?”

“It is not the very planet alone that we seek to benefit,” The pony informed. “but the ponies themselves, most especially in this case, unicorns.” Luna looked on longingly at the stars surrounding them as she blinked heavily, almost as though she were reminiscing on memories of old. Perhaps it was because she in fact was. “You might not have imagined it being so, but long ago, long before I had been transformed into the Alicorn you see now…I was once a unicorn.”

The boy blinked in answer. Luna provided a brief glance his way and revealed a small smile before continuing.

“Unicorns are grand creatures, and though there are many I will never grow fond of, many more have proven themselves quite the sorcerers when it comes to the realm of magic. The most important and notable aspect of a unicorn is undoubtedly their horn, and a unicorn’s horn is the key to their mind. It is not the whole of magic that unicorns dominate, which many have been misguided to believe, but rather they are masters of the mind. It is through the mind that they may tap into their metaphysical potential, and that can very well be aided through the power of the eight phases.” Luna turned back to the boy, facing forward as the eight circles were lifted from the floor and flew around him with each mention to their name. “Dawn’s shadow, first crescent, half shadow, first gibbous, full light, last gibbous, half light, and last crescent. These are the names of the phases of our Moon, and with each phase does the power of a unicorn’s abilities vary.”

“Are you saying every unicorn’s magic is completely dependent on the moon phases?”

“Neigh, a pony’s magic is their own, coursing through them by which the strange energies this universe provides.” Luna explained. “The Moon is that of which one might interpret as a tool of sorts, to manipulate and resonate with the unicorns. As you might come to understand, the brighter the phase of the Moon, the more power any unicorn adept at sorcery might come to achieve. This is why over the course of time, scholars, alchemists, sorcerers and manipulators alike have watched the phases in tandem with their experiments. They have predicted signs, formed prophecies, practiced entire followings from its herrings.”

David turned and led a hand to his chin as he looked back carefully on his memories with the Princess of the Night and her words of the past. Whether it had been many times over or only a few subtle notations, the recalling of signs from the moon itself had quickly entered his process of thought. Never would he think so much as to look upon the moon in the waking world, not unless only a single stem of self-induced intrigue were to bring his sights up to the starry night sky one particular evening. Yes, a certain calling it seemed, one that brought his eyes up to simply gaze upon the stars was one he could not explain, and he feared he might never be able to.

“So you want me to look for a sign? Something from the moon phases?” He supposed.

“By sight, the signs may not come, but by feeling and thought they are certain.” Luna answered.

“Meaning…?”

“Do you deem yourself so apart from these equines that surround you in your day-to-day life in Equestria?” Luna quizzed him. “I know how you fare. You feel as though recent tribulations have torn you further from the ponyfolk, even your friends. But I promise you, David, you are closer to the likeness of ponykind than you have ever been in your entire life thus far.”

“Ponykind…” He muttered back. “You mean ponies as a whole? Not just unicorns?”

“Do you begin to see the pieces to the puzzle…?” Luna furthered.

“You mean to say that I am like the ponies?”

“Or, are the ponies alike to you?”

And with her words it grew all the more puzzling, all the more tribulating. “In what way?” David shook his head. “If the ponies are like me, and I’m like the ponies, what does this mean in the grand scheme of my conscious? How can I know whether or not this is all still a…a dream?”

“These are abilities not even I have tapped into, not because of fear or a lack of motive, but rather because of inability.” Luna deemed. “Traits akin to your kind alone, young human, are something special to behold…and not to be taken lightly. As I had stated before, the dream is within your hands, and it is within this dream that you have made yourself aware.”

“I truly am in Equestria, aren’t I?” He mumbled softly as ever, quivering as his legs grew shaky and fell to his knees. The boy had looked to bargain again, but nothing more was presented upon the table. To the world he looked to offer his acceptance, but still in the midst of the feeble searching no answer of any kind showed itself to him. Even when the search grew fervent and savage, like tearing through a jungle with jagged machete edges, it was the same story over and over again. A puzzle he might never solve, a maze he may never find his way out of. Painfully more, he felt as though the exit were right in front of him, that the answer had been staring him in the face the entire time and he didn’t even know it.

Chapter 44 - The Patient

A harsh, stark white light flooded the boy’s eyes the moment he dared to lift them open, momentarily blinding him as he ever so slightly fidgeted and moved about to familiarize himself with his surroundings. At the second lapse of his bleary blinking, the silhouette of a mare filled his vision, and along with it the streaks of rainbow schemed hair he had encountered only hours ago. He blinked once more to make sure he wasn’t mistaken at the odd sight before him, as far as “odd” went in a world full of talking horses.

Standing before him was the pegasus, Rainbow Dash, a wide, solid smile across her lips as though she meant it as apologetically as ever, and the bouquet of flowers bundled in her right hoof gave tell tale sign of such sincerities.

“Hey, champ.” Her smile was unbroken, speaking past her teeth. “Hangin’ in there?”

“W-Wha…?” David blinked again, looking to Rainbow Dash, the flowers in her hoof, and back to the pony. “Oh no.” He groaned loudly. “Don’t tell me I wasted my make-a-wish on you.”

“Uh…” The pony threw up a blank.

“I mean, I would have been fine with Rarity, or a nicer version of Applejack…or Steve Carrel.” He rolled his eyes over. “But did it really have to be you?”

“I wish…you hadn’t said that?” The pegasus’ eyes darted about . “Because, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation if you hadn’t fallen into that trap.”

“Trap? What trap?”

“Y’know, the one you fell into.”

“Okay, just hold on.” The boy began looking around. “Where the hell am I?”

“The vet, maybe.”

“The vet?!” A sticky substance trailed over the side of his face, and he scooped a helping up with his fingers. “What the hell is this?”

“Pie, maybe.”

“Pie?!” He sat up, wincing in pain. “Can you tell me what the hell is going on already?”

Two hours prior, the unconscious form of the boy laid still in the middle of the road, the fallen anvil laying next to his side as the pink lump sprouting from his head entailed a mockery of a unicorn. Rainbow Dash stood still, flooded with shock and not a word to escape her lips nor any action upon her hooves. The pie laid intact in her right hoof. After a moment of quiet thought, she chucked the pie over the boy’s head.

“I couldn’t just let it go to waste!” Rainbow pleaded.

“But you did.” David groaned once more. “You did let it go to waste.” Pushing his hands into his eyes and wincing again with a strike of pain.

Quietly then, the boy sat back and felt the cushion of the elevated chair beneath his back. Small as it may have been, it seemed to be a suitable size for that of a dentist’s operating chair. His eyes danced about the room as he spotted a number of cabinets and drawers lining the walls containing various medicines and remedy tools, as well as a nearby desk complete with a faucet and tray for medical supplies. To the other end of the room there laid a wide bookshelf, showcasing depictions and silhouettes of animals and paw prints, as well as a door which most likely led into an office area. Finally, the small variety of critters skittering about reminded the boy faintly of Fluttershy’s cottage. Mice, raccoons, opossums, ferrets. In spite of prey and predator being within the same room, they almost seemed to care not for each other, as all the animals within the building were here for one purpose and one purpose only. To be treated for some manner of illness or injury. David was being treated for some manner of illness or injury, just as he had been when he had gashed open his foot, and Fluttershy sought to heal his wound in her cottage.

A vet. David thought musingly. This brain-damaged pegasus took me to a vet. Not a hospital, but a vet. It made the boy wonder who was really the brain-damaged one in the room. He looked back over to the pegasus, whom was sniffing the flowers in her hooves, fully aware that the tag hanging from one of the petals clearly told her they were fake.

Without another second, the door to the office area swung open, and in the threshold stood a middle-aged looking earth pony, her mane a foggy white and blue and her coat a dim, butter yellow. She wore a white collared shirt with a pocket holding a thermometer, and without a second thought the mare sprung over to the boy’s side, pulled the item from her pocket and stuck it between his gums. David eyed the new occupant of the room cautiously as she eyed the thermometer with great care, watching the red liquid within rise to what appeared to be a reasonable level.

“Still the same as last hour.” She muttered, looking to the boy. “Tell me, sonny, is this temperature normal for your type?”

“My type?” He cocked a brow.

“I know just about as much as your species as you do, so if you don’t mind we’re both going to have to educate each other a little here.” The pony yanked the thermometer from the boy’s mouth and wiped a rag over the tip before dropping it back into her pocket. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Er, well…” The boy searched his memory. “There was this pie.”

“Evidently enough.” The vet pony nodded, taking a brief glance to Rainbow Dash, whom returned a sheepish grin. “It’s been about two hours since you lost consciousness. This young flier here lifted you all the way to my vet, said something about you being much lighter than she thought. Now, I don’t know much about your diet, but as far as I’m aware a fella your height ought to weigh a little more.”

“I get that a lot.” David mumbled back, then blinked with realization. “Um, I suppose I should be thanking you, miss-?”

“Dr. Fauna, at your service.” She forced a smile back. “But please, call me Goodall.”

“Jane Goodall?”

Fauna blinked with wonder. “Mane Goodall.” She corrected. “But how would you know that?”

“Er, lucky guess?” The boy shrugged.

Silence ensued and reigned over the room for a moment before the boy’s head turned back to the rainbow pony with a dead-panned stare.

“So,” he began “does anyone else know I’m here?”

As though in answer, a sudden magical splash of hot velvet and pink enveloped the room, sending tiny white sparkles everywhere as the Princess of Friendship herself emerged from the outburst, a desperate look in her eyes and a frantic pace leading her voice.

“I came as soon as I knew you were here!” Twilight rushed up beside David, laying a hoof over his shoulder. “Stars above, are you alright?”

“Never been better.” The boy shrugged with great exaggeration. “Say, would you mind taking those flowers Rainbow Dash has and putting them in your hooves? That’d make me feel a helluva lot better.”

“I spent ten bits on these…” Rainbow frowned and muttered.

Dr. Fauna took a wide step back, rubbing her temples as she trotted over to the front door. “Your highness, I do appreciate your display of enthusiasm, but you do realize that there is a door?”

The next thing the veterinarian knew, the very door she had mentioned abruptly swung inward and slammed against her muzzle, causing her to stupor and stumble where she stood.

“My tail’s been twitching like crazy!” Pinkie Pie hopped through the door and into the room. “I hope nopony took the fall for me.”

Fauna sought to recover herself as the door slowly creaked to a close and she held herself against the wall. Only, the door decided to swing open a second time, this time towing a marshmallow white unicorn into the room.

“They were all sold out at the flower stand, so I decided to make an appearance instead.” Rarity mentioned, trotting inside to join the others.

By this point, Fauna was sure she had learned her lesson. She pressed a hoof against the door and clicked it shut, making sure that nopony could apply any further damage to her snout. The back of her head, however, was not so fortunate. The window panes swung open and made way for a butter yellow pegasus, knocking the veterinarian to the ground as her muzzle slammed against the floor.

“Oh you poor, poor thing.” Fluttershy cooed. “These past few days have been rough for you, haven’t they?”

“Don’t worry, David, we’re all here for you.” Twilight smiled with reassurance, quickly looking around the room soon after and adorning a distressed complexion. “Where’s Applejack?” She asked.

“A good question.” Rarity queued. “Where is Applejack?”

“I think that girl’s still got a grudge.” Pinkie commented.

Twilight began to hang her head in quiet despair, only to perk up in fright as an interruption overcame them all.

“That’s IT!” Dr. Fauna stomped her hoof. “I’ve had this building filled to the brim with patients before, but a flurry of uninvited guests is where I draw the line.” She swung the door open, careful not to hit her muzzle, and motioned to the outdoors. “Everypony out, so that I may tend to my new patient in peace.”

The harsh, abrupt nature of medical personnel was enough to make even the Princess tremble with fear, to which she promptly obeyed and sought herself to the outdoors along with the rest of her friends. Rainbow Dash laid the bouquet on the desk before making her exit, taking a glance back to the boy before turning once more and heading out the door. Surprisingly so, Fluttershy stopped at the threshold and glanced to Fauna with a desperate pair of eyes, glinting plead beneath her lenses.

“Please, Dr. Fauna, won’t you allow me to stay a moment?” Fluttershy raised her wing and lifted a basket into view. “If not, then at least make sure David gets a bite of these supplements I’ve prepared for him. I have a feeling they’re going to be vital to his dietary needs, and give him the nutrition he needs to heal from his injuries.”

Fauna looked over the mare and her basket, prodding her chin. “I don’t suppose it would be very wise of me to reject somepony who might know more than even I do.” The doctor considered. “Just as long as you don’t make too much noise, deary. I’ve got a nest of newborn hares sleeping in the backroom.”

“Oh, you know me, Goodall.” Fluttershy smiled back. “Quieter than a mouse.”

“Well, he’s all yours.” Fauna motioned her forward.

The quiet pegasus nodded curtly and referred her direction back to the boy laying upon the chair, approaching him with an already satisfied grin as though somepony had sought to do something very special for another. David studied the basket warily as his eyes traveled back to Fluttershy’s. Quietly, she set the basket down on the small table next to the chair, eyeing the boy once more.

“There’s no need to tremble.” Fluttershy reassured. “I know you’re afraid now of what some ponies might try to do, but trust me, I’m here to help.”

“Well, I already know you.” David nodded. “Although I could say, it’s always the quiet ones you gotta watch out for.”

Fluttershy elicited a giggle. “Strangely enough, that’s not the first time I heard that. Maybe you do know me.” Reaching down into the basket, she looked back up. “Now, say ‘aah.’”

“Uuh…” His mouth hung ajar anyways, and before he knew it the pegasus placed her hoof to his lips and slipped a small, squishy morsel inside. In that instant David both feared for his life and found the joys of it once more. He squished the piece between his gums, swirled it around his tongue, and gave a good few chews. The texture, the taste, the tingle!

“I-Is this…?”

“Cured meat.” Fluttershy nodded. “Harry was kind enough to give up some of his helpings. I added ground cinnamon and salted them a little to bring out the flavor.”

David trembled and slowly sat up, shaking as his hands hovered over his lips as though to save the sweet sensation flooding his mouth. Fluttershy watched on, interpreting some ill notice.

“I-If they’re not to your liking, then I also have some salmon-”

She felt as though her rib cage were about to bend and break beneath the pressure as the boy’s arms swung around her and held the pegasus from the ground, squeezing her within the tightest embrace the boy had ever given any pony ever since his arrival. As his taste buds pranced and danced with joy, a miracle raining down upon a lost, hungry village, the boy released fresh streams of tears beneath his eyes clenched tight in delight.

“Thank you.” He repeated again and again. “Thank you.”

Fluttershy peered from beneath her long pink mane and looked to Dr. Fauna for help, as she found the ability to breath had been lost in this tight embrace. At least it seemed he was already getting his strength back.

David nestled himself comfortably into the chair as he munched down the last of his meat bites, feeling mortified that the last of them were now gone, and thus he sought to Fluttershy wondering if there might be any more to spare. Instead, as soon as he opened his mouth a great, big belch echoed from his throat and bounced off the walls of the room, causing both of his “nurses” to jolt and blink in surprise. His cheeks burned red as an apologetic grin adorned his lips.

“Perhaps I misjudged how much you would eat?” Fluttershy giggled again. “I do have more back at the cottage, though I’ll have to negotiate divisions with Harry, first.”

“I’d say he and the boy should wrestle for it, see who comes out on top.” Fauna smiled devilishly.

David’s eyes grew wide with worry.

“Oh, I’m just teasing you, hun.” Fauna laughed and looked back to her work. “I’m just glad Miss Fluttershy is here to help us, otherwise I wouldn’t know what to do with you.”

“Well, I apologize that it’s come to this.” The boy admitted. “If I could have avoided this kind of circumstance then I wouldn’t hesitate to do it for a heartbeat.”

“It’s what I’m here for, hun. And don’t you fret about any apologies or payback, this has been a rather interesting experience altogether.” The earth mare explained. “Honestly, it’s not everyday I get to speak with another patient by word of mouth. When that rainbow mare brought you in here, all I knew was that you were my patient and your care was my top priority.”

David nodded back curtly. “I think I’ve decided now that I like to get even with you ponies. So, I’ll have to pay you back for all of this, sometime in the future.” And he turned to the pegasus. “And you too, Fluttershy. I can’t tell you how long I had gone without something that special. How did you know I was, uh…omnivorous?”

“You can usually tell by looking at the teeth.” Fluttershy explained. “And eyes facing forward are a sure sign the creature you’re dealing with is a predator. Um, not to say that you’re just some kind of wild animal, but you understand I hope?”

“Your eyes are facing forward too, y’know?” The boy mentioned. “At least from what I can tell.”

“Really? I never really thought about that.” Fluttershy hovered a hoof over her face and turned to the veterinarian. “Dr. Fauna, what are we hunting?”

“A remedy for this poor boy’s ankle. It looks like his wound might have reopened as well.” The doctor mentioned.

“Oh dear.” Fluttershy gave a dreary frown, studying the boy’s foot closely. “Why does Rainbow Dash have to be so careless from time to time? I should have a word with her, whenever she’s free, of course.”

“Most of the opening has clotted anyways, it should heal within a few days.” Fauna looked over and pointed to Fluttershy’s basket. “Just as long as you keep giving him his supplements as you said you would.”

“I wouldn’t dream of taking them away now, not after the way he showed his gratitude.” Fluttershy giggled once more.

“I promise I’ll pay you back for it. Harry, too. He’s the bear, right?” David searched her eyes. “If there’s anything you need at the cottage then you come looking for me and I’ll be right over.”

“That’s very kind of you, but I won’t abuse your services, especially when I’m not in such dire need.” The pegasus returned.

“Please, it would be my honor.” David placed a hand over his chest. “I don’t know what you might think of me or what the ponies around here might be thinking of me, but I’ve begun to realize something in these past few days, and that’s the fact that I’m just not doing my best. So please, if there is any opportunity, allow me to take it. I think it’d do me some good to bring some ease into another pony’s life, even if…” His words stalled for a moment. “Even if…well, never mind.”

Fluttershy eyed the young human for a second or two before adorning a soft smile and closing her eyes with content. “Well, if you truly insist, then I won’t push you away. I’m sure Twilight would be happy to hear this change of heart you have now. She is your caretaker, is she not?”

“She was the first pony I met upon coming to this world.” The boy reminisced.

After only a few moments more Fluttershy had sought her work finished and made her exit just before dusk had begun to fall upon Ponyville. Fauna had already insisted that the boy rest at the vet for the night and she would let Twilight know, and so he decided to do just that. The journey to the Everfree ruins still had his muscles throbbing and his bones aching, the fatigue over-encumbering him as he took to rest in the chair and sought after calm, vivid thoughts that would put his mind to rest.

Chapter 45 - Second Chances

Three days had passed since the incident on the road to Saddle Lake, and the boy had taken refuge within his room and the corridors of the Castle of Friendship ever since. He would spend hours in the library searching text after tome, reading one after the other as though he were on a fervent hunt for a lost, ancient word or phrase he felt was balancing on the tip of his tongue. Alas, the word never came, the phrase never found, but the boy persisted anyways.

I must do more. He thought on. I must do better. He thought constantly.

The boy sat at the desk in the library reading away, scribbling away, the candle by his side flickering away until Spike had come to replace it. He smiled gratefully at the dragon, whom gave a stiff nod before scurrying away.

There wasn’t a single hour within any of those days where Twilight had not come to check on his status, carrying with her a tray of refreshments every morning, every afternoon, and every evening. It was her favorite blend that she had been experimenting on, that which the young human was slowly growing accustomed to, just as he was growing more and more used to the young Alicorn’s company. He could tell she was getting better at making tea with every helping.

“Twilight?” David spoke.

“Hm?” She looked up mid-pour.

“What does ‘permeation’ mean?”

The mare blinked and glanced his books before answering. “It’s the process of a substance, such as a liquid or a gas, passing through a solid object. Normally though, we would called it ‘imbuing’ when it comes to casting certain spells.”

“Imbuing?” He wondered.

“The practice of imbuing involves casting spells onto physical objects, such as enchantments.” She explained carefully. “It’s the process of permeation that allows these spells to be imbued into the object in question. That one time I cast a cloudwalking spell on my friends would be a good example.”

“I see.” He prodded his chin, staring down at the book before him.

Twilight lingered for a small moment before smiling. “Are you studying enchantment physics? I have a ton of review notes I kept from magic kindergarten, if you ever wanted to take a look.”

“That’s alright, I was just wondering about that one word.” He pointed it out. “I kept coming across it and misinterpreted it as ‘permanent’ a few times, so it sort of threw me off for a few pages.”

Twilight blinked and subtly shook her head. “Oh, well…alright.” She gathered the tray and rested the cup of tea to his desk. “Let me know if you need anymore help.”

“Mhm.” David nodded quietly.

The young Alicorn delivered a final glance before turning and making her way towards the hall. Just before her hooves crossed the threshold, her ears perked back at the notice of his voice.

“Hey, Twilight?” He said.

She looked back.

“Thanks.” He smiled, a genuine grin, and returned to his work.

The pony acknowledged with an equal gesture, unknowingly forming a bashful blush upon her cheeks before trotting down the hall.

When the sun had taken its fall and the night reigned over, Twilight walked quietly through the darkened halls of the castle. The light of her candle reflected a single, tiny, orange ember multiplied to a thousand little flickers upon the several crystalline surfaces spanning the walls of her corridors. Her little assistant, Spike, had ensured the pony that he would keep sending one candle after the other to the boy, but the little dragon had fallen asleep mere minutes ago, and it was this final task the mare took upon herself before giving the human a gesture goodnight.

She passed the library doors and approached the figure slumped over the desk much too short for his size. He was hunched over, criss-crossed at his legs, one arm beneath his head and the other covering his book as he lulled and slumbered away into his dreams. He mumbled so vividly and so quietly the mare could not hear, and thus her eyes traveled down to his book resting beneath his arm. It was a sketch, a drawing of her, holding a book and delivering a curt grin to the viewer. The boy truly was an artist. Twilight smiled evermore widely than she had before and made to swaddle the boy in a blanket. She levitated him through the halls carefully, entered his room, and rested his tuckered, tired figure to the soft sheets of his bed. His legs curled inward to compensate his stature for the small size, and after making a note to fit him with a king size bed later on, Twilight slowly backed out of the room and clicked the door shut to leave her little human to rest.

It was hardly the crack of dawn before the boy felt a disturbance lingering in the pits of the castle, and it had disturbed his sleep so. He tossed and squirmed about beneath his blankets before finally getting comfortable once more and snuggling his way back into slumber, the warmth of his bed having never been so inviting to him before. Just as he felt the disturbance downstairs lingering away, it barged right through his door and perched to the foot of his bed, loud, boisterous and obnoxious as ever.

“Rise and shine, recruit!” Rainbow Dash bellowed over the top of her lungs. “Today’s the day!” She announced.

David squirmed beneath his blankets once more, peering out from beneath a hole where his eyes shone. “What…what day?”

“Well duh! I said I was going to make it up to you, and this is my way of doing it.”

“By barging into my room unannounced?”

“I’m taking that scrawny hide of yours for a run.” She bit his covers and yanked them away. “C’mon, we’re burm-fing day-fwight!”

“What daylight is there to burn?” Irritated, the boy snatched his covers back and yanked them over his head. “Besides, aren’t you a Wonderbolt? You should be in Cloudsdale doing practice by now.”

“Today’s my off day, which means I could be sleeping in right about now.”

David uncovered his head, eyes peeled and surprised.

“But here I am, feathers and fur. You can always count on me to be there on time, so I better see you outside in five.” Dash prodded his foot with her hoof. “How’s that leg feeling?”

“Better, I guess?”

“Good enough for me.” The pegasus leapt from his bed and hovered in the air. “Outside, five minutes, or I’m setting off a thundercloud next to your window.”

David would have stayed right where he was and sufficed with the thunderous booms next to his window five minutes after anyways, had Rainbow Dash not taken his blanket in her teeth yet again and went speeding down the hallway and down the stairs, out the door to never be seen again. Goddamn pegasus… David grumbled in thought. Doesn’t she know where that thing’s been?

He grumbled onward in unintelligible mumbles as his creaky, old bones rose groggily from his sheets and sought no other choice but to head for his door, braving the harrowing cold of the castle hallway. Already he felt as though his toes might break off and his fingers brittle as icicles, and thus he tucked his arms beneath his pits whilst rubbing up and down. Maybe the cold will help wake me up. He thought on. Or, slowly kill me. Either way works. This was Equestria, and as cute and cuddly as a land it appeared to be behind a television screen, it came with its hells and tortures just as any other world likely would.

So, exiting the castle past an obnoxiously loud set of double doors, the rainbow maned pegasus was nowhere to be found. David hollered a raspy "Dash" coming out as a measly whisper. He looked around, shrugged, and treaded down the ungodly cold set of stairs, pushing his feet into the even colder stretches of grass as he rubbed his palms together and stroked his shoulders. Then, a familiar blanket from his bed fell from above and draped over his form like a last second ghost cosplay. The sound of the pegasus swooping around and landing on the ground in front of him came to his ears just as he pulled the fabric from his face.

“Took ya’ long enough.” Rainbow snuffed.

“It’s fucking freezing…” He whined.

“Quit your babying, dude, it’s not that cold.”

“Says the one with a coat of fur.”

“Fine, point taken, but the cold is ideal weather for exercising.” She trotted in place and fluttered her wings. “It motivates you to keep moving, so you can stay warm.”

“Hey, I got on idea.” The boy proposed. “Why don’t we just go back inside, that way we can stay warm without doing any exercise at all. Damn, I’m a genius.”

“Nice try, buddy, but a lack of exercise actually makes you stupider.” Rainbow flicked his head with a hoof. “And don’t even think about arguing against that, Twilight told me that one.”

“I don’t believe this…” David muttered to himself once more, eyeing the rainbow pegasus with a perplexed glare, until finally he broke out of his shrug and splayed his hands out before the pony. “Rainbow Dash, listen, I appreciate the lengths you’re already going through here but you don’t have to do this for me. Sure you may have fractured my ankle and reopened my wound, but you lifted my heavy ass all the way to the vet.”

“Trust me, dude, you weren’t that heavy.” Dash stared worryingly. “At all.”

“Whatever.” He waved. “My point is I was ready to call it even then, and I’m ready to call it even now. So, if you don’t mind you can take this little meeting as a gesture of our truce…and I’m going to head back inside where any sane person would be staying right now. I know, sane in this world is far-fetched, but you get my point.”

“Oh no you don’t!” Rainbow Dash spun around to the entrance of the castle faster than the human could anticipate. “I know what you’re thinking.” And she descended one step after the other with every statement. “Just one more day. I’ll do it tomorrow, for sure. What’s one more night gonna hurt? I’ll get to it, eventually. Y’know what waiting one more day is gonna get you? NOTHING. Before you know it, one day turns into one week, one week into a month, a month into a year. I dare you to drop everything you’re doing right now to go and do what you know you have to do, because if you can’t, that just means you never had it in you in the first place.”

“I never even wanted to be here in the first place.” David informed.

But the pegasus went on. “I used to be just like you, and then one day it hit me. If I don’t get up right now and do SOMETHING, I’m never going to be a Wonderbolt! I had to cut back my habits, make sacrifices, get up early, and work myself past my limits.”

“Is this supposed to be a pep talk for new recruits or something?” The boy interrupted.

“I’m not going to lie to you anymore, dude. When I saw you on the road groveling like one of Fluttershy’s weasels having sprained an ankle, I knew I had to help you. I knew that if I didn’t help you change something about yourself, you wouldn’t be long for this world. That’s why, we’re going to make that change today.” She chuckled and crossed her hooves. “No need to thank me now, I know you will later anyways.”

“Oh, really?” He snorted.

“Really.” She pushed her muzzle to his nose, sprang back and shot a hoof to the sky. “From this point forward, I’m taking you under my wing. I am now your designated coach, and you are now my personal trainee.”

The boy scoffed. “What’re you gonna do, teach me how to fly?”

It was as if the pegasus had paused mid-air, seemingly hovering without the help of her wings, and in her time of defying physics she squinted so harshly at the boy he could feel pinpricks digging deep past his own eyes and beneath his skull. Without a beat to react, Rainbow Dash swung around the boy’s backside and hoisted him under the arms with both hooves. Pumping tremendous amounts of power into her wings, David watched as the ground beneath his feet began dropping away at alarming speeds. The double doors to the castle were a tiny set of portals at this point, the third and forth floors of the castle were long gone, and all that remained in his midst to cling onto for dear life was the top structure of the building, a great big metallic star that caught the rays of the sun just barely crawling over the horizon’s edge at this very minute. Much like a kitten stuck within a tree, David clawed and struggled to find a grip, his thighs hugging the structure harder than Harry the bear could ever muster one of his bear hugs.

“So?” Dash chuckled again, the high wind blowing her mane about. “Still wanna learn how to fly?”

“Okayokayokayyouwererightdashimsorrypleaseletmedownpleasepleaseplease!”

“What’s that?” The pegasus back paddled mid-air, cupping a hoof to her ear. “I can’t hear you with all that babying in the background!”

“I’m sorry, mom! I’m sorry, dad!” The boy wailed like a 4-year-old. “I never should have gotten into this show!”

“I know you may not have wings like me, but even if you were strong enough you’d be able to get down from there no problem.” Rainbow tried.

“Uncle! Uncle~!”

“Alright, quit your whining!” The pony growled, and snagged the boy under the arms again. “I’ll bring you down, sheesh.”

After a short moment of convincing him to loosen his grip, Dash steadied her descent into a patient flutter and made sure to keep her grip on the wailing and flailing human, finally touching back down to the earth a moment later. David had half the mind to kiss the ground in gratitude, and the other half to stare daggers of eternal, wishful damnation upon the pony before him. Rainbow Dash could only respond with yet another subtle chuckle as she dusted her wings and took off hovering once more.

“What’d I tell ya’? You’re as light as a feather, no wonder you need a workout.” She started. “Now, did you see the two trees at the top of the hill when you were up there?”

“My life flashing before my fucking eyes is what I saw.”

“Awesome, as soon as you’re done pissing yourself meet me up there.” Just as soon as the pegasus took off she turned around for a final holler. “And make it snappy, I wanna see you fly!”

It was at this point that David began to recollect all of his experiences with the ponies of Equestria thus far. The way that some had tolerated him and the way that some had resented him. The way that some had looked after him and the way that some had sought to seize him. The way that some had cherished him…and the way they showed their undying hate, loathe and utter ire and rage for a single, poor member of the human race. However, hate played no factor in this morning’s tribulations, not any longer. Rather, something different began to awaken in the pits of his boyish mind. A drive, a hunt, an urge to take matters into his own hands and show them…

“Weak? Scrawny? Not long for this world?” He snorted, dug his heels into the dirt, and took off like the wind. “I’ll show her!”

Chapter 46 - The Great Seedling

"Now I done told you a hundred times and I’m gonna tell you again,” Big Macintosh took a great, big gulp of air. “It was the Great Seedling!”

“This ain’t no time to be puttin’ the blame on tall tales, Big Mac.” Applejack huffed with irritation, turning a barrel to its upside. “The matter of fact is, somepony or something is to blame, and I think I know exactly who to blame.”

The farm mare gave a wry eye past the ponies setting up their market stalls on the edge of town. Some had already gathered in to hear the elder brother of the Apples tell his tale of woe and fascination from last night’s inexplicable events. He told his story as though a viking would from his years out on the icy seas and harrowing islands, a legend to never forget, and he believed this creature to be a legend indeed. “The Great Seedling.” Macintosh begun again. “It’s a story local to the farm only, ‘bout as old as Granny Smith, maybe even older. From the forest came a great, towering beast, horns and foliage stuck to its hide like a timber wolf outta’ a bog! It’s eyes were a haunting yellow, its teeth bared and its claws sharpened for the hunt!”

“Just get to the point already, Mac.” Applejack groaned.

“A beast from the forest?” A bystander wondered. “You mean the Everfree?”

Big Mac gave a sure nod.

“Ridiculous.” A stallion scoffed. “It was probably just a regular old timber wolf.”

“No, he said it had yellow eyes.” A mare followed. “You don’t think it could have been…?”

“The monkey…?”

“Eee-nope.” Big Mac denied. “That boy may be tall, but there ain’t no way in Canterlot and back he could’ve moved that fast. Why, whatever I thought I saw last night, I figure its faster than even Rainbow Dash.”

Just in the nick of time, the notorious pegasus herself and her trainee were coming around on their run. Dash took the lead whilst David followed behind her, wheezing and panting uncontrollably. Rainbow Dash’s ear flickered at the slightest doubt to her name, and thus the pegasus dug her hooves into a screeching halt, sending her apprentice up and over her flank as his upper-weight swung forward and barreled into a stack of, well…barrels.

“Whoa-whoa-WHOA.” Dash was on his snout quicker than Mac realized. “Slow down there, straw boy. Did you just say ‘faster than Rainbow Dash?’ Wonderbolt extraordinaire? Equestria’s best and most awesomest flyer?” She flared her wings. “Because if you meant what you said, I’m more than ready to tie both my wings behind my back just to prove your competition wrong.”

“How about a goat-suckin’, pig-nappin’ maniac?” Applejack proposed.

“Uh…a what now?”

“This ain’t no laughing matter, y’all!” Applejack turned to the crowd. “Last night our stock been disturbed, and now one of the pigs has come up missing. Like I said, somepony or something out there took one of our pigs, and I’d bet Kicks McGee I know exactly who to look for.”

Applejack turned to look at the pile of overturned barrels with a pair of pale legs sticking out form beneath the rubble. Rainbow Dash soared over and dragged the boy out of the mess, little rainbow pegasi spinning around his head like spinning stars as the coach puffed her chest and spoke in his stead.

“You might wanna look some place else, sis.” Dash argued. “There’s no way Davy here could have done it, not with his ankle all busted up.”

“For a busted ankle, he sure was runnin’ pretty okay.” Applejack attempted.

“Even you have a hard time wrestling a hog, and that’s on a good day.” Dash furthered. “My recruit here’s still on day one, he couldn’t snap a twig before snapping himself.”

“Recruit?” Applejack raised a brow, intensifying her glare. “Just the other day I saw you rallying the ponies up to run this sorry sac-o-soot outta’ town, and now ya’ gone all soft on ‘im?” The farm mare shook her head and clicked her tongue. “Those Wonderbolts must’ve laced your breakfast with nickerdoodles.”

Rainbow clutched the earth pony with one hoof and raised another. “How about a mouthful of this Wonderbolt’s hoof for breakfast?” She snarled.

“Dash, take it easy.” David clawed and brought her backwards. At the same time Big Mac had rounded and snagged her sister at the barrel to force her away from the pegasus. The boy took a long look at the ponies and their market stalls for a moment before settling down and braving his gaze towards the irritated farm mare. “Honest to God, I don’t know what happened to your pig, and I’m sorry to hear about it too.”

Applejack snuffed, broke free from her brother’s hold and turned around. She couldn’t even look the boy in the eye herself. “Don’t act like you gotta take this as your responsibility, just because your the Princess’ special little Equerry and whatnot.” She snorted.

“Actually, that’s exactly what I plan to do.” David declared.

The rest of the ponies present stared on at the boy with wide, wondering eyes, and only a second later did Applejack follow suit.

“Like you said, I’m the Equerry.” He furthered. “And that means I’ve got a lot of responsibility to take on. I don’t think the matter of somepony losing their livestock should be exempt from those duties.”

“I don’t care what your fancy Equerry responsibilities say, you’re not laying a paw on my property.” Applejack dared.

“Move your caboose!” A grainy voice sounded from behind the rows of ponies. “Step aside, sonny, old mare coming through.” Granny Smith emerged on creaking joints and hooves, surveying her surroundings with old yet keen, sharp eyes. “What in tarnation is all the commotion about? It’s hardly harvestin’ season, that old kook, Granpear, ain’t due for another six moons!”

“Granny, I told ya’ we’d take care of everything at the market ourselves.” Applejack groaned, shoving on her elder. “Go on back to the farm and look after the swine.”

“That’s what I came to tell ya’!” The old mare hooted. “I thought I mighta’ finally been losin’ it til’ I knew for a fact I’d been countin’ one swine short. How come ya’ didn’t tell your granny sooner, Jack?”

Applejack grunted. “We didn’t want to worry you.”

“Me? Worried?” Granny raspberried. “Them hogs made enough fertilizer as it is, thought about sellin’ one of them to Filthy Rich and his filthy wife anyhow. Looks like that got taken care of.”

“Granny, that’s not the point.” Applejack rounded back over. “One of them pigs is missing. It’s gone.”

“I’m old, child, not blind.” Granny huffed irritably this time, her complexion turning more graceful as she cranked her head back and looked up at the human before her. “Well now, who do we have here. Is this our youngin’ from the schoolhouse?”

“Hello, Granny Smith, it’s been a while.” David bowed, curtly as ever. “Sorry to hear about your pig, I do hope I can be of at least some assistance.”

Applejack strained a filthy scowl and glare towards the boy’s direction, doubtful of his overly polite demeanor. Treachery filled the mare’s thoughts every time she laid eyes on the boy, and even at times when he wasn’t around. Unbeknownst to her, it was the revelation of incompetence in her stead that fueled a sense of blame and hate towards the human. If Applejack couldn’t have things her way, she might even turn things against those whom she believed deserved it the most.

“Oh, don’t you go spoutin’ that jibber-jabber.” Granny followed up. “Why, if’n I remember back in my day, the Royal Equerry was an expert on all manner of beast and animal, and plant life too! From bovine to bramble, trout to tree-trunk, there wudn’t a critter nor crawler the Equerry couldn’t name.”

Okay, she wants me to go look at some animals. The boy surmised in his mind. This should be easy, they’re just pigs. How difficult can it be?

“I’d bet my hind-hoof surgery the Equerry could even identify the Great Seedling without a second glance!” Granny declared.

Okay, I have NO idea what that is. The boy groaned internally. I should of known putting my foot in the door would get it smashed.

“There ain’t no way in Tall Tale and back this thing is gonna set claw on our farm.” Applejack stepped forward, swinging an accused hoof towards the boy. “As far as I’m concerned, he should just crawl his way back to the castle and hope he don’t start another mob on the way back. One monster lurkin’ around the farm is plenty enough!”

“So you do admit it was a monster, and not David?” Rainbow started.

“Don’t be ropin’ anymore trouble into this.” The earth pony gritted her teeth, glaring at the pegasus.

“Settle your britches, Jackie, we could use some insight from a beast to get to know a beast, if ya’ catch my Ponish.” Granny nudged the boy’s thigh and gave him a wink. “Big Macintosh, show our guest around the farm, especially the pit where you had your little shindig from last night.”

“Eeeyup.” Mac gave a hefty nod and turned to the boy with a gesture to follow.

“I don’t believe this…” Applejack grumbled lowly. “My own kin turnin’ against me.”

Just before he decided to linger away, the boy turned to his coach with an apologetic glance. “I don’t suppose this’ll mean an extra lap or two?”

“We’ll call it a wrap for today.” Rainbow Dash sufficed, hovering above him. “Besides, you’ve got some important Equerry business to attend to. I won’t keep you from your paycheck.”

“I don’t get payed, Twilight gives me an…allowance.” He scratched his scalp.

“Ha! Figures.” The pegasus laughed and gave a salute goodbye before speeding off at an angle away from the farm. Her expression intensified as she set her next destination to a certain pegasus’ cottage lying on the edge of the woods.

In the midst of their gathering, a certain little unicorn girl had been watching and listening upon the entire ordeal from afar. The blonde maned, gray-coated filly felt the instinct to run to her partner and tell her all about the new story they were going to write rise within her. Only, Dinky had just remembered that she was no longer a part of the news business, and the small earth pony she had once called her friend, Silver Spoon, was all but a stranger to her now. The little unicorn lumbered down the street with her head hung low, spirits drained, onwards to the very piano lessons that which she questioned as to why she was still attending.

At this rate, she thought, I'll never get my cutie mark.

Sweet Apple Acres. From one valley to the next, the boy was gazing upon an endless sea of green dotted with ripe spots of red as far as the eye could see, as wide as the imagination could fathom. It didn’t take a genius to recognize that the grand harvesting season before fall was right around the corner. Neither did it take a genius to recognize that the Apples and their orchard were responsible for providing Ponyville’s number one source of food supply. Apart from apples, carrots and celery stalks cropped their way through the land to the west while corn and an assortment of beans found their land to the east. At the epicenter of it all laid a great, big barn house with white wood-framing and a coat of hot red, not quite as deep red as the coat of the stallion the boy was following this very minute.

Wordlessly, Big Macintosh sauntered down the road to the barn and gave the crop a glance as though to give the boy a nonchalant tour of the whole operation before him. The stallion’s demeanor was hard to read, as far as David could tell, and he wasn’t sure whether Big Mac would have an attitude just like his sister’s, or if the pony was just being his usual self. The boy hoped for the latter as they both gave their glances to the settlement, trotting past rows of fences housing chicken coops and of course, pig pens. Soon enough the enticing sting of manure flooded the boy’s nostrils as gnats and flies buzzed about. It was at this that he could tell they were getting close.

“Y’come from the Everfree yer’self?” Mac questioned suddenly.

“N-Not exactly.” David explained. “I call home another planet. The Everfree is where I started.”

“I figured there weren’t nothin’ frightenin’ ‘bout you.” The stud spoke. “Whatever done this took on a different kind of nature, somethin’ sinister…” He rubbed the fence pole with a shaky hoof.

David looked on at the pig pen resting on the tree line, which led in at an odd angle to the forest ahead where none of their own apple trees grew. Most likely, the foliage went on for a good few miles until it broke into the Everfree, and from that point on it would be predator’s territory. But for a predator of any kind to come this far off its plot was something even David knew to be quite odd. The way in which his partner had just spoken of the supposed predicament from last night was enough to make the stallion shake all over again. If something could scare a pony as big as Big Macintosh, something sinister certainly was at hand. Or rather, at hoof…

“Can you tell me what happened here?” David asked.

The rainbow maned pegasus gradually eased her descent towards the tiny, dirt path ahead of her, kicking up dust as she sprawled her wings and gave a few flaps of reassurance before resting her hooves to the earth. Rainbow Dash trotted across the little bridge stepping over the stream, up the small hill where the cottage laid. She knocked once, and as expected there was no answer. Fluttershy usually answered on the first knock, but Rainbow always knew this would happen when she had some business to address. Like a certain pet tortoise dreading a visit to the vet, it was as though Fluttershy could feel something amiss far before Dash had arrived at her home. She knocked again.

“J-Just a minute!” The shy pegasus within peeped timidly.

Her patience already wearing thin, the flyer stepped to the nearest window and had a peek inside. Not a pony nor a critter in sight. Only a second later, a snow white hare hopped to the peak of the window and nabbed the curtain with his teeth, bringing the blinds down with him and thus obscuring the curious pony’s view.

So you wanna play that game? Rainbow mused, twirling around the cottage and barreling through the open window on the second story. Fluttershy shrieked in surprise as Rainbow rolled and landed on her hooves, rising to come face to face with her long-known friend.

“Alright, spill it.” Dash demanded.

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy squeaked and blushed. “You shouldn’t come barging into ponies’ homes like that, I could have been changing just now!”

“We’re naked, Fluttershy.”

“Oh my…” Fluttershy blushed even harder.

“Enough of these games.” The pegasus approached. “Tell me why you let David into the Everfree.”

“I, um…” The timid pony’s eyes darted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You do, too.”

“And besides, you’re the one who reopened his wound, so I’m still pretty upset with you about that.” Fluttershy justified.

“Oh yeah? If you don’t know anything about letting him into the Everfree, then how did he get that wound in the first place?”

Once again, the pegasus ‘eeped’ with surprise. Her own kindness had backfired on her this far into the future, and there was no backing out of it now.

“Don’t think I can’t recognize your bunny stitches when I see them.” Rainbow went on. “Something fishy is going on in this town, and something tells me it all links back to you two.”

“Rainbow Dash, please-” Fluttershy backed away. “This isn’t the time right now…”

“I want to know two things: What was David doing in the Everfree in the dead of night, and whats up with all of these animals going missing all of a sudden?” The boisterous pegasus dared another hoof forward. “I’m willing to bet that whatever’s out there is the same thing that slaughtered your chickens!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy projected boldly this time, raising a hoof with a threatening stomp to the floor boards. She gave an apologetic gaze to her bunny before ushering the little rabbit over and into the embrace of her hooves. The timid pegasus hid beneath the pink veil of her mane for a moment or two before finding the courage to peek past her hair and look her friend in the eye. “I know you want answers, just as everypony else does, but as I said…” She glanced away. “Now is not the time.”

With a scuff of her hoof Rainbow Dash dejected a glare to the floor and trotted past her fellow pegasus mare soon after, climbing up to the sill of the open window and looking back. “I’m sorry, Flutters, I didn’t mean to push it. I was just trying to-” She sighed with a hint of frustration, and turned back to the outdoors. “Nevermind. I’ll see you around, I guess.”

Fluttershy watched as the pegasus opened her wings and readied herself to leap, but something within the shy little pegasus made her speak so.

“Rainbow Dash, wait!” She reached out.

Rainbow caught herself in the nick of time, scooting back up onto the window sill and looking back at her friend in the hallway.

“If you’re willing to stay for tea…” Fluttershy looked to Angel bunny. “I’d be happy to tell you everything.” And gave a small smile.

“It was like somethin’ outta’ one of them campfire stories.” Mac shuddered in remembrance, and recollected his thoughts. “I don’t imagine ya’ got any tall tales and legends where you come from?”

“Trust me, even some of the real ones were plenty scary.” David knelt, studying the subtle scratches at the fence post. “What’s this legend you and the others were talking about?”

“The Great Seedling.” The stallion elaborated. “Every year or so the Seedling would come upon the land and spread life, so the crops’ll grow bigger and stronger and the forest would stay green year round.” Mac gnawed on his straw for a moment, summing up the details. “Our elders must’a told it as a way to explain why the plants and the trees do what they do every season, but I ain’t never seen a force o’ nature that would just take something without giving back…and smell so bad too.”

“Smell?” The boy paused, looking up at the pony. “What kind of smell?”

“An’ I thought them hogs had it bad, but this thing could make ya’ gag from a mile away.”

“Can you describe it to me? The smell?” David asked longingly.

“I dunno, I couldn’t really place it til’ it hit me.” Mac thought a little more. “Like…copper.”

The boy looked on, his pupils shrinking.

“Blood.” Big Mac nodded, shaking again. “Like the smell o’ death.”

It was itching at the back of his mind ever since he had risen to do his chores that morning, and there it was again in the dead of night. Midnight, in fact. Big Macintosh knew there was but one last task he had to attend to before he could finally put his mind to rest that night. The hogs need water. Of course, it was no wonder they were acting so restless, as their distant little squeaks and wails sounded from the colt’s bedroom window, just enough to keep his ears perked and his eyes awake. It was exactly what the stallion set out to do. He toed as quietly as he could down the hallway where his kin slept, and soon enough found himself emerging past the front door and lumbering into the chilly, stinging air of the night. The water spout hissed shut as Big Mac hoisted a set of buckets on either side of his barrel and sauntered his way over to the pig pen, the hogs growing quiet and patiently waiting for the pony to do what he had come to do. Their little snorts of pleasure huddled around as he set the buckets at their snouts and threw a splash of water over their mucky, muddy pen grounds for good measure.

Soon enough the smell of manure hit his nostrils like a spike of pain. Big Mac wondered why the odor was hitting him so hard now. Over his many years working on the farm, the smell of the pigs and their feces had become all but numb to his nose. It was then that he realized this certain scent didn’t just have a smell to it, it had a feeling. The feeling that you were being watched, the feeling that you were being…hunted. As if in answer, the pigs squealed and kicked back wildly, as though a pack of predators were chasing them. Alas, in the enclosure of the pen they had nowhere to run, and soon after the fear which they displayed took hold of the stallion in his own way. The same shiver from before when he had stepped out into the cold of the night transformed into an icy spiral coiling down his spine. This wasn’t just a chill over his shoulder. No, this was instinct…

Two pegasi sat quietly in the cottage living room, a tray of sugar and tea with a bright pink kettle resting atop the coffee table at their hooves. Fluttershy held the tea cup to her lips and took a small, quiet sip to calm her nerves. Rainbow Dash was rather indifferent, staring at her faint reflection in her own cup of tea as the thoughts and murmurs slowly swirled about in her mind. The pegasus felt as though she were in the midst of a turning of events, especially at a turn of thoughts and feelings commencing in the deeper, darker pits of her mind, corridors which had not yet been properly explored upon. Perhaps now was the time to explore these questions, Rainbow Dash thought. Especially when she was in the presence and kindness of her oldest friend.

“Now, isn’t that much better?” Fluttershy asked her.

“I guess so.” Rainbow shrugged. “Tea isn’t exactly my ‘go-to.’”

“I know, but it’s meant to help you calm down.” The yellow pegasus informed. “I know you’re always ready to tackle a problem whenever one shows up, but it doesn’t hurt to learn to take a breather every now and then.”

“You’re right…” Rainbow Dash admitted, staring at her tea for a moment more before raising it to her mouth and serving herself a short gulp. The pony winced with displeasure, but smacked her lips to the after taste, and sufficed with the amount as a means to break the ice. “Now, are you ready to tell me what’s going on?”

Fluttershy hung her head and quietly rested her cup to the table. “Do you remember when Spike turned into a giant, greedy dragon, and went on a rampage through Ponyville?” She asked.

“You and I saved both his and Rarity’s lives that day,” Dash answered dutifully. “But what happened to Spike was crazy. I didn’t think the little guy had it in him, to turn into something like that.”

“You’d be awfully surprised to find out that in the aftermath, it was neither Twilight nor Spike the ponies were spilling their complaints to.” Fluttershy paused. “It was me.”

“What? Why you?” Dash perked up. “What did you have to do with any of it?”

“It’s…” Fluttershy paused again, squeaking timidly. “The Stare.”

Rainbow Dash turned silent, eagerly listening to her friend.

“You already know how my powers work, and a lot of the ponies in Ponyville aren’t exactly strangers to it either.” The little pegasus explained. “With the Stare, I have the power to control and manipulate almost any animal to my will, and dragons aren’t an exclusion, especially ones like Spike.”

“So that’s why they came to you instead of Twilight…” Rainbow realized.

“Because they wanted me to take care of Spike. They wanted me to ‘tame the beast’ as they put it.” Fluttershy went on. “But I wouldn’t do it, I didn’t want to hurt him. I didn’t want to hurt anypony for that matter. The abilities of my Stare are all still very unknown, even to me.”

The smell did more than to make him scrunch his muzzle and pinch his eyes shut. It made Big Mac scared. He knew something was here now, and the worst part was he didn't know what or where it could be, or even why it was here for that matter. Don't run. He thought to himself. Predators chase backs. He imagined a figure, a form of something, a creature of some sort with the ability to eat him up in one or two bites, however many it preferred. The stallion kept his eyes on the dark curtain of the tree line, and quickly hopped over the fence and into the pig den. Next thing he knew, he was rolling about, shuffling, and digging his body into the muddy earth, caking and slathering himself in the mushy slippery stuff, making sure that not a spot of him was left unmuddled. The pigs continued to stomp and squeal about, but Big Mac stayed put, leaving his nostrils open to breath in and out quietly. The stench was unbearable at this point, but he knew he had to stay still, lest the monster or whatever the hell was out there detect him. He waited, and waited, and waited.

“Just think about it, what if everypony told me to do the same thing to David?” Fluttershy feared. “What then?”

“But…David isn’t an animal.” Rainbow justified. “Sure, he might look different, but there are plenty of things he can do that we can, too. He can walk, he can talk, he can read…or at least I think he can. Why would your Stare have any effect on him?”

“How can you be so sure?” Fluttershy questioned. “Who’s to say that David isn’t just an animal too? He’s a being from an entirely different planet, Rainbow Dash. I don’t know anything about him anymore than you do.”

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak, but the words were halted. Coming from Fluttershy, it certainly meant something compelling when an expert on animals herself admitted she didn’t know much about the “animal” in question. For a moment, it made the young pegasus wonder just where exactly the line between a pony and a human was drawn. When it came to the root of nature, did it really matter what one considered feral and uncivilized as opposed to tame and content?

The stallion held his ground as though his life depended upon it, because in that very moment, he unmistakably believed it very much did. What happened next were a series of images too quick for the stallion to register. His eyes were held on the tree line, and then the pig in front of him. One second, the pig was there. The next, it was gone, as though it had never even existed in the first place. Taken by the slicing, wispy shadows of the darkness of the forest. Understandably, Big Macintosh stayed exactly where he was for the rest of the night. The following morning when his sister had come out to see what he had done, she began laughing and said it wasn’t the first time she had caught her brother sleeping with the pigs. Big Mac said that doing so was the second time that it saved his life.

The cottage rested in a hovel of silence as the two pegasi housed within slurped the last of their tea and shared a moment of peace between each other. Their thoughts ran over recent events and the words spoken in their meeting, thus wondering if the two were going to start taking on much more responsibility than they were already managing. Rainbow Dash had taken it upon herself to train the boy as she saw fit, perhaps even as a means to bond with him and show her the warmer side of her hide. After all, the kid fell for her recklessness. He deserved every bit of her acknowledgment.

Fluttershy retreated to her kitchen for a short spell to put the kettle and tea kit to rest. After a time she trotted back into the living space and sat beside her friend, letting a lengthy, dreary sigh escape her lungs before speaking all over again.

“Um…can I ask you something?” Fluttershy started.

Rainbow Dash blinked and looked to her friend. “Anything, Shy.”

“Did I always seem kind of…weird to you?”

Dash blinked again, cocking a brow. “I mean…kinda’?” The blue pegasus exaggerated a shrug. “Not that I’m trying to be mean or anything! It’s just…well, you’re you, Fluttershy. You’ve always been a shut-in, of course other ponies are going to think its strange you don’t want to join in on their parties and get-togethers.”

Fluttershy opened her mouth, then closed it again.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that!” Rainbow Dash attempted. “Why? Is somepony bothering you?”

“No.”

“Did they make fun of you? Call you names?” Rainbow smashed her hooves together. “Just tell me who it is and they’ll know soon enough that they messed with the wrong pegasus-”

“It’s not that, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy pouted, brushing her mane. “It was a stupid question.”

The pegasus looked on longingly at her quiet friend as she continued to hang her head and keep her eyes shut. Having been friends ever since they were little fillies in Cloudsdale, it was no wonder as to why Fluttershy would often open up to Rainbow Dash, albeit her revelations ending up being a hard shell to crack. Dash knew by now that all it took was a little more prodding.

“Fluttershy, look at me.” She reached with her wing. “I’m your friend, you can tell me anything. Even if it’s the stupidest thing you can think of, I’ve probably got something ten times stupider to say in its stead. So don’t be afraid to speak your mind or get something off your chest, because I’ll always be here to listen, Shy. I’ve got your back.”

Looking on at her friend for a brief pause before wiping what potential tears might threaten to break, Fluttershy recomposed herself and began once more, taking a deep breath before speaking. “I suppose this is just my own way of thinking.” She said. “But, the Stare has always been with me. It’s something I feel like I’ve always had, always known about, long before I had even gotten my cutie mark.” She briefly glanced at the three butterflies upon her rump before continuing. “It made me wonder if that was the reason why I always seemed so strange, the reason as to why I kept pushing other ponies away. It was because before I had even become fully aware of it, the Stare was something I couldn’t account for.”

“Maybe it’s not so strange, your feeling towards your powers, I mean.” Rainbow Dash provided. “When I was just a kid, long before I had even met you, I always knew it was my destiny to be the greatest flyer in all of Equestria. Maybe one day I could even become a Wonderbolt. And, well, look where I’m at now. And if it makes you feel any better, I don’t think your Stare ability is all that weird either. In fact, I think it’s kinda’ cool.”

Fluttershy gave her friend a reassuring look, staring back down at the table as she continued. “The Stare has always been a little unpredictable. Like I said, not even I know how it works sometimes. As far as I can tell, only creatures with ‘bestial instincts’ have been heavily affected by it. It won’t work on ponies, or any other ‘civilized’ creatures for that matter, given a lack of these supposed ‘bestial instincts’ that the Stare seems to take a hold of and subdue. Only when it comes to creatures like dragons or griffons does the line start to blur, and the distinctions between ‘beast’ and ‘civilized’ are hard to determine.”

“But it can affect them anyways, right?” Rainbow Dash wondered. “Spike is a dragon, which makes him a beast, but he can still talk like us and even eat some of the foods we eat. Does that mean the Stare would only partially work on him?”

“I’m not sure, and neither do I want to try and find out.” Fluttershy drew back. “I don’t think it comes down to the behavior of the animal alone. It must have something to do with their gene pool, the way in which a creature’s primal instincts are affected when presented with a certain situation. Of course, those are all covered over more biological matters. I’m sure Twilight would know all about that field, if you ever wanted to ask her.”

“Okay, slow down before you talk my ears off with all the egg-head nonsense.” Rainbow rubbed her temples. “Look, we’re running out of time. If anything is unpredictable around here, it’s the ponies of Ponyville. This isn’t the first slaughter we’ve had around town, it’s only a matter of time before everypony starts putting the blame on David and they get another riot going. We need to think of a good cover story, or something to show them that the kid ain’t as bad as they think he is.”

Fluttershy looked on at the pegasus with an estranged side-glance.

“What?” Rainbow shrugged.

“Nothing, it’s just…all of a sudden you’re acting so nice towards him.” Fluttershy wondered. “I thought you hated him.”

“I don’t hate him, he’s just a little lost and I couldn’t bear to see him go on like that.” Rainbow crossed her hooves. “Besides, I’ve got a debt to settle so this is me getting even.”

“If that’s the case, then the best way to get on David’s good side is to understand him a little more.” Fluttershy looked on with concern. “And that means…you’re going to have to stomach a few things.”

“Stomach what exactly?”

“Let me show you something.” Fluttershy ushered her friend off the sofa and out the door.

They winded down the slim dirt path leading up to the cottage and took a fork towards the open field. Lying against the treeline at the end of the path was a small shed, no bigger than the pegasus’ front living room. The dusty, old door crept open to the presence of the two, presenting an array of hoof-built bird houses and nests that rest in the rafters of the ceiling. There was a rocking chair to the far corner, something which still seemed a work in progress, and at the further end of the room there hung a board with a vast assortment of tools from hoof-saws to hammers.

“Huh.” Rainbow Dash blinked with disbelief. “I never really took you for the crafty type, Shy.”

“Well, where do you suppose all the birdhouses around the cottage come from?”

“I thought the birds built them.” Dash admitted.

Fluttershy took her turn to blink with disbelief.

The yellow pegasus ducked beneath the work bench and produced a small, hoofheld tub with a lid over it. Slowly, she approached her friend and set it on the ground before her. Fluttershy gave her friend a small wave of her hoof, ushering Rainbow Dash to open the container. After a beat of hesitation the pegasus did as instructed and gazed upon strange, little red and brown strips lying at the bottom of the tub.

“Are those…?”

“These are cured meat strips I’ve been giving to David, the same ones I gave to him when he was at the vet.” Fluttershy told her. “Without these, he wouldn’t have been able to properly heal from his wound.”

Rainbow Dash stared on at the contents of the tub, speechless and uncertain.

“These were once living creatures.” Fluttershy looked back at her friend, almost apologetically. “I’m sorry I have to show you these things, but if you want to help our friend then you have to understand. We may have our preferences, but nature will always have its way.”

Big Macintosh and David trotted back down the path they had come, coming to terms with the situation at their hooves and hands. A missing pig was little turmoil for the farm, but the potential that more could fall victim not only had a threatening hold on their livestock, but the orchard as a whole. Soon enough they both took the news to Granny Smith and Applejack, the elder of the bunch being expectantly far more open to suggestions.

“A beast from the Everfree, y’say?” Granny prodded her chin.

“What Big Mac here described to me pretty much fit the description of the creature Starlight and I encountered in the Everfree.” He explained. “As far as we could tell it’ll stay clear from bright lights, no matter what. The lanterns Zecora gave us were enough to keep it away.”

“And what in the hay were you and Starlight doing in the Everfree in the dead o’ night?” Applejack cocked a brow.

“W-Well, I…” David hastened. “I was just…helping her out with something.”

“With what?”

“Hush now, Jack, t’ain’t none of your business anyhow.” Granny interrupted her, looking back up at David. “Now, what was that y’said about some bright lights to keep the monster away?”

“As long as you keep a bright enough light by your side, surely you won’t meet your demise.” The boy scratched his scalp. “At least, I think that’s what Zecora told me, but you get the picture. There’s no way that thing’s showing up in broad daylight.”

“That there settles it then.” Granny nodded, turning to her grandchildren. “If’n there a monster on the loose, it’s time to set up a curfew. Big Mac, high tail your hiney to Town Hall and tell Miss Mayor no more fillies or colts on the streets after dark!”

“Eeeyup.” Mac nodded and started down the road.

“Thank you kindly for the time of your day.” David nodded curtly to the ponies. “We’ll have the town aware in no time.”

“No need to rush, youngin’, y’got the whole day ahead o’ya.” Granny nodded back. “We thank you kindly for your services.” And she went to curtsy, nudging her granddaughter in the side to do the same. Applejack gave a snort and simply helped Granny Smith back to her hooves.

“I’m the Equerry, it’s what I ought to do.” David called back a final time, and ran up the road to meet with Macintosh.

All the while, the ponies of Ponyville sought after preparations for the annual Nightmare Night, a celebration with both historical and cultural significance. In spite of their tight schedules and regulations, Mayor Mare agreed that with the news of yet another animal predicament, there should be a curfew in place to maintain the safety of the citizens of the village. David spent the better hours of his day running back and forth between Town Hall and the castle, relaying one message after the other. Twilight insisted that she ought to just teleport her way over to the Mayor, but the boy was adamant on fulfilling his role as Equerry and accomplishing his training.

One way or another, he would get better at whatever he might have been doing. He would be faster and he would be smarter, and in the midst of doing so the line between his own goals and the well being of the ponies of Ponyville slowly began to blur together.

Chapter 47 - A Dying Dream

“Before we begin, I would like to thank each and everyone of you for making a return to our meeting. It warms my heart so to see all of your bright, smiling faces.”

Not a single face within the room was neither bright, nor smiling, but a grim and glum reflection of what recent events might have hindered upon their moods. It wasn’t their fault, of course, at least not entirely, and Matilda knew this more than anypony present in the room. She even knew that her meeting members knew she was just trying to be nice and liven up the vicinity, as a hint or two of much needed mirth never hurt anypony.

The newest member of their group was the only one composing a bright, smiling face for the host, to which she quickly scowled and elbowed her sister in the ribs to break her from her snoring fit.

“Huh, what?!” Berry Punch wobbled in her chair. “Is the meeting over?”

“We’ve only just started.” Her sister growled. “Pay attention.”

“And without further ado, I would like you all to welcome our newest guest. Miss…?”

“Cherry Berry.” The blonde-maned, pink coated earth pony stood, grinning and curtsying politely to the others. “It’s nice to meet you all.”

“Hi, Cherry Berry.” The groan of a greeting sounded throughout the room.

“Say, you were at the interview for the Weather Patrol pegasi, weren’t you?” A minty unicorn bounced where she sat.

“Ah, yes.” Cherry brushed back her mane. “Yes, I was.”

“So, how did it go?” The unicorn scooted closer. “Did you get the job?”

“Please,” a snobbish scoff met their ears. “An earth pony could never land such a career.”

“Spoiled.” Filthy Rich growled. “Watch your tone.”

“What’s that? You think my sister can’t do it?” Berry Punch was as lively as ever. “Say that to my face and we’ll see how far she gets!”

“Everypony, let’s just settle down.” Matilda rubbed her temples. “This early into the meeting, too…?”

“But she didn’t get that far at all, now did she?” Spoiled sprawled out her hooves. “Just look at her, she’s an earth pony. Of course she’s not going to get that far in line for a pegasus’ job. Honestly, dear, what did you think was going to happen?”

Berry Punch was ready to catapult herself from her chair and sock this wench of a mare right across the jaw, but her sister’s hoof held her at bay. Slowly, Berry sat back down and stared at her younger sibling as the rest joined in their expectant gazes, awaiting as to how she might react. She took a deep breath and prepared her speech.

“You’re right.” Cherry admitted. “It’s all because I was born as an earth pony that I didn’t get the job. I should of thought better than to literally put caution to the wind and try to fly like the pegasi do, and in that time I was lying to myself. I lied to myself when I thought I could get the job, I lied to myself when I applied to it. As far as I’m aware, I’ve been lying to myself my entire life, dreaming up dreams as I watched the pegasi in the sky fly by without a care in the world. But at the end of the day my own nature will always be there to remind me that maybe…some dreams just aren’t meant to become true.”

Without another glance her way, all the ponies present quietly and respectfully took in her words, allowing the silence to ensue. Berry Punch stared solemnly at her sister while Spoiled Rich turned up her snout in a justice-filled manner. Matilda looked on with little struggle to a sympathetic nod, and in the monotony and glum presence of it all there sat a single earth mare, further apart from the others than anypony else there. She wished somepony would speak up with a much more cheerful or distracting tone so they could move on. Something of a “boring trip to the grocery store” or “what I found crawling on my window sill this morning” would do. Alas, nopony spoke, nopony gave sign to even move or look at one another. For reasons the cellist could not determine, Octavia opened her mouth.

“I once had a dream.” She mumbled.

All eyes perked and turned to her voice. Octavia looked up frightfully, and Matilda was quick to answer.

“Miss Melody, was there something you wanted to add?” Matilda smiled dearly.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t!” Octavia waved her hooves defensively. “Oh my, did I stupor off to sleep, again?”

“Of course not, I do believe that all you did was speak your mind.” The host reassured, continuing her talk. “Life for the most part is unfair. All of us being grown mares and stallions, I can be rest assured that we are no strangers to that fact, but it will never get us anywhere to continue estranging ourselves from the harsh realities of life. Before I had met my husband, Cranky, there was another donkey out there whom I believed was the perfect one for me. Sadly, after three years he had passed away, and for a long time it made me regret not asking for his hoof in marriage just as I had been waiting for him to do so. Instead of sulking upon the dreams I had lost, it made me realize that I should revel in the lessons I had learned. Like, cherishing the time I might spend with others…” She looked to every one of her meeting members with a bright, knowing smile, ever grateful for their presence this afternoon. Matilda quickly wiped her eyes and fixed her collar. “Ah, but listen to me go on about my own dreams lost to time. Miss Melody, I do believe you had spoken first?”

“After a revelation like that, I do believe it would be rather rude of me to say nothing now.” Said Octavia, fixing herself in her chair. “Well, where can I begin?”

“Where did you find your dreams?” Cherry Berry asked.

Octavia quickly looked up, acknowledging the earth mare. “Trottingham.” She answered after a beat. “It was my home, and it still is. It’s where the wildest tides of my imagination could soar and fly without a care, my childish little mind wondering upon the things I could be and the stories I could one day tell. And, well, I suppose my heart eventually fell for the love of music. The cello, it was such a grand instrument. I remember when I first saw it, when I first heard its cadenza…”

Octavia’s eyes twinkled with hope and brilliance as the light from outside shined upon the rotundus ceiling of the chamber the ponies resided within. For a heartbeat, the mare thought she had seen something from beyond the ordinary, a memory flashing her mind like a glimpse of a promise. Alas, the lights quickly faded and the cellist felt as though she were only acting within the moment. In the midst of that silence, however, something had sparked among the members of the meeting. Or rather, it seemed her words and their composition had inspired something in the others…

“Before I came up with Barnyard Bargains…” Filthy quietly said. “I wanted to be a doctor.”

A stretch of silence passed between the others, glances dancing around, and another spoke.

“I wanted to be a Wonderbolt.” Bulk Biceps admitted.

“I wanted to go back to Cloudsdale.” Fluttershy fessed.

“I wanted to be a professor, back in Canterlot.” Lyra returned.

“I wanted to be the greatest wine taste-tester in all of Equestria.” Berry belched.

The sister received another elbow to her side.

“…and, travel the country too, I suppose.” She finished with a shrug.

“I believe that the admittance of such endeavors find no better place to be told than in the presence of others.” Matilda sought. “We may have all come from different backgrounds, different experiences, but we still share our dreams within the same spectrum. And that spectrum, my dear Pony’s Front members, is the endeavor of such a dream. Our own dream.” And she turned back to the cellist. “Tell us, Miss Melody, just what exactly did you feel the first time the beloved hum of those cello strings flooded your ears?”

“Well…it’s rather difficult for me to explain.” Octavia admitted. “After all, my strong suit was always with music and not words. The music sheets always found better days than my journal.”

“And have you contributed any pieces to your dream?” Matilda asked her.

“In recent years, no, I can’t say that I have.” The earth pony rubbed her shoulder, hesitating upon her next words. “But, something of a hint of inspiration came about from our last meeting. I couldn’t quite place the feeling, but I just knew I had to write my own.”

“A poem, how wonderful!” Matilda clapped her hooves together. “Well, I won’t keep you anymore, dear. By all means, go ahead and share it with us.”

Octavia gave a slow nod of preparation as she swelled up a summon of confidence in her chest and expelled the dwellings of her mind, her thoughts and her feelings from memory.

“As I sit upon this island, in an ocean I call a maze.
To the star-filled night above do my eyes gaze.
A breath, I take, to the dreams I might forsake.
For those are the ones so close that I may see.
Yet to be in hoof’s reach is only but a dream.
Yes, the stars I see…are only but a distant, waning dream.”

She stood at her window and stared out of the slit provided by the curtains, a hazy mist running over the central residence of Ponyville as ponies outside trotted this way and that, perhaps not even aware that they were being watched upon. It was not intentional, but a simple phase that Octavia felt flowing through her, one she needed to embrace for the moment just so it might pass her by. The ponies outside, did they even know where they were going? What they were doing with their lives? Did she know what she was doing with her life anymore?

“Miss Melody?” A little voice asked. “Is something bothering you?”

The mare blinked herself back into the moment, turning to her little student at the piano.

“Of course not, my little star.” Octavia faked a smile. “Why have you stopped playing?”

“Because you weren’t listening anymore.”

“My eyes may wander, but my ears will always listen.”

“I stopped playing ten minutes ago.” Dinky fessed.

The teacher knew well by now that the child was much too persistent and observant to be played for any sort of tricks. Not that Octavia would ever do as such, not intentionally. She meant her little student well, not because she was her only student but because she was her dearest student. In response, the mare took a deep breath and invited herself to sit next to the little filly, giving her speech as she did so.

“Some days are harder than others.” Octavia told. “I’m sure you understand?”

“Did you get in another fight?” The filly’s eyes were strangely hopeful.

“Of course not! I mean-” She reconsidered. “I confess that first one was a misunderstanding, but my defense classes weren’t all for the purpose of getting me into fights. They’re supposed to get me out of them.” The earth mare justified.

“I know, Miss Melody. Mom always taught me that it’s wrong to fight other ponies, especially your friends. But…” Her little hooves danced lightly across the keys. “I guess some fights just can’t be avoided, like they have to happen for some reason or another.”

And there it was, that aching feeling in the pit of Octavia’s stomach that told her she was in no way, shape or form qualified to teach these sort of things to a pony whom belonged to another mare. Had the applicant not read the fine print? “PIANO LESSONS” for Celestia’s sake, not send your child for crackers and a lecture on social etiquette! Come to think of it, the one who had signed up her daughter for these lessons was in fact cross-eyed. Somehow that pegasus manages to mix up both Octavia’s and Vinyl’s mail in spite of the fact that they live under the same roof.

The instructor halted her critical thought and decided it best not to play on the child’s emotional strings too much. She was a growing pony going through some minor inconveniences in her life, that’s all. All the remedy really required was a nudge in the right direction.

“Come now, there’s no need to pout.” Octavia reassured. “Just because you might have had a fight doesn’t mean your friendship has ended. My roommate and dearest friend, Vinyl, her and I have our quarrels almost regularly, but we’ve learned time and time again to never let them get in the way of what values we still hold for each other.”

“So you’re saying that even though Silver-” Dinky halted, and started again. “I mean…you’re saying that even though my friend has done nothing but make some pretty stupid decisions, I should still value what we have together? Or at least, what we did have?”

“You should always value your friends, no matter what.” Her teacher nodded confidentially. “You’ll never know when one day, you might never see or hear from them ever again.”

Dinky’s eyes grew wide with both mixtures of realization and worry. Slowly, she began to interpret the true value of what she might have lost. Surely there had to be another way, something that both she and Silver could negotiate to get what they both wanted. At the end of it all, Dinky almost didn’t care whether or not she might come out of it with a friend after all. What she truly valued now was to see genuine happiness return to that little earth pony’s life.

“That’s it!” Dinky leapt and slammed her hooves down on the piano keys, eliciting a loud boom of disorganized notes as her teacher’s ears flopped downwards in annoyance. “Whoops, sorry Miss Melody!” The little unicorn recoiled, bolted for her saddle bag and swung it over her barrel. “I’ve got something I need to do. Thanks for the lesson!”

Octavia wasn’t sure whether she should acknowledge her gratitude or ask her exactly which lesson she meant. Without a second of time to answer, the little filly was already well on her way out the door and down the road, bolting across the same street her teacher had been staring out at prior. The cellist gave a calm, quiet sigh of relief and turned to gaze over the set of keys in front of her. Soon enough it came to her attention that even though her student had been playing the songs without missing a single note, the music sheets had never been laid out for her to read from.

The little unicorn raced across the Town Hall plaza and cleared a set of earth ponies hoisting a stream of decor for the upcoming Nightmare Night festivities. Blurting an apology to one mare she ran into and another to a stallion whom nearly fumbled his stack of crates, Dinky opted for the short cut into the high-end residential zone to decrease her chances of causing a pileup. Soon after clearing the brush, her destination was in sight. Silver Spoon’s house. The glamour of the streets second in line to the Rich’s mansion. After a short pause she bounded past the front lawn and rapped her hoof against the front door. It only took a moment’s passing for their butler to answer.

“Ah, Miss Hooves, was it?” The stallion fixed his monocle.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Kibitz.” Dinky stood proper. “Is Silver Spoon home?”

“I’m afraid now is not the best time. You see…” His speech trailed away.

Dinky looked on with a curious glance, peering around the old colt’s legs to get a better view.

“Kibitz…?” A mournful drawl sounded from within. “Who is it?”

“Dinky Hooves, my mistress.” He called over his shoulder.

There was another pause, a stroke of uncertainty swelling within the little unicorn.

“Send her in.” Silver replied.

Kibitz only delivered a short stare and a curt nod as he stepped aside and granted the little pony entrance. Once again Dinky took a second or two to marvel at the grand décor of the main foyer and beyond, but quickly shook herself from her gandering and reminded herself that she was on a mission. This mission, however, suddenly seemed to turn at a change of plans. The objective lying just up the steps to which the familiar scarlet carpet led, each and every step the little unicorn strode upwards was as heavy and tiring as ever. Strangely so, the halls seemed much more gloomy. Much more quiet than usual…

Dinky strode to her right this time, trotting over to the lone open door in the hallway and peering inside. Her gray hide was the first thing she spotted, her back facing the door as she was hunched over something laying at the end of her bed. A cold dread washed over the little unicorn as she gave a little knock, and Silver Spoon answered with a glance over her shoulder. Her glasses were removed, her eyes a deep red, puffy and exhausted. Without another word, Dinky strode past the door, sauntered across the room and came to Silver’s side.

It was Pearl, her little dog, laying uncomfortably and dreadfully still.

Chapter 48 - Lament

“You ever had a pet?” Silver Spoon asked.

“No.” Dinky answered quietly, shaking her head just as silently. “I always asked, but mom said we could never afford it.”

“Funny.” Silver Spoon forced a chuckle. “I never asked for a dog, yet my parents were willing to spend the bits.” She looked down. “It makes me wonder now why they did it. To keep me occupied while they go do much bigger and important things than tending to their daughter? It makes me wonder if they knew it would be so soon…”

The unicorn looked down with her, down they both peered into the hole, and down at the bottom of the hole they dug as deep as they could, was none other than Silver Spoon’s pet. Pearl. Of all the times Silver told her little white dog to sit still, he wouldn’t. Pearl would do everything but sit still. He would prance and dance and sing and bark like it was the happiest day of his life. After spending hours chasing your own tail, finally catching it would in fact be the happiest day of a dog’s life. Silver then found the second thing funny about this whole ordeal. She had not asked Pearl to sit still, and yet there he was in the bottom of the grave doing just as such.

Dinky tested the magic of her horn, determined to help bury her little dog the proper way, but one failure after the other Silver told her it was alright and sufficed for the shovel.

“The fact that you’re here-” Silver spoke, shoveling dirt. “That’s what matters to me. The fact that you decided to take the time out of your day to do this with me, that’s what is important to me.”

As Silver continued to shovel the mounds of dirt upon the resting place of her poor pup, Dinky took note of the stillness, the quietness, and the uncomfortable vacancy that lingered about the site. Only she and Silver were here for poor Pearl’s funeral. Why call it a funeral? Dinky thought. Weren’t funerals supposed to be a little more, I dunno, official than this? However, the stillness and silence is what made it feel like a funeral enough.

Dinky aided with what strength she had in her hooves to finish the burial, but marveled at the strength of the earth pony before her despite the pains and sorrows she burdened. She felt as though it were something her unicorn abilities would never match up to, that being the strength it took to shoulder such strife. Thus, as the minutes went by, the shoveling came to an end and the two sat at the paw of Pearl’s grave for one last quiet moment. The wind bristling by every so often gave signal to break the silence, and the unicorn was the first to speak with a simple question.

“Diamond Tiara…?” Dinky began.

Silver Spoon winced visibly.

“She couldn’t come?”

“She was always the kind of pony who looked forward in her work.” As positive as her words were, Silver shook her head. “It isn’t like her to find some time for old friends.”

Dinky opened her mouth, only for nothing to escape. She continued staring at her friend in anticipation of continuing.

“Still, I find myself missing those days.” Silver stared at the earth before her hooves. “When it wasn’t just coming up with ways to pester other ponies. We’d laugh together, play together, tell each other stories from our journals and write silly poems to read. We would invite each other to our houses and…and…”

Dinky could suddenly sense it. This poor little pony was in pain, on the brink of tears, and the unicorn’s soft heart quickly rode to fix the damage.

“Silver, do you…?”

“Huh?” Silver blinked hard, biting back tears.

“Do you want to sleep over, tonight?” Dinky asked her.

“What?” The earth pony’s gaze spelled confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I’m inviting you over to my house.” Dinky answered innocently. “That is, if you want to.”

Silver stared on, then slowly nodded. “Yeah.” She answered. “Yeah…I would love to.”

Dinky sighed with a high degree of ease. Anything to hold back those tears, she couldn’t bare to see her friend like that.

Silver Spoon knew there were many things in life she would regret. Now, she most certainly regretted not having a taste of Ms. Hooves’ special, home baked, lemon surprise muffins sooner than before. Dinky’s mother, Derpy, was most appreciative of the complements and made a mental note to send the little earth filly home with a basket full of the delectable pastries.

“Better than Sugarcube Corner’s.” Silver engulfed another mouthful.

“Don’t let the Cakes catch you saying that.” Derpy teased as she walked back into the kitchen.

“You get to have these muffins every day?” Silver asked her friend.

“Well, not every day, but most of the time.” Dinky swallowed her share. “Only when I come home from school.”

“You’re so lucky, Dink.”

Dinky was caught off guard. It was the first time the earth filly had called her by a nickname, something she believed was spared only between close friends.

“How so?” She wondered.

“Because you have this to come home to every night.” Silver gobbled another mouthful, hardly swallowing before she spoke again. “All I’ve got is a long, red carpet and elegantly crafted hallways. That, and a whole lotta’ homework to do.”

“I don’t understand, we don’t have any of that. All we have is this tiny home for me, mom and Amy.” Dinky gazed about the living room. “It’d be amazing to have a house like yours.”

“Trust me, a home that could hold twenty ponies but only houses three feels a lot bigger than it actually is.” Silver sighed. “Plus, you have homework too, so there’s that.”

“Doesn’t count.” Dinky shook her head.

“How so?”

“I don’t do mine.”

The two little ponies stared at each other in silence for a short moment, and the next they broke out into a fit of laughter.

“This feels odd.” Silver commented.

“What’s that?” Dinky asked.

“Sitting so close together at the dinner table.”

“Well, passing the pepper is easier this way.” Amethyst said, levitating the mentioned shaker towards their guest. “Here ya’ go, kiddo.”

“Thank you.” Silver responded politely.

“Pass me the butter, Dink?” Amethyst requested.

“You got a horn, sis.” Dinky slouched in her chair. “You do it.”

The purple unicorn rolled her eyes as she hovered the desired to her end of the small, round table.

“I’m sorry if we bother you with our, erm…’confined dinery,’ Silver.” Derpy spoke up.

“Not at all, I actually like it this way a lot better.”

“What’s it like at your place?” Dinky wondered.

“Imagine a ridiculously long boat in the middle of the sea.” The earth pony described. “I sit on one end, my parents sit on the other.”

“How the heck do you guys pass the pepper?” Amethyst asked.

“We call the pony who passes the pepper to come and do it.”

“What about salt?”

“He’s on vacation.”

Amethyst and Derpy looked to each other with bewildered expressions.

“Here, need the salt?” Dinky hoofed it over.

“Oh, thank Celestia! I haven’t had salt in months.” Silver squealed with joy.

Amy and Derpy’s expressions only grew all the more concerned.

“It’s so…simple.” Silver observed.

“Sorry, it’s not much.” Dinky apologized.

“No, it’s everything you need. Nothing over the top.” Silver continued gazing around the simplicity of Dinky’s room.

“Well, what do ya’ wanna do?”

“I thought you might’ve had some ideas.” Silver admitted.

“I usually just listen to music, or play games.” Dinky shrugged. “What do you usually do?”

“Do homework.”

“Let’s play some games.” Dinky decided.

It had been at least two straight hours since Silver Spoon picked up Dinky’s portable arcade, and she hadn’t let it down since. The little unicorn simply rested upon her bed, looking upon her friend, and for a moment she wondered…Exactly what kind of life did Silver Spoon live? What were her antics really like? What were her habits? What were the decisions she made thus far that led her to the point of marveling at the simple, dull, making ends meet kind of life that Dinky and her family lived? She thought for a moment more as she observed the bright light of the video game’s screen shine onto Silver’s face, casting a stark gray shadow onto the empty canvas that was the bedroom wall.

Maybe the poor aren’t the only ones who suffer, feel pain, and carry emotional strife. Dinky thought deeply. Maybe, deep down, the luxurious suffer too.

Midnight.

The chime of the clock had always struck so, its sound traveling through the house like a support of lumber yawning as it settled against the walls. Dinky had gotten so used to it by now that normally she would have slept right through, but it only wracked her nerves all the more. Having her partner next to her in bed only made it ten times harder to sleep, she had found. Silver Spoon insisted a number of times that she would be okay sleeping on the floor, but Dinky hadn’t quite gone short on her generosity just yet, and so she invited her friend to sleep in her bed. She’d be warmer that way.

As the grandfather clock’s chime came to a close, a still and little fear grew in the unicorn’s stomach as she wondered if the tune had awoken her friend. That is if Silver had already gone to sleep, the back of her head facing Dinky’s muzzle. She couldn’t quite tell.

What am I gonna do if I have to go to the bathroom? Dinky wondered.

She lay there for a minute more, unmoving and unblinking. Two minutes more. Five minutes. Ten minutes. She was sure by now the clock hadn’t awoken her friend, she was sure the little earth pony would go undisturbed for the rest of the night. She was sure that she was warm.

Then, Silver Spoon shuffled and turned over to face Dinky. She opened her eyes and their gazes locked, staring at each other for what felt like forever, and the uncomfortable quietness she had sensed at Pearl’s grave had returned to her. Dinky didn’t really know how to place it, but when Silver was without her glasses, she looked…different.

“Diamond…?” Silver squinted.

The unicorn did not speak, she only watched as her bedmate continued to squint at her. It became apparent that without the help of her glasses, Silver appeared to be confused at whom she was looking at. She just continued to squint, stare, and draw out her breaths. Dinky felt the soft, humid air of her friend’s breath upon the tip of her muzzle. The little unicorn felt herself breathing back. Silver’s eye’s fixed themselves into a slow, soft gaze, almost as though something alluring and lustful twinkled within them.

Before Dinky could come to register any further feelings or experiences, the plush fur of Silver’s muzzle pressed upon her own. Wet, slippery, warm lips squished and kissed upon Dinky’s, Silver’s tongue spinning webs of saliva across the rows of her friend’s teeth. She squished together and swallowed the spit that Dinky had unknowingly swapped into the earth filly’s mouth, and with that the blushing, gray-coated pony drew back with a graceful flutter of her eyes. A bridge of silky spit strung across their muzzles and rested onto Dinky’s sheets.

The little unicorn was shocked, confused, amazed, bewildered, mortified, so many feelings and emotions running through her mind all at once, and the only view in answer that she was granted was the sight of her friend quietly licking her lips in some sort of soft, giggly pleasure. Dinky didn’t know what to do, what to say, what to think or what to feel. All she knew in this very moment was that her friend and former partner, Silver Spoon, had just straight up french-smooched her in her own house, in her own room, in her own bed.

It took Silver a moment to blink out of her stupor of lust to realize what she had just done and the pony she had just done it to. Her eyes went to pinpricks.

“Dinky…?” Silver looked on, horrified.

“Silver, what was…?”

“Oh, no.” The earth pony stumbled backwards and shook her head. “No no no no!”

“Silver, wait.” Dinky sat up.

“I can’t believe I just…I just…” Silver bounced backwards and threw her belongings together, throwing her satchel over her back. “I’m sorry, Dinky, I’ve gotta go.”

“Silver!” Dinky flung herself from her bed and chased after her friend.

Down the stairs and bulleting past the door, she was almost sure she had woken up both her mother and her sister, but that didn’t matter to her now. Not as much as her friend doing the inexplicable the first second and then running out the door and into the night the next. She kicked up dirt from the path at her hooves and drove on into the night, searching into the night and calling for her name with every which way she turned her head. The earth filly was desperate to make her escape, but Dinky was undoubtedly fast, a tough little unicorn to shake. Making a beeline for her home, she decided, was the last thing she should do, and so instead Silver opted for a different destination. A place that only she and the very unicorn chasing her knew about.

The harrowing, cold breeze of the fleeting-summer night nipped in the wind and stung Dinky’s hide like pinpricks to a wetted, frazzled blanket of gray. Wide, golden eyes pierced through the murky night and focused upon every little figure in the distance she thought could possibly be her friend, but every time until the last she turned up being wrong. Every time until the last, she finally found the earth pony, slouched over the grass at the top of the small hill, prostrated before the small, stone block they had planted only hours ago in the day when the light was still out. Upon the small stone was a simple inscription.

「Here rests Pearl, a good boy.」

Dinky summited the hill in a matter of seconds, each step a slow and trudging drawl as she eyed Silver’s back heaving and sinking in unrhythmic contortions. The earth filly held both her hooves over her mouth and suppressed her wheezes and winces, the presence of her friend crawling closer and their distance shorter. She couldn’t bear it, she couldn’t bear to look upon the very pony who had helped her those few weeks ago when she was in her most desperate hour of need. Now, she beheld her hour of lament, and Dinky sought to rest a hoof upon her friend’s shaky shoulder.

“Leave me alone!” Silver broke. “Can’t you see? I don’t deserve you anymore.”

“I don’t understand.” Dinky stood by.

“After what I did to you, you’ll never forgive me.” She wailed into the night. “I’ll never forgive myself!”

“Don’t go running into the dark alone.” Dinky approached again, wrapping her hooves around the shaken earth pony. “You can’t just do something crazy like that and expect me not to follow you. I’m your friend, Silver Spoon, and I’m here for you.”

As the lengthy minutes of the veil of night went on, the wheezes and the whimpers slowly faded away and were traded for long, drawn out breaths. In the nose, out the mouth. Together, Dinky and Silver practiced this form of breathing, something the little unicorn mentioned that a certain swimming instructor had taught her about. She had found that it worked for many other applications apart from swimming. Just as soon as Dinky could feel the rise and fall of her friend’s back leveling out to a much more soothing pattern, Silver stared at the grave of her pet dog for a few seconds longer before deciding to finally lay down her confessions.

“This is the whole reason why, y’know?” Silver began. “This is the reason why Diamond Tiara and I aren’t friends anymore. Her mother…she caught us doing that.”

Something sickly lumped up in Dinky’s throat. She forced it back down, and listened.

“It all started out small and simple.” Silver went on. “Diamond and I would always meet back at her place to get ahead on school activities. But, something felt strange that day, I couldn’t quite place it. She said she just wanted to experiment, find out what it felt like. We would be kissing colts in the future anyways, so…why not practice on each other?” She shuddered and continued. “I didn’t like it at first. It felt weird, and I was afraid we were going to get caught but Diamond kept pushing. She said she wanted more. I was afraid to lose her, so I said yes, and eventually I…I…”

Once again, the shivers and the winces returned, Silver slouching over the dirt of the grave before her.

“Why do I keep doing this? What’s wrong with me?” She choked. “I’m sorry, Dinky. I’m so, so sorry. I never should have spoken to you that day. It would have been better for the both of us.”

“That’s not true.” Dinky persisted.

The little unicorn wished so much that she could say more or do more for her friend, but neither the words nor the actions would come. Those wondrous and miraculous sparks of inspiration would never come, especially at the times when they were most needed or desired. Instead, they would only show themselves when the time was right. It seemed as though now was not that time, and all Dinky could do was continue to hold her friend as she whimpered into her chest. She remembered those times when her mother had told her that she would come home from school bawling over the silliest, littlest, most insignificant things. But her mother was always there, no matter what those things might have been. Derpy was the shoulder for Dinky to cry on, and now it was Dinky’s turn to burden the tears for another.

It was in their following strife of silence that two things came upon their presence at once, one much more fouler than the other.

“Dinky~!” A distant voice called. “Silver Spoon~!”

Dinky slowly lifted her head. “Amy…?”

“Dinky?” Silver looked up. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Nothing. There was absolute silence. A dreadful silence.

And then, the stench.

The wind had fallen, the sound of the critters fell still, and all that lingered through the putrid air was the sting of copper flooding the noses of the fillies in the field. They threatened to gag as they held their hooves over their snouts, and a fearful realization stood the unicorn’s hairs on end. The slaughter at the chicken coop, the pig-nap at the farm. This was the same feeling, the same dread and the same fear. It was here.

“Dinky~!” Amethyst called from afar. “What in the hay are you two doing out here?!”

“There’s something out there…” Silver fretted. “Oh no, timber wolves!”

“No, it’s something else.” Dinky quickly drew back. “C’mon, we need to leave.”

Silver did not answer, staring ahead blankly.

“Silver?”

“Pearl…?” Silver looked past the gravestone, slowly trotting forward. “Pearl, is that you?”

Something sat at the edge of the treeline in the direction Silver had begun to trot, a faint little figure idly awaiting the arrival of the earth pony. Only, as Dinky looked on, something terribly wrong became apparent at its appearance. It’s limbs were like toothpicks, black and scraggly fur ridden all over its hide while the eyes were off center and misshapen, rows of teeth jutting out of its jaw like sick, slobbery fangs. Even if that was in fact Pearl, it was no longer the pet dog Silver had once known, and yet the earth filly couldn’t help but begin trotting faster and faster toward the thing.

“Silver…” Dinky breathed shakily. “That’s not your dog.”

Alas, the earth filly had broken into a full on gallop. The creature had taken her over in the midst of her emotional trial, and she was headed straight into the tunnel of its gaping, black maw. Suddenly, Silver stopped. She blinked hard and realized now where she was, standing vulnerable before the claws of the beast from the Everfree. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t think, fear had frozen her solid. The darkness crept all around her like a sea of shadow ready to swallow her whole. Within the deep, black void, several of her nightmares came into fruition before her very eyes. Her parents neglecting her, Diamond Tiara rejecting her, and Dinky…she lifted Silver with her magic and cast her out into the middle of the pond. The water was thick and heavy, clawing at her hide like a weighted, thick, black sap. Silver’s head sunk beneath the surface, and soon she started to drown.

Is this it? Silver thought. Am I going to die here?

As if in answer, a gray-purple hoof plunged beneath the surface of the water and waited before Silver. It was Dinky, she had come to rescue her! She had one chance and one chance only to take the opportunity set out before. Without another second, she took it.

Amethyst pounded her hooves into the dirt and charged at the two fillies with a bright, beaming spell spiraling its way up to the tip of her horn. The shadow of the beast laid over the little ponies, but the young mare kept her sights focused on her little sister and her friend. Throwing herself over the two, a bright explosion of blue followed after, and with a quick sizzle and a crackle the trio vanished from the darkness of the night.

A crackle and a zap later, the Doctor’s laboratory illuminated to life with brilliant strikes of teal-white. Three ponies emerged from the other side of the teleportation spell’s explosion, two of them landing safely in the cockpit of the RC wingplane hanging high above the room. The spell caster met a rather generous fate at the mercy of the plasma coils greeting her entry with a sting to her head. Amethyst buzzed and contorted as her mane spiked alive like the back of a porcupine, and one smokey stupor later she tumbled down the side of the wall and into a pile of prototype butter peelers. Whatever those were supposed to be, the Doctor had been getting creative as of late.

Together, Dinky and Silver Spoon cautiously scanned their surroundings and peeked over the side of the shuttle they laid in, looking down at Amethyst’s crumpled form rolling around on the floor. She rubbed her horn and winced in pain at the sudden strikes of her headache taking its toll.

“What…?” Silver whispered. “What just happened?”

“My sister…” Dinky looked on, amazed. “She jumped us.”

Quickly, the two tucked themselves back into the cockpit as the clamor of hooves came tumbling down the stairs, and past the portal to the laboratory the stallion of the house appeared. He chomped down on a candle holder and readied the trinket as a weapon between his teeth, muffling obscenities and demands of identifications through the brass in his jaw. In answer, Amethyst rolled her way out of the tools and materials strewn across the floor, eliciting a jaw-dropped look of horror as the candle holder succumbed to gravity and clattered to the floor.

“Miss Amethyst, how in blazes did you clamor your way in here?” His eyes glanced one of many nearby clocks, fury blazing within his pupils. “By the royal sisters, it’s half-past midnight! You better hope you’ve prepared a good explanation, first to me, then your mother-”

Amethyst, curling around once more, could only respond with a sharp whine of pain. Whooves watched as her expression contorted into that of intensity, her front hooves clawing at one of the hind. For what the colt could see, the poor mare’s left hind hoof had suffered a deep, scarlet and black gash, matting her fur burgundy and oozing alarming amounts of blood.

“My word…what have you done to yourself?” The doctor quickly approached, far more caring and observant than only a second ago.

“I’m sorry, Doc…” Amethyst groaned, “but I had no other choice.”

“Save your breath, young one.” He reassured. “Let’s take care of that wound first, shall we?”

The stallion curled himself beneath the mare’s free foreleg and helped her hobble out of the laboratory and into the kitchen. As Dinky and Silver Spoon watched cautiously from above, the little earth filly drew back, placing both hooves over her muzzle as another veil of fret shadowed over her gaze.

“Oh, no.” She whimpered. “This is all my fault.”

“We made it out okay.” Dinky reassured. “Whatever happened back there, it’s done now.”

“But your sister got hurt, and it’s all because of my stupid, impulsive behavior.” Her face hid beneath her hooves. “I’m just going to keep hurting ponies from now on, aren’t I? I…I can’t do anything right.”

“Except me.” Dinky answered.

“Huh?” Silver emerged.

“No matter what you do, you can never hurt me, Silver.” The little unicorn rested a hoof to her friend’s shoulder. “And that’s because you’re my friend.”

“B-But…” The filly whimpered again. “I’ve done so many horrible things to you. I was going to let you drown in that lake. I turned my back on you and wrote all those bad things about the Doctor. And I…I…”

“And I forgive you.” Dinky leaned forward, and hugged Silver. “We make mistakes all the time, even the smartest of ponies do. That’s what Doc’s always told me.” The unicorn continued. “But that’s what I think friends are for, because if we’re gonna keep making the same, stupid mistakes, then we might as well make them together.”

“Dinky…” Silver pressed her eyes into her friend’s shoulder, and fought the tears.

Within the blink of an eye, the events of the day flashed back through the little unicorn’s mind like a sky-scraper of a roaring, rushing tidal wave. Though it had struck her with fear and uncertainty, Dinky felt that in the midst of it all she was beginning to learn what her mother meant when she said some ponies were born into lives far less fortunate than theirs. Though they did not have as big as a house as others might have had, or all the toys and games in the world, or all the friends and family one could wish for…Dinky knew all she needed now was Silver Spoon. More so, Silver Spoon needed her, a true friend.

“Now, c’mon.” Dinky said softly, parting from the other filly. “We’ve got another problem to face, together.”

The young, lavender unicorn rested easy on the chair with her hind hoof hanging over the edge, a pail laying underneath, and the Doctor studying his bandage work carefully as he applied solvents and pressured the gauze over the cut. After a moment or two of rest, prodding his chin, Whooves speculated over the sudden situation beholding his kitchen space.

“I don’t suppose you’ll want to explain yourself, now?” He asked.

“I wish I could.” Amethyst groaned again.

“I’m no expert on animals, but almost anypony can make out a claw mark when they see one.” The Doctor probed. “Just what was it?”

“That’s just it, I don’t know…” Amethyst attempted. “I knew it was there, but it’s like it was too quick for me to see, or even hear.”

“And you said you teleported here?” The Doctor went to correct himself. “Jumped?”

“All the way from the Everfree.” She admitted.

“What in blazes were you doing there? And in the middle of the night?”

Amethyst found just in time that such a question would need no answer, at least not from her end. As she watched the two, small fillies emerge from the dim light of the laboratory and into the quiet, cold illumination of the kitchen space, Whooves responded to the flickering of his ear by turning around and eliciting yet another jaw-dropped expression, blinking twice before recovering.

“Did I leave a window open, or something?” The colt questioned.

“I was wondering when you two were going to show yourselves.” Amethyst drawled, staring drowsily yet notably towards her little sister.

Dinky nodded back to her elder with a knowing, confident expression, and opened her mouth in preparation of a long, thought out and worthy explanation. Less than a second to spare, the gray little earth mare next to her erupted into a fountain of tears, bawling to the rafters and bumbling forward as she became a slobbery, sniveling mess.

“I’m so sorry, Miss Amethyst~!” Silver Spoon wailed on. “I’m sorry you hurt your hoof all because of me! Please don’t tell my mommy and daddy! Please, please, please, plea-he-he-ease~!”

Dinky shot forward and pried the snotty mess of a little earth mare off of her sister’s legs, patting her friend over the shoulder as she turned to Amethyst and the Doctor both, delivering a regretful stare. “What Silver means to say is, she’s sorry for the way she’s acted tonight and she promises it won’t happen again.” Dinky furthered. “And, for what it’s worth I’m sorry, too. We promise to make it up to you.”

“Just…tell me what exactly you two were up to.” Amethyst waited.

Silver’s blabbering flipped off like a light switch, the pair looking to each other for a short moment of fret before searching the floor for answers.

“We were, um…” Dinky began.

“Looking after…Pearl’s grave.” Silver decided.

“Because it needed…some company.”

Amethyst swept a hoof over her face and gave another groan. “Try to think of a better lie when you tell mom…”

Chapter 49 - The Last Rain

The cold, gentle breeze brushed against Rarity’s cheek like the stiff bristles of an unkempt hair brush, clawing at the thin yet plush fur of her hide and causing the unicorn to blink with a small wince of discomfort. Despite the fact that Celestia’s sun was still shining brilliantly upon the land, day by day the air and the wind had grown much more harrowing than to the white unicorn’s liking. Although Canterlot weather was never quite to her liking either, it at least made her feel specially acquainted to endure it along with all of the other high-end unicorns living upon the grand, mountain capitol. But this, this weather was simply unbearable. So what if I’m a little soft? Rarity thought to herself. I am a lady, after all. Such boisterous ponies like Rainbow Dash would never understand.

She, as well as many other ponies, had found the rhythm of the weather pegasi to be knocked out of balance this season. In response she lifted the warm, dandelion scarf resting over her chest and snugged it tight around her neck, shivering slightly as she looked to and fro in nickering, expectant glances. Where is that Twilight? It’s nothing like her, to be off schedule.

A moment later and the chilling breeze returned, with much more force and roar than before, causing the end of her scarf to slip up and over her eyes. She flicked the fabric away with a whip of her magic, and blinked before a familiar yet horribly disheveled sight in front of her.

“My, my.” The unicorn began. “Wherever are you off to in such a hurry, darling?”

“Funny…” David wheezed. “…you should…” And he panted. “…say that.”

“Well, once you’re finished speaking two syllables at a time, perhaps you can tell me?”

“Just need’a breather.” He spasmed and collapsed before the postured unicorn with a mighty thud, hovering a hand over his heart as the blood pounded against his ears and his own saliva threatened to choke him.

Bystanders stopped to watch the mare standing over the defeated form of the boy. Some wondered if they should start applauding in triumph, others sought to distance themselves from the new, threatening reputation their local tailor had suddenly obtained. Quickly then, Rarity went to help the poor boy back up to his feet, carefully motioning over to bench on the side of the building. He sat down with a grunt and a swallow, finally catching up to the pace of his heart where he now sat at eye level with the unicorn before him. He was already speaking before the mare could even open her mouth.

“What brings you here, Rares?” He inflected.

The strange nickname gave her a pause, but she persisted through. “Why, Twilight and I had arranged for a date this morning. We promised to meet here for a bit of brunch and tea, but that bookish mare is nowhere to be seen.” She stifled a chortle. “I don’t suppose she sent you in her stead?”

“Nah, this is just something Rainbow Dash is having me do.” He admitted.

“Running amok like a manticore is on your tail?” She joked.

David looked to her, giving a shrug and a nod.

“Don’t tell me, Rainbow Dash is making you…exercise?” Fret filled her eyes. “Oh, you poor thing. Just look at you, you’re exhausted!”

“Well, yeah, that’s what exercise does to you.”

“Come now, I shall free thee from the turmoil that bumbling pegasus has wrought upon thee!” She pranced for the door, holding it open with her magic. “Join me for brunch, why don’t you?”

“No, I couldn’t!” He quickly stood up, waving his hands. “I mean, Twilight must be on her way by now, surely she’ll be here any minute?”

“Then we shall meet her in due time. Now, come come! I shalln’t take no for an answer.” She delivered a warm and gracious smile to the boy, nodding her head towards the indoors.

“Thank you.” Was all he had time to say to make up his mind and go ahead inside anyways. He mentally slapped himself for not being proper and holding the door open for a lady. Meanwhile, Rarity was feeling quite alright about herself.

Two brimming cups of chamomile slid across their table, one each landing respectively before the other. Rarity took a moment to inhale and bask in the aroma of her lavender blend whilst the boy across from her timidly cupped his serving around his palms and gave the small beverage a tiny sniff. The cafe diner was, for lack of a better telling, the average and everyday diner that the boy imagined road trippers or truckers would often walk into. Where such customers would have been, there were of course ponies in their stead, delivering to the boy their usual questioning glares. David pushed his head back down and ignored them the best he could, his eyes resting easy upon the beautiful figure before him.

“There now, isn’t that better?” Rarity’s chest swelled with the lovely, lavender aroma, only to deflate the moment her eyes fell upon her partner. “Is everything alright, darling?”

“Of course not-” He blurted. “I mean…Yes, everything’s fine.” And considered his surroundings. “I guess I just feel a little out of place, is all.”

“Well, no wonder.” She took a sip of her tea. “You’re the only one in the entire restaurant who isn’t a pony.”

It took up until now for the unicorn to realize that half the room had moved to the far end of the restaurant the moment the boy had walked in.

“N-Not that I mean anything by it! It’s just-” Rarity stifled and slapped herself over the head.

“Don’t sweat it, Rares.” The boy chuckled. “I can already see you’re being generous enough. Honestly, we’ve only met each other about two or three times and you treat me like you’ve known me for years. I’m surprised you even remembered my name.”

“Unforgettable faces go a long way.” She stifled again, growing wide-eyed. “I-I didn’t mean-”

“Please, the feeling is mutual.” He examined his tea. “Way more than you think.”

She blinked, cocking her head. “Whatever do you mean?”

“Let’s just say it’s all starting to make a little more sense to me. These ponies, I mean.” He gave the room a quick glance before returning to the mare. “They’re a populace, a people, a society. It’s in my understanding that society is never going to go out of its way to treat you with the respect you think you deserve, even if you play by their rules. By that logic, why continue to search for it? I learned early on in life that the only one who can really please you is yourself.”

Rarity stared at the boy, seeming a little dumbfounded.

“N-Not that we should stop trying to give back-I mean…” He started again. “You have wonderful friends, Rarity, I’m sure. It would break my heart to see you turn your back on them.”

“And what makes you think I ever would?” She questioned.

It was David’s turn to come up speechless.

“Don’t go back on your word just yet. Trying to please society is a fruitless endeavor, is it not?” She splayed out a hoof. “And yet here you are, attempting to adhere to my preferences in spite of the fact that you know very little about them, or perhaps even nothing at all. What makes you think you’re going to get anywhere close to pleasing anypony when you don’t know a thing about them?”

“Well…” The boy considered, and failed to speak further.

“That’s just it, that’s the problem.” Rarity told him. “We fail to please one another because we don’t know each other, even when we think we do.”

“So, how do we fix it?” He quizzed.

“Fix?” She almost chortled. “There’s nothing to fix, darling, this is simply the way things are. Ponies say we live in an age of union, the grand result of our fire of friendship, hence the story of Hearth’s Warming Eve. Alas, I fear that fire is beginning to wear thin. We say that it still burns just as bright as it did back then, but it is only those words and nothing more.”

“You suspect a falling?” David wondered.

“As does every generation.” She admitted coldly. “The question is, how can a populace know that they might be the ones to watch everything around them crumble so?”

Only at the end of time will the tumult of your decisions weigh upon you.

The familiar words echoed in her mind like a harrowing, old memory. They were words from herself, to herself, and that thought alone made Rarity wonder for a moment. Just what exactly was she feeling, what exactly was she saying? Had the presence of this boy made her question these things so? Quickly, she shook her head and looked up at her human across the table, wherein he was busy studying her with a quizzical gaze.

“I’m sorry, it must be this dreadful weather.” She supposed. “This is no time for such gloomy conversation, now is it?”

“My mind gives room for plenty conversation.” He admitted. “Though I never took you for the…how do I put it, type?”

“Depressing?” She wondered.

“No, that’s my assignment.” He claimed, prodding his chin. “Philosophical.” He decided.

“I believe you should leave the compliments for Twilight.”

There the boy and the unicorn sat for an unrecorded amount of seconds in complete and utter silence, as though the whole diner were in anticipation of an outburst or obnoxious disturbance about to take off. Their expectations had been granted, but not so much in the way they had presumed. Rarity and David chuckled, chortled and laughed together at the stupid compliment, at the stupid conversation they were having, and finally realized a calm company between each other. The ponies of the restaurant seemed to rest a little easier on that note.

In contribution to their unicorn magic, David wished to provide a bit of his own magic by folding up the wrapping of a straw and dabbing a drop of his beverage onto the crinkled up paper. Rarity was more or less mildly impressed by the display of “magic” the boy was performing, claiming she might have seen her little sister doing the same trick before. The more she talked, the more the young human seemed to open up, as Rarity had come to discover. He went to produce his book, the one he had always been carrying around with him, and showed the mare his sketches thus far. Without a doubt, as even Rarity would deem, the boy was an artist.

“Drawing is much more than just a hobby, much more than just a passion to me.” The boy emphasized. “For all I can remember, it was practically the only thing I did back home on Earth. Aside from eating and sleeping, of course, and a whole bunch of breathing, but even so it didn’t fall far from that category.” He illustrated. “Drawing is like breathing to me…” Slowly, his pencil stretched and sketched across the paper. “It gives me life, it gives me energy, and I don’t think I’d be able to live without it. Life would have no meaning.”

“Would you mean to say you cling to it?” Rarity supposed. “As a way to cope for the trials and nonsensicals of life?”

“Why would you think that?” He wondered.

“I hate to bring up the conversation from before, but do you not think the tribulations of our lives are just too much to bare?” She asked him further. “That, in order to cope with all the bumbling extremities of our daily ado, we venture to our own little realms of escapism?”

“Trust me, there’s nothing little about my own realm of escapism.” He reassured. “I’ve spent enough time alone to know that much. But really, to me it’s more than just a means of coping. If it were, then I probably would have found another route by now, something else to help me occupy my time.”

“Then why do you draw?” She questioned.

David sat back in the booth and peered out the window for a long, gracious moment. He finally shrugged and gave a silent chuckle. “I don’t know.” He simply said. “I just do, because I choose to.”

Rarity sat back in her booth all the same, scanning over the boy’s words and the details of their conversation. Her mind ventured back to her days in the capitol of the country, Canterlot, wherein she had finally achieved opening her first shop in the grand, mountain city of the nation. It was, of course, everything she had never dreamed of it being. One monotonous dress pattern to sew after another, Rarity had soon found herself losing her inspiration, her passion, her will to go on…It wasn’t until her creative endeavors once again found their flame that she decided she wasn’t going to let this dull routine subdue her true desires. She wondered then, and she was wondering now, had she once again found that moment of inspiration? Or, had the inspiration found her?

There was a tapping on the glass. Both occupants looked to the outdoors, and found a blue, rainbow maned pegasus with a questioning look upon her complexion. Rainbow Dash gave an exaggerated shrug to the boy, and in response he gestured to the unicorn.

“Hi, Rarity.” Rainbow Dash muffled through the glass.

“H-How do you do…Rainbow Dash?” The unicorn seemed unsure.

“Mind giving me back my trainee?” The pegasus asked.

David glanced back at the mare in the booth. “Well, I suppose that’s my queue.” He said, rising up from the booth, his head nearly hitting the ceiling. “This was a wonderful experience, Rarity. We should do this another time.” And a second later, held out his hand.

The unicorn eyed the odd gesture before quickly realizing what it meant. Within another beat, she raised her hoof and shook upon the boy’s palm. Rarity couldn’t return any words as she watched the boy trudge his way across the seats and weave around the little ponies surrounding him. She hadn’t even noticed the excessive amount of bits lying upon the table after the boy’s disappearance, very likely from his own pockets. Twilight’s allowance, I presume? She supposed. Only then did she realize that with the addition of the coins, something had gone missing in its place.

“It was a fine, dandelion gold scarf!” The fashionista whined. “One moment it was there, and the next, poof!”

“Yep.” Twilight hardly acknowledged.

“Sort of the way you do it sometimes.” Rarity compared. “One second you’re here, and then poof! There goes Twilight Sparkle, wherever had she gone? Only Celestia knows.”

“Yuh-huh.” The purple pony glanced.

“And the same fate can be said for my beautiful, one of a kind, irreplaceable, dandelion gold scarf-”

“Rarity, please!” Twilight finally burst, whipping around to meet her friend eye to eye. “I’m sure it was a lovely scarf, but it’s not the end of the world. You’ve been bringing it up ever since we got to the book store, just let it rest.”

The unicorn elicited a low, quaint grumble, making sure to maintain somewhat of a graceful attitude even in the midst of her little dilemma. Twilight cantered on into the store, and Rarity followed.

The book store in question was much more akin to an antique shop, now that the dress maker had gotten a better look on the inside. Along with the occasional trinket and cobweb, a rug that could really tie a room together, diamonds within a dirt mine had yet to be found. When the young Alicorn had described a simple trip to the book store to her, Rarity had never imagined that it would include gazing upon the lot of Equestria’s forgotten relics, having somehow ended up in Ponyville of all places.

Rarity watched as Twilight quietly motioned her way from one isle to the next, scanning over the intricate displays covered in dust as though a little filly were encapsulated by an over-priced doll in the store window. There was no reason to judge the young mare, even if she was a princess. To get away from such regal duties was a blessing granted only once or twice an entire month, the desire for free time an undeniable need at that point. The bookish, purple mare was finally enjoying herself, and thus her friend suddenly felt ashamed of herself.

“I apologize for letting this silly little dilemma invade our time together.” Rarity sought.

Twilight almost wanted to roll her eyes as it looked as though the poor unicorn was about to begin crying all over again, which would actually be pretty up to par with her standard behavior. Alas, she pushed aside her judgments and turned to meet her friend’s gaze.

“No worries, Rarity, I’m sure the scarf must’ve meant a lot to you.” Twilight furthered. “After all, you were patient enough to wait for me even after I missed our entire breakfast date. If anything, I’m the one who owes you an apology.” She paused, turning to scan the shelves once more. “Tell you what, I’ll bet they’ve got a whole section dedicated to the olden wardrobe of ponies back in the day. We should check it out!” Twilight sauntered forward. “Who knows? Maybe it’ll give you an idea or two for your next line of dresses.”

“I do appreciate the offer, Twilight, but please don’t take this the wrong way.” The fashionista took a breath. “I’ve had a look at the stylistic choices of the past, almost all of which had come up as…how do I put it? A little, drab?”

“What?” Twilight turned back around, a small frown adorning her muzzle. “But, that yellow dress you made for my birthday was a vintage replica of pre-formation old Canterlot etiquette. I thought you liked it, too.”

“It was?” Rarity’s eyes danced from shelf to shelf. “I mean…it was, wasn’t it?”

Twilight gained half the mind to question even Rarity on her knowledge of fashion history, and to consider that a prim and proper mare such as herself probably wasn’t so invested in the nuances of history text books and their thick explanations in general. Nevertheless, the lavender Alicorn detected a hint of discomfort from her friend, and the unicorn quickly sought to change the subject.

“Never you mind, Twilight.” The unicorn reassured. “This is your day out today, you need not go out of your way for my little, insignificant desires.”

“Actually, this is more in my way.” Twilight informed.

Rarity winced subtly, trying again to change the channel. “Well, call me crazy but a series of unanticipated events has impelled me to search for a bit of a…change.” She paused mid stride, her eyes searching the ceiling and her hoof winding in circles. “Oh, what do they call the term. A bit of soul searching?”

Twilight froze and craned her neck, an unbelievable gaze landing upon her friend. She blinked to make sure it was in fact Rarity that she was looking at, checking her ears for second measure. “Did you…hit your head in the middle of one of your fainting episodes, again?”

“I was being serious.” Rarity gritted her teeth.

“I know, that’s what scares me.” Twilight stared on.

“Come now, surely you must know what I’m talking about. The arts, philosophy, a bit of thinking.” The unicorn stopped as soon as something upon the shelves had caught her eye. Using her levitation, she gripped the item and pulled it from its slot. “Perhaps this will do, some of the pages have crumbled into dust.” Carefully she opened the book, filtering mounds of dust and cobwebs down its spine and onto the floor. “That’s a good sign, right?”

“What is it?” Twilight wondered.

Rarity wished she had her reading glasses with her. “Discourse…De la…” She splintered her pronunciation. “Methode…? That’s Prench, correct? I’ve been practicing.”

“A Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason, and Seeking Truth in the Sciences!” Twilight read aloud, squealing like a little filly.

“H-How did you do that?” Rarity was astounded by her friend’s flawless translation.

“I’ve read hundreds of renditions, but who would’ve guessed that an original copy ended up here, in Ponyville?” Twilight snatched up the old text of the Discourse, cradling it in her magic as though it were her first-born. “What a find, Rarity! You should’ve told me sooner you had such a keen eye for the classics.”

“I don’t mean to rupture your enthusiasm, but as much as I’d like to be as excited as you are, I’m only just a fledgling in this field.” Rarity admitted, though her curiosity was hard to quell. “Just who is this…Haycartes pony anyhow?”

More than happy to adorn her teaching cap, Twilight rested the book back into Rarity’s aura and began to explain. “Reneigh Haycartes was a Prench scientist and philosopher who lived in the First Solar Age during Princess Celestia’s solo reign, almost five-hundred years ago. He studied upon a vast array of spells, and created some of his own that could help ponies better understand the intricacies surrounding the world of the arcane. Using his own spell, Haycartes’ Method, he walked the very tomes of Starswirl the Bearded’s ancient library to discover the secrets to time travel!”

Rarity studied the book in her magical grasp carefully, hints of uncertainty and confusion swelling in her gaze as the text glowed a strange, sparkling blue.

“After he went missing, rooms full of his notes were left behind at his house in Prance. Legend has it that to this day, he still walks the very pages of the hundreds of books forgotten to Starswirl’s ancient archives.” Twilight furthered, looking down and tapping the book gently with her hoof. “I’m almost certain that if you were to use Haycartes’ Method in this book you wouldn’t even have to know a word of Prench to understand the knowledge being relayed to you.”

Rarity looked up, blinking. “Is that so?”

“Although, I would probably advise against using such a complicated spell early on, especially for lower level unicorns.”

Rarity blinked again, looking back down.

“N-Not that I meant to say you’re like a lower level unicorn. I mean-” Twilight slapped herself on the forehead. “You’re a very talented unicorn, Rarity, and I know it. You showed me how to use that gem-finding spell once, remember?”

“I know exactly what you’re trying to say, darling.” The white unicorn puffed a sigh and sought to rest the book back onto the shelf. “Perhaps it is a little too early, isn’t it?”

“Of course not.” Twilight attempted. “It’s never too late for somepony to invest in learning the arts of magic, and I say that for all ponies. Earth and pegasi, too.”

Rarity held her grip on the book, studying Twilight’s demeanor.

“It’s just, you caught me a little off guard is all.” The Princess shrugged, studying her friend. “Why is it that you want to study magic and philosophy all of a sudden?”

The once proud fashionista took a step away from the shelf and trained her sights to the outdoors, standing next to the nearby window as a gray, cold light veiled itself over her form. Twilight could feel a tinge of despair lingering about the air, and unwelcome as it might have been, the young Alicorn was all the more ready to listen to her companion’s tale of concern.

“I suppose I was searching for the right occasion to tell you this.” Rarity began. “I haven’t even told Sweetie Belle, yet.”

“Told her what?” Twilight waited.

“Come next year,” Rarity hung her head. “I’m going to close down the boutique.”

A sweltering, firing pain pumped and pulsed within the pits of the boy’s lungs as he trialed and trudged up the hill leading to the two trees at its summit. They were the same two trees the pegasus had told him to run to that day, the day she had to tear him out of bed and begin what he came to proudly call his “anime training arch.” That was nine days ago, and the tenth would soon come to a close.

David pumped every bit of energy he had left into his legs and soon enough reached the top, gasping for breath and working on the breathing technique his coach had taught him. There the pegasus rested on the branch of the first tree, peering down at her trainee with an expectant glare. She fluttered down and by his side to meet him as he took shelter beneath the thinning shade of the orange-tinged, green leaves.

“Took ya’ long enough.” Rainbow Dash had always said.

David waved a hand at her, too exhausted to speak.

“How was your date, lover boy?”

He waved another hand, this one exempt of every finger but one.

“One of these days you’re gonna have to tell me what that means.” Dash slitted her sights. “I know it’s not something pleasant.”

“I saved them all for you.” He choked a chortle, struggling to sit up.

“What’s that, recruit? You want another lap?”

“No, ma’am! I mean-sir! I mean-” He waved his hands.

Rainbow roared with laughter and hoofed his shoulder. “Relax, I brought ya’ here for a reason. Looks like you made it just in time, too.”

“For what…?”

“The Last Rain.” Rainbow Dash trained her gaze over the expanse of Ponyville. “I remember how it was when I used to work for the weather pegasi in this town. Every year, we’d cover the skies with a sheet of light shower clouds. You can see them stretch from Whitetail Woods all the way down to the edge of the Everfree.” She reminisced. “One last drizzle before the change of the season, one last rain for the ponies of Ponyville.” She paused. “Tank starts getting a little sleepy after this time of year, so…guess I learned to pay more attention to it?”

Like an armada rolling in upon the valley below, the boy and the pegasus watched as the shadowed veil overtook the blue skies above, blanketing over the village with a quiet, serene and misty gray. A curtain of silver-white careened across the landscape, catching ponies unbeknownst as they began pattering against the rooftops of the town.

“But, dressmaking is your passion!” Twilight argued. “Just because you haven’t had much business as of late doesn’t mean you should give up. You’ve always pulled through in the past.”

“It’s not a matter of whether or not I’ve had any business, it’s this indescribable drive for passion, one that I will not find here.” The seamstress went on. “As I had said before, what I’m looking for is a bit of change, and I believe this is going to put me on the path to where my destiny truly lies.”

“Rarity…” The purple Alicorn stood dumbfounded for a moment, shaking her head. “You’re not making any sense. You may think that you’re taking a big step forward in your life, but how do you know you’re not making a big mistake either? What about your sister?”

“Sweetie Belle has done very well in her schooling, her grades are satisfactory enough for almost any academy in Equestria.” Rarity explained. “By the end of this year she’ll graduate from the school house and get to choose anywhere she’d like to study. I’ve already contacted these academies, all they await for now is her response.”

“You don’t have to do this alone.” Twilight persisted. “You have us, Rarity. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, we’ll help you through this!”

“I don’t want to be stuck!” Rarity exclaimed, far more louder than she would have liked, but it nevertheless got her point across as even the young, powerful Alicorn, one of the four Princesses and her dear friend, flattened her ears and took a step back. The tired fashionista took a deep breath and played an apologetic gaze as she recomposed herself and continued. “Please, understand what I mean when I say I already know how the future shall play out should I continue this endeavor. The bustling life of a wealthy business mare would be a dream come true for many, but it’s not the life I want. It never was. I had gained first hoof experience of what that sort of lifestyle might entail during my grand opening in Canterlot, and I decided I’ve had enough.” She trailed on. “No matter how hard I may try, that sense of ‘entitlement’ will always follow me. The fame, the wealth, it’s all just too…too much…”

The two ponies stood silently in the book store, gazing out the large shopping window with blurry, tired eyes. The mist outside waned against the panes and plastered a fresh blanket of fog upon the glass. Rarity took a few steps forward and swiped her frog against the panel, unveiling the cold, wet world outside through a small, hoof-sized view port. After a spell of silence, she finally spoke up again.

“I suppose I’m just a filly who never really knew where my heart laid. So, while I still have my youth, I want to find out where it may take me.” She proclaimed. “For just this once, my dear friend, allow me to do this for myself.”

A solemn, shadowy gaze veiled over the purple pony’s sights, closing her eyes for a moment as she harbored her closest friend’s words and elicited a slow, shaky breath and a nod. “I never knew you felt this way…” Was all Twilight could say. “All this time?”

“And it’s not your fault.” Rarity reassured, stepping closer. “I’m just glad you’re here with me today, Twilight.” She smiled endearingly.

The two ponies instinctively pushed forward and wrapped one another up in a touching embrace, chins over their shoulders and hooves at their barrels. Twilight flexed her wings and scooped the mare up in her feathers before drawing back. Rarity quickly swiped a single, small tear from her eye, and turned down the isle with the book in her aura.

“Now, let’s make a purchase, shall we?”

From the heights of the Everfree, the Last Rain could be seen rather vividly in the distance, pouring down into the valley like a brain-numbing flood that brought only strife and confusion to the mind and its many wonders. Starlight Glimmer stood atop the ruined castle’s summit, gazing over the village in the valley as the ponies below struggled on with their lives. She peered back down through the gaping hole in the roof, down into the old library where she had been studying.

There is work yet to do.

Chapter 50 - The Haven in the Orchard

The boy planted his feet into the lush, green grass of the earth as he took a strong, proper stance and raised the axe high above his head. The edge of the sharpened metal shined in the stark rays of sunlight, sweat trickled down his brow, his muscles tensed. The blade came down with a quick, focused swing, and splintered the log into a clean pair. He left the tool embedded into the stump of the tree and took a long breath of the fresh, heavenly scent of the outdoors, gazing across the green fields and eyeing the treeline as his eyes traveled up to the heaven-sent sky above.

“Nothing like choppin’ logs on a sunny afternoon.” He smiled, humming to himself.

“Did you say something?” A small voice returned from behind.

The boy jumped. “Oh, Fluttershy?” He settled back down. “It’s just you.”

“I’m sorry, did I scare you?” She giggled. “Usually it’s the other way around.”

“Of course not!” He puffed his chest confidently, leaning upon the butt of the handle. Clumsily, the tool gave to his weight and he stumbled sideways, his arse to the ground and the axe landing in his lap.

Fluttershy giggled again, approaching him. “I came out to see how you were doing.”

“Never been better.” He fessed, standing up and preparing another log to the stump. “It’s a good thing you kept these in the shed during the rain, otherwise they would’ve been impossible to chop.”

“I had been meaning to do it myself." The pegasus observed with concern. "That axe must be too small for you.”

“Nonsense, it’s very light-weight.” He prepared his stance.

“And, rather old, too.” She mumbled.

“As skinny as I am, it’s perfect for me!” The head raised, he heaved and swung.

*clunk!*

Odd, that wasn’t the sound an axe head should make when being embedded into a chunk of wood. He soon found out that there was in fact no head any longer, and the jittering vibrations of the handle coming into collision with the log sent wave after shockwave through his arms, down his torso and legs, and into the earth. For a short moment then, David and Fluttershy stood together staring at the headless axe handle, wondering where in the world the blade could have gone. They looked to the left, they looked to the right, blinked at one another, and soon got their answer when they decided to look straight up.

Fluttershy shielded herself with her wings and sprinted for the nearest cover whilst David’s arrow roulette instincts kicked in, in spite of the fact that he had never played arrow roulette before. As though its target had already been determined from the beginning, the sharp, spinning piece of iron plummeted straight back down and sunk itself into the top of the log. With fright and awe, both the pegasus and the boy slowly reunited towards the stump to observe the damage, or rather, progress. He gripped the piece with both hands and gave a mighty tug, the iron popping off of the top like a corkscrew to a bottle.

“Where did you say you bought this from, again?” David asked her.

The mare quickly promised that from now on, she’d purchase her tools from only the finest hardware market stalls. Not that David was planning to use any of them in the future, now. Break time was just around the corner anyhow, and they spent it sitting on unchopped logs, sharing her special brew of tea.

“I apologize for the, um, inefficiency of my tools.” Fluttershy said. “I should have checked to make sure it was okay before I let you use it.”

“Don’t sweat it, Flutters.” He blew on his tea, and sipped. “Like I said, it wasn’t your fault.”

“I’ll pay you the bits I promised now.” She offered. “You won’t even have to come back and finish the job. If anything, I should be the one who’s doing this.”

“You don’t have to do that.” David reassured. “At that rate I might as well have kept the bits I payed you for the meat you’ve been giving me. If it weren’t for your consideration and hospitality, I think I would’ve been dead by now.” He thought for a moment, shaking his head before he gave a nod to the pony. “You’ve done plenty already to repay me, this is just my way of saying thanks.” And he smiled.

The timid pegasus, caught off guard hid part of her own smile behind her mane and trained her eyes on the pile of timber lopped into fourths. A bit of ease washed over her as she gently tapped her hooves together. “To be honest, I don’t think I would’ve been able to do this by myself.” She admitted.

Brief visions of the flimsy, butter-yellow pony struggling to lift the axe and get the blade anywhere near her mark filled the boy’s head, and with a silent shudder he wondered just how exactly she managed during the winters before this. Nothing that a little help from the neighbors couldn’t fix, or better yet her friends, and the boy was idly aware of a certain, tree-rattling mare who lived not too far from here. With a puff and a heave the boy sprung back to his feet, patting his legs and clasping his blistered paws together.

“Well, a deal’s a deal.” He said steadily. “I’ll bet you there’s a spare in town somewhere with your name written all over it. Just wait right here, and I’ll have that pile all chopped up before sundown.”

“I can’t have you spend your own money on my mistakes.” She ran around and in front of him. “That’d be no different if I stole from you!”

“It’s Twilight’s allowance.” David admitted, scratching his head. “If anything, you’d be stealing from the Princess.”

“Oh…oh my…”

David sighed, pinching the bridge between his eyes. “Look, Flutters, I’m not trying to frame you anything, but we should probably get you a new axe anyhow, or at the very least fix that one.” He advised. “My dad always taught me to keep your tools in check before the cold season hits. You’ll never know what you’ll need or when you’ll need it.”

“Fix that one…?” Fluttershy repeated, softly murmuring to herself as she searched the ground with her gaze. That very second later, a bright flash appeared above her head. “That’s it! Applejack knows everything when it comes to fixing old tools. If we take it to her, I’m sure she could have it patched up in no time.”

“Yeah, you lost me at ‘Applejack’.” The boy twirled around the mare and continued down the path. “Now, how about that new axe we were talking about-”

“Now wait just a moment, mister.” Fluttershy huffed.

“Eep! Oh no…” He came to a halt and drooped. “She used ‘mister’ again.”

“I already know that you and Applejack don’t get along all that well.”

“More like she wants to lop my head off with mach twelve projectile apples.”

“So, this is why I suggest that we take the axe to Applejack. Maybe then you two can bond over the importance of keeping your tools all clean.” She brushed her mane. “Or, whatever it was you said about your dad.”

“Lasso girl’s pissed off enough as it is, now you want me to flaunt my undeceased parents in her face?” He sighed and shook his head. “This was rigged from the start…”

Fluttershy felt her hopes from within slowly diminish as her reasons to bribe the boy were soon wearing thin. In her understanding, it probably would have been better to go out and buy a new axe anyways, settling her qualms with the first mistake she had made by buying that poor old axe, almost completely disregarding the sorry state that it was in. Deeper within, however, the young pegasus was determined to see mends strung between even the most unlikely of ponies, or in this case, a human and a pony. Applejack may have never liked the boy to begin with, but Fluttershy was adamant on changing that, and she was positive that kindness could work a world of wonders.

“It takes a little push and a shove first.” She reminded.

“Huh?” David turned back around.

“I don’t think you can act like there isn’t any problem between you and Applejack forever.” Fluttershy began. “And I think that goes for a lot of other ponies in this town as well. If I believe that everypony in this world deserves a little kindness, then I believe they can give a little, too.”

The boy stood in the midst of the path for a little moment longer, the sun granting small spells of warmth as the momentary breeze allowed him to run his decisions by. With another drop of his shoulders, he gave the little pony a timid gaze.

“I just hope she has as much faith in your speech as you do.” He shuddered involuntarily.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right there with you.” She reassured.

“Right, gotta have some witnesses to the murder…” He lifted the handle over his shoulder and tucked the head to his side.

The trees of the orchard lining the white-fenced path greeted the pair with varying hues of lime and viridescent green, not an apple to be seen on anyone of the branches. Baskets full of the delectable, freshly fallen fruit laid against their trunks and beneath the shade, ready to be taken to the barn for tedious lengths of sorting and a long winter’s storage. The end of harvesting season was at its pinnacle, and the front gates to Sweet Apple Acres were as welcoming as ever, even though the boy had to duck to make his entry.

David immediately flinched out of reflex, images of the furious little lasso pony charging at him with an axe of her own, but strangely enough the threats never arrived, At least, not as suddenly as he had anticipated. Fluttershy led a calm, quiet gaze across the field and along the exterior of the barn, attempting to locate at least any one of the Apples anywhere. Nopony was within its vicinity, leading the young pegasus to wonder.

“They all must be working in the orchard.” Fluttershy supposed. “Harvesting season is the busiest time of the year for the Apples, without a doubt.”

“Think we should try another time?” The boy attempted.

“I’m sure they’ll be around any minute now, we’ll just have to be patient.”

“You two quit that jibber-jaberrin’ over thar’! I’m tryin’ to concentrate.” An elderly howl sounded from the barn. “These here pickin’s ain’t gonna sort themselves.”

With returning glances of satisfaction, the pair made their way to the foot of the barn, its entrance barricaded with row after row of apple baskets. In the midst of it all was none other than the matriarch of the entire Apple’s operation, Granny Smith. The old mare hardly even lifted her head as the two visitors weaved in and out of the haphazardly lined baskets to meet her, the boy being careful as to not knock anything out of its organized chaos.

“Hello, Granny Smith.” Fluttershy cooed, politely as ever. “I take it Applejack and the others are out working in the orchard?”

“Y’come to take over for ‘em?” Granny cackled. “These ol’ britches o’ mine ain’t what they used to be. Back in my apple buckin’ days, this here sortin’ game was considered a punishment for the youngins.”

“I’d love to help, but goodness, I don’t even know where to start.” Fluttershy glanced across the many baskets.

“Give your elder a bit o’ company for once, an’ I’ll show ya’ how.” Her toothy, broken grin shone past her cheeks.

If rocks weren’t just rocks, as a certain mineralistic mare had once told the boy, apples most certainly weren’t just apples. It took more than just a keen eye to tell the differences between a good apple, and one destined to rot before it even reached the market stalls. Time and time again, the boy watched as Granny seemed to throw perfectly good looking apples into the compost basket. He took a momentary inspection and sniff to the apple in his own hand, and carefully went to place it in the “good” container. Only, a wrinkly green hoof stopped him before he could make the deed.

“I don’t understand…” He shrugged subtly, daring to question the elder. “Can’t you just shave off the bad spots and still consider it good?”

“Does pluckin’ the bad outta’ somepony magically make ‘em a goody-horse-shoes?” Granny nabbed the apple out of his hand, and with practiced precision, split the apple into two clean halves with her hooves alone. “Y’see here, sonny? Apples go bad cuz’o their core. How can y’all expect a flimsy foundation to bring any good to anypony?” She up and tossed the halves behind her, bouncing off the barn door and into the compost.

“But you throw so many of them away.” He furthured. “At least half of what you’ve already harvested. Don’t you think it’s a bit of a, I dunno…waste?”

“Waste?” The old pony raspberried and snorted in amusement. “If’n a single, rotten apple dares get past them there gates, this whole orchard here would go to waste, an’ that’s because ya’ let it go bad at the core.” Granny yammered on. “I’ve trotted this here orchard for well over ninety years, saw to its beginnin’s and harvested them trees since the day they sprung up outta’ the earth. I’d know more than my right flank by now that it wudn’t the business that kept them roots growing, the leaves swayin’ or the apples fallin’. It was sumtin’ stronger than the roots of them trees. It was family.”

“Family, huh…?” David mused for a moment, attempting to reminisce on his past. Blurred as the images may have been, faces of the life he led back home shone glimpses of what at least could have been. To an extent of uncertainty, the boy lingered among these thoughts, and for but a short moment felt that he no longer knew if he actually wanted to return home.

In mere minutes, the quiet vicinity of the orchard broke away to the sound of siblings hollering and calling to one another. Though he hadn’t even turned to see, David knew whom exactly was trotting up behind them now, her emerald eyes a familiar sting upon his back. Fluttershy was the first to turn and greet her friend.

“Mind tellin’ me what the circus is in town, for?” The mare started.

Fluttershy frowned and shook her head. “Applejack, there’s no reason to be rude. I’m the one who brought him here, after all.”

“You brought ‘im here?” The farm pony groaned. “Y’know he ain’t no farm animal, right, Shy?”

“You’re right, he’s not.” The pegasus began. “As a matter of fact, he is a very strong and able helper…who just so happened to break my axe while chopping firewood for me and now we sort of-kind of need your help fixing it. If, um, that’s alright with you?” And she smiled innocently.

Applejack raised a singular brow, looking past the pegasus and glazing over the boy’s back with a condescending meander. David glanced over his shoulder, firing up what little embers of courage he had to even look his fellow pony in the eye. Fluttershy followed the earth pony’s gaze, causing the boy to turn back to his work as though nothing ever happened in the first place. Once again she sighed, and turned back to the mare in the setson.

“You know how upset Twilight will get if you two don’t get along?” Fluttershy tried.

“I don’t give a barrel o’ bucks what Twilight thinks.” Applejack spat sideways. “Not anymore.”

“Have you even talked to her since, you know…?”

“’Course not.”

“There’s no good reason to hold all these grudges, they’ll only tear you apart from the inside.”

“Are we here to fix your axe or not?” The freckled pony huffed.

“Applejack.” David was on his feet, approaching the mare.

The jumpy little equine took a subtly defensive stance, attempting to appear intimidating yet keeping her ground all the same. The boy had learned by now that the easiest ways to read a pony’s body language was by what he didn’t have. Flickering of the ears, swishing of the tail. They were obvious from time to time, sure, but you had to look out for them. No doubt she was on edge, but for whatever reason in this moment, David found it funny that they could talk. They could be negotiated with.

“I agree with Fluttershy, grudges can tear a person apart, and can even tear someone away from the people that they love.” He said, slowly lending a hand. “I’m willing to forget about this whole mess just as long as you are. I’m not asking you to be my friend, I’m just saying…let’s start over.”

Applejack smirked, grinning with a hint of amusement. “And I suppose Twilight told ya’ to say that to me?”

“If she had anything to say to you, I believe she would have come out here to do it herself, but that’s your own dispute to settle.” He justified. “I’m lending you an honest truce. In actuality, all I really want is to go home, but so long as I’m here I’m not going to let these ill intentions settle.”

The pony seemed to calm down a little, if only to let her next words slide. “It’s no wonder Twilight went an’ took ya’ in, or even made you into her fancy Equerry an’ all. Lotta’ other ponies had no idea why, but I knew it was because you ain’t just some dumb animal. I always knew you were pretty dang smart, and that’s the thing…”

Slowly, his hand went back. “What?” The boy wondered, waiting.

“Can’t ya’ figure it out already?” The farm mare almost laughed. “Ain’t nopony ever gonna truly treat you like a friend because you’re different. You’re scary different.”

It was an attack against his own, self-inflicted doubts and uncertainties, and it seemed to strike the boy at his core in an odd, discomforting situation. The boy wasn’t one hundred percent certain just what exactly the mare was trying to infer, whether it be that she was inadvertently admitting her own fear of him or if the fear the ponies had for him was something completely different to consider, and it only set the two on a course much further away from one another. A course that which neither had the intuition to realize that it would lead them right back to one another.

Fluttershy observed the short-lived conversation with a hint of hope, only to end in a strife of despair. Although she inwardly revered the boy for his efforts, it seemed that a link was still missing, and the pegasus knew then that it was going to take more than just one meeting to finally get these two on more “peaceful” terms.

All the silence that had settled was once again filled with the distant call of childern’s voices. The trio looked past the trees of the orchard and found the familiar set of three emerging from its line. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, running off to Celestia knows where, but Applejack wasn’t about to let their little escapade slide by so easily.

“Hold it there, lil’ Bloom.” Applejack swept a hoof in front of her sister.

“What’s the big deal, sis?” Apple Bloom looked up pouting.

“I think somepony ain’t finished doin’ their chores just yet.” The farm mare stomped a hoof.

Apple Bloom stomped a hoof back. “Why do ya’ think I got back so early? Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo helped out.”

“Uh-huh!” Sweetie popped her head out.

“That’s right!” Scootaloo piped up.

The three fillies ran past the older mare and trotted up to the boy with smiles and greetings, allowing him to kneel down and pat their manes.

“Good to see you, girls.” He laughed. “Staying out of trouble, I hope?”

“Mischief season comes before harvestin’ season, we’ll have to wait til’ next year.” Apple Bloom moped.

“But that’s okay, we’ve got plenty of other things to do!” Sweetie Belle hopped.

“Wanna go crawdad catching with us?” Scootaloo offered.

“Not so fast, lil’un’s.” Applejack warned. “Supper’s just ‘round the corner. Apple Bloom, y’all might as well wash up an’ say goodbye to your friends.”

“But we just got here!” Apple Bloom whined again. “We were just gonna go down by the creek and nab some crawdads. What’s wrong with that?”

“I gotta help Fluttershy here with this axe before we settle down, so go on.” The older sister nudged the younger’s haunches. “Get movin’.”

“Oh, Applejack, won’t you let them have their fun, if only for a moment?” Fluttershy wagered. “I’m sure this repair won’t take that long, and by then the girls will be back just in time for supper.” The pegasus called over the little fillies. “Isn’t that right, girls?”

“Yes, Miss Fluttershy.” They all spoke in unison, lining up neatly and obediently.

“How did ya’ do that…?” The farm mare wondered, quickly shaking her head after. “But who’s gonna watch them while they’re gone?”

A spell of silence overcame the boy before he could offer. “I’ll go.” He said.

Applejack’s singular eyebrow had never reached such heights before. “Say what now?”

“I mean, they’ve already offered to take me along, so I could take them off your hands-er um…hooves, for a moment?”

“Well, ain’t that richer than Mr. Filthy Rich?” Applejack cackled to the sky. “Like I’d ever let the likes of you-”

“But, Applejack, it’s for our school project.” Apple Bloom attempted.

“Then I’ll go with you.”

“But who’s going to help me with the axe?” Fluttershy wondered.

A fuse threatened to go off as the very freckles of her face grew to a beat, tomato red. “Wish pa had never told me the importance of keepin’ my tools in check…” The farm pony grumbled and paced about before turning back to her sister and answering. “I’m only lettin’ you go so Miss Cheerilee don’t gotta come up with a stern talkin’ to next time I see her.”

Apple Bloom pumped her hoof, and the others quietly cheered next to her.

“And you.” Daggers struck through one end of the boy’s skull to the other. “If’n my little sister gets so much as a scratch, I’ll run that monkey tail o’ yours to the Gates o’ the Branded and watch you burn in Cerberus’ hell hole myself. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear.”

“Crystal…ma’am.” The boy saluted, involuntarily.

“Fluttershy, let’s go get this silly axe o’ yours back in business.” Applejack began trotting in the other direction with the pegasus’ back to the barn. She spun her hat around, her eyes traveling around her head with the brim as they landed on the back of her mane and glared the boy down. She slitted and played the “I’m watching you” gesture before turning back proper and hopping around the corner.

“Well, that was…unexpected?” Sweetie Belle cocked her gaze.

“You mean that freaky eyes thing she just did?” Scootaloo shivered.

“She does that all the time.” Apple Bloom waved a hoof. “Now c’mon, what’re we waitin’ for?”

“The Great Seedling?” The boy questioned.

“Y’heard right.” Apple Bloom delivered a mischievous grin, to which the girls followed suit. “Our project to Miss Cheerilee’s gonna be over the very legend that walks this here orchard. ‘Course, I couldn’t tell Applejack that, an’ I don’t think anypony would find a couple o’ crawdads all that interesting.”

“And here I thought I was going to get to use my long, dexterous fingers.” He pinched his digits together. “Y’know, to catch the little critters?”

“But you still can!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. “In fact, that’s what we need you here for.”

“Emotional support?”

“No, silly.” Scootaloo swiped his leg. “To draw a sketch of the Great Seedling when we find it.”

“Okay, so if the Seedling really does exist, then why don’t you just take a picture of it?” David proposed.

“O’course it exists, and that’s the problem.” Apple Bloom explained. “Y’can’t take a picture of the Seedling ‘cause it always knows when you’re gonna.”

“Trust us, we tried with Featherweight about a thousand times.” Sweetie Belle added.

“He made us pay for more film rolls, and I’m already out of my bits for the month.” Scootaloo mentioned, looking back up at the boy. “Please, Mr. David, won’t you use your freaky alien fingers to help us out?”

Soon after, the girls began arguing to each other over the wording Scootaloo had chosen, and how it was always her mouth that got them into trouble. In the midst of their bickering the boy leaned against one of the orchard trees and began to weigh the consequences of leading such expeditions. As far as he might of known, the Great Seedling was nothing but tall tale and myth in this world, even if it were a realm full of magical, colorful horses and various other creatures. That, of course, was one of the primary problems. He didn’t know what could be out there, and given the recent connections between the Great Seedling and certain pig-napping, chicken slaughtering monstrosities, almost everything about this little adventure spelt doom for the boy and his little musketeers.

With a moment’s glance, his eyes traveled skyward past the leaves. It’s broad daylight. He supposed. Why should I be worried?

“-And don’t think I forgot the time you called me a chicken!” Scootaloo snarled.

“It was a pretty good joke.” Sweetie Belle snickered.

“Why you-”

“Alright, girls, settle down.” The boy raised his palms. “Listen up. The responsible adult part of me is telling me to take you girls back to the barn where you’ll all be safe and out of harm’s way.”

“Aw…” The three frowned in unison.

“But~” He motioned. “The little kid part of me is telling me to go do cool, little kid stuff. And let’s face it, I’m not done growing up quite yet, now am I?”

“This is why I wish I had an older brother like you sometimes, instead o’ Applejack.” Apple Bloom laughed.

“Yeah, just…don’t let her catch you saying that.” The boy scratched his scalp.

“Last one to the Seedling’s house is a rotten egg!” Scootaloo shouted.

She whipped out her scooter from underneath her and planted both hooves to the board, the others on the handle. Revving up her wings, she sped off into the orchard, twisting and kick-flipping off of tree trunks and banks in the earth, the white little unicorn following just as quickly with the earth pony laughing along. Needless to say, the boy was left in the dust.

“Hey, at least put a helmet on!” He shouted, racing after them. “Am I an adult, or a kid today? I can’t tell anymore…”

Wherever the Seedling’s house might be, David was already certain such a place didn’t exist, but aiming for the Crusader’s clubhouse might have been his best bet. He hurdled past one hedge after another and tumbled past stacks of apple baskets, picking up the fruits that had been knocked out of place and tossing them back into the containers he zipped by further down the isle. The hollering of the little ponies echoed through out the greens, giving the human little chance to locate his party, lest he come back to the barn empty handed. Not to mention, shoulders empty headed.

Apple Bloom knows the orchard, she’s lived here long enough. He thought. And the girls ought’a be fine, too. I just hope they don’t make it back before I do, then they’d make me look bad!

His jog through the orchard carried on as the momentary thoughts were traded for another, slim vision of this supposed Seedling lurking about like thin slices of an alluring light, dancing between the slits of the trees in the far, far reaches of the woods. Parts of these woods, as David was well aware now, connected to the Everfree forest. Those sections were of course far off now, and the boy could almost trust the girls not to go anywhere near such regions. Almost.

His running came to a screeching halt. Pausing, he quickly crouched behind a tree trunk, and watched the new enigma from afar. It was an animal of some sort, no taller than an average buck, or at least what the boy would assume to be. It’s hide was as bright as the golden light of day, and its antlers a great crown upon its head, like that of a tree with hundreds of perfectly symmetrical branches.

Wait… The boy thought carefully. I’ve been here before, in my dreams!

The creature paused, spared a glance to the human, and continued walking through the orchard. David blinked, unbelieving of his eyes.

“Watcha’ lookin’ at?”

“Gah!” He jumped, squirming around to find Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. “I-I mean. Ga-Gosh, look at all of these…trees.”

The pair of fillies gave their glances of amusement, returning to the boy. “You plan to draw the whole orchard?” Scootaloo snickered.

“Look over there!” Sweetie Belle shot a hoof forward, the other two following her aim.

In the midst of the light where David had been carefully peering into, a lone figure sat at the base of a tree, her hoof planted reverently against the bark. It was Apple Bloom, standing quietly as though a spell had been washed over her.

I don’t remember how this dream ended. The boy thought. I don’t even think I got this far.

Of all the trees in the orchard that grew in the blink of an eye with one another, given the magical phenomenon of the zap apple trees, there were but only two trees on the entire farm which were excepted out of that rule. These two trees were not only the tallest and strongest among the many, but twisted together by destiny, romance, and a pinch of chance. It was without a doubt a haven of quietness and respect, just as Apple Bloom was practicing so.

David and the remaining Crusaders only dared an inch into the cove, resting before the trunk of a tree as they craned their necks to look skyward at the massive timber pair twisting and spiraling around one another. While one tree bared apples, the other carried pears. A definite tale of seed-crossed lovers, tying their bond so at the hoof of the hill, here in the heart of Sweet Apple Acres.

“I don’t think I ever told y’all about my parents?” Apple Bloom suddenly spoke, quiet and calm was her tone. “It’s not like I ever met ‘em myself, but I’m sure they were kind folk. My pa was the best plow pony a crop could ask for, and ma always sang Mac n’ Applejack to sleep. The strummin’ o’ her guitar, I’ll bet it sounded like heaven.”

Apple Bloom’s eyes traveled up the twisting trunks as her hoof gently stroked its surface. There up in the canopy was the unmistakable outline of a heart. The other three watched carefully from afar as she continued. Instinctively, for reasons he could not decipher, David produced his book and pencil. Quietly, he began to draw.

“Y’ever have a moment where ya’ wish ya’ coulda’ said something to somepony, before they up n’ disappeared, an’ you didn’t know if y’all were ever gonna see them again?” Apple Bloom went on. “I never got a chance like that, but…what I wouldn’t do for a hundred of ‘em right now.”

Only a short moment more of reverence was given before Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo decided it best to approach their friend, looking only to provide the comfort and company they knew she needed. The little unicorn herself had endured a good portion of her life without proper parents, and Scootaloo was in no better position.

The boy lingered at the entrance, completing the strokes of his sketch as to reserve the moment for the little ponies in the heart of the clearing. He stood and raised the book in front of the scenery to compare his work, a depiction of the twin trees sketched onto his canvas. If this is a continuation to a dream, then maybe this is me recording that dream. He supposed. But, if my dreams are becoming real…

As the Crusader trio stood in one another’s embrace, Sweetie Belle flared her nostrils and took a deep, regretful whiff.

“Ugh…” Sweetie recoiled. “Scootaloo, now is not the time.”

“It wasn’t me, I swear!”

“Hang on, y’all.” Apple Bloom took a sniff. “I smell it, too.”

Their noses were without a doubt stronger than his own, but it didn’t take long for the boy to pick up that dreadful odor. The monster? No… He sniffed again. Timber wolves!

“Shit, not again…” His heart sank to his feet.

The rot of wood grew thicker as every second passed, and the fillies curled in on each other, embracing and shaking altogether. “What do we do? What do we do?” Scootaloo asked over and over.

“Head back to the barn.” David told them. “But we need to-”

His next words fell on deaf ears as soon as the little pegasus of the group sped off on her scooter and into the thick of the orchard. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle followed suit, kicking dust up as they vanished into plumes of smoke.

“-stick together…”

Apple Bloom trailed up the high pass and away from her friends in hopes of not only slowing down the supposed timber wolves on their tail, but perhaps even lead the mangy beasts her way so that they might not chase after the others. She bolted forward heading straight for a fallen tree upon the path, aiming to crawl through the crevice strung between the earth and the timber. The strap of her saddlebag snagged itself upon a branch, leaving her lodged within the gap on the road. And then she heard it. The barking of the timber wolves charging up from behind, ready to feast upon their easy-caught prey. Apple Bloom dug her hooves into the earth and heaved with all her might, thus managing to pop herself free from the trap, but unable to slow her descent down the steep side of the hill.

Her bottom hit the canopy and she twirled through the branches, receiving cut after scrape and scratch. Her haunches struck the wall, and her head fell straight for the immovable, unforgiving bolder waiting patiently below.

“Apple Bloom~!” Scootaloo called.

“Where are you~?” Sweetie Belle followed.

“Are the timber wolves still following us?” Scootaloo panted heavily, looking all around.

“I don’t smell them anymore.” Sweetie trotted forward, focusing on the path ahead. “Maybe you did just fart?”

“I’m telling you, it wasn’t-!”

The unicorn froze in her tracks, her pegasus friend bumping into her rear as she loaded a stroke of frustration to ask her what gives. She looked up and past her friend, and immediately got her answer. Sweetie Belle’s pure white coat reached beyond any recognizable hues of pale, and Scootaloo felt as though her entire world had shrunken in on itself.

There, their friend lay at the base of the boulder. Crumpled, scarred, lifeless. An alarming amount of blood pooled around her head.

“Jesus Christ, there they are!” David snarled, barreling past a barricade of bramble. “I told you girls to stick together! What the hell were you…thinking…?”

His gaze strafed to the side, crawling up the walk to the boulder, pushing needles down his throat as the figure and the pool of red met his eyes. Shapes swirled, sounds blurred and senses tingled into numb little nothings. “Oh God.” He mumbled over and over. “Oh God, oh God…” Completely unaware he was even speaking.

“Sweetie Belle, what’s happening?” Scootaloo shivered. “Why isn’t Apple Bloom moving?”

“I…” The girl struggled, but simply couldn’t. “I don’t know…”

“This isn’t happening.” The pegasus curled inward. “Today wasn’t supposed to go like this…”

It was what every victim of such situations said. Even if the calculations were impossibly perfect, every detail down to the dot and every plan as concise and clear as could be, these sort of things would always happen. There was no real plan, no act of measure nor definite procedure in line, but who was to say that a simple day of fun could turn out like this? It wasn’t supposed to go like this. Truly, it wasn’t.

If I had never showed up here, maybe none of this would have ever happened. David thought, a spike in his heart. But I’ll be damned if I let it end like this.

The boy curled his fingers into a fist and struck himself across the nose, and another across his cheek for good measure. The two standing fillies jumped in surprise to his behavior, and the human was over the fallen filly’s figure before they knew it. A hand was placed over her side, and another lent beneath her chin. Slowly he turned her face, muzzle stained with the sticky, red sap, the boy leaned down and trained his ear over the little pony's nostrils.

He waited, and waited, and the two fillies watched on with shivering, quieted anticipation.

She’s still breathing! His heart skipped a beat.

“Sweetie Belle, the barn can’t be far now.” His voice stern. “Go warn the Apples, Apple Bloom’s been hurt.”

“W-Where are you taking her…?” She asked.

“To the hospital, now go.” He commanded. “And don’t stop running.”

Delivering a shaky nod, the unicorn turned tail and darted.

“Scootaloo, do you know where the hospital is at?”

“Just…just north of the orchard.” She quavered. “Past the train station.”

“Go there and warn the doctors, there’s an emergency.”

“Wha-” She shook again. “What do I tell them?”

“Apple Bloom’s hit her head and she needs help.”

“I…I can’t.” The handles of her scooter rattled. “I can’t do this-”

“Scootaloo, look at me.” He rested his hands to her shoulders. “You’re the fastest thing I’ve ever seen on that scooter, faster than Rainbow Dash.”

“Faster than Rainbow Dash?” Tears streamed past her cheeks.

“And even faster!” He pushed. “Now go, and don’t even think about stopping.”

With those last words, the pony was off buzzing past the trees of the orchard, headed straight for Ponyville. With those last thoughts leaving his mind, visions of Apple Bloom seeing the light of day once again was the only thing at the front of his head as he swaddled the pony up in his jacket and kept the cloth to the back of her head. He ducked and pounded his feet against the dirt like the Devil was on his tail.

Evening struck its way through the repeating windows of the hospital halls, glints of orange reflecting off the walls, leaving a soundless tension in its wake. It felt as though everyone standing outside the door were holding the longest breath of their life, pacing back forth and humming quiet prayers upon waiting chairs. David clutched his bloody jacket and went from heel to toe across one length of the hall and the other. Big Macintosh had been rubbing his hoof up and down Granny’s back ever since they had arrived, the elder cradling the remaining fillies beneath her free hoof. The door clicked, and all present froze. With a slow creak, Applejack emerged from the other side, setson held over her heart. There was a long, painful pause before she spoke.

“Doctors say…” She swallowed. “Apple Bloom’s fallen into a coma.”

Not a pony knew what to say, what to do. David hung his head as his shoulders drooped, and the stilled air of the hospital hallway slowly turned into that of shouts, screams and blood. It only took one little flinch, one little motion to provoke her. The farm girl smashed her hat back over her head, twisted her haunches and kicked the boy right in the chest with every ounce of force a single pony could muster. Applejack was up and on top of the boy before the others even knew what was happening. She swung one hoof after the other, spitting and drawing blood.

“I’LL WATCH YOU BURN IN HELL!!”

The last words shouted throughout the halls and pounded against his ears as Big Macintosh dragged his sister down the corridor and out the door. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo approached the human with frightened yet helping hooves, Granny by his side trying to smear away the blood with a free cloth. He stifled her hoof with his hand, spitting trickles of blood.

“I deserve this…” He mumbled.

“What…?” The fillies asked him.

“No one should ever have to fall for my mistakes, I deserve every bit of pain she’s in right now. She, and her sister.” David mumbled again, wiping his blood and smearing his tears. “I deserve every bit of this…”

Chapter 51 - Depression

ACT III

Omniscience

I fear not the sorcerers of this world nor the spells they create. For others to turn to their wizards in their time of need, desperate for an answer to deliver their kin from the very turmoil they’ve wrought upon themselves, harbors only an unrelenting, unwavering weight of despair. For those who answer to their call, that is what I fear.

-Starswirl the Bearded

Hundreds upon thousands of stars dotted the black-blue canvas hanging quietly above the village resting in the valley. Not a creature nor critter of the night stirred, and only the dimly lit windows of ponies stalling and studying into the late hours replied to the sparkling spots above. One particular glow shone dimly in one of the windows of the castle, the boy’s shadow cast on the far wall as it danced and flickered with the candlelight’s ember. His quill rested upon the paper, unmoving, as the words of the Princess and his friend echoed through his mind.

You can write anything that comes to mind and the Princess will read it.

Nothing had come to mind, nothing good. Only the unforgettable regrets of his time in Equestria thus far. With a dejected sigh, he dropped the quill and walked away from his desk, and for another night more the letter would remain blank. He paced about his room in uneven intervals as the tribulations played at the forefront of his head. The stench of timber wolves, the ilk of blood and monsters, the riling of the townsfolk, and worst yet an innocent pony lay in a hospital bed, not a single one of them knowing when she would wake up, or even if she ever would. Quietly, as the cold streaks of silver moonlight passed through the window and into his room, he approached the transparent panes and looked longingly up into the sky. Upon every little star, he chose one among many, and the many to his aid, in hopes that a single, desperate wish might be answered. He clasped his hands, and did what he remembered best.

“It’s been a while since we’ve talked, hasn’t it?” The boy mumbled. “Not that you ever answered back, but I guess this means I always believed you were listening.”

A single star spiraled and twinkled as though in response. He continued.

“I don’t know why I’m here, I don’t know why you want me here, but all I ask…” He paused, thinking for a moment. “All I ask is that you give her a second chance, even if it means forfeiting my own.”

His fingers parted and he dropped his hands, and the tiny prayer came to a close. He turned and let his gaze fall back to his desk. It almost hurt to look at the blank parchment upon the surface, so much so his eyes grew tired and heavy. Wetting his fingers he pinched the candle between his digits, and the room fell into a crystalline, blue glow, shadows divided across the floor. The boy lumbered to his bed, fell to the sheets, and laid motionless into the restless night.

“What do you mean you don’t want to go back home?” Twilight looked on, worried.

“I can’t go back home, not yet.” David paced about, shaking his head. “Now that I’ve got a debt to pay, greater than any damage I’ve dealt thus far, I need to ask you guys to hold off on the research.”

“Not to burst your bubble, but we haven’t made any breakthroughs with your little ‘home-sick’ situation here, at least not recently.” Starlight mentioned, shuffling a pile of books. “Obviously you weren’t listening when I told you the specifics on what happens when you try to funnel a human through a literal wormhole.”

“Breakthroughs or not, I don’t want any temptations on the table, at least not until this whole thing is settled.” He stopped, swallowing with fright. “One way…or another.”

“What do you plan to do?” Twilight asked him.

“I don’t know…” He mumbled, stroking a hand through his hair. “If I knew what was being asked of me, then I would just do it. No questions asked, no hesitation. But…” He groaned. “Why do things have to be this difficult?”

The Alicorn rounded her desk and approached the boy with a calm saunter, leading a hoof over his forearm as she looked him in the eyes.

“I’ve already told you this before, and I’ll say it again.” She breathed. “There is nothing on this planet that’s going to stop me from getting you back to where you truly belong, I already made that oath, and as Princess it is my duty.” She searched his eyes. “I know you’re upset about what happened to Apple Bloom, but believe me when I say that the best thing we can do now is wait. Wait, and hope for the best.”

David’s eyes remained fixed to the ground.

“Don’t try to do anything drastic or way out of your league.” Twilight went on. “You’re an intelligent, talented young boy and the Equerry of Ponyville. I have no doubt you’d do anything for somepony like Apple Bloom. But please, just think about what she would want. She would want what’s best for you, too, and that means accepting all the help we can give you.”

Slowly, the boy nodded his head. “You’re right, Twilight.” And his face fell, he took a shallow breath. “I just…I don’t know what to think anymore. This entire trip, whether it be a trick of the mind, some crazy psychedelic prance, or whatever this might be. I thought that at one point I was beginning to get somewhere. That I was finally beginning to figure it all out.”

“Then perhaps this is only another test.” Twilight noted. “You’ve only failed when you’ve given up on finding an answer. Princess Celestia told me that once.”

“Let’s just hope this test isn’t because I decided to do so in the first place…”

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that.” Starlight muttered past the table.

“Why?” The Alicorn turned, looking askew.

“Twilight, when did you say you found David in the ruins?”

“The day of the Summer Sun Celebration, of course.” She answered.

“After the sun had risen?” Starlight probed.

“Starlight, please.” The boy cautioned. “The help is appreciated, but let it rest.”

“Just tending to my curiosity, is all.” The unicorn reassured, flipping further through her books. “I thought that date had seemed familiar. The Summer Sun Celebration isn’t just the Summer Sun Celebration, it’s also the date Nightmare Moon was banished from Equestria. Ponies often forget because the Sun Celebration was used as a cover up, to forget what happened that fateful night when Celestia condemned her sister to the moon.”

“Alright, but what does this have to do with sending David back home?” Questioned Twilight.

“Don’t you see? The Summer Sun Celebration isn’t just some silly celebration that ponies party to every year, it’s a counter spell!” Starlight triumphed. “It was intended to keep the influences of evil at bay, lest anypony fall into despair over the disappearance of one of their beloved Princesses. Y’think ponies just like to drink and frolic in the sun for no particular reason?”

The two listeners were silent, innocently rolling their eyes around the room.

“Look, my point is this.” Starlight recomposed. “Don’t you find it odd that David appeared in Equestria on the exact date that Nightmare Moon made her return?”

“No doubt it seems a little strange, but coincidences are slippery slopes, even for you.” Twilight answered.

Starlight gave a cocked stare, followed by a stiff nod, unsure whether she should retaliate or agree with something even she wouldn’t have a hard time agreeing with. Coincidences might have been the wrong term, at least to her. Connections might have been the better word. Chronicles, Connotations…

“When the stars align…” David muttered below his breath.

A verse which pony ears could easily pick up, not because the boy had forgotten that pony ears were far more receptive than human ears, but much rather because it was a line neither the unicorn nor the Alicorn could ever forget. They both blinked, staring at him.

“That one night, Princess Luna came to me in my dream.” David began to explain. “She told me that I have some special purpose being here, and one way or another it was my destiny to discover that purpose. It was strange, I felt like somehow…” He searched deep within his mind. “That somehow, our destinies aligned with one another’s. Sort of like when the stars align.”

“You met Princess Luna?!” Twilight and Starlight shouted in unison, crawling up on the boy and staring him deeply in the eyes.

“What did she say to you?”

“What did she look like?”

“What color were her eyes?”

“Was her mane straight, or wavy?”

“Did she say anything about me?”

“Did you remember to bow? And kiss her hoof-”

“Stop!” He pushed out his palms, distancing himself from the frantic, little ponies. “I’m not supposed to be thinking about these things right now, I promised myself I wouldn’t!” Grumbling, he marched for the door and called over his shoulder. “I’m sorry, but I need to be alone right now.”

The sound of footsteps echoed down the hall and faded away, leaving the two ponies at a stand still within the Alicorn’s quarters. Twilight rubbed her hoof apologetically, looking down cast, whilst Starlight brushed her mane aside and gave a tired puff of dissatisfaction.

“You ever feel the need to, I dunno…tell him he’s being a little bitch?” Starlight asked.

Twilight blinked with surprise. Her face scrunched into a harsh scowl as she turned with an open wing and slapped the unicorn upside the head.

“Amethyst Star” read proudly upon the plaque situated over the young mare’s desk space, letting any passerby, coworker or superior know that the employee the fortunately spacious cubicle belonged to did indeed belong to the young, lavender unicorn known as “Miss Hooves” by her fellow employees. It made her feel different to be called as such, but in a strangely good way, almost as if she were an adult already. The idea of growing up was an enticing endeavor, but poor Amethyst soon found that thinking about it was the only enticing part, and experiencing it was, well… She had imagined herself from day one working harder than a mule tied to cart loaded with cargo, but instead the cart had no wheels, and no matter how hard she tugged the cargo only increased in size. That was because she was staring at the bandage around her hoof, her tray of papers to fill out increasing ever so slowly. Almost instinctively, thoughts of certain, young stallion filled her head. A certain partner and dare she say even friend of hers…

With a distinctly familiar click, the door at the far end of the hall closed shut, and the trot of those hooves began. Amethyst had trained her ears to remember that walk, it had happened so many times that by then she was reading this earth mare’s routine, whomever she was. She had always come from Mr. Mikado’s office, always with a stack of papers tucked to her side. Curiosity piqued, the young mare decided that now was the time to finally put her plan into action.

Just before the mare trotted past Amethyst’s desk, she tipped her tray full of papers and sent the flurry of notes tumbling in front of the pony, causing her to drop her own set of documents.

“Whoops! Clumsy me.” Amethyst chortled sarcastically. “Rookie mistake, am I right? Lemme help you clean those up.”

Amethyst was quick and furious with her clean-up, which was just the way she intended to be. On one hoof, the mare could hardly see what she was grabbing, and quite frankly neither could Amethyst. On the other hoof, her so-called “rookie mistake” was already a good enough cover up story to hastily fix the mistake she had made. With a satisfied clutch, Amethyst levitated her stack of papers back to her desk and returned the others to the mare’s side, giving a small smile and a curt nod before letting the pony run off down the hall.

As subtle as she could manage, the unicorn looked to her right and peeked to her left, zipping back behind her desk as she began leafing through her papers, half of which probably didn’t even belong to her. After a good moment of searching, the numbers finally came into view. Accounting documents. She located. Bingo. Amethyst led another careful glance around the room before setting up a folder to shield the paper, and quietly she began scanning the numbers.

“There’s no way…” She muttered disbelievingly.

Already uncertain in her own calculations, there was but one pony she could trust who without a doubt knew their math.

A cluster of peeved equines surrounded the front doors to Doctor Whooves’ laboratory with rants concerning the latest news story from Free Foal Press. As old as the article might have been, anypony still stupid enough to believe it seemingly harbored a limitless amount of energy to shout and scream about the nonsensicals the newspaper implied. Wishes of bankruptcy, eviction, inconveniences, certain injury or even demise flooded the poor Doctor’s mail box nearly every morning since, but today of all days for whatever reason brought the worst thus far.

“Honestly, don’t any of these ponies have jobs?” The doctor grumbled, scanning through the slits of his blinds. “I’ve better things to do than play ‘fortress guard’ in the kitchen and living area.”

Unexpected reinforcements raced from the road further back, coming to a skidding halt as she surveyed the situation before her. Better take the other way around. Amethyst decided.

As Whooves peered outside his window, skillet over his scalp as a makeshift helmet, butter-loaded catapult mechanisms at the ready, the crowd outside had soon begun to disband. He blinked and surveyed the surroundings for any reason to their departure, catching eye of the only two guards in the entire village finally having gotten up this morning to do their job. Sam held his spear threateningly to poke any of the riled colts who dared come any closer, but Ralph lowered his ally’s weapon and simply flared his big, black wings a second after. It managed to scare the ponies away this time, and Whooves began to breath with a sigh of relief.

The very next second, a clatter came from the laboratory, and the doctor rushed inside quick as a whinny. “Not the goods!” He demanded. “By the Bringer of the Sun, I’ll have your hide if you touch anything!”

“Well, you already have my hoof…” Amethyst groaned, picking herself off the workbench as she clicked the window above shut with her magic.

“Remind me to put a lock on that blasted thing.” He shook his head, approaching the mare and stopping her with a hoof. “Whatever are you doing here? I thought you were at the Hall.”

“Lunch break, don’t got much time.” The mare hastened, aiming for the kitchen. “I need you to take a look at something, Doc. It’s something bad, something terrible.”

“What is it?” The doctor fretted. “A doomsday device? Somepony planning world domination? Don’t tell me…the butter shelves have gone dry?!”

“Worse.” She slipped the paper from her bag and slapped it onto the table. “Accounting affairs.”

Whooves exaggerated a flustered, mortified complexion, only for it to calm down the very second after. “Well that doesn’t sound so bad at all.” He shook his head. “Miss Star, you should think better than to misinterpret simple statistics. What could be so bad about a little fun with numbers?”

“Because I think the wrong ponies have been having plenty of fun with our numbers as of recent.” Amethyst gestured to the papers. “See for yourself.”

He trained an inquisitive squint over the young mare before approaching his kitchen table and picking the letters up with a free hoof, fixing his tie and quietly scanning over the lines and numbers. Amethyst could see almost every little twitch and contortion in the scientist’s eyes, his blue pupils dancing back and forth between the digits as the realization settled in.

“Seeing what I’m seeing?” Amethyst asked.

“This was the day before the fire?” His jaw hung open. “Their funding and insurance, every bit led dry.”

“And the Cakes don’t even know it yet.” The unicorn informed. “In fact, I’m fairly certain not even I’m supposed to know.”

“Amethyst.” The doctor blinked, staring the mare down. “How exactly did you come about acquiring such…sensitive information?”

“Remember that ‘switch-a-roo’ trick you showed me when I was younger?” She grinned innocently.

“Oh, Luna on high.” The poor colt groaned, keeling over. “I’m in the middle of committing a serious felony, aren’t I?”

“Hey, easy there.” Amethyst attempted to console. “Just as long as nopony else knows about this, we’re good. No harm, no foul. Right?”

The very next beat, a banging pounded against the doctor’s door, and a deep bellow came from the other side.

“Ponyville Guardsponies!” It was Ralph’s voice.

“I think I’m going to vomit…” Whooves belched.

Chapter 52 - Beneath the Bakery

“Is it really necessary that we do this at night?” Whooves asked, trotting along side his companion.

Amethyst did not answer, and instead kept her gait through the brightly illuminated streets of Ponyville at night. Ever since the warnings of the supposed beast from the Everfree, several precautionary measures had gone into action to compensate for anypony walking the roads after the sun had gone down. Although it wasn’t mandatory the citizens were heavily obliged to stay indoors, as was the curfew which the young, lavender unicorn and her faithful, intelligent companion were abusing at this very moment. Their objective was set upon the path towards the sadly disintegrated bakery and pastry store that the ponies of Ponyville had come to know and love for many years. Sugarcube Corner.

“It’ll be quick, Doc, I promise.” Amethyst spoke after a while. “And to answer your question, yes, it’s essential that we do this when nopony else is around.”

“But, why all the secrecy?” He trotted up further, looking her in the eye. “What sort of grave-raider business have you roped me into now, miss Star?”

“Let’s just say that when you linger around the Town Hall offices for a while, you start hearing things you realize you weren’t meant to hear.” She stared onward, calling back on recent memories.

As per request of the citizens of Ponyville, two guards were to be posted patrolling the streets at night, having their rounds doubled at notice of the beast and its warning. At the opportunity of a door slightly ajar, Amethyst overhead a certain Mr. Mikado’s call to the Princess herself to rearrange these posting routes, stationing them over the ruins of Sugarcube Corner. For whatever purpose, Amethyst could not determine why Mikado would want such a procedure to be made, but the unicorn suspected something fishy in the midst of its scent. It seemed this night both she and the Doctor were about to find out.

“You mean to tell me the guards are there, as we speak?” Whooves fretted.

“And that’s why I need you-”

“To do what?! Get arrested?”

“Just as long as you keep your cool, we won’t!” Amethyst shot back, quickly recomposing herself as she continued. “You’re a scientist, Doc. You make observations on things and take the data samples back to your lab for studying or whatever. If anypony’s going to have a reason to investigate a burned down building that still has yet to be investigated, it’s you.”

“You still haven’t explained to me why this is so important to you.” The Doctor stared, waiting.

“I have a hunch…” Amethyst patted her satchel bags, and turned to look back down the path. “This is all just a piece to the bigger puzzle here.”

The sudden spur of intuition and a drive for mystery opened up the doctor’s eyes, as though he were suddenly looking upon a pony he had never met before. Ever since a certain foreigner’s arrival and quick departure, the Doctor had studied a sudden shift within young Amethyst. Where there was once a young filly who wanted nothing more than to settle in her life, there was now a young mare who took all of her surroundings and observations into deep consideration, and the Doctor lingered upon the mild dread that he may have ultimately been responsible for this change. From their talk in the laboratory the night of the young foreigner’s arrival, to the date between he and Derpy at the Lucky Clover, Whooves thought it best that he might as well withdraw from the Hooves family altogether as soon as this little mission of theirs was done and over with. The Doctor only had half the mind to realize that he had been walking with his head down, and sooner than later they were upon the burned site that was once Sugarcube Corner.

Amethyst quietly approached the entrance of the rubble and illuminated her horn, a bright blue bulb shining upon the tip of the appendage. Familiar pink and brown bits to the building had been dusted over by scorches of black, the entire second story having crumbled from its supports and into the first. The air felt stiff, more over with a reverent quietness rather than that of cinder and soot. Whooves hovered patiently at the entrance behind his young partner, suddenly jolting in surprise as a dim, yellow lantern flooded over their hides.

“Halt!” A stern voice arrived. “Who goes there?”

“Ah, nopony. I mean-!” The Doctor stiffened. “Only a couple of…investigators.” He answered.

A few seconds later and the lantern light slowly subsided, revealing the only two guards in the entire town. Sam and Ralph. The white stallion hovered with the lantern clipped to his saddle cinch whilst his bat pony companion trained a wary gaze upon the unanticipated visitors.

“For what purpose?” He followed.

Lest the doctor say anything unwanted, Amethyst quickly stepped around and spoke in his stead. “We’ve come looking for answers!” She proclaimed.

Ralph squinted back harshly and shielded his eyes, eliciting a glance of worry from the young mare as she remembered the light from her horn.

“Sorry.” She uttered, focusing her light spell as she continued. “My name is…Sparkler, and this is my partner, the Doctor. We’ve come looking for clues on the behalf of what caused Sugarcube Corner to burn down.”

“The building burned down a week ago,” Sam called from where he stood. “About time an investigation team showed up, don’t you think?”

“And a credible one at that?” Ralph squinted harshly. “I think not.”

“I’m sorry-?” Amethyst recoiled.

“I know your name isn’t ‘Sparkler.’” The bat pony deduced. “My vision may be clouded but my ears recall your voice. Shun your light, unicorn, you’re not fooling anypony.”

The young mare grumbled inwardly and looked to the ground as the light of her horn fell. She ridiculed herself for not taking the bat guard’s hearing abilities into account either, even when being unaware of their full capabilities. As such, Ralph trained his ears towards the Doctor as though waiting for him to speak again, and kept his yellow, slitted eyes upon the unicorn before him.

“This area is off limits, I cannot allow you to enter.” Ralph stated.

“Why? Because some big wig told you so?”

“That information is confidential.” His gaze traveled about the building. “Besides, it is unsafe to linger around its unstable condition. Only a professional should operate within its vicinity.”

“But, we are professionals.” The Doctor returned.

Ralph looked upon the stallion, waiting, and Amethyst gave him a worried glance before he continued.

“I believe what my partner here had meant to tell you was that I am indeed a doctor, and this site in particular has required my attention for some time now. So sorry I could not come sooner, outside business has been dragging me all around town, as you might imagine.” He reached into his saddle bag and forfeited a small card. “I studied science and alchemy at the academy in Trottingham, and have traveled to several different places in Equestria ever since receiving the proper certifications. As you can see, the fine print is clear as day. Or rather, clear as night, as your folk might say…?”

Ralph held the card in the pinch of his black wing and studied it with a lengthy yet focused gaze, looking back to the doctor every so often with each line he read.

“As a doctor, it is my profession to benefit the lives of other ponies. If you would allow us to search the site, ten minutes at the most, we may be able to discover the cause and organize the proper procedures to ensure a tragedy such as this might never happen again.”

“Ponyville has no official compensation for fire emergencies.” Amethyst included. “But tonight, we’re here to help change that.”

The Doctor looked upon the young mare and she stared back, both with their hopes held high as their sights fell back upon the bat pony still studying the doctor’s card with close intent. He gave a whisk of the note and dropped it into his hoof, carefully hovering it back over to Whooves, wherein the stallion returned it to his saddle bag.

“I will check on your progress in ten minutes.” Ralph told them. “Be wary that my partner and I are also the attendants to this site, so we may remove you for any reason we please.”

“Of course! You won’t regret this.” Whooves reached forward and shook the bat pony’s hoof.

Ralph recoiled with a grumble. “Just…don’t make a mess of things.” He turned and sauntered off. Both guards faced their way down the road, eyes staring ahead and spears held at their sides.

“Thank you.” Amethyst regarded the Doctor gratefully.

“Come now, let’s go find out what made this fire tick.” Whooves trotted on.

“Sure sounds like you wanted to lead the investigation, Ralph.” Sam spoke.

“Two years of detective services, wasted.” He gritted his fangs. “And for what? Standing around and holding a spear?”

“Sure sounds like you wanted to impress Miss Cheerilee.”

“Shut up, Sam.”

As the minutes seem to drag on for the guards, and rush by alarmingly fast for the two faithful investigators, the gathering of their evidence had come up as rather dull and disappointing to say the least. Amethyst knew to leave most of the work in the hooves of the doctor given his greater scale of experience and knowledge, and unsurprisingly he seemed to have found his answer within a matter of two short minutes.

“Fire will always try to travel upwards.” He explained to Amethyst. “Therefore, if it had started on the second floor then the first would almost be completely unscathed, depending on the timing of the weather pegasi, of course. However, that clearly wasn’t the case here. Come shine your light here, dear Amy.” The Doctor motioned for the unicorn to study the floors and the walls. “Do you see the strikings left by the embers? Notice how they all traveled in a pattern, as though stemming outward from a single point of origin.”

“So we simply follow the markings backwards to the point of origin.” Amethyst concluded.

“Precisely!” He nodded, smiling. “You catch on quick.”

The point of origin was, however, located in the kitchen. If that didn’t spell the obvious, then the presence of what once appeared to be an oven now burnt to a brittle, black, block of crisp sat in the center of numerous strikes of soot and trails of ash laying ingrained into the wood and walls of the bakery. The Cakes had left a pastry to bake in the oven…and had completely forgotten about it.

“But that doesn’t make any sense.” Amethyst attempted. “Mrs. Cake would never be so careless, especially when it comes to her special talent.”

“As simple as I can utter it, sometimes these sort of things happen.” The Doctor frowned. “I’m sorry, Amy, but if this isn’t the evidence you wanted then I’m afraid it’s all we’re going to achieve here tonight.”

“Check inside the oven.” She tried.

“Nothing but ash lay inside, we would have to take a sample back to the lab for microscopic or even chemical investigation.” He elaborated. “None of which I have the equipment for proper retrieval.”

“Then we’ll just take the whole thing!” Amethyst declared, flaring her horn to life. A bright blue blanket of magic encompassed the oven as the young mare grunted with exertion. “Heavier than I thought.”

“Dear Amethyst, what are you thinking?” The doctor watched on.

“Help me out, Doc.”

“It’s an article to the scene, we can’t just take it and-”

Suddenly, the boards beneath Amethyst’s hooves cracked and splintered apart. All the force she had been using to lift the oven with her magic seemed to generate a field of energy the doctor himself could not quite explain. There was another crack, a loud one. Loud enough to catch the attention of the guards.

“-disappear?” The Doctor finished.

A heartbeat later the boards beneath them broke free, a gaping black maw swallowing them whole as they fell beneath the bakery with fits of screaming, wailing and tumbling all the way down. Sam and Ralph hurried inside and trotted to the kitchen space, eyeing the newly formed chasm before them wide enough to fit a pony or two through its hole.

“I told them not to make a mess…” Ralph grumbled.

A foggy, white light from above traveled down the chasm and onto two figures sprawled out on the ground below, splinters and pebbles lying all around in a clumsy heap. For some time neither of the ponies moved until Amethyst rose with a lengthened moan, groggily rubbing her head with a free hoof as the Doctor creaked himself back to life and carefully inspected himself for any injuries or broken bones. Amethyst gritted her teeth and held both forehooves over the injured, hind hoof. It seemed that in their fall, her gauze and bandage had come partially loose, instilling small strikes of pain on the way down.

Whooves sprung over and quickly inspected the young mare’s injuries, and almost without hesitation she allowed the doctor to get to work as she sat back and led her eyes to the gaping, white light from above.

“Makes me wish Ronin were still here…” Amethyst drawled.

“What was that?” The doctor blinked.

“Nothing! I-I mean-” Her eyes darted across the walls. “Wow, look at all those filing cabinets!”

“Ridiculous. There’s no reason for any archives to be hidden beneath the bakery unless there was a-” The stallion opened his eyes, sharing the sight with his partner as they both got to their hooves and took a step back.

“Secret basement!” They gawked in unison.

Cakes, gumdrops, pastries and pantries stock full of party essentials lined the walls like an old, forgotten museum, along with several used confetti poppers and deflated balloons dotting the floor in reminiscent of an after party before the janitor took over. To the wall which the two investigators gazed laid a series of bookshelves and filing cabinets stacked atop each other in a rather haphazard manner, though they showed no sign of tumbling down or falling over anytime soon. To the far corner behind them was a massive, yellow slide, most likely used for accessing the secret basement in the first place. However they were meant to access the basement or how they were even supposed to make their exit was all but a mystery to the duo now, and in their midst of gazing a familiar voice echoed from the hole above.

“Are you two alright down there?” Ralph called to them.

“No worse than when we were up there!” Whooves bellowed back.

Ralph studied the size of the hole carefully and determined that going down there himself and attempting to fly back up would prove useless. There simply wasn’t enough room for his wings to sprawl out and carry even himself alone out of the chasm.

“Sam, head back to the barracks.” He commanded. “There should be some supplies that’ll help us pull them out.”

“Finally, a chance to use the grappling hook.” Sam trotted away with glee, allowing the lone guard to stand by and keep an eye on their clumsy friends beneath the bakery.

Down below, Amethyst finished dusting off the soot from her hide as she cautiously gazed at the series of filing cabinets before her. Approaching the bottom drawer, she swung it open with a flick of her magic and watched as the length of the rail exceeded the housing by ten times its size. The unicorn peeked around the back end and found no crease where the rail might go through the wall. It was a simple filing cabinet, the tray scarily longer than it ought to be.

“Enchanted…?” Amethyst shuddered.

“Not even I could explain.” The doctor admitted with a hollowed shrug.

Amethyst led an eye to the folders within and scanned one label after the other, quickly coming to notice that the writings within were in fact names, names of ponies who lived in Ponyville. For whatever sort of order they might entail Amethyst couldn’t quite determine, but sooner than later she had spotted her own name among the many.

“Who in the name of the Celestia was keeping all these files down here?” She opened her records.

“I believe a certain Miss Pie would be responsible.” Whooves gazed about the room. “Though, it baffles me to think that she might have just forgotten all about it.”

“Likes…Baths, cute and cuddly things, boys with Trottingham accents-” Amethyst quickly slammed her files shut with a hard blush, eyeing the Doctor to see if he had noticed.

“Or, had she left it here on purpose?” The Doctor proposed.

“But this…This is all sensitive information, and there’s a file for just about every single pony in Ponyville down here!” Amethyst emphasized. “Not even Town Hall knows this much. Just what exactly was that ball of bubblegum planning to do with all of this?”

“Take a look around, dear Amethyst, we are in the midst of Miss Pie’s very own laboratory.” Whooves took to note the dim, glittering disco balls hanging at the far end of the room. “Pinkie Pie is a professional party planner, and though her antics may be beyond even my range of understanding, it is safe to say that this secret lair of hers was solely utilized to take her celebratory executions to the extreme. Sample jars of confetti and mixed test brews for party drinks give evidence of her mathematical and scientific prowess. To find just the right mixture of colored confetti, to dilute just the right amount of ingredients for the perfect drink. She even organized her filing cabinets according to each pony’s color scheme.”

Amethyst took a momentary glance to the folders in note of the Doctor’s statement.

“The evidence is all here, by no means did our lovely party pony mean us any nefarious intentions. That being said, I do believe you could discover just about anything you wanted to know about any pony in Ponyville using that filing cabinet.”

“You mean like yours and mom’s?” Amethyst pulled forward a gray and brown folder, respectively.

“By no right did I grant you to look at them!” Whooves lunged forward and clawed after the notes. “It’s like you said, sensitive information! Sensitive!”

“Ah-ah-ah.” Amethyst held the doctor at bay, levitating the files above their heads. “I’m not about to let you forget that you and mom still got a score to settle. All us Hooves ought to know what’s been going on between you two.”

Meanwhile, Ralph stood at the rim of the hole patiently waiting his ear over the chasm so he might hear what the two ponies below were saying. I wonder if there are any files on Miss Cheerilee down there… The bat pony thought contentiously.

Whooves took a step back, training a wary eye upon the young mare. “Ah, but I do believe that I think you already know part of the story.” He uttered rather vaguely.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Amethyst wondered.

“You were there that night, weren’t you?” He stared her down. “At the tavern?”

Amethyst’s eyes shrunk to pebbles, she looked away and gulped.

“Yes, it was you, and that Ronin Edelhoof.” He recalled. “Now I understand why he was so adamant on keeping your mother and I distracted. I will not claim that it is in my position to scold you so, but I do believe you will have a lot to explain to your mother once we get out of this pit.”

“Okay, I confess!” Amethyst swelled with guilt, dropping the folders from her magical grasp and slumping to the floor. “It was me. I was there and so was Ronin, but we were there on official business only. Nothing stupid, as you might imagine. Er, well, that’s not entirely true…”

“And what does that entail?” The Doctor probed.

“I sent you on that date with mom so that Ronin and I could grab a copy of your…what’cha-macallit blue prints…and barter them to some ponies at the bar.”

“Blue prints?” Whooves prodded his chin for a moment. “You mean the transistor schematics?”

Amethyst nodded.

“Who? For what purpose?”

“The Flim-Flam brothers…” The unicorn covered her face.

The Doctor slouched back and elicited something between a mixture of a disgruntled sigh and a breath of relief. For all he knew, the prints weren’t in the hooves of the worst possible pony he could think of. Doctor Pace. Rather, they were in the hooves of perhaps the next worst possible set of ponies he could think of.

“The Flim-Flam brothers.” He repeated. “You made a deal with the Flim-Flam brothers?”

“Suppose I’d win first prize in a stupid contest, huh?” She slumped against the drawers, uncovering her complexion. A sorrowful gaze filled her eyes. “I’m sorry, Doctor. I should have told you sooner, I never should have agreed to that deal with them in the first place. All Ronin and I got in return was some hokey-pokey proverb, and now those swindlers are off with your prints doing Celestia knows what.” Amethyst winced with pain and led a forehoof down to her hind, rubbing the disheveled gauze over her wound. It almost felt in that moment of admittance that it got a little worse than before.

Whooves returned to her figure and carefully examined the gauze and bandage once again, tying up another knot the best he could, and resuming to rest by her side on the ground. The two sat there in silence for a long moment more before the chippy Trottingham pony spoke up with a shivered chuckle.

“Those silly old transistors weren’t going anywhere anyhow.” He admitted, shaking his head.

“But…I thought they were special to you, to your passion.” Amethyst looked to him. “You’re always thinking up all these crazy inventions. Sure, a lot of ponies may not understand them at first glance, I sure know that I can’t, but that doesn’t mean you should just let them go.”

“Those transistors are special indeed, but they require a special pony, a special mind…” The Doctor gazed longingly up at the stars shining through the hole in the ceiling. “Perhaps I’m not destined for resolve after all.”

Amethyst could only answer with a continued stare, wondering just what the doctor was on about. He continued.

“I’m not the stallion you may think I am, Amethyst. I achieved many heights back in Trottingham, but I became ashamed with the pony I had turned into. Disgraced, disgusted, I couldn’t even bare to look at myself in the mirror…So, I fled, searching for reconcile. Even though I never truly believed I was worthy, your mother was the one who instilled that hope in me. That is why I feel forever indebted to you and your family, because it is in my understanding that she was the one who saved my life that night.”

The night she had Dinky. Amethyst thought to herself. The story she used to tell us before bed…

The Doctor’s eyes hovered back down, landing upon the gray and brown folders resting to the floor. “I suppose you’re right, you and Dinky ought to know what really happened between your mother and I. It’s just that, well…neither of us could bring ourselves to tell you since you were so young. But now, I see a growing mare before me, ready to take on the truth. I have no doubt those records lying before your hooves may very well hold the answers you’re looking for.” He nodded with a final sigh.

Amethyst weakly lifted the folders from the ground with her magic and rested them back into her lap, eyeing them cautiously before giving the prominent stallion of her life a permissive glance. Whooves nodded, awaiting her action patiently. Why shouldn’t she take this opportunity now? Not only would it be rude to reject such a deep and humbling offer, but it was also in this very moment that Amethyst realized her search for the unknown had gone much further than town mayors, silly garden raids and floral culprits.

Her wound beneath her bandage stung ever so slightly as she leafed through the first folder containing her mother’s files.

Chapter 53 - Sending the Message

"Unfortunate as it is to say, Apple Bloom may not be joining us for the remainder of the semester.” Miss Cheerilee announced to the children, a solemn yet solid expression overcoming her face. “However, it would be in our best interest as a class to not let this sad news overwhelm us, and remain diligent in our work. With all the outstanding contributions our dear Apple filly has brought to this schoolhouse, I have no doubt that each and everyone of you can follow in her hoofsteps.”

The school teacher stood in pause, almost as if delivering a moment of silence. She mimicked something of a slight bow before returning to the board and raising a stick of chalk in her hoof, scratching her way across the canvas of black to prepare for the lesson ahead. A heartbeat later and the students leaned over their desks with rapid mumbles of concern and speculation over the new ordeal that was their fellow student and friend. Some had heard the story wrong, others had heard it right. Or, at least they thought they did. What could it have been? Just another timber wolf scare? The beast from the Everfree responsible for Ponyville’s curfew hours? Had that mad, monkey man finally let his nature get the best of him?

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo stared ahead, silent as ever. They were quieter than a ghost town, and Miss Cheerilee almost couldn’t bare to look at them. With abrupt and obnoxious purpose, the teacher cleared her throat and projected her lesson to the students, just as she always had to dispel the chitter and the chatter. Finding for the first time that she had did so for a different reason felt more than odd. Nonetheless, she knew deep down that the lesson had to go on, the children had to be prepared for the next steps in their life.

Then, her ear flickered backwards. She knew those giggles and snorts from anywhere, it was her two little trouble makers. Most likely at it again, most likely those loathsome biology notes again. The mare took a practiced, cautious breath before quietly resting the stick of chalk to the tray. Her eyes flashed open, and with one swift motion she whipped around, marched down the center isle and snatched the slip of paper from in between the boys’ telekinetic grasps. Her muzzle pinched, eyes fierce, the two little colts looked up with glints of worry.

“Snips, Snails.” The scholar snorted. “Passing notes at a time like this? I ought to let your parents know what little disregard the two of you have for both my time and the time of your fellow classmates.”

“W-W-We’re sorry, Miss Cheerilee!” Snips curled in on himself. “It won’t happen again, promise!”

“Yeah, it wasn’t the biology notes this time.” Snails whimpered.

“Zip it, ya’ big doof!” Snips growled back.

Cheerilee eyed her students with scarce amounts of mercy. Sit-out time was imminent.

“Please don’t blame them, Miss Cheerilee.” A tiny voice came from the front of the class. “It was me.”

“Why…Sweetie Belle?” The teacher looked back, bewildered. “Whatever for?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise.” She confessed. “But, I didn’t want to get in the way of lessons either, so I thought that now would’ve been the best time. Go ahead, open the letter.” The unicorn gestured.

The school teacher looked back to the paper in her hoof, staring at it with a pause of curiosity before unraveling the mysterious contents which lay inside. It was a collaboration letter, signed and dotted with decorations, each and every special little cutie mark from the students themselves. With endearing remarks of hope, kindness, and courage, the entire piece was addressed and dedicated to their beloved classmate and friend, Apple Bloom. Miss Cheerilee stood motionless with a jaw-dropped gaze, completely unaware that tears were beginning to well up in her eyes. She pinched her lids shut and rubbed her muzzle, sniffling back the waterworks. The lessons must be taught, the lessons must be taught…

“Class…” The teacher began. “I’ve a new assignment for you all, tonight.” A smile bridged across her lips.

The walk home was almost completely quiet for the little, gray unicorn and her earth filly friend, the two of them treading quietly along the outskirts of the plaza as they rounded a corner through the back alleyways, and it was from their silent moment of reminiscence that a humbled conversation was on the tips of their tongues. Dinky and Silver Spoon stood side-by-side, gazing down the same alley that they had met that day. The day they made their truce together, the day they decided to put their differences aside and help each other, one hoof in the other. Not to mention a glob of spit to ensure the deal.

“It stinks.” Silver commented.

“Was it really that bad?” Dinky wondered.

“I meant the garbage cans.” The earth filly rubbed her muzzle. “No way in Tall Tale and back I’m making a truce next to a dumpster ever again.”

“Well, I’m not so sure I’ll be getting my cutie mark anytime soon, but I at least hope you could make ends meet.” The unicorn turned to her friend. “That’s what I’ve been meaning to ask. Did you ever make any progress with Diamond Tiara?”

Silver Spoon studied the ground and slowly shook her head. “After you left the whole journalism scene it was up to Featherweight and I to start coming up with stories, but he and I didn’t get along so well. Silly colt could barely write, I told him he’s better off selling grainy photos on the roadside back in Trottingham.”

“Mom always tells Amy with an attitude like that, she’ll never find a good stallion.” Dinky commented.

“Once that story about Rose Luck and the Doctor was sent out, I just couldn’t do it anymore.” Silver admitted. “Her father had her shut down the news business anyways, said something about how it was getting in the way of ‘family matters.’ I can only imagine it’s got something to do with Spoiled Rich.”

“And you never supposed that Spoiled was behind the whole news business thing to begin with?” Dinky asked her.

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it, Spoiled has always tried to be controlling of her daughter’s life. We’ve seen it happen at the schoolhouse before.”

“But, Diamond stood her ground that day.” Silver reminded. “Spoiled had been working for months to get her to the class president seat, but Diamond threw herself out of the campaign. There’s no way her mom would’ve tried to retaliate after a gesture like that.”

“Trust me, I’ve never won an argument with my mom.” Dinky educated. “Even when I think I got the upper hoof, it would always backfire on me someway or another. Who’s to say that Spoiled wasn’t just giving herself time to plot again? To get her family into something that would give them even more power?”

“Like, the news…” Silver began to realize, only to shake her head a second after. “I dunno, Dink. These are only little suspicions of ours, it’s not like they can really go anywhere without some evidence to back it up.”

“Perhaps…I could help with that?” Came a voice from above.

The couple of fillies jumped and spun around, aiming their eyes skyward past balconies and over hangs, peering to the top of the alleyway. The young colt made his descent and landed gracefully before the girls, camera hanging from his neck, that familiar disfigured set of teeth hanging from his upper lip. Featherweight.

Derpy sat patiently and quietly at her end of the small, round table scooping helpings of baked potatoes filled with oats into her mouth, her selection of cuisine for this night’s dinner. As always, neither daughter had much to say on their end, nor did they have much to help themselves to. Food wise, that is, and this little detail is what had been bugging the pegasus mother for almost all of supper time. When her girls didn’t talk, it was just another normal day, nothing serious. When they failed to eat however, something big was ahoof, something serious was on their minds. Probably some boy earlier in the day. The mother assumed. Then she realized, Ronin had been gone for almost three weeks now.

Amethyst coughed, a purposeful gesture. The kind of coded cough she and her little sister had thought up to get the other’s attention. Derpy didn’t even bother to look up, she already knew what they were up to. A second later and Dinky snuck a look over to her sister, whom was busy flicking her eyes towards the refrigerator in the kitchen. The little unicorn looked past her mother and squinted to read the magnetic, alphabet letters on the refrigerator door.

“My…Room…” Dinky read out loud.

“What was that, dear?” Derpy looked up.

Dinky panicked, quickly glancing over to Amethyst. The mare was busy slapping a hoof over her face.

“M-My room is…” The filly improvised. “…where I go to think happy thoughts?”

Derpy attempted a wry stare as her wall eye slowly aligned with the other. A heartbeat later she turned to look into the kitchen, but Amethyst quickly flared her horn and threw the letters askew. The “m” in Room went missing, and the “R” replaced itself with a “P.” One of the letters carried enough momentum as it flew from the refrigerator door, across the threshold and bounced off the table. Derpy flicked her head back around, both her daughters stiff as bamboo.

“How was work, mom?” Amethyst smiled innocently.

“Is there something wrong with your bowels, dear?” Derpy asked sternly. “Or do you just like to write toddler jokes on my refrigerator?”

Her smile faded, lips tight across her face. “May Dinky and I be excused…?” Amethyst requested.

The young unicorn clicked her door shut with her magic and let loose an onslaught of what Dinky could only assume was hyperventilation, followed by rapid remarks way beyond the little sister’s understanding. Papers were flying and folders from school were mixed up with those from work, further throwing the lavender unicorn astray as she rummaged beneath her bed, flank and tail whipping in the air.

“Y’know, if all you wanted me to do was watch you shake your butt and blabber like an idiot, Mom’s still got some scotch in the top cupboard.”

“Well, I didn’t bring you up here to crack jokes, either.” Amethyst pulled her head out and fell to her rump, turning around to address the younger. “I can’t take it anymore, she’s practically breathing down my neck! I don’t think I’ll ever be able to hide anything from mom.”

“Gee, what else is new?”

“Bet you haven’t seen-” Amethyst whipped out a green folder. “-THIS before.”

Dinky took a long, slow blink, eyeing the ordinary, everyday folder with every bit of artificial amusement a pony could muster. “Your co-workers must love having you around.”

“Read it before you weep, sister.” Amy spun the folder in her field. “Doc and I nabbed this little treasure from the secret basement hidden underneath Sugarcube Corner. I’m surprised that party mare hasn’t come and taken this away from us yet, but I’m guessing that’s just her way of saying that she wants us to have it. She wants us to read it.”

“There’s a basement beneath Sugarcube Corner?” Dinky questioned.

“Stock full of the craziest obscenities known to ponykind, or better yet, unknown.” Amethyst held up the folder once more. “You know what this is right? Mom and Doc have been distancing themselves from each other for a while. Hasn’t that been bugging you?”

Dinky shrugged and nodded lightly. She knew some part of her could agree.

“Well, this folder will tell us everything we want to know.”

“I have a feeling there’s a pretty good chance this is going to end up with either one of us having to answer some questions to the cops.” Dinky didn’t even give herself a second to think about it. “I’m in.”

Their minds content and their decision made, one sister yanked a blanket off the bed and threw up a makeshift tent while the other fetched for a flashlight, huddling beneath the cover of the sheets and getting comfortable. Elder looked to younger, and younger to elder, nodding to one another in unison as they cautiously leafed onto the first page. A brilliant, beaming light flashed from the parchment as though the very secrets of the universe were being gently foretold unto their minds, harbored by their very eyes. They quickly realized it was the light of the torch reflecting off of the colorful, glittery writing within.

“It’s in crayon…” Amethyst mused.

“And gel pen, too.” Dinky eyed the symbols cautiously. “Is that frosting?”

“What’s this say?” The elder sister squinted harshly. “…’she is the key to his secrets…?’ What the hay is that supposed to mean?”

“Key?” Dinky sat back, wondering for a moment. “Mom has a key.”

“Well, she does own the house.”

“No, it’s like a special kind of key, one that Doc gave to her.” The little unicorn’s mind reached back to far younger years. “I remember her showing it to me one time when I was really little, when she told me all about the Doctor, and the day he saved us…”

“How come I never knew about this key?” Amethyst questioned.

“It’s hard to keep things from a mother, because she already knows the best hiding spots.”

Amethyst weighed cautiously upon her next words, but failed to reach them as soon as a knock came at her door.

“Amy, Dinky?” Their mother hollered. “What are you two doing in there?”

“Erm-! Just helping Dinky change into her…nightgown?” Amethyst tried.

The little unicorn gave her sister a stupid look, and the older shrugged. The pegasus gave a sigh that could be heard through the door before answering again.

“Well, we have a couple visitors who are here to see you.” Derpy sounded stern. “And they have a few questions for you, too.”

Dots the size of pinpricks replaced both of the sister’s pupils, and they looked to each other with several levels of fear. Cops. Makeshift sirens sounded in the back of their heads as they scurried to clean up their mess and hide the evidence.

“I was only kidding, I didn’t know the cops were actually going to show up!” Dinky’s breath quickened. “What do we do, sis?”

“Calm down, they haven’t seen anything yet.” Amethyst answered her, peeking past the crack in her door. They must be here to talk about mine and Doc’s little trip to Sugarcube Corner.

“Sis?” Dinky shivered, twiddling her hooves. “W-What if the Doctor is actually some sort of criminal? What if he did something bad back in Trottingham, and he hid it here, in Ponyville?”

“I promise you, the Doctor is a good stallion.” Amethyst reassured. “He would never hurt anypony for any reason, both you and I know that.”

“I know, but…” Dinky shivered again, sniveling. “Why do I feel scared?”

“Amy, don’t make me count, young lady!” The mother’s voice sounded through the house.

“It’s me they’re after, Dink.” Amethyst nuzzled her little sister, lifting her with her magic and resting the scared filly to her bed. “You just wait right here, and I’ll go get things all sorted out.”

“But, what about the Doctor?” Dinky fretted.

“Everypony is going to be fine, I promise.” Amethyst cooed, nuzzling her sister once again before turning and slipping past the crack of her door. The little sister watched as the shadows in the hallway grew shorter and danced down the stairwell, leaving Dinky to tend to her thoughts and worries alone.

Alright, Amy, you can do this. The young mare took a deep breath. I’ve dealt with these guys before anyways. They’re just cops, how bad can they be?

“I can reassure you, Miss Hooves-” voices traveled from the kitchen. “-upgrading to our state of the art, automatic bubblesoap dispenser is an offer you absolutely cannot pass up. Wouldn’t you agree, oh brother?”

“I couldn’t agree with you more, oh brother of mine.”

No… Amethyst froze at the bottom of the stairs It’s so much worse than I could’ve imagined!

Spectacles of revenge and glints of mischief caught themselves in the eyes of the two ponies standing within her kitchen, to which they spun around in unimaginable rhythms only possible for an airborne pegasus, reality warping and surging all around them.

“Prepare for trouble…”

“Make it double!!”

“Not to burst your capitalist bubble-” Amethyst growled, shaking her head. “But what the heck are you two doing in my house?!”

“Amy!” Her mother barked. “Is that any way to talk to our guests?” And she referred to the two gentlecolts. “Please forgive my daughter’s offset behavior, Mr. Flim and Flam, she’s already driven away a perfectly good, young colt with these sort of social antics, y’see?”

“Not to worry, Miss Hooves, we deal with this sort all the time in our line of work.” Flim reassured, approaching the young mare. “Besides, we’ve already been well acquainted with this lovely, young lady and her faithful partner, erm…” He eyed the unicorn knowingly. “Speaking of which, where is your partner, Miss Amethyst?”

“He’s…gone.” Amethyst blinked, lowering her gaze.

“With the wind?” Flam questioned.

“To the Chisel in the sky?” Flim wondered.

“He left Ponyville a couple weeks ago.” The unicorn answered, eyeing the stallions carefully. “Whatever he’s up to now it’s none of my business, and quite frankly neither is it yours.”

“We came here hoping that both our heroes would have the opportunity to indulge in this endeavor, but…” Flim paused once more, glancing to his brother. “I suppose only one shall suffice. Would you agree, brother?”

“I couldn’t agree with you more.” Flam gave a firm nod.

“I’ll put on the kettle.” Derpy announced, walking back into the kitchen. “Is chamomile alright with you boys?”

“Any brew shall do.” Flim bowed elegantly. “Miss Hooves.”

Amethyst continued to train a wary yet intimidating eye on the brothers, to which they looked back with equal stares of plotting and mischief. Without a word the trio of ponies trotted for the living room and sat at opposite ends of the coffee table, Flim and Flam seated to the couch whilst Amethyst ventured for the hoofchair. The brothers lounged into the cushions of the couch patiently, as though waiting for the unicorn to make the first move, and Amethyst did so boldly and slowly.

Amy sure is a brave pony, talking to those cops like that. Dinky thought to herself, awaiting in the hall upstairs. She glanced down the darkness of the corridor and located her mother’s bedroom door within the shadow. The key. She thought once more. I need to find the key.

“Let’s cut to the chase here, fellas.” Amethyst leaned in. “You’re gonna tell me why you’re here, what you want, and what I can do to make you two disappear. The sooner we accomplish that, the sooner I get to take my bath. Capiche?”

“We enjoy a client who’s so straight to the point,” Flim began.

“But you may want to take the time to weigh upon your decisions.” Flam continued.

“After all,” Flim returned. “We do indeed have what you’re looking for this time.”

“If you do recall…” Flam illuminated his horn, and brought forth from his saddle bag what appeared to be a small, tattered notebook. The symbols upon the front, though illegible in her eyes, were no doubt familiar. It was Koumanese. Ronin’s notebook.

“You…thieving son of a mule!” Amethyst tensed and glared with violent intent. “What have you done to him?”

“Easy, Miss Star.” Flim chuckled nervously. “We haven’t had contact with the foreigner since our little fiasco at the bar, remember?”

Amethyst flared her horn to life. “You knew.” She snarled. “You both knew.”

“Now if you recall correctly, I had just asked you moments ago where the young unicorn’s whereabouts were, thus signaling that it was never in my range of knowing.” Flim reminded.

“And you had answered…” Flam waited, beckoning the mare.

“He left Ponyville.” She repeated.

“And Flam, my dear brother, where were we when the young foreigner had left?”

“Why, right here in Ponyville, brother.” Flam answered Flim. “In fact, we are still here, as you can clearly see.”

“Then why do you have his book?” Amethyst probed. “Who gave it to you?”

“That question is out of the equation-”

“Who?” Amethyst threatened, aiming her horn.

Although wound-inducing and possibly lethal projectiles were bound to find their way towards the brothers’ heads, they calmly sat back rest assured that the entire situation seemed all under control. Amethyst trained a glare on the two for a moment, only to be reminded of the sounds coming from the kitchen, and the pegasus whom would soon approach. The unicorn found her posture and calmly sat back into the hoofchair, just at the edge of the very second Derpy pranced through the portal going from the kitchen and into the living space, a silver-gray tray with a kettle and cups resting on the span of her wing. Meowf rested soothingly upon her back, purring all the while as the mother poured cups of tea for the visitors and her daughter.

Amethyst sat back and cautiously surveyed the stallions sitting across from her, running one outcome after the other through her head. Derpy rested one eye on the stallions and the walleye to her daughter, smiling sweetly as the brimming cups of hot chamomile were passed all around.

“It’s so nice to have company around the house these days.” Derpy commented. “Really livens up the mood.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more, Miss Hooves.” Flim and Flam sipped their tea, green eyes grimacing past waves of steam.

Chapter 54 - The Waiting Game

The young unicorn rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes as she lumbered her way down the flight of stairs, throwing her work bag over her shoulder and onto her back, reaching for the door knob with her telekinetic grasp. She stopped, dimming her horn and strafing to the side as she glanced down the hall and peered into the kitchen space. Plumes of steam from the tea her mother had brewed fogged the windows, only cold, blurry masses of light layering their way into the house. Amethyst took a deep breath to calm herself, and approached the threshold to the kitchen.

“Mom?” She called timidly. “Listen…I know you might be upset about what happened last night.” She searched for her words. “But, no matter what happens, I will always be your daughter. I’ll always do my best, to be somepony that you can be proud to call your own.”

No answer returned to her. For a short while, Amethyst hovered at the kitchen entrance.

“Mom?” She called again, turning into the kitchen. She froze.

The stallion finished his tea, rested the cup to the coaster, and turned to greet her with a gleaming, icy blue gaze.

Mikado.

“A colorful example, indeed.” He rose from the table, approaching the mare. Each step, heavy, booming and pounding. “I expected nothing less.”

“W-What…?” Amethyst stumbled backwards. “What did you do with mom?”

“You should know…” The burly ambassador looked down at her. “Your place is and always will be next to me, Senkō.”

Her body shriveled and her figure stiffened, solid as a rock, shivering like ice. The blinding blue of Mikado’s eyes expanded evermore as he raised a frail, shaky, bony hoof to her face and caressed her cheek. The scent of flowers, wilting, decaying, dead…

Amethyst yelped with fright and jolted awake, gasping for breath as she clutched her covers to her chest, sweat pouring down her face. The next thing the young mare knew, she was back in her room, the morning piercing through her window as she looked around in both fear and wonder. A sharp, stinging sensation rippled along her left, hind hoof, suddenly sending the mare into a lapse of pain and discomfort. The bandage around her wound needed fixing once more.

“Amy, honey!” Derpy called from the bottom of the stairs. “You’re going to be late for work!”

Amethyst swept the sweat from her face and called back. “Be down in a minute~!”

Senkō? Her mind recalled. Where have I heard that name before?

The sun strode steadily across the clear blue sky, its radiance dancing across the green of the fields and the ever growing hues of yellow and orange dotting the trees. Not a bird, buzz, nor disturbance of any kind bumbled through the air, and there was not a single cloud to behold. Then, the unmistakable shape of two, broad and bulbous humps squished together hovered aimlessly yet slowly across the sky. It came to a steady chug and an abrupt halt, as though the rowing of a boat were being slowed by its oars.

“I get that we’re trying to let her know where we’re at…” Cskie muttered begrudgingly. “But did we reallyhave to go with this?”

“Nice one, Skies.” Oskie chuckled.

“That wasn’t a pun.” The mare socked her partner in the shoulder.

“Ouch…” Oskie rubbed his bruise. “It was the best I could think of, alright? Who knew that staring at tight, silky, Wonderbolts uniforms all day could make a mare so interested in looking at bu-”

“Quiet!” Blossomforth hissed, yanking her friends beneath the cover of the cloud. “Somepony’s coming this way.”

“No, wait-” Cloud Chaser raised her sights. “It’s her.”

The rest of the weather pegasi popped their heads out from beneath tufts of white, fluffy clouding, eyeing the dot in the far distance as it grew larger with every second. She thought better than to zip across the skies at her usual, intense velocity of flying, lest she leave a rainbow trail in her wake. The young pegasus drew near and sprawled out her wings to accommodate her landing, kicking up clumps of cloud as she rested all four hooves to the surface of their makeshift vessel in the sky.

“Er, nice cover…?” Rainbow Dash commented.

“Told you she’d like it.” Oskie nudged Cskie’s side.

“So?” Cloud Chaser started. “Did you get it?”

“Oh, I got it alright.” The rainbow pegasus shuddered, fluffing her wings. “You guys wouldn’t believe what I had to go through to get this for you.”

“-And we’ll name the next one Zephyr Breeze Jr. 3, and the next one Zephyr Breeze Jr. 4, and the next one Zephyr Breeze Jr. 5…”

“I’m sure he won’t be much longer, dearie.” Mrs. Shy hovered over a plate of pastries. “Lemon cookies?”

It had been twenty minutes since Mr. Shy left to rummage through his garage, and Zephyr was already into volume twelve of his “Future with Rainbow Dash” scrapbook.

“I thought you had Wonderbolt practice today?” Oskie wondered.

“The cap was a little stiff about it, like most things, but I eventually slipped by.” Rainbow managed, searching through her saddle bags. “I just hope this won’t trigger any bad vibes with your own guys’ captain.”

“Sunshower is in enough hot water as it is, it’s time we take some responsibility under our own wings.” Cloud Chaser nodded, turning to her allies. “What we do for her now is what we do in secret. Blossomforth, the bits.”

The fluffy-white pegasus craned her neck beneath her wing and produced a decently sized purse, brimming and jingling with coins.

“Don’t bother.” Rainbow held up a hoof, shaking her head. “Honestly, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a bunch’a weather pegasi as loyal as you guys are. Come to think of it, you’re the only bunch’a weather pegasi I’ve seen act so loyal to their captain. You guys deserve every bit and every ounce of help you can get.”

Without another beat of hesitation, the pegasus unfurled her wing and presented the item of retrieval unto the small flock. It was but a single, tiny tuft of cloud, trapped inside of a tightly enclosed glass jar. The little, fragile mass of cotton white hovered perfectly in the center of its space within its container, looking all but particularly interesting to a certain, dull pegasus.

“It’s…a cloud.” Oskie observed. “How is a little cloud supposed to help us keep our jobs?”

“We move clouds for a living.” Cskie grumbled.

“What makes this cloud different from any other cloud?” The colt questioned further.

“Not just any cloud, but a factory cloud.” Cloud Chaser explained. “Raw, unprocessed water vapor, not a spec of the outside world to taint it. With this, we can prove that clouds are capable of holding ten times more the precipitation than they usually shed.”

“So you’re telling me,” Oskie started again, “we’re going to save ours and our boss’ hides…with a cloud?”

“For the last time, we move clouds for a living.” Cskie gritted her teeth.

“You mean the same clouds that got us into this mess to begin with?” Blossomforth added. “That’s what I wanna know.”

“C’mon, pegasi, let’s focus.” Cloud Chaser rallied. “We still don’t know the date of the trial, but for the time being we’re going to need to store this somewhere so that we can bust it out at a moment’s notice. Each of you may see this little cloud in a different perspective, but I have full faith that it’s going to be crucial to our survival as a team.”

Rainbow Dash cautiously peered over the edge of their meeting spot, eyeing the road beneath them as a familiar, lanky figure hustled his way across the dirt path below. Her eyes widened with a hint of surprise, her wings twitching in reflex, and her attention was drawn from the other pegasi.

“Miss Rainbow Dash, it would do our hearts good if you could at least take a portion of the bits we offered-”

“Glad to help.” The pony leapt, spreading her wings. “Gotta dash!”

And the weather team was left to their own wisdom, the cloud within the jar resting calmly upon Cloud Chaser’s hoof. Oskie approached to take another gander, tapping the glass as though tiny fish were swimming within. Cskie raised a limb and swatted the colt away.

Rainbow Dash dived into her descent and leveled herself across the ground, scraping her hooves across the earth as she trailed infront and around the boy in mid-jog. The human skidded to a halt, plumes of dust swirling all about, and the single beat of the rainbow pony’s wing revealed a tight, knowing grin stretching across her lips.

“Lookie what we have here.” The pegasus cackled. “Running? Without my instruction? I’m proud of you, trainee. You’ve outdone yourself-”

The dust withered away, and the boy’s face was further revealed.

“Ooh…” Rainbow winced. “Maybe a little too much.”

“Oh, this?” David pointed to his face. “I’m just lucky to have my ribs intact.”

A small bandage was taped over his nose, dark bruises laid beneath his left eye, and a thin scar stretched its way from ear to chin. The boy gave her a haphazard smile, if anything to compensate for the sorry sight of his complexion.

“So…?” The pegasus waited. “Who’d you piss off this time?”

“Does rodeo games ring a bell?”

“I heard about what happened to Apple Bloom, but this is news to me.” She fluttered and surveyed his face. “Really makes me think you’re just prone to getting your ass beat no matter which side you’re on. Sorry it had to happen.”

“Why should you apologize? It’s not like I’d ask for one anyways.” His hands fell to his hips. “This wasn’t about me to begin with, and it never was. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to figure that out, and probably even at the worst of times, too. I’m letting everypony know that I intend to start doing my best, and that starts with Apple Bloom.”

“And you think running around outside is gonna help?” Rainbow cocked a brow.

“What else am I supposed to do? As far as I’m concerned, you wouldn’t have any problems with it, coach.” He mocked, sighing and recomposing himself. “We’re all playing the waiting game here, so I guess the best we can do is keep ourselves occupied.”

“How ‘bout you stop pretending you’re not a victim?” Rainbow tried.

“Huh?” The boy looked back, dumbfounded.

“Trust me, pal, I’ve been where you’re at more times than you and me combined can count.” Dash trotted around him. “I know what you’re thinking. If you stop acting like such a little filly and buck up for once, maybe then you can prove to yourself that you’re not as useless as you think you are. Well, I got a reality check for ya’, chump. You only think you’re useless because you think that other ponies think you are, and then you think that other ponies think you’re useless because you think that they think you think these things, you think?”

“…” David appeared on the verge of an aneurysm. “What…?”

“Here’s another reality check, you’re just overthinking it.”

“Clearly.”

“The bottom line is, nopony cares!” She stomped a hoof for emphasis. “And if that’s the case, then why should you?”

David crossed his arms. “Because it’s the right thing to do.”

“Is that what you really think?” The pegasus quizzed. “Or were you told that at some point in your life, and you’ve gone on thinking that it was true, up until now?”

Once again, the boy was thrown into another spell of staring, looking over the mare with several levels of perplexity. He scrunched his eyes shut and shook his head as he began to pace about, delivering one double-take after another to the rainbow pony.

“Since when did the writers give you back your brain?” He grumbled and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m trapped in a world full of talking, pastel-colored ponies the size of house cats, it’s not like your supposed to have any psychological drive over others, or whatever the hell it is you’re trying to make me say or do.” He went on. “As far as I can tell, this is supposed to be the part of the story where I selflessly give myself to another person because some sort of travesty has befallen them. Just in case you forgot, some sort of travesty did befall another person, and as long as that’s going on my attitude about it isn’t going to change anytime soon.”

“That!” Rainbow pounced and pushed a hoof into his chest. “That right there is what I’m talking about.”

David winced and clutched his chest with a whimper.

“Oh, right. Sorry…” The pegasus recoiled, and continued. “Believe it or not, you’re acting just as stubborn as Applejack is, and I’m willing to bet the two of you are rocking the same boat here.”

“The heck does that mean?” He rubbed his pecs.

“Sooner or later, you’re going to butt heads over the same stupid thing for the same stupid reasons, and then you’ll realize you’re in a worse place than where you started. So, just relax for a few days, would ya’?” She persuaded. “I’ll even lay off the training sessions, but only because you need to rest up after what ‘freckles’ did to you.”

He side-eyed her, his expression askew to the funny nickname. “What do you plan to do?”

Rainbow Dash sighed begrudgingly, shaking her head and whipping her tail. “She’s a good friend, one of the best I got…but I can’t just let this slide by so easily.” There was a pause, and the pony opened her wings. “I’m gonna go talk to her.”

David raised a forearm to shield his eyes from the plumes of dust, but shot the other arm forward and nabbed the pegasus by the tail just in the nick of time. Strands of multicolored horse hair filled his grasp as a sharp yelp filled the air.

“What’s the big idea?!” Hovering, tail in the boy’s hand, the pony snarled back. “You wanna run fifty laps instead?”

“Can’t let you do that.” He fanned the dust away. “I promised Twilight I wouldn’t do anything out of my league, and that includes stopping other ponies from speaking in my stead.”

“If Twilight thinks she’s gotta stick her big, princess nose into everypony’s business, she’s gonna go through me first.”

“Fluttershy’s already tried talking to Applejack, I was there.” He nodded. “What makes you think you’ll do any better?”

Her eyes fell to the earth, and slowly so did her hooves, as the beat of her wings feathered her descent and the pony searched the grass for answers. Applejack was a very close friend to her, no doubt about it, and they had been as such ever since the winged pony and future Wonderbolt decided to move to Ponyville. Flashbacks of festival games, apple cider, and a freckle-faced pony too damn stubborn to let the hoof wrestling match go filled her mind. A beat later, and another pony filled the young flier’s mind. If there was one pony Rainbow Dash had sworn to never lose, to never drift apart from, it was undoubtedly Fluttershy. The pegasus most certainly wasn’t prepared to lose two friends in one day.

Seconds later, the whirring of little wings and a filly in full trot filled their ears. Rainbow and the boy looked back down the trail to find two familiar figures closing the distance between them. Scootaloo sped ahead on her scooter, veering to the side and sliding in for a skid halt, no doubt determined to impress her idol standing right before her. However, as soon as she threw her helmet off, she fluttered so high she managed at best six feet off the ground, hovering before the boy’s face with frenzy and excitement filling her eyes.

“Mr. David, Mr. David, we’ve been looking all over for you!” The little pegasus panted, resting her hooves to his shoulders. “We’ve got something we want you to take to Apple Bloom.”

“Wait, what?” The boy blinked, stumbling back.

“It’s a ‘get well soon’ card, but like, a really really big one.” Scootaloo finally turned, acknowledging her fellow pegasus. “Hey Rainbow Dash.”

“Hey, sport.” Dash grinned back. “What’s up?”

“Y’wanna sign Apple Bloom’s ‘get well soon’ card?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I?” She obliged. “Where’s it at?”

As though in answer, a scroll mimicking the rolling of a carpet wheeled down the path and met the pegasus’ hooves, a good chunk yet to be unraveled. Sweetie Belle stood at the other end with an innocent smile, eliciting wary gazes between the boy and the mare.

“Okay, slow down, kiddos.” David carefully rested Scootaloo back to her scooter. “What’s this letter thing all about?”

“It’s a collaboration letter, addressed to Apple Bloom for when she wakes up.” Sweetie explained as she sauntered up, coiling the letter in her magic. “We started at Miss Cheerilee’s schoolhouse, but might’ve gotten a little bit carried away when Diamond Tiara asked to take it to her father’s business to sign.”

“Isn’t it cool? Almost all of Ponyville is in on it now.” Scootaloo squealed, prancing about. “Apple Bloom’s gonna be so happy when she wakes up!”

David maintained a straight face, Rainbow displaying a similar demeanor, as the boy looked around and scratched his head and the pegasus nervously fluffed her wings.

“She is going to wake up sometime soon…right?” Scootaloo traded a worried glance to her friend. Sweetie Belle simply looked back with regret.

“Yes.” David answered, kneeling down. “Yes she will, and she’s going to be very happy to know that her friends didn’t give up on her.”

Sweetie was the first to look back up. “It’s okay, David. You don’t have to sugarcoat it for us.” She told him. “We know the situation may be a lot more worse than we even realize. After all, we’re only children, how’re we supposed to know anything?” She sighed, eyeing the scroll with bleary eyes. “Maybe this letter wasn’t such a good idea anywa-”

“I’ll sign it.” He blurted.

“Y-You will?” The little ponies looked up.

“I’ll sign it, and I’ll take it to her.” David nodded confidently. “Don’t you worry, girls. Apple Bloom is going to be okay and everything will go back to the way it should be. I promise.”

The blue glow of her horn encapsulated the plaque which read “Amethyst Star” proudly propped up upon her desk, and slowly slid over the edge into the cardboard box with her other belongings. The young unicorn exhaled with a deep sigh of remorse and regret as she picked up one possession after another, clearing her desk of its contents to make room for the next, lucky mare who would get to sit in Amethyst’s place. Her fellow employees, or rather former employees, eyed her with varying amounts of disdain and suspicions. They knew the kid wasn’t ready for this kind of work, or this kind of life, but they quite honestly hadn’t expected her to break away this soon. Some would say they were pleased to see her go, and others felt a notion of pity for the poor filly, but Amethyst could see past the lies. In the end, she never truly got along with the other office workers, and neither did they give any effort to get along with her. She knew she didn’t belong, she never belonged.

With her final task in Town Hall only a hoof and a trot away, the young unicorn looked warily upon the double doors which led into Mr. Mikado’s office. The flare of her levitation hesitated upon the book resting in her saddle bag. The wound on her hoof winced with displeasure, stifling the mare’s senses if only for a moment. She hadn’t even realized somepony was trying to talk to her.

“Miss Amethyst, are you alright?” The donkey asked.

The unicorn blinked and looked to her side. “Matilda…?”

“Well now, you remembered my name.” Matilda returned a smile, nodding comfortably.

“Well if you ask me, a mule’s face isn’t hard to forget.” Amethyst’s eyes bulged from her skull as she slapped both hooves over her mouth. “I-I’m so sorry! Did I say that out loud? I didn’t mean to-”

A hearty guffaw filled the office space, several of the workers looking over as Matilda laughed to the ceiling and swept a tear from her eye. “It pleases my heart to see you haven’t changed, Miss Star. You always cracked the funniest jokes, even as a young filly. My husband would be pleased to hear a few, it’d do him some good to finally get a smile across his face.”

“Y-Yeah, I guess so…” Amethyst rubbed the back of her head. I forgot how much this donkey likes to talk. She glowered internally.

“I must admit, it surprises me to see you here.” Matilda returned. “You must be doing pretty well for yourself after all.”

“Oh, well I was.” Amethyst pouted, quickly fixing her childish demeanor. “I mean-! The truth is, I just hoofed in my letter of resignation this morning, so that means today is my last day.”

“Oh dear, is that so?” Matilda looked on with concern. “You must’ve worked so hard for this job. As a matter of fact, I remember just a couple years back when everypony was at the after party for my husband’s and I’s wedding, and not a single one of the recipients even batted an eye in your direction. You went above and beyond to put everything together, and swore that one day you would become Ponyville’s top organizer.”

“Hehe, yeah…” Amethyst brushed her mane aside. “I guess I was pretty ambitious back then.”

“I do hate to prod, but what made you change your mind?”

“A few personal reasons, I suppose.” The mare shaded.

“Well, don’t let me interfere any more than I should-”

“No, it’s just-” Amethyst felt herself open up, looking back to the donkey. “I guess I never realized that I don’t belong somewhere until I actually tried to fit in. It’s a harsh realization, but a truth nonetheless, and I have no choice but to accept that fact. For whatever regrets that might fill my past, I know that I’ll eventually make peace with in the future.” The young mare blinked again with surprise, looking around the office space and back to her conversationalist. “Sorry to get so gloomy, it’s been a rough week.”

“Don’t you worry, honey, it’ll all get better. I’m sure of it.” Matilda delivered a small nod.

Amethyst traded back a similar nod as though it were the end of their little reunion, but Matilda halted at the sight of the tome hovering upon the young unicorn’s desk. She hadn’t even realized that it was resting there until the donkey returned with a curious set of eyes.

“Is that Koumanese?” Matilda asked.

Amethyst froze as the dots connected in her mind. Koumanese. She recalled.

“You can read that?” She wondered.

“Hardly a stroke of it, but my husband just might.” Matilda mentioned. “I couldn’t help but rummage around his old knick-knacks the other day, and I had come across a few scrolls he picked up while traveling through Neighsia. I thought I had recognized those symbols from somewhere.”

Amethyst looked to Ronin’s book and back to Matilda, weighing upon her options.

“My meeting for tonight has been canceled, since nopony decided to show up…but perhaps you’d be willing to join us for tea?” The donkey proposed.

The young unicorn’s sights slowly hovered across the room and landed upon Mr. Mikado’s double doors. She knew for a fact that the ambassador could read whatever contents lie within Ronin’s book, but was that really the smartest thing to do? A rivaly was suited against those two, the mare had seen it for herself. Just why exactly is Mikado here? She wondered. Why was Ronin here? With quiet realization, Amethyst began to wonder just why exactly this book had returned to her hooves in the first place. With a slow nod, her eyes returned to Matilda.

“Sure.” She accepted. “That would be nice.”

The orange glow of the evening struck through the foggy windows of the cozy little shack on the road side, a mere trot and a skip away from Ponyville. Dust hovered over several family tomes, scrapbooks and herilooms strewn about the living space and resting neatly upon the coffee table, the better part of the collection belonging to Matilda. Embers flickered and danced in the fire place tucked into the eastern wall of the living area, wherein the mahogany mantle above seemed to pique young Amethyst’s interest the most. It reminded her sweetly of the pictures in her own home, framed photos resting delicately upon a table in chronological order. Amethyst was never in the first picture, and the reason was clear as day. Did I ever ask mom where I came from? She wondered.

The sizzling of the kiln in the kitchen space hushed and flickered out as Matilda poured three cups of tea accordingly and ventured for the living room. Cranky sat quietly in his rocking chair eyeing Ronin’s book with several amounts of precision, muttering and grumbling all the while. Leaving the old donkey to his progress, the wife sauntered over and hoofed the unicorn her cup of tea.

“Thank you.” Amethyst responded politely, taking the cup into her magic. “Thank you for accepting me into your home, I mean.”

“Don’t mention it, honey. It’s the least I can do.” She responded.

“Cranky sure does have a lotta’ gadgets and knick-knacks, huh?”

“He’s been all over the world, and has seen quite a lot.” Matilda quietly sipped her tea. “Sometimes even more than he’s willing to tell.”

In that moment, Amethyst’s eyes hovered over a peculiar product upon the mantle. A pair of rusty, worn down shackles rested atop the shelf, with a small photo of what appeared to be an elderly donkey resting behind it. The donkey appeared tired, beaten, malnourished even, and with it the shackles emanated a ghostly, unnerving vibe.

“That’s Cranky’s grandfather.” Matilda informed quietly. “To this day I still don’t know the old donkey’s name, mainly because Cranky refuses to tell me. I find it best to not mention it to him.”

“What happened to him?” Amethyst wondered.

“Cranky’s grandfather was enslaved.” Matilda explained. “And those were his shackles.”

The unicorn slowly looked back to the iron resting upon the mantle, realizing that the splashes of rust covering the rings might not be rust after all, at least not all of it. A tiny lump formed in the young mare’s throat as her sights were traded between the image of the donkey and the broken shackles laying before her. Matilda went on.

“It was during the enslavement period in Neighsia, when mules were captured and sent to work in foreign lands. Some donkeys had fallen victim to these acts as well. Cranky has only told me bits and pieces, but he says that his grandfather’s family had ran into a caravan, and they just so happened to be a couple mules short. Whether it was by mistake or the traders simply didn’t care, each reason was just as cruel as the last.”

“The enslavement and rebellion period of Neighsia…” Amethyst vividly recalled. “I don’t remember much, but from what I heard Equestria had very little to do with the whole ordeal.”

“And perhaps that was for the best, too.” Matilda admitted.

Amethyst blinked twice, surprised. “But, we could have saved all of them. Equestria is a powerful kingdom, perhaps even the most powerful in all of Equis.”

“Would they have done any better here than they had over there? Perhaps some would, but I believe that most others would be bound to the very fate they were trying to escape.” Matilda closed her eyes, letting a small sigh go. “It’s a harsh truth, and a depressing one at that. It’s not that people were born to be enslaved, but rather, some were born to enslave.”

In order to live the lives that we do, others must live the lives that they do. That is how the world works. And as the words of her long gone partner echoed dimly in the recesses of her mind, a strange connection between that and the talk with Matilda settled deeply in the pit of the young, ambitious mare’s heart. Somewhere deep down, Amethyst knew that she had a part to play in all of this, that her destiny might in fact lay elsewhere, and not at the corner of some cubicle tucked away in an office.

Suddenly, a hearty laugh filled the living room, as though Cranky had come upon a moment of eureka. Both Amethyst and Matilda jumped to his guffaw and watched as he settled down in a fit of chuckling and chortling, struggling to get his next words across to the ladies.

“Well fry me noodles and call me Doodle! Little girl, you’re gonna get a buck and a kick outta’ this!” He laughed a little more.

“What?” She hurried over. “What’s it say?”

“Says here you’re supposed to be this little colt’s ‘princess’ or something other. He wants ya’ to come back home to his village so you two can live happily ever after.” He breathed and swept his eyes. “Do you remember when we were young, sweetie? I know I do, now.”

“Oh, Doodle.” Matilda frowned, nudging her husband. “Tell the young mare what it really says.”

“It’s not like I can be bothered to remember every little bit o’ Kouma, this kid’s horn writing is all over the place anyhow.” Cranky grumbled on. “The kid wants a princess, that’s all I can tell ya’.”

“Princess?” Amethyst drew back, flustered and blushing. “Nope, you’re wrong. You’re just making up some sort of fairy tale.”

“Don’t believe me? Take it to somepony else who can read it, then.” Cranky tossed the book onto the table.

“I don’t understand.” Amethyst shook her head. “Why would Ronin write something like that?”

“Well, he wouldn’t’ve come all the way from Neighsia for nothin’.” Cranky prodded. “Who is this Ronin fella’ anyhow?”

“He…” Amethyst looked past the window, to the sunset glow of the outdoors. “He was my friend. Ronin and I were the ones who tracked down Rose Luck after what she had been doing to other ponies’ gardens all around town. I’ll admit, he put a lot more effort into the investigation than I did, and I never did properly thank him for it. As a matter of fact, he never even told me why he was in Ponyville to begin with. It’s almost like he was…” The young mare paused, her heart skipped a beat. “Like he was looking for something, or somepony.”

As though gravity’s pull had influenced her so, her head tilted and her eyes landed upon Ronin’s notebook resting atop the collection of family tomes stacked upon the coffee table. As far as Amethyst knew, she had never met her mother, neither her father. There was the slim and smallest of chances, she felt, that she had lost somepony who could’ve helped her find those missing pieces. To solve the puzzle, and complete the pattern.

A knock arrived at the door, clicking the unicorn out of her thoughts. Matilda swiveled and approached with a quick glance through the window before turning the knob and swinging the door aside. A bright smile from the donkey met with a rather gloomy looking mare on the other end of the threshold.

“Good evening, ma’am, would this be the Doodle’s residence?” The mare’s voice came.

Cranky sunk in his seat, muttering obscenities over the name calling.

“That would be correct, miss…?” Matilda waited.

“Rose Luck.” There was a pause.

Amethyst hovered in the living room space, timidly eyeing her surroundings.

“Of course.” Matilda acknowledged. “You must be here to fill in for your community services?”

“Make sure you trim the hedges!” Cranky barked over his shoulder.

Matilda delivered a sigh and stepped aside. “Would you like to have a little tea before getting started?”

Rose Luck was almost enthusiastic to oblige, but the sight of the lavender unicorn hovering inside formed a strong stop in her throat. In a single beat the scarlet maned earth mare’s demeanor did a one-eighty. Taking a step back she gulped nervously, her eyes darting from side to side.

“A-Actually, I um-” Rose quavered. “I had just come to tell you that they got the date wrong, and I’ll be here first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Rose Luck?” Amethyst approached boldly.

The earth pony shrunk back, eyeing the ground intensely.

“I know you want to forget about what happened, and believe me so do I.” The unicorn persuaded. “But you and I both know this isn’t going to end unless you tell me what really happened.”

Slowly, Rose’s gaze drew back up, bleary green eyes staring back into Amethyst’s purple sights.

“Well…” The earth pony sniffed, and nodded. “Why don’t we settle it over that tea?”

The road to the hospital housed a single mare calmly trotting her way up the path, the sun shedding off its last strikes of light for the evening moments before touching the horizon. Though there was still much more to do on the farm, the earth pony sufficed in the work she had done thus far, and set her mind solely on her kin currently resting within Ponyville General. Everypony she had passed by in town knew by now where she was headed, and for that they decided not to say much, or better yet not say anything at all. They seemed to understand not to get between a mare and her family, especially after seeing the example she portrayed onto that poor boy. It was a little strange, the silence that emanated all around her. It almost seemed to reflect that of a certain neglectful nature the ponies showed to the very Equerry of their little town.

Just as she had wished yesterday, and the day before that, Applejack hoped that this would be the third and final trot to seeing her sister. The sight of her younger laying in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines and doo-hickeys, a beep and a breath every now and then was beginning to become too much to bare. Tonight, she would return to her own bed, to her own home, with not a worry nor fear in the world, and Applejack was intent on doing everything she could think to reach towards such a possibility. The pony supposed for a short moment, as she looked up to the streaks of purple and orange stretching across the sky, that this was how her parents must have felt every second of every day. The weight of her setson hung low, shadowing over her eyes.

There was a rustle in the bushes, and her sights flicked to the side. A burly, mass of red emerged from the treeline, the familiar figure of her brother dusting off the bristle and bramble from his hide. Big Macintosh. Although the stallion had been working late to catch up on the missed out chores, he was a relentless worker at that, and it only gave him the opportunity to take the shortcut through the orchard and to the hospital. He whipped his deep blonde mane and gnawed the straw in his jaw, soon catching sight of his sister a mere trot away. Though Applejack was reluctant, Macintosh braved himself and sauntered over to the younger mare with a wary yet confident stride, the same straight face he always kept across his complexion. Applejack rubbed her shoulder with one hoof, looking downcast, and finally came eye to eye with the big, brolic stud. Macintosh blinked, and sighed, and the two stood like that for a longer while.

“Well?” The sister dared. “Go on, say it.”

The brother blinked again. “Y’know I don’t say much.” He slowly answered.

“Then…what ya’ gotta keep me in suspense, for?” She whinnied, swinging her head away. “I know I done wrong, and I don’t deserve your company right now. As a matter o’ fact, I don’t deserve nopony’s company.”

“I didn’t come over here to guilt ya’ and make ya’ feel like the bad pony.” Macintosh spoke as though for a moment it were true, but he pushed on. “I came to talk to ya’ cuz your my sister.”

Slowly, the farm pony looked back towards the stallion, focusing on him with bleary eyes. There was a quiet moment longer, just brother and sister standing in the front lawn of the hospital, and a still breeze passed by before Mac thought carefully over his next words.

“When ma and pa left that morning, I never woulda’ guessed that it would be the last time we seen ‘em. None of us did.” He took a pause, breathing and glancing. “We put together a whole ‘welcome home party’ in the barn, and worked the farm till our hides caked with mud and the dirt come crawlin’ up our nostrils. An’ when ma and pa didn’t come home that night…I dunno if’n you ever seen a grown colt cry, but that woulda’ been the time. I was ‘bout ready to quit, Jack. I wanted to give up.” His eyes glazed over his sister, calmly and respectfully. “But then I seen you. Even though I knew you was just holdin’ it all in, you didn’t shed no tear nor give no whinny. Ya’ just kept workin’. Ya’ knew what ya’ had to do, and ya’ did it. I know why you do some of the things you do, Jack.”

“There’re some things I ain’t proud of, Mac.” Applejack sniffled.

The weight of her brother felt closer than ever, and the stallion hefted his neck over her shoulder, nuzzling her and offering his embrace. “We all make mistakes.” He said quietly. “But that dudn’t mean we’re a bad pony. It’s just an opportunity to prove our courage.”

Applejack felt her hooves lifting and wrapping around her elder brother’s neck, tightly returning the affection her kin had offered so selflessly, so unconditionally. Every little bit, ounce, and fiber of her being wanted to squeeze away that horrible, sick feeling in her stomach, the plague of remorse and regret. Alas, no matter how hard she tried the illness rooted itself deeper, and had seeded itself to the pit of her heart. In her fret of never finding a proper cure, the smallest of whimpers escaped her lungs as shallow words followed after.

“I’m just…so, so scared for our little Apple Bloom.” She shook and shivered. “I don’t wanna lose her, Mac. Not like mama and papa.”

“If it makes ya’ feel any better…” The stag started. “I seen you take after our parents the most, outta’ all of us.”

It got a small chuckle out of the earth mare, a forced one at that. Perhaps he was right…

“Now, c’mon.” Macintosh parted, leading his sister down the road. “Let’s go see our lil’ sister.”

The farm pony’s frown slowly faded, and was traded for that of a content and grateful smile.

And that grateful smile blinked back to a frown at the flick of a tail, and a mean one at that. Applejack found herself glaring across the room, past the figure of her little sister laying in the hospital bed, staring daggers at the very visitor who dared setting another foot anywhere near her family. The boy sat hunched over on the small chair at the far end of the room, looking everywhere but the mare’s eyes, and Macintosh observed the tension of the room with slow yet understanding speculation.

“Y’got a death wish, circus show?” Applejack sneered.

The boy failed to respond.

“Cuz’ if I were a lion, you’d be jumping through this hoop ya’ call my jaws-”

“’Nuff, Jack.” Her brother huffed. “Can’t ya’ see the boy come here to do the same thing we come to do?”

“Not with him around, ah’ ain’t.”

Finally, David sighed and pushed himself up. “If you want me to leave, I’ll leave-”

“Eee-nope!” Mac puffed his chest, waving his hoof down. “You stay for as long as ya’ like. Any bit o’ company from anypony is always welcome, no matter who it might be. Ain’t that right, Applejack?”

The sister clenched her teeth and held back a sneer, as to not get back on her brother’s bad side only moments after having apologized to him in the middle of the hospital’s front field. She turned her eyes briefly to the boy, whom dared another look her way and blinked in the most sympathetic manner he could muster. Quickly, his eyes returned to the little figure resting in the bed, and Mac turned with another huff. Fairly satisfied that the boy had returned to his seat, he mosied for the door and spoke over his shoulder.

“I trust y’all will play nice while I’m gone?” He asked.

David threatened to stand again, and Applejack started after him.

“Where in the hay y’think you’re goin’?” She splayed her hooves. “Ya’ just got here!”

“Get some water…” The stallion answered, a little shy. “Stal’s gotta stay hydrated n’ all.”

Lest another word escape her mouth, Big Mac slipped around the door and seemingly escaped through the crack much too slender for a pony his size. The door clicked shut, and Applejack gave a hearty ha-rumph, mumbling little curses beneath her breath as her tail swished side to side and her rump found her seat. She stifled another snort, and remembered that the most important thing was the pony laying on the bed in front of her at this very moment. David crawled past a nervous gulp and returned to his pose on the chair, elbows to his knees and hands clasped tightly beneath his nose.

Meanwhile, Big Mac’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks as he realized what he had just done. He quietly damned himself for using his little sister’s unconscious presence to work as a peace keeper between the boy and his other, crazy, not-so-unconscious sister. Alas, this was the only way he sought that these two might finally come to some agreement. If anything, it was a start.

The kettle returned from the stone fire in the kitchen and hovered above the cup of tea with wisps of steam rising from the spout, pluming into rolling puffs as the sweet, hot chamomile swirled and filled to the brim. Amethyst flared her horn and raised the cup to Rose Luck’s hooves, a small gesture to encourage the young florist in the details she was determined to utter. In a strange sort of way, that little note of kindness made the young investigator feel as though her partner was here with her now, that little bit of modesty that she showed having been something of his own. The earth pony blinked gratefully to the younger mare and blew over the surface of the tea a few times before taking her first sip. The cup rested back down to the coaster, and Rose started with a lengthy sigh.

“I suppose it’s too late to admit that I wasn’t thinking about the repercussions, when I had did what I had done?” She sulked briefly, and continued. “But let’s face it, I was desperate. I had nowhere else to go, nothing more I could do. Of course I would resort to ruining what others had worked hard for, all for my own benefit. And…it sickens me.” Her gaze fell to the floor. “Sometimes, you get so caught up in trying to save something that you just end up destroying it.”

“You did it because you were trying to save your shop, right?” Amethyst queried. “You wanted to protect your livelihood.”

“And for what, only to end up worse off?” Rose shook her head. “At this point, I don’t even know what I want anymore. I’m not even sure if I want forgiveness, I don’t trust that it’ll lead me back to the life I had before all of this had happened.”

“Maybe it won’t.” Matilda began. “But, no doubt it’s a good place to start. Whether it be from you or from somepony else, a little bit of love and understanding has got to come from both sides.”

There was a card resting upon the bouquet of flowers on the bedside table, sprawled out and put on display for anypony curious enough to take a look. Well over three-hundred signatures and good-natured messages had managed to squeeze into the final result of the card addressed to Apple Bloom, complete with little insignia’s of cutie marks, decorations, and not to mention Spike’s contribution of gem glitter littering the better part of the parchment. That was the last time any crusader would think to take any paper into Twilight’s library when she was in the middle of one of her “organizing sessions.” Applejack strained her sights at the card for a short while, but alas she would not wander over to get a closer look. The table was on David’s side, after all. All the farm mare could think to do now was to lower her head and mumble little affirmations of hope to her younger resting in the bed.

“Little Bloom…I’m so sorry.” She breathed to calm herself. “I shoulda’ been there for ya’. Your big sister knows better than to let a lil’un like you wander. I shoulda’ been protectin’ ya’ like I always have, ever since Ma and Pa left us…And for that, I’m sorry.”

“Careful…” The boy mumbled. “I saw her ear flicker.”

“What, huh?!” Applejack jolted, scanning her sister intensely.

Alas, the young pony did not move, all except for the slow rise and fall of her little chest. Applejack shot a nasty snarl to an apologetic looking David, his hands splayed and a strange wiggle over his lips. Did she really move? Was he joking?

“Consarn it!” She barked. “I oughta’ buck you in the face next time around!”

“Easy, it was only a joke-” David’s face fell into his hands. “I mean-! I get it, now’s not the time for horseplay, but there’s no reason for us to sulk and mope around all the time, right?”

“That’s rich, comin’ from you.”

“Or argue.” He argued.

Applejack raised a brow.

“Okay look, what I meant was…” He ran a hand through his hair, reconsidering his words. “What I meant to imply was that Apple Bloom might not like it when you talk to her like that. Like uh…” He shrugged. “…a little filly.”

Applejack’s brow cocked higher. “She is a lil’ filly.”

David glanced the little pony’s ears again. Reflexes, reflexes! He warned himself.

“That may be true.” He agreed, scanning his mind. “But…she’s brave, too. She’s smart, talented, loves to help out her friends, and knows how to keep her head in the game when situations go south.”

David slowly wiped a hand over his face in response to the unintentional “bad jokes” his mouth had been running ever since he decided to open it. At least Applejack’s brow hadn’t climbed any higher, but still the ire in her eyes remained. Surprise that she had let him get this far, the boy took a slow and shaky breath before continuing.

“Believe it or not, this little pony has inspired me.” He nodded. “I hear that’s what her special talent is all about, helping others find their purpose and inspiring them to try new things. It seems her influence doesn’t fall short to ponies alone.”

And quietly, the dots and the stars clicked together in his mind as the words of the dream walker entered his thought. Do you deem yourself so apart from these equines that surround you in your day-to-day life in Equestria? Princess Luna had uttered to him. …you are closer to the likeness of ponykind than you have ever been in your entire life thus far. David looked up in wonder at the little filly lying in the bed, eyes shut and chest slowly rising and falling beneath slumber. He wondered if perhaps she was dreaming at this very moment, if perhaps Princess Luna was watching over her.

Applejack was busy shaking her head, trying to put two and two together, but her stubbornness broke as soon as she decided that she was just going to have to ask the boy herself. One way or another, she would get to the bottom of it.

“I just don’t get it.” She mumbled. “Even if Twilight don’t got a clue as to why you’re here, then who does?” Once again, she raised a brow. “Do you even know what you’re doing here?”

David gave a chuckle. “It’s funny-” He started. “That Mikado guy had asked me the same thing, right after I asked him what he was doing in Ponyville, of course.”

“That big-wig with the curved horn?” Applejack snuffed. “He’s an outsider anyhow.”

“From the looks of him, I’d say he’s some sort of shōgun guy looking to take over the commercial industry. As to why he’d start in a little country town of all places? Y’got me.” He shrugged, leaning back in his chair. “All I can say is, don’t be surprised if you start finding automobile ads in your guys’ newspaper.”

“What the hay does that got to do with anything?” She eyed him curiously.

“Just…making conversation.” He shrugged again.

Her eyes remained slitted, gaze fixed to that same gesture he had been doing almost ever since she had arrived at the hospital. That same note of body language, that shrug. He did that quite often, out of reflex it seemed, and though it was starting to get on her nerves she almost understood his reasoning for doing so. In response, Applejack gave the boy a shrug of her own. David blinked, cocked his head and gave another shrug, exaggerated and playful. He had to hold back a grin as Applejack rested her shrug and cocked her eyebrow again. David attempted to relay, but failed in his inability to flex one brow at a time. It was Applejack’s turn to hold back a grin.

“I think this is the first normal interaction you and I have had together.” David couldn’t help but smile.

Applejack took a moment to realize this, and decided to return the heartfelt words with an obnoxious snort and a turn of her muzzle. She huffed and slid her hat over her eyes. “I wouldn’t go writin’ home about it.” She muttered.

By then, the kettle had begun to run short of water, and the mares were far past satisfied with the amount of tea in their bellies and the conversation they beheld. A tinge of realization struck the back of Rose Luck’s mind, the notion that would bring her to say things and tell others details that she would never even imagine bringing up in such public places, even the abode of her own home. This old, little cabin on the outskirts of Ponyville was far from his sight, out of range of his ears. Rose didn’t just know it, she felt it. No flower bloomed where the whispers did not carry.

“Amethyst.” She began promptly, clearing her throat. “I owe you an apology.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” The unicorn chuckled. “I made six bits an hour walking around sniffing flowers all day.”

Rose delivered a somewhat, dead-panned expression, as though she were waiting for this kid to just shut up and let her talk.

“Right…” The young mare was reminded of the earth pony’s own occupation. “Well, for what it’s worth, there’s no doubt in my mind I wouldn’t accept it.”

“In all honesty, it would mean the world to me right now.” Rose admitted.

“Yeah,” Amethyst agreed, meeting her hoof with Rose’s. “Me too.”

Matilda watched past glossy eyes, hooves clasped in a tight embrace of pure joy as the pair of ponies sitting on her living room couch finally got past their differences and accepted one another as fellow equines. Cranky gave an obnoxious snore, sputtering awake as soon as his wife whapped him over the head with a rolled up newspaper.

“I agree, Cranky.” Amethyst gave a yawn. “I think it’s time for an afternoon nap…and a bath.”

“This isn’t over yet.” Rose declared. “There’s something you ought to know, you and your partner both. That Mr. Mikado, the one at Town Hall…something isn’t right about him.”

“I always figured as much…” Amethyst gazed around the room. “Say, does it feel kinda hot in here?”

“You need to relay this message to your partner as soon as you can.” Rose gave the unicorn a squinted look.

“Why, Ronny boy? He’s…” Amethyst drawled, going lopsided. “He’s picking out my favorite flowers, and they’re just my color!” The mare giggled, smiled stupidly. “He’s so sweet…”

“Amethyst, dear, are you alright?” Matilda reached out with a hoof. “You look rather pale.”

“Funny you should say that.” The noxious mare rose to her hooves. “I think I need one right about-”

And with the struggle to stand on her own four hooves, Amethyst teetered and tottered before slipping over the edge of the coffee table and crashing to the floor with a drained and defeated boom. Both Matilda and Rose sprung to action, calling the young mare’s name and inspecting her form all over.

The blood had seeped its way through her bandage, the gash rippling with infectious, sickly hues of purple and green. Amethyst’s eyes fluttered shut as she fell beneath a soundless, black nothing.

Silence had reigned over the room once more, all except for the momentary beep of the strange, little “life support” machine mounted to the wall above the little patient’s head. David had only taken a moment to study the device’s exterior, attempting to decipher its inner machinations, almost seeming as though some sort of magic played a role in its operation. However, the sight of the patient in the bed had distracted him time and time again, and he finally decided to rest his thoughts and think of the better times to come in the future. At least, he hoped for these better times.

Applejack sat silent as ever, all the same as the boy. Her gaze stretched across her little sister and once again landed on the card resting upon the bedside table. The orange evening glow was beginning to fade to deep purple, and she knew visiting hours were bound to be up soon. She sighed a final time, closing her eyes.

The door clicked open, a white earth mare with a nurse cap emerging from the other end. “Miss Applejack?” Redheart called. “There are some visitors here who would like to speak with you.”

“Send ‘em in.” The mare nodded.

“I’m sorry, but visiting hours will be over soon. We can’t let too many ponies in the patient rooms at once.” The nurse glanced over to the boy, blinking a moment before speaking. “Sir? Visiting hours will be-”

“I know, I heard you the first time.” Strangely prompt, the boy turned to the farm pony. “Go on and see who’s here, Applejack. I’ll spend a few more minutes with Apple Bloom.”

She held back a grunt, and struggled to push herself from her seat as though glue held her to its cushion. With a glance to the door and the waiting nurse pony, Applejack finally pushed her way over to the portal and gave her younger one last look before slipping past the threshold and sliding the frame shut. David paused before he was sure the coast was clear, dealing the sign of the cross over his head, shoulders and chest. He resumed his position with elbows to his knees and fingers interlocked, and a small prayer mumbled its way past his lips.

Apple Bloom’s ear flickered.

Applejack elicited something of a surprised stare, but blinked with recognition at the stallion and his daughter standing before her. Mr. Filthy Rich wore a mournful expression, Diamond Tiara all the same as the old colt lumbered forward and took the elder sister’s hoof in both of his own.

“My sincerest condolences to the fate that has befallen your dear sister, Miss Applejack.” Rich spoke reverently. “It would do our hearts and our family good to help yours in anyway we can.”

“Shucks, Mr. Rich, I’m mighty thankful you’ve given it the thought.” Applejack shook back. “But, honest t’betsy, everypony’s already done everything they can. I know you’ve signed Apple Bloom’s card and all, I’d consider that more than enough.”

“Oh, but you misunderstand.” Filthy was strangely enthusiastic. “I’m here to do exactly that.”

“W-Whadda’ ya’ mean…?” Applejack looked on, perplexed.

“I understand that our companies have been in business with each other for quite some time, ever since that old Grand Pear left Ponyville, to be exact.” The business pony cleared his throat and continued. “Don’t get me wrong, this ain’t an offer I thought up outta’ the blue from pity of what happened to your sister.”

“Offer?” Applejack wondered.

“Daddy’s given it a lot of thought over the past few months.” Diamond Tiara joined in. “It started out as funding plans for my academy career in the future, but now we think this will be the best move for both the shop and the orchard.”

“We believe that Barnyard Bargains and Sweet Apple Acres oughta’ come together to form one big business, here in Ponyville.” Filthy nodded with confidence. “We’ll call it ‘Barnyard Acres’.”

“I thought we agreed on ‘Sweet Apple Bargains’?” Diamond interjected.

“That’s what they call a working title, sweetheart.” The father rubbed her mane.

“But…Granny Smith is the matriarch to Sweet Apple Acres. She always has been.” Applejack argued. “I don’t even know if she’ll agree with everything y’all are sayin’, but you oughta’ bring it up with her first.”

“And we already have.” Diamond confirmed.

“She told us to leave the decision up to you.” Filthy nodded.

Applejack was taken aback, struggling between a dumbfounded glance to the floor and fixing her hat in various ways. Why would Granny do this all of a sudden? Why had the tumult of this responsibility fallen upon her? T’was more of a matter of stoppin’ myself from stoppin’ you. Her elder’s words bounced back to her mind. Ya’ just kept workin’. Ya’ knew what ya’ had to do, and ya’ did it. Her brother’s words, coming back to memory. If ma and pa were still here they’d prolly be lecturing me just the way you’re doin’ right now. And finally, her little sister’s words. This was it then, her first big decision as the matriarch of the farm. Although she knew that she had not chosen this path, her virtues and her actions are what inevitably led her to lead both her family and her farm. The only question she sought to ask herself now was whether or not she was truly ready to take on such a task.

As the voices fell, the silence of the hallway loomed over the occupants within, everypony in anticipation as to what the young farm mare might say next. Alas, her speech cut short, the door to Apple Bloom’s room swung open as though the rushing, roaring wind had blown right through.

David stood speechless, shocked and staring, and finally spoke.

“She’s awake.”

The room filled within a matter of seconds. Applejack flung herself to one side of the bed while David rounded and waited eagerly on the other side. Filthy and Diamond distanced themselves respectfully, yet kept close enough to watch the little pony laying in the bed stir and blink the bleariness from her eyes. Macintosh was right by her sister’s side, and the remaining Crusaders practically hopped onto the sheets with fervent desire to greet their friend. Nurse Redheart was already in the room, shushing the little fillies as everypony froze and focused their attention to the little mare, finally awake, finally looking around the room with wide and wondering eyes.

“Rise and shine, sugarcube.” Applejack spoke softly, her eyes growing wet. “Stars above…I’m so happy y’made it.”

“What…?” Apple Bloom mumbled her first words. “What happened…? Where am I?”

“You’re in the hospital, lil’ Bloom.” Macintosh spoke.

“You hit your head.” Sweetie Belle noted.

“And there was blood everywhere-”

Sweetie proceeded to slap Scootaloo upside the head before returning to the earth filly.

Applejack breathed. “So…how ya’ feelin’, sugarcube?”

“…” Apple Bloom hesitated. “Is that…my name?”

The occupants blinked, looking to each other with mixtures of confusion and worry. “O’course not, silly. Your name is Apple Bloom.” Applejack answered.

And once again, the filly in the bed hesitated, gazing upon each and every single face as though they were complete and utter strangers to her. Finally, her eyes rested upon the boy, her sights scared and confused.

“Say…” she began. “Who is Apple Bloom?”

Chapter 55 - The Late Bloomer

Every little filly and colt frolicked and pranced in the field next to the schoolhouse, laughing and teasing all the while as the sun shone generously that early afternoon, a nip and shiver of a breeze passing through the valley. Everypony danced and played, skipped and trotted, hopped and nodded. Everypony…except for the little girl sitting all alone, staring upon the scene as though it were a whole other planet to her. It may as well have been.

Unknowingly, she burdened two pairs of eyes upon her form from afar, one foreign and the other familiar. Miss Cheerilee eyed her students carefully for a moment more before giving more proper attention to the boy sitting next to her. The school teacher of the house delivered a saddened sigh as she turned to the human with an almost apologetic gesture.

“I’m not sure what the Apples have told you yet, but I’m almost certain their story is the same as mine.” Her eyes glazed over her student. “Demeaning it may be to say, Apple Bloom is a hollow husk of her former self now. She’s just…not there.”

David said nothing, only his quiet acknowledgment gave answer to the teacher’s qualms.

“She doesn’t listen in class, she hardly talks, hardly eats…” The mare shook her head, struggling to continue. “As I’d put it, that bloom in her eyes has all but wilted away.”

It was David’s turn to elicit a sigh of his own, almost as though he were frustrated with himself at the outcome of such events. Quickly remembering his company, he turned with the attempt to utter some words of condolence, assistance, or even encouragement. But what could he say now? What could he do? The situation had been resolved only for it to be turned on its head, as though an hourglass had been turned back seconds before the last of its grains could reach the bottom. In his thought and doubt, something caught his eye laying in the middle of the yard.

“What’s that?” He pointed curiously.

Cheerilee glanced over and struggled to hold back yet another roll of her eyes. “It’s her bow. Y’know, the one she puts in her mane?” The teacher explained. “She keeps taking it off and just leaves it laying around. Celestia knows she can’t help it, but I think it’d be better if I were to hold onto it from now on.”

David was the first to approach the little accessory laying in the grass, scooping it up in his palms as he looked back to the mare. “Have you tried giving it back to her?” He asked.

“I don’t see how much that would help, considering she struggles to remember her own name.” She held out a hoof. “I’ll keep it in my desk from now on.”

“Of course, if you’d be willing to let me try something first?” David attempted.

Alas, the mare shook her head. “Please, I don’t want to start beating around the bush. I think that the best thing we can do for her now is to leave her be.”

But David was persistent. “To be honest, I don’t think I’ll be able to rest until I try talking to her.” He looked on with intent. “Please, Miss Cheerilee. Just this once?”

The restlessness in her eyes grew all the more as she stared at the boy holding the little hair bow in his hands. She passed a glance over to Apple Bloom sitting alone, and let a long, shaky breath of dread-filled air escape her lungs before nodding back to the boy, stiff and reluctant.

“Alright.” She settled. “But make it short, recess will be over soon.”

It’s not much of a recess for her anyways. David grumbled within his mind, slipping the bow into one hand and hiding it behind his back as he fell into a casual saunter.

His eyes carried across the grass and over to the playground equipment where the children pranced and played. The familiar hues of white and orange briefly filled his eyes before he trained his sights back to the girl sitting alone. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had already spent hours with an unresponsive filly both in class and outdoors, and the two huddled together to watch closely in wonder of the what the boy might attempt. Before he knew it, he was upon the little pony, a smile forced over his lips. Apple Bloom turned her head, nonchalant as ever, scanning the strange, pink-skinned creature before her with bored, expressionless eyes.

“How come you’re sitting all alone?” He asked, innocent as ever.

The pony stared, and shrugged.

“Would you like me to sit with you?” He tried.

Silence, and then a nod. David smiled brighter as he calmly took his seat next to her, gazing across the yard and to the green hills in the distance along with her. She hadn’t even so much as flinched when the boy approached her, and it made him wonder just what exactly could be going on inside that head of hers. Her “thousand-yard-stare” made him have his doubts.

“The other kids don’t want to sit with me because they’re trying to be nice.” Apple Bloom finally spoke, meticulous and slow. Her voice felt scratchy and rigid, so much so that the boy would never have recognized it.

“They’re all your friends, Apple Bloom.” The boy tried. “You know they mean well.”

“I don’t think I know anything anymore…” She sulked and hung her head, that hollow gaze of hers beginning to glisten.

Easy does it. The boy reminded himself. It was like trying to pick weeds out of a garden, the frail attempt at maintaining its original beauty a destructive attempt at best. Thus, he sought for a distraction of some sort.

“I know it may be tough for you, but if you can think of the one thing that’ll make you the happiest pony alive, what would it be?” He asked her.

Apple Bloom calmly lifted her gaze from the grass and stared at her former friends sitting idly across the yard. She blinked and looked back up to the boy. “Being with my friends again.” She said.

“Well, there they are.” He gestured forward. “Why don’t you go play with them?”

“Because I’m not their friend.” She explained quietly. “I mean, I’m not Apple Bloom anymore. She must have been a wonderful pony to talk to. She had a lot of friends, a lot of family. She was kind, smart and brave. At least…that’s what everypony’s been telling me about her.” She sulked again, eyeing the earth. “Everypony wants me to be like Apple Bloom again, but I don’t know how.”

“Do you recognize this?” And he swiped the hair bow from behind his back, presenting it to the little filly.

The apple filly eyed the piece slowly and delicately, but not a hint of curiosity glazed over her sights. She looked to the boy and served another shrug.

“This is the little red bow you always tied into your mane.” He recalled. “Anypony could spot you from a mile away. Not only that, but it always added a certain charm to your character.”

Apple Bloom weakly lifted the accessory in her hooves, glossing it over with another bored once-over.

“I’ll bet as soon as you put that back on, you’ll be right as rain.”

“Rain falls down, not right.” Apple Bloom reminded.

David blinked. “Right…”

A moment of anticipation passed before the filly swept the piece above her head and fixed the stark red ribbon beneath the strands of her hair. She forced a smile past her tightened lips, which came off as more of a strange expression of pain, and in that moment the breeze blew by. The wind kicked and swept the bow from the little filly’s hair, landing back down onto the grass with a defeated puff. The filly frowned again, looking up to the human apologetically.

“I realize what it is you’re trying to do, and I appreciate your effort, sir.” Apple Bloom rose from the bench and sauntered over to her ribbon, picking it up with her mouth as she turned and laid it back into David’s palms. “But I just don’t think it’s meant to be.”

“Apple Bloom…” Was all the boy could think to say.

Without a single goodbye, the filly turned once again and lumbered off in the direction of the schoolhouse. Cheerilee had been watching from afar, whom gave the boy a sorry stare before trotting after the little pony to look after her. The slump in his shoulders grew heavy, his rump glued to the bench as the motivation to stand and chase after her had all but left him now. David took his eyes skyward and watched the clouds roam by, wondering now what he might do next, or if there were even any options to begin with. Of course there was a way. There always had to be a way.

“Don’t feel bad.” A little voice arrived. “Everypony else has tried just as hard.”

“Dinky?” The boy turned, happy and surprised.

“I know, it’s unfair, but maybe this is the way things were supposed to turn out.” The little unicorn gave her thoughts. “Weird as that might sound, I guess it’s just the way I feel.”

“Well, I haven’t forgotten what you told me at the lake.” David reminded.

“What’s that?”

“Things don’t appear out of thin air unless they have a special purpose.” He recited, looking back across the landscape. “Maybe this was supposed to happen for a reason? For whatever reason that old bastard let this happen…I dunno. He was never straight with me to begin with.” Blinking with realization, he gave the unicorn an innocent, nervous grin and patted her mane. “Ehehe, I probably wasn’t supposed to say that around you. Promise you won’t tell your teacher?”

Dinky looked up with a grin of her own. “Sis and I say bad words all the time.” She giggled. “When mom’s not around, of course.”

“When I was your age I was cussing like a sailor.” He laughed this time. “I suppose its better to get it all out now rather than later, huh?”

“Yeah.” The little pony giggled again. “I guess so.”

The breeze picked up once more, the harsh sting of the cold needling beneath their pelts as they shivered with the reminder of the changing of the season, and the ever so slow changing of the time. David and Dinky sat and watched as the world roamed by, day after day, hour after hour and minutes down to the seconds. It was only the seconds that had ever made up the little moments in everyone’s life. Each and every second was a moment lived, and a moment remembered. A moment of simply being…alive. Existent. Human

“I’m afraid.” Dinky spoke, quietly and suddenly.

David stopped, gazing over her form with the intent to listen.

“I’m afraid to find out what the future is like.” She continued. “I know that someday I’ll get my cutie mark, I always knew I would. But I’m afraid to find out what that day will entail. I’m even afraid to find out what kind of cutie mark I’ll get…”

The boy crossed her a knowing glance, and went to rub the scar over his chest. It still stung, it still hurt, but in a strange way the pain was giving him a notion of reassurance. Credibility. Realism.

“The only reason we fear something is because we don’t know what it is.” He spoke from experience. “That’s just our mind’s way of reacting to something it can’t fully understand.”

Dinky blinked and looked up to the boy hopefully, and from this he knew to continue.

“But that doesn’t mean it’s going to stop you.” He said. “You can take matters into your own hands. You can build, you can prepare. Although this world may be unpredictable, our will to go up against it is proof enough that we can change the future.”

Dinky blinked again, twice, chuckling with a hint of surprise. “Where was that during your presentation at the schoolhouse?”

He laughed and brushed his hair. “I only get those kind of speeches once a month. Don’t go spending it all in one place.”

Miss Cheerilee pranced back out into the school yard to call her children back to the building, each of her students assuming their lineup in single file as they put their energy to rest and trotted up the stairs leading to the school’s front door. Dinky watched them for a moment knowing she would have to join them soon, and so she turned back to the boy with a final regard.

“Do you think Apple Bloom will get better soon?” She asked him longingly. “I know I was pretty nasty to her in the past, both her and her friends, but I hate to see her like this.”

“Call it my mission.” He raised a thumb. “I just need you to do a favor for me. Make amends with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, and look out for Apple Bloom for me. You think you can do that?”

A surge of confidence swelled within the young pony as she nodded and smiled with reassurance. It gave the boy a tinge of hope, and he held out his fist for her hoof to meet with a bump. David sprung from the bench and gave a holler and a wave over his shoulder as he jogged for the village in the distance. Moments later, Dinky turned to find that the entirety of her class had all but disappeared back into the building, and only her teacher stand in their wake, staring down the young unicorn with a grim expression. Fearing that punishment was ahoof, the student shunned herself and stumbled up to the teacher with apologetic eyes, but something in the older mare’s tone felt oddly distraught. Dinky looked up, and the familiar sight of a gray, blonde pegasus stood by her side.

“Mom?” She stared with dismay.

“I’m very sorry, Dinky, but it appears that you’ll have to leave school early today.” Cheerilee explained.

Why be sorry? If anything this is good news. The little unicorn thought a moment. Oh no, am I being expelled?!

“Mom, what’s going on?” She questioned fearfully. “Did I not study hard enough? Did I fail another test? I’ll do better, I promise-!”

“It’s not that, little one.” Derpy approached carefully, eyeing her daughter with misaligned, sorrowful eyes. “It’s Amy…”

Chapter 56 - Infiltration

Her chest rose and shuddered back down with shaky, ragged breaths, each and every push and pull of air a painful sight to bare. Sweat trickled down her brow and around her face as a damp, cold cloth was placed just beneath the base of her horn, the thermometer between her lips rising to a stark red as the stallion pulled it from her mouth and inspected it carefully. Doctor Horse placed the diaphragm over the young mare’s chest and listened, everypony else present watching with interest and anticipation. He pulled the nodes from his ears and hung his stethoscope around his neck, leaning back over to give Amethyst’s wound one last look. The swelling had increased, streaks of red shining beneath the puffs of purple and green.

“High fever, blood sugar deficiency, loss of cognition.” The doctor listed. “Her body has doubled down in response to the infection, but…”

“But, what?” Derpy looked on worryingly.

“She is losing, severely.” Horse warned. “Although the infection may take some time to spread, there’s no way her immune system will be able to fight back. I fear that our means of medication may not even be enough to help her.”

“Are you saying that sis is…” Dinky’s legs fell weak. “That she’s going to…?”

“Of course not, my little muffin.” Derpy curled a wing over her child. “Amethyst is going to be fine, I promise.”

“Your mother is right, little one, there is indeed hope for your sister yet.” Horse turned back to his patient, giving the wound another once over. “The manner of infliction and its infection is all but unknown to me. I have never seen anything like it before, it’s almost other-worldly.” He went on. “During my years of studying to become a doctor I had been traveling through Neighsia, and came across several diseases and infections thought to be incurable in our world. However, the unicorns of Neighsia showed exceptional knowledge in the field of plants and herbs, achieving antidotes that could cure almost any illness. I have no doubt that if we put our faith in this medicine, young Amethyst will be cured.”

For a short while nopony returned with a proper response, only for the lone earth pony of the room to lift her head and speak.

“Is there…anywhere we can look for this special antidote?” Rose Luck asked.

“That answer, I believe, rests with you.” Horse nodded.

Rose stammered and waved her hoof in denial. “Me? No, I’m not qualified to help anypony anymore. After all I’ve done…”

“Then allow this to be an opportunity for redemption.” Horse closed his eyes. “Regardless of what you’ve done, all we ask of you is to do what you can to save this young mare’s life. Will you help us, Rose Luck?”

Rose quietly stammered over the consequences in her head. She knew that this would be going against what he had done for her. What he had told her to do. However, the consideration and compassion that the young unicorn laying in the bed had shown her gave testimony to go against the odds. Rose recalled upon a more rebellious phase of her life, the pony who cared for others and would go above and beyond, even if it meant so much as forfeiting her own way of life. Thus, her stance felt almost automatic as she stood proper and nodded firmly. “Without a doubt.”

Horse let a small grin slip by, almost as though he knew she would accept. “Your knowledge of flowers is vast, I trust?”

“Does my rump look like it’s got a wrench on it?” Rose swung her hips and showed her cutie mark to the stallion, the symbol of a rose shown clear as day.

“Nelumbo nucifera, a lotus plant almost entirely exclusive to Neighsia.” Horse elaborated. “Not only will it take special procedure to prepare the antidote, but a special doctor as well.”

Rose stared on at the doctor, frozen and dumbfounded. She had practiced for years to not show such doubt that it had become almost completely habitual to her. What in Celestia’s name is a nelumbo…? She wondered.

The ponies of Ponyville watched on with much less caution and much more curiosity this time as their royal Equerry jogged down the isles of the market and into the plaza square, headed straight for Town Hall. A simple little gesture of remembrance wasn’t going to be enough to bring back Apple Bloom’s memory, and knowing this full well now, he headed for the one place he believed to hold the ancestral records that just might jog the little filly’s memory back in line. He bounded down the path and cleared the stairs leading up to the front doors, two pony guards jolting in surprise as they crossed their spears in front of the entrance, delivering tight, meaningful glares.

“What’s the big deal?” David shot, hands to his hips.

“By order of the Princess, we cannot allow you entry into Town Hall.” Sam recited.

“Oh yeah?” The boy reached into his back pocket. “Well then, feast your over-sized eyes-”

“That won’t work.” Ralph stiffened.

“Yeah, we already know you’re the Equerry.” Sam returned. “It’s not like you have to pull out your little badge every time.”

“But I almost never get to use it…” The boy’s shoulders dropped.

“Only Town Hall personnel and government officials are allowed inside, by order of her Highness, Princess Sparkle.” Ralph repeated strictly.

Town Hall personnel only? David wondered for a moment. I’ll bet Mikado’s got something to do with this.

“Aw c’mon, this ain’t fair.” He whined. “What could possibly be so important that you can’t even let your humble Equerry inside?”

“You will remain outside until further notice.” The bat pony turned up his snout and averted his gaze. “Now scram! Your sight is almost as unbearable as the sun.”

“What a grouch…” The boy muttered beneath his breath, lumbering back down the stairs.

“You are kind of a grouch, sometimes.” Sam mused to his partner.

“Shut up, Sam.” Ralph snorted. “You’re being paid to do it, after all…”

His feet felt like weights of lead, growing heavier with each step he took further from the front entrance of Town Hall. Patience may have been the key here, but with so many answers and possibilities coming from one place and the other, his desire to seize the opportunities were crying out more than ever. He knew deep down that it wasn’t just the call to aid Apple Bloom in her time of need that fueled his motivation, but something had changed over the past few weeks. The ground beneath his feet, the animals and the trees, the rush of air and the sun upon his back…it all felt too uncomfortably real. Until now, the boy had been going through the ritual of convincing himself this world was real, that the pastel-colored, stuffed animals were only as real as he was going to allow them, or at least let his mind allow them to be. It was as though the world around him, Equestria, no longer needed his approval of credibility to maintain its existence.

There were times when I hardly even thought about it. He contemplated. Like when I went to the bar with Silver Spanner, or whenever I exercised with Rainbow Dash. He groaned internally. Especially when Applejack decided to rearrange my facial structure.

Within his quiet contemplation, he passed by the fountain area, wherein the statue of Caerus had once stood. Without even noticing, something else had taken its place. Something slick, something sinister, and almost impossibly monstrous. The old, moss-ridden stone cracked and rattled as ripples pulsed beneath its concrete skin. The splits creviced and crawled like worms slithering up the serpentine neck, and its eye glowed a deep red.

“Always questioning your reality…” An iron voice filled the plaza.

David froze and scanned the vicinity, but no longer did anypony linger within sight, nor a trace of their presence to pick up on. The boy thought in that split moment if perhaps he was in fact thinking all of this up by himself, that the credibility and reality of the world was finally beginning to crumble along with his psyche.

The iron thum returned. “Perhaps you have never fathomed the thought…” It continued. “…that this is a reality based on fantasy.”

“Huh?” David twisted his sights everywhere, all except for the statue. “Hello? Who’s there?”

“Up here, you half-wit neanderthal!” The voice snapped, but quickly recomposed itself and cleared its throat. “I-I mean…O, chosen hero. Thou hath traveled wide and searched far, but I assure thee, thy journey hath only begun.”

“Great, now I’m thinking in Shakespearean.” The boy rubbed his temples. “And it’s not even in correct format.”

“Your destiny awaits!” The statue pronounced triumphantly. “This very fountain is where your journey in this humble little village had begun, and it shall be where you end it. Place your hand upon the inscription slab, and the beginning of the end will finally take course.”

Slowly, his hand hovered over the strange scribbles embedded into the stone before the fountain, but the second guessing of his mind drew his palm back to his side. “And if I do, what will happen to me?” He asked.

The strange monument’s eyes deepened and glared. “Is it fear that wavers your will?” It asked menacingly.

“Fear…?” The boy stepped back.

“Mere moments ago you had uttered to another the very implications of fear and how one is to overcome it.” The eyes of the statue glowed all the more. “Had it never crossed your feeble, little mind that this innate, inexcusable, intangible emotion is what has been stifling your progress all along? That fear, although born within yourself, has always been your greatest enemy? And that greatest enemy…is you?”

“I am my own worst enemy?” David stood idle, searching his hands and looking back up at the serpentine sculpture. “Is that what you’re trying to get me to understand?”

“You only know that fear exists.” The stone almost cackled. “Place your hand where I have told you, and surely you will understand it.”

The boy stalled for a moment, standing frozen above the stone plaque that rested at the rim of the fountain. He looked back up to the statue, and back down to the slab, struggling to read the inscription upon it. They were mere scribbles at best, no sign of any coherent language known to him. Within the deep of his mind, the boy wondered for a moment if perhaps that is what this whole journey might have been about. To make sense of the unknown was not only to overcome fear, but to make it vanish completely. Or, in some more unfortunate cases, allowing that fear to be known is what might help it grow. To manifest and monstrosize into something incomprehensible, and it all began with taking a simple risk. David hovered his hand over the slab for only a second more, and placed his palm to the stone.

He blinked, and waited. Nothing happened.

Was I…just imagining all of that? He thought to himself.

The cracks in the statue splintered larger, louder, and wider. The earth beneath his feet shook, the waters trembled and the air grew hard and heavy. Blinding streaks of ethereal, white light sliced through the slivers in the sculpture and burst apart piece by pebble, stone and chunk. David watched in frozen-stiff horror as the statue upon the fountain’s pedestal erupted with a mighty, monstrous roar, as though a lion were gnawing and prying past the iron bars of its prison. Finally, the stone broke apart altogether, sending projectile bits in every which way as the serpent-like beast beneath bellowed skyward for a great and greedy gulp of air.

Then, the beast groaned. A tired, exaggerated groan, and fell limp into the pool of water below. David stood and could only watch as a wave of water splashed over him and soaked his figure head to toe. The beast had been released from its stony prison, and more than anything it was in the mood to give each and every muscle a good stretch.

“Ah! Oooh~!” The serpent gurgled a mouthful of fountain water and spat it back out onto the boy’s face. He wiped his mouth and cleared his throat. “Well, well, well, it’s about time you came and released me from my prison! Took you long enough, did it? Had to have a little run-in with the rest of the cast before you came and rescued me, hmm?” His bones twisted and contorted, cracked and craned this way and that. “I’m on the front cover for Cosmos’ sake! Does it really take more than two-thirds of this silly, sorry fan-fiction to introduce one of your main characters?”

“I’m sorry…” The boy wiped his eyes. “…have we met?”

“And what would it matter to you?” The beast glowered, spitting another water ball. “I had met you many times prior to this wondrous reunion of ours, but you yourself never even sought to bat a single eye in my direction. I suppose a human’s observation skills aren’t quite up there with a pony’s. Smaller eyes, lack of fluffy ears, I’m sure you know what I mean.”

“I’m just confused.” Once again, he wiped the water from his face. “What happened to the whole ‘mysterious statue’ and ‘mystical quest’ thing when I walked up here?”

“Did you really think you were going to get the upper paw here?” The beast reached out with a great, hairy, bear claw, showing the boy his appendages. “It was a means to get your attention. A skit, a ploy! In your world they’re called ‘street performers.’ Or in your case I suppose, an ‘unskippable cutscene.’”

“Well, that’s the thing.” David fessed. “The only reason I came over here is because I thought you might’ve looked familiar, or at least weird enough to ring a bell or two.”

The eyes of the beast flared as he rose and grinned down at the boy. “And I wouldn’t be so quick to judge others on how they look.” He waved another limb across the fountain, a chalky, yellow, eagle claw. “Especially not before taking a look in the mirror.”

With a sliver of intrigue, David lurched forward and peeked over the rim of the fountain, staring cautiously into his reflection below. The boy who stared back adorned an intense, hateful glare, pupils stung with red-hot blood. The shadow of the figure deepened and stanced as though ready to pounce and lunge for the boy’s throat. The young human gasped and sputtered as splashes of water geysered up onto the fountain and sent him flying back onto his rump. The beast cackled like a wild, dying hyena, turning over once more to continue his hearty and satisfied laughter to the sky.

“And you’re just as skiddish as those little ponies, too!” He wheezed and cackled. “Oh, I can tell this is going to be exciting, for you and I both.”

“Who…” David looked up with mixtures of awe and shock. “Who are you?”

The beast froze into another grin and rose from the waters, his full and true body in view. What the boy could only describe before him now was that of a laboratory experiment gone wrong, one of God’s drunken creations. A beast straight out of the bible. He held the head of a goat, a bear’s paw and an eagle’s claw to his forearms, a lizard’s leg and a horses’ hoof to his hind quarters. His long, serpentine body ended in a scarlet-scaled dragon’s tail, the two horns atop his head miss-matched and juxtapose. Finally, a single, toothy, sickly yellow fang protruded from the end of his lip. The mangly serpent snarled and swirled about as he presented himself with a haphazard, triumphant stance.

“Know this, boy, and do not forget it.” He muttered with intent. “I was before Celestia, I was before Luna, before all things one could imagine they might record in their history books. I am history, and I am most certainly at a means capable of re-writing it, if I so please.” He hummed and smiled devilishly. “I go by many names, the ‘Bringer of Chaos’, the god of confusion and destruction. You may call me…Discord.”

The boy stared for a moment longer, blinked, and cocked his head. “Who…?”

The scarlet maned mare scurried her way through one alley after another in a futile attempt to go unseen, hoping that the lengthy time she had already spent away from her mandated duties wouldn’t go noticed by two particular guards whom roamed these streets. In fact, they were the only two guards who roamed these streets. For once, the earth pony thanked the town for its deficiency in defense accommodations, but alas felt the ongoing, stinging paranoia that somepony was watching her. Despite it all, she had a mission in mind, and that mission led her straight back to her shop.

Rose Luck took a peek to the left and a glance to the right before scittering across the street and tripping over her own hooves, somersaulting to the front door of The Lucky Rose. She frantically rang her hooves upon the door and peeked past the curtains of the window, all before realizing she owned this shop. Pushing past the panel, she invited herself in and clicked it shut behind her.

“What was that thing Mr. Mikado gave me?” She pondered, sauntering across the front counter. “The vial? That’s it! I need to find that vial-”

“Rose Luck…?”

The shop owner stiffened and slowly turned around, facing her former friend and employee.

“Is it really you?” Lily Orchard approached and threw her arms over the mare, an odd branch-off from her usual, timid demeanor. “It is you! Oh, I’m so happy you’re back, Rosie!”

“I live here, Lily…” Rose replied.

“Oh, right.” Lily squeaked, parting away. “But we’ve missed you, Daisy and I both. Ever since you left to do your community service the shop has turned into a disaster. I-I mean-! Not exactly a disaster, it’s just…not the same without you.”

Only then did Rose begin to notice the degrading, decaying state that was the interior of her beloved shop. The welcome sign on the inside of the window was crooked, and the bell above the door sounded just slightly off key. A disaster indeed… Rose surmised, but shook the thoughts away and addressed the pink-coated earth mare before her.

“And as much as I’d like to catch up on the details, I’m afraid it’s gonna have to wait.” Rose announced. “There’s a life on the line and I’m the only pony who can help right now.” She pressed her hooves to the timid pony’s shoulders. “The vial, where is it?”

Lily blinked, giving her friend a side-eye. “What…vial?”

“Ugh, that’s right…” Rose grumbled. “I never told you about that either.”

“Are you talking about that creepy guy who came over?” Lily proposed. “The one with the curved horn?”

Roses’ gaze went stone cold. “Mikado was here?”

“I-I mean-!” Lily recomposed herself. “No, he wasn’t. I mean-! I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“Lily, you have to tell me what happened.” Rose pleaded. “This is for Amethyst. She’s only a kid!”

“But…what if we get in trouble again?”

“I don’t care about that anymore! I’ve hurt other ponies for long enough.” Rose declared. “Even if it costs me my shop, I’m not going to let somepony die because of me.”

Lily shook and shuddered beneath her breath before blinking away her fret and speaking once more. “Okay, he was here.” She admitted. “That Mikado guy came in here looking for something, but I don’t know what it was. He just said he knew where to look.”

“When did this happen?” Rose asked fervently.

“Just last night.”

Her pupils shrunk and her hooves moved quicker than her mind could follow. Rose spun around the pony and clamored her way up the stairs. Bursting into her bedroom, she pulled one drawer open after the other, searching for the special vial she had seemingly misplaced. Finally, she peeked beneath her bed and yanked the small, chestnut box lying underneath. Lily followed in behind her just as she clicked open the box. The unmistakable symbol of Neighsian writing laid on a small piece of parchment within, delivering the blatant tell tale sign that not only had the vial been taken, but Mikado was inviting her to come and claim it.

Quietly and carefully, David crept up to the eastern side of the tall, rotundus building that was Town Hall, keeping out of sight and earshot of the guards standing at the doorway. He forced his hand away from the spot upon his chest, attempting to distill the habit of scratching it over whenever his nerves began to get the better of him. It was a better time than any now to feel like a complete idiot, standing alone in the plaza and staring at the windows of Town Hall like something was about to happen. Perhaps something was about to happen? Perhaps that weird, serpent being would pull through for him after all? Or, was it all just another ploy to humiliate the boy with the sick, twisted tricks the serpent of mischief liked to play? His second guessing quickly getting the better of him, David mumbled past his shaking lips.

“Alright, Discord…mister dragon guy…whatever.” He twiddled his thumbs. “If you’re gonna do something, then do it now.”

Have you already forgotten what I said? Discord spoke in his mind. Only when the time is right…which is right about now, of course!

The sound of a pony trotting up filled his ears, to which the boy turned and blinked dumbfounded at the sight before him.

“You…” Rose Luck halted and sneered.

“You…” The boy talked back, though more confused than hateful.

Silence reigned across the plaza square, along with the distant spectators who watched on from the alley ways, wondering if the boy and the mare were going for round two. Alas, to their delight and also their dismay, nothing happened.

“That’s it?” Rose started. “You’re just going to say ‘you?’”

“Well…that’s what you said.” He argued back. “What did you expect me to say?”

“Oh, I don’t know, how about my name?”

“…”

“Wha-?” The pony raised a hoof. “Don’t tell me you forgot it!”

“Like you even remember my name!” David shot back.

“Well, duh! How could I ever forget your name? It’s…it’s uh…”

The boy crossed his arms, smirking. “Then it looks like we’re even.”

“Look, I don’t care about trying to get even with you.” Rose stamped a hoof. “All I wanna know is why you’re here.”

“The better question would be why you’re here.” David raised a finger. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing community service, or something?”

“Shh! Not so loud!” Rose hissed, glancing left and right. “I don’t know whatever could’ve dragged you out here to Town Hall, but I’ve got serious problems to tend to.”

“Like trying to maintain the well-being of somepony else’s life because you ultimately feel you’re the one responsible for redeeming them?” David asked in one breath.

“Don’t be ridiculou-” Rose halted, blinking and scanning the boy awkwardly. “…y-yes, actually. Wait, how did you know that?”

In the midst of their shared, stagnant, bewildered staring, a great flash of white burst from in between them and produced the monstrously tall, serpentine being the boy had only met mere moments ago. Discord extended paw and talon, stretching his limbs between the boy and the mare as he scooted them closer into a grouping embrace, pressing his goat face and flaring his nostrils on one and the other as he cackled loudly into the plaza.

“What an ironic twist of fates this journey has brought us! Two, sworn enemies, finally coming together for a common purpose.” Discord laughed, scrolling through his memories. “A familiar tale, is it not? If I do say so myself, I believe I have been met with a similar fate in the past.” His tongue dispensed from his jaw like an endless roll of filming tape, frame after frame of Twilight Sparkle and himself engaging in countless, unspoken and unrecorded adventures throughout history.

“Say, monkey boy…” Rose trembled backwards. “Who’s your weirder, creepier looking friend ya’ got here?”

“I was hoping you might have an idea.” David admitted quietly.

“I’m not hallucinating right now, am I?” Rose rubbed her eyes. “Oh, Celestia. Now there’s two of them.”

Discord simply stared at the two before him, tenderly rubbing his paw and claw together with a knowing, devilish grin stretching across his face. David was busy tapping his foot impatiently, gazing the serpent up and down.

“What? You’re not gonna punish her for calling you ugly?” The boy questioned.

“She’s a florist, my dear boy, symmetry is in her nature.” Discord informed. “You on the other hoof, or rather other hand, are an artist. You ‘ought to know and appreciate the ‘ugly’ more than anyone on this earth.”

“So you admit you’re ugly?” David asked.

“For your own sake, yes.” Discord admitted. “But let us resume to more pressing matters, shall we? Has it not come to both of your attention that the answer to your problems may very well rest within the same building the two of you aim to gain entry to? Why, what better opportunity could there be than for old enemies to make new amends, and work together to infiltrate the ‘black tower’ before thee?”

“What ‘black tower?’” Rose wandered her sights. “Am I supposed to hallucinate a tower, too?”

“Perhaps, my dear Rose, it is time for you to make amends with an old friend of yours?”

“Oh…” Rose Luck gulped. “That black tower…”

The backyard garden was completely and utterly vacant of almost any floral decoration whatsoever, serving as a cold reminder to the scarlet maned mare as she trotted alongside the boy, passing through the grass and stepping up onto the back patio. Given that the boy had spent far more time with the unicorn than even Rose was willing to, she trusted his judgment in greeting the mechanic at the back instead of the front of the house. The two stood idly by with awkward glances left and right, and both held a hoof and a hand to signal a knock. They paused, stared at each other, and glanced away again.

“Erm…” David scratched his scalp. “Go ahead.” He offered.

“No, no.” Rose waved a hoof. “You should do it.”

“It’s okay, I mean-” He breathed. “You knew her first.”

“Yeah, but…” She hesitated.

Silenced reigned over their moment, and just as they were about to repeat the same charade again, the sound of the door clicking open filled their ears and caused them to reconsider their stances. As calm and casually as they could muster, David and Rose Luck stood side by side in front of Silver Spanner hovering in the frame of her door, unbelieving eyes glossing over one and the other. Silver opened her mouth to say something, shut it up, and began again with a raised a hoof.

“Okay…” Silver started. “What happened?”

Neither of the visitors spoke. They momentarily glanced at each other only to look in different directions just as quickly.

“Did…you two make nice?” Silver sputtered, baffled. “Did you actually agree on something?”

“It’s complicated.” David admitted.

“And we need your help.” Rose added.

“There’s a body, isn’t there?” Silver panicked. “Who did you kill?”

“We didn’t kill anypony!” Rose protested.

“Ssh, not so loud!” Silver covered Rose’s mouth. “As far as anypony knows.”

“I’m relieved I’m the tallest one here.” David included.

“Stop it.” Rose swatted a hoof. “There isn’t a body and we didn’t kill anypony.”

“Well, in case you were wondering, no I do not have a bunker that you can take shelter in.” Silver told them. “Because the day I see the two of you standing next to each other, outside my door, ready to ask some spawn of Tartarus favor is the day that the world ends.”

“I think she’s missing the point.” David lowered to his knee. “Listen, Silver, we haven’t gotten into any trouble yet. But we’re getting there.”

“And that’s why you decided to come to me?”

“And before we get into the thick of it, there’s something I need to say first.” The earth pony’s eyes darted about shamefully, until finally meeting Silver’s with sincerity. “I owe you an apology, big time.”

“No kidding.” Silver stated.

“To put it simply, I…was a bitch.” Rose continued. “A big, nasty, horrible bitch. The level of bitch that which I achieved during that time was…bitch.”

“Okay, I’m sure you’ve said ‘bitch’ plenty of times now.” Silver acknowledged.

“Maybe just one more, for good measure.” David whispered.

Silver delivered a concerned squint, and Rose a menacing glare.

“Well don’t let me stop you.” He tucked his arms.

“Don’t you just love the comedic struggle this boy puts himself through?” From the metal mince of Silver’s backyard-sized scrapyard, a metal mockery of Discord himself spiraled and rose from the windings of steel and aluminium. “I for one find it riveting.”

“Who invited the giant snake…thing?” Silver stepped back, timidness in her tone.

“I’m not sure, my dear, he usually just invites himself to these sorts of things.” Discord patted David’s head. “He’s called a self-insert for a reason, you know?”

The metal Discord keeled over and fell apart with an obnoxious clatter of steel ringing against each other, the parts rolling across the ground and winding up to the back patio where the trio stood. Materializing himself back into his original form, Discord sprawled his arms once more and wrapped his company up in a heated, strategic huddle.

Rolling down the plaza square on sets of wheels arrived two, industrial sized speakers, the exterior of each sporting colors of black and blue. One simply contained the innards of your typical, everyday industrial sized audio emitter, while the other was packed with two inhabitants squished together and inside like a couple of sardines, one of course being a little less lucky than the other in their placement. Rose, of course, was more than prepared to express her complaints the entire way to Town Hall.

“Couldn’t we have just hopped in before turning around the corner, or something?” Rose struggled to adjust herself. “Why start from the house?”

The pony finally got the notion that struggling any further would only make matters worse. Her back was to the human’s and their faces pressed against the inner walls. The boy had a small peep hole to look through on his end, whilst Rose was left with complete darkness on hers, having only to rely on sound, feeling, and Luna forbid smelling.

“I’m beginning to think staying an ungrateful bitch would have turned out a lot better than this.” She whined again.

“Well, look on the bright side.” David said.

“…”

“What bright side?!”

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t plan a follow up.” He admitted. “Would you like to hear a chinese proverb instead?”

Rose gritted her teeth together and growled. If only she had room to kick the boy in the nose.

“Hey, keep it down.” Silver whispered. “We’re almost there.”

Discord and Silver pushed their respective speakers up the path to Town Hall, the unicorn utilizing her magic as she levitated the devices to the front door and quickly joined her partner to greet the guards. Sam and Ralph stood by stagnant and fixated as every, awaiting in anticipation of the next episode of “bullshit” that was about to assault their perfectly peaceful shift.

“Halt.” Ralph spoke as though practiced. “Who goes there?”

“Um, my name is…Sparky. Sparky Sparkle.” Silver replied. “And this is my accomplice…” She clumsily lifted a sticky note to her face and read. “Dee-Jay?”

“Disco Junkie.” Discord answered. He had covered himself with superfluous amounts of chains and blinding assortments of jewelry, knowingly taking his blatant interpretation of “today’s youth” either a bit too jokingly or a bit too seriously.

“He is my music advisor,” Silver followed. “And I am the technician scheduled here to install these, erm…speakers.”

“You don’t suppose the Princess had these ordered?” Sam asked his friend.

“Don’t look at me, you go ask her.” Ralph shot back.

“I’m not leaving this post, captain’s orders.”

“We don’t have a captain.”

“Just pretend that we do.” Sam justified.

“I thought it might come to this.” Discord sighed, ripping off his bling and trading it for a long, dark brown robe and hood. He twiddled and danced his talons through the air with a subtle, little flicker, gaining the attention of the white, earth guard. Sam blinked and struggled to resist the undertaking of the spell.

“You don’t need to see his identification.” Discord hummed.

“Who’s? I didn’t ask for-” Sam blinked hard, drawling on. “We don’t need to see his identification.”

“These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”

“These aren’t the droids we’re looking for.”

“Psst!” Ralph whispered over to Silver. “What are ‘droids?’”

“You can go about your business.” Discord hummed again.

“You can go about your business.” Sam repeated, zombified.

“Move along.”

“Move along, move along…in the other direction! Ha!” Sam puffed out his chest proudly. “I’ve seen that one a million times, you actually thought that trick would work on me?”

“No.” Discord grinned. “But this might.”

Raising his goat leg he kicked the alternate speaker and blasted the device to life, very obnoxiously and loudly playing a bass-boosted, beat-box version of some random Beach Boys song, whatever that’s supposed to sound like. Tapping a talon to the edge of the speaker, the emitter on wheels bounced over the side of the railing and landed on its rollers, trailing past the plaza square as it soon came within earshot of dozens of innocent, pony ears.

“Loud and disruptive music within a public vicinity.” Sam sucked in his breath. “That’s a violation of code-” His eye twitched. “C-c-code…four…”

“No, Sam! Fight it!” Ralph pleaded. “Remember your training!”

“I can’t take it anymore!” Sam screamed, leaping over the railing and howling after the speaker as he seemingly grew wings. Sprinting down the plaza at full force, spear raised as he yelled at the top of his lungs that this was once again “for the cause” or something stupid. If anything, he was without a doubt far more louder and disruptive than anything else in the plaza, and it had managed to gather a good amount of attention in such little time.

“And…in you go.” Discord kicked with his dragon foot this time, pushing Silver and the speaker which David and Rose were inside of. Smiling devilishly once more, the serpent waved a talon goodbye and clicked the door shut with a free paw, disappearing the very next second.

Silver Spanner stood motionless in the quiet, empty lobby space of Town Hall, taking a cautious peak of her surroundings and the stairs leading up to the second and third floor offices. A second later, the top of the speaker popped off, revealing a scarlet maned mare clawing and gasping for breath.

“Freedom!” Rose wailed to the ceiling. “Sweet, succulent, freedom-”

“Zip it!” Silver hissed. “Mikado and the Princess are right upstairs, we don’t want to alert them.”

“Doing what?” David followed out of the speaker case, crawling onto the floor.

“Huh?” The ponies looked back.

“I mean-” He started again. “What do you think Mikado and Twilight could be up to? They could’ve decided to meet in the castle, but why here?”

“I’m not sure, but I suppose we’re about to find out.” Silver prodded her chin. “Or at least you two will find out.”

“You’re not coming?” David wondered.

“I’m supposed to be the technician who installs these speakers.” Silver patted the box. “I still ought to look the part. I’ll stay down here just in case anything goes wrong.”

“Silver, please.” Rose pleaded. “I know you and I have a bad history, but you’re not gonna leave me all alone with banana breath, are you?”

“As far as I can tell, you two have a bad history to catch up on, too.” Silver accused. “And besides, this is your mission, not mine. I did my part, now it’s time for you to do yours.”

“Just look on the bright side.” David paused, raising a finger. “And don’t worry, I actually thought of a bright side this time. I can carry you just like a house cat.”

“I spent plenty of time stuffed along side you in that speaker box, what makes you think I want to get any closer to you now?” Rose protested.

“If you try walking with your hooves you’ll make too much noise.” David noted. “Ponies aren’t used to picking up the sound of my toes while I sneak around, they’ll hardly even notice me coming.”

Rose wiped her hoof over her face in a painfully long drawl, sighing belligerently into her frog as she whipped her mane and forced her eyes back upon the boy. “Fine. But only because this is for Amethyst. We’re short enough on time as it is.”

“That’s a good kitty cat.” He cooed and giggled to himself. “Now up, up into my arms-”

“Do you wanna lose a finger?”

Rose Luck was reluctantly cradled between the boy’s arms as the two quietly made their ascent up the still, vacant corridors of Town Hall. David steadied his steps on big toe after the other, peeking around every corner and keeping his ears open to any voices or whispers within the building. He had Rose’s sense of hearing to thank for that, as he noticed her ears flicker in the right direction the closer they got to their destination. The central office was only a skip and a trot away, and the boy took his time sneaking up on the double-doored entrance. David set Rose Luck to her hooves and the two waited before the frame of the portal, poking their heads around the corner to see what the delegates in the room might be up to.

“I present to you the pinnacle of my architectural expertise.” Mikado spoke, ardent as ever.

“Wow, it’s so big~” Twilight admired. “Can I touch it?”

David’s and Rose’s eyes shrunk in disbelief.

“Of course not, this model is only a prototype.” Mikado explained innocently. “You will have to wait until the full-scale model has been developed.”

A miniature diorama depicting the greater part of Ponyville laid upon the table like a child’s play set between the Princess and the ambassador, the two acknowledging the layout as they ran through schedule after scheme of construction plans that were soon to benefit the town and its occupants. What appeared most peculiar wasn’t what was inside of the diorama, but rather upon the edges. Posted around the outskirts of the diorama in calculated intervals were five, equally sized velvet-black towers, each top of every structure ending off with a blunt, obsidian jab.

“It is a simple yet very dependable design.” Mikado explained. “It was adopted by my kin from the Saddle Arabians who lay just south of Neighsia. With this special barrier, Ponyville will require no other line of defense. Come timber wolf, manticore or hydra, the magical walls between these spires will prove impenetrable.”

“It is a very ingenious design, Mr. Mikado.” Twilight acknowledged. “I look forward to seeing its construction.”

The pair shunned back around the corner and huddled between each other in quiet speculation of what they might of just heard and saw. Adamant on determining their next course of action, David raised his hands towards his companion and mimed one direction after another. His hands twiddled through the air like that of an expert on sign language, or rather a poor, old, homeless person deep into his episode of nutrition deficient delusions. Either way, Rose couldn’t make heads or tails of what the hell the boy was trying to tell her. She was a pony for crying out loud, did the imbecile really not know? Quickly then, and the only credible sign the pony could pick up, was that the boy had soon become frustrated with repeating the same gestures over and over again. He emphasized his fist slamming into his open palm, a grunt and a wince across his complexion. Rose slowly raised her hooves and looked upon him patiently, wherein David beckoned back with pleading, hopeful eyes.

Then, Rose punched him in the nose.

The very sound of the hoof slugging its way across the boy’s facial structure caught the attention of the delegates within. Twilight paused and glanced over her shoulder, and Mikado stared out the vacant doorway with a tightened glare. His complexion softened, and the Neighsian rose from his chair.

“Please excuse me, your Highness.” The stallion stated, rounding the desk.

David cupped both hands over his nose as a fresh line of blood trickled from his nostril, a pair of daggers piercing past Rose’s hide. Alas, their glaring duel was cut short at the sound of hooves trotting nearer and louder. Rose doubled back and scooted herself behind a sizable vase, her coat and mane serving as floral camouflage as she curled her tail around the base of the container into a makeshift blanket. The boy had no other choice but to return to his instincts, and climb up to the rafters like a monkey.

A spell of silence haunted the halls as the burly, Neighsian stallion loomed about the space with an observant, icy gaze. His ears perked and his senses dialed to overdrive, it would have nearly taken the stillness of a cockatrice stare to avoid detection now. Ponies, of course, were far more familiar to his nose rather than humans, and scents never usually traveled downwards anyways. His attention was led over to the vase.

David clung to the rafters above, observing the stallion below, silent and daring in his mind all the while. Soon enough the after damages of Rose’s payback caught up to him, as the small string of blood dribbled past his lip and down his chin, dangling and threatening to drip. He freed a hand and held it below his face, catching the blood before it could make its descent. Alas, another trickle followed, and another limb hovered beneath his head. Mikado neared the vase, closer, eyes glaring and glinting. Blood trickled down the boy’s leg and past his ankle, around his heel and finally to his toes. He squeezed the stubby little digits shut in an attempt to suppress the flow, but the line of red was relentless. Just as it seemed when he was on his last leg, or rather his last toe, the blood finally came to a halt. He exhaled a sigh of relief. Then, the drop of red wiggled from out of his pinky toe, stood atop the boy’s foot and saluted him with a tiny, scarlet limb before taking the plunge below. With a small splat, the drop met the floor, and Mikado froze.

The stallion spun around and started in the direction of the boy, observing a peculiar, red dot lying right before his hooves. Rose blinked past the vase with a desperate glance, and David shriveled back in terror of being discovered. In that instant, an obnoxiously loud clatter sounded at the base of the stairs, drawing Mikado’s attention to the lobby level. The stallion trotted down and met with a unicorn attempting a tired, nonchalant demeanor.

“Haha, whoops! Clumsy ol’ me.” Silver leaned against the speaker box. “You wouldn’t believe how heavy this thing is, and I have to carry it all the way up to the roof myself.”

“State your business.” Mikado probed.

“I, er…” Silver hesitated.

Mikado’s eyes wandered to the window near the door. Past the glass outside, the two guards Sam and Ralph, were nowhere to be seen. The unicorn stepped in front of the ambassador’s view as she shielded with a nervous giggle.

As quickly as they had hidden themselves, David and Rose Luck sprung from their hiding spots and dashed past the office doors, shutting the panels closed behind them. It was their one and only chance now, the matter of minutes whittled down to mere seconds. Twilight jolted up from her chair and spun around to confront the clamor, eyes shrinking back in astonishment and disbelief.

“David?” She raised a hoof. “What’re you doing here?”

“I…” He hesitated. Great, now she’s caught me doing what I promised her I wouldn’t. “I’ve come to find out what’s going on.” He finally answered.

“This is meant to be a private meeting, you have no right to be in this room.” She carried her gaze over to Rose. “And if I’m not mistaken, I believe you have plenty of service hours to catch up on. You could be thrown in jail for this.”

“I know, but please Princess, hear us out first.” The earth pony pleaded. “Amethyst Star, the adopted daughter of the Hooves, she’s fallen ill and her condition is critical.”

“I’ve heard about what happened to Amethyst, the doctors are doing the best they can for her.” Twilight recomposed herself, leveling her breathing. “This is no time to be sneaking around places you shouldn’t be and breaking the law. If you leave now, I’ll be willing to look the other way on this little predicament.”

“You don’t understand, it’s that Mr. Mikado!” Rose stomped her hoof. “He’s behind all of this!”

“What?” Twilight stepped back, glazing over the mare.

“Twilight, listen.” David followed up. “Rose here thinks that Mikado is carrying a special vial that can help cure Amethyst, and he’s the only one that knows how to use it. That’s why he took it back and brought it here, to Town Hall, right when the two of you were supposed to be in this ‘secret meeting’ or whatever.”

“What does Mikado have to do with any of this?” Twilight’s glare intensified. “Somepony, or rather somebody here needs to explain themselves now.”

“I suppose now is a better time than any, even if they’re not here.” Rose considered, taking a deep breath before continuing. “This is something I need either one of you to pass down to either Amethyst or that foreign kid, Ronin. They ought to hear the truth.”

“I’m waiting.” Twilight tapped her hoof.

“Months before the garden raids started taking off, my flower shop was in a lot of financial trouble, and that’s when he showed up at my front door. Mikado.” Rose went on. “He noticed that I was struggling and offered a way out of my debt, on the condition that I helped carried out his plan.”

“What plan?” Twilight prodded.

“When he was at my shop that night, he gave me a peculiar type of substance and instructed me to sprinkle it over every single garden I could reach all throughout Ponyville. I didn’t know what the substance was at first, or what it was supposed to do. I was desperate, in a tight pinch, how could I decline? So…I did as he asked.”

“But the garden raids didn’t begin until only about a month ago.” The Princess speculated. “You said that this was several months before?”

“That’s why I kept going. The substance wasn’t doing anything at first, and I thought I wasn’t harming anypony. And then…well, I suppose you know the rest.”

“So what you’re saying is that Mikado had come to your shop months before he was scheduled to arrive in Ponyville, gave you an unidentified substance and told you to spread it across every garden in town so that he would get your business back up on its hooves?” Twilight eyed the earth pony doubtfully. “That was his plan?”

“Well, not exactly…” Rose struggled. “I mean, yes! But…he’s up to something, that’s for sure!”

Twilight stood with a mundane, disappointed gaze. Obviously this wasn’t what she wanted to hear, or even how she wanted her morning to go for that matter.

“I think what Rose is trying to say is that there’s more to this Mikado guy than any of us know here.” David backed up. “I’ve talked with this big wig before, there’s something off about him. It’s like he wants you to know he’s up to no good but he won’t tell you.”

Twilight considered the boy for a moment before returning to the pony. “If what you say is true, then I should expect to find this peculiar substance in his possession. Better yet, the special vial that you’re looking for.”

“Yes, please, the vial!” Rose practically fell to her haunches. “If we can just get that then we’ll be on our way, you’ll never see or hear from us ever again.”

“Hey, what about those records I was looking for?” David protested.

“Oh, right, and those too.”

“And besides, I already live with Twilight. It’s not like I won’t see her ever again.”

“You mean to tell me you could’ve asked her to get you those records anytime?” Rose’s eye twitched.

“It’s not like the thought would’ve occurred to me until now.” He excused.

“You’re just full of disappointments today, aren’t you?”

“…is this about the chinese proverb thing?” David twiddled his thumbs. “Is it a bad time to say that I didn’t even have a proverb ready to tell you in the first place?”

“Am I just hearing things, or did you two just go from being sworn enemies to fighting like a couple of siblings?” Twilight noted. “Come to think of it, this is a rather odd pair to be confronted with.”

“I guess Discord was always pretty laid back on his pickings.” David added.

“Discord?” The Princess stammered. “Wait, what does he have to do with all of this?”

“Er…”

“Now I know what this is really all about.” Twilight snarled and took a defensive stance, glancing all around the room. “You better show yourself this instant, you mischievous draconequus, or I’ll have a word about you with Princess Celestia herself!”

For a long moment then, the boy and the mare stood awkwardly off to the side as the Princess continued to scan the chamber with an intense, expectant glare. No supposed draconequus had come from beneath the shadows nor behind any nooks or crevices, no intruders save for the boy and earth pony standing idly by. The sound of hooves trotting through the doorway brought everyone’s attention back into focus.

“I see you have been busy entertaining our guests, your Highness.” Mikado hummed, waltzing into view. “If only you could have shown me the same courtesy the day I arrived.”

“Your Excellency, I apologize.” Twilight quickly bowed. “It seems we will have to postpone our meeting-”

“Nonsense, Princess, they’re right on time.” He assured.

“I’m…sorry?”

“You knew we were coming?” David paused, glancing between the stallion and the door. “Wait, where’s Silver Spanner?”

“The unexpected company, you mean? I sent her away with our royal guards, of course.” Mikado clicked his tongue. “You should know better than to include unwanted members into our business, Royal Equerry.”

Damn, I shouldn’t have roped her into this. The boy fretted inwardly. How can I make amends when all I do is make things worse for her?

“Mr. Mikado, do excuse my lack of knowledge, but what part do my loyal subjects have to play in this matter?”

No response uttered its way past the ambassador’s lips as he slowly brought his sights over to the scarlet maned mare, the pony quivering beneath his icy, stinging eyes. He blinked with a small sliver of regard and reached into the pocket of his robe, producing a small bottle as he levitated it forward for the party to see. The vial.

“It seems you decided to accept my invitation after all. I commend your bravery, young mare.” Mikado regarded the earth pony. “The vial is yours, you’ve earned it.”

Rose Luck stretched out her limbs and caught the bottle between her hooves, glossing over the ethereal, liquid-blue glow that swirled and shone from within. This was it then, her stroke of redemption was finally at hoof. More importantly, it meant one step closer to saving young Amethyst’s life. Rose, however, deemed that the troubles were rather thin and having obtained the cure wouldn’t be so easy after all. Repercussions were bound to occur. With an unsure glance, Rose’s eyes returned to the snow white foreigner with a hint of question.

“I suppose this means I’m going to jail after all?” She attempted a giggle, shuddering frightfully. “I at least hope the food isn’t as bad as they said it is.”

“Your punishment is not mine to judge.” Mikado turned to Twilight. “Princess, what is your verdict?”

“…” The Alicorn remained motionless and silent for a while before speaking. “I believe you did the right thing, Rose, but the Hall may not look kindly upon your absence. Report to my castle tomorrow morning and we’ll negotiate an agreement.”

“Ah…” Rose stumbled, nearly out of breath, but stood proper and curtsied elegantly. “You have my thanks, Princess Twilight.”

Without another word, the earth pony backtracked and trotted past the open double doors, serving one last glance to the boy before turning the corner and descending the stairs. David glazed over the entrance for a short spell in wonder of what that was all about, returning his attention at the sound of the Princess’ tone and the uncertainty that followed.

“Is it true, Mr. Mikado?” Twilight addressed him carefully. “Is Rose Luck the one you chose?”

Chose? David thought inwardly. Is there something Twilight isn’t saying…?

“Her words tell no lies, I had approached her months prior to incorporate her as our acolyte, to instigate our path towards a common goal.” He spoke steadily.

The memory of his first meeting with the ambassador flickered in the young boy’s head, his tone and words of familiarity swarming about. Towards a common goal. David mumbled in the pit of his mind. Though the details still remained vague, it seemed as though the old stallion intended to keep it that way no matter how far he or anypony else for that matter would try to dig. He already knew now that Twilight was much more knowledgeable on the subject than she first appeared. It was yet another ploy, a scheme to hide one’s true array of information from those who ought not to know, or at least from those which they think shouldn’t know. But, here the boy stood before two of the most powerful ponies in all of Ponyville, both statistically and possibly even magically.

“It would seem you’ve already obtained a clue as to what we speak of, young Equerry.” Mikado bellowed, beckoning the boy over. “Come and observe this diorama, will you?”

David said nothing and allowed his feet to carry him forward, timidly glazing over the diorama of Ponyville with careful, observant eyes. The five, black spires from before all laid in their respective posts towering high and mighty out of the ground, and from their lines his eyes followed to the center of their diameter. Mikado had been watching him.

“Observant.” Mikado admired. “Just as you said, Princess.”

David glanced to Twilight, whom only looked downcast in response.

The center of the spires led to one point in particular in Ponyville. The plaza square fountain, where the statue of Caerus had been destroyed. Upon its pedestal laid a large, black, crystal shard.

Chapter 58 - Trophy Cake

Beams from the bright, yellow, morning light of the outdoors reached past the slivers of the small window and layered over the young mare’s coat, the unicorn slumbering as she remained within the confines of the prison holding her. Her belly rose and feel between her breaths as a ragged, obnoxious snoring bounced off of the cell room walls, and accompanied by her sounds of sleep soon came the rickety yawn of the cell door churning ajar. Silver Spanner fidgeted and growled awake to the interruption of her rather content mode of sleep, brushing past scraggly strands of her mane with a free hoof as she blinked blearily in the direction of the noise.

“What’s this, then?” Silver stretched and spoke on groggily. “The interrogation phase?”

“I’d like to think of it more as ‘negotiation.’” The boy answered.

The unicorn shook her head and wiped the last of the bleariness from her eyes. The figure standing at the bars was far taller than the pony guard from the night prior, and unveiled unto her both a welcoming and desperately apologetic smile. Silver looked up at her human companion and blinked almost unbelievably for a second or two before shedding past the bars again to see Ralph and the other guard, standing by expectantly and patiently.

“You’re…letting me go already?” She asked carefully.

“Protocol dictates a sentence of at least forty-eight hours jail time.” Ralph answered her.

“But,” Sam started. “Seeing that you’ve learned your lesson-”

Ralph elbowed his companion in the shoulder. The earth guard huffed and begrudgingly reconsidered.

“Seeing that the Royal Equerry is in need of your assistance, your exoneration stands until he is done with you.” He received another elbow, and finished with a growl. “And the sentence will expire by the time he’s done with you anyways so…you’re free to go.”

Silver blinked with gratitude to the guards and returned her attention to the boy standing at the cell door, his lanky figure craning beneath the confines as he approached and leveled himself to one knee, his lips moving and the words arriving before he could even properly process the thoughts he had in mind.

“I know it’s old news, but I’m never going to rest easy until it’s been said.” David began haphazardly. “The things I said that day, the things I did, I know they may always be unforgivable, but if you would just look into the kindness of your heart-”

“Stop.” Silver halted, planting a hoof onto the boy’s lips.

He knelt there, frozen and eyes dancing. The pony motioned a breath and took the reigns.

“It doesn’t take a team of scientists to figure out that you’re remorseful of what you’ve done, so stop apologizing.” She said.

“R-right, sorry.” He flinched.

Her hoof pressed harder. “And don’t forget what I told you about going back home. I realize it may be severely out of your control, but it’s still an endeavor worth fighting for.” Silver eased her hold and let her hoof fall back to her side. “In other words, I want to let you know that I’m ready.”

“Ready…?” He waited.

“To start seeing eye to eye with you.” She smiled gratuitously, and quickly looked down with worry. “Now that I see it, it was wrong of me to dictate whether or not you’re ready for making amends with those you felt you’ve wronged in the past, even yourself.” She looked back up. “The way I see it now, one’s dedication should be enough to know that a person wants to change.”

His smile reflected her own, and he raised a hand to her shoulder. “Well, I know a certain scientist who’s looking for a lot of dedication from somepony who knows her field.” He patted her hide and offered his hand. “Ready to tackle another job, journeymare?”

Her eyes shimmered silver, streaks of confidence dazzling within. As that same, knowing grin returned to her muzzle, so did her hoof to the boy’s hand. Moments later, the couple spoke their farewells as they passed the threshold of the barracks and clicked the door shut, leaving the pair of guards behind to a long spell of stillness and contemplation. Sam warily craned his sight over to his friend.

“How do I put it, Ralph?” Sam began. “This kid’s got a princess, a sorceress, and an electrical mare under his cinch, and you’re still scoring a zero with that teacher, huh?”

He knew he couldn’t say it. Ralph tightened his jaw and lumbered further into the barracks, further away from his partner. There were plenty of smart ass remarks that Sam had yet to say, and Ralph only had so many “shut up, Sam”’s in his arsenal.

The rickety wheels of the D-rig wagon came to a groaning halt as the cargo loaded on top threatened to splinter through the trunk and perhaps even crash through the floor and into the basement, in spite of the fact that the Doctor did not have a basement in his home. Whooves, David and Spanner took a moment to stand back and gander over their work, gasping for breath all the while. The boy clapped his hands together, rubbing them vigorously in effort to dust the ashes from his palms.

“I still can’t believe this thing’s as heavy as it is.” He slapped his hand to the surface. “It’s practically the size of an easy bake oven. For me, at least.”

“Careful, young Equerry!” The doctor warned. “The evidence within is sensitive, I have yet to prepare the proper solutes for testing.” The stallion trotted over to his work bench. “We’ll be lucky if the exposure this appliance has had to the weather hasn’t already ruined our chances.”

“I’m no expert on oven manufacturing, but I can already tell this thing is a few decades out of date.” Silver provided. “I imagine a bakery would demand a lot of use out of it as well. You don’t suppose the Cakes didn’t think of replacing the elemental plating, do you?”

“Elemental plating?” David queried.

“Normally, ovens are hooked up with these metal rods called the elemental plating. The plates run through the bottom of the rack to generate the heat needed to bake whatever it is you’re baking.” The unicorn explained. “The energy required to heat these plates can be a little excessive, so for commercial buildings like the bakery they’re rigged to their own independent system instead of being hooked up to the main panel.”

“But, I don’t think Sugarcube Corner was a commercial building, at least not entirely.” The boy speculated. “Sure, the Cakes were running a business and all, but something tells me it started out as a simple house. There wasn’t exactly enough room to compensate for the customers, and it’s in the residential district for crying out loud.”

“And that’s where I have my doubts.” Silver concluded. “I suspect a case of faulty wiring.”

“Then that’d mean we’re gonna have to backtrack to the bakery and see what kind of job they did.” David added.

“I’ll have to get a permit to operate the utilities, something that I think Ambrosia might be able to help with.” Silver nodded confidently, striding over to the scientist working away at his laboratory equipment. “In the meantime we can see what our specialist on ‘seemingly unsalvageable ashes’ has got cooking for us. Ready to torque our bolts, Doc ol’ colt?”

The doctor paused and gave the unicorn an odd stare, as though she had spoken a language completely foreign to either of the occupants in the room.

“I-It’s a figure of speech…” She mumbled. “Pique our interest? Y’know?”

“Great whickering stallions…” The doctor gawked. “You mean to tell me I’m not the only pony who does that?”

The couple of ponies shared a hearty laugh as the boy stood by on the sidelines exempt of a single clue as to what exactly the two equines were on about. A moment later and the doctor went to wipe his eyes dry as their giggles simmered down and the work before them was laid straight.

“Right then, on with the experimentation.” Whooves nodded enthusiastically, beckoning the two closer to the table. “I have rendered a series of solutes that will be used to test the chemical reactions of each and every sample retrieved from the ashes. Each sample has been weighed and divided evenly in order to produce the most accurate results.” He then turned his attention to the unicorn. “Miss Spanner, if you will please levitate the samples into the test tubes one at a time? That way not a particle of soot may be exempt from its testing.”

“Of course.” Silver flared her horn to life.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Whooves wrapped his limbs around the mare’s horn, attempting to extinguish it. “I’ve forgotten one last piece of equipment that will be absolutely crucial to the success of this experiment.”

“A plasma ball?” The boy guessed. “A death ray? A rocket? Microwave oven parts?”

“Goggles.”

The boy’s face fell, shoulders sagging as he took the item in question. “Does anyone else feel drastically unenthusiastic about the task ahead?”

“Chemical reactions can often lead to unpredictable results, young Equerry.” The doctor informed him, shaping on his own goggles. “It is important to take precautions.”

The massive size of the goggles alone to compensate for the bright, wide-eyed ponies was enough to fit like that of a hat or a face shield. Silver began to snicker uncontrollably, and the doctor delivered a satisfactory shrug before returning to their work. With much practiced precision, Silver Spanner flared her horn back to life and carefully levitated the samples of ash from their paper trays, filtering them into the test tubes labeled with varying chemicals and solutions. The smokey, black mixture swirled within the seemingly transparent liquid, painting the vials to an inky black as each and every solution rendered no response to the sediments of ash. There was a long pause of silence as Silver and Whooves looked on with admiration, as though a window shopper had seen the greatest thing they would never obtain to behold their eyes. David decided to break the silence.

“Nothing’s happening.” He noted.

“Ah, then allow me to-” Whooves pulled a flint lighter from seemingly nowhere, generating a quick slash of embers. “-spark, your interest.”

Silver and the boy stared at the doctor, unamused.

“It’s a…figure of speech.” He tried. “Oh, never you mind. Just watch.”

Whooves motioned a small, metallic device with a hose attached to it beneath the testing tubes and twisted a valve sitting to the right of the work bench, a high pitched hissing emanating from the nozzle at the end of the contraption. He clicked the flint lighter once more, sparked the gas to a solid, red-blue flame, and hovered the flickering ember beneath the vials. One container after the other the chemicals within boiled to a hot, brimming bubble, revealing sickly doses of deep yellow and green. The scientist grinned with satisfaction.

“I knew it.” The stallion clicked his tongue. “Stealing third place in the Academy of Trottingham’s seventy-seventh annual science fair was a worthwhile investment afterall.”

Now the pony and the boy hadn’t a clue as to what the nutty scientist was on to. They spared another glance of uncertainty before returning to the colt in dire need of questioning.

“I’m sorry-” Silver began. “What does your school life have to do with any of this?”

“During my studies at the Academy of Trottingham, when I was but only a young lad,” The doctor started without the consent of either of his listeners. “I had been investigating the very secrets to life and existence as we know it. The answers to life, the universe, and everything all laid within one, singular, mono…stick of butter!”

By this point David had already found the plasma ball, and begun to play with it.

“The brand of excellence was but a mere, petty title in the eyes of us young scientists, and that was when enthusiasts all across Equestria and beyond actually gave an electron and another about the wonders of knowledge and experimentation. First place gold was a shameful title to obtain, and you were taught to be ashamed of yourself if you ever obtained first place gold in the science fair. Even the teachers thought so.”

“Okay…why would getting first place in the science fair be any worse than any place below it?” Silver questioned. “And again, what exactly does this have to do with anything?”

“Because they passed out real, credible trophies, my dear Silver Spanner.” The doctor continued. “First place gold meant you were getting a golden trophy, but what a preposterous, useless, and insignificant element to obtain! The conductive properties are nowhere near as valuable as that of third place, bronze. If you got third place in the science fair, you would obtain a bronze trophy. That is the trophy that which every dedicated fair goer would aim for, and I had obtained it.”

“So you’re telling me that for all the effort somepony would put into their science fair project, they’d end up getting first place and obtain a trophy they don’t even want?” Asked Silver. “If even the teachers knew how much more valuable a bronze trophy was compared to a gold trophy, why didn’t they just switch them around?”

“Then that would just defeat the purpose…” Whooves moped.

“Purpose of what?!”

“Am I the only one who wants to know what you would get for second place?” David asked across the room.

“Okay, look, just tell us what’s going on in this test tube here.” Silver pointed to the swirling colors. “What does bronze or gold have to do with any of this?”

“More so bronze.” The doctor furthured. “And from bronze, comes copper.”

“Copper?”

“Aha!” Shouted the boy. “Silver!”

“What?” The unicorn whipped around.

“Huh?” David blinked back. “Oh, I just realized what second place got, was all.”

Silver threw a hoof over her face, and Whooves busied himself with collecting the test tube in question, turning to show his companions.

“This is vitriol.” The doctor presented. “Otherwise known as sulphuric acid, chemical compound H2SO4. This concentrated solution heated up to the proper temperature has the ability to dissolve almost any type of metal, copper included.”

“So what’s the conclusion?” Silver probed. “There are tons of metal shavings and sediments that could’ve fallen off of the oven during the fire. Are you saying that copper is the cause of the fire?”

“It may very well be.” Whooves furthered. “Because the thing I find odd about all of this is that we had only taken these ash samples from inside of the tray. That is to say, Mrs. Cake had tried to bake…a trophy cake!”

“A trophy cake…” Silver shook her head. “I’m not even going to ask what that is.”

“It’s probably a cake, in the shape of a trophy.” David instructed.

“Shoo. Go play with the plasma ball.” Silver batted the boy away.

“My conclusion, dear Silver, is this.” The doctor took a breath. “Who in Equestria would place conductive metals directly into their cake, and such an abundant amount that it might start a fire for that matter? In fact, it did start a fire.”

“Or maybe it’s a trophy in the shape of a cake…” The boy prodded his chin.

“There was no reason for Mrs. Cake to have been so careless, you and Amethyst had already agreed to that.” Silver’s eyes danced about the room. “This could only mean one other thing.”

“Perhaps the fire was…intentional?” The doctor slowly uttered, as though fearful of answering.

“Just for a note of reference, Doctor?” David called over. “Where is your trophy?”

“The third place bronze?” The stallion lifted his head. “Why, scrapped and repurposed, of course. It’s no wonder the third place trophy was so much more valuable than the first.” He informed. “I had them converted into copper fittings and tin plates for both conventional and experimental uses.”

“Okay.” The boy started again. “So, where are these copper fittings?”

“You’ll find that I am a very organized hoarder of materials.” He pounced backwards and swam through a sea of trinkets, gadgets, metals and scrap strewn about in the corner of his laboratory. Soon after he surfaced and pressed his free hooves to the cabinets. “I keep them all right-”

The drawer was empty.

“Right…here!”

And so was the second.

“Erm…”

And the third.

David leaned down and whispered to the unicorn. “I don’t think he did as well in the science fair as he said he did.”

Dim, waning, rays of velvet light filtered past the silky, thick curtains of Miss Rarity’s bedroom, flooding the room with a soothing, almost seductive warmth as the two unicorns laying within focused heavily on their task ahead. Rarity’s muscles tensed, her body squirming with irritation, tail swishing and ears flickering. The mesmerizing tone of her partner arrived as the other unicorn gently rubbed her hoof up and down the fashionista’s back.

“Try to relax for this next exercise.” Starlight whispered ever so gently.

The lashes of her eyes fluttered as she glimpsed for her partner’s face ever so subtly, but Starlight cooed the mare back into her trance and trained her to put all of her focus on the feelings and sensations overwhelming her being at this very moment. Her breath felt hot, her face flushed to a beat red, Starlight’s touch tingled her ever so slightly.

“Yes, that’s it…” The unicorn encouraged. “You’re almost there.”

Rarity’s eyes clenched shut. She grunted with effort.

“Almost there.”

She tensed, she squeezed, she squirmed!

“Almost!”

Rarity was indeed almost at her limit. The book levitating above her horn glowed and shimmered to a transparent, ethereal blue. Starlight was giving her student all the support she could give in instructing her on the arts of the arcane. With a final, grunting effort, the fashionista released her breath and dropped her recently purchased, antique tome out of her telekinetic grasp. The magical field around them fell, and the room returned to an acceptable level of light.

“You almost had it.” Starlight acknowledged. “Just a little more and you would have at least got the basics down.”

“A little more and I feel as though I would have passed out.” Rarity breathed with exhaustion. “And it wouldn’t have been on purpose.”

“That’s why you need to learn how to regulate your mana flow.” The sorceress explained. “Otherwise, the spell will start drawing energy from your body.”

“But, didn’t you say that our magic comes from the flow of energy in our bodies, anyways?”

“Well, yes, but our horns are what allow us unicorns to convert those nutrients into readily available energy for the spell to use.” Starlight furthered. “This energy is called mana. Or, in more familiar terms, magic.” She spread her hooves, showcasing a stream of glimmers and sparkles. “This is also why unicorns have developed placeholders called ‘summon circles’, so that they may retain more magic for more complicated spells.”

“I suppose I just don’t understand quite yet. After all, I am only a beginner.” Rarity noted, calmly peering down at the book set before them. Discours de la méthode, or rather, A Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason, and Seeking Truth in the Sciences, was in fact entirely written in Prench, and had already proved to be more than a challenge for the young enchantress taking her first steps into the deep arcane. The unicorn wondered now just what good a book written in a language she only knew so much of would do her, and in no time found it astounding just how easy this was for ponies like her back in the day. “I must thank you once again, dear Starlight, for sacrificing the time of your day to help me learn these complicated spells.”

The spell in question wasn’t by any means complicated, at least to the young sorceress’ standards, and Starlight had to remind herself on the limitations of others. Instead, the young unicorn started with a grin. “Hey, I’d do anything to get the chance to practice some magic.” She blinked with realization. “A-And to help out a friend in need, of course.”

“And you’ve been a tremendous help thus far, no doubt.” Rarity looked back up, tapping her hooves together. “It’s just-” she paused.

“Just…what?” Starlight waited.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, darling.” The white unicorn started carefully. “But tell me, do you ever get out often?”

“Well, of course I do.” Starlight answered plainly. “What with all of the commotion that’s been going on recently, I’d find it hard to just sit around and do nothing. Why?”

“I will admit that when the dilemma of deciphering this old tome finally found its way into my interest, Twilight was the first I had in mind to look to for assistance.” Rarity paused again, blurting out a moment after. “But of course, one can imagine how busy a Princess such as herself must be all the time. So, I sought after the next best mare. N-Not to say that you’re but only a substitute, as I am more than certain that you know your field well. I thought only to give you a chance to utilize your knowledge-oh, well, that didn’t come out quite right, now did it?”

She thinks I have no friends. Starlight thought to herself. Her complexion dropped to a depressing demeanor, but her eyes continued to study the mare before her. She’s easier to read than Applejack trying to come up with a lie. Ever since Trixie left, everypony has been giving me this same stroke of compensation, and it’s starting to piss me off. She sighed internally. I suppose it can’t be helped. It’s not like they really understand. Was there anypony who really ever understood me? Perhaps…there was one. Starlight pressed to cover a sigh as her next words came together.

“I appreciate you looking out for me, Rares.” She reconsidered. “But really, I’m fine. It’s not like I constantly need somepony breathing down my neck.”

“I know, darling, we all need a bit of time alone every now and then.” Rarity acknowledged. “But it doesn’t hurt to treat ourselves to what awaits beyond our doors. Practicing one’s social skills can often tell us things we didn’t even know about ourselves.”

And…there she goes again. The sorceress groaned internally. Not only is she blatant, but persistent as well. Something tells me there’s a reason she called me over here other than to help her with her magic. The unicorn thought deviously. I’ll bet Twilight is in on this little scheme, trying to get me to open up and talk about my feelings. So what if I ended up driving away one of my one and only best friends away? So what if she may never return or I may never see her again? I’m a grown mare, I can take it! She fumed.

“Starlight, dear, is…” Rarity wavered. “Is everything alright?”

“Wha-? Huh?” The mare blinked back to reality. “O-Oh, yes! Of course. Just…trying to figure out what went wrong with the spell. Hahaha…”

Rarity responded only with an estranged look, delivering a side-eye to the odd and sudden response her unicorn friend had uttered. The single, little spark of neuro-stimuli triggering through the unicorn’s mind told Starlight everything she needed to know. The nervous laugh gave it away, didn’t it? She wondered, seething within. Dammit, enough with the stupid, nervous laugh!

“Starlight.” Rarity began calmly and slowly. “You know that I am your friend, right? So is Twilight, and Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and everypony else. There’s no reason you need to hide anything from us.”

“Who said I was hiding anything? I was only trying to make it seem like-” Starlight paused and felt that a face-hoof was coming. With a simple gesture she let her defenses drop, not even looking the pony adjacent to her in the eyes as she timidly continued. “All right…I guess ya’ caught me.” She blinked hard. “I suppose I’ve been a little upset about how some things have been turning out recently, but that doesn’t mean any of you guys should take the fall with me. That’s why I always keep myself to my scrolls and my spells, because I feel like this is a problem I need to face on my own.”

Rarity blinked with a hint of realization as the words slowly came into comprehension, and the elder mare wondered just what sort of events in her life could have caused this young unicorn to think this way. Of course, the little village incident they had faced some few years ago was as major of a highlight as any, but even then what sort of trauma could have caused an event such as that to take place? The white unicorn wondered carefully, and cautioned upon the can of worms she was slowly yet surely prying open. Rarity at least knew now that silence was the next step. The unicorn was not yet finished.

“I suppose that’s a little selfish of me, isn’t it?” Starlight continued. “Before I came into your guys’ lives, you must’ve faced all kinds of different problems together. It must be nice to know that you’ve got a friend by your side, ready to face down the shadows along side you. It makes the world feel a little less threatening, doesn’t it?”

Now the host was at a standstill, a complete loss at what to say next, or even if she should say anything next. The silence seemed to put the younger unicorn out of place as she kicked up another one of her nervous chuckling fits, and went to gather her belongings in her aura.

“Sorry to get so deep all of a sudden, that was really unlike me.” Starlight lied, heading for the door. “I suppose I should get going-”

“Starlight, please.” Rarity’s voice was as soft as ever. “I may not know entirely the strife you may be facing, but will you at least promise us something?”

The unicorn came to halt, a grip on the door. She waited.

“Promise us that you won’t try to walk this path alone.” Rarity pleaded. “Know that you have friends that are willing to walk with you, and guide you.”

Right, like a unicorn who can barely light her horn would know anything about me. Starlight snapped at herself. Stop it! She snarled within. Quietly, the young unicorn turned to her host with a knowing nod. “I’ll keep it in mind, Rares…” And without another beat, Starlight slipped through the seam of the door and clicked it shut behind her, pressing her back to the entrance and letting her haunches fall to the earth.

She swept both hooves over her face and let an excruciatingly long breath of shaky relief escape her lungs. “A little more and I feel like I would’ve…” She trembled.

“Would have…what?” The boy asked.

Starlight sprung in fright, instinctively lighting her horn for defensive measures. At the same time she slapped both hooves over her mouth lest she scream and alert the other mare within. It only took a second longer to recognize the figure standing before her.

“Were you trying to induce a heart attack?” Starlight stared daggers. “Or do you actually have a good reason to be here? What the hell is this?”

“It’s a wagon.” He answered innocently. “A d-rig wagon. I was returning it to Rarity for letting us borrow it.” David trained an odd eye on the mare. “What’s got you in all of a fuss?”

“Nothing. It’s just…” She let another sigh go. “Had a bit more of a heart-to-heart with the mademoiselle than I would have liked, I guess.”

“Unicorns…” He groaned. “Am I right?”

Starlight crossed a dead-pan. She had quickly realized that if she could ever rely on someone to bring the mood of the moment to a dead, screeching halt, then it was David. The boy only followed with a shrug and worked another response.

“Anyways, be a dear and run this in for me?” He pushed the wagon over. “Apparently I’ve got a whole day of training to catch up on, per a certain pegasus’ request, or rather demand.” He waved back, beginning to walk off. “Guess I’ll see you around?”

“Wait, wait!” Starlight trotted up and around, stopping the boy. “You’re not all that busy, are you?”

“I just explained to you I’m on speedy’s shit list, unless I do some push-ups and run around.”

“You do that all the time anyways.” Starlight waved her hoof, beckoning the boy closer. “Listen, I was thinking that you and I oughta’ conduct a second expedition. Y’know, take a little trip back to you know where.”

“Er, no.” He blatantly shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t know where.”

“You know…” She dragged her hoof in circles. “The Everfree ruin-”

A crackling flash of white briefly blinded the duo as they staggered backwards and yelped in surprise, only to be brought right back into a close embrace as the draconequus of the hour cackled aloud and made his presence more than known.

“Oopsie doopsie, was I interrupting something important just now?” Discord asked blatantly.

The unicorn puffed with irritation, breaking away from his grasp. “You, again?”

“Good to see you, too.” Discord huffed back.

“Whatever it is you’re here for, you’d better hope its far more important than what we were talking about just now.” Starlight dared.

“And trust me, I would be more than happy to fill myself in on the little adventures you’ve been having with our main character here, but the boy comes first.” He twisted around, floating aimlessly above the two, looking down at the human. “How are we doing on our quest for little miss Apple Bloom?”

“I didn’t think you’d get yourself caught up in those details, either.” David played a defensive stance. “And the way I see it, I don’t really think it’s any of your business.”

“Ah-ah-ah, don’t forget our little agreement at the fountain.” Discord reminded. “When I offered to help you that wasn’t a deal, it was a demand. Know that I am doing this more for myself than anypony or anyone else’s benefit.”

“I’m not sure if I can trust that anymore.” David admitted. “Your help was satisfactory back at Town Hall, but shady at best. Twilight has already warned me about the kind of trouble she’d get into with you around, and I think this time I’m going to follow my instincts and her advice.” He turned to walk away. “So, thanks, but no thanks.”

“And I suppose that Twilight told you that because she doesn’t realize I may very well hold the key to helping you restore Apple Bloom’s memory.” He called. “Or, does she?”

David halted in his tracks, turning around slowly to size up the draconequus and the mischievous yet knowing grimace drawn across his lips. He weighed his left limb forward for the boy to see. Floating in his eagle claw was a small, tattered parchment with a strange series of markings drawn over it, the item no larger than a simple playing card. Its etchings pulsed a beckoning, blue-green, iridescent glow.

Chapter 59 - The Memory Talisman

Seated patiently on the side opposite to the Alicorn, David felt his weight sinking into the tiny chair as Twilight flipped her way through one reference after another. His sights hovered up and along the divisions in the shelves leading up to the crystalline rafters, cautiously eyeing the shadows lingering about, as he knew a certain goat-headed god of chaos was waiting just as patiently as the boy was. David served a passive glance to the outdoors, seeing that the skies had traded its hues of blue for a fresh coat of orange. His attention was drawn back as the pony sighed and slapped her book shut, a sure sign of failing to identify the parchment before them.

“I’m sorry, but there isn’t anything within these sources that matches this artifact’s description.” Twilight traded sights between the boy and the parchment. “Where exactly did you find this thing?”

“I, uh…just stumbled across it.” David answered cautiously. “Whilst on a stroll, with Starlight.”

He wanted to slap a palm over his forehead, but suppressed the urge to do so. Soon after, the Alicorn was giving him an estranged once-over.

“The only fairly accessible area I can think of to possess such artifacts, aside from the antiques store, would be the Everfree ruins.” Twilight sunk into silence, looking back up wide-eyed. “Don’t tell me you actually…?”

The boy hung his head with guilt, shoulders shrugging and dropping. “Guess I played myself into this one.” He admitted.

The pony slowly leaned back in her chair, fret flooding her eyes. She closed them again and shook her head. “What were you thinking?” Her tone hovered shakily. “You could have been killed.”

“But this is it, Twilight.” He leaned forward. “This is the key to solving this whole memory problem. And, dare I say it, quite possibly my ticket out of here.”

“And how do you know that?” She questioned sternly, searching his eyes. “You said you had no idea what this artifact was, hence why you brought it to me in the first place. Why are you really here?”

“I was hoping you’d be able to tell me how to use it.” He quavered.

A pause of tension filled the room, stagnating the air as the boy found himself on the losing end of a harsh, staring duel. Twilight opened her mouth to speak again, but instead another voice bounced off the walls of the chamber, deep and dreadfully familiar to her as it was.

“The poor lad does only what he expects of himself.” The thum answered. “Give pity, your majesty.”

“Discord…” Twilight growled, as usual. “I should have known better than to let you run amok.”

“Pray tell, what would have been your remedy this time around?” Discord fluttered gently towards the floor. “A kick in the hindquarters from a stream of blinding rainbows would’ve seemed a little out of season, don’t you think?”

“I mean it, Discord, our business ties into classified affairs.” The Princess warned. “If you continue to dabble then I may be forced to address these matters with Princess Celestia herself.”

“Ah, but what good would tattling to your “highchair highness” do in light of the fact that her and I have had a most peculiar relationship, even since before you were born.” The serpent played a deep grimace.

The Princess played another jaw-dropped pause, words hanging upon the tip of her tongue, but the better of her thought to say nothing in reply and instead let the silence weigh in the answer. It would give her ample time to think about what the draconequus had just said, and Discord knew she was already overthinking its implications. The boy in the chair remained stagnant to the quick yet witty conversation, timid at the words yet smart enough to know that words of his own would do no good in this situation. Satisfied, the serpentine beast hovering above the two slithered down to their level as he uttered along.

“But before I say too much, I thought I might fill you in on that nifty bit of paper I found for our dear protagonist here.” Discord snapped his talons, appearing before the two with a getup reminiscent to that of the esteemed Daring-Do book franchise. He sprawled an old, archaeologist’s map over the table and brought his magnifying glass over the big, red “X” marked in the middle of the forest. “I do admire the intuition, your highness, this is indeed an artifact that I managed to salvage from the rubble of the Everfree. Just a silly strip of paper, laying among a pile of books collecting a thousand years worth of dust and decay. Who knew?”

“You planted it.” Twilight dead-panned.

“Mmm, good guess.” He twirled his magnifier. “No, not me. But somepony did.”

“Then how did you know where to look?” She probed.

Discord gave a huff of irritation. “Did you actually believe that I spent a thousand years imprisoned in stone, doing absolutely nothing? How else did you think I managed to displace the Elements-?” The draconequus paused, peering between the boy and the pony. “Now I’m really saying too much.”

Once again, the mare opened her mouth, but David raised his hand. “Hang on, Twilight.” He cautioned. “I got this.”

The boy did his best to ignore the uncertain daggers piercing the side of his face as he warily turned to the draconequus with motioning sights, rather uncertain of where to look. His words came steady as ever.

“So, big guy, this is it.” He started. “This is what you promised me, and now that the cat’s out of the bag, you gotta tell me what this thing is and how I’m supposed to use it.”

Discord twirled about with delight, hanging a limb over the boy’s shoulder. “I’m so glad we have someone here who has enough common sense to get straight to the point. I could tell from the start you and I would be on the same page.” The serpent snapped his talons again, dropping a “user’s manual” into the boys hands. Strangely enough, it had the same weight and style to that of the Wii’s user manual, as the human could vaguely recall.

“You may want to take notes for this, Princess.” Discord grinned across the table, turning back to David. “This, my boy, is a memory talisman. It’s title is exactly what you think it is, a special artifact equipped with the application of helping one’s mind recall upon a memory lost to the depths of their maze they call a brain. The talisman won’t just call upon any memory, but a core memory, one that is crucial to the construction, or rather the reconstruction of their mind.” He clicked his talons again, and the pages of the manual flipped to a crude diagram of a human raising the old piece of paper to a pony’s forehead. “In other words, this talisman when used will act as a web, mending together the pieces lost and broken within the receiver's memory. There’s just, uh…there are a few…side effects-” He snapped his talons a final time, the pages flipping to one wall of text after the other. David looked around for the magnifier to attempt and read the words. “-a few side effects, to mention. Or not, I suppose.”

“I take it you tested it yourself?” The boy wondered.

“Tested it myself?” The beast stifled a laugh. “I went through more effort than you may realize searching for that relic. That talisman is restricted to a one-time use and a one-time use only. I trust you will strain yourself to practice as much wisdom as possible in using it. Try not to pop a vein.”

David reached forward and took the object into his grasp, letting the artifact hover over his palm as the implications and potential consequences swarmed about his mind. He attempted to think of any setbacks or tricks the mischievous serpent might have been plotting, but then again there would simply be no benefit if the effort he had gone through to obtain such a relic was indeed true. For whatever purpose the beast sought to help him, whatever he was trying to make him see, the boy simply could not fathom. All he knew now was that an answer had finally come upon his doorstep, and there it hovered in finger’s reach.

“David.” Twilight hummed carefully, drawing his attention. “Whatever it is that you’re planning to do next I have no right in stopping you, but please do not forget what I told you.” She looked on longingly. “Sometimes, the best thing one can do is to wait. Think about what Apple Bloom would want.”

His eyes hovered aimlessly about the room finally coming to rest upon the draconequus with a knowing gaze and a beckoning claw. The boy eased himself off of the chair and stood, chest puffed out and shoulders fixed. Twilight already knew his response before he could even utter it.

“I’m not going to forget what else you said.” He reminded. “’You’ve only failed when you’ve given up on finding an answer.’”

David delivered the Alicorn one last apologetic glance and subtly nodded to Discord as he turned, tucked the talisman into his pocket, and pushed past the library doors.

Sweet Apple Acres rested patiently upon its spot on the horizon, evening striking across the sky in streaks of orange and red, much like the leaves of the trees lining the path up to the farm. David rested his palm over the pocket he had placed the talisman in for the entire trek up to the orchard, certain the relic was still there, determined on getting it to the one and only filly whom he believed needed it most right now. He barely paused at the threshold of the gate, marching up the dusty road to the great, red barn. As though on queue, a flash of white light sprang from the patio at the front door. Discord wore a typical southerner’s getup, gallon hat over his eyes and boots kicked up on the porch railing.

“Last chance, partner.” He warned. “Are you sure about this?”

“You’re the one who’s been encouraging me.” David reminded. “Why back down now?”

“Perhaps you’ll see what I mean soon enough.” Discord swept his paw, motioning the door ajar. “She’s inside waiting for you.”

The boy mustered up all the confidence he could and marched up to the threshold of the house. A second later, Applejack appeared to slam the panel right on his nose. The poor human stumbled backwards and held his nostrils, fearing another nose bleed.

“Oh, and so is her sister.” Discord threw his head back and cackled to the roof. “Don’t have too much fun, now. I’ll just be waiting out here.” He snapped a banjo into his claws and began yodeling.

David grunted and shook his head to stifle the pain, approaching the door once more with a sturdy, steady knock. There was no answer, but he knew she was still there, at the very least barricading the door with her back. He knocked again.

“Applejack, will you let me in?” He called.

“You got a lotta’ gull comin’ up and askin’ that, ‘specially around supper time.” The mare within snarled, swinging the panel open again. “I’ll give ya’ ten seconds to explain what you’re doin’ on my front porch, and why I shouldn’t buck ya’ back to whatever Celestia forsaken planet you came from.”

“If you did, then your sister might lose her one and only chance at being her old self again.” David answered boldly.

“I don’t buy it.” Applejack crossed her hooves.

“You don’t have to, just let me help.” He pleaded. “It won’t hurt to give it a shot.”

“David…?” A little voice sounded from within. “Is that you?”

Flat as her tone may have been, the voice undoubtedly belonged to the filly he was looking for. The boy rose and attempted to step inside, but the pony at the door blocked his path and did her damnedest not to lash out or break any of his bones. Another lecture from Twilight wouldn’t look too good on her schedule.

“Seems t’me the boy’s got an awful itching to tell us sumtin’.” Granny Smith came lumbering down the hall. “Step aside, Jack, be a gentle-mare for once.”

Though daggers had skewered their way through his skull, David did everything he could to look back at the mare with the setson in the most grateful manner he could muster. Craning his head beneath the frame of the door, the boy stepped inside and took in his surroundings for a brief spell. Every member of the orchard rested within the dining area, save for Applejack at the door, whom begrudgingly ushered the boy further in and presented him to her younger sister. Apple Bloom’s eyes had been locked onto the boy ever since he had entered, and with as cautious of a motion as ever, he knelt down before the little pony with a welcoming smile.

“I’m glad you remembered me, Apple Bloom.” He began. “I’ve got something for you.”

“For me?”

“Something that will help you with your memory.” He reached into his pocket, and pulled the relic forward. “This is a memory talisman. It has a special power that allows a pony to remember something they might have forgotten.”

Apple Bloom eyed the talisman floating above the boy’s hand, wonder and uncertainty in her gaze. She blinked and looked back to the human, unsure.

“Don’t you understand what this is?” David went on eagerly. “You can go back to your old self again, you can go back to the way things were. With your family, with your friends…all you have to do is accept the talisman.”

“It’ll help somepony remember something…” The filly thought carefully. “Something they’ve forgotten?”

David nodded, holding the relic forward.

“But…” She wavered. “You forgot something too, haven’t you?”

“Huh…?”

“When I woke up, I knew there were a lot of things I had forgotten, but there was something I remembered. That something was about you.” Apple Bloom explained to him. “I remember what you told us at the school house, when you spoke in front of the class that day. You were taken from your home, away from your planet, and you don’t remember why or how you got here. You said that if you did remember, then maybe you could find a way back? To your home, I mean.”

“Well, yes…that might be true, but-” David shook his head. “Apple Bloom, I came here to give this to you.”

“But you might need it, too.” She considered. “Don’t you?”

The boy paused, finding difficulty in speaking any further. Her thoughts and words had suaded him to consider a whole knew path of questions and consequences, just as the draconequus had predicted. David knelt there, frozen, as the little pony went on.

“I’m not saying it would be a waste if you used it on me, I’m saying it would be a waste if you didn’t use it on yourself.” Apple Bloom spoke mundanely. “Trust me, I know what’s going on here. Here I am at home, on my own planet, and that means I’ve got hundreds of opportunities to rebuild the life that I lost.” She looked upon the talisman in the boy’s hand, and looked back up. “That right there, that’s the only opportunity you have to rebuild the life that you lost.”

David blinked and slowly leaned back, astounded by the impact this little pony’s words were dealing upon him. He traded a wary glance to the other family members watching on in anticipation, their looks changing to that of uncertainty and sorrow. Granny Smith took a heavy step forward and spoke.

“I may not be too sure what all this jibber jabber ‘bout talismans and artifacts are all about, but this old mare’s got a way of knowing when somepony is tellin’ the truth.” She rested a hoof to her granddaughter’s back. “If’n you’re sure this ain’t the right time…”

“I’m sure, Granny.” The younger spoke back diligently, and turned back to the boy. “Can you do something for me, Mister David?”

“Anything.” The boy nodded back.

“I want you to think long and hard about how you want to use that talisman.” She said. “Think about your family, think about your friends. Think about everything you left behind at home. You’ll do this, won’t you?”

His words stumbled, head bobbing on. “I…I will.” The boy mumbled. “I’ll do it for you, Apple Bloom.”

“No.” She shook her head. “You’ll do it for yourself.”

As David took his leave, he stepped out onto the front porch of the barn house and gripped the railing, gazing solemnly out unto the sunset. The lasting light of the day reminded him dreadfully of his first day on this planet, the very day he had been brought to Equestria. He knew himself much less knowledgeable of this world back then compared to what he knew now, and still the answers had not arrived just as he hoped they would. He damned himself for not considering that Apple Bloom might feel different about the situation than he did, he cursed himself for not listening to the advice that others had granted him. For that, he had encountered yet another wall, his knuckles already bruised as could be for tearing through every other one that had come before. He flehmened with irritance as the presence of another invaded his senses.

“Step out, Discord.” He commanded.

There was no answer.

“C’mon, spill it!” He gripped the railing harder. “What am I supposed to do here? What do you want me to do?”

There was another stroke of silence before the beast finally decided to hum a reply. Uncertain of where his voice was coming from, the boy nonetheless listened.

“I expected that you would have figured it out by now.” Discord started. “But I suppose you’re not as intuitive as I thought you were.”

“What does being intuitive have to do with it?” He splayed his arms. “You said the talisman would work, you said to take it to her.”

“And what? You expected her to accept it right then and there?” Discord’s form seeped from the porch’s awning, the beast finally revealing himself as he oozed into formation, his eyes strong and stern upon the boy. “You may have the antidote, but she doesn’t have the appetite. I’m afraid it’s a little more complicated than that, my boy.”

The boy raised a single finger and opened his mouth, but the words failed to arrive. Discord applied a trumpet to his ear in anticipation, only for the human to step back and reconsider his approach. He began to pace and ponder, hand beneath his chin and the other arm tucked under his pit. The boy was mumbling to himself again, that tiny, little, bumbling noise drawling from his lips, Discord hated that sound. He wanted more than anything to snap his claws and sew a zipper across the boy’s lips, which he could very easily do, if it weren’t for the strange sensation of patience he felt he should ensue ever since he had met this human. Strangely enough, vivid thoughts of Princess Twilight would invade the serpent’s mind as he practiced this odd ritual.

“There’s something I’m meant to do…” The boy mumbled on. “Before I can escape the dream…”

Discord rapped his claws impatiently, arms crossed and face tight.

“Maybe I missed a step?” He supposed. “Maybe there’s a pony I forgot to talk to? A place I forgot to go to? An item I forgot to pick up?” He tapped his temples. “What is it? What is it? What is it-”

“Oh, for the love of-” Discord sprawled and stomped to the floor with the force of an infuriated manticore. His eyes filled with a deep, sinister red, and his voice burst from his lungs. “I should have known that a boy too caught up in his pointless, rampant actions couldn’t bare the cognition capable to recognize his own faults! Do you want to know what it is you’re doing wrong? Use your listening skills for once and I’ll tell you what it is.” He took a mighty breath. “Time and time again you have asked and wondered when the answers to these dilemmas that you face are ever going to come, but the reason you never find them is because you don’t think! You don’t listen! You don’t take but a single, measly hour out of your day to simply lay still, relax, and allow yourself to absorb the knowledge that is being offered to you. Do you want to know where the answers have been hiding this entire time? I’ll tell you where they’re at.” The serpent raised his claws, brought the boy forward, and drilled a single talon towards his head. “There! Right there! And I’m not the only one who knows that, as I trust Princess Luna had already shown you where to look, long before I decided to invade this horrendous, disgusting, unbearable fan-fic you call a story!” Finally, the beast was beginning to calm down, if only a little. “I implore you, I beg you, I beseech you, O chosen ‘‘‘hero’’’ of Earth, to just shut up, go to your room, and read a book!”

Thus, his thum came to a hollowed and haunting close, the ambiance all around the two beginning to settle as the sun took its final set beneath the horizon. Streaks of purple and blue accompanied the deep red and orange painted across the sky, putting the boy’s mind at ease, his thoughts to a stand still. Something about the way this draconequus had just spoken to him triggered a strange memory from the pits of his consciousness, a memory from Earth. Someone had spoken like that to him before, and in that time he was undoubtedly at fault with the odds that he had been facing back then. It told him that he indeed needed to take a moment to wait, to learn, to listen.

Listen. He told himself. Just listen…that’s right. I remember, back on Earth everyone used to tell me I was a good listener. Maybe now, that might have better use here than it did there.

Not a word escaped his lips as he strode past the draconequus, ignoring the stinging glare that stuck to the nape of his neck. David trekked lightly down the path, stopped in the center of the field, and turned with a final phrase to the serpent on the staircase.

“You remind me a bit of my dad.” He pinched an imaginary grain between his fingers. “Just a little bit.”

As Discord watched the boy go, he glanced down to his claws and mimicked the human’s gesture. The beast snorted, snapped his talons, and disappeared.

“But that’s besides the point.” David declared. “I know I’ve got to look for answers, but I don’t know where to start, how to utilize my research skills, connect on thing with another.” He cautioned his sips of tea, resting the cup to the coaster and sighing drearily. “I suppose what I’m trying to say is, I’m lost. And I suppose what I’m trying to ask of you is…I need your advice.”

With a pause, the boy veered his attention back to the board laying before him. He chose a pawn he hadn’t touched yet, skipping two paces ahead. The poor little piece had already been thrown into harm’s way, and no plan was set before to compensate for its loss. Ignoring the vulnerable pawn, Cozy Glow chose her knight, and moved it into a peculiar position.

“Trust me, I’ve been there more times than I can count.” She lifted her cup to her chin. “Although, I never had anypony I could discuss it with.”

“I take it was very tough for a filly your age?” David considered.

“Nine.” She answered quickly, as though proud to do so.

“Wow.” He nodded politely. “How did you manage?”

“Being an only child was never easy. It may seem like you’re getting all of the attention, but that’s only from the adults.” She watched his fingers brush over his bishop. “There was nopony around my age to talk with, so that’s why I always felt like I needed to hold in all of my personal feelings. I needed to put on a brave face for my elders and superiors.”

“Speaking of which, how come I’ve never seen them?” He asked. “Your parents, I mean?”

Cozy Glow paused, staring at the boy.

“Unless, that’s a personal thing-”

“They abandoned me.” She admitted, her expression like stone.

David felt a chill run over his body. He could only nod a simple “I see” as he went to quiver another sip of his tea. “Sorry to intrude.” He mumbled.

“Don’t sweat it.” The filly smiled back. “I did say that I only hold back my feelings around adults, didn’t I?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The boy chuckled, peering down to find that his bishop was no longer on the board. He hadn’t even seen her make the move.

Since early morning that day, the local cafe had seen little activity from the nearby residents, and the boy wondered momentarily if it was because of his presence, or if the sight of a human and a pony sitting at a purple mushroom table whilst playing a game of chess on top of it was just too much to bare. For once, David considered the absurdity of the situation, but nonetheless aloud its preposterous premise to drive the motivation he so desperately desired. He even found himself lucky enough to schedule an appointment with this mysterious little pony, this Cozy Glow of all characters. The boy reminisced to his time spent on Earth, watching the television show on his computer, but none of his memories could call back to such a pony. The milky-white bow in her hair, the blue curls of her mane, and the way she batted her eyelashes all the time. The child obviously sought for the compensation of others, but for what purpose? He could not determine.

Most peculiar of all, the boy felt something from this little pony that which he had not with Mikado. She undoubtedly belonged here, in this town, in this reality for that matter. Unbeknownst to him, it provided the human with a subtle yet stronger sense of trust than he even realized. She was speaking again before he could even judge his next move.

“In any case, I’m glad you came to me asking for help. In fact, I’m grateful.” She nodded confidently. “It takes a lot of guts to do the right thing, doesn’t it?”

“What’s that?” He looked up.

“Oh c’mon, you don’t have to act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” She flattered. “You’re the Equerry of Ponyville for crying out loud. If Princess Twilight can see the potential in you, I’m sure everypony else can, too.”

“Well, in case you haven’t noticed, not many agree with that outlook.” He said. “Quite frankly, not even myself.”

“I know what it’s like.” The pony provided. “Sometimes, you just gotta play the bad guy.”

David stopped and looked over the little pony, scanning her carefully.

“We’ve got more in common than we think, you and I.” She folded her hooves. “You have a goal in mind, you desire to help others, and in your pursuit you realize that you need help from others, too. Sometimes, playing the bad guy means you gotta do the right thing. Not because it’s easy, but because you want to. But more often than not, not everyone is on board with doing the right thing, and doing the right thing means doing what you think is right.” She went on. “That’s why we are portrayed in this disdainful, hurtful viewpoint that society has framed us to be in. People don’t want to accept what they don’t understand because that is how their minds and bodies react to fear, that fear being the fear of the unknown.”

“Are you saying there are things I don’t even know about myself?” He wondered.

“Are you saying you haven’t thought about it before?” She countered. “I know I have.”

With that, the boy quietly began to ponder upon his actions in the past. Perhaps there were points in time in which he believed he was doing the right thing, points at which he was portrayed as the villain for doing so. In his efforts to save Sunshower from the fountain statue, the ponies of Ponyville had cast him into debt. When Silver Spanner had fallen victim to Rose Luck’s garden raiding, he had gone out to set things right, only to result in riot and turmoil. Only then did he victimize himself and seek to do better, only then did the cries of others suade his actions so, and even vice-versa. The thoughts plagued his mind as his hands carefully brushed over his pieces.

“Did you want to take that move back?” Cozy Glow offered.

He blinked and looked back down at the board. His king had been thrown out of defense, and was now vulnerable from several directions. The next move the little prodigy planned on making would almost certainly result in checkmate. With a content shake of his head, the boy declined.

“Once you’ve made your move, you’ve made your move.” He proclaimed. “There’s no taking it back.”

“I see.” The filly said, taking a hold of her rook, and placing it to take the king. She gave a confident, knowing grin, and held her hoof forward. “Thank you for playing.”

“And thank you, for the advice I mean.” He shook her hoof and stood from the table. “I think I know what I have to do now. I’ll see you around, Cozy Glow.”

The boy turned and strode into the thick of Ponyville, the pony at the table watching the boy’s back as he went. The filly quietly folded her hooves inward once more and gazed over her rook in line with his king. There was a certain glint in her eye, one that spelt dissatisfaction, one that told a desire for a little more.

Unbeknownst to both of them, in the bushes and brush from afar nested a certain, pink, bubbly and fluffy mare waiting so much more patiently than what was good for her. She knew however, why she was doing it, and whom she was doing it for.

“Don’t you worry, Davey.” The pony hopped away. “Auntie Pinkie Pie is on the case!”

Chapter 60 - Imagination

The last of the cardboard boxes levitated their way through the open door and into the castle’s kitchen space, stacked across the walls and shelves in neat, organized intervals, per her Highness’ unshakable habits. Meanwhile, the earth mare whom was overseeing the whole operation opened one container after the other and drew forth various sets of dishes and silverware, placing them across the shelves. She paused to glance at her work and turned back to address the Alicorn.

“I must thank you once again for your hospitality, your Highness.” The earth pony bowed. “I don’t think my sister’s kitchen could’ve taken as big of a baking operation as we had planned.”

“Not a problem, Mrs. Cake.” Twilight acknowledging, resting a box between them. “You and your family are welcome to stay at the castle too, if you’d like?”

“You’ve already done plenty for us, I’d hate to mooch off of you anymore than I have to.” She went to unfurl the flaps of the box before her, reaching inside to find a fluffy mass of pink, cotton fur stuffed inside. The baker paused, wondering why a collection of dishes would look or even feel like this, only for her to remember that kitchenware wasn’t supposed to have big, beady eyes looking back at her.

“Erm…did we happen to check off a one miss ‘Pinkie Pie’ on the list, your Highness?” Mrs. Cake asked warily.

Twilight gave the mare a confused yet cautious stare, levitating her clipboard over her face as her eyes scanned down the line of items to check off. At the bottom of the paper read the name “Pinkie Pie” scribbled in pink crayon, accompanied by a smiley face and sunflowers. The Alicorn had to put some effort into suppressing a sigh and a roll of her eyes, the clump of cotton and fluff pooling out of the box soon after as the scent of bubblegum invaded the room.

“Talk about poor delivery.” The bubbly mare chortled to herself. “Hiya, Twilight. Hiya, Mrs. Cake. Fancy meeting you two here.” She focused on the baker. “Say, are you using this box right now?”

“No, it would appear that you are, dear.” Mrs. Cake replied.

“Does that mean I can borrow it?” Pinkie looked on with anticipation.

“I’d hate to think what might happen if you didn’t.”

“Great! Thanks a bunch, Mrs. Cake. See ya’ later, Twilight.” The pink pony brought her hooves over her head and shrunk back down into the box, the flaps following and swinging shut. For a long pause then, complete silence filled the room, the baker and the Princess trading confused glances between one another as they stared at the box in expectation.

“Um…” Twilight began. “Pinkie, aren’t you going to-?”

The sound of the door swinging open caught their ears, wherein the two occupants found none other than Pinkie herself exiting the room, the cardboard box in tow. They looked back to where the box was, only to find that it was gone, barren of any trace of the pink little pony.

“How does she…?” Mrs. Cake started.

“I learned the hard way not to question it.” Twilight answered.

Trotting down the main plaza square, the lone, pink earth mare sung to herself as the cardboard box situated atop her bottom balanced itself to her beat. It was just a simple, ordinary, everyday cardboard box, and that was the way any ordinary pony would see such a box. All the while an essence of pure joy had painted itself to the mare’s lips. Her eyes clamped shut with eyebrows up, the giggle in her hum and the wiggling of her hips, Pinkie felt a sense she had thought she wouldn’t have felt this soon once again. For in her mind, she knew now exactly what she was doing.

“On the road~” She jingled. “To I-ma-gi-na-tion!” And she jangled.

Seconds after, her target laid in sight. The pony pranced ahead and sprang behind the cover of a barrel, peaking over the lid and across the plaza. Her eyes locked onto the human making his calm, confident stride towards the front entrance of Town Hall. This, however, was in no way scheduled within Pinkie Pie’s agenda of incredulous and preposterous behavior. In other words, she did not sense it. And for that, she knew something was amiss.

“What do we have here, a young man looking to fulfill his civic duties?” She nickered and shook her head. “Time to fix that.”

She dove into her mane and pulled out a small, pink and yellow notebook, flipping to a specific page with the title ‘Ways to make David avoid paying his taxes’ read atop. She went down the list carefully.

“Let’s see here…student loans? No, he’s too good for that.” She thought harder. “I could convince him to buy an RV…but those haven’t been invented yet.” She smashed the pencil against her forehead. “C’mon, you stupid ball of cotton candy, think, think! Aha, I got it!” She puffed her chest proudly. “No, wait! Ponies don’t have finger nails…” She glossed over her notebook, tossed it aside, and shrugged. “Meh, I’ll just wing it.”

In that very moment, the uninvited sensation that the boy felt himself being watched had flooded his nervous system. Instinct told him to turn and face whatever presence was looming upon him, as he knew and had told himself before that predators chase backs. It quickly dawned upon him that there were no predators in the heart of Ponyville. This being, as he dreaded, was the pure embodiment of fear and intimidation, and that being had appeared to him…in the form of a pink, fluffy, cotton-candy maned pony. Only a tad larger than the common house cat, of course.

“If you’re thinking about running, then you should suppress those urges.” Pinkie Pie informed. “It’s for your own good.”

“I don’t think running would do me any good, anyways.” He quavered a little. “I take it you’re here to harness my soul?”

“Just a bit of your time.” She smiled brightly and knowingly. “And, your imagination, if you wouldn’t mind.” She paused and giggled to herself. “Well, actually, I guess you would mind since it takes a bit of that brain power stuff Twilight is always talking about to get that creativity going. Y’know, give your noggin a joggin’? Grind the mind? Train the brain? That reminds me, I once had this super smarty-smart thought, and it’s about the trolley dilemma. Since the bodies are on the tracks but the people’s heads are on the ground off to the side, wouldn’t it just make sense to take their brain out and switch them into a new body to save them-”

“What’s with the box?” David intentionally interrupted.

If it hadn’t been for her objective it would’ve been a miracle that the pink pony paused in her spree of speech. She plastered a grin and swung the item in mention around, placing the cardboard container between the two of them and sprawling her hooves in presentation. The mare took a great, big gulp of air as though a dealer at a car lot were sneaking up on an unsuspecting, innocent family, but that wasn’t exactly why David had prepared to place his hands over his ears. Alas, the pony had gone frozen, struck solid. The boy reveled in finally being able to look at her sitting still for more than five seconds. She pointed a hoof into the box.

“Get in.”

“If I didn’t know you, I would think this was Ponyville custom for enhanced interrogation.” The boy supposed, sitting in the fetal position. “No, scratch that, I really don’t know you.”

“That’s why I said I’m here to help.” Pinkie chirped. “In fact, you’ll know a whole bunch more about yourself than anypony else after we’re done.”

“Then could you be so kind as to explain why we need to sit in a cardboard box in the middle of the park?” The tips of his fingers grazed the inner walls of the box. “This thing looked smaller from the outside.”

“That’s because it’s a box of leaves, silly!” Pinkie snorted. “Get it? Because who leaves a perfectly good box laying around?”

The imitation of a rolling tumbleweed glided across the boy’s eyes. Pinkie sat back in anticipation of a fit of laughter, but not a giggle came from the young human’s lungs. Not a snort, not even a snicker. Her ears and mane began to deflate, her eyes widening evermore with complete and utter disbelief. Just how old was the boy anyhow? No, that didn’t matter, it shouldn’t. What mattered most was the objective at hoof, and hopefully soon enough at hand too, as the bubbly little pony intently swerved around to take up the reigns to their great escapade.

“Come with me, and you’ll be, in a world of your imagination~” She sang.

“Imagination?”

“Not to be confused with the nation of ‘Imagi.’” She chirped.

“I don’t think a place like that exists.”

“Not with that attitude, it doesn’t!” She declared triumphantly. “Just think about this for a moment, won’t you?” She shifted the gear into drive, and began rolling along. “You and I are on the road, and that road leads to a place where only you and I can go. It’s but a teensy-tiny, hop-skip, leap and a hooray away~! A few bumps in the road are bound to occur, you’ll have some second thoughts, that’s for sure. But remember this, and keep in mind, this is no ordinary, lucrative, promotional trip. It is a destiny, an adventure, a journey into the mind. And the best part? It’s all your own design~!”

“I will agree, that the child in me, seems a tad and a tiny tempted.” He confessed. “But I ought to inform you, of the dangers that come disclosed, when we venture to the land of the ception. Razor blades, guns, knives, and a bunch of other things that seem not so kind. I am a boy, you see? And as I grew up with my brothers, it always seemed a contest at who was best at killing the other.”

“Just take a sip of my imaginary tea, sit back and relax, you’ll see.” She attested. “The wonders of this world you are about to conceive, resemble your most amazing and captivating dream-”

“Pinkie, did you put drugs in this tea?” The boy licked his lips with suspicion.

The earth pony came to a screeching, brake slamming halt, the boy lurching forward and over the mare as the tires of their imaginary train ground and scraped against the rainbow tinted rails. With the energy of a thousand stern and strict mothers, the party pony spun around and shoved a hoof into his chest.

“How could you ever say something like that?! I would never do something so…so…so stupid! So…lame and uncool!” She growled. “The only way to ruin a party is by taking shortcuts, and I do not take shortcuts, and neither should you!”

“Is it just me, or did this just turn into a shanty, drug P.S.A.?” The boy shrugged.

“Besides, acid isn’t drugs.” She crossed her hooves. “It’s just stuff that sizzles and burns through floors.”

“Wait…” The boy paused, eyes wide as ever. “…what?”

“All I wanted was for you to have a little fun.” Pinkie confessed. “More importantly, I wanted to remind you what it was like to see the world through the lens of your imagination.”

“By putting acid in my chamomile?!” He slammed down the fragile ceramic and gripped the mare by her collar. Her imaginary collar, that is. “Forget the tea, I don’t even know what flavor it is anymore! What did you do to my drink?!”

Pinkie Pie curled her lips inwards, tears forming at the creases of her eyes.

“You WHAT?!”

“Don’t you get it, Davey?” Pinkie couldn’t take it anymore. “This is all your imagination. You thought I actually gave you some tea to drink, but it turns out you do have a bit of creativity left in that human-sized head of yours after all.”

He sat back and stared down at his hands, wherein nothing laid between them, only the vacant air of the cardboard box they laid within. His sights and his senses all focused back to the interior of their small cradle, but Pinkie Pie was persistent as ever in her efforts, that childish glitter remaining yet in her sky-blue eyes.

“I still don’t understand.” The boy began again. “Why do you want me to do this?”

“It never hurts to take a moment to stop, calm down, and relax.” She emphasized with a breath. “Sometimes, we’re meant to think of the world the way that we want to. When you think of the solution, you’ll start to think of the steps to get there, too.” The pony turned back to him, wide-eyed and excited. “Say, wanna see the place I always go to when I need to take a moment to calm down?”

“You? Calming down?” He gave her a side-eye.

“Unbelievable, right?” She snorted and chortled. “That’s the first step to entering the world of imagination. Realizing the unbelievable into a world that you can believe in.”

Slowly, the walls of the box crumbled and contorted, a world before them taking shape. Howling winds, roaring fires, crashing waves and crumbling stones. It was as though an entire planet was being born before the beholder’s very eyes. With the ease and grace of a single breath, everything became calm, quiet, and still. The ground was blanketed in a soft, green grass from every spot on the horizon, hills and humps appearing here and there, a few stones with healthy amounts of moss covered over their gray tops. Trees sprung from the earth and sprouted leaves of many hues of green, the majority of them appearing rather small, all except for one tree in particular. It stood strong and hearty, shadowing over an acre or two of land as the branches sprouted from atop in all directions. It was the pinnacle of the entire field.

Finally, upon a patch of soft, dusty dirt, both David and Pinkie Pie sat idly as the new world around them added its finishing touches. Clouds were painted into the soft blue sky, the illusion of wind sailing them across the heavens. The boy looked upon the scenery and all that he basked within, and could find no other words to describe its beauty. It was the definition of tranquility, illustrated onto God’s canvas.

“I give you…” Pinkie began a drumroll out of nowhere. “Tranquility!”

“It’s beautiful.” David breathed, and paused as he looked around. “It’s uh…nothing too apart from Equestrian scenery, but nonetheless it is very beautiful.”

“Isn’t it?” Pinkie agreed. “Believe it or not, even I need a few moments to calm down every now and then. So, I come here.”

“It’s very calming indeed.” David nodded. “Sorry that I must intrude upon it.”

“No worries.” She chirped back. “Besides, you’ve already been here.”

“I have?”

“Yu-huh! I imagined you as a girl in this one.”

“You…what?”

“See, there you are right now!” And shot a hoof towards the great, tall tree.

David strode a gaze across the expanse of grass and to the tree in question. Sure enough, standing beneath the branches of the great oak, stood a figure. It’s figure was that of a human, surely evermore, shaped like that of a female. A spark all too familiar filled the deepest recesses of the boy’s mind. He had recognized something, he had remembered.

“A girl…?” He asked, perplexed.

“Yupperonee!” Pinkie did a twirl. “It’s kinda weird, though. When I tried to imagine you as a girl, you didn’t really look like what I’d imagine you to look like. I just couldn’t place my hoof on it…”

The uncertainty settled in as the boy realized not even Pinkie could quite comprehend what was going on here. David had been gazing at this girl from afar, and without even getting a closer look, he already knew it was her. He had met this person before. Yet, she did not exist, she shouldn’t exist, and David knew that better than anyone else.

“Especially considering that my imagination should have willed such an image into existence, but it just didn’t imagine what I was imagining.” Pinkie’s head spun around. “Weird, huh?”

“That’s…not possible.” David led a shaky finger towards the figure beneath the tree. “It can’t be. Is it?”

Pinkie simply shrugged.

The boy took a mighty step back, rubbed his temples and struggled to breath. Slowly, he found his composure and exercised his lungs. In and out, in and out. “It’s just Pinkie Pie.” He told himself. “Just Pinkie Pie. Just Pinkie…being Pie.”

He looked down at the pink pony once again, and realized he had just accidentally imagined her as a pie.

“Oh crap!” He knelt down over the pie. “Pinkie, I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to! Here, I’ll fix this.”

“I’m over here, silly!” The pony hollered and waved, hopping back in his direction. “Those pies show up around here all the time, feel free to take one home.”

“What-? What did you just do?” He asked fervently.

“I just talked to her.” Pinkie strode up. “Well, talked to you.”

David stood wary, shaking a little. “And…what did she say?”

“Just the same things you do.” She answered. “Like ‘wait, what?’ after someone says something to you, because you weren’t listening again.”

“Wait, wha-”

“Which is weird, because I didn’t imagine her to be like that either.” She shrugged, lifting the pie with the tip of her mane. “Ah well, I mean, it is you after all, isn’t it?” Pinkie wondered.

“I’m not even sure what any of this is anymore.” The boy fessed.

The party mare dangled the pie in front of her face and got a scoop full with her tongue. She chewed on the imaginary pastry for a moment as she prodded at her chin, thinking to herself between gnaws and nibbles. She gulped down the helping and nodded contently. “I think you should go talk to her.”

“R-Really?” He hesitated.

“Well, go talk to you.” She winked.

“Go talk to me, huh?” The boy said calmly, slowly looking upon the situation with a hint of new resolve. The words of the draconequus slithered their way into his consciousness. Do you want to know where the answers have been hiding this entire time? There! Right there! There was a familiar sting upon his head. The answers were within his own mind, his own being. They were always right in front of him, and now, so was she. As Pinkie Pie dove into her pie and hopped away contently, the boy was left on his own, and only the girl remained for his approach.

He closed the distance between them, already aware that she was aware of his presence. As the shade fell over him, the girl standing beneath the tree turned and looked back at herself. The boy standing beneath the tree had stared on, looking at himself. There they stood in silence, completely alone, yet, in the presence of two. It was simultaneous perplexity. A paradox in play. The girl placed her hand upon the tree, gazing up at it and beginning her speech.

“Do you know how old this tree is?” She asked.

“No.” He answered. “But it seems familiar.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” She agreed. “I thought that maybe every tree seemed familiar.”

“But now I’m sure of this one.” He nodded.

The girl looked back, and a small smile crept to her face. “So, this is where I find you?” She giggled.

“I suppose I knew this would eventually happen.”

“But not in a place like this.” She finished.

As soon as they had looked into one another’s eyes, David had felt it instantaneously. It was as though he was looking into a mirror. Not at a mirror, but into a mirror.

The beauty of it all was almost too much for them to ignore, sitting beneath the branches and leaves of the great, green oak as they basked in the majesty of the fields all around them. They knew each other just as well as the other, they had seen each other every day, listened to each other and talked to each other, they just didn’t realize it until now. It was no wonder they could both sit within each other’s company as nothing but silence reigned over their interaction. Their backs to the tree, sitting side by side, and eyes out on the field. A happy, little, pink pony rolled about in the grass, frolicking with the butterflies, all of which were blue.

“So, you know Pinkie Pie?” David finally asked.

“Of course.” The girl sat up and nodded. “Though, not exactly in the way she thinks I do.”

“What do you mean?” He asked her.

She sat back against the tree and breathed. “Both you and I know there’s a lot to explain here. You’re gonna have to explain some things to me, and I’m gonna have to explain some things to you. The thing is, we both know what we’re already going to say, because well…you get the picture, right?”

“Alright then.” He waited. “Go ahead and say it.”

And thus she told. “I know about the show back on our home planet, Earth. I know about My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I know about the characters, the songs, the merch, the fandom. I myself am an avid fan, after all. I’ve watched the episodes many times over, and so have you.” She went on. “The only thing you and I can’t seem to figure out is whether we loved the show initially and on our own accord, or if one’s attachment to the show had spawned the joy that the other felt for it. In other words, you felt the same things I did in that moment, and I felt the same things you did.”

“In that moment?” He wondered.

“Don’t you remember?” She cocked her head. “The day you discovered this show.”

The boy blinked, searching the recesses of his mind. “I do remember that day.” He mumbled. “You felt it too, didn’t you?”

She smiled and nodded.

“It’s strange, and always will be.” He closed his eyes, slowly rubbing his temples. “I can’t quite explain how it happened, but it just happened. When I looked up at that television screen, it was like something clicked in my head. It was like a…a spark.”

She watched as his eyes slowly opened in realization.

“When was that day?”

“I don’t recall.” She shook her head. “But it was a Sunday, wasn’t it? Mom was taking me to church, I remember.”

“I think you’re right.” He scratched his chin. “The day you and I became so enraptured by this show was the day that may have very well changed our lives. I remember sitting in the pews, waiting for the church services to move along, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I couldn’t shake that inexplicable feeling. I just…had to watch it.”

“And that was the day it all began.” She pawned. “The day it was cast upon us…”

“…the spell.” He finished.

The naming of such a phenomenon had never even entered his range of thought prior to his meeting with the self beneath the tree. He knew now that what had enraptured him to this show was this strange fate, to be cast upon a plane of irony, and bound to the spell. Just what was the spell? What were its effects? Most importantly, how could one atone for it? How could one hope to free themselves from the shackles that bind them, the shadows that clouded their eyes, and the ever enclosing walls of the cavern. The boy began again to say something, to stand up and do something, but he knew better this time. He knew to hold himself to his wits and focus on his mind. To breath, to wait, to listen. The girl crawled closer, sat next to him, and rested a hand to his shoulder.

“You’ve been through a lot so far, haven’t you?” She attempted.

“Yeah…” He mumbled.

“Tell me about it, all of it.” She smiled with reassurance. “I’ll listen.”

And so he did. Not a detail was left out, not a flicker of his journey thus far left unspoken. The girl sat criss-crossed, one hand tucked beneath her breast and the other at her chin. She nodded on and listened to the boy and the adventure he had to tell. All the problems he had been facing, both externally and internally. It was at the mention his mental strife that the girl’s eyes grew concerning, apologetic even. It was at this point he realized that he had been talking to a girl this whole time, and not to mention for this long, too. Regardless if this was only an amalgamation of some pink, little equine’s mind.

Eventually, the girl thought for a moment and deciphered the best course of action the boy ought to take. She agreed with what Discord had told him. Despite his mischievous demeanor, the serpent possessed some sense of rationality in his tellings. If the boy were to truly get to the bottom of things, it would take much more than a single stroke of rationality.

Then, she began to cry.

Tears formed at the creases of her eyes and dribbled down her cheeks. The boy raised his hands in alarm, expectantly hesitant to lay a hand on her.

“I-I’m sorry, it’s just…” She sniveled. “I’m going through a lot of stupid stuff in my life right now. Usually I can take it, like a good girl.” She wiped an arm across her nose. “After all, that’s what I’m supposed to do, right?”

“No.” He said boldly. “I think it takes a lot of guts to cry.”

“Y-You do?” She looked up in wonder.

“I mean-” He tried again. “Holding back your true feelings is the coward’s way out. Sure, there’s some times when we gotta get going when the going gets rough, but that only makes it all the more harder to realize that every once in a while, we need to let our emotions fly. It’s what makes us human.”

She sniffled and rubbed her arm. “Yeah…I guess you’re right.”

The boy sought to return her gesture, and rested a hand to her shoulder. “Tell me all about it.” He smiled.

And so she did.

As he looked his way past the shade of the branches and onward to the green pasture, the pink pony was in sight, sitting happily upon a stone of moss blowing one bubble after another into the clear, blue sky. She was calm and content in her own little realm of imagination. Nothing out of the ordinary, nor even the extraordinary, and the boy felt he knew why. She wanted him to have this conversation, this meeting beneath the tree. With due time, that meeting had come to a close, and the boy stood to approach the pony afar. As the two said their goodbyes, a tinge of regret nipped at the back of his mind. He knew to stop this time.

“David.” The girl called.

He turned and greeted his counterpart, holding out his hand as she approached with a strange, yet peculiar item in her grasp. It was the book, gifted to him from Twilight. The strange tree on the front cover was still all but an enigma to him. He glanced up at the great tree in question, and met the girl’s understanding gaze.

“It’s called the Kabbalah.” She explained. “It’s a Jewish thing, but don’t worry, it’s nothing sketchy. Plus, there’s a lot more to it than we think.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“So do I, but we gotta go with our gut, sometimes.”

He glanced down at the book.

“You’re going to need this.” She said.

The boy looked the book over once more, took it into his grasp, and returned the tome to his pocket. “Thanks.” He muttered kindly, turning to the pony once again. He paused and glanced back to the girl. “Um, will we ever see each other again?” He asked her.

“I was going to ask you the same thing.” She replied. “But…”

“We already have.”

The words were spoken in unison. The two paused and gazed somewhat awkwardly upon one another. Then, they began to laugh. It was a promise, then. A promise as sure as the person staring back at them in the mirror.

With a final burst of effort, the flaps of the cardboard box broke apart, an entire refrigerator being thrown to the side as the boy and the pony emerged from the confines of their fantasy prison. Time and time again Pinkie had encouraged the boy to pick the lock of the cell, but to no avail. The stench of the jail was already too much for him to bare, and when the pony began to imagine a bomb for him to diffuse, he met the walls with a desperate and frantic force. They both peeked over the edge and eyed their surroundings carefully, their nostrils picking up on the majority of their senses.

“Uh, Pinkie?” David began calmly. “Did it ever occur to you that leaving a cardboard box in the middle of the park might’ve led the garbage ponies to, I dunno, drop us off somewhere else?”

“Aw, c’mon Davey, quit being such a party pooper.” Pinkie cast a diaper aside in an effort to rid the smell. “I guess that one didn’t fly so good.” She giggled at her own joke, acknowledging the flies buzzing about.

“Stop wasting effort, let’s just get the hell outta’ this dump.” He stumbled out of the container, landing palms down to the trash below. “What the-?”

He swiped his hands past the muck and scum, revealing a rather familiar piece of cloth beneath. Scooping the piece in question, he surveyed its make and admired the symbol on front.

“I recognize this.” He muttered to himself. It was Dinky’s scarf.

Chapter 61 - Discordant Method

The mysterious tome laid atop Starlight’s lectern as it sat in idle study beneath the mare’s eyes. Having searched every corner and crevice of the foreign language archives of the great, castle library, not a sound nor syllable of similarity was bridged between what she had found and what laid within the fine, red leather book resting upon her desk. The golden chalice symbol on the front still perplexed her so, and the name of their supposed companion and friend, the human, had appeared more than once. It was the only word she could decipher, and yet did not know the meaning of.

Some words begin with larger letters than others. Those must be distinction between capital and lowercase. She pondered. Which means, those must be other names, or even places. There are people in this book, there are places too, and that could only mean one thing. It’s a story. The unicorn surmised. But, what kind of story?

The manner of coincidences had once again filled her mind, despite the speculative vibe she felt over such ilk. Was it a coincidence then that the boy had just so happened to show up the very day she was researching that peculiar dot in the night sky, the Star Regulus?

“Coincidences indeed.” A thum arrived. “But perhaps that’s the point?”

Starlight jolted in surprise and threw her hooves over the mysterious book, remembering a second later that she had the effortless, magical ability to simply make the tome disappear. As she did so, the unicorn glanced about her room cautiously, searching the walls and the corners as she called out.

“Who’s there?” She growled, sensing a dreadful presence. “Show yourself!”

“Ah, Starlight, always the secretive one are we?” The thum hummed about. “Perhaps your so-called friends would benefit from a shred of your honesty every once in a while.”

“I don’t know who you are or what you’re after, but you’ll have to-” Movement hovered in the corner of her eye. She glanced back over to her desk. “Hey, give that back!”

“Oh my, what do we have here?” The mysterious book she had cloaked somehow regained its visibility, and it spun and spiraled in the middle of her room as a serpentine figure faded into view, holding the book to its face and peering down into the pages with reading glasses.

“Discord!” Starlight wailed.

The draconequus flashed from one side of the room to the other, clutching the book to his thick, burly chest as a great, hearty laughter erupted from his lungs. Starlight could only think to barricade the door with her body, lest anypony discover her ongoings thanks to this beast and his more than obnoxious antics. Wiping a tear from his eye, he craned himself back upwards and struggled to cease his giggles, the unicorn expectantly staring daggers through his form.

“Wa-how~!” He held the book high. “In all of my eons, there’s nothing I’ve ever read that could make me both agree and disagree with something at the same time. What a find!”

“Wait, you can read that?”

“Oh no, my dear, you skim these sorts of things.” Replied Discord. “Trust me.”

“Tell me what it says.” Starlight demanded. “I have to know.”

“Oh, really? And why is that?”

“Because, well…”

“No need to expose yourself, I already know why.” Discord raised a claw. “And as much as I’d like to admit that I revere your suspicions, it is also the reason why I have come to dispel such ill thoughts, and set you on a new, shining route to glory!”

“If that route leads me to the truth, I don’t care about glory.” Starlight nodded confidently.

“I must say, what persistence.” Discord grinned fiendishly. “Your arrogance to what consequences lay ahead is proof that even if I did tell you what this book says, you would still be just as confused with it as you are now.”

“Oh, so I’m not worthy? Is that it?” The pony scowled. “It’s not like I wanted to stoop down to your level anyways, bub.”

“It’s not a matter of being worthy.” Discord snapped his claws, and the book rested back down onto the desk. “That would require something to be worthy of.” He concluded.

The unicorn played a wry stare, glancing between he and the book. “What are you getting at?” She questioned.

“I know you’ve had trouble in the past, I suspected that this would be difficult for you to ascertain on your own.” He flicked his talons once more. “So, allow me to spell it out for you.”

In that moment, a tattered, lavender coated book spawned before them and levitated in the air before floating gracefully down onto Starlight’s desk. The front cover featured a faded image of a horse shoe turned right-side-up, with five colorful crystals laid atop the edges. In the center lied a familiar, six-pointed starlike gem, signifying the Element of Magic and its five harmonic elements. Dust hovered about the olden, aging tome, as though time had its way with it more than anypony had ever bothered to read it. The unicorn gave the text a long, hard stare before blinking with realization. She almost hadn’t recognized it.

“The…Friendship Journal?” She recalled.

“As such.” Discord nodded. “I thought this bullet-stopper of a book you found in the ruins struck a familiar chord, almost as if I had already read it someplace prior.”

“But, I already have a copy.” Starlight levitated a renewed, revamped version of the Friendship Journal for the serpent to see. It’s similarities with the original journal varied from the exemption of the golden horseshoe on the front, ridding the front cover of the other five Elements wherein only Magic remained.

“Ah yes, your ‘new and revised’ edition of friendship which had spawned almost nothing but distraught and confusion among the masses.” Discord reminded.

“Th-that was just a spell of…misinterpretation.” Starlight tried.

“Need I delve into the marketing applications it birthed into this world as well?”

“Alright, I get it, there were a lot of ponies who took it the wrong way, but it wasn’t necessarily their fault.”

“If that is true, then the only other option to deem was that the authors themselves were responsible for all of the miscommunication.” Discord went to stroke his beard. “Going by that logic, was it not a matter of persuading the readers to see eye-to-eye with the writers? If so, then just what exactly is being mistranslated here?”

“What are you trying to suggest?” Starlight searched.

“Take it this way.” He proposed. “When a story flops, who is at fault? The reader, or the writer?”

“Well, I suppose it would depend on the reader’s motivation, or the writer’s influence.” Starlight went on. “But, it’s up to the writer to motivate the reader, and the writer must go out and gain influence from the open world, otherwise known as the reader, if he or she wishes to get anywhere that is.”

“Bingo!” Discord applauded. “I knew you were much smarter than you looked. We’re on the right track.”

“So…?” The unicorn tapped her hoof. “Are you just gonna float around my room all day and continue to be a migraine, or are you gonna tell me what I’m supposed to do with this?” She gestured to the old, red leather tome. “What’s the name of this book, anyhow?”

“What do names matter when it is what’s within that counts?”

“You’re as vague as ever…” She mused.

“Now now, just a little more patience would do you some good.” Discord cautioned. “I did say I wanted to help you, that which I will most certainly fulfill on my own accord, and that begins with…this.” The serpent gave a shaky, broken glare to the new and revised edition of the Friendship Journal resting upon Starlight’s desk. He plucked the shiny book with his paw, dangled it in front of him and exaggerated a gag before tossing it to the other end of the room. The book banked off the wall, was caught in midair by a tinier version of Discord wearing a sweatband and basketball jersey, wherein he slam-dunked it straight into the trashcan, buzzers and applause sounding off from seemingly nowhere.

“Hey!” Starlight wailed.

“The sooner you realize you don’t need it, the better.” Discord continued. “Believe me when I say there is nothing worse in this world than appraising and dismantling the old to fit the agenda of the new. What’s even worse is that no matter how hard you try, it cannot be stopped. Change is inevitable. In fact, it is natural.”

Starlight paused and took the time to consider the draconequus’ words, finding herself in a spell of disbelief that she was actually listening to him for once. She turned and stared down at the original Friendship Journal, the old and tattered text beginning to show its age. Flaring her horn and levitating her way through the pages, some if not most of the pages were still quite legible, especially Twilight’s and Rarity’s entries. However, the focus had become much broader after a few more skims. The unicorn began to notice five separate bookmarks placed within distinct pages of the book, each one color coordinated to their respective writer. Orange, yellow, white, blue and pink. Starlight could feasibly guess whom they represented.

“Are these your bookmarks?” Starlight asked Discord.

“Glad you read between the lines.” The serpent grinned, coiling around her desk to get a better view. “Tell you what, since you’ve been generously attentive thus far, I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He pointed to the colored tabs. “Each of these bookmarked sections weren’t just for the girls. These signified the exact moments in time when I had experienced something of a…magical influx, we’ll say.”

“Like, some sort of imbalance?” Starlight guessed. “In what, exactly?”

“In them, of course.” He chirped. “Twilight and the girls wield the Elements of Harmony, and have proven time and time again by shining through with their qualities. Only when they really, truly shined is when I had felt those extraordinary moments of raw, untapped magic pouring out of their very entities.”

“Then they must’ve felt something truly extraordinary in those moments, given that they were compelled to write about them.” Starlight noted.

“And why do you think the characters in this special book of yours wrote what they did?” Discord gestured to the red leather tome, caressing the cover with an eagle claw.

“That’s a pretty difficult question to answer, given I still have no idea what it says.” Starlight dead-panned.

“Ugh, the illiterate just don’t know when to take a hint, do they?” The beast rolled his eyes. “So, we agree that our friends were so compelled to write about their experiences because of whatever astonishing breakthrough they had with their respective Elements, correct?” He didn’t give her time to answer as he continued. “Do you believe that they wrote those entries in that moment in time because it was special to them? Or because they thought it might be special to others?”

“I have no doubt in my mind that Twilight and the others felt it was special to them.” Starlight deduced. “Now that I think about it, that aspect alone wouldn’t give them the notion to write it for themselves and themselves only, but for others, too. That way they might be able to compare their experiences with others.” It was now the pony’s turn to grin, and she grinned as though she were back in her old days at the prime of her study, solving the complexities to a puzzle she had been working on for hours or even days at a time. “So, it’s a trick question. Both answers are correct.” She finished.

“I like where your head is at.” Discord spun the mare’s noggin with a magical twirl of his talon. “But let’s not forget that these authors, the ones in your little ruins souvenir, could have neglected the possibility that these special moments they experienced, these ‘lessons’ if you will, bare no trace of relevance whatsoever to whomever may be reading.”

Starlight was ready to reply, but she was caught speechless and in thought.

“Or,” the serpent sought. “Does it have some trace of relevance after all?”

“Is this another trick question?” The mare wondered.

“Alright, I give, this one is a freebie.” Discord waved his paws innocently. “There’s no right or wrong answer, I’m just curious to hear what you think.”

Starlight took her time to think back and ponder carefully over her reply, regardless if the winged beast had told her that no matter what her answer might be, it was neither right nor wrong. It was simply an answer. Just what kind of question was that, then? If a question bore no right nor wrong answer, then what exactly was it asking for? Her opinion? Her belief? It was within that very moment that Starlight glanced back down to the old, mysterious, deep red tome laying upon her desk. It felt as if the very integrity of this book, perhaps even the mere existence of it, was completely dependent on what she believed.

Then it clicked.

“If my thoughts are in order…” She began. “The impact of the message, no matter who it’s from or why it was written, completely depends upon whether or not the reader is willing to believe in that message.” Starlight answered.

“Just look at you excelling on my account!” Discord cheered. “I’ll have to negotiate with Princess Twilight on having an exchange of tutors.”

“Wait, so, did I get it right?” Starlight shook her head. “Wait a minute, you said-”

“There is no right or wrong answer.” Discord finished.

“Then what’s with all the praise?”

“Do not be so arrogant, little Starlight, I was simply basking in the weight of the patience you had taken to think of your answer.” Discord continued. “I will say that you’ve managed to be patient enough to my liking that you just might be able to interpret parts of this mysterious little book of yours after all. Well, the parts that I need you to interpret, that is.”

Had the draconequus not been her one and only key to finding out what this strange tome of hers said, she would have interjected right then and there on dictating what parts she can and cannot interpret per Discord’s discretion. He was her one and only translator, perhaps aside from David, but that was a risk she felt that she was not ready to take. Not yet, at least. As a result, Starlight deemed herself to be making a “deal with the devil.”

“Alright, party tricks, you’ve been beating around the bush long enough now.” Starlight projected. “Shall we make a deal?”

“A deal?” The goat grinned. “I like that sound of that.”

“If I can amount to-”

“Oh, no need to auction yourself away, my dear. I already know what I want from you.” He gestured back to the Friendship Journal. “I couldn’t help but figure that the pages of this book are rather, oh how do you put it, lacking? They’re missing yet another ‘special moment’ in time that has yet to be written. An author, yet to be introduced.” He winked and nodded at the pony knowingly.

“You want me to…continue the Friendship Journal?”

“I’m surprised you haven’t done it yourself already, otherwise we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Discord grinned again. “But, ah yes, why would a unicorn completely engulfed in her arcane academics have to go outside and waster her social energy befriending weirdos?”

“I have friends!” Starlight quivered. “They’re just-”

“On vacation, I presume~?” Discord hummed.

Starlight glared and hissed. “What would you know about Trixie?”

“More than anypony would need to, trust me.”

“Listen here you mismatched lawn ornament, if you did anything to harm her, so help me I will-”

“Of course not, my dear acolyte, I was only looking for that certain spark within you, and it seems that it hasn’t diminished quite yet.” Discord cackled. “What say we put that energy to use?”

With a final click of his claws, the red leather tome was tucked neatly away into the pony’s saddle bag, and the old Friendship Journal laid sprawled in the mare’s hooves, opened to a fresh, blank page. Starlight wondered for a moment how she had missed the open pages while skimming through text, guessing again that Discord might have rendered a clean entry for her using his magic, but the matters seemed to be irrelevant. A quill was tucked to the side of the book, and at the top of the page was a sticky, tape-on bookmark. Her very own bookmark, the same color as her coat.

“Go now, my acolyte, and write the missing verses to the Journal of Friendship!” Discord triumphed.

“I never agreed to be your acolyte, I’m only doing this so long as you hold up your end of the bargain.” Starlight reminded.

And the draconequus nodded. “You have my word.” He held a paw over his chest, claw raised beside his head. “Trust me, I never back out of something that might prove to be worth my time.”

Chapter 62 - The Key, the Box, and the Ring

"When she told you to document everything, she didn’t think it would’ve backfired this much, especially on herself.” Silver Spoon commented, a wide gaze across the array of photos.

“I suppose not.” Featherweight replied with a shrug.

Three little ponies huddled beneath the wooden planks of the elevated gazebo in the playground, as though in a meeting of deep congregation between one another. A chess board taken from the shelf of games was set before them as a makeshift table, dozens of the young photographer’s pictures sprawled across the surface as both Dinky and Silver Spoon took a good, long look upon their notes of evidence. Clear as day, Spoiled Rich could be seen passing in and out of office doors throughout the Town Hall building, several documents and peculiar items in hoof. The Ponyville finances and treasury wings, that of which were nowhere near her field of assignment, seemed to be her favorite.

“This is amazing, Featherweight.” Dinky admired the young lad.

Featherweight blinked back with a hard blush. “I-I only sought to do what I was told, per Diamond Tiara’s request.”

“And it seems her mother’s been up to no good.” Silver shook her head. “Just what do you suppose she was doing snooping around like that?”

“I remember something my sister was talking about, before she fell ill that is.” Dinky looked on somberly, but continued. “She mentioned that a lot of papers came up missing around the office, and she wanted to find out why. So, she started swapping her papers with other ponies’, trying to see what they were up to.”

“Did it ever occur to her that might’ve caused more trouble than it was worth?” Silver questioned.

“She uh, had some pretty creative ways of figuring things out.” Dinky admitted, rubbing her the nape of her neck. “I guess…”

“So, what did your sister find out?” Featherweight wondered.

The little unicorn regarded the pegasus before starting again. “I can’t remember exactly what, it’s not like she was about to let me know anyways. After all I got all this information from a little bit of eavesdropping.” She admitted.

“You and your sister seem to have a knack for developing bad habits.” Silver commented, blinking. “W-Which is a compliment, of course.”

“Bad habits are no good if you can’t put them to good use.” Dinky glowered.

“But, they’re still bad.” Silver blinked again. “I-I mean…”

“What about peeping?” The little pegasus asked.

Dinky and Silver Spoon paused and slowly glanced to their friend, double-taking with odd stares exchanged between the other. Once again, Featherweight blushed.

“I meant as a habit, like you girls.” He fretted, shivering nervously. “I don’t blame you two for not studying my pictures as long as I do, but I’ve already begun to notice something. Mrs. Rich…she never even bothered to disguise herself.” The colt went on. “If it is true that she was doing something she wasn’t supposed to, then why let herself be exposed like this? In broad daylight, for that matter.”

“I dunno, maybe she’s a little stupid?” Dinky shrugged. “Must’ve been the drinking, huh, Silver?”

“Wait, so if Dinky eavesdrops and you spy on other ponies, what’s my bad habit?” Silver sought.

“I can already name one…” The filly deadpanned.

“Maybe…” Featherweight stroked his chin. “It’s because she was supposed to be there. She was supposed to be doing what she was doing.”

“What, stealing important money accounts and doing Celestia knows what with them?” Silver butted back in.

“That could only mean somepony else had given her access to do so.” Featherweight added. “Somepony she could fall back on, like a safety net.”

“You don’t suppose it was-?” Dinky warily looked over to the earth filly.

“Mr. Rich?” Silver clenched her eyes and shook her head. “No, he would never do something like that. He may be a pushover when it comes to his wife’s demands, but he’s a good businesspony, and he keeps to his word when it comes down to it.”

“Maybe.” Dinky wished to agree. “But, with some ponies, I guess you never really know…”

Silver hovered over her words, searching for a means of protest, but alas she failed to find any reason to reject what speculations her friend had. Time and time again the two had been lied to and tricked into doings they wish they never had any part of, whether it came from a pony closest to them or even themselves alone. In that small moment of time, huddled beneath the gazebo of the playground, the three little ponies had wished to put all their trust in the other. The secrets had come to them thus far, and they had only to decide what to do next.

“Amy would always tell me to check my notes before making my answer. I guess that’s something that came from her investigations with the garden raids.” Dinky said calmly, looking to her companions. “What I mean is, we should think about who to talk to before we go out and try to accuse anypony of anything. We should find somepony who knows what to do with this evidence.”

“Like an adult?” Silver suggested. “Somepony we can trust.”

The unicorn raised her head and nodded contently. “And I think I know who to ask.”

The pegasus, the earth filly, and the little unicorn had been weighing upon the edges of their seats as Miss Cheerilee slowly and sluggishly as ever mumbled her lecture to the oh so attentive classroom. Their eyes hovered over the clock hanging above the door in eager anticipation, chalk scraping across the dusty black board as the arms ticked by one monotonous second after the other. Dinky glanced about the room, her eyes falling upon Silver Spoon as the earth filly went bug-eyed and resumed to her desk. The unicorn wondered to herself for a moment, before turning around and looking back up, her teacher looking down upon her with a strict and stern gaze. The filly looked back down at her desk and suppressed a gulp. Cheerilee eyed the rest of her students before continuing.

“As I was saying, the agreement between Equestria and the state of Trottingham paved the way to construct what we call the ‘Bridge of Trottingham.’” The teacher returned to the board.

With that, Dinky breathed a sigh of relief.

The school children threw their bags together at the split second the arm on the clock landed upon three. Fillies and colts bustled past the little unicorn quicker than she had anticipated, shoving her to the back of the line. In that moment, the teacher took her chance.

“Dinky.” Miss Cheerilee called. “I’d like to see you for a moment, please.”

The young unicorn lowered her head and gazed back at her teacher, and glanced back over to the door where her earth friend stood. The filly could only deliver a shrug and stare of pity before respecting the teacher’s wishes and backing out of the schoolhouse. Understandably, Dinky turned and faced the mare, waiting patiently at her desk. The child had only to mumble a reply before the teacher began with her reasoning.

“It has come to my attention that given the current state of your grades, you will not be able to pass by the end of the semester.” The teacher told solemnly.

The little unicorn allowed her words to settle in deeply before her legs felt weak, and a lump formed in the pit of her throat. Dinky gulped and stifled a sniffle as the words came slowly and shakily. “Miss Cheerilee, I’m sorry…I tried, I really did try.”

“I know, Dinky, but you’ve missed my point.”

“I did everything I could on the retake of the test, I-I thought I got all the questions right. I was sure of it-”

“And you did.” Cheerilee nodded. “You aced the test, Dinky.”

“I-I did?” She looked up, exasperated. “Then why…?”

“The reason you might fail this class is because you never turned in your project report.” The mare reminded. “The one I assigned to the rest of the class, too?”

With a mixture of relief and regret, the scarf had reentered Dinky’s mind. “Oh…right.”

“Do you have any idea what might’ve happened to it?”

“I must have, uh, misplaced it?” Dinky attempted. “Yeah, that’s it.”

“This project is critical to your grade.” The teacher cautioned. “Please bring it to me as soon as you find it, I wouldn’t like for any student of mine to be held back all because of one, silly mistake.”

The filly nodded and mumbled her agreements. She took it as a sign of the end of the discussion, and quickly threw her bag over her shoulder as she darted out the door and down the dusty road. Cheerilee sat back in her chair and adorned a peculiar expression, wondering lightly upon her students and their ongoings after school hours.

“Are you sure the Doctor will be alright with this?” Silver Spoon asked, shame in her tone.

“If there’s anypony in this town I can trust more than mom, it’s Doc.” Dinky stated.

Silver twiddled her braid between her hooves as she sat nervously before the door, awaiting for her friend to make the knock. The earth filly felt a tinge of dread in meeting the old colt once again, knowing full well that she was partially responsible for roping him into false accusations and news reports. Like that of a child awaiting forgiveness before an adult, Silver wondered if any of the wrong doings she had committed thus far could still be atoned for. She supposed there was only one way to find out, as Dinky raised her hoof to knock, and called the doctor’s name. Alas, silence reigned over the scene for far longer than it should have.

“That’s odd, he’s usually here after school hours.” Dinky wondered.

“I’ll check around the back.” Featherweight signaled, flaring his wings and taking flight.

“Be careful.” Dinky called.

Silver Spoon gave the unicorn a cocked gaze before spouting. “You two got a weird connection going on, y’know that?”

“I-It’s not…he’s just…!” Dinky swerved around, protesting. “He’s just a friend, okay?”

As her hind hoof kicked back in reflex, the surface of the front door swung inward and bounced off the wall. Dinky and Silver recoiled and looked to one another before craning their heads forward and peering carefully past the threshold of the house. The door had been left blatantly unlocked, and the doctor was seemingly nowhere to be found.

“Guess he knew he’d have visitors?” Silver chuckled nervously.

“Something isn’t right…” Dinky fretted.

Waning past the open door with caution, one hoof step at a time, she peeked around the foyer and into the kitchen. The familiar scent of butter that would always waft past her nostrils had all but left the vicinity, traded for another smell, one which her mother often used in cleaning when trying to get the stink out of something. Silver soon joined her friend as the two hobbled their way through the house, eventually leading themselves down the hall and into the doctor’s laboratory. The stallion had yet to be seen, but they had assumed by now he would be nowhere to be found, at least not here. If the Doctor wasn’t tinkering away in his laboratory, just where could he be? With a calm, striding glance, Dinky got a clue.

“I don’t think we’re supposed to be here.” Shivered Silver.

“Wait.” Dinky halted. “What is that?”

“We should go.”

“Hold on.” The unicorn wandered. “I feel like I’ve seen this before. Like in my memories.”

Silver gave a wry look to her friend, a tinge of belief that she was just on the verge of delusions. Alas, the blonde, little filly sauntered her way deeper into the laboratory and approached the doctor’s desk. Mounds of equipment had been moved around, as though some manner of rearranging had stopped midway. Dinky almost didn’t notice the broken vacuum tube on the ground, chips of glass threatening to cut lest she step out of course. Just ahead as if laying in wait for her, was a small, blue box with a silver lock on the center. The earth filly rounded and rejoined her friend, sharing the sight of the container laying idly upon the work bench.

“I remember this box, the Doctor showed it to me when I was only a baby.” Dinky began. “Of course, I was too young to know what it was back then.”

“If you were only a baby how could’ve you remembered it?” Silver wondered.

“I don’t know.” Dinky wavered. “But something tells me he might’ve left it here for a reason.”

“It looked like he was in a hurry.” Silver scanned the laboratory grounds, trinkets strewn across the floor. “Do you really think we should be messing around here?”

“I guess we’re about to find out.” Dinky answered confidently.

The little unicorn turned her head and muzzled into her saddlebag, pulling forth a peculiar, silver trinket. It was a key, the very piece she had pulled out from beneath her mother’s bed. She rested the key into the frog of her hoof and gazed upon it in a moment of reverence before closing her eyes and thinking to herself quietly. This is for you, big sister. Without another beat of hesitation, Dinky raised the key to the box and pushed inside of the lock. She turned, and the container clicked open. The two drew ever closer, and peered inside. A deep, verdigris green lined the ends and surfaces of the interior in a soft, plush fabric, housing but a single small item within.

“It’s…” Dinky blinked.

“It’s a ring.” Silver realized. Suddenly, she gasped, and threw her hooves over her muzzle to suppress a shrill.

“What?!” Dinky bounced, alerted. “What is it?”

“Don’t you get it? He was going to propose!” Silver hopped on her hooves. “The Doctor was going to propose to your mother. Aww, that is so, so sweet.”

“I don’t think that’s-”

“We should help him out.” Silver declared.

Quickly, the unicorn threw her hooves over the box and snapped the lid shut, encasing the mysterious ring within. “Okay, now I really know what some of your bad habits are.”

“And it seems the Doctor might have a few as well.” A mumble of worry came from the stairs.

Dinky and Silver halted and strode to the threshold of the laboratory, meeting their pegasus companion at the bottom of the flight. There in his free hoof he balanced a rather large glass bottle, nearly emptied of all of its contents. The girls needn’t a second more to tell what the fancy cursive writing on the front was all about. The smell had given away plenty as it was.

“There were perhaps a dozen upstairs.” Featherweight looked upon Dinky with regret. “Mum used to drink these after father had…well…”

Hurt began to fill the little unicorn’s eyes as she slowly strode back into the laboratory of her dear friend, scholar, and perhaps even her father figure, Doctor Whooves. The machinery all about the chamber buzzed and beeped into a solemn and sorrowful tone, as though a weightful, moving song had begun the first steps of its notes upon a dark piano. The little girl stiffened and shook her head, trying to deny the thoughts entering her mind, but alas they reminded her so.

What if the Doctor is actually some sort of criminal? What if he did something bad back in Trottingham, and he hid it here, in Ponyville?

Whatever this ring was, for whatever reason the doctor had locked it up and left his laboratory in the state that it was, Dinky wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to find out anymore.

Chapter 63 - The Tantabus

The dim, warm light of the candle flickered and danced over the pages laid across the blue-black crystalline table, inky black smudged across the parchment in illegible lines of scribbles and nonsense. The boy leaned over his work and peered closely at the papers, leafing through one page after the other in an attempt to find something that was actually readable. Alas, his frustrations stacked on as the words all but ceased to resemble anything near Ponish, or any language for that matter. He dropped his equipment and pushed his palms into his eyes, grumbling and wiping the bleariness from his sights. Was he just tired, or had somepony fallen asleep at their desk trying to copy these old records and tomes? He sighed with another mount of exhaustion, undeciding of either or, and leaned back over the papers to try once more. Alas, the papers and books, his notes and utensils, they were gone. The table laid empty before him, and he froze. There in its wake was a single, open book, a title in bold strung above the lengthy passage that followed below. Unbeknownst to him it was written in perfect English.

“The Tantabus.” He read quietly. “Marauder of Dreams, Bestower of the Nightmare.”

His fingers caressed the ends of the book, skimming across the page’s edge.

“Ancient entity of the dark world, it is said to exist within the psyche and conscious of those vulnerable to its haunting. Legend has it that should the Tantabus house enough power, it will manifest itself into the waking world, bringing about a torrent of confusion, terror, and hostility among those afflicted. Those afflicted will bear a sign, a mark…”

In that instant, the paper sliced past his finger and drew a spec of blood. The drop of scarlet landed to the table’s surface and dripped its way over the edge, channeling down into the deep, dark void that had been surrounding him from all sides. He watched as the small line of red widened and pooled into a pond, the stench of copper invading his senses. The boy looked onward, and gawked frozen at the sight before him. There laid a pony with a bow in her hair, head turned over a stone, blood trickling from her skull. In her midst was the young human cradled into a ball on the ground, mumbling incoherencies into his crossed arms.

“Hey…” He approached the human, shaking him by the shoulders. “The hell’re you doing? Pull yourself together!”

The thick of the bramble and thorns drew his attention elsewhere. The young human was there once again, amongst a mass of little equines watching from afar as he gripped a mare by the mane and screamed into her face.

“Stop!” He stumbled over, reaching out desperately. “Let go of her!”

He sped on into the plaza square at uncontrollable speeds, lying at the base of the fountain before he even knew it. As he looked up, a behemoth stone statue depicting a pony cracked and crumbled from all sides, crashing down on him with the thundering might of a rock slide. Waves of water spun and swirled all about him, threatening to swallow him whole as he felt the earth beneath his hands and knees give way, and only he and the blue-black waters remained. There was little struggle for a race to the surface as he felt an almost unbearable weight begin to drag him down by the shoulders and feet. He opened his eyes one last time, and there was a small light at the end of the soundless, black and blue tunnel. The moon? Fate had it that second chances often came in the form of miracles… And thus the light flared ever brighter, and called out the boy’s name. David reached out, and his cry was answered.

Within a split second, he surfaced and stood atop the ethereal, deep blue lake housed by shores of black sand. The waters froze instantly, a crystalline bright blue sparkling across the surface as the boy stood atop in shock and wonder. He gazed skyward to find the caster descending gracefully from the starlit heavens twinkling above. Wings sprawled and hooves raised, the Alicorn landed at the other end of the lake, gazing across the icy plane with a strict yet concerned gaze. The boy almost fell to his knees, whether from exhaustion or reverence, he could not tell.

“Princess Luna?” He shuffled across the ice. “What the heck is going on? What’re you-”

He halted and clutched his chest. The scar over his heart, it was missing.

This… He realized. This is a dream.

The Princess of the Night strode calmly across the icy surface and studied the human carefully. It had been ages, David felt, since he and her Highness had last met. Within the realm of dreams, that is. As much as he wanted to provide his well greetings, the situation had phased him so, and the Princess adorned a stern enough look to crash right through a brick wall and another. Immediately, he gained the intuition to shut up and let the pony speak.

“What troubles you so, young oneiro?” She began. “A cry greater than any before, I have sensed, has disturbed your precious, vulnerable bubble.”

The boy stood silent, subtly shaking his head.

“Does my presence cause discomfort?” Her gaze softened. “Are we not companions in the realm of dreams? Are we not friends?”

And with that he fell to his knees, palms to the cold, stinging ice. “Princess, I…” He began shakily. “Ever since I arrived here I’ve done terrible things, things that make me ashamed to be the kind of person I am, things that-” He choked. “Things that make me wish I had never been born.”

Luna gazed woefully upon the boy and his crumpled form, closing her eyes and slowly shaking her head. With a soft and humbled approach, the Princess sauntered across the frozen plane and leveled the tip of her feather beneath his chin. His eyes climbed upwards, landing upon a saddened yet warm and consoling expression. Her face fell serious once more as she spoke.

“Let it be known that the mere utter of one’s words are like that of a spell. What you speak is what you bestow.” She shook her head once more. “Do not say these things, young oneiro, lest they forestall your true strength.”

David struggled to lead a deep, understanding gaze back into the pony’s eyes before she calmly drew away and sauntered across the plane of ice, circling about once again. The boy lifted himself to his feet and watched on patiently, awaiting her words.

“You carry guilt. I feel it in your mind and see it in your eyes, the burdens of the waking world have tainted your cognition, and has manifested itself in the deep recesses of your thoughts. Do you realize what it is that you have awakened?”

The boy blinked with realization as he raised his index to his eyes and gazed upon the small, red cut stretched across his finger. “The Tantabus…” He shuddered.

“David, you must let these burdens pass.” Luna warned. “You must let go.”

“But…but how?” He searched.

“I have met many from across the stars whom have failed to absolve the toll and strife set upon their minds. I would know its curses, because I was one of those victims.” The Princess gazed back upon her flank as she strode past the boy, the sight of her cutie mark resting easily upon his eyes, and yet a shudder coiled down his spine. The Alicorn continued. “The Tantabus is a manifestation of one’s worst nightmares, set out to harm the life of the one who is burdened by it, and those they cherish most. When one fails to allow themselves reconcile, hatred and fear take hold. When hatred and fear take hold, suffering takes power. When over-encumbered by suffering, desperation takes control, and may lead one to make decisions they would have never dreamed of.” The stark black fur overflowing her flank fused with shade and shadow. “This mark is not a blessing, but a curse. The splotch of black that which you see beneath my mark is not mine…but the mark of Tantabus.”

“What does that mean then?” He asked warily. “You’re…cursed forever?”

“It would seem so.” She spoke lowly.

David closed his eyes and sighed with sorrow. “Luna, I’m sorry.” He mumbled. “I had no idea.”

“Do not bear the weight of others, for that is a path which may lead you astray.” She counseled. “When you are in doubt, seek the aid of others. When you are in turmoil, calm thy nerves and seek rest. Most of all, if one is to master the mind then one must learn to face thy fears.”

“Then I’m ready.” He took a stance. “I’m ready to face my fears, so bring them on.”

“The rapt hunter will not find his prey so easily. Patience is key, young oneiro.”

“I don’t care what it takes, just tell me where to go!” He pleaded. “Tell me what to do!”

“In time, you will find the answers.” Luna began to float away. “Have patience, David.”

“Princess, please, I’m begging you!” And the world around them wobbled and wavered.

On and on, the elegant, nightly Alicorn ascended evermore as his name was uttered time and time again. The ice beneath his feet began to crack and crumble as he feared submersion, and he sprinted for the black sands lining the shores. Alas, the grainy planes fell away into the deep, black nothing, and his figure began to fall and flail endlessly into the gaping maw of the abysmal void below. He screamed and cried and shook, cradling himself and praying for it all to end. With a final shake the boy jolted awake to his name being called once more.

“David, snap out of it!” The little dragon cried.

The boy gasped awake and looked all about the room, attempting to locate the source of the call. A little claw on his forearm and the remembrance of just how small the lizard was brought his sights downwards, desperate green eyes looking up at him with worry.

“Spike?” David blinked, looking around again. “What…what happened?”

“You were shaking and crying in your sleep.” The dragon’s tone felt broken. “I think you were having a nightmare.”

In a single breath his palm went over his chest, and the familiar itch was there. The scar had returned, the waking world now his reality once more.

His eyes fell back to the table before him as he recognized his setting, back in the castle library. The sun had been long gone by now, books and papers were strewn across the surface of his work area, not to mention a decent pool of drool caked onto the most recent text he had been researching. He damned himself for having to explain this one to Twilight afterwards. With a much calmer approach to his breath, the boy recomposed himself and looked back down to his little friend.

“I’m sorry, Spike, I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”

“You didn’t really scare me, just surprised me was all.” The dragon admitted. “Twilight used to have night terrors almost constantly, especially after going on one of her big adventures.” He gripped his tail with a splint of fret. “Sometimes I worry if the others are okay.”

“Twilight’s been through a lot, hasn’t she?” David acknowledged. “She and her friends.”

“Yeah…” Spike nodded knowingly.

“I’m surprised she didn’t hear me, was I really being that loud?”

“Actually, I came to replace your candle light.” Spike pointed to the holder. “You’re getting a little low.”

“Oh, right.” David blinked and looked back to the stick in the holder, the wax having melted nearly to its base. He handed the old over to the helpful little reptile and received the new. “Thanks, buddy.”

“Don’t mention it!” The dragon perked up with a toothy grin, and made to make his exit. “If you need anything else, just let me know.”

“Hey uh, Spike?” The boy called.

The scaled shorty halted and looked over his shoulder, eyeing the boy patiently.

“I never did properly apologize to you. Y’know, for the whole thing that happened at the bar, and Rarity with her business mishap.” He shrugged indefinitely. “Never considered that you might have had feelings for her.”

“W-Who told you I’ve got feelings for Rarity?” The dragon demanded.

“I-It was just…a suspicion!” He attempted.

Spike dropped his stance and turned to address the human accordingly. His eyes grew softer and his tone lower. “Nah, you don’t have to apologize.” He began. “It was all just a stupid fiasco or whatever from the very beginning. It’s true, I’ve liked Rarity for a really long time now, but…I dunno. After everything that’s happened, it sorta feels like water under the bridge now.” The dragon sighed.

“Did you wanna…talk about it?” David offered.

Spike blinked as a torrent of realization and opportunity flooded his mind all at once. Here sat a rare chance, another male factor in his life to talk to, to interact with, maybe even connect with. Part of him wished to slap himself upside the head for not noticing the opportunity served to him on a silver platter time and time again. The other part of the little dragon was nodding with acceptance.

“Yeah, actually…” Spike hobbled over. “I would love that.”

In the midst of the shaded hallway just past the double doors, standing at the edge of the threshold just out of sight, was Twilight. She had raced as soon as she heard the boy’s cries, but her little assistant had beaten her to the rescue. The pony feared it would be a long night then, but a wave of content washed over her as she watched her boys chattering happily away into the night. With a calmed smile, Twilight turned and walked down the hall.

A great distance away from where the ponies laid, through the brush and over the cascading green hills, sitting beneath the shade of a tree was a magically talented unicorn. She sat there in the late morning air with fretful anticipation, knowing that the boy would be here any moment now. Once again, Starlight reminded herself of her objective to calm her nerves, the words repeating in her head over and over again. You can do this, Starlight. Show him the book. She repeated. Just show him the book, that’s all you gotta do. Then, Discord will give you all of the answers you’re looking for. The words settled deeply as she focused in on her mind. Show him the book, find the missing pieces to the spell…and finally, we will discover the truth.

Starlight opened her eyes and looked around in fright. That voice, where had it come from?

“Does somepony have the jitters?” A thum called next to her ear.

The unicorn jolted once again, being unable to cease her constant hopping as the draconequus’ spell of jitters encompassed her body whole.

“D-D-Disc-c-c-cord-d-d-d!” She shook all around. “Cut it out!”

Discord clicked his talons and flashed the pony onto her stomach, warm towels draped over her hindquarters as the serpent sported a stark white polo shirt, pushing his paw and elbow into the mare’s spine. “My dear Starlight, you must learn to let go of all of this stress.” He extenuated. “This is a team effort, after all. Try to act calm for both our sake’s.”

“In case you didn’t notice, this is my way of relieving all of my stress.”

“I charge fifty per session.” Discord pushed.

“I meant my plan, not your little grooming getup.” She growled with irritation. “Now, paws off!”

The serpent slithered out of his shirt and quickly swept the tables and towels away, wiping his paws clean of the stressful sweat the unicorn had been building up ever since climbing the small hill which the tree stood upon, awkwardly awaiting the boy’s arrival the whole while. Discord slithered around to the pony’s front and swiped a talon across her muzzle.

“Don’t forget, we’re in on this together. It may be your plan, but it will ultimately lead to my benefit and my benefit alone.” The serpent grinned knowingly. “You understand what I am telling you, I hope?”

“No pain, no gain.” Starlight uttered as though routinely. “If I don’t sacrifice anything, I won’t get anything in return. Simple as.”

“You still misunderstand.” The draconequus educated. “When all of this is said and done for, you won’t be getting anything in return. Know that this is the path you have chosen.”

“Trust me.” Starlight delivered a cocky grin. “I know what I’m doing.”

Discord was prepared to return an equally devilish smile, but his face laid stiff and serious at the pure bliss the mare seemed to practice. Was she truly aware of the fate that which the beast esteemed her to be set upon, or was she stupider than he had first taken her for? Perhaps she aimed to put on a brave face no matter what the consequences, for she knew deep in her heart that she wouldn’t be satisfied until she got the answers she so desired.

“Then I believe it’s time to put on a show.” The serpent slithered away. “Our guest has arrived.”

“Huh?” Starlight quickly spun around, noticing a familiar figure rising up on the horizon.

Discord was no longer anywhere to be seen, and the boy was but a mere trot and a skip away, his hand waving above for the unicorn to see as he made his climb up the hill and to the tree. Before he could utter any greeting, the draconequus returned with a droop off the lowest branch of the great oak next to them. The beast coiled down to the earth with a withered defeat, rising up from his pool with a bear paw and an eagle’s claw clasped together in a plead for mercy.

“B-B-But, I hadn’t known I was doing anything wrong!” The serpent groveled and pleaded. “Please oh please, Master Starlight, won’t you look the other way on this one?”

Starlight blinked back with a hint of disbelief, the human doing the same as he stepped back and wondered quietly upon the scene he had just stumbled upon. The unicorn recomposed herself and cleared her throat. This was all part of the plan.

“You should have known that rummaging around places you ought not to would do you no good, nor for anypony for that matter.” Starlight shook her head, slowly and stiffly. “You should be ashamed of yourself, Discord.

“Please, Master, Discord will turn over a new leaf.” The beast now wore a bag over his body, pointed pale ears and a long nose. “From now on, Discord will be good. Discord will obey.”

“Prove to me that you will not go against your word.” Starlight stricted.

“We swears.” Only a loin cloth remained, his body pale and gaunt. “We swears on the precious. Yes, we swears on the precious book, that we will not disobey Master.”

“Good, then you will leave the book to me.” Starlight fidgeted, if only slightly, and cleared her throat once more. “I’m sure you don’t want Princess Twilight to hear about this, so you better scram.”

Finally, Discord grew into a hunchback and passed a worried glance to the boy behind him. He gave the pony one last look and a wink before clamoring up the trunk of the tree, disappearing into the branches and leaves. A short second later, the sound of a bell filled the stagnant air.

“Um, okay?” David strode awkwardly, nearing the unicorn. “Hey, Starlight.”

“Hey, glad you could make it-”

“What was that all about?” He scratched his head.

“Funny you should mention that.” The unicorn chuckled nervously. “He was just snooping around where he wasn’t supposed to.”

“Oh yeah, why doesn’t that surprise me?” The boy drawled.

“And get this?” She started. “Apparently he had been stealing books and artifacts from the Everfree ruins and changing them to make ponies think they stumbled across something amazing, or something worth selling a fortune for. Whelp, turns out it was all just a hoax, and I caught him red-hoofed! Well, caught him red-clawed I guess, but you get the idea. Right?”

“Right…” David stared on, perplexed. “So, is that all you wanted to tell me?”

“Don’t you get it, ya’ big dummy?” Starlight laughed again. “We don’t need that silly old book anymore. It was a hoax.”

“What ‘silly old book?’” The boy wondered.

“Erm…”

“Starlight, we didn’t find anything in the Everfree ruins. Except for that spear, of course.” The boy reminded. “Unless you mean to tell me…”

The pony felt her hooves take a cautious step or two back as she leveled herself on whether or not she should bolt for the hills and leave the conversation in the dust. Then again, she could just teleport her way out of there, but the boy would still be left in a state of suspicion. Brainwashing was the very next option to enter her mind, if only Twilight wouldn’t ask her later that night as to why David was trying to eat his dinner with the fork held backwards. Inevitably, there was no way out of it now, there was no running from this one, and the unicorn realized she had cornered herself. With a momentarily glance, her sights traveled up the trunk of her favorite tree, the one she would always lay beneath on a warm summer’s day, studying to her heart’s content. There her insignia remained, carved into the bark, now old and scratched as it wore its age. She blinked hard and released a defeated sigh.

“I have something to confess.” She said. “I have been keeping something from you, and you ought to know about it by now. I only did this because I thought it would be for the best.”

The boy blinked with wonder and crouched to the pony’s level, deeply searching her gaze.

The unicorn bit her tongue and flared her horn to life. “Well…here it is.” Wrapping her magic around the mysterious, red tome resting inside of her saddle bag, Starlight pulled the book forward and revealed it to the human.

There was a long, silent pause. And then, laughter.

“Oh!” The boy slapped his palm over his head. “So that’s where it got off to?”

“Huh?”

“Thank you, Starlight, I’ve been looking all over for this.”

Quickly, the unicorn returned her sights and stared dumbfounded upon the tome before her. The red leather book had all but disappeared, replaced with a small, brown journal. It was David’s journal, the one gifted to him at the library. Starlight shook her head and blinked in disbelief, but thought better than to try and correct him now. What was done was done.

“I know I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself for losing this, and Twilight woulda’ given me a night’s worth of lecturing to boot.” He chuckled and ruffled her mane. “Thanks for the help, my little St. Anthony.”

“Uh…y-yeah.” Starlight waved. “Don’t mention it.”

The unicorn beamed and waved on as the boy gathered his belongings and trekked back down the trail, giving a final farewell as his figure shrunk beneath the horizon and into the thick of Ponyville. Starlight grimaced and slitted her sights at the mere spike of a familiar presence behind her. She twisted around, eyes fierce and muzzle snorting. The draconequus hung but a mere inch or two away, peering deeply into her soul.

“Dodged a bullet, did we?” Discord chortled.

“Explaining. Now.” She demanded.

“What more have I to get through to you?” He shrugged innocently. “It looks like you got the answers you were looking for, did you not?”

“Well, yes. I mean, no. I mean-!” She growled and stomped about. “What the heck was the point of all of this? Why did you switch the books last second?”

“The better question is, why didn’t you?” Discord pointed.

“Because…I-It’s because…”

“Because you were going to tell him the truth after all?” The serpent smooshed his face between his limbs in an exaggerated squeal. “Could it be that this too was a part of your master plan?”

“Don’t you get all big on me, buddy.”

“Congratulations, Starlight Glimmer, you have passed!” Discount confetti and dollar store noise makers whirled all about, a rather half-assed applause struggling to sound off in the background. “It seems that you have what it takes to put the needs of your friends first. But to what ends, I wonder? Will we ever discover the true intent of this young sorceress, destined to gather the pieces to her puzzle, and finally put a rest to her life-long quest? Find out next time on-”

“You still didn’t answer my question.” Starlight reminded.

“In the middle of my outro? How rude…” The beast grumbled.

“Why did you switch the books?”

Discord delivered the mare a peculiar gaze, one which obviously spelt that he wasn’t prepared to give a straight answer. “A spur of intuition? A last minute decision? Who knows?” He played. “Rest assured, the boy has no knowledge of our secret little book, and it ought to be kept that way. Don’t forget, our hero already knows what this book is and what it’s supposed to be all about. The only matter is, when the boy discovers that such a text exists here, in Equestria, is not when our world will be flipped upside down, but rather his.”

Starlight stood motionless and took the beast’s telling as carefully and thoughtfully as she could manage. If no manner of change would come to the ponies through researching the book alone, then what would David’s discovery upon the book mean for the fate of Equestria? Change, as the unicorn knew, could only go in two different ways.

Discord twirled skyward and prepared to flash. “Tata, for now-”

“Hey, wait!” The pony chased after. “What about our deal?”

“You will get your reward.” The serpent promised. “In due time, in due time…”

His thum echoed on as he trailed away into the sky, leaving the unicorn in her lonesome beneath the tree. She trotted back over to the base of the great oak and slumped to earth, back resting to the bark. The pony sat there for a while longer more, resting quietly and calming her nerves, eyes closed as the breeze blew past…and yet another presence descended upon her. She opened her eyes, and there laying in the grass before her, was a single apple. Starlight peered upwards, finding no other apples in the branches of the tree to accompany their fallen ally below. The unicorn looked back down, and the apple was gone.

Chapter 64 - The Dying Artist

Gray and black clouds stretched across the skies above as far as the eye could see, the little lone unicorn trotting along as she regarded the sight somewhat drearily. The weather pegasi weren’t due for another spell of precipitation until the cold season, but Nightmare Night festivities were only a few days away now. She deemed it might be the reason for such a depressing sight on what ought to be a fine and wonderful day. It was the last day of her piano lessons, and the last day Dinky would go to see her teacher, Miss Melody. The little unicorn readjusted her saddle bag and hurried on, dread filling her senses, images of her sister filling her mind.

The young pony trekked carefully up the path to Octavia’s house, the skies growing all the more dim as she cleared the distance between her and the building. Soon enough, the recall of dread filled her senses once more, a familiar chill rushing down the little unicorn’s spine. It was similar to that of the discovery at Fluttershy’s cottage, mere moments before she and her friend had stumbled upon the chicken slaughter. Worse yet, the pony hadn’t a clue as to why this fear had returned to her, until she heard a cry from within. It was her teacher, eliciting a long and broken wail.

“Miss Melody!” Dinky picked up her hooves and charged past the door.

The scene unfurled before her like the aftermath of an unrelenting storm, as though a monster had ravaged through and left nothing unscathed in its wake. Music papers laid torn, bits and shreds cast across the floor. A broken bottle or two laid in their midst, the sickening smell of rotten oats and tree sap crawling up her nostrils. Across from the girl rested her teacher, a disheveled and defeated clump of fur wailing into her hooves as she rocked and wallowed back and forth across the carpet, stained to the boards with snot, tears and slobber. Her teacher was…drunk, Dinky surmised. No, not just drunk, but sad. Her teacher was angry, frustrated, at odds with something she simply could not comprehend, and quite evidently neither could the elder mare.

“M-Miss Melody…?” Dinky approached carefully. “What’s wrong? Why are you-”

Something brushed the end of her little hoof. The student looked down to find a sight that might bring every musician on this planet to a fit of rage and tears. Octavia’s cello rest in not one, but two pieces upon the floor. The bridge was split in half, chips and splinters sprinkled across the grainy floor. A sputter sounded from the other end of the room. The mare had finally ceased her crying, and she rolled over once more, brushing her shiny black locks apart to get a look at her little visitor.

“Dinky…?” The mare quivered. “Oh…oh no. No no no, I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you crying?” Dinky started carefully. “Are you hurt?”

At once, Octavia sprung and scrambled for the torn music sheets laying about, trying desperately to hide the bottles and wipe the drooling alcohol from her jaw. When the mare met her broken cello, she fell apart once again, the pieces of her mess falling in all directions as her face fell into her hooves. Dinky waited patiently for her teacher to answer, and the mare braved her posture once again.

“I didn’t mean for you to see me like this, I was only-” She sobbed evermore. “Oh, heavens forgive me, what have I done?!”

“It’s okay.” Dinky tried. “We can fix it.”

“No, no we can’t!” The earth mare shook. “Don’t you see? It’s all broken, I’m broken! I can’t do a damn thing right anymore, and the only pony I’ve got to blame is myself. I practiced the cello for thirty years, thirty years,and where has it gotten me?” She seethed. “I can’t write, I can’t compose, I can’t play anything that I want to play. It’s always the same songs day after day after day, and I can’t take it anymore! I’m stuck!”

Dinky felt her breath quicken as she took a step and another back, putting all of her focus into recomposing herself as to not act shaken in front of her teacher. Alas, the fear was all too evident within her eyes. Octavia froze and looked to her pupil, the sting of regret welling up in her sights. As the mare felt yet another onslaught of tears bridging across the creases of her gaze, she swallowed hard and addressed the younger pony as carefully and calmly as possible.

“I apologize. That was very uncouth of me, I should not have raised my voice.” Octavia’s eyes wandered across the tattered pages. She scrounged what little bits she could from the floor and hobbled back over to her spot on the floor. “I’m sorry, but there will be no lessons tonight, little one. You may go home now.” Octavia curled and pushed her face back into her mane, mumbling beneath her hooves. “Leave an old, useless mare like me to rot…”

In a near instant, the room fell deathly quiet. The little unicorn wavered where she stood, standing idly as though she were a lost child in the endless isles of the supermarket. The sights and sounds of the world were diminished into meaningless little nothings, and what hopes the little unicorn had left at obtaining some manner of purpose, at obtaining her own cutie mark, had almost completely and utterly vanished. In spite of the presence of another, she simply felt alone and encumbered with doubt. Then, her purpose reminded her of herself. Dinky’s eyes strafed to the left. There in the corner of the room next to the window where she always sat, was the piano.

Octavia laid quiet and distant upon the floor for a much longer while, uncertain whether her student had left or not. In that moment, her ear flickered. It was the piano, a collection of notes lining themselves up, albeit haphazardly and desperately in need of practice. As Octavia blinked the wet and bleary streaks of sorrow from her eyes, she turned and looked to find her student, sitting at the piano. Her hooves met the keys in unrelenting blows, her body tensed and her eyes focused, the little unicorn had somehow called forth a surge of determination. Octavia summoned what little tenacity she had left in her tired and aged body, and quietly approached her student.

“You’ve done well.” Octavia swallowed. “But, not good enough.”

Dinky looked back, the fire flaring in her pupils.

“Now, once more.”

And so, the Elegy of the Moonlight and various other collections of songs sounded throughout the house minute after minute, hour after hour, stroke after swipe, key and octave. The teacher tutored her pupil strict and straightforward as ever, and no matter how many times the little unicorn missed her keys, she was bound to get it right the next time. If not that time, then the time after that.

She would try again, and again, and again…

A pair of bandages had been wrapped around the little pony’s hooves. Octavia knew better than to let her pupil push herself so, but the waves on nonstop practice had ended up captivating both of their attention. With as much care as she could manage with her hooves alone the elder pony patched the little one’s back to health, seeking to join the remedy with a late night serving of tea. Dinky wasn’t exactly very fond of tea, but wasn’t about to reject the offer either. Oats and crackers, of course, were always on the table for refreshments. As the little unicorn glanced to the outdoors, nighttime had already taken over the skies, and she wondered just how long she had been there. Octavia returned soon after with a tray of beverages and snacks, calmly trotting over to the coffee table and resting the platter to its surface.

“I suppose you shall stay for the night?” She offered, pouring her cup of brew.

“If that’s alright with you.” Dinky nodded. “I’d hate to worry mom, too. I just know she’s going to come looking for me.”

“The roads may still be dangerous after dark, I’d hate to worry your mother as well.” The earth mare poured the other cup. “Until then, I’d be happy to have the company of my shining pupil. You’ve done a wonderful job, Dinky. I’m very proud of you.”

The little pony blushed and hid behind her mane, struggling to stifle the growing grin. “It’s nothing, really…All I did was keep on playing. I didn’t even think about stopping, not once.”

“And that, my little star, is the true key to success.” Octavia acknowledged, raising the cup to her lips and blowing lightly upon the hot liquid. She took a small sip before continuing. “It was you who helped remind me that my love for the cello came not for the pursuit of fame and success, but rather the act of playing such a heavenly instrument, and the act of playing it alone is what ignited my love for it. To hear the strum of the bow along the strings, it gave me life…”

“That cello must’ve been very special to you.” Dinky glowered, images of the broken instrument filling her head.

“It can be fixed.” Octavia nodded confidently. “I know that for a fact now. And above all else, I will always have the memories.” The mare halted mid drink, eyes wide as she lowered her cup. “Ah, yes, which reminds me. Since you’ll be spending the night, there’s something I ought to show you.”

“It’s not another music sheet, is it?” Dinky asked cautiously.

“Even better, a photo album!” Octavia hooted.

Even worse… Dinky minded.

Her guest waited patiently at the coffee table as the mare escaped into her bedroom and pulled forth the binder in question, trotting out a moment after to clear some space and lay the pages down before them. She remembered to flip past the infant years this time, to save herself the embarrassment that her roommate had undoubtedly enjoyed at her expense. As the pictures flipped by, images of bridges and buildings stacked like great halls and isles filled the curious little unicorn’s eyes.

“Is that Trottingham?” Dinky looked on, bedazzled.

“Indeed.” Octavia nodded and smiled. “This is where I was born and spent the majority of my early years. When I was only a little younger than you are now, I would spend my days trotting the markets and helping mother sew quilts.”

“Sounds…fun?” Dinky tilted her head.

“But some days, I would explore the woods and play games with the boys.” Octavia reminisced. “Ah yes, the Bellemonts, such a rowdy bunch those lads were.”

Dinky laid silent, but blinked with interest. The earth mare swiped over and flipped to the next page, planting her hoof to one image in particular. The grainy black and brown filter of the photo spelt its age, but the black-maned little filly within the pictures was as recognizable as ever. Every picture, as the mare began to recall, had been taken by a very good friend of hers. Enticing games of hide and seek and interests in forest fairy tales had eventually led to their discovery of a strange structure which resided in the heart of the Trottingham woodland realm. The locals had called it the “Mansion of Trottingham.”

“What were their names?” Dinky asked. “Your friends, I mean.”

“Their names have long left my memory by now.” Octavia admitted. “But, if I do recall, that mansion…I do believe something had happened there.” She mumbled to herself.

“Maybe that’s the place where you got your cutie mark?” Dinky supposed.

“Could it be?” The earth mare wondered, staring upon the photo of the mansion.

The little unicorn laid silent once again, glancing past the assortment of photos until her eyes landed upon the family and friends that Octavia had to accompany her with back home. Oddly enough, there were some striking similarities when Dinky had compared her life to that of her teacher’s. A little pegasus boy focused in one of the photos, and with that the girl’s mind reached back to recent memories of her companion and friend.

“Miss Melody?” Dinky began.

The mare blinked, broken away from her thought.

“Erm…no, never mind.” The filly waved a hoof.

“Go on, speak your mind.” Octavia encouraged.

“Well, it’s just…since you’re from Trottingham I thought that maybe you would know about something like this.”

“Like what?” The mare waited.

“What do Trottingham colts like?” The filly asked.

Octavia sat back and settled for a moment to take in the little pony’s words, trying to comprehend what exactly the child was asking of her. Had the call of curiosity finally been bestowed upon this growing mare, only for the lessons to be burdened upon a simple piano instructor, instead of this child’s mother? The earth pony grumbled deeply within her mind. At a time like this? How should I know?! She lightly tapped her hooves together.

“Hmm, well.” Octavia started calmly. “Is there somepony in particular you have in mind?”

No, wait! Octavia winced. That was the wrong question.

“I-I guess you could say that.” Dinky replied, timidly peering down into her cup of tea. “There’s this boy I see every now and then, and I think he’s from Trottingham just like you. It’s just…well…sometimes I get a little nervous around him.”

“Nervous?”

“It feels like there’s butterflies in my stomach, or my lips are glued together. There’s a lot of things I want to say, but I don’t know how to say it.” Dinky went on. “He was one of the very first in our class to receive his cutie mark. Me? I don’t even have mine yet. Sometimes I think I’m not even worthy to be around him. He’s smart, talented, and always helps out other ponies whenever he can.”

As the elder mare listened, she reached back to what little she could remember on her experience with colts, only to come up far more empty-hoofed than what was good for her. Thus, Octavia simply spoke from her mind.

“I’m positive that if you are to act kind, give him plenty of attention, and most importantly remember to be yourself, this friend of yours will surely come around.” Octavia nodded. “Why, if you were to tell him everything that you told me, everything will work out perfectly.”

“I see.” Dinky nodded, attempting to calm her nerves. She supposed that it was fairly sound advice, better than any she had received before, and quite frankly the only amount of acknowledgment she had been provided ever since this little dilemma popped up in her brain. Alas, the second guessing came sooner than anticipated, and the filly was babbling on once more. “B-B-But, what if he ends up not liking me? What if he says we can’t be friends anymore? What if-?! Oh no, what if he’s already found somepony else?” The little unicorn curled in on herself. “Augh, why does talking with boys have to be so complicated, Miss Melody?”

Why do I have to deal with this child’s upbringings and not her mother? Octavia sighed.

Chapter 65 - Light and Darkness

Twilight sat idly within her quarters scanning over the notes flooding her desk, grimacing upon the overflowing stack of tasks and duties she was to attend to. Simply looking upon the mountain of papers made her eyes grow heavier and her brain throb all the more. She dropped her quill and pushed her hooves into her eyes, wiping the exhaustion to the end of her muzzle. She let forth a gaping yawn and stretched her wings and her legs, and as the young Alicorn slumped back into her chair, the realization hit her.

Where had time gone?

Everything has changed so much in so little time. The words of her young dragon echoed through her mind. Twilight was almost certain now that she and her friends had grown far more distant than they ever were before. Discord’s reign of spells that one, unfortunate season had almost nothing on the aching loneliness the mare felt now. Quietly, she called back on the time she had spent in Ponyville, the time she had spent with her friends, when everything seemed just a little bit simpler.

“Can’t dwell on the past.” She mumbled to herself. “That’s no way to look towards the future.”

As daunting as the task ahead seemed, she knew those words spoken from her mentor were undoubtedly true. Thus, she fixed herself in her chair and drearily sought to continue her work. Her wing flexed and brushed the books and papers over one another, the texts toppling over as they fell to the floor in a disheveled mess. The young princess groaned and cast her horn to life, levitating the pages around her head as she attempted to assess them back into order. At the glimpse of a peculiar passage, one paper had caught her eye.

「The History of Light and Darkness」

She blinked and stared upon the page for a moment longer, the other papers resting at a stand still, as though the passage were calling out to her to fulfill her curiosity. It was an excerpt from one of the many tomes wherein several authors had come together for a collaboration of sorts. In this act, it was uncertain as to which was true and which was false, based upon the records of Equestria, Equis and beyond. Nonetheless it was enticingly interesting to the young Alicorn, almost dangerously interesting. Fantasy and Reality, intertwined as one. That was all it took to realize they were the same telling all along. Twilight shrugged and swept the excess documents to the side, making room for yet another venture into the countless scrolls, books, and tomes of knowledge.

“The History of Light and Darkness.” She read aloud. “For within every tale, every story, every epic, and every account of history, there is one history that is always there. Always past, always present, always future. Light and Darkness are but two sides of the same coin, and in the middle, they meet at twilight.”

The pony took a pause of regard to the word that was her name, and with that continued further into her reading. Several ponies from the past had recorded their own accounts on what they believed to be the influences of light and dark upon the world. For light had encompassed the world whole, and dark encompassed the world whole. It became clear that should one not exist, then the other would cease to exist as well. Should darkness be defeated by light, then light would have no place to shine. Should light be defeated by darkness, then darkness would have no place to shun. The never ending push and pull of one side and the other was an eternal strife for balance.

One pony spoke of light as though it were a realm of its own. It’s description was like that of the Great Chisel in the Sky, Caelum. It was like a mirror.

Another spoke of the realm of darkness. There was a complete and utter loss of hope, an absence of existence. Nothingness. Several others believed that when one spoke of the realm of darkness, they were more than likely referring to Tartarus. It was a place where the branded were bound for eternity. They were held by chains in a deep, forgotten cave. They could not speak, but only watch, as their imagination had become their own imprisonment. What they had thought was something was simply nothing, it was not real.

Twilight sat back and noticed just how much more accounts had covered the realm of darkness as opposed to that of the light. It was as though more and more ponies had been swallowed by the darkness, more had fallen to an ill, forever fain rather than achieving eternal, ethereal rest. Fantastical and exaggerated as the records might have been, the mere idea of a powerful, unstoppable force encompassing the planet whole made her shudder so. She had faced such forces to reckon with before, and she had locked those memories away, never to be spoken of nor thought of ever again. Or so she had thought…

Twilight Sparkle, the studious unicorn and protegee of Princess Celestia, checked the last of her items off of the checklist for her safety protocol, otherwise known as the “disaster prevention checklist.” Wherein any normal pony should have been doing their job anyways, Twilight and the ponies of Ponyville banded together to ensure that each and every corner of their humble little town was disaster proofed. Bolts were tightened, pipes were welded, cement was re-plastered and the branches of widow-makers were cut back to an acceptable level. Not an inch of the town seemed as though it would ever fall into any sort of disaster whatsoever.

Then, a gargantuan three-headed dog appeared out of nowhere.

Pinkie Pie was the first to spawn the uproar that encompassed the town, striking fear into the hearts of the citizens as they ducked and dashed for cover, yanking the welcome mat right in along with them. Twilight knew in that moment that she had to do something to prevent this obvious disaster before her, and thus the young unicorn took her stance and flared her horn to life.

Then, a harmless little pegasus fluttered in between and tamed the beast with little to no effort.

Cerberus. The studious unicorn recalled correctly. A three-headed mythical beast tasked with guarding the Gates of Tartarus. If he’s all the way out here, then who’s guarding the gates? Twilight knew there was one way and one way only to draw the legendary, fire-breathing, three headed beast back to his lair where he may stand and guard ancient demons and devils locked away into the hellish pits that was Tartarus. And that would be achieved with a rubber ball.

The pink pony had returned to provide the unicorn with the pre-mentioned item, and thus she took the toy into her levitation to lure the beast from the heart of Ponyville and into the forest ahead. Cerberus quickly became transfixed upon the ball, all six eyes darting back and forth as the purple pony levitated it before his sights, and darted for the tree line soon after. She would return Cerberus to her post at the Gates of Tartarus, and unbeknownst to her, begin her three day journey in doing so.

Twilight had trotted on all day long, almost sure that Cerberus would eventually get tired of chasing the same old ball the entire way there, but she soon found that she was getting tired herself. With the ball still in her magical grasp and Cerberus chasing from behind, they were in the middle of a wooded area when Twilight spotted a small pond off to the side of a small ridge.

“C’mere, boy!” Twilight panted. “This way!”

Cerberus twisted his heads and clamored down the small path towards the pond, all three tongues pooling out of the heads as greedy slobbers of water lapped up into their mouths. Twilight lumbered down the path and plopped down next to the water, leaving the ball at rest. She cautiously eyed the beast for a moment.

“Be a good boy and stay there a moment, please.” Twilight scooted herself closer to the pond. “Aw gosh, I’m exhausted.”

The water was still. Twilight knew that it was never really a good idea to drink water that wasn’t running, but was over all too tired to care at this point. She opted for slow and small sips, still a little worried that she might get sick, but she only needed a little. Just enough energy to keep going and complete this task, to return Cerberus to the Gates of Tartarus.

As the young unicorn laid there and sipped patiently at the water, she stopped and thought for a moment. Was she even going the right way? She reviewed her knowledge on the exact location of Tartarus in Equestria. Having ran along side the railroad tracks which ran west, she would eventually come upon a wooded area. If she was correct, they should be in White Tail Woods right about now, somewhere along side the Smokey mountains. She at least expected to have seen a shack or hut of some sort by now, wherein hermits and keepers of the forest laid, whom might guide those who are lost. Based upon further details that she had read, Twilight knew that Celestia always set the sun to the west, and the gates no doubt lied west of Equestria. With a bit of reassurance, Twilight could be relieved that she was going the right way.

Just then, Cerberus sprung and trailed his attention over to the deeper ends of the woods. The great beast’s ears shot for the skies, and he began to growl lowly and intensely. Dread soon filled the little pony nearby. Like a phantom disappearing into the shadows, Cerberus leapt forward into the denser region of the woods, barking and howling wildly all the while. Twilight sprang to her hooves and gave chase.

“Cerberus!” She wailed. “Down, boy! Heel!”

She ran and ran, ran until all she knew was the feeling of her hooves carrying her forward, only to collide with the massive, black behind that was the three headed dog’s rump. Twilight picked herself up and quickly looked all around, taking notice that Cerberus had become paralyzed with stillness, the entire forest around them seeming no different. In that very moment, Twilight caught sight of a figure in the far distance waning between the trees. Black and red spotted between the trunks. Her heart skipped a beat, and her lungs forfeited a breath.

A demon! Twilight’s mind quickened.

“Hello?” The demon called. “Who goes there?”

The demon sounded not so much like a demon, or at least what she would assume a demon to sound like. After the voice had lingered for a little longer than Twilight would have liked, she remembered to give a response of her own.

“W-We’re over here!” Twilight hesitantly waved her hoof.

“Yes yes, if I could not see you then surely I could hear you.” The voice chuckled, moving out of the shadows. “My my, what a sight to behold.”

The unicorn quickly studied the speaker before her, finding that it was no demon at all. No, it was just an ordinary pony, or at least as ordinary as you could get out here in the middle of the woods. One of the keepers, perhaps? The thought seemed to click alright in her mind.

“My apologies, sir, I was just uh…” Twilight looked up at the huge, hulking dog, whom seemed much more calm now.

“Taking your dogs for a walk?” He chortled. “I’ve heard legends of the beast, but never did I think my eyes would get the chance to see him in the flesh and fur.”

“Oh no, these aren’t my dogs.” Twilight giggled, only for one of Cerberus’ heads to lean down and lick her entire right side. The unicorn winced with utter disgust.

“If you say so.” The old pony chortled again. “I do find it odd however that I see him here and not at the gates of Tartarus.”

“Yes, that’s just where I was taking him to.” Twilight flicked the slobber off her coat.

“Oh, you mean you’re going to do it?”

“Mhm.” She nodded.

“Alone?”

“Is there a problem?” Twilight wondered.

“Little pony…” The old colt shook his head. “You are walking up on the very gates of Hell, the doors to the chamber of insidious secrets that perhaps even Celestia herself has no knowledge of. Does this not phase you?”

Twilight stopped before answering and began to reflect upon the pony’s words. Only then did it come to her realization on where exactly she was going and what she was about to do. With the knowledge now more apparent than ever, Twilight became afraid.

“I-I must do this.” The little pony said bravely. “For the good of Equestria.”

“If you insist, then perhaps a shortcut shall aid in your travels?”

“That would be very appreciated, mister…?”

“Ah, now where have my manners gone?” The old pony turned to her with a bow. “Hermes, at your service.”

“Twilight Sparkle.” She curtsied. “It’s a pleasure.”

“Twilight…a beautiful name.” He commented. “I shall not forget it.”

The unicorn gave nothing short of a blush and a giggle.

“Shall we be on our way, Twilight?” Hermes beckoned.

“Certainly.”

For a few miles further in, the two had tread in the same direction that Twilight had already been going. There was then a treacherous and rocky region, filled with trenches and trails that made the unicorn realize had she not encountered a guide, she would have been here for far longer than she had anticipated. Hermes for the most part was quiet now, wordlessly leading her and the great beast through twists and turns of dust, pebble and rock. The studious unicorn had many questions ready within her arsenal, but the unspoken truce of silence had quickly made things rather awkward, and perhaps it was best not to waver the old pony’s concentration and focus on the task ahead. Soon enough, the clouds above grew a dark and murky black, and with that Twilight knew they were near.

“This is as far as I tread.” Hermes turned to her. “Follow the path until you reach the twin boulders, there the beast will know the way back.”

“Twin boulders, got it.” Twilight took a confident step forward.

“Do be careful, Twilight.” The deep, malicious voice warned. “It’d be a shame on this earth for something tragic to happen to a unicorn like you.”

Twilight halted as a chill ran up her spine, and she turned to address her guide. Only, the pony was no longer there, as gone as the wind bellowing past her hide.

The young mare turned back around to find that Cerberus was already trekking his way up the hill and off like a shot, heading towards his destination. Twilight chased after but maintained a fair distance behind, if only to ensure that the beast would be right back where he ought to be. She had only hoped that by this point no demons had escaped in his absence. If any had managed to do so, however, they would be weak upon the upper soil that was Equestria, so much so that they could hardly walk. Weak or strong, demons were no doubt a force to be reckoned with. Twilight remained alert.

Suddenly, the three-headed beast halted in his tracks, turning to give Twilight thrice the amount of a pleading, hard-to-say-no-to puppy stare. The unicorn shook her head and elicited a small chuckle, waving her hoof to shoo the hound along.

“Go on, Cerberus.” Twilight nodded. “Get back to your station, boy.”

Then, Cerberus began to whine. He crouched low and met Twilight’s eye level with six, googly, glistening puppy eyes staring into the deepest recesses of her heart. Strangely enough, it calmed the young mare, so much so that she found a hint of content even when standing a mere skip and a trot away from the very gates of Hell. Suddenly, she realized that she wasn’t the one who was scared, but rather Cerberus was.

“It’s okay, boy.” Twilight stepped forward, calmly petting the dogs atop their heads and hugging the middle face. “Tell you what, maybe I’ll come back and visit you someday. How does that sound?”

Like a candle flame reignited, Cerberus sprang and wagged his tail with joy, his panting growing quicker and happier. Once again, he licked an entire side of the mare, slobber drenching her entire left half. Twilight could now say that one hundered percent of her exterior has been covered in dog spit before. With a final woof and a distant whine, Cerberus bolted back up the path to mount Tartarus, leaving the pony to herself. Twilight waited until the great canine was completely out of sight before turning tail and trotting down the path as quickly as she could.

Maybe I’ll come back and visit you someday. She repeated those words of hers in her mind.

“Hermes…” Twilight attempted to recall. “There were no records of anypony named Hermes among the keepers of that realm. Then who…?”

The visions of black and red, scarlet and ash quickly filled the young Alicorn’s head. It couldn’t have been. It can’t be.

“Tirek…” The pony trembled.

He had escaped. When Cerberus had abandoned his post, the prisoner of Tartarus took his chance, and escaped from his eternal fire. Twilight had deemed herself the last line of defense in that moment, and ultimately, she had failed. She had failed Equestria, her friends, the people of Ponyville, and even herself.

“Incompetent.” The word uttered without warning.

And without alert, images and visions swarmed about in the Alicorn’s head. Upon a void of black a world constructed itself, ash and soot laid in a broken and rainy village. The buildings were toppled and the flames had scorched nearly everything in sight, all that remained was ruin, embers, and blood.

Most notably, there Twilight stood in the midst of it all. Resting upon her back was undoubtedly a weapon fabled among pony-kind.

Chapter 66 - My Dinner with Discord

Author's Note

Don't read this chapter, it's just Discord talking for eighty percent of the time. It has next to nothing to do with the story, so you are more than welcome to move on to the next chapter.

Chapter 66 - My Dinner with Discord

As nighttime began its reign over the village, the Equerry made his way down the central market lanes at a calm yet steady pace. He tucked his hands into the pockets of his jacket as his face tightened against the cold breeze, a sure sign that the end of autumn was near, and winter just around the corner. Very few residents trotted by and hurried along to their homes, wrapping up the last of their chores, hardly acknowledging the boy this time around. If anything, the sneers and disdain had subsided, traded for a mere passing glance or the commonly played cold shoulder. David huffed and turned to trek down the lane towards his destination. The Lucky Clover.

The bar was surprisingly almost completely empty, save for the couple resting before the tender at the front counter, whom were just heading out. The little equines brushed past stilted legs, and the boy gave glance to the outdoors one last time before scanning the restaurant in search of his “date.” When the search came up none, he turned to sit at the counter, and the tender was upon him sooner than he realized.

“Evening, Equerry.” Lucky said all the same. “Whadda’ ya have?”

“Just’a water.” David nodded. “Clear.”

The stallion behind the counter seemed to understand, and with a nod of his own turned to fix the boy his drink. David slumped back onto the counter and gazed over the restaurant once more, his thoughts beginning to collect, and he began thinking many things to himself as he always would. He thought about the things he might write when he got home that night, he thought about the things he might draw, too. Drawing was undoubtedly the passion and drive behind his soul, as he would see it, one of the only reasons for him to keep on living. Many times over he had thought about what he would do if he had lost the ability or luxury of drawing. If he were ever to be paralyzed, lose both his arms, go blind, become overwhelmed by an uncontrollable plague of Parkinson’s, just anything that might cease his ability to draw altogether. If any of this ever happened, David decided that he would kill himself.

“The Equerry of the hour!” A familiar holler called from the door.

The boy turned to find the company he had expected. It was Discord, wearing a dull green sweater buttoned up to the bottom of his breast, a sandy white shirt lying underneath.

“I’ve been summoned.” David rose, casually ignoring the get up.

What the strange beast did next rather surprised the young Equerry. Discord waltzed right up and wrapped both arms around the boy, embracing him into a heart-felt hug as though the two had known each other for years. On account of Discord’s height, both limbs went over his shoulders and the boy was forced to return the embrace around the serpent’s slithering waist, not even sure as to why he was returning the warm greeting. The small, rare moment of affection that the draconequus had finally showed felt inviting and reassuring. Dare he say, even fatherly.

“Come now, shall we see ourselves to our table?” Discord obliged.

“What table?” David asked. “I thought you brought me here to tell me something.”

“Oh yes, of course, but you see I have quite a lot to tell you.” The beast paused. “And before you ask, no, it hasn’t a thing to do with the main story line. This is a spur of the moment, my dear boy, a side quest of sorts. Surely you understand that when an old geezer like me wants to spend some quality time with youth, he is destined to talk their ears off until they are as deaf as their elders. Now come along, our table awaits.”

Despite the lack of staff about the restaurant save for Lucky tending to the bar, a waiter had appeared to guide the two to their seats, something which the boy assumed to be a trick of Discord’s magic. He felt it rather strange how he had gotten used to the old beast’s party tricks so quickly and so easily, almost as though he had been expecting them. The funny thing was, one never knew what to expect when spending time around Discord. Undoubtedly the land of myth and the ponies of Equestria the boy had found himself in were entertaining, but the trickster himself had kept things interesting, to say the least. Unbeknownst to him, the boy was about to see just how interesting things might get.

“Dinner is on me.” The serpent slid a menu over. “Go on, order whatever catches your eye, it all goes back to her Highness’ account anyhow.”

“I already ate.” Glowered the boy.

“Order something nonetheless, I promise you that you won’t get a single bite in this evening.”

“Should I ask why?”

“You know how hard it is for one to enjoy their meal when the other person just won’t stop talking. They have it in their minds that they are to sit there patiently and deliver a suitable reply within ample time, just so they can remain on good terms with the other person for reasons not even they can understand.” Discord shook his head, chuckling a little. “Oh, but listen to me getting too caught up in the thick of it already. Perhaps I should let you know that by the time you reach the castle tonight, you’ll hardly remember a thing I told you. You’ll want to go home and tell Starlight or Twilight or whomever will want to listen to this little excerpt in your life. ‘My Dinner with Discord’ is what you would call it. Alas, that title is not left up to your decision. Another has already written this chapter, and that is someone who is far far away from this place. Exactly…155.26 light years, to be precise.”

“Well, I can already tell this is going to be an evening I can neither enjoy nor escape.” David sighed and laid back in the booth, glazing over his conversation at the other end of the table. He sprawled out his hands in defeat. “Alright, you brought me here to tell me something, and tell me something you shall. So, let’s hear it.”

“Well, good God, boy, don’t act as if you’re a student held at the mercy of a teacher with a ruler. Don’t act as though I’m some cult leader who’s come to convince you of the salvation we’ll receive by way of spaceship one day. Don’t act like anything! Just listen to what I have to say now. I know I’ve told you that before and I was a little harsh when I said it, too, but I know how much you like to reply with your snarky comments and intriguing come backs as well. So hold them at bay for the time being, for the mercy of this evening and this telling. I just have so much to tell you, but it almost saddens me to know that you won’t remember a thing about it.”

David frowned and returned to his menu, glancing across the selection of meals with the background thought that he ought not to waste food, in spite of what the draconequus had told him. Soon after, his thoughts came to a halt as the serpent at the other seat picked up with his words once again.

“Tell me, boy, have you ever heard a song so beautiful?” Discord asked.

The boy stopped, remembering not to speak, raising his glass to his lips as he listened.

“It could be any song,” Discord went on. “A song played in a theater, perhaps something you heard on the radio, or even when you took the time to sit down and listen to a stranger dance his digits away on the piano sitting in the campus hall’s main foyer. You didn’t know where this stranger was from, what they had been doing, or what they even looked like. All you knew was the undeniably beautiful song coming from the piano they played upon, and that was all you would ever know of this person. Not their name, not their face, the sound of their voice nor the way the walk. All that was left to you was this song, and you subconsciously let that song guide you for whatever endeavor you were to endure next. Whether that be getting up to walk, going to talk to someone, or even going to the bathroom. The song was stuck in your head and you just couldn’t help it. Perhaps you wanted to know more about this person, ask them where they learned to play in such a beautiful key, and maybe even request that they tutor you in their ways because it had marveled you so. Alas the person was but a breeze, blowing by as soon as they had arrived, and you were left to the song. A song so beautiful, you could not forget it. Tell me then, my dear boy, and do not answer but only think about it to yourself. At the end of a generation what is remembered? The people, or the song? Is it history, or the history makers? Had it not been for one the other could not have been possible, but one is only remembered because of the other. There was a time when songs were remembered, when history was revered, and those who recorded such things were given the upmost comfort, luxury, tools and necessities capable of jotting down these events in time because everyone knew, and I mean everyone knew, this was how the world was going to be remembered. And that, my friend, is the problem we face today. People do not remember.

“People would naturally and undoubtedly be worried about what is happening to them if only they could remember, but they do not remember, and they don’t even remember the fact that they chose not to remember. They are told not to worry because the drinks quell their fret, they listen when they are told to have no doubts because the cake is undoubtedly delicious. Its sweet, its sticky, and it keeps you coming back for more. Why is this? Do you think they blend something into these things that they feed you? Some sort of chemical that supposedly makes some things ‘addictive?’ You’ll come to realize that our bond to these things that which provide us comfort is just as natural as the things that cause discomfort. No chemicals, no conspiracies, nobody plotting behind your back. It’s all up to you, and you can’t even help it. Just think about this for a moment, we bare a natural inclination to distance ourselves from any sort of discomfort, displeasure or pain and to get away from it as far as possible. The very nerves beneath your flesh have evolved to indicate pain whenever you come across something that is in one way or another degrading the state of your body. According to the brain, pain is a setback, and it will naturally devise all of these weirdly creative ways to avoid pain as much as possible. Don’t forget, this is something you can’t help, your body and your brain fall into it naturally. With that being said, your own mind is quite literally working against you, to hold you back from your desires and your goals, because you know deep down in the pit of your mind that these desires and goals of yours will include trials, and trials include pain. It was something you said yourself once, or rather thought about it. Do not become the path of least resistance. What you meant was that nature will always follow the easiest route, the path of least resistance. The flow of electricity, the current of a water stream, even the predator choosing its prey. These are things you cannot control not because they are out of your reach, but because you are a part of them. The toughest concepts to grasp are not the ones that are far far away from us, but rather the ones that lie inside. In order to understand these thoughts and feelings that lie inside, it almost quite literally demands that we dismantle ourselves completely to find these truths. In other words, in order to recreate ourselves we must first destroy ourselves. In order for something to be fixed, it must first be broken. There is a name for such a thing, and it can be taken into many concepts, and it appears in many stories, some of the greatest stories to ever be told might I add. You’ve heard the word plenty of times and I’m sure you already know what it is. Sacrifice.

“Sacrifice, no matter how you look at it, is the most pinnacle undertaking of society. It cannot be tainted, it cannot be altered, and even when you try to do so you will find that you yourself are making a sacrifice. Society hates sacrifice, and that is why it is so revered, so humbled, so glorified in the eyes of those who think others ought to take responsibility, yet they themselves wouldn’t dare set a foot or even a hoof outside their doorstep, yanking in that welcome mat right along with them. When you’ve given the world everything you can, whether it be your house, your car, your job, your family, your friends, and even yourself, what does the world do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing, and that is the way it ought to be, because what then would sacrifice mean? The world needs heroes, now and more than ever, and heroes make sacrifices. Isn’t it astounding how the most able, the most extraordinary, the most intelligent and strongest that this world has to offer have convinced themselves that all of this is worth saving? They have unknowingly adopted the perspective that which society deems a hero should be cloaked in, one of unconditional service towards complete and utter strangers. And for what? For all the sludge and slop that they trudge through and all of the horrors that they witness, all of the crime and all of the thievery, the falsehood and the trickery, the ugliness and violence of it all, the rape, the murder, the torture, the ungodly, inhumane, inequinety of it all…and they still believe there is a future to look forward to. And for that, they have my undying respect. Why, you might ask? Because sacrifice means change, my boy, and for one to change they must go against that which nature has dictated for them. Those who stand up to nature are the ones who stand up to the face of almost certain death itself. I know there are more out there, these heroes who always look to the bright future ahead, in spite of the darkness that surrounds them. I have only ever met one before, and she…” Miraculously, Discord stopped and chuckled. “Well, you’ll meet her some day, I’m sure.”

Finally, the boy’s ears were given a breather. Having picked up the signal that it was at last his turn to get a word or two in, he leaned forward and stretched, twisting a pinky finger into his ear. “Well…” He actually didn’t quite know what to say. “You sure do know how to make someone stop and think, I guess? What was that thing you said about our minds working against us?”

“As I had stated before, you will not remember a thing of our conversation.” Discord reminded. “This is only but a small excerpt, a mere scratching of the surface. I know you’ve been down plenty of rabbit holes before, I know what manner of curiosity lies within those eyes. What drive, what passion. Come to think of it, I don’t believe you’ve ever told me what your passion is. I already have a pretty good idea of what it might be, but would you care to do the honors?” He raised his claw.

David blinked and sat back, twinkling his fingers together. “My passion?” He glanced to the side. “Well, how else can I tell it? It’s the same thing I tell everyone who might ask, and the same thing that I let almost every single person I meet know about even if they didn’t ask. I love to draw. I would feel utterly lost and incomplete without it. Even if the events of my life had somehow steered in the direction of a different passion, like music or sports or running or whatever, then I would still feel incomplete. Drawing calls to me, and I don’t just know it but I feel it, too. It’s like breathing to me. Without it, I would be-” He paused and coughed. “Well, I would be…”

As the boy’s speech fell short, the waiter returned as though on queue, delivering their meals to the occupants of the table. Discord had ordered quite the colorful platter, a vast array of some of the most exotic and foreign dishes the boy had ever seen, many of which he could not even begin to pronounce the names of. David had ordered chicken tenders with a side of fries.

“Ketchup?” Offered Discord.

“Oh, of course.” David nodded back.

Discord clicked his talons, and a brimming bowl of ketchup appeared on the table. A second later, a solid set of letters unmistakably written as “UP” came falling from the sky and landed in the bowl of tomato paste, splashing the red viscous substance all over the boy’s meal.

“Get it?” Discord snickered. “Or shall I say catch it?”

The boy could only respond with cold, deadpan eyes, but nevertheless began digging into his plate, now drenched in ketchup in all the wrong places.

The draconequus cleared his throat and went to fix a napkin about his neck and over his breast, the boy uncertain of whether he was preparing to dive into his long awaited dinner or once again delve into the nonstop tales that poured from his brain and rolled off his tongue. Perhaps it would be both, David had no doubt the beast was more than capable of accomplishing the two tasks at the same time. He sipped the glass from his drink and lifted the piece of plate from his food, watching idly as the boy precariously dabbed the remaining splashes of ketchup from his checkered basket before diving into his dinner at a child’s nibbling pace.

“Now, I know I had promised you that this entire conversation of ours wouldn’t have a thing to do with the main story line, and quite frankly it doesn’t. But I will have to go off of a little whim here, I will have to tempt myself in order to get my point across. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t really have anything to do with the story line anyhow, at least not within the all six books here, and that’s only if we’re going with the primary timeline.” He paused for a cackle. “Oh how I would love to get into the intricacies of timelines with your sort, but perhaps that is another tale for another time. I do believe that is more of the royal sisters’ strong-suit, you’re bound to come across it anyhow.” The beast paused, long enough for the boy to think of a return.

“Alright.” David started. “If I were to make just one assumption about this whole ordeal, I think I’m already understanding what it is that you’re trying to make me do here.”

“Do tell.” Discord waited.

“All this talking, all this searching and rambling. You’re just trying to make me think, Aren’t you?” David supposed. “It’s like how you said to me before, you want me to listen, you want me to think. If I were to take the time to sit down and think about what it is I’m supposed to do, then maybe I would finally understand what is being asked of me. Come to think of it, that’s the problem a lot of people face today. Not just back on my home planet, Earth, but even here on Equis, too.”

“Funny you should mention this ball floating about in space, brimming with colorful little equines.” Discord obliged. “Tell me, do you find any similarities with this planet as you would with your own?”

“Well, I suppose I do, and in fact I’ve answered this question before.” David nodded, taking a few more nibbles to his chicken before continuing. “There’s roads, there’s houses, there’s doors and rooms, places to sleep and places to eat, but of course these are only the rudimentary similarities, the things that which as I understand it many intelligent species will deem necessary for their way of living. Shelter, food, water. I believe the only difference between ponies and humans is that we had to gather these resources and build these things in different ways, and that was because we have different bodies that allow us to do different things. It all came down to nature, really. One thing went the other way and, poof, here we are! Ponies could have been humans or humans could have been ponies, or ponies could have been something completely different and humans could have been something completely different. The fact of the matter is, we evolved and mutated and utilized our bodies to do whatever it is that we wanted to do.”

“And such is the way of nature.” Discord nodded. “It was just as your dear Princess of the Night had uttered before, and thus I shall utter it to you again. You are closer to the likeness of ponykind than you have ever been in your entire life thus far. If it were a pony cast upon the planet Earth, perhaps they would find such a similar path as yours. Or, would they find a different route? Perhaps such a story has already been written, but one can only wonder upon the possibilities this seemingly infinite universe holds. I had gazed upon it before, and I understood that truly one can only wonder, one is only aloud to wonder, lest they return themselves to the very forces that birthed them into this existence. It all comes back to what we had uttered before, it all circles back to the infinite and evergrowing notions of remembrance, sacrifice, and the future.”

“The future.” The boy muttered.

“Yes.” Discord obliged. “You know, the thing we’ll eventually get to.”

“Well, you keep talking about the future, but you’ve never really talked about it.”

“It’s only a generalization of sorts.” The serpent said. “It is the future of Equestria, the grand scheme of this nation and the path that it is truly and inevitably headed towards. You see, just as we had agreed only moments ago, ponies aren’t so different from humans and vice versa, in the sense that they both strive to gather resources and produce wonders aiming to make their lives more comfortable. Food, shelter, water, these are only the rudimentary things, yes. However, if you are to simply look upon the lives that these ponies are living, you will find much more than just your basic necessities. Why, if these ponies were already living the perfect lives that nearly every civilization across the stars aims for, they would not be living inside of buildings. They would not have their books, their newspapers, their couches nor even their welcome mats. Food, shelter and water. Something to eat, a place to sleep, and something to drink. That is all. Your one and only basic list for being alive. And yet here we are, far past that point, generations past that point might I say. It is evident enough that with the changing of the generations, ponies have been driven further and further away from the very nature they had been born from. Just why do you think these little creatures are so soft and cuddly? All it takes, my dear boy, is a look in the mirror. Tell me now—and don’t answer this question. Do you really think that what you as a human look like today resembles anything remotely close to what a human might have looked like a hundred years ago? How about a thousand? How about ten thousand? A million? Had humans even existed that many years ago? Had Earth, or the solar system? Does your religion dictate otherwise, or any sort of religion for that matter? Then again, is that just what you were told? Is it what you believe? Or what you were told to believe? I would love to delve into such touchy and heated debates as much as the next ignoramus, but let’s not forget the fact that all of these things come from nature as well. Thoughts, feelings, concepts and ideas, they all stem from the same origin point, and we all stem back to that same origin point as well. Only in our finest hours, our finest minutes and our finest seconds do we realize these things. And then, just like that, we are thrown right back into the blender. We cannot help these things, for it is that one word once again, that one rule. It is natural.”

As Discord took yet another pause, stuffing his face with food once more, David worked his mind and began to compile his thoughts. Suddenly, he clutched his chest and brushed his hand over his scar. It was still there.

“Nope, this isn’t a dream.” Discord chuckled. “Try again.”

The very action of checking for his scar had not been habitual in the sense of engaging in dreams with Princess Luna, but rather he had once again gained the notion to determine whether or not all of these experiences, walking amongst the ponies and living in Equestria, was only but a dream. Having thought he had reached well past that point by now, the boy still seemed to have his doubts. However, he realized that this time it was not for checking his fantasy. Rather, it was for checking his reality.

“This future that you speak of.” David began. “It’s sort of like how people back on Earth would describe our future. We’re getting further and further away from the things that made us human, which was by being more connected with nature. It’s gotten bad enough to the point where people need to take vacations or go on a walk just to feel refreshed, just to feel like they’re living again. And then, it’s back on the grind. Of course, that usually only happens within a society.”

“And a society is based on growth at the expense of the soul.” Discord explained. “The more society may grow, the less you humans will feel like humans. The same can be said for these poor little ponies which are bound to meet this fate in, oh, let’s say just a few more decades here. Perhaps we should say they already have met such a fate, because once it begins, there’s no going back. And believe me, he is winding up. As we sit here now, scientists and engineers are devising ways to make life easier for their fellow ponies. They look for clues, they look for shortcuts, and help produce equipment and devices that will get around feats and misfortunes that too many ponies are just too tired to overcome nowadays. And they’re not showing any signs of stopping anytime soon because there is a certain, almost annoying knack to technology, and that is the fact that technology advances exponentially. The more reliable devices that are produced, the easier it is to produce technology that will back up those devices, and so on and so forth. The blasted thing builds itself! Before you realize it technology will start working for itself, building for itself, thinking for itself.There is nothing more terrifying to a people than something that will one day realize it no longer needs the people that had created it. Sound familiar? I’ll give you a little hint. It’s called playing God.”

“Playing God?” The boy reiterated.

“A little play on Damocles, as I like to call it. Only this time, the sword hangs from the ever growing ‘good intentions’ of ‘good people’ who just don’t know any better, and the sword is their own creation, intended for one application, finding sentience and purpose of its own in the next. Just think about it, what did humans have to destroy in order to claim dominion over the Earth? What did ponies have to destroy? Or, was it yet again the undeniable and unavoidable ways of nature? How many civilizations and generations have been embedded beneath the layers of the Earth, sewed back into the very soils that they had come from, possibly even tunneled and narrowed into subterranean bowels of incomprehensibilities and horrors yet to be unearthed by the unfortunately curious? I ask you, boy, just how curious are you? Just how deep do you think the rabbit hole goes?”

Suddenly, the serpent paused. The boy sat idle and wondered if that was yet another queue to speak, but held his tongue. Discord shot back with a hard stare, as though expecting a response. The sparing lasted for an unprecedented amount of time, until the beast finally craned his neck and rolled his eyes.

“Really, boy, do you require my permission to speak? All of this talk, this rambling and this nonsense, and you haven’t a thing now to say?”

“What more is there to say?” He flailed his hands, slapping against the table. “What the hell do you want me to say?”

“Say whatever you your heart so desires. Whatever comes to the forefront of your mind, just say it.” Discord went on. “Do you think I came here with a plan? Do you think I rehearsed each and every verse before coming here? It may surprise you to know that this is an extremely rare and special opportunity I have seized this night, a once in a lifetime experience, and believe me when I say I’ve lived plenty of lifetimes already. A human from the planet Earth and a mythical monstrosity of uncertain origin dine in the middle of a bar talking about all there is to talk about. What better way is there to spend one’s evening?”

“I might agree that the evening was well spent, at the very least it was decent.” David interjected. “If only I would retain any of its memory. You’ve already told me more than once that I’m not going to remember a thing that’s happened between us tonight, so how can I agree with anything you’ve said thus far? How can any of this matter or harbor any purpose whatsoever?”

“That answer lies within the lines, between the fine print that is the very notion of existence, the building blocks of life as we know it.” Discord took a pause and grinned. “As a matter of fact, I’ve just assembled a little riddle for you to solve. Well, actually it was taken from some bloke who wrote it back on your planet, but I myself was birthed into this universe long before the ancestors of the supposed author even set foot on Earth’s soil, so that should give me all the credit by default.”

“I should have known you were going to make me think harder than what’s good for my brain.” The boy groaned.

“Now now, I know how much you love riddles, and you already know the answer to this one as well. All you have to do is remember.”

David quietly sat back into the booth, hands folded and ears attentive, as he waited for the draconequus to utter his silly, little riddle. The riddle in which would supposedly answer the boy’s question, a question that just about every sentient being and perhaps non-sentient being anywhere in the universe might have asked at some point in their life. What is the purpose of it all?

“It’s a seven letter word.” Discord began. “What is greater than God, more evil than the Devil, the poor have it, the rich need it, and if you eat it you will die?”

A deep, deafening silence had soon blanketed itself over the entirety of the bar. The draconequus lingered for a moment more, studying the young human’s face as his hand went to his chin and his eyes tightened into long and lingering thought. With his mind fixated over the riddle and the riddle alone, the serpent returned the restaurant to its original status. Everything had been said and done, and with a final grin of content the beast ushered himself past the front doors and into the darkened, starry night. At last the boy sat at the bar, the last of his thoughts lingering over the riddle uttered unto him after his dinner with Discord.

Chapter 67 - A Doctor's Oath

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Chapter 68 - Glass

All it took was a single book. A single, fine, excerpt of text. A single line, perhaps even a single word, to be entranced into a world that was not this one. A fantasy from this reality. After all, the fantasy was only a dream, and the figure slept beneath the dream.

The figure stirred from beneath her papers and scrolls, the slumber soon leaving her eyes as she rose and watched as the words fell from her vision. She would have to recollect, she would have to rewrite. She would have to remember. She must remember.

「Friendship is Magic」

It was Twilight’s fan-fiction.

She had once again spent hours upon hours of her day catching up on her Princess duties just so she might have time to tend to her hobbies and her interests, a passion that had long laid dormant, and thus she wished to continue. It was at the cost of sleep she would tend to these wishes, for slumber and rest were no longer as important as the things she wanted to write. The story she wished to tell…would others even read? She wondered.

Twilight quietly scanned her quarters and looked to the clock at the other end of the room. Midnight had begun. She supposed that she might do herself one last bidding, if only to avoid the hassle in the morning, and summon her books in her kinesis to return them to the library. After all, she’d never turn down a visit to the archives, no matter the hour of the night. The Alicorn reorganized her papers and notes before folding her tomes into her magical field. She trotted past her doors and sauntered slowly through the shaded, crystal halls.

Black-blue luminescence danced across the castle corridors with speckles of brilliant white, as though a tunnel through space paved the way to a mysterious yet ethereal dream. The resemblance of twilight illuminated against the far doors in a dim, orange-purple light, the candle from the library double doors still flickering on and on into the night. Twilight trotted, halted, and turned to peek around the corner.

There the figure sat, still crouched over his notes, working endlessly into the ever-aging night. Twilight had learned very well by now that it could not be helped. The boy had a drive, and this desire would not be quenched until the answers finally arrived. The pony stood there for a while longer, sinking her eyes into the human’s back as he scribbled down whatever might be useful to his knowledge. She supposed playing the sneaking game wouldn’t get her anywhere anytime soon, and thus her hooves began carrying her forward. Suddenly, the boy fidgeted and glanced over his shoulder, quickly tucking his book beneath his arms.

“Twilight?” He muttered over. “You’re still up?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” She giggled quietly.

“I uh…” David gazed back over his books. “Got a little carried away, I suppose?”

“I know the feeling all to well.” She provided, trotting up to his side and resting her books onto the table. Her eyes traveled down to his book, the one she had gifted to him, sitting in his lap. Twilight remembered just then.

“Have you been drawing lately?” She decided to ask.

The boy blinked with surprise, tucking his book further down.

“N-no.” He blurted. “I-I mean, yes. I mean-!” He sighed and slouched with defeat. “Okay, I’m sorry. I wasn’t actually doing any research. Tell ya’ the truth, I got a little bored.”

“Why would you need to apologize for that?” She wondered.

“Just figured that studying is what I ought to be doing right about now.”

The purple pony slowly shook her head. “You don’t need to hold yourself to such obligations, we all have our impulses every once in a while. Sometimes it’s better to stop and take a break.”

“But I’m stuck.” He sighed with frustration. “It feels like I’m wandering through a desert, nothing but sand and the hot, dry wind for hours and miles on end. Whether I sit still or keep moving, I’m not getting anywhere anytime soon. So, I do the only thing I’ve ever really known how to do.” His hands sprawling apart, the book in his lap laid open, its most recent addition in the equine’s sight. By this point the pony had made herself comfortable, seating herself next to the human as the two peered down at his drawing.

"I’m not sure how I got here, where I am now or where this journey will lead me. But if there’s one thing I’m certain about, it’s that I’ve been having these weird thoughts lately. I wonder if any of this is for real, but I also wonder what it’s supposed to mean. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself through the ponies and people around me, they’ve given me the motivation not just to look forward, but to look deep within myself. To reflect upon myself. It’s almost like…I’m looking into a mirror.”

Twilight studied the boy’s drawing carefully. “Is that writing from your world?”

He nodded.

“What does it say?” She asked him.

“Mirror.” David answered quietly. Then, he chuckled to himself and shook his head. “I know, it’s pretty dumb.”

“Not at all.” She smiled. “It looks amazing.”

“Thanks.” He mumbled back.

“So, Mirror.” Twilight quoted. “Is it supposed to mean something?”

“Huh? Oh, I dunno.” The boy shrugged. “I just came up with it, nothing special.”

“Now I know that’s not true.”

“What is?”

“Everything you create is special and you should believe that it’s special, too.” Twilight encouraged.

David stifled a snort, turning his head away.

“What? What did I say?”

“Why so cheesy all of sudden?” The boy laughed. “You sound like me when I was a kid, trying to imitate some characters I saw on T.V.”

“I’m not allowed to say whatever I please? I am the Princess, y’know.” She teased.

“Whatever you say, your Highness, but don’t come crying to me when they start calling you the Princess of Cheesiness.”

Twilight struggled to laugh, giving a hardened, cold shudder instead.

“You okay?” David cautioned.

“Just a little chill.” She covered.

The boy gave another shrug before laying his book down on the table, turning to stretch and eliciting a long, tired exhale of breath. He made ready to rise and turn for the doors, the hallways ahead and his room in mind, where he may finally rest at the end of a long and arduous night. Though the smallest flicker of a calling to memory twinkled in the back of his thoughts, he just couldn’t place what it was he was trying to remember. Such struggle at remembering anything really had always made him tired, and thus he sought after his bed. But, the boy stopped and twisted around where he sat, gazing upon the mare once more.

“Twilight?” He asked her.

“Hm?” She looked back up.

“Are you really okay?”

It was a blatant attempt at trying to get her to open up, but for what purpose? The mare wondered. The way Twilight saw it, the only way David could have ever asked such a question was for he himself to open up, lay his thoughts down and be open to the point of view of others. Twilight listened to her thoughts carefully, and her thoughts told her that it was an opportunity, one she would sorely miss should she let it slip by.

“When you ask it like that-” She thought out her words. “It’s difficult for me to answer.”

“Then maybe it’s a good thing that I asked.” He furthered.

The pony looked back up and locked eyes with him, the reassurance of a lending ear to listen to her words still sure and evident as ever in those calmed sights of his. Time seemed to lurch to a stand still in that moment, the human’s gaze as focused and humbled as ever upon the pony sitting quietly before him. The Alicorn had turned her sights to contemplate an answer, and David realized only then that this was the longest sum of time he’d ever spent looking upon Twilight, upon anypony for that matter. She truly was a beautiful mare, had his vocabulary been sparse she would have been beautiful beyond words. It was the rich lavender and violet of her eyes, the plush purple of her fur, and the way her mane fell over the side of her face. The boy felt his heart skip a beat. Suddenly, he caught himself, wondering if he had ever been caught in such episodes prior without even knowing it.

“Spike was right.” She suddenly spoke. “He talked to me about the days he and I spent in Ponyville with all of our friends, before all of this happened, before I became an Alicorn. All sorts of shenanigans would go on around town, and it would always be up to us to set things right. But…we were happy. We didn’t know where our journeys would take us, or what was going to happen next, but we knew that we would face them together. Just like we always have…”

“Hm.” The boy nodded thoughtfully. “So is that what this story is all about?”

“Huh?” The pony looked over, her eyes turning out. “Wha-? Where did you get those?!”

“I’m sorry, I thought it’d be a fair trade!” He alarmed, raising his arms. “They were just lying there, I thought you wanted me to read.”

The papers Twilight had gathered and brought to the library were, as it turned out, her fan-fiction numbers and not the archive manuscripts. Her stupor of slumber must’ve made her mismatch everything that was lying on her desk, and now eyes that weren’t her own had laid sight upon them!

“How far did you get?” She hastened.

“Uh-”

“You know what? Just forget everything you’ve read.” She cackled nervously, throwing the pages together. “As far as you’re concerned, this doesn’t even exist.”

“Twilight, it’s okay-” He reached out.

“What’s okay? You must be making things up.” She laughed again. “What were we talking about just now? Beats me.”

“Twilight, I liked it.” He quickly admitted.

“Y-you…” The mare paused, blinking with realization.

“I only got to read the first part of it, but you snatched it away before I could get any further.” He subsided his frown, and looked on with a hint of interest and wonder. “The introduction was simple and clean, nothing over the top. I can tell when someone is desperately trying to get your attention, but this…I sorta’ got sucked right in. Y’know?” And he smiled.

“O-Oh.” She turned away, blushing hard and tapping her hooves together. “Well, I-I’m glad you liked it.”

“You thought I wouldn’t?” He teased. “I suppose that makes me your first reader then.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” She sufficed, bringing her notes together in her hooves, looking down upon her writing as though she expected for it to speak to her any moment now. Once she looked up to the boy, eye’s blinking and hesitant, but with a little push she put the words forward. “Would you…like to read some more?”

For what hours that were left that the night had to offer to them, or rather the time they could spend staying awake, the collaboration of worlds, timelines and ideas was uttered amongst and laughed along by the two tellers. They were both sayers of their own tales, and the fact that such two beings had met each other, that two aliens separated hundreds of light years apart, had somehow found recognition with one another in their desire to write, draw, and create.

It was in that simple moment in time, beneath the canopy of a stain-glassed castle, two souls interlinked.

The world all around vanished and shrouded apart into a thick, black and endless nothing. Within the nothing, there was something, and that something was falling. As the vantablack opened its gaping maw and swallowed him whole, nothing felt out of place, nothing felt dreadfully amiss nor was there anything to fear for. It felt to him as though all of this occurrence suddenly harbored a purpose of some sort. The tug which ran from the nape of his neck and down his spine posed an alluring pull, as though gravity were taking him somewhere, as though the will of the nature of things all around him had something special in mind this night.

Ethereal blue twinkles and sparks swirling high twirled all about the boy in his descent to the plane of blue below, getting closer and wider with every descending second that passed. In the midst of his descent the boy had opened his eyes, looking about the familiar expanse of stars stretched wide across the never ending cosmos. Suddenly, his mind began to spin relentlessly all around him, revolving at unimaginable speeds. Sharp glimpses of crystal white surrounded his figure as an unseen wind rushed amok, shards of glass spinning all around. Soon then, the flurry of wind came to a slowing halt and the tiny glass shards began collecting together before his eyes, bringing forth images he could easily recall, but couldn’t quite place.

There were images of himself and the ponies. The boy was happy, and the ponies were happy. Together, humans and ponies lived in harmony. He remembered then where such memories had come from. They weren’t memories at all, but only ideas. Mere dreams. It was, as he understood it, the one and only world he had wished for.

The reflections had at last revealed themselves unto the boy, and yet here he was, staring right back at the creator of it all. Himself.

“I was just like you, once.” Arrived her voice.

The boy needn’t turn to see whom it was. Princess Luna’s image reflected in the barrier of glass before him, and he pressed a hand upon the surface in deep contemplation. Luna continued.

“I remember my days spent in the gardens and archives of the great castle, along with my sister. So ambitious, she was, to get ahead and become the greatest ruler Equestria would ever behold. As for myself, I was a dreamer. The world I knew in my youth did not suit me so. As such, I sought only to retreat to the realm I called my solace. My very own place of escapism, not even my sister knew about it.” The nightly Alicorn adorned a sorrowful glance. “Little had I known that such manner of escapism might not offer a way back out.”

David watched on, yearning, reaching, almost begging for the images within the glass to become real. They were his own mind, his own machinations, manifested into a world seen fit by his own imagination. It was heavenly, it was perfect, it was…simply not how things were meant to be. And he knew it.

“For this is the manner of the Glass.” Luna elaborated. “It is no phenomenon exclusive to the realm of dreams. Neigh, it is only a metaphor, an ironic take on the one that you call yourself.”

Letting her words strike him as hard as they might, the boy clenched his fist over the glass and slowly let it fall. He knew not to check over his chest for that mark, the scar that had been dealt upon him. Instead, he turned slightly, eyeing the pony over his shoulder.

“Luna.” He began. “This is a dream, right?”

“A state that which our minds retreat to after falling into slumber?” Luna looked about the expanse of stars. “Yes, I believe so.”

“I wasn’t exactly talking about this place.”

“Who is to say this is a place?” She tilted her head. “That which you perceive as a place in your mind can only then exist here, and not in the physical, living realm.”

“Do you mean to say that we’re not alive, as we are right now?” He questioned.

“We are mere ideas, neither living nor dead, harnessing the forms of how we conceptualize ourselves in our minds.”

The boy recalled his own figure, and only then did he reach to check for his scar. Of course, the mark was not there, lying over his heart where it ought to be. His brows curled with indifference, squinting with wonder as he glanced back to the glass barrier behind him.

“This isn’t a dream.” He realized. “This is a dream, within a dream.”

“How do you know that it is a dream?” Luna asked him.

“Well, it’s things that seem impossible.” He answered. “Things that could never happen in the real world.”

“Because you have told yourself that.” Luna countered. “You have created the idea that these sort of things could never happen, never exist. That is why it feels like a dream to you?”

The boy nodded.

“Then it is not a dream.” She said.

David squinted with confusion.

“For the things that you know could never happen, and yet you dream of them. The desire to forfeit your reality for a dream. No, that is not the dream. It is only a want, an escape from which is meant to be, an escape from reality. We must embrace reality just as much as we embrace our dreams, only then can we embrace our true dreams.” She turned to him, gazing with a stoic pose. “Tell me, young oneiro, do you know what it means to embrace your dreams?”

“To pursue your goals, whether they be needs or wants in your life?” He guessed.

“Many may take it this way.” She replied. “A simple way to say that they are to strive for what they believe will benefit them.”

“Then how does one embrace their dreams?” David wondered on.

“To embrace your dreams is not to reach for the version of yourself that which you see in your dreams, it is to embrace what and who you are now. To embrace your reality. Your actions, your words, your morals, your beliefs. You embrace…you.”

The question stood at the forefront of his mind, displaying itself right before him as he turned and stared back into the Glass. There he was, the one who had been following him ever since he had arrived in Equestria, ever since he was born for that matter. Although the boy would never fully understand it in his own lifetime, the figure standing in the barrier was David’s one and only true enemy.

He decided that it would be different this time. He would not fight, he would not shout, scream nor strike. In that one moment he accepted the figure in the barrier. His own reflection squinted back at him, harshly, as though vowing that he would one day return. The reflection turned around and walked off into the void, disappearing into the sightless, soundless nothing.

“You are ready.” Princess Luna said to him.

The boy blinked with wonder and turned back around.

“Ready?” He cocked his head. “For what?”

“When you awake…” You will know…

Her words echoed across the endless expanse of stars, bouncing their way back into his ears, and with a sharp yet serene snap, the boy blinked back awake.

He rose and started to scan his surroundings, the walls of the library and the smell of books filling his sights and his senses. A glance across the pillows and blankets sprawled across the floor gave recall that he and Twilight had seemingly crashed somewhere deep into the night, the young purple Princess herself lying a mere step away. There the little librarian laid, breathing as calmly as ever, slumbering peacefully into her dreams. The boy crept a calm complexion, and with a tired gaze his sights fell to the papers lying before him. And there it was.

“The spell…” He muttered, quietly and automatically.

The procedures were written in perfect order, the spells defined and the arcane explained. After all this time and all of this wait, finally, the answers had at last been given to him. One last sight was spared over the Princess, and with deep consideration the boy took another blanket and draped it over her figure, calmly as ever. He cautioned not to pick her up and carry her back to her bed, lest he disturb her slumber. The boy knew she needed it. With a content nod, he dimmed the candle light, and the lone pony was left to dream in the midst of the black and blue, calm and quiet, darkened library.

A spell was like a prayer, and a prayer like a spell. For what was uttered might become so. One could only hope on faith alone, and one could be almost certain, should the procedures and materials be sewn.

As though a priest were setting a cloth over an altar, David led his sheets across his bed and fixed the covers in preparation for his spell. Trinkets of silver and vases of lavender were near mandatory in the upbringing of the spell, as such vibrations and senses would both soothe the electrical neurons of brain activity and help the caster become more focused on their task. It was a journey deep into the mind, and that journey was achieved by three spells put together.

“Permeation, interpretation, projection.” David repeated to himself.

He laid the sheets of his resting place flat. He set silver and lavender to the end tables on either side of his bed, and finally he sat down and began to regulate his breathing. For all he had was his objective in mind, and he repeated it to himself within his head until he couldn’t get it out, until it stuck. To find the reasons as to why he was here, and what he was meant to do. To find the truth once and for all.

He opened his eyes, and immediately he recognized the realm that surrounded them. There Princess Luna stood, watching and waiting.

“I have been expecting your arrival.” The Princess of the Night nodded. “The journey ahead is long and arduous, as even those with the most focused and stable of minds have fallen out of balance. I ask you, young oneiro, have you prepared yourself for this moment?”

David delivered a firm nod.

Chapter 69 - The Frozen Castle of Forgotten Memories

Countless stars twinkled brightly within the dome black-blue expanse of the observatory, one star in particular an illusive and icy blue, and thus was the destination the two oneironauts had set out for. Harsh and howling wintery winds sliced past the two as they soared through a seemingly endless expanse of a blizzard set in the cosmos. Upon Princess Luna’s back, the boy rode upon her with a focused yet flustered gaze, astounded that the unrelenting winds sent no manner of chill through his being. He knew this was a dream and that the forces of this realm may have little to no effect on his body tucked safely away back in his bed, but it only begged the question as to why exactly the Princess had insisted that he ride upon her back, wherever it was that she was leading them.

The very next moment, a sharp and wispy howl pierced the boy’s ears. As he lifted his gaze with fright and wonder, past the veil of the snowy, endless hell lied several countless eyes. They gleamed and watched as though a predator would its prey, eliciting memories of the dreadful timber wolves from within the boy. He clutched the Princess closer, her mane covering his face as he struggled to stretch his words through the howls and the harrowing cold.

“What are those things?” David asked frightfully.

“Windigoes.” Luna answered. “They cannot harm our bodies of the waking world, but be wary, as they may threaten to waver us from our dream.”

“They’re in the dream world, too?”

“Windigoes are an ancient magic, they dominate many realms.”

“Then where are you taking us?”

“Fear not, our destination does not lie within their interest.”

Luna surged her way through the storm as David buried his face further into her mane, the wisps and the howling all about growing sharper and louder. With a sudden, final gust, all of it drifted away at once. The Princess spread her wings and caught upon a cold gust to slow her descent, hooves landing before snowy plains and icy shards lying about like jagged rocks of a quarry. David slowly lifted his face from the blue veil of her mane, eyes wide and jaw dropped in wonder to the intrigue of blue-white lights dancing upon mountains of ice and snow.

There in the far distance snugged between an opening in the blackened base of a mountain appeared to be a structure of some sort. It was a castle, with walls, windows, towers and trusses in intricate figures and architectural feats that which the boy, or perhaps many other mortal eyes, had never the likes of witnessing before. The boy slowly felt himself lower towards the ground, and he looked down to notice that Luna had rested to her belly, hooves beneath her body. David wobbled and lumbered off of her form, amazingly finding the snow beneath his feet wasn’t even a touch cold. Quietly, Luna looked upon the boy with patience, and thus he stood at attention. Her gaze spanned across the thin, icy bridge leading to the great structure ahead.

“This,” Princess Luna began, “is the Frozen Castle of Forgotten Memories. Deep within you shall unveil secrets encased beneath the ice, and recollect the memories which you have unknowingly lost. Imperative they may be, you shalln’t have doubt that it is here that you will find the answers you seek. Do you still wish to proceed?”

“I do.” He answered.

“Good.” Luna nodded accordingly. “I wish you fortunate findings and good judgment on your journey within. Remain stout, young oneiro, for the true trial has only just begun.”

David turned and looked to the castle once again, his eyes wavering across the thin and snowy bridge. Within only a few paces ahead, he stopped and turned back to the Princess.

“Uh, Luna?” He called.

Her gaze told him she was waiting.

He blinked, and smiled. “Thank you.” He said. “For everything.”

A small grin crossed the Alicorn’s lips, and eventually a smile. “Do not thank me just yet.” She replied. “You and I have business to attend to yet, in the future.”

The boy gave the pony an odd yet sure nod, and turned back on his track to the castle. Not before, however, the Princess called out with a final heeding.

“And David.” She said to him. “For whatever you shall do within, do not stare longingly into any mirror.”

With her final words, a gust of powdery, white snow washed over her figure. The winds howled over once more, and the blizzard picked up. As soon as the storm had ceased, Luna was gone.

Upon the monstrously sized doors which led into the great castle lied a crest, colored icy blue and in the shape of a heart. The boy took careful notice to the crest upon the door before recalling its resemblance, the gray heart locket which he had arrived with. Focusing on the forces of the dream, he summoned the locket to his chest and raised the object to the door. A sharp, thundering crackle ran up the length of the doors, the shards of ice and clumps of snow falling in front of him as the doors slowly parted, and the boy was led inside.

Isles shivered, distant windows whispered, the thousands of icicles hanging from above served as a makeshift, certain death chandelier, and the lone occupant of this strange, forgotten palace was more than certain he’d freeze to death by this point, had this not been a dream. He knew well enough now that this was a dream, and was astounded at how far he had gotten into such expanses without a hint of wakefulness interrupting his journey within. There was something about this realm, the oddness and serenity of the icy world combined that made him feel ever closer to the neuron links zipping through his head, in that he had felt closer to his own mind than he ever had before. In short, the boy supposed that this castle was indeed a part of his mind, hidden away to the deep recesses where he thought he might never tread, and yet he was here.

Though his breath did not show, it was apparent that the air around him was cold enough to spawn spores and sparkles of pure ice, floating about the glassy halls as they landed to the reflective surfaces which surrounded the human from every angle. Reflections? The boy wondered. He peered across and around the castle’s interior, noticing his own figure staring back at him from both near and far. Don’t look into any mirrors. He reminded himself, grunting irritably. How am I supposed to do that with a castle full of them?

Crossing the next corner, he looked on and noticed something frozen beneath the blankets of snow and ice. There in the far corner, at the midst of a stonebrick fire place, lied a series of recliners, sofas, and a coffee table with trinkets laid atop. The chairs and sofas were comprised of a finely woven red velvet hue, and the table a luxurious mahogany, the midst of blankets and pillows instilled and frozen in time beneath the sheets of ice. He dared a few steps closer and observed the contents of the table, noticing pieces of paper tucked beneath the coffee mugs and platters of cookies. Crayons and pencils lied in their midst as well, the depictions of a child’s drawings closed in between the paper’s borders. David raised his sights and noticed yet another reflective surface in the pit of the fire place. Quickly he glanced away, but the voices that lied deep within were telling him to look, almost as though the winds from outside slithered into the castle and crept up to his ears. The curiosity grew strong, his urges unrelenting, and the boy looked into the fireplace.

Roaring flames shrunk away into the small, cozy nook of the fireplace, the stonebrick turned to red and laced with warmth as a young boy mere feet away sat criss-crossed at the coffee table. He was swaddled up in a thick, fluffy blanket, a brimming mug of hot chocolate within arm’s reach as the pencil in his little hand scribbled away at the paper lying under his sights. The boy couldn’t have been any older than nine. The vision and reflections shrunk away even further, revealing even more people, accompanying the boy with warmth and laughter shared all around. A pane of glass filled his vision, flakes of snow descending from outside as the boy blinked again and again, the images in the mirror coming to an icy close.

David stood and stumbled backwards, attempting to assess the visions presented to him, wondering if it was a trick of the mind or a trick of this world. He recalled that this world was in fact his own dream, and the images he had just witnessed were in fact his own, memories of his past. Memories from Earth. With another sharp sting, shivers like a chilly hell ran down his spine and nipped at his arms, legs, feet and hands. His entire being was encased in the terrible sensation, and he breathed to recompose himself. Then, his breath could be seen, a fog floating among the sparkling white and blue orbs. Dare he pry deeper into his own memories, the ones he cannot even remember, the sting might grow stronger and colder, the pain of remembrance inflicted upon his own mind. He felt cold, he felt unsure, and most certainly utterly alone.

Don’t look into any mirrors. He repeated over and over in his head. All I have to do is reach the end. All I have to do is…find the truth. He rubbed his arms and lumbered on, soldiering through the unforgiving and stagnant sting of the cold.

And then, there was a tree. A simple, tall, branched out deciduous tree, the leaves rich and green as ever, but at a complete stand still as it stood encased in ice, from base to canopy. David observed the almost impossible growth with an estranged glare, peering further down the line as more and more of the trees came up in an almost perfect row. The the left showed what appeared to be a paved road, the black tar and the yellow dividing lines dashed up and down the lane. To the right were the cement slabs of a sidewalk, one tiled after the other, noticeable cracks and inclines sprouting about here and there. The fronts of houses accompanied the sidewalk, their forms embedded into the towering, icy halls of the frozen castle corridors. Suddenly, his foot felt colder than ever before, a puddle lying beneath where he had just stepped. Another reflection, one he could not turn away from now, and thus the images played on.

Bicycles roamed by, a mail van rolled down the right lane and a collection of children stopped to greet and wave their dollar bills at the man selling ice cream. Even the laughter of children, the spraying of sprinklers and sing song of birds filled his shivering ears, in spite of the fact that the setting all about him was as warm as an August afternoon as ever.

Quickly then, the boy crushed his palms into his eyes and seethed with several feats of frustration. It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream. The words repeated on and on. Worse yet, the cold would not cease, and only grew all the more worse. He was in a low crouching position now, hands rubbing up and down his biceps furiously, breath stuttering and teeth clattering. The fatal blow of loneliness struck his heart solid and cold, a desire to be with his own kind once again blazing from within like a wild, roaring lion. It’s only a dream. He allowed the words to stick as though they might stay, but nearly all doubts subsided as he opened his eyes and raised his sights to the world before him. It was his world, his home planet, Earth.

“You don’t have to be alone anymore, David.” The words shocked him to his very core. “You can come with us now.”

The boy looked on at the humanly figures standing before him. His family, his friends, his teachers and his elders, and even his beloved pets. They all stood and watched, warm inviting smiles across their faces as they awaited him patiently. The boy blinked back with disbelief.

“What-?” He dare spoke back. “What are you all doing here?”

“What do you mean?” They returned. “This is our home, and it’s your home, too.”

“N-No. No, it’s not-”

“You’ve fought so hard for this, but you don’t need to struggle any longer.” They opened their arms. “Come home with us, and you can finally rest.”

Come back home, with his family, and his friends? Yes, this is what he’s been looking for all along, hasn’t he? A way out of Equestria, out of this trial of hallucinations, away from the ponies and away from these tribulations that plagued his mind day and night. This was it then, wasn’t it? Surely this is what he had come to the Frozen Castle of Forgotten Memories for, not to find the answers, but to once again be reunited with all that he had left behind. And there the threshold to eager freedom stood, with open arms and smiling faces, a mere stroll from the layer of glass which separated them. It was then that he remembered something.

The mind is an incredible tool, it is both resourceful and dangerous. Do not confuse the waking world and the dream realm, as distinguishing between the two can become near impossible at times, so much so that certain oneiros have never found their way out of this realm.

His dream world teacher’s words echoed on in his head, its warning settling deeply as ever. Should he dare give a single nod of acceptance to the figures before him, then the images, the voices, and the senses all around may never cease. They would become his prison, and the warden the trickery of his own mind. There was something in the panel of glass lying in between them, a familiar figure, the same reflection he saw each and every day he took a look at himself in the mirror. Eyes gleaming red, David raised his hand, and beckoned the boy to follow.

“If I’m going to find the truth, then I’m going to face my fears.” With a final burst of effort, he whipped around and faced the harrowing cold head on, lumbering away from the warmth and embracing the shivers and the shadows ahead. “And that is going to start with the one and only person I’ve ever truly feared.”

Although the alluring sounds and images had finally subsided, the far more unbearable cold stung into every nook and crevice of his being, thoughts of a ball and chain slowing his gait to a molasses pace as he struggled to stumble through the narrowing, icy corridor. Finally, the small, thin hall began to span out, a great rotundus chamber hidden away into the deepest and coldest pits of the palace. The boy carried himself onto the large, circular platform in the center of the room, and soon after his knees buckled, he fell to the icy floors with a defeated thud. The poor, quivering human curled inward and began to breath what he believed was his last, shaky breaths of fog brushing across the blue-white twinkling tiles, his face and body sticking to the floor like splintery shards of ice.

As he slowly shut his eyes, darkness failed to overcome his vision, and instead a blinding white flooded his sights as the castle swirled and spun into a blizzard of pure, ethereal light.

Chapter 70 - Conscious Zero

David opened his eyes. The cold was over, the icy castle walls were gone, replaced by the familiar architecture of his room. He laid on his side, eyes strafing past rows of silver-white light from the moon outside.

He had woken up. It was over, then. He had failed.

Incalculable amounts of rage and fury flurried from within, his body springing from his bed in quick response, hands to his hair as he gripped about madly and ferociously. He knew he was close, he knew he was but only a few steps away from discovering the truth of it all, and he had blew possibly his one and only chance. Every bit of desire to scream and shout and curse riled up wildly from deep within, and thus he chose his target so.

Fist raised, fingers clenched and teeth to a tightened grit, he pulled back with all his might, and watched as his entire arm phased through the panel as though it were never there.

A blue, ethereal ring encapsulated at the point in which his arm passed through. Slowly, he drew back, shocked and amazed at the strange glow surrounding every inch of his body. He ventured to describe it as though he were a blue, transparent ghost. Only then was he reminded of the mirror over the back of his door, and he looked to find that he bare no reflection whatsoever. The only reflection the boy could give was his own body, laying asleep in his bed. Yet there he stood, mere feet away from the bed, watching his own chest rise and fall as his slumbering breath went on.

What is this? A side effect of the spell? He wondered, attempting to educate himself. No, there’s a term for this sort of phenomenon. This must be an out of body experience, and that could only mean…

Astral Projection. For this was the true goal of the spell, not to discover the secrets from within, but the very you that existed within you. The true nature of the mind. David only wondered then, just what could he accomplish with these new found powers?

The walls and corridors of the great, crystal castle swam past and around his sights like thin veils of silk and grain, the boy effortlessly floating through in his ghost-like state. Deep down he knew he couldn’t deny it, but he was rather enjoying himself. Stories of lucid dreamers and other out of body achievers began to fill his memories as he recalled how excited some casters would get, so much so that they would jump themselves from their own focus, thus spoiling their chances of achieving an astral means for quite some time. Some astral achievers would go further than their homes, above and beyond, to the great expanses of the stars and seemingly infinite cosmos in a mad, curious search of just what might be out there. David trusted that this was indeed the real world he was wandering about, that this was indeed Equestria, and the castle was all but open for him to freely roam. It was only then that a familiar figure soon came into his view.

As he passed through the walls from one room after the other, there in his sights the unicorn laid upon her bed. Starlight Glimmer, slumbering peacefully into the night. The only signature the boy failed to place was the strange, shiny white bubble rippling and glinting around the mare as though it were a protective shield of some sort. David suspected as such, knowing the unicorn and her preparedness of such things, but was astounded all the more at achieving such spells even in her sleep. The young oneiro descended to the floor and dared a step or two closer, reaching out with a hand to test and see the effects the supposed, protective bubble around the unicorn might have had. Alas, no ripple nor spring of action arrived, but instead a blinding white light filling his vision whole. David guarded and clenched his eyes tight, only to open them again and find that he no longer lied within the pony’s room, but instead a grassy plain of serenity and beauty set before his sights.

The boy scanned the horizons and soon came upon the unicorn in question standing in the far distance. Starlight was humming happily to herself, a spool of wire surrounded by her levitation as a lead went from the spin and traveled skyward to a stark-blue diamond kite soaring high into the sky. He gave the unicorn a quizzical glance before tightening a shrug and training a gait towards the mare.

“Starlight?” He called, an arsenal of questions at the ready. “What the heck is going on? Where are we-?”

“GAH!” The unicorn twirled and sprung backwards, flaring her horn to lethal, hot teal. “What in Equestria are you?! A demon?” She snarled, muzzle tightened. “Who sent you here?”

“Take it easy, Glimmy, this is no time for jokes.” The boy cautioned.

“Neigh, I won’t be tricked!” She dug a hoof into the dirt and readied a charging stance. “Have at you, beast!”

Not a word escaped his lips before the pony shot a sharp, lightning blue bolt to the earth at his feet, jumping out of the way just in time. David wailed desperately for the pony to cease her hunting season on humans, asking if it was something he did or said to anger her so. Alas, the unicorn kept her eyes tight and focused upon her prey, missing one bolt of magic after the other. Lucky as he might have been, the boy found it extremely odd that Starlight of all ponies was missing her shots left and right. It was incredibly unlike her, and thus his questions seemed to gain their answers as the skies and the earth all around them began to crumble away. Crackles reverberated through the earth, the clouds shrunk into the dimming gray and black, and both the pony and the boy feel into the deep, voiding abyss that promised no bottom.

In the midst of their timeless and soundless free fall, the boy was thrown back onto Starlight’s wall, and the unicorn jolted awake. She rose from her bed, sweating and glancing around her chambers with fright and wonder. Quickly, David rose and attempted to gain the unicorn’s attention.

“Starlight! Listen, I can explain this.” He fretted.

“What in the world just happened…?” She mumbled to herself, leveling out her breath.

“It was an accident, I swear.” He pleaded.

“What a crazy, stupid dream.” The unicorn muttered and quietly tucked herself back beneath her covers.

“Dream…?” The boy drawled.

Silence followed, the pony slowly shut her eyes and fell back into a stilled, soothing slumber. With that calm and simple gesture, the boy felt that he finally understood. For this was the true power that which an oneiro possessed. This was the power of a dream walker. Only then did his mind wander to the one and only other pony sleeping peacefully within the castle library.

The ethereal, teal outline of his figure filtered and phased through the walls of the grand athenaeum, his form floating about the black-blue crystalline surfaces like a ghost forgotten to the failed reflections. This ghost in particular had his mind set on one objective and one objective alone, and his sights to the very pony that rested in the center of the dimly lit library. Beneath the benevolent and undisturbed light was the purple pony, the Princess and the Alicorn. Twilight Sparkle. Sure enough, just as his other companion had been in the midst of her slumber, a silvery-white bubble shrouded over the sleeping pony. It was only when the boy came upon the very doorstep of such opportunity, to be but a single step away from unlocking the secrets, did hesitation waver over his hand.

This was undoubtedly an invasion of privacy in some form, was it not? Not only that, but to search into the pits of another’s mind, it not only instilled a dreadful sense of psychiatric manipulations and perhaps even brain-rewiring or something other, but this was indeed an act of dishonesty. Though these were answers waiting to be filled into the blanks of the questions left to linger, he also knew in the pit of his consciousness that this was Twilight. She was his friend…was she not?

For a final time, his hand lingered over her bubble, and he felt as the motion to tap into her dream slowly grew stronger and more tempting…

Chapter 71 - Attorney of Events

A soulless, heartless reverberation echoed throughout the castle corridors and bounced right back to the very person taking each and every step down the hall as slowly and methodically as possible. The weight of all the events the night prior lingered still, his hand pacing against the wall as each tread felt heavier than the last. Laying in bed that very morning, he wondered if bothering to get up this morning bore any purpose into his very existence in this world whatsoever. What was he then, after all of this? A simple, silly spell gone haywire? Something that was not meant to occur, and now had to be dealt with and accounted for its liabilities. In other words, he was not meant to be here after all.

He was an accident.

The library doors parted to his push, slowly and creakingly, the stark white and gold light of the morning bouncing off the crystalline railing and walls. His gaze slugged across the shelves and sauntered to the center of the chamber, where he and the very pony whom he had glimpsed into the mind of, laid in slumber only hours ago. Alas, the blankets and pillows lied barren of anypony whatsoever. Twilight was gone.

David nearly collapsed altogether as he closed the distance to the small table and rested himself to its surface, gazing longingly up towards the stain glass windows lining the rotundus center of the library. Yet another memory played in his head, a reminder of the same church he and his family had gone to every Sunday. He could only wonder how they were fairing.

Suddenly, the library doors burst apart. The boy jolted and raised his sights, a single little pony and a dragon quickly running up to him.

“Mr. David, you have to help us!” Came a desperate wail.

“Sweetie Belle?” The boy rose to his feet. “What’s the matter?”

“I-It’s Scootaloo!” The white little unicorn cried. “She’s…she’s…”

Easy does it, nothing terrible could have possibly happened to the little sport, not now. David surmised within his head. She’s probably just scraped her knee, or lost her scooter, or something.

Spike rose to finish the little mare’s sentence. “Scootaloo, she’s been taken to jail.” The dragon gulped audibly. “They’re going to take her to court!”

The boy was reminded once again that of all the places in Equestria, it always seemed that Ponyville was most notorious for housing the most ludicrous and inexplicable of events. And that most certainly wasn’t because the near entirety of the main cast lived here. Right?

“Well, mister Equerry.” Starlight calmly trotted into view. “I don’t suppose you got any tricks up your sleeve for this one, do ya’?”

“Sure makes me wonder,” he stared back. “What do you suggest a guy like me is supposed to do in a situation like this?”

“If I were Equerry, then maybe I’d know.” The unicorn answered back.

David delivered a stung, slitted gaze before glancing back to the barren spot in the middle of the library. He rubbed his temples and shook the last of his sleepiness away. “Where’s Twilight?” He asked.

“She went to Town Hall as soon as she heard that Scootaloo was in trouble.” Spike provided. “It’s a mess out there, all of Ponyville is up in hooves! And it’s not just Scootaloo, but the weather team will be there, too.”

“The pegasus patrol?” David wondered. “I suppose the local farmers weren’t too happy with their deeds, but what do they got to do with any of this?”

“The ‘do-no-wrong’ witness just so happened to fall beneath the same victimization of all our lucky suspects.” Starlight explained. “The weather pegasi have a lot to make up for in rain fees, and Scootaloo…well, the sport’s got a whole story of her own. We should probably go listen to what she has to say, while there’s still time.”

“So let me get this straight, they’re going to have two trials for the same guy?”

“And that’s where the Judge comes in.” Starlight announced. “Miss Mayor Mare has declared a joint trial.”

David stood back and pondered over the possibilities that lay before him. Only last night had he walked out of a series of daunting revelations, walking the empty halls of the castle in wonder of where exactly he was supposed to go or what to do next. There was a sense deep down within him that had been awakened, a sense to one’s duty. He slowly reached into his pocket and pulled forth the medallion that lied within, the Equerry’s badge.

“Please, Mr. David, you’re the Equerry of Ponyville.” Sweetie Belle pleaded. “You can do anything, can’t you?”

David gave the filly a sharp gaze. “No.” He said. “Not anything.”

The little pony’s ears flattened.

“But,” he rose again. “I’ll be damned if I don’t do something.”

This is it then. He decided. I’m going to put everything to the side and focus on what needs my attention the most. It’s do or don’t!

“Spike?”

“Y-Yeah?” The dragon jumped.

“You still got that sandwich wrapped up?”

The assistant nodded.

“Heat it up for me.” David adorned a tight and confident stride. “I’m going to need it.”

The orange little pegasus sat quiet as ever in the center of her jail cell, uttering not a peep nor eliciting a single whimper. The hurt which she felt was a shock instilled within, one that shook her to her core and made her but a husk of the pony she had only been the day before. The bat pony positioned on the other side of the bars struggled to fix his gaze over the child, even though it was his job to do so. In spite of the fact that neither of them were the same, distant cousins as it might as well have been, Ralph could still sense the discomfort stirring deep within her. He glanced over the little pony once more, a whole new strike of sympathy filling his yellow sights. Ralph opened his mouth to speak, but the door to the barracks burst open.

Ralph raised his spear in alarm to the sudden occupancy, but the boy had his badge out quicker than the guard could speak.

“Talk to the badge.” He splayed. “If I didn’t have this I’d flip you the bird anyhow.”

Sweetie Belle looked over to Spike with an expectant answer, but the young dragon simply shook his head. Those with digits weren’t allowed to say.

“Guys…” Scootaloo scooted closer to the bars, hooves wrapped around. “I can’t believe you all came to see me. You didn’t have to do that…”

“I’m sorry, Scoots, this is all my fault.” Sweetie gripped the bars, tears threatening to trail. “I never should have-”

“Don’t sweat it, Belle.” The pegasus struggled a chuckle. “I kinda had the feeling that I’d end up in jail at some point in my life. But now…I guess I don’t really know what to do.”

“And that’s why we’re here.” David knelt down. “I’m sure there’s some innocence to find here yet, just have faith.”

“Thank you,” she fidgeted. “Mr. David.”

The boy studied her body language, the twitch of her ears and the way her tail swished from one side to the other every so often. Obviously the girl was a tad uncomfortable, as though she knew something.

“You don’t gotta be so formal.” The boy reassured. “Just call me David.”

Scootaloo said nothing thereafter, her eyes locked towards the ground and her snout in a tiny scrunch. The boy caught Ralph in the corner of his eye, partially opening his wings as though to assert a degree of authority, slitted eyes landing on Sweetie Belle and Spike before glancing back to the Equerry.

“I trust her Highness, Princess Sparkle, has assigned you here on official business only?” The bat pony questioned.

“Why would she need to do that?”

“It must be because Scootaloo doesn’t even have an attorney to defend her case.” Starlight joined. “It’s the reason why she went to Town Hall, to speak with her guardians over the matter.”

“Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty said they could get somepony for me, but…that was since last night. They haven’t been back since.” Scootaloo slumped.

All of this was going on while I was asleep. David thought to himself. If only I had stayed at the bar a little longer that night, maybe I would’ve seen something, maybe I could’ve changed something. But, that’s all out of my reach now. I’ll just have to probe the hell out of her, get what information I can.

“It should come to your attention that if the suspect does not acquire a suitable attorney in time for the trial, she will be transported to the capitol where the court will commence there. The city will provide her with an attorney of their own, but…” Surprisingly, Ralph’s eyes showed uncertainty. “There will be no guarantee that the selected defender will be the best fit for Scootaloo, or even the case set against her for that matter.” He blinked back his composure. “In any case, if you plan to draw out a testimony from the suspect, all unauthorized individuals will need to vacate the room.”

David followed Ralph’s gaze over to Sweetie Belle and Spike, their stances wavering between wishing to stay or simply leaving for the sake of their friend. The boy waved with a calm gesture, telling them to listen.

“I need you two to go find Twilight.” He said. “Tell her Starlight and I have spoken to Scootaloo.”

“On it!” Spike puffed his chest and beckoned for the other pony to follow. Sweetie spared one last look at her pegasus friend before trotting along. The door turned shut, and the duo returned to the estranged, little victim behind the bars.

There was a quiet moment longer, almost as though none of them knew what to do or what to say next. David knew what he had come for, but wasn’t entirely sure how to reach towards such a testimony, especially when it came to the fragility of a simple child. However, Scootaloo was a strong young pony, and he wanted to put his faith in those words, and in his thoughts. Memories of an injured apple filly filled the boy’s head, along with his commands he had sent out to the unicorn and the small pegasus before him. In the midst of his thought, Starlight raised a hoof and nudged the boy’s side, beckoning with a flick of her head. David nodded in understanding.

“Scootaloo…?” He began hesitantly.

The pegasus said nothing.

“I want you to know that I don’t see you as a criminal, a bad pony, or anything like that.” He attempted. “Just because you’re behind those bars doesn’t mean you did anything wrong.”

“Then why am I really in here?” Muttered the pegasus.

It was David’s turn to lay quiet.

“You know what the other pegasi always told me? The kids from Cloudsdale who used to live here?” Scootaloo started. “I always talked some big game about my dad, said that he was out on his adventures wrestling cragodiles or something like that. But those kids always told me-” She shuttered. “They said he was a bad pony who did a lot of bad things, and he was in jail because of it.” The little pegasus curled inward, shaking and sniveling. “I’ll bet Rainbow Dash already knows I’m in here, she may as well never speak to me ever again…”

Ralph willed himself to bite back the urge to tell the boy that all appendages must remain outside of the confines of the cell. With that, the boy reached forward with an open palm and held the little pony’s hoof. Scootaloo blinked her tears back and looked up.

“Wouldn’t wanna cry like that in front of Rainbow Dash, now would ya’?” He tried a joking tone. “She still needs somepony to look up to.”

“H-How could I ever…?” Scootaloo quavered.

“I’ve trained with her before.” David chuckled. “She still needs some work.”

It got a snicker out of the little pegasus.

“Listen, kiddo.” Starlight butted in. “Everything’s a little confusing right now, I know, but this is important. We need you to tell us what happened last night.”

David realized then why she had let him take the initiative in talking to Scootaloo, as even she knew her blunt attitude wasn’t quite the best fit for children. It seemed as though the little pony took her words as a direct order, and struggled for a more serious tone.

“I can try.” Scootaloo nodded. “But, I hardly remember what happened at all. Everything was so blurry, and I felt sick too.”

“Sick?” David wondered.

“I guess you guys were going to find out, one way or another.” She took a deep breath, fixing her posture and closing her eyes. “Well, here goes…”

「SCOOTALOO’S CONFESSION ‣」
“I was feeling really down that night, so I went behind the bar to find a drink.”
“Ever since Apple Bloom took her fall, we’ve felt nothing but guilt.”
“Anyways, it was really dark that night. I couldn’t even see where I was going.”
“Then, there was a big crash! Like—WAM! And then I heard another crash further away.”
“Something hit me over the head and it really hurt.”
“The next thing I know the guards came to get me, and now I’m here.”

David and Starlight leaned back and began pondering over the confessor’s words, taking everything in the best they could. The boy sat and wondered how exactly he was going to remember everything, especially knowing how important the details were to the bigger picture. At the scratching of a pencil and the whirling of magic, David turned to see Starlight hovering a pencil over a small notepad, dotting down the last of her notes.

“What’re you doing?” He asked.

“What does it look like?” Starlight drawled. “Taking notes, genius.”

“Hm, I guess I never would’ve thought of that.” The boy’s mind clicked.

“This is why you never would’a made it in this world without me.” The unicorn played a cocky grin.

“Right…” David dead-panned, knowing damn well this was the same pony who not only tried to kill him upon first meeting, but also allowed him to walk straight into perhaps the deadliest forest on the entire planet. He subsided the thoughts and turned back to the pegasus with a serious gaze. “So, Scootaloo…” He began slowly. “Is it true that you were drinking?”

The filly nodded in shame.

“You would’ve been luckier to get a scolding from your aunts, but now that the cops know there’s bound to be a penalty.” David sighed. “Sorry, squirt.”

“But-!” She started. “All those other things they said about the crash, and the farm pony and his shed.”

“So, when you heard that crash, it was the farm pony’s shed?” David wondered. “What happened to it?”

“It got destroyed somehow, smashed to pieces.” She gripped the bars. “But it wasn’t my fault, honest!”

“I know, Scootaloo, I believe you.” He calmed. “You said there were a lot of things you don’t remember, so it sounds like there’s a lot more to the story here. More than we think.”

“This farm pony.” Starlight ventured. “Who was he?”

“I-I don’t know.” Scootaloo came up blank.

“Did you at least see his cutie mark?”

“No, it was too dark.” She shook her head. “I only ever remember seeing the guards.”

David and Starlight leaned back to relax once more, absorbing the information and attempting to come up with conclusions in their head. Alas, one could only get so far on words alone. As far as they knew, other ponies might have already beaten them to the punch. The boy only hoped that Sweetie Belle and Spike had gotten to Twilight in time.

“When does the trial start?” David asked.

“Eleven o’clock.” Ralph dutifully informed. “You have approximately three hours until then.”

“Aren’t they hasty?” David grunted, rising to his feet.

“Ready to tackle the ‘crime scene’?” Starlight readied.

“Sure, but first let’s-”

“No time to waste!” The unicorn flared her horn to life.

“No, WAIT-”

He hadn’t spoken quickly enough, and was ensnared into the teleportation spell as a cold-teal flash of light splashed out, leaving nothing but magical sparkles in their wake.

Starlight sauntered calmly down the lane leading to the Ponyville plaza square, the boy bringing up the rear as he clutched his stomach and lumbered along the cobbled roads with one heavy march after the other. The unicorn was busy underlining and highlighting the last of her reports, taking careful note to anything that might be of use to their case. She felt an impact at her rear, the pony whipping around to address her companion.

“What’s the matter with you?” She sneered.

“You know my intestine don’t agree with your fancy mode of transportation.” He slouched back and caught his breath. “You made me lose the most important piece of evidence.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?”

“My sandwich…”

“Wrong.” She justified. “The most important piece of evidence we have right now lies with this.”

Once again, Starlight’s horn swirled with magic and her kinesis went into his pocket. She pulled forth the very medallion she had fought a good nine months for, only for it to fall into the hands of some hairless bipedal from another planet. The piece shined brilliantly in hues of golden and silver beneath the sunlight. The Equerry’s badge.

“If it weren’t for this, you and I would have absolutely no say in this whole ordeal. Nada, zilch, nothing.” Starlight furthered. “I think I know who you are now. After having a few months to get a good taste of your character, the picture’s all starting to come together. You’re a little bitchy from time to time, you whine when I’d rather you not and you just can’t help but let all the answers to your problems fly right over your head. But you’re kind-hearted, sometimes a little too much for your own good, but you wanna help people, even if you’re not fully prepared to do so. That’s why…” She faltered into a pause.

“Starlight…?” David searched.

“I’ve made up my mind.” She nodded. “I want to help you.”

“Is there some sort of existential crisis you’re not telling me about here?”

“Trixie is gone now, and ever since things haven’t been the same. For me, at least.” She confessed. “I didn’t offer you my friendship because Twilight told me to. That might’ve been the case at first, but seeing one of my best friends hit the road came with a more devastating blow than I could have ever conceived of.” She fought a glower, looking to the boy confidentially. “I’m not going to turn a blind eye to my friends’ problems anymore. So, let me do the best I can to guide you. Just this once?”

David straightened his pose and crossed his arms. “What’s the first rule of fight club?”

“What club?” Starlight grinned.

The boy grinned back, and the two gazed at one each other knowingly.

Then, yours truly appeared out of thin air, derailing the third-person narrative with a simple snap of my claws! Oh, that’s right, neither of them have that odd sense the pink one possesses. I suppose I ought to speak to them in between quotations?

“Do you hear something?” David scratched his scalp.

“Something tells me we’re in for a treat…” Starlight drooped.

A taxi cab roared up to the nearest lamppost and came to a screeching halt, wherein the draconequus of the hour lumbered out of the door, adorned in a typical New Yorker’s hat and suit, whatever that was supposed to look like. Discord was also driving the cab.

“And keep the change, you filthy bilge rat!” He hollered, and kicked the door closed. The cab driver Discord leaned out the window and threw a bird at the suit Discord, whom caught it, peppered it with salt, and tucked it into his pocket. The pocket burped.

“Shit just never ends with this guy.” David groaned.

“Entrances, entrances, is anypony taking notes here?” Discord extended his eagle claw and yoinked the unicorn’s notepad right out of her grasp. “Ah, I see you’ve already done the hard part. Well done, my little acolyte.”

“Give that back!” Starlight hopped and swung for her booklet, missing as the serpent dangled it higher and higher. The pony seemed to forget that she had telekinesis.

“What do you mean the ‘hard part’?” David quested.

“Don’t rest easy quite yet, my boy, this week’s episode has only just begun.” He wrapped the duo in his arms and brought them to the attention of the plaza. “Take a look around! Nearly every equine in town has gathered to the one place in which you managed to summon not one, not two, but three uproars over the most ridiculous and might I say creative of matters. If I am being honest, things had suddenly become just a little more interesting ever since you showed up, my boy. I haven’t seen this much excitement since, well…I’m sure the girls could fill you in on the details.”

“Just cut to the chase.” David prompted. “In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re in a hurry.”

“To become the first ever human attorney this world has seen?” Discord grinned with mischief.

“Wait, wha-”

“Oh, I know I know, first you nail the Equerry’s role without a hitch, and now a shot at justice!” The beast swiveled over to Starlight. “By the by, wasn’t that meant to be your element?”

“I never-”

“Never you mind, you mentioned you two were in a hurry, yes? I’ll spare what I can before the bell beckons.” Discord clicked his claws and summoned a brief case overflowing with papers, and from the clutter of sirens, power tools and cat cries, his paw emerged with a single, crinkled letter. “Lookie what I’ve got here, I’ve found you another piece of paper that will come in more use than a degree in philosophy will ever be. All of the fine print is there, just show it to the Mayor when they start yelling at your or something. Ta-ta for now~!”

The draconequus dug back into his pocket and rolled out a paved road in which the taxi returned from seemingly nowhere. He growled at the other Discord driving and ordered him into the back seat, leaving the driver door open, and then kicked the door closed and proceeded to climb into the trunk. The taxi drove away on its own.

Starlight gawked for a moment before turning to the boy. “What did he leave you?” She asked.

“It looks like…” He squinted. “My official Equerry’s title.”

The heckles and clamor of the ponies beyond the great, double doors whinnied against the walls and pounded into the hearts of the partners as they stopped and delivered each other steady looks, finally gaining the courage to push their way in. As the portals waned apart, the noise hissed to a halt as the occupants of the great chamber turned and eyed the human and the unicorn with various amounts of caution. Mumbles and murmurs spawned about the crowd like rustles in a wheat field, and all the duo could help to do was scan the room for any sign of her Highness, strides tight and confident as they could manage. The doors clicked shut behind them, and the duo ventured on.

Like pews set out before an altar, rows of seats lined the walls and spanned out to the long, scarlet carpet running down the center isle. A wooden guard rail divided the audience from the northern front of the room, wherein a red cross bar was the only permissible entrance. Beyond the railing lied two, large desks made of fine mahogany, each accompanied with a set of chairs and facing each other from both sides. Finally, leading onward from the center isle and up to the balcony awning over the center stage laid a grand desk with a tall, executive chair, the Mayor of Ponyville seated calmly and expectantly within.

She glazed over the newcomers with a suspecting glare. At the red cross bar, a familiar, white guard pony raised his spear and denied the duo their entry. Mayor Mare slowly caressed the judge’s gavel in her hoof.

“Greetings, young Equerry.” Mayor Mare called down below. “We have been expecting you.”

David cocked his head, surprised, and turned at the attention of hoofsteps from the balconies above. To the top right section arrived the Cake family, Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty, and among them was Twilight. The boy couldn’t help but keep his eyes locked on the Alicorn’s form, the shame and guilt practically emanating from the sorry expression she so desperately tried to shield. She couldn’t shun away, she was a Princess. She had to maintain an image in the presence of her people. But when it came to her friends… The boy stopped and wondered just why exactly she was making that expression in the first place. Was he the only one who had noticed?

“David?” Starlight nudged. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” He hesitated, shaking his head. “I-It’s nothing.”

With a single, sharp clang, the room snapped to a sudden quiet. The Mayor slowly lifted her gavel and eyed the piece reverently before returning to the boy. Court had yet to begin, and she had already grown fond of its authority.

“Royal and Honorary 5th Equerry of Ponyville, you are hereby in ordinance of Town Hall to testify the causation of the attorney of defense’s absence, and compensate for the retrieval of the role in an Equestrian court of law.”

David felt himself turn and lean down so that Starlight might explain all of the big, scary words the Mayor was using just now. Starlight pushed him back forward and gritted her teeth.

“Just give her the letter.” She growled.

The boy nodded in quick remembrance and shoved a free hand into his pocket, emerging with the letter as he craned a leg over the red cross bar. It had only come up to his knees anyhow. Sam once again raised his spear, but the Mayor raised her hoof, signaling the two entry. The energy of the room rose up once again, as the boy inched closer and closer with his Equerry documents in hand, only for the papers to be encapsulated in a magical blanket of velvet and lifted up to the judge’s chair. David delivered a cautious stare to the Princess standing atop the balcony, and her shameful expression had returned, if only a little.

“Do you wish to contribute your official Equerry documents as ‘court evidence’?” The Mayor asked him.

“Court evidence?” The boy repeated.

“You must understand that an official document of citizenship is just nearly enough to attend a court of law in any sort of manner.” The Mayor took a pause. “In other words, forfeiting your Equerry documents would mean to forfeit your only means of citizenship.”

The boy lowered his head.

“And in turn,” she furthered. “You would become the property of the court for the time being.”

“Property?” He mumbled back. But that could only mean-

“Miss Mayor.” Twilight rose and finally spoke. “If I might inquire-”

“Please, your Highness.” The old Mayor halted. “I wish to hear this from the boy.”

Once again, the boy found himself standing before the midst and dreadful anticipation of the better part of the ponies of Ponyville. He felt their eyes upon his back, their gazes digging deep as the clenching of his fist grew tighter by the second. He told himself to suppress the urges, to lash out against the Princess a mere shout and scream away, asking her why she had done this, why she had kept this from him all this time. How can I stand up for others if I can’t even stand up for myself? He thought fiercely within. But I guess this isn’t really about me, now is it? He knew the answer he was to tell.

“That’s right, your Honor.” The boy bowed, almost apologetically. “The reason I stand before everyone here today is because of Twilight. I mean, Princess Twilight.” His gaze strained across the room, to the pony at the balcony. “I acknowledge that had it not been for whatever benefits being the Equerry brings, my so-called citizenship in this town would hold no credibility whatsoever.”

“And that is to say…?” The Mayor pushed.

David sighed and lowered his head. “I’m not a person, I’m classified as somepony’s property.” His eyes returned to Twilight once more, piercing into her form with every ounce that which he intended. He felt sorry for his actions then, if only a little.

“Do you adhere to the temporary forfeit of your Equerry’s license?” The Mayor finally asked.

“I do.” He nodded.

Twilight lowered her head and rested back into her seat.

“Then it is settled.” The Mayor raised her gavel at the ready. “By the power invested in I, Mayor Ivory Scroll Mare, I hereby revoke your Equerry license in exchange for your role as the office of defense in this trial.” And slammed the mallet to the surface.

David gave a slow nod of understanding as the crowd’s volume from behind him began to rise, but he ignored it as he found his way back over to Starlight, now seated behind the defense attorney’s desk. The Mayor slammed her gavel once more, both to hush the crowd and further confirm the position of the new defense attorney. An attorney whom was undoubtedly an alien from another planet.

“A monkey for a defense attorney, eh?” one pony scoffed.

“Really makes ya’ think this is a circus show.” Another commented.

“Not until we see who’s up to the prosecution.” They laughed.

And everything fell to a deathly, heart-stopping quiet. The doubles doors blasted apart once more, a stark blinding light shining through as a rushing wind roared down the center isle. The entire hall slowly turned their attention to the entrance as one thump after the other grew ever so slowly and dreadfully in volume. Like the beat of a war drum, one step after the other sent shock after shock of thunder through the thick of the courtroom.

The figure was like a wall, its brawny shoulders swinging side to side, the snout ring jingling and its fists clenched tight. Sam’s spear rattled, and Bulk Biceps whom was among the audience whimpered for cover beneath his chair. The mist cleared, and the towering figure halted before the crowd, fixing his tie, and tapping the mic piece next to his snout.

“Iron WILL!” The minotaur boomed. “Get my verdict, no matter what the cost!”

The room was like a stone statue. Nopony dared speak even while the burly being breathed.

“Say, Glim.” David hovered a shaky finger forward. “Is, uh…that our competition?”

“You mean the monstrously sized minotaur who looks he could snap you in half if he wanted to?” The unicorn gave a sure nod. “That’s a prosecutor, if I’ve ever seen one.”

“He has hands.” David stared, dumbfounded. “Why does he have hands?”

“Because he’s a minotaur…?”

“Only I’m supposed to have hands!” The boy declared.

The bull-headed behemoth snorted and twisted his sights over to the human, daggers glaring through at a million miles a second. “Iron Will thinks this monkey looks lost.” He snorted, stepping closer. “Iron Will thinks he will rid this court of the evil that has been spawned upon it, and put your cheap chimp chump back in the forest, WHERE YOU BELONG-!”

“MISTER WILL!” The Mayor slammed her gavel with force.

Though the defense’s desk had already met the unforgiving fate of the minotaur, the burly prosecutor slowly raised his eyes to the judge with an apologetic twist to his expression.

“Lest you plan on having your newly found attorney’s license being revoked, there will be no degree of violence within my court whatsoever.” The Mayor huffed. “Are we clear?”

“As crystal…your Honor.” Iron Will bowed before backing away and lumbering back to his own desk. “Gotta remember what the doctor said…” He mumbled to himself. “Gotta watch the heart rate…”

As the minotaur walked back through the crumpled wood and sat on his uncomfortably small chair, the crowd’s attention returned to their defense attorney, whom laid upon the floor in the defeated fetal position.

Starlight leaned over the boy and prodded at him with the attitude of a young boy poking roadkill with a stick. “Strap your balls back on, we’re about to start.” She snuffed.

The boy shook in response. “Just tell me where the little attorney’s room is at, and we’ll get this all sorted out.” He gurgled.

Clack!

The judge’s gavel slammed against the wooden surface, and thus the courtroom proceeded.

“The Trial for Miss Scootaloo and the Pegasus Weather Patrol team is now underway. As for the defense and the prosecutor’s offices, be aware that this is a joint trial. Any advances made upon one case or the other must be clearly stated before making any proceedings, unless stated otherwise. Is the prosecution-”

“OBJECTION!!”

For what seemed like the umpteenth time now, the room snapped quiet and all eyes were drawn to the front. David stood at the defense’s desk, arse well out of his seat and his finger pointed forward in the air.

“For the love of Celestia, we haven’t even begun any testimonies yet!” Starlight growled. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve played these games before.” David leaned down in a whisper.

“What games!?”

“Mr. David…” Mayor Mare, or rather the judge, glowered. “Is there something you’d like to tell us?”

“Um…yes, your Honor.” He rubbed his scalp. “Isn’t the defense supposed to go first?”

The judge blinked, and sighed. “The prosecution is tasked with delivering a summary of the case.” She fixed her glasses and peered down at him. “However, if you would like to deliver the case summary instead of Mr. Will, then by all means-”

“OBJECTION!!” Iron Will raised his fat finger.

“Y’see?” David showed Starlight. “This is why I should be the only one who has hands.”

“Your Honor, I object to allowing the defense the case summary.” The minotaur argued. “His puny little voice is too tiny. In fact, everything about him is tiny! How can anypony possibly hear him over my THUNDERING THUM?!”

The ponies in the crowd began getting riled up once more, and the judge began to slam her gavel again. She was already letting out one frustrated sigh after another, and feared the might of her swing simply wouldn’t be enough for her poor mallet to manage. She turned back to the minotaur, eyes fierce and focused.

“If that is the case, Mr. Will, then perhaps you would like to begin with your opening statement instead?” She suggested.

“Without a doubt, your Honor!” Iron Will declared, hopping to the surface of his table. “Ladies and Gentlecolts of the-”

The table wavered, creaked, and split into two with a loud SNAP! The minotaur had suddenly found himself a head or two lower than he had been, surveying the onslaught of his table damages.

“Uh…jury?” He finished.

“Shall we fetch another table?” The Mayor’s assistant asked.

“Oh, just give him a tree trunk, for Luna’s sake.” The old mare sighed.

Iron Will kicked his one hoof up and arched upon the severed half of the table. His chest proud and protruding, voice booming, he continued on with his speech.

“Humble ponies of Ponyville, have you any doubts that the guilty filly of this case is responsible for the destruction of a hard working, farmer’s property? Or that these Cakes are trying to avoid expensive repercussions, all thanks to the intervention of your trusty weather pegasi? Well, I say…NO WAY! Get those heart-felt thoughts out of your heads and my unrelenting, heart-attack inducing voice into your minds! I’ll cram that evidence so hard down your miserable, squishy little throats, you’ll clamp shut like a good filly! We don’t play with airplanes, HERE COMES THE TRAIN!” The minotaur came to a concerning halt. He stopped and breathed, placing his fingers to check his pulse, and with a nod he continued. “Proof is the truth, and Iron will reveal the truth! Iron will crush the competition! Iron WILL get my verdict!”

Quietly, the minotaur gave a small and courteous bow, placing himself down to his seat as he crossed his legs and folded his hands in his lap, politely and elegantly as ever. “That is all.” He nodded curtly.

A moment of silence passed, and from across the room the defense stood to deliver their statement. David sighed and waltzed around for a moment, eyeing the chamber as though he owned the damn place. The boy fixed his imaginary tie, crossed his arms, and cleared his throat.

“The defense has one condition and one condition only.” He said. “The prosecution shall refrain from updating any and all autopsy reports.”

The entire courtroom fell dead silent. David looked around for a moment to reassure himself that he had in fact said that out loud, and not just in his mind. The Mayor was rubbing her temples fiercely, clearly regretting her decisions in the past twenty minutes.

“Is the defense even aware that there are no murders for this case whatsoever?” She growled.

The weather pegasi were busy letting their faces fall to the table. Iron Will twitched his eye, Starlight face-hoofed, and Twilight took a slow and shaky breath of air. There was a brush upon her flank, as though somepony had been behind her, watching. She turned to find Discord with a wide variety of carnival themed snacks in his infinite assortment of claws.

“Popcorn, your Highness?” The chaotic beast cackled. “It’s going to be quite the show.”

The doors to the courtroom opened once more, much more slowly and calmly this time, as the familiar sight of an orange coated pegasus timidly ushered her way inside, beckoned by the bat pony guard whom wore a flower-patterned sunhat over his head. Ralph stopped and gave a stiff salute to Sam, whom returned the gesture, and calmly took Scootaloo to bring her to the front of the room. As the two roamed down the isle, an old farmer pony glared daggers at her from the front row seat, joined to Iron Will’s side. Scootaloo pushed her eyes to the floor and stumbled across the remainder of the red carpet. She could feel the entirety of the room’s eyes upon her back, and the walk up to the front felt as though it were taking centuries.

“With everypony present, the defense shall now call their first witness to the stand.” The judge announced.

“Of course, y-your Honor.” David cleared his throat for real this time. “The uh…the defense calls Scootaloo to the stand.”

In reply, the filly was escorted to the stand, sitting to the left of the judge’s desk.

“Do you know what to do?” Starlight asked the boy.

“I won’t deny your help is going to be needed.” The boy swallowed. “A lot.”

“We’ll start simple.” Starlight followed up. “Scootaloo seems like an honest kid. Just get the full truth out of her, then we’ll go from there.”

“If she wanted to tell us the full truth, don’t you think she would have done it earlier?”

Starlight shook her head. “What’s said in court is the only thing that matters. Dig deep if you have to.”

“Is the defense ready?” The Mayor waited.

“Y-yes, your Honor.” David jumped.

“Good, then we may begin.” She craned her head to the side and hollered to the filly below. “Will the defendant please state her name and grade level?”

“That’s you, sport.” David gestured.

“A-Ah! Right.” The filly mumbled. “My name is Scootaloo, I-I’m in the eighth grade…at Miss Cheerilee’s schoolhouse.”

“You and your class will graduate from the school house by the end of this semester, correct?” Mayor Mare thought to ask.

“That’s right.” The filly remembered. “Y-Your Honor.”

“Very well, Miss Scootaloo.” The Mayor nodded. “Please be aware that this case may heavily effect the outcome of your future.”

The filly replied with nothing.

“Scootaloo?” David began, calm as ever. “Would you like to tell us what happened that night?”

She took a deep breath, fixing her posture and closing her eyes. “Well, here goes…”

The court laid silent for a long moment, taking in the words of the young filly. The judge nodded with understanding, Iron Will stood at the ready, and David placed a hand to his chin. Maybe I should refrain from the drinking dilemma. If the court brings it up, I’ll just try to divert the topic somehow. He thought to himself, placing his hands back to the desk.

“So you say you felt guilt?” The boy began. “Over what happened to Apple Bloom?”

“Yup.” The pony admitted, looking down. “That’s why I tried drinking.”

Divert. David reminded. “And you said it was really dark, too?”

“Yeah, like super dark.” Scootaloo emphasized. “I couldn’t even see my own hoof in front of my face.”

Iron Will chuckled, shaking his head. “It must’ve been a defect of the underage drinking.”

Dammit, divert! The boy minded again.

“Well, m-maybe you crashed into something?” David attempted. “Y-Y’know, because it was so dark-”

“OBJECTION!!” Iron Will howled.

“Mr. Will, what is it?” The Mayor waited.

The prosecutor leveled his finger. “Your Honor, the defense is glossing over a crucial clue of misinformation, and his tiny monkey brain doesn’t even realize it!” He slammed his fat, minotaur paw to his new desk, eliciting a wince from the repair ponies, and continued with his speech. “The defendant has clearly stated in her testimony ‘we’ve felt nothing but guilt’ as in a plural!” He slammed his paw down once again, the table breaking at any moment now. “According to her further proceedings, the defendant’s testimony is inaccurate! There is somepony’s identity whom she is hiding!”

The mumbles and murmurs of the courtroom rose to a considerable volume, and the Mayor slammed her gavel for order once more.

“Miss Scootaloo, the prosecution appears to make a fair point.” She stated. “Why did you switch to a plural contraction in the middle of your testimony?”

“I-I…” Scootaloo darted her eyes. “That’s just the way I talk, I guess?”

“Is there something you’d like to tell us?” The Mayor droned. “Speak up.”

This is going south already. The boy thought worriedly. They’re gonna keep pressuring her into a corner until she cracks, and she’ll admit that she’s responsible for all of the faults, even though that’s not true!

“David, don’t forget what I said.” Starlight hissed to him. “Get the full truth out her, even if it hurts. There may be something deep down in there that we can use to our advantage, and we can’t let the enemy get to it first.”

“What should I say?” He asked.

“Ask her if somepony else was there.” Starlight splayed. “She probably didn’t want to rat out any of her friends, is all.”

Her friends? The boy wondered for a moment. Quickly, he turned back to the witness stand.

“Scootaloo, I’m gonna need you to be honest with me.” David tried calmly.

Timidly, the little pony nodded his way.

“You said that you’ve been grieving over Apple Bloom with somepony else.” He stated, and dug. “It was Sweetie Belle, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah…” The little pegasus shuddered. “Yeah, it was.”

“Was she with you that night?”

“Only for the first part.” She confessed. “Sweetie Belle was the one who gave me the drink.”

The volume of the room increased once more, and the gavel met the desk’s surface. Everypony present sought for their composure as the Mayor went to fix her glasses and clear her throat.

“Is this correct, Scootaloo?” She asked her.

The filly nodded.

“Very well.” The Mayor tugged at her collar. “The defendant Miss Scootaloo will change her testimony to adhere to the hearings of the court.” And she slammed her gavel once more.

“Well, I guess we’re back to square one.” Starlight shrugged over to David. “Try not to linger on your questions, will ya’? Otherwise you’ll give ‘maze master’ over there another chance to strike.”

“He seems a little trigger happy if you ask me, but I’ll keep it in mind.” The boy answered.

With that, the court reordered themselves, and the filly at the stand began once again.

「SCOOTALOO’S CONFESSION 2 ‣」
“It’s true, I did get the drink from my friend, Sweetie Belle.”
“But she has nothing to do with what happened after. I stumbled into the night on my own.”
“Then, there was a big crash! Like—WAM! And then I heard another crash further away.”
“When I woke up, there was a big lump on my head. Something had hit me.”

The court room was given ample time to settle down as the boy analyzed the pony’s words like crazy. He knew deep down that there had to be at least one clue within her tellings, something that would change the course of this case for the better. If only…If only it were to just hit me over the head! He thought inwardly, and then stopped in realization. Wait. Hit me over the head…?

“Scootaloo.” He pounced. “You keep saying that something hit you over the head. Do you have any idea what it was?”

“I-I don’t know.” She stumbled. “All I know is that it hurt.”

Iron Will shook his head once again. “The defendant had clearly stated that it was too dark to see. How could she have possibly known what hit her?”

“There is a way to know.” The boy readied. “You need only to look at her head.”

Within minutes a clear inspection had gone underway. Nurse Redheart herself was summoned to fulfill her task and assess the young filly’s scalp, reassuring the pegasus time and time again that no, they would not have to shave her mane. After a thorough inspection, the nurse made her notes and turned to deliver her findings to the court.

“There’s no doubt about it.” Nurse Redheart announced. “Scootaloo was struck over the head by a blunt object with an alarming amount of force. Considering the size of the bruise, she may even be experiencing head trauma as we speak.”

The Mayor blinked with surprise. “I-I see, we were not aware.” She recomposed herself. “In that case, Miss Scootaloo, do you feel that you are unfit to speak at the witness stand any longer?”

“Yes ma’am!” The pegasus sprung. “I-I mean, no ma’am. I mean-!” She rubbed her scalp. “I think I need a lollipop for my booboo…your Honor.”

Smart kid, I suppose? David speculated. If anything, at least we have both of her testimonies, so we can at least go off of the records. I’ll have to remember to look into the court evidence later on.

Suddenly, the room sprung back into surprise, and not from the judge’s gavel this time.

“My question to you, your Honor, and this whole circus show of a court for that matter is—why was this poor little filly’s injury not brought to my attention in the first place?!” The nurse doubled down. “I work Ponyville General day and night, and believe me it does get tiring, but to see these young, innocent little angels be faced with all this turmoil absolutely breaks my heart! I just can’t bare to even think about it. As a matter of fact, I intend to stay in this court for as long as I please, in the event that yet another harmless, little pony’s injuries have gone unchecked due to this court’s carelessness. Do I make myself clear?”

“Er-yes. Of course, Miss Redheart.” The Mayor fixed her glasses. “That is exactly what we intended to ask of you. How kind of you?”

“Hmph!” The nurse huffed, and returned to her chair at the side of the room.

The courtroom returned to an acceptable volume then, and by acceptable that meant the Mayor wouldn’t have to use her gavel. Even she was aware that it needed a rest at times. The old mare engaged in a brief conversation with her assistant before returning to the court, looking to her right this time.

“The prosecution shall now call their first witness to the stand.”

“It’s about time.” The burly minotaur cracked his knuckles and whipped his left hand down to his thigh. Next to him stood a small, white goat with a mic clipped to the side of its mouth. The goat craned its neck down and buried its face into the brief case sitting on the table before emerging with a piece of paper in its jaws. Iron Will took hold of the paper, shook the slobber off of it, and held it to his face. “The prosecution calls Mr. Hayseed to the stand!”

The witness in question bustled his way from the edge of the front row seat, practically stumbling through the red cross bar as Sam lifted the chain, and the old farmer turned up his snout to the guard. The farmer wore a bland, brown coat over his hide, a tattered and shifty hat atop his gray, aging mane, and not to mention the peculiar looking pipe that hung in his mouth. It resembled that of a cob of corn cut in half, little kernels popping here and there with every huff and puff he blew through the old, antique pipe. As he lumbered across the front of the room towards the witness stand, David took note of the foggy, green cloth he wore over his flank. At that moment, Starlight nudged the boy again.

“There’s something off about this guy.” She whispered. “Keep an eye on him.”

「HAYSEED’S TESTIMONY ‣」
“This year’s been nothing but trouble, I tell ya’! Absolutely rotten to the core!” *pop*
“First my crops go to crap cause somepony forgot to bring the rain.”
“And now my cart’s nothing but a pile of driftwood, because o’ THAT little varmint!”
“She pushed a bolder from up yonder the hill.” *snap* “Can you believe it?”
“If it weren’t for them guards, she mighta’ even gotten away with it.” *crackle*

The room settled back down, and Mayor Mare gave a slow nod, the rest of the court diminishing into whispers and murmurs as they pieced together the puzzle of the case. Iron Will stood from across the room with a tight and ready expression, preparing whatever questions he was about to shoot towards the witness, and David knew he had to be just as prepared as well. He’s probably going to focus on Scootaloo’s case before moving on to the Weather Pegasi, which means I shouldn’t waver my focus from it either. He looked back to his partner. In the meantime, I could get Starlight to look over the details involving the Cakes and the weather team dilemma.

The prosecutor huffed and intensely addressed his witness. “Mr. Hayseed, where were you at the time of the crime?”

The old farmer blinked and snorted. “Where do ya’ think I was, ya’ big buffoon? Right next to my cart!” He gnawed on his pipe.

“R-Right, of course…” Iron Will sagged. “I knew that.”

“Then why’d ya’ ask!” Hayseed huffed. “Minotaurs, I swear…”

That’s a pretty crumby way to treat the guy who’s defending you. David supposed.

Iron Will fixed his tie and proceeded with his examination. “Mr. Hayseed, you have testified to the fact that a bolder had rolled over your cart and damaged everything from the goods within to the cart itself. You had also explained how the bolder came rolling down from the hill, correct?”

“The hill up yonder, weren’t ya’ listenin’?” The witness yapped.

“Investigation of the crime scene states that the bolder’s course can be led straight back up to where the defendant, Miss Scootaloo, was found by the guards the night prior.” He slammed his paw down on to the desk, it was amazing that it had held up this long. “Your Honor, the explanation here is as clear as day. The defendant, Miss Scootaloo, had wandered out into the night after her splurge of underage drinking and pushed the bolder from the top of the hill, smashing into the poor and unsuspecting cart that belonged to my trusty client-”

“OBJECTION!!”

“Not so loud!” Hayseed grinded a hoof into his floppy ear. “You’ll blow my eardrums out, ya’ dump ape!”

“Mr. David, please keep the volume of the…’objection pointings’ to a minimum.” The Mayor glared below.

“B-But, your Honor.” David tried. “Where’s the fun in that?”

“OBJECTION!!”

Iron Will crossed his meaty arms. “There’s no fun allowed in a courtroom.” He slammed his paw. “Your Honor, I propose to remove the defense for his lack of seriousness in the face of the justice system, that way I can win by default.”

“OBJECTION!!”

“What is it now, boy?!” The Mayor growled.

“I uh…” He twiddled his fingers. “Just wanted to say it, one more time.”

“OBJECTION!!” Iron Will glared. “Mine is louder.”

By this point Nurse Redheart had been passing ear muffs around the room, and the Mayor raised her gavel again to calm the court, eyes daggering back over the boy. “Enough of this nonsense, both of you!” She gritted her teeth. “Just go back to the start. What flaw do you see in Mr. Will’s explanation that you wish to bring to the court’s attention?”

“I was just going to ask-” The boy started. “Exactly how big was this bolder, the one that smashed through the cart?”

“Big enough to smash through the cart.” Iron Will huffed again. “What more do you need to know?”

“Really now?” David crossed his arms. “Something big enough to smash through an entire cart would be a bit much for somepony Scootaloo’s size, don’t’cha think? That’s why I ask you again, exactly how big was this bolder?”

Iron Will fumed, but grabbed another paper from the goat’s maw, snapping it to his face and eyeing over the details with care. Then, a small and sure grin slowly crept to his fat, bovine lips. It sent a momentary spike of panic down the boy’s spine, as though he instantly knew that the minotaur had been waiting for this moment. The prosecutor chuckled and gave a tight shrug.

“Quite frankly, the size of the bolder doesn’t matter.” He laughed. “The bolder smashed through my client’s cart, and that’s that. You want to know how it ended up there? Then without further ado, I will gladly elaborate to the court.” He whipped out another paper and promptly continued. “Investigation of the crime scene states that along with Miss Scootaloo and the starting position of the bolder, a foreign object was found lying upon the ground where the rock used to lay. That object, was a stick!”

“A stick…?” David drawled.

“Yes! A long, wooden, stick.” Iron Will went on. “Your Honor, as you can see the explanation to this case is more clear than ever. The defendant, Miss Scootaloo, could not have pushed the bolder down the hill on her own. As a result, she jammed the stick beneath the rock and weighed down on the other side to leverage the behemoth from its resting spot!”

The courtroom riled up in volume once more, and the Mayor raised her gavel with a cautionary gesture. The boy could only think to shoot forward.

“Not true!” He pointed a desperate finger. “There wouldn’t have been enough counterweight.”

“Then how did it end up there?” The minotaur laughed. “No need to strain your tiny, chimp brain over it, I’ve already explained it!”

“Dammit, he keeps bringing up these items to use to his advantage.” The boy whipped around to his partner. “Starlight, we’re going to need a full list of the court’s evidence.”

“Let’s see…we’ve got a stick, a rock, and a pissed off crop collector.” She played the boy a stupid grin. “Anything else you’d like to know, smart ass?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I miss the overwhelming sarcasm when you told me you wanted to help?”

The unicorn grimaced and elicited a long, tired growl. “Just go back on something that Scootaloo said to counter his argument. Neither the defendant nor the witness were in the same exact spot when the crime had occurred, there’s gotta be something that makes the difference between their testimonies.”

“And what if neither of them said anything useful enough?”

“You have to trust in your client.” Starlight encouraged. “I know it sounds a little tacky, but they hold the key to proving their innocence. All you have to do is show them the way.”

David stood idle and placed another hand to his chin, closing his eyes and thinking back with intensity on every detail the little pegasus had told thus far. It had to be something striking, something that would take the court by surprise. Something they could never see coming. He thought.

“Does the defense have no further objections?” The Mayor called.

“Not so fast, your Honor.” David halted. “There’s…something that we’re all forgetting here.”

“Then let’s hear it.” She prompted.

“I-It’s…” The boy hesitated.

“I see that you’re a formidable opponent.” The minotaur from across the room laughed again. “But that just means I get the opportunity to watch you crash and burn over and over again!”

Crash and burn. The words boomed in the boy’s mind over and over. Crash and burn, crash and burn, crash…

Then, there was a big crash! Like—WAM! And then I heard another crash further away.

An instinctual flare caught in the boy’s eye. He stood tall and pointed. “Your Honor.” He began. “Clearly there is a contradiction in the testimony here.”

The Mayor’s gavel hovered only an inch above the plate, threatening the sentence upon the defendant. As the courtroom went back into a quiet spell, every set of eyes and ears traveled back to the defense in anticipation of his next move.

“You have our ears.” The Mayor nodded.

“Mr. Hayseed, is it true that you heard a crash when the bolder struck your cart?” He addressed.

“I was standing right next to it, how could I not?” The farmer yammered.

“Then what about the first crash?”

The witness groaned, fixing his pipe around his teeth. “Your Honor, what’s this zoo escape on about?” He groaned.

“Do explain, young Equerry.” The Mayor encouraged.

“We’re all forgetting a crucial piece to the puzzle here, and that’s the puzzle that doesn’t seem to fit anywhere.” David went on. “If we remember what Scootaloo had said, she said there was a first big crash, and then another one that went off further away. There were two big crashes.” He pointed his finger. “My question to you, Mr. Hayseed, is why did you leave the first crash out of your testimony?”

“Pfft, y’think I was twenty years younger just yesterday?” The farmer spat. “My ears ain’t what they used to be.”

But your mouth sure is. The boy determined.

“If you didn’t hear the boulder's first crash, then how did you know where to look?” He furthered.

“Whatta’ ya’ mean?”

“Don’t forget what you said in your testimony.” He quickly reminded. “You said if it wasn’t for the guards then Scootaloo might’ve gotten away with it. If you claim that you never heard the first crash, then how did you even know where the guards went in the first place?”

“B-Because-!” Hayseed jerked. “Because they…” And from his cob pipe, a kernel popped.

The whispering concerns of the crowd only grew all the more as they waited for Hayseed to come up with some sort of explanation, only for his stuttering to choke him up every time. The farmer had been calm, or at least what was considered to be calm for him, since the very start of the trial. Why begin to crack in the midst of questioning? It was exactly as the boy intended to prod upon, had it not been for the interruption the Mayor’s gavel provided.

“Order.” She called out strictly. “Mr. Will, does your client have any more to say on the matter?”

“No, your Honor.” The minotaur huffed with frustration. “He most certainly does not.”

It was then that the prosecutor knew should he allow his witness to testify any further, things which would rather be unsaid on his account would simply slip out. Interrogate my client, I’ll interrogate yours. David thought to himself. How’s it feel to have a taste of your own medicine?

“Very well then.” The Mayor nodded. “We will take a five minute recess. Afterwards, court proceedings shall continue on the case for Miss Scootaloo and Mr. Hayseed.”

The gavel struck the plate, and soon after the room dispersed.

By this point the prosecution had already gone through four tables, the damage expenses threatening to reach past the fine that Scootaloo would inevitably receive for underage drinking. As such, the defense was stationed into an empty room on the second level of the Town Hall building, several members of the court joining in as they gave their peace on the matters for the filly whom had been wrongly blamed. Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty were sure to provide their encouragements, as well as their estrangement, to the human standing before them.David’s sights strafed about the room time and time again, but Twilight was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey.” Starlight snapped. “I know you’re way taller than us, but you don’t gotta act like your head is in the clouds all the time.”

“Right, sorry.” David pinched the bridge of his nose. “I was going to ask, do you think we could use any other witnesses besides Scootaloo?”

“Our two trusty guards might have some answers for us, but it’s a risky bet considering how anal they are about the law.” She sighed and thought over again. “I just wish more children had been involved, they’re the easiest to manipulate. You can get them to say anything.”

“Wait, what?”

“It looks like we’ll have to reach out to some of Scootaloo’s classmates, they’d be more adamant on backing up their friend than any other, after all.”

“What was that you just said about manipulating children?”

“Recess is almost over.” Starlight bolted for the door and called over her shoulder. “You stay here, I’m gonna go hunt down Miss Cheerilee for us. Try not to make matters any worse while I’m gone.”

“You’re the one who wants to use children for this case and you’re telling me not to make matters worse?” He called back, shouting down the hall. “Hey, what am I supposed to do if the minotaur starts charging at me again?”

Clack!

“The court is now back in session for the case of Miss Scootaloo.” The Mayor announced over the crowd. She paused and played a once-over to the boy, standing alone at his desk. “Mr. David, where is your assistant?”

“Oh, you mean that psychotic unicorn who was only helping me out of the goodness of her heart?” David drawled.

The Mayor laid stagnant, strictly unamused.

“Sh-She said she’d be back…soon enough.” He answered timidly.

“Tuh!” The bull snorted over. “An attorney without an assistant is a fool looking to lose this case. Cough it up, ape, you’ve already lost this match. I’ll be taking my verdict now, your Honor.”

“Neigh, the defendant is innocent until proven guilty.” She argued.

Isn’t the saying guilty until proven innocent? David wondered. Or is she just trying to give me the benefit of the doubt here…?

“After recent remarks, it has come to the court’s attention that a…revision of sorts will be needed in order to progress the trial.” The Mayor turned to the prosecution. “Mr. Will, would you be so kind as to elaborate upon the contents of our courtroom evidence?”

“With pleasure, your Honor.” Iron Will glared to his goat assistant happily gnawing away at a vitally important paper from his briefcase. He grabbed the goat by the tongue and pried the documents from its maw, tossing the poor nibbler to the side as he cleared his throat and continued. “At the time of the crime scene, royal guardsponies Sam and Ralph had located what appeared to be a wooden stick lying next to the defendant. The stick is assumed to be the tool that was used to commit the crime, it spans to at least three and a half feet in length, six inches in width, and three inches in height.”

He’ll tell us all about this stupid, little stick, but God forbid we get some measurements on that bolder. The boy groaned in his thoughts.

“Upon further analyses, there appears to be a small indentation that circles all around one end of the stick, a divot that appears like that of a ring. Investigators suggest that when the defendant had used the stick to leverage the stone from the hilltop, being pressured in between the bolder and the earth is what caused the small divot to appear.” Iron Will slammed the paper down onto his desk. “So there you have it, your Honor, the indentation around the surface of the stick is undeniable proof that it was used in the crime scene!”

“Not so fast!” David quickly cautioned. “How do you know that’s how that ring got there?”

“And why else would it be there?” The minotaur countered.

“Well, how do you know it wasn’t there before?”

“Investigators determined that the ring is only a day old.” Iron Will crossed his arms. “Otherwise known as the time that had elapsed since the crime, just in case your pathetic monkey brain couldn’t realize that.”

“OBJECTION!!”

“Mr. David?” The Mayor startled. “Do you mean to object the prosecutor’s reasoning?”

“Not exactly, your Honor.” He growled. “I just…want him to stop making monkey insults!”

“Oo-oo! Aa-aa!”

“That tears it!” David raised his chair over his head and proceeded to slam it down onto his desk multiple times, splitting the wooden surface into two.

“What in the name of the branded are you doing, boy?!” The Mayor barked furiously.

David came to a halt and slowly lowered the chair to his waist, turning up to the judge with wide, timid eyes. “Imitating the prosecution…” He answered. “Your Honor.”

“I can do better.” Iron Will scoffed.

With a great bang, the courtroom double doors swung open and revealed a pair of young colts, one taller and the other fatter, Starlight ordering the two further in. Some would say it was a sight all too familiar pertaining to a certain magician mare, and all that could be heard then was the drop of the Mayor’s gavel, only this time in defeat and desperation.

“Luna help this court…” The Mayor groaned.

“So uh,” the fatter one began. “When do we get those bits you promised us, miss?”

“Forget da’ bits, Snips.” The taller one followed. “Just keep following da’ pretty lady. From behind.”

“Hold the presses, the defense has got some new witnesses in line.” Starlight announced proudly, trotting up the isle with her companions. She halted, glossing over the sight of the boy holding his chair over the splintered remains of their table. “Do you have some sort of mental disorder you’re not telling me about?”

“I didn’t think you were serious about the freaking kids…” David shuttered beneath his breath.

The Mayor hesitantly fixed her glasses back to her face and adjusted her collar. “Will the defense be calling their second witness to the stand?”

“We most certainly will, your Honor.” Starlight promptly turned to her adversaries. “You.”

The taller one was in his own world.

“What’s your name, kid?”

“Hehe, you’re pretty.” The colt drooled.

“Yeah yeah, just listen. Lanky over here is gonna ask you a few questions and we need you to answer them to the best of your ability. Can you do that?”

“Anything for a friend of Trixie.” He smiled stupidly.

Starlight ended with an irritated sigh and pushed the young pony towards the witness chair, turning to her partner soon after as she levitated a folder of papers and pictures lying within, the contents mysteriously unknown. “Here, just ask him about these. It’s all you’re gonna need.”

David carefully opened the folder, and his eyes popped out of his skull. “The boys back home would sell an organ or two for this.” He snuck another look, just to be sure, and knelt down to Starlight’s level as he cocked his head and delivered another shuttering whisper. “And I suppose this is your plot to getting that Equerry’s badge, eh?”

“In case you forgot, you’re temporarily revoked.” The unicorn reminded.

“Starlight, this is smut.” David smacked the folder. “Unless you can explain to me how this has anything to do with the case here, the ball’s in your park, sister.”

“I thought guys were supposed to talk about this stuff all the time.” Starlight side-eyed him. “Or are you trying to tell me you don’t swing that way?”

“Gimme that!” He quickly realized that it was already in his hands, and made a grunting effort towards the younger colt at the witness stand. “Ya’ like the sexy stuff, kid?”

The court house elicited the equivalent of watching a puppy get rolled over by a bulldozer. Their cries roared on and the Mayor’s gavel hammered like mad, but the boy ignored it all.

“Naked mares everywhere.” He flipped the folder back open. “On second look, a lotta’ the mares in this magazine are wearing socks, but I’m sure that says plenty about your tastes. The fact of matter is, this flip n’ fap’s got your name written all over it, and you’re gonna to tell me why.”

The colt in the stand squinted at the magazine before shaking his head. “Nuh-uh.”

“Nuh-uh?” David shrugged. “Nuh-uh, what?”

“My name’s not on dat thing.”

David looked to the magazine, and back to the colt. “What’s your name?”

“Uh…it’s Snails.” He smacked his lips. “Duh.”

“You weren’t just going to try and look for his name in that book, were you?” Starlight eyed the boy worriedly.

The boy turned and stared at the unicorn for what felt like an eternity, or at least whatever kind of eternity about ten seconds was supposed to instill. He played a long side-eye on her before resting the book over his forearm and gesturing for her to take it back into her field. The mare flared her horn and levitated the piece back into the folder. There came a pause, and she flared her horn again. David covered his face as a page of the magazine emerged from beneath his coat.

Thus as their questioning went on, David failed to get a lick of any useful information out of Snails. The boy wasn’t sure if the name was actually supposed to mean something, or if the colt had done this before and knew to keep quiet, for whatever reasons he might’ve wanted to. As a result, his dear friend Snips, the fatter one, was soon conjured forth to the witness stand. Within seconds the young, chubby colt was practically shaking in his seat.

“Uh.” David paused. “You alright, kiddo?”

“F-Fine! Yes, thank you.” He wobbled in his seat. “I-I-I’ve never been butter! Er-beater! I-I mean, better! Yeah…”

“You look a little…pale?” The boy commented. “I didn’t know ponies could do that.”

The younger pony was showing several signs of fear that were all but unknown to the human. Snips’ ears were bouncing all over the place, and his teeth clattered like mad.

“Just take a breath, son.” Mayor Mare peered down, speaking warmly to him.

David snuck another awkward look over his shoulder. The entirety of the building had glued their concerned gazes to him and the scared little colt at the witness stand. The boy fretted in that moment if he might just give this poor pony a panic attack instead of giving the court some truthful evidence. For reasons he failed to adjust, the boy felt sorry for the witness.

“You are a witness, correct?” David finally asked.

Snips nodded rapidly.

“Can you tell us what you saw that evening?”

“Oh, y’know…” His eyes darted between the attorney and his friend, sitting from afar. “Just…getting my steps in.”

“Didn’t happen to see anything out of the ordinary?”

“Not p-puh-puh-particularly.” Snips twitched. “The bushes looked quite ripe.”

“I didn’t say anything about the bushes.”

Snips froze, and gulped audibly.

“Would you care to tell us what was so special about these…bushes?” David prodded.

“I-I-” Snips’ gaze locked onto Snails with plead. “G-Gyuh-!”

“Calm down, son.” The Mayor soothed again. “Not all at once.”

“Several wadded up pages of what appear to be pornographic images-”

“OKAY OKAY, IT WAS ME!” Snips wailed to the ceiling. “I DID IT! TAKE ME AWAY!”

“Snips…” Snailed called to his friend disappointingly. “I told ya’ not to tell ‘em.”

“I couldn’t take it anymore, this guy’s been tearing me apart for hours!” Snips cried.

“It’s only been two minutes…” David reminded.

The gavel slammed against the plate to gain the attention of the witness and his friend, Mayor Mare barking over the hammer’s reverberation. “Whatever sort of fuss you young colts are going on about, the court expects an explanation!” It seemed as though all the gentleness she had for the young ones had left her.

“Snips? Snails?” David jumped back in. “Do you guys have anything to do with the uh…naked bush mares?”

“The biology notes!” Yelped Snips.

“Stop tellin’ ‘em about it!” Snails wailed again.

“It’s too late, we’re already caught! I’m spillin’ all the beans!” Snips cried out. “Snails likes tight butts and pantyhose!”

Snails leapt from his seat and barreled down the center lane, ready to wrestle his friend right here and now, which turned out more like a couple of horses imitating a cat fight, if anything.

Another collection of slams from the gavel rang throughout the hall. “Would you boys please do this court a favor and testify anything but your suggestive preferences?”

“We’re sorry, your Honor…” Snails dipped his head.

“Yeah, we’ll take our business some place else, we promise!” Snips added.

“Business?” David clued.

“OBJECTION!!” The minotaur shouted. “Iron Will finds it rude for the defense to prod at a young colt’s puberty angsts.”

“Overruled.” The Mayor countered. “I will allow these two to testify as long as they keep these ‘angsts’ of theirs to themselves. Snips, Snails.”

“Y-Yes, your Honor?” They spoke in unison.

“Elaborate on this business of yours.”

“Well, it all started back when I turned twelve-” Snails began.

“I thought you said it started when you turned ten.” Snips returned.

The taller one threatened yet another cat fight.

“Enough.” The Mayor barked. “Our investigators found scraps of pornographic material crumpled inside of the bushes and buried beneath the earth around them. Elaborate.”

“Well, the truth is, those were the biology notes.” Snips explained. “Y’see, it wasn’t safe to call them by their real name out loud, so we started using the code name ‘biology notes’, that way we could pass them around during class without anypony noticing.”

“Okay, but, why bury them?” David questioned.

“To grow more.” Snails drawled again. “Duh.”

“Grow more?”

“These biology notes as we like to call them are in super high demand among our most trusted clients.” Snips chortled to himself. “Why, a single picture could go for at least twenty bits. If we wanted to make some serious dough off of this stuff, then the best way to do it was to grow some more.”

“And I suppose it broke your little hearts to realize that’s not exactly how it works?” David supposed.

“They keep showing up in the mail.” Snails shrugged. “Every month or so.”

“If you guys can just get these magazines mailed, why try to ‘grow’ them, as you put it?”

“They must be addressed to their mothers, or something.” Starlight noted, flipping over the magazine to the back cover. “These are all mailed from the big cities like Manehattan and Baltimare, where companies send out smaller portions to try and promote their products. Remember all the mares wearing those socks that you liked?”

“A few…” David wasn’t entirely in denial.

“Apparently these companies sew a lot of lingerie, too.” Starlight darted her eyes to and fro, as though she was expected to further explain her findings. “Rarity’s had a few…ins and outs with them.”

His gaze fixated to the rather saucy looking equines featured on the back, the boy soon came to realize that such suggestive material had in fact existed in Equestria too. It made more sense to him than he would have liked. Why wouldn’t the ponies make a business off of it? But still, something’s missing here. He wandered in his thoughts. This can’t just be a joy ride into a kid’s curiosities and that’s the end of the story. I’m gonna need to dig a little deeper to keep this case rolling.

“Well, it would appear this little fiasco has nothing to do with our case here.” The Mayor started.

“Hang ona’ second, your Honor! There’s something important I need to ask these two.” The boy readied.

“Then make it quick.” The Mayor glared impatiently. “We’ve spent enough time on this meaningless banter of bushes and magazines already. I’ll give you one chance, boy.”

If I screw this up, then that’s that. We may not get another chance to prove Scootaloo’s innocence. The boy placed his palms over the desk, shaking and struggling to adjust his breath. His sights slowly shifted over to Starlight, whom was already posing in a gesture of intense thought.

“They’re just going to keep on talking about their stupid business plans, it’s like they can’t get their minds off of it.” Starlight tapped her chin. “What we need to do is to steer the argument more towards the scene of the crime, ask them how they buried those pages. Focus on the evidence.”

Ask them how they did it…? The boy trailed. Focus on the evidence…? Wait, that’s it! The evidence!

David’s hands slammed back down onto the desk. “Snips, Snails. What did you use to bury the evidence?”

“B-bury the evidence?” Snips trembled.

“Face it, you two were just a couple o’ kids who were doing something wrong and you knew it.” The boy furthered. “It’s like when a child breaks something or wants to hide an accident, they’ll try to sweep it under the rug. And much like a child sweeping their mistakes under the rug, someone who might’ve committed a crime would use something to bury the evidence.”

“Clearly this is going nowhere.” Iron Will bellowed from across the room. “Your Honor, I propose to put this cymbal banging to a rest.”

“The defense still has the floor.” The Mayor cautioned. “Though my patience may be worn, my curiosity remains alive. Do explain yourself, boy.”

“Your Honor, if it is assumed that Scootaloo could not have pushed the bolder without the help of the stick, then who’s to say Snips and Snails couldn’t have buried their biology notes…using the same stick!”

The courtroom filled with the mixtures of intrigue and blabbers of doubt, and the boy could easily tell why. Above all else, he had decided to go with an assumption, an assumption in the hopes that it might elicit some manner of truth for him to go off of. Even David himself knew that for an attorney it was certainly a risky move in the face of a court, a last ditch effort so to speak. Seconds later, the Mayor’s gavel rang against her desk.

“Does the defense mean to suggest that the stick had been used before the time of the crime?”

“I’m suggesting that the stick in our evidence isn’t any ordinary stick.” He continued. “If we go back to what court investigations had concluded, it was assumed that the ring divot around one end of the stick was a result of the depression between the bolder and the earth. But I can really tell you why that ring is there.” He slammed his hands to the table once again. “It’s because the stick was a handle to a tool!”

The entire room froze into a deep and unnerving silence. David would have been quick to assume that the silence was out of surprise, had it not been for the dreadful feeling that was slowly crawling its way up his spine. Had he said something wrong?

“Would the defense be so kind as to explain what a…handle is?”

“Handle?” David reviewed his wording. “I uh…?”

“I think you mean the ‘helve’, buddy.” Starlight corrected. “Not all of us are born with hands.”

The boy peered across the room at the minotaur, tucking his meaty hands beneath his armpits. I know you’re my competition, but would it kill ya’ to help me out on the vocab here? He drooped.

“Alright then, helve.” David updated. “Sounds a little gothic to me, but you get the point. I’m willing to suggest that the stick belonged to some sort of tool, and that’s why the divot appears around one end of it.”

“Then it only begs the question.” The Mayor peered back down. “Well, boys? Did you just so happen to use the stick in our court evidence for your little schemes?”

The two friends gave dull, expressionless eyes to the Mayor, looked to one another, and then back to the court.

For the love of God, just say yes! David pleaded. I don’t even care if it’s true, it’s all we need!

“Why would we need to use tools?” Snips dulled. “We’re unicorns, we have horns.”

The sound of a balloon deflating bounced throughout the room, and everypony took a minute to realize that it was David, whom laid on the floor in a crumpled and defeated lump.

“Bwahaha!” Iron Will guffawed from his desk. “Even you should’ve known this was going nowhere. Finally now, I’ve been waiting for this verdict all day!”

“But we did use that shovel head.” Snails added rather conveniently.

“OBJECTION!!”

“M-Mr. Will?” The Mayor jumped. “Did you just…object a witness’ testimony?”

Iron Will was hovering a desperate finger in the air. “N-No, your Honor.” He struggled. “There’s no reason to object because…the witness doesn’t have anything further to say! That’s it!”

“Quick, Snails, tell us all about this shovel head!” David sprang back up. “It’s the only thing that’ll save your naked bush mares now!”

Once again, the court rose into a fit of protests and shouts, causing the Mayor to whack her gavel against the desk over and over. By this point that poor little hammer was taking quite the beating, and nopony could tell when it was going to snap. It took another few whacks for the room’s volume to die down, and at that very notice the Mayor whipped over to the two young colts.

“This shovel head you speak of-” She snarled. “Does it not belong to the supposed helve in our court evidence? Well? Speak up, you two!”

“I-It…it might?” Was all they could manage.

“Ralph.” The Mayor barked. “Retrieve this shovel head and bring it back to the court for analysis. It may carry vital information to the case.”

“Yes, your Honor.” The bat pony saluted and took flight, exiting through one of the open windows.

Within mere minutes, Ralph had located the shovel head sitting just outside of Snips’ residence. After a detailed conversation between the guard and the little colt’s guardians had gone underway, the piece was carried back to the courtroom and laid before the stick, each of the items laid out on a table with a white cloth thrown over the top. Sam and Ralph stood at both ends, attempting to carefully piece the two items together. David took a short glance over his shoulder to find the entire room was on the edge of their seats, glued with anticipation, and he weighed on the fact that nearly the entire half of the town seemed uncomfortably desperate to witness the assembly of a garden tool. As the helve and the head came together, there was a small rattle, and then a pause.

“The head, it fits.” Ralph blinked. “But…”

“But, what?” The Mayor waited.

“There’s too much space in between, it won’t stay secure.” Sam included. “But, the length to the divot perfectly lines up with the end of the head’s shaft.”

Maybe that’s why the divot is there! David quickly thought.

“OBJECTION!!”

What the-? The boy recoiled. Can he read my thoughts?

“Mr. Will, is there something on your mind?”

“A revision, your Honor.” The bull readied. “Evidence has shown that the shaft of the shovel head meets with the divot around the stick’s surface. This can only inquire one explanation.” He slammed his meaty palm down once again. “The defendant knew the stick would break beneath the weight of the bolder, and used the shovel head before discarding it soon after in an attempt to clear the evidence!”

The Mayor readied her gavel once again, but the sound of the hammer slamming to the desk failed to arrive. In fact, the entire room had fallen silent, as the old mare was almost sure that such a bold statement would arise in an uproar of sorts. It was a bold statement after all, as nopony could quite conclude what exactly the prosecutor was trying to get at. As it seemed, almost no one in the courtroom hardly even knew what they were talking about any more.

With a heaving, tired sigh, the Mayor let her glasses fall from her muzzle as she rubbed her hooves into her sockets and fixed her posture. “Does the defense have anything else to include?”

“I think we’re going to need a better look at this stick…handle…helve thingy.” David mumbled. “Your Honor.”

“Mr. Will?”

“Iron Will was…just going off of a whim.” The minotaur sadly admitted.

“Well if anything, I believe this proves that the shovel head may have no relation with the stick after all, otherwise known as the helve in the defense’s terms.” The Mayor nodded, slowly turning her gaze down towards the two young colts before her. “And, it would also appear that we’ve gotten to the bottom of this ‘biology notes’ business.”

Snips and Snails quivered where they stood.

“Tell me, boys, however did you come about coining the term ‘biology notes’?” She questioned. “Perhaps recent academics had given you some ideas?”

“Y-Yes, your Honor.” Snips quavered. “You see, we’ve been learning about biology as of late. Plant life studies, and all that stuff.”

“Miss Cheerilee gives out a lotta’ homework…” Snails complained.

“And thus, you sought to utilize this rich source of education for your own bidding?” The Mayor huffed.

Snips and Snails laid completely silent. Like statues caught in a cockatrice stare, the pair stood with unmoving shock and guilt as they awaited their judgment before the Mayor of Ponyville. The old mare sighed, let out the slightest chuckle, and pushed her glasses back up.

“I must admit, I cannot blame you entirely.” She chortled. “After all, you are only children.”

“Does this mean we can go home?” Snails asked her.

The Mayor tapped her chin, then nodded to her assistant. “Take a note.” She commanded.

The assistant readied his quill, and the mare began to speak. “To the humble and deservedly recognized scholar of the southern school house in Ponyville, Miss Cheerilee. I grant you full force and obligation to increase the biology studying material for your two students, Snips and Snails, by tenfold! Should they refuse to elaborate on the matter, you may converse with me at Town Hall. Signed, Mayor Ivory Scroll Mare.”

“Way to go, Snails…” Snips sneered to his friend.

“I shall neither hear of this biology notes business nor see you falter in your studies until the two of you have received one-hundred percent scores on your biology exams. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes…your Honor.” The colts sighed in unison.

By the time the two juveniles had left the courtroom, leaving the audience to a relieved yet uncertain peace, everypony had managed to recompose themselves from the onslaught of baseless conclusions that had been thrown from one side and the other. If it wasn’t apparent enough, even a child could tell that the court was desperate from both ends. All it took now was one step in the right direction, or rather, the wrong direction. The questions was, who would make which move first?”

This is it. David thought intensely. The last stretch. I’ve only got one more chance to get this trial back on track, and finally prove Scootaloo’s innocence. His eyes traveled over to the small, orange pony still positioned in the client’s chair. Her eyes had been darting all about the room ever since she arrived, but grew calmer with each step the trial took. In spite of the rather shanty direction the case was being carried, there was still a glint of hope in the little pegasus’ eyes, and the boy felt that he almost knew why. She was looking to him now, the faintest sparks of inspirations filling her gaze. This was a pony looking up to a him, a pony putting her trust and faith in this human. David deemed he’d never forgive himself should he let her down. With a strife his eyes turned back towards Iron Will, and found still that the chills would not cease whenever he stared into his deep, fiery glare.

Iron Will knows just as much as I do that the alteration to the tool used to commit the crime can aid in a huge step towards proving her innocence. If he even gets the slightest advantage over this one item, everything might fall into his will. He thought shakily. If I can just prove the true purpose of the handle, this helve, then that could lead us to where it actually came from, and who really had it in their possession to begin with. Maybe then…I can finally rest this case.

He breathed with one shaky rhythm after the other. His gaze did not waver from the minotaur’s. Silence took hold of every soul seated within the building, only the distant chirping of the birds outside and a few sniffs or coughs from the crowd here and there was all there was to entertain their ears. The silence reigned on, evermore.

Silence.

…

“Well?”

Everyone blinked and looked to the Mayor.

“Y-Your Honor?” Her assistant stuttered.

“Are the two of you going to continue making googly eyes at each other, or are either one of you going to explain the missing pieces of our case here?!”

A great pause of silence reigned over once more. In the midst of the quietness, many could swear they began to hear the hisses of smokey fumes leaking from the Mayor’s ears. The very next second, everypony witnessed the very spirit of the boy and the minotaur being drained from their bodies. They ceased their staring contest and drooped low with arms hanging over their desks.

“I don’t know…” They spoke in unison.

“What?” The Mayor barked, bewildered. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“It would appear that the argument has driven our competitors into a dead end.” The assistant timidly spoke. “Your Honor.”

“To think that the one and only chance I get to judge a trial turns out to be far less productive than any other!” She growled again.

Quickly then, the opponents retreated back to their desks and began to haggle the hell out of their assistants for more paper work. Iron Will became frustrated with the limited dexterity of his fat fingers, and Starlight complained that David flipping the pages too fast wasn’t really convincing anypony that he was actually looking for something.

“Ow, ow!” David cried, holding his finger. “Paper cut, paper cut!”

“AHA!” Iron Will produced a death grip to the single sheet of paper he raised, as though it were the holy grail of updated autopsy reports. “IRON WILL HAS OBTAINED…has obtained…” He hesitated.

“What? What is it?” Mayor Mare asked urgently. “Read it to us at once!”

Alas, the minotaur failed to speak, his statue like stare being maintained as a magical aura took hold of the paper and was raised up to the judge’s desk. The spirit was drained from his eyes, and the Mayor did a single once over to the paper held before her. The same silence from before filled the room once again, a lengthy death stare piercing its way through her glasses being cast upon the prosecutor. Iron Will was Iron Still.

“This…is an I.O.U. to the Las Pegasus tanning salon, for nail polish.”

The minotaur was frozen.

“Mr. Will, are you aware that you don’t even have nails on your fingers?”

“Then who the hell was that nail polish for?” David asked in the distance.

Iron Will delivered a slow turn of his head, looking to his goat assistant and seeing that he was now eating the one and only paper he was looking for, all the answers to win his verdict being gobbled up as the goat gave a baah-ing burp of satisfaction.

“A five minute recess, your Honor?”

“Gottathink-gottathink-gottathink-gottathink-”

“What makes you think pacing around in circles and saying that over and over again is actually going to help you think?” Starlight asked, exasperated.

The boy came to a halt, stared, and blinked at the mare. “You’re right!” Then, he dropped to the floor.

“Why are you doing push-ups…?”

“To get the blood rushing to my head.” He explained between breaths. “Rainbow Dash taught me this, it’ll make me smarter.”

“First of all-” Lighting her horn, the unicorn grabbed the human by the legs and dangled him above the floor, his hair and arms towards the earth as he hovered at eye level with the pony. “This is how you get the blood rushing to your head. Secondly, that’s the stupidest shred of advice I’ve ever heard and I’m not surprised it came from Rainbow Dash of all ponies.”

“I’m taking this from a thirty-some year old who sits inside reading old books all day?” He crossed his arms.

“I’m nineteen.” She leered.

“Really?” He blinked. “I’d hate to see what your actual thirties are like.”

“Keep this up and you won’t be around to see them.” The unicorn sneered, but quickly drew back to collect her composure, lest she say or do anything out of line. “Look, you and I both know we’re up to our eyes in shit that’s hit the fan multiple times already. The best thing we can do right now is to just relax and let our minds clear themselves, otherwise we’ll burn out in the middle of court.”

“I know…” The boy frowned.

“Scootaloo is counting on us, and so are the Cakes and the weather pegasi. When the time comes to defend them, we’re gonna need all the brain power we can get.” She emphasized. “Most importantly, I need to know if you’re going to be up to the task.”

“I…” He covered his face with his palms. “I-I’m not sure anymore.”

“There’s something that’s been bothering you, hasn’t there?” Starlight brought his face closer to hers. “Go on, spill it. Or are you going to make me shake it out of you?” She threatened with a dangle.

Like a roaring wave of water, the sights and the sounds reentered his mind all over again. Images of Twilight studying within her castle, quickly soaring for the skies soon after, arriving at the Everfree ruins. The wolves, the rubble, the rescue…the tree. Just why was that tree there, and what was its purpose? The cover of his book was the very next thing to invade his thought.

Quickly, like fingers pinched between a candle flame, he snapped the trail of thoughts away and looked back to Starlight with thin veils of determination glossing over his eyes.

“Even if I told you it wouldn’t have any relevance to our current situation.” He argued.

“It seems to have enough influence to be hindering our progress here.” She countered. “Trust me, I’ve been there before. You’ll want to tell yourself that your past has no influence on the person you want to be today, but sometimes its too hard to forget. Some things just…stick with you. They feel sort of natural, like doing things out of habit.”

“Like bribing children to deliver witness testimonies?” David replied dully. “You realize that all of our witnesses up to this point have been children, right?”

The mare glowered again and gave a heavy sigh. “You’re not going to tell me what’s on your mind, are you?”

“I’ll cut you a deal.” The boy sufficed. “If we win this, I’ll tell you everything your little, fluffy ears so desire to hear.”

Starlight froze and blinked with realization, the remembrance of Discord’s words pounding on the walls of her skull. You will get your reward. He had told her. In due time, in due time… Could this be it, then?

“And another deal, Starlight?” David asked.

“Huh?” The pony blinked.

“Could you put me down, please?”

Indeed, the boy was still floating off the ground, upside down and dangling from the unicorn’s magic. Starlight involuntarily let go, and watched as the boy slammed against the floor noggin first. He groaned and held his head.

“I think some of that brain power you wanted leaked out…” He moaned.

“Well, chimp, it looks like it’s round two.” The minotaur glared down at him. “I see you have replaced your puny stick arms with puny straw arms.”

“Oh yeah?” The boy puffed, hands to his hips. “And I see you’ve replaced your goat with a tie with…another goat with a tie.”

“The previous assistant had been sent to the hospital to get his stomach pumped, but never mind that!” The great bull struck a pose, pointing his finger. “Iron Will spent three full months studying the law and three more months earning my prosecutor’s license at the finest academy Manehattan had to offer, and it will NOT be wasted all for the compensation of a filly whom is clearly to blame!”

“You arrogant bastard, she’s just a kid!” David slammed his hands to the desk. “You would pin the blame on one, little pony just to get your grubby mitts on some bits? Just to get your filthy verdict?”

“Come pony, griffon, donkey or mule, child or not, all who commit crime are guilty in the eyes of the law.” The minotaur shook his head. “Your emotions lay no claims, here. This is a house of logic and reason!”

“I’ve given this court every reason they’ll ever need to believe that Scootaloo is innocent.”

“Believe?” Iron Will laughed. “Whatever you are, you must really have a monkey’s brain. If your precious defendant truly is innocent, then prove it.”

David prepared for yet another counter, but held himself back this time, as a sense of caution and urgency struck him whole. If Iron Will did indeed have all the answers at his disposal, then he would have laid them before the court several moments ago. Instead, the minotaur was playing the trigger game, attempting to toy with the boy’s emotions. It told him one thing, and that was based upon the suspicion that the prosecution was desperate. By all means, the defense was at the same level.

“The question remains.” Mayor Mare began. “If not the shovel head, what manner of tool could this stick, this supposed helve possibly belong to?”

“No matter which way you look at it, the stick was indeed used in the crime, your Honor.” Iron Will insisted. “The prosecution proposes that in this claim, the original intention of the stick is irrelevant.”

“Neigh, I trust that the stick’s original purpose may lead to clues that are yet to be uncovered.” The Mayor insisted. “Does the defense have any more witnesses to bring unto the court?”

Iron Will does have a point, the stick was undeniably a part of the crime scene. David thought within. And the Mayor seems oddly adamant on pushing towards more possibilities. Could it really be that she’s trying to place her faith in me? Or, is it something else? Something she’s noticed that I haven’t yet?

It took but only once glance back to the supposed victim of this case, the trusty witness that hardly anypony had bothered batting an eye towards for nearly the entire court. Mr. Hayseed, a local farmer of Ponyville, yet anypony would hardly ever see him around town or even near his farm. He seemed to spend the better part of his time indoors, which was rather odd knowing that he had his entire crop to look after. The old crapper seemed keen on getting the entire town to do his bidding, and that even included so much as the weather pegasi bringing personal rain clouds to his residence. Although he felt the boy’s stare on the side of his face, the farmer dared not stare back, maintaining a stoic and innocent glance over nothing in particular hovering about the room.

Suddenly, the Mayor gave an audible clearing of her throat. “Does the defense-?”

The boy pointed and shouted. “Mr. Hayseed!”

The court sprung back in surprise. Hayseed turned, and the Mayor blinked with disbelief.

“M-Mr. David?” She fixed her glasses. “Do you intend to call the prosecutor’s witness to your stand?”

“What are you doing?” Starlight asked urgently.

“What’s the big deal?” The boy wondered.

“OBJECTION!!” Iron Will pounded against his desk. “The defense is making a direct violation of the rules! My client can’t possibly be called to testify by your puny, insignificant command!”

“What?! Since when?” The boy countered.

Iron Will whipped out his arm and produced a thick, blue text book out of seemingly nowhere. He wordlessly flipped to a certain page without even looking, smashing his fingers against the words on the paper. “Each and every witness is bound only to the attorney they are inclined to prior to the takeoff of the court. Any witnesses received during court are subject to the same rule, and all fall beneath the exception in the case of a special testimony procedure.”

Special testimony procedure? The boy wondered inwardly, quickly turning to his assistant for answers. Alas, the look in her downcast eyes said it all.

“I hate to say it, but he’s throwing us for a curve.” Starlight admitted. “It looks like he almost knew we would try this.”

“But what is this ‘special testimony procedure’ all about?” He asked.

“I-I’m not sure, it must have been added into a new edition somewhere. I haven’t read anything like it before.” Starlight desperately flipped through her notes. “Iron Will claimed he had been studying the law three months prior to our trial here. There could be a whole list of rules he knows about that we haven’t even seen yet.”

The minotaur released a booming, mocking laugh. “Iron Will isn’t surprised even in the slightest. A single, puny monkey and his little pony assistant couldn’t have done anything to prepare for any trial.” He bulleted his finger to the defense. “Your text of rules is outdated!”

David froze and blinked hard, his fingers curling inward as he seethed with fury and slammed his fist to the table, doing more harm to his hand than anything. “You…” He shook and cried with anger. “You updated the autopsy report you sonuvabitch!”

His fury unfolding before the crowds, the faint memories of the events that had taken place just outside in the plaza square swiftly took over the minds of all. Their murmurs grew into spoken concerns and soon enough chants of protest. Neither Sam nor Ralph possessed the strength any longer to quell the cries of the crowd. Children huddled beneath their guardians, boos were hollered and curses were flung. The ponies told themselves that they knew this never should have come to be, they knew they should have gotten rid of this creature the moment they had laid eyes on them. In the midst of the chaos, David raised his eyes above to the balconies once again, and there the pony looked upon the horrors with a tight and sickly gaze. Even the Princess of Harmony felt powerless in this moment. Trust… The words entered the boy’s mind without repercussion. I need to place my trust in my friends.

The slamming of the Mayor’s gavel sprung him from his thought. Alas, the crowds failed to squander, and the old mare was becoming quite visibly frustrated.

“Order.” The Mayor tapped her gavel.

“This is madness!” The audience roared on.

“Order!” She slammed again.

“Ludicrous! Get that ape euthanized!” The jury declared.

“I call order, dammit!” She attempted to bark over the court once more, but to no avail. If her voice would not suffice, then she decided that her gavel would. “By the hot hells of Celestia’s sun! I. Said. ORDER-!”

PANG-POP!

In the slim moment that the mallet made contact with the block, Mayor Mare’s swing had packed enough force to snap the handle right in two. The hammer end bounced off of the plate and soared sky high, the entire courtroom suspended into an awe-struck pause. The head spun, and spun, and spun…until it decided to plummet back towards the crowd threatening to clonk the noggin of its unlucky victim. It took the room a second then to realize that an air-born chunk of wood was indeed headed straight for them, and instead of any pegasus thinking to catch or any unicorn attempting to levitate the block, everypony panicked.

David watched as poor Fluttershy was sure to become the victim, assuming her feather shield technique, and the images ran through his head like a memory replayed on a projector screen. Frame for frame. He swung the axe down, and felt a shock course through his body. The axe head had seemed to pop right off of the handle.

“Your Honor!!” His exhilaration was enough to light the bulb popping over his head.

“What is it, boy?!” She squawked. “I’ve lost half a gavel and I’m about to lose the other half of my patience!”

“Some poor sap can call a replacement while the defense calls Miss Fluttershy to the witness stand!”

The room returned to a stiffened, shocked silence. The hammer end spun and clocked the boy right over the top of his head, smashing his lightbulb to glassy bits in the process, yet he stood unmoved and smiling evermore. Meanwhile, Fluttershy stood in the midst of the audience struggling to catch her breath.

“Oh my…” She quavered.

Everypony watched as Ralph found every difficulty there was in getting the shy, timid mare to rise from her seat and willingly approach the witness stand. David made a pleading gesture with desperate eyes, only for Fluttershy to stare back with ten times the plead he could ever muster. He clasped his hands together once again and glanced to Scootaloo, the little defendant’s eyes big and frightened as ever. At this, the older pegasus finally seemed to understand, and shakily made her way for the witness’ chair.

“Now…” The boy began. “Miss Flutterbutter-”

“U-Um, actually, it’s Fluttershy…” She weakly corrected.

“Right, Fluttershutter.” He resumed. “Allow me to start with a general view of my perspective here. I imagine like most other ponies in this town, you too have quite an abundance of firewood that needs to be chopped.”

Fluttershy’s eyes darted about, and she nodded.

“And the best tool for such a task would be an axe, would it not?”

“I-I suppose.” She nodded again.

“Let me bring it to the court’s attention that just the other day, you had called me over to your cottage to have no more than a dozen bundles of wood logs chopped into fourths. In the process of fulfilling this task, both you and I realized that there was something a little…oh I dunno, off about this axe that we were using. Miss Butterfly, would you mind telling the court what you witnessed that day?”

“Oh, well, I suppose that wouldn’t be too difficult.” Fluttershy recomposed herself. “There was a lovely breeze that day. The birds were preparing to migrate, the frogs had all been tucked beneath the dirt and soil at the river bank, and Harry was having trouble finding his back scratcher, again.”

The audience and the court members began to give each other odd looks.

“So, I did him a favor and-”

“No, no, I meant-”

Fluttershy paused, cocking her head.

David charaded a motion like that of a swinging down an axe towards a log.

“O-Oh, right!” The yellow pegasus beamed. “And you did a very good job of chopping my firewood for me.” She smiled.

David summoned every ounce of will he had to force back a face palm, but his hand met his forehead anyhow, sliding down his complexion with sluggish frustration. All the eyes of the court were upon him now.

“Please be honest with me, son…” The Mayor rubbed her eyes. “Does the defense know where they are going with this?”

“I-In a moment, your Honor.”

“OBJECTION!!”

The courtroom trained their attention on the minotaur, yet another fat palm of his slamming against his table. “The monkey shall refrain from discussing his day-to-day life with the locals! Chimp proceedings have absolutely nothing to do with this court!”

“Now WAIT just a moment, mister!”

A collective gasp bellowed all throughout the room. Iron Will stood aghast, the Mayor glanced back in shock, and David took cover at the threatening use of the word “mister” once again. Fluttershy blinked and drew her hoof back.

“Oh, I-I’m sorry.” She flustered. “Was I supposed to shout ‘objection’ or something like that?”

Before anypony could respond however, the pegasus returned a menacing glare and spread her wings over the witness stand, flying over and hovering before the prosecutor with hooves to her hips.

“What makes you think you have the right to call our friend David here any kind of classification of cercopithecidae that you so please? Have you even tried asking him what he really is?”

“Erm…” Iron Will rubbed the nape of his neck.

“I didn’t think so.” Fluttershy crossed her hooves. “David is a human, and if you’re going to treat him otherwise then I don’t want to hear another ‘objection’ run from your mouth. Do I make myself clear?”

Iron Will raised a finger in response, but any run of words failed to spill from his fat, bovine snout, and a desperate snort towards the judge’s desk was all he could give.

“The…lengthy objection is sustained.” The Mayor ruled, fixing her glasses. “Mr. Will, from here on out you will refrain from making any objections unless you have something productive to deliver to the court. Is that understood?”

“Y-Yes…your Honor.” The bull felt defeated once again.

“Now, Miss Fluttershy, would you care to give the remainder of your testimony?”

“Gladly.” The pegasus nodded to the Mayor and returned to her chair at the stand. In spite of the strangely threatening amount of assertiveness this timid, little pegasus could pull from seemingly nowhere, David had surrendered some amount of admiration in her efforts. A small smile crept to his lips as she got comfortable and proceeded with her story.

“When I had called David over to help me with chopping the firewood for the coming winter, it was unbeknownst to me just how poor of a state my axe laid in.”

「FLUTTERSHY’S TESTIMONY ‣」
“David showed up at my cottage one morning to begin chopping firewood.”
“Everything was going very smoothly, until all of a sudden, the axe head flew off of the helve!”
“We had to duck for cover, it was the second most terrifying moment of my life!”
“If only I were more well versed in gardening tools, then this never would have happened.”
“We decided to take the axe to Applejack for repairs.”
“After fixing it, we left it in the stump leading up to the orchard.”

The courtroom resumed to a quiet setting, taking in the words of the pegasus’ testimony. Quietly, the Mayor nodded in understanding. “I see.” The old mare began. “So, the axe you had been using must’ve been quite old, and in desperate need of a wedge or two?”

“That’s right, your Honor.” Fluttershy nodded. “I often let the state of the tools I use run by my attention, because my animals come first.”

“And I suspect that this specific tool of yours will be used in reference to the defense’s explanation?” Mayor Mare looked to the boy expectantly.

“That’s just where I was getting to, your Honor.” David responded, turning back to the witness. “I never did get the chance to ask you, Fluttershy.” He began calmly. “Where exactly did you get that axe from?”

“The axe?” Fluttershy blinked. “Oh, that’s right! I got it from the local gardener, of course.”

David’s sights slitted. “And who might that be?”

The boy watched as her pupils expanded to the size of saucers, her gaze slowly shifting over and across the courtroom, as the human suspected he already knew who she was going to look at. Mr. Hayseed’s stoic, stagnant stare had all but fallen apart, replaced by fury, by an urgency to cowardice and retreat.

And thus, the boy gave pursuit.

“Well well, Mr. Hayseed. It seems you’ve left more out of your testimony than we first thought.” He crossed his arms. “Mind explaining to us how this axe of yours ended up on the crime scene?”

“OBJECTION!!”

Iron Will ignored the concerned glares of the Mayor. “The defense is making baseless claims! There is no way to prove that the stick of the crime scene and the axe in the witness’ testimony are the same exact tool!”

“OBJECTION!!” David shot back. “The divot on the end of the stick is all the proof that we need.”

“The defense’s objection is sustained.” The Mayor applied. “Mr. David, explain your findings to the court.”

“Simply go back to what Sam and Ralph had discovered with the shovel head and the stick.” The boy explained. “The shaft of the shovel met perfectly with the ring around the surface of the stick, giving light to the possibility that it’s no ordinary stick, but the helve of a tool. In fact, even if somepony had tried using a stick to leverage the bolder from its starting point, it would have broken in two under the weight of the rock. Therefore, a tool had to be used at some point in the night.”

“And what of the axe?” Mayor Mare prodded. “Do you mean to suggest that not a shovel head, but rather an axe head is the missing piece to this tool we are attempting to piece together?”

“It’s all in Fluttershy’s testimony, your Honor.” David reminded. “She stated that after repairing the axe, they had left it in the stump leading up to the orchard, otherwise known as Sweet Apple Acres.” He slammed his hands to the table and pointed forward. “The axe was never found in the investigation because the scene of the crime occurred just outside Sweet Apple Acres, exactly where the stump is!”

Another wave of disturbance sounded throughout the hall, and Mayor Mare had resorted to slamming her hoof against the desk in an effort to quell the court’s outcries. The boy wondered how she even managed a goof enough grip on the mallet in the first place. Eventually the voices began to subside, and the old mare glossed over the chamber before speaking.

“It would appear that a special testimony procedure will need to take place in order for the court to proceed with its findings.” The Mayor ruled over. “In the meantime, Ralph, you are tasked with engaging in an extensive investigation of the crime scene. Leave no stone unturned this time.”

“Yes, your Honor.” Ralph seemed almost shaky this time around, as he saluted and took flight for the outdoors.

There it is again, that special testimony procedure. David thought on. I had forgotten that although this is a court of law, this one is reigned over by colorful, pastel horses from another planet. Not everything is going to be the same as it would be on Earth. He tapped his chin for a moment. Come to think of it, I don’t even know what a real court back on Earth does. Wait, why the hell am I here again?

“In light of Miss Fluttershy’s testimony and the new findings of the court, the prosecutor’s client, Mr. Hayseed, will be redirected to the witness stand to testify under oath and give answer to any and all questioning that the jury deems fit.” The Mayor fixed her glasses to the two below. “Can I trust that you boys will keep the…’objection sparring’ to a reasonable level?”

“Yes, your Honor.” David obliged.

Iron Will slammed his table and shot forward. “I’ll make the defense DROWN IN IT!”

The Mayor stared silent, unamused.

“I-Iron Will means…” The minotaur slouched. “Yes, your Honor…”

This is it then. David deemed. All I need to do is get this Hayseed guy to confess. I already know he’s going to deny a lot of my claims, but if I can somehow prove that the axe did indeed belong to him, then maybe we can find out what really happened that night.

His momentary thought shed light upon what his assistant had told him near the very beginning of the trial.

There’s something off about this guy. Starlight had told him. Keep an eye on him.

「HAYSEED’S TESTIMONY 2 ‣」
“Fine! Ya’ want the truth? I knew exactly where them guards were at.”
“After my cart been smashed to smithereens, I told ‘em to look up n’ over the hill.” *pop*
“I-I.” *hic* “I wanted to stay behind and make sure my cart was okay.”
“My granddad gimme that cart, and that lil’un gone n’ destroyed it!” *sob*

The courtroom came upon a spell of silence, the ponies nodding calmly in pity and understanding to the poor farmer’s testimony.

“What a spout of cragodile tears.” Starlight snorted.

“Well, with you, I can never really tell.” David returned.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She retorted.

“You don’t give anypony a moment of compensation, Star.”

The unicorn huffed and explained. “The culprit will often resort to emotional strife when it seems most convenient to them because they’re trying to get out of something, and that’s because they know they’ve done something.” Starlight furthered. “I told you to keep an eye on this guy, and now I really think we’re on the right track here. Don’t hesitate to make him snap.”

I’ll have to take this slow. David thought to himself. It’s all a matter of time before Ralph returns from the investigation, hopefully with something useful. What I need is the right tools to make him say something that I can use against him. Hm, the right tools…

“Has the defense prepared a proper examination?” The Mayor asked.

“I believe I have just the thing, your Honor.” David rounded his desk and approached the old farmer at the witness stand, training his sights into his stiff yet wary eyes. “Mr. Hayseed.” He began. “At the top of the hill where the supposed crime scene had occurred, this large stick was found lying next to Scootaloo. In light of recent investigations, the court deems the possibility of this stick being a helve for a tool, and in light of Miss Fluttershy’s testimony not only had she claimed that she acquired an axe that you had once possessed, but said axe was also left embedded into the tree stump lying a mere trot away from the crime scene.” He prepared. “My question to you is, do you happen to recognize this tool helve?”

And the farmer snorted. “Never seen it in my life.”

“You are a gardener, correct?” David asked.

“Was.” Hayseed huffed. “Wudn’t makin’ the cut, so I got a whole crop to take care of.”

“Then would you care to explain as to why Fluttershy referred to you as a gardener instead of a farmer?”

“T’snot like I’m tellin’ everypony ‘bout my business, not if’n they ask.”

“And if they did, how truthful would you be?”

“You question’n my honesty?” His lip quivered. “My cart dun got smashed-”

“We know, Mr. Hayseed.” David halted. “But what we can’t seem to figure out is why Fluttershy had claimed that you were in possession of the axe, in spite of the fact that you said you’ve ‘never seen it in your life’ before.”

“I said I never seen that damn stick before.” He grunted.

“Then you admit to having owned the axe?” David returned.

Hayseed threw up his hooves. “So what if I owned an axe?” He grunted. “Dudn’t mean it’s the same axe you been dreamin’ about.”

“And if it were the same axe, would you still be hesitant to have claimed previous ownership of it?” The boy quested.

“I ain’t sayin’ I didn’t own no axe, all I’m sayin’ is that stick ain’t got nothin’ to do with it!” He cried. “What gives ya’ the gull to question me like this? Knowing a poor colt like me can’t hardly work no more without his cart.”

“I’m only trying to understand why it was so difficult to lay claim to this axe in the first place.” David went on. “Could it be the fact that after having given it to Fluttershy, it just so happened to end near the same location where the crime scene would go down several days after its repair? Only, when the morning of the investigation came, the axe was nowhere to be found. Hence why the court evidence came up short of an axe, or almost any tool at all for that matter.” The boy slitted his sights. “Almost as though somepony were attempting to get rid of the evidence early on.”

Silence began to take hold of the court, and worse more over Hayseed as well. He knew he had to keep the farmer going, lest he lose him and the intrigue of the trial.

“Mr. Hayseed, might I ask what it is that you grow on your farm?”

“Whatsitooya’?” The farmer snorted.

Is it just me, or does this guy try to cover up everything about his life. The boy wondered. Something tells me this dude’s real deep into some shady business.

“Mr. Hayseed, you are under oath.” The Mayor reminded.

And the farmer snorted again. “Alfalfa.” He answered.

“Before you had claimed that your role as a gardener simply wasn’t bringing in enough bits.” David brought up. “Could it be that this alfalfa is in high enough demand that it might reign in enough money to suit your needs?”

“It’s used for hay, keeps ya’ fed.” The farmer splayed. “If’n that’s what ya’ wanna know.”

“What I want to know is why you decided to abandon your gardening role altogether.” David went on. “What I really want to know is why you decided to abandon your axe given the fact that both gardening and farming must make frequent use of such a tool. Am I wrong? The only reason I can deduce as to why you, a former gardener and farmer who was already tight on money, would freely hoof away a tool like it was worth nothing. That could be because it almost certainly was worth nothing, and Fluttershy and I figured that out the moment the head split from the helve without us even knowing about it. But you knew about it, didn’t you?”

“Knew what?” The farmer chuckled shaking his head. “You don’t know nothin’, chimp.”

“You gave the axe to Fluttershy because you knew it was already in need of repairs, but you didn’t have the money for it, which leads me to believe that you didn’t just give the axe away out of the kindness of your heart.” David crossed his arms. “You sold it.”

Hayseed shrugged indefinitely.

“I suppose you’re not going to tell me how much you sold it for?” David attempted.

“Would it help?” Hayseed cackled.

“Well, that explains the grievances over your shiny, new cart.” The boy returned.

A kernel popped. “What you gettin’ at?” The farmer stiffened.

“You knew Fluttershy didn’t know a pair of trimmers from a pair of nose clippers. She even claimed in her testimony her deficiency in the field of tools.” David justified. “You took advantage of this and sold the axe to her at an unfair price, and used the money to get cozy with the cart you so claim your granddad gave to you. That’s a contradiction to your testimony, Mr. Hayseed, and you’re under oath.”

“Now you listen here, shit flinger!” The farmer seethed, red in the face. “All you been makin’ are nonsense and tomfoolery and falsehoods towards me this entire trial! If’n I say my granddaddy gimme’ that cart, he gimme that cart! Y’hear?! Don’t you go saying I ain’t tellin’ the truth!”

“With that being said, you claim everything you told the court in your testimony to be one hundred percent true?” David ventured. “The truth, and only the truth?”

“That’s right!” The farmer nodded firm, puffing his pipe.

And the boy grinned.

“Then tell the court why it took you this long to realize that your second testimony contradicts your first.”

Hayseed froze and sprung back, like a swarm of wasps threatening to sting him so. The court erupted into a fit of howls, and the Mayor was beginning to worry for the health of her hoof, should she continue her slamming upon the desk.

“The defense will explain their reasoning at once!” The Mayor demanded.

“With pleasure, your Honor.” David whipped out a small stack of papers, holding it in one hand whilst slapping it with the other. “We’ve only to go back on what Hayseed had claimed in his first testimony. He had stated that if it weren’t for the guards then the defendant would have gotten away with the crime, claiming that he left the investigation up to Sam and Ralph. However, how would he have known where to look if he hadn’t already been up there himself in the first place?”

“OBJECTION!!” Iron Will boomed. “The bolder rolled down from the hill and smashed the cart, it would have only been a matter of seeing where the stone had come from!”

But the boy shook his head. “He wouldn’t have been able to tell because it was too dark that night. Don’t forget what Scootaloo said in her testimony, it was too dark to see anything. There has been no mention of the usage of light, and going off of that, the only way somepony could have navigated the crime scene in the dark is if they had already been there!”

“Your statement bares holes!” The minotaur protested. “If it were too dark for anypony to see that night, how could the guards have navigated their way through the scene?”

“You don’t seem to be as familiar with a certain bat pony as I am.” The boy held a grin. “Ralph possesses bat attributes. In fact, he doesn’t even need to see, he can already hear where he’s going.” And he slammed his hands to the table. “Neither Sam nor Ralph needed any direction from Hayseed because Ralph could hear the bolder rolling down the hill from miles away, giving him and his partner plenty of reason to go investigate. Therefore, Mr. Hayseed never called the guards. No, instead…he was running away from them!”

The court erupted once more, and the Mayor slammed her hoof again.

“Does the defense mean to claim that…Mr. Hayseed is the true culprit to this crime?!” The Mayor blinked back, astounded.

“It’s simple, your Honor.” David slammed his hands to the desk for a final time. “The reason the axe was missing from the stump is because Hayseed drew it on his way back up the hill…and attempted to attack Scootaloo!”

The Mayor nearly fell out of her chair, the audience halted mid frothing of their mouths, and the jury was nothing less of a grocery store shelf line up of dropped jaws. In that very moment, light pooled down the center isle, and down the lane came Ralph with his evidence in tow.

“The axe head has been located.” He announced. “It had been buried beneath the shed on Mr. Hayseed’s farm.”

“Y-You-! You slimy, slippery, winged devil you!” Hayseed’s pipe popped like mad. “Y’can’t go rummagin’ through another pony’s stuff like that! Where’s your warrant?!”

Ralph shook his head. “Court laws rule that in the event of potential harm being done to the public, or the possibility of missing or obstructing evidence, warrant procedures are to be surpassed. In any case, your documentations concerning the farm are outdated.”

As the rest of the court watched in awe, Ralph trotted up to the examination table laid out with the helve and the shovel head. The shovel head was pushed to the side as Sam joined in and prepared to assemble the missing pieces together. After a brief, heart thumping and deafening pause, the axe head slid over the end of the helve like butter sliding in a pan. Ralph weighted the tool in his wings, trained it, and studied it.

“A perfect fit.” He deemed.

Quietly, all eyes in the room turned to Hayseed. The old farmer’s cob pipe in his mouth jittered like a rattle snake’s tail, his sights failing to stay focused and the sweat of his brow trickling over like a tiny waterfall. At the defense’s desk, the unicorn closed her eyes and slowly formed the clues together in her head.

“I see now.” Starlight said. “Perhaps this could have been a murder trial after all?”

“M-Miss Glimmer?” The Mayor hesitated.

And Starlight went on. “Scootaloo went wandering out into the night after having a drink with her friend from behind the bar. She was grieving so much over what had happened to Apple Bloom that her hooves seemed to assume a mind of their own, and inevitably brought her to the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres. Deep down she missed her friend, and wished only to see her again, but that’s when in the midst of her sorrow, the ‘crime’ had gone down. A bolder from the hill came crashing down next to her, which is why she heard the first crash, and the second soon after it smashed through Mr. Hayseed’s cart. The impact of the bolder threw her into a daze, and the drinking hadn’t done anything to help the situation. She could hardly see or hear anything, and that’s when Mr. Hayseed came running up the hill. He stopped by the stump and drew the axe from its resting spot, and smitten by fury he swung down on Scootaloo. However, the head of the axe came loose from the helve, and soared into the sky as the blunt end of the helve came down on Scootaloo’s scalp, giving tale to the large bruise on top of her head. Hayseed quickly realized that he would have to get rid of the evidence before the guards arrived, and so he chose the axe head over the helve, thus setting the filly up for a more practical looking crime.”

Starlight’s conclusions came to a haunting close, and the entirety of the building laid in a shroud of unmoving and unspoken horror. Accordingly, David raised his finger to the farmer.

“Mr. Hayseed.” He pointed. “You attempted murder…on a child!”

“I-I didn’t-! Sh-She was-! Th-The stick! The bolder! The cart-! The-!” Hayseed’s face twisted and contorted into unimaginable triumphs of rage as he stretched his teeth across his muzzle, bellowed fumes of fire from his corn cob pipe, popped and fiery kernels erupting like molten rocks from a volcano. They quickly went up in flames and singed the upper half of the farmer’s head to an ashy, pitch black, the whites of his eyes blinking in the midst of the smokey dark.

Then, Hayseed fainted, turned upside down, and his cloth fell from his rump. Every breathing being present took the better part of the ten-second pause to let their jaws hang to the floor. Mr. Hayseed’s flank…was blank.

“I knew it!” Starlight shouted aloud.

“My word, Mr. Hayseed!” The Mayor gawked. “Where is your cutie mark?”

“That’s just the thing, your Honor.” Starlight triumphed. “He doesn’t have one.”

“No cutie mark, at his age?” David tapped his chin. “No wonder he’s mad…”

“Hayseed was never going to get his cutie mark, and never will.” Starlight declared. “And that’s because he wasn’t born a pony.”

“Not a pony?” Mayor Mare fixed his glasses. “Then that would mean his property claims over the farmland are invalid.”

“Wait, what?” David hadn’t meant it quite outloud, and craned his head to whisper to Starlight. “Is that just a Ponyville thing or something?”

Starlight shook her head. “The Mayor is right, Equestrian law states that if you’re not a pony then you need a special visa in order to claim ownership over your property, regardless if it was yours to begin with or not.”

“So that means donkeys and mules or whatever don’t have the same rights as a pony?”

“Pretty much.” Starlight shrugged and nodded.

David stood back, rubbing his scalp. “That’s a little, I dunno…fucked up?”

“This would make all the damages dealt to his cart void.” Starlight explained. “In other words, Scootaloo is…”

The Mayor carefully applied the finishing touches to her gavel one drop of glue after the other. Satisfied, she raised the mallet and bellowed over the courtroom.

“Not Guilty!” And slammed the plate.

The gavel split into two once more, this time the hammer head rolling of the desk as it met the floor with a defeated, pitiful clack.

“But she will receive a two-hundred bit fine for drinking underage.” She finished.

The words almost meant nothing to the little filly, a smile shining brighter than the sun ever could as her eyes spanned across the courtroom and met the boy’s with several amounts of warmth, joy and gratitude. She sprung from her seat as Sweetie Belle and her classmates joined her, hopping and cheering as they hugged altogether. Piggy bank and loose couch change transactions were already underway in an effort to pay off Scootaloo’s fine, and with that the boy gave a satisfied nod and returned to the court. Everypony’s eyes were trained to the witness stand where Mr. Hayseed had fallen unconscious, but alas, his figure was nowhere to be found.

“Mr. Will?” The Mayor quickly addressed. “Where has your client gone?”

“The minotaur has retreated for the time being.” Came a low, icy thum. “And so has my most unworthy adversary, Mr. Hayseed. Or should I say, Mr. Greenhooves.”

The voice far more than familiar, the chill running up his spine and the sting that stuck every time the boy dared look into the aged, mysterious ambassador’s eyes. Those cold blue circles had instilled a strange sense of uncertainty and fear in the boy before, but they seemed this time to return with a vengeance, and he was already being told why.

“This is the last time you will be intruding upon my affairs, boy.” The thum returned. “I shall take the reigns, and face you. Do not disappoint me.”

Mikado.

Visions of lavender. The soothing touch of silk. The scent of flowers became unbearable, unbearable to the point that it became natural, natural to the point that it became familiar. Too familiar, deathly familiar. She felt deep down that she had been here before, among these people, among these sorcerers and masters of medicine, those who let the moon guide them and trained endlessly in the ways of water. She reached out with her hooves, but failed to find the strength. She wanted to look upon the world around her, but found no light to reveal its wonders. The scent of flowers told her everything, and it told her that she was home.

“Mother…?” Amethyst mumbled, quietly and slowly. “Is that you?”

A flash of white, and a thousand pink petals fluttering in the air clouded her vision. Cherry blossoms danced through the air, accompanied by a summer-green pasture and a leaning sakura tree. Her gaze began at the canopy of the tree and traveled to the earth it rooted within, and at the base of the great blossom tree, stood a tall and slender mare with a curved horn. Her mane struck a deep violet, and her coat a fervent flower orange. Her gaze was like nothing Amethyst had experience before, yet every ounce of it was more familiar than she could fathom. Gentle, loving, motherly…

“Senkō.” The motherly mare breathed. “O, my beautiful daughter.”

Amethyst could not find any room to speak, and she felt she did not need to. She only listened as the mysterious pony drew her bright and gentle hoof up to the younger mare’s face, the scent of flowers overwhelming her senses, her mind and body like sinking beneath a warm, soothing bath.

“He has taken too many away.” The mare mumbled.

Amethyst opened her eyes. “Who…?”

“But not you.” She continued to caress her. “He will never take you away from me.”

“Is this a dream?” Amethyst asked quietly.

“Follow your heart.” The mare told her calmly. “When the time is right, you will return to where you truly belong.”

“Mother…?” Amethyst reached forward, desperate and desiring. “I-Is that really you?”

“Stay strong, my daughter.” The light shined over, and the voice of the mare echoed.

“Senkō…”

As the petals of the great sakura tree flurried and spun all around, a scent so fleeting and distant, yet familiar the moment she encountered it, shook her awake. It was him, her prince. The light became harsh now, striking through foggy panes of glass as the mare struggled to adjust, unbeknownst as to how long she had laid unconscious. All the memories of the pain, the drowsiness and the nauseous aching had subsided to a fading and diminishing insignificance. As all laid quiet, Amethyst rose from the white sheets of the bed she laid in and uncovered her form, carefully studying her left hind hoof. The bandage was gone, and the scar reduced to a thin, lavender patch over her fur. Amethyst had been healed.

She raised her head, and there he was. As her words failed to arrive, his did not.

“Looks like you couldn’t keep yourself out of trouble.” Ronin said.

Amethyst stared, unbelieving. “You came back…?” She mumbled.

The colt leveled himself from his chair, trotting about the room aimlessly before stopping and staring out the window. “Doctor Horse had told me you were in trouble.” He explained. “On the day you and I turned our culprit into Town Hall, I planned to leave Ponyville for good, but not before making a stop by his office. He went on to tell me all about his travels through Neighsia, our culture and our ways in the field of medicine, which I of course was more than familiar with.” He took a pause. “Then, he showed me something that caught me by surprise. I suppose it makes sense now that uncle would send me here.”

Amethyst remained silent, allowing the colt to say his peace.

“You are very fortunate to have such knowledgeable doctors in your midst.” Ronin nodded.

“You saved me…didn’t you?” Amethyst reached. “If it wasn’t for you-”

“Save your breath.” The stag halted. “I only came to give you some answers so you wouldn’t have too many questions. You should get some more rest.” And he trotted for the door.

“But you never answered my question.” Amethyst started. “Why are you really here?”

The colt in the door paused, his ears aimed back towards his partner.

Her gaze fell to the sheets. “There’s no way anypony would come back for a dumb mare like me. It’s like you said, I’m rude, impulsive, selfish. There’s nothing about me to put any value or worth into.” She paused, and breathed. “But…I guess I could always tell that you thought otherwise.”

At that, Ronin turned, looking to the mare sitting up in the bed.

“I had a peek at your book.” She admitted.

Ronin felt that in the deepest pits of his mind and that strange tug upon his heart, the time had finally come. Visions of his uncle and his encouraging words filled his memories as he recalled upon the day he had left his home village, the world ahead and its mysteries a threatening yet wondrous adventure at his hooves. The young colt trailed slowly back into the room and returned his gaze past the stark white light of the window, pupils dancing upon the details of the outdoors. His breath came slow and shaky, the words calm and careful.

“Ever since the day I left my home village, I’ve been on a mission. That was three years ago.” Ronin painted. “I crossed through the cities of Equestria, from the bustling towns of Manehattan to the great splendor of the Crystal Empire, all in search for one pony in particular. The Lost Princess.”

Amethyst stared on, the revelations filling her mind.

“Where I come from she is only a legend, a fabled mare at best, said to bring peace back to the nation and restore our world to its former glory, delivering us from the strife that which he had set upon us so many moons ago. He is a traitor to our family, a traitor to our land, and even his own kin. I’m more than sure that by now you know whom I speak of.”

“Mikado…” Amethyst breathed coldly.

“To the world, he is an emperor and a hero.” His eyes glared devilishly. “But to us, he goes by another name. Yaksha, the White Bastard.”

Amethyst felt a chill run down her spine.

“I would not be telling you this even if my suspicions were dead on. There are two things for certain that I must know.” Ronin told her. “I must know that you are the one I’ve been looking for all this time.”

“And if I am?” Amethyst returned. “What’s the second thing?”

“Will you leave with me?”

Amethyst turned and returned her sights to the outdoors, the white and golden light of the early afternoon shining through with brilliant rays of estrangement and familiarity. It was in the middle of Fall, and a bright pink cherry blossom petal fluttered through the wind past the window.

“Not until we solve this case.” Amethyst turned with a confident nod. “Once and for all.”

Chapter 72 - Justice Once

Where the minotaur had stood, the ambassador now reigned over the prosecutor’s chair with a tight and confident stance. Mikado stared across the room and into the shaky gaze of the boy as he maintained a stance of his own. The two stood at odd ends, a seemingly endless staring contest in the onslaught of silence that ensued, soon before the court and the jury and the lot of Town Hall recomposed themselves and began once more.

“Mr. Mikado?” Mayor Mare began calmly. “It is in my understanding that you mean to stand in the prosecutor’s position for this next trial?”

The old foreigner took a pause, and began abruptly. “I’ve only come to discuss.”

“Discuss?” She replied. “Discuss what, exactly?”

“My dear Mayor, I am an ambassador.” He chuckled softly. “It is within my duty to discuss affairs both foreign and pertaining to my own country. This trial just so happens to fall under that category, and I plan to clear out the confusion that has been swarming about the masses. In other words, I have come to unveil the truth.”

David stood back, leaning over to his friend. “Starlight, you got a reading on this guy?”

“Leads an entire country and could make you disappear if he wanted to.” The unicorn replied quietly. “And that’s only if he’s being nice.”

“We’ve met Mikado before, but I have a feeling things are going to be different in the courtroom.” The boy stared ahead. “Is there anything you can find that we can use against him?”

“What, you want me to find his weak spot or something? Good luck fitting an ursa through a pinhole.” His partner cautioned. “Like I said, this stal is the leader of an entire country, he’s an emperor for crying out loud. The only reason he’s here is because he wants something, so I suggest we stay quiet until we find out for certain what that is.”

Mikado closed his eyes and flared his horn to life, a swirling vortex like the flow of water appearing before the court, everypony’s eyes fixated on the phenomenon in wonder and splendor. From the spell emerged a single item, a mallet of sorts, with elegant geometry and intricately painted decorations. He raised the hammer in the air for all to see.

“Your Honor, it has come to my attention that your gavel has been obstructed.” The colorful hammer was raised to the Mayor’s desk. “You may borrow mine for the time being.”

“Why, certainly!” The Mayor appeared more than enthusiastic. “What a beautiful piece this is. Thank you, Mr. Mikado.”

“Gladly.” The stallion took a slow bow. “I shall condone to the proceedings of this trial as though it were any other. We may begin when you are ready.”

That sneaky gloat, getting the judge on his side with those fancy, Asian knick-knacks. The boy glowered to himself. By this rate we’re going to have to rely on the facts alone to get us through this trial. The Cakes and the weather team are putting their faith into us, we can’t let them down!

“Very well, then.” Mayor Mare nodded justly. “Court shall proceed momentarily.”

“I look forward to the outcome of this endeavor.” Mikado played a grin. “I can only hope that you do not fail to amuse me, young Equerry.”

“Right back at ya’.” David replied slowly. “You kung-fu movie antagonist…or whoever you’re supposed to be.”

Clack!

The judge’s gavel slammed against the wooden surface, and thus the courtroom proceeded.

“The Trial for the conflict of the Cakes and the Pegasus Weather Patrol team is now underway. Is the defense ready?”

“As we’ll ever be, your Honor.” Starlight replied.

The Mayor waited. “Mr. David, is something the matter?” She asked.

David stood there, quiet than he had ever been, and it took a nudge from the unicorn to shake him back into action. He cleared his throat and began carefully.

“Well, your Honor, it’s just…” The boy scratched his scalp, giving an odd stare. “What exactly is the main objective of this trial?”

The court quickly came to a halt. The attendees watched on with disbelief as the Mayor delivered a tight, menacing glare. “What do you mean ‘what is the objective of this trial’? You are here to defend the Cakes and the weather pegasi from certain legal action, are you not?”

“Well, yeah, but…” He started again. “It was revealed that Hayseed, or rather Mr. Greenhooves, isn’t a pony but instead he’s a donkey. That automatically made all of his allegations towards the weather pegasi and the Cakes as void, because apparently his property doesn’t mean a thing if he’s not a pony. You even said it yourself, remember?”

“Did I now…?” The Mayor sat back and tapped her chin for a long pause, then clicked back to the court. “I don’t seem to recall.”

“Don’t recall?” David blinked. “W-What do you mean? You’re the Mayor, you remember everything that goes on in this town.”

“I won’t have any more interruptions coming from you for the remainder of this court. Do I make myself clear, boy?” She boomed and tapped her gavel to the desk. “The trial shall proceed as intended.”

“What the heck is going on?” The boy stood back in wonder. “Star, are you getting any odd vibes from the atmosphere or what?”

“I’ll admit, it’s odd of the Mayor to openly admit forgetting something that she herself discussed.” Starlight prodded at her chin. “I’ll bet it has something to do with that hammer.”

“The hammer?” David looked back. “You mean the one Mikado gave her?”

“Remember how he summoned it using his magic?” She explained. “My instincts are telling me it’s got an enchantment on it or something, and he’s using it to manipulate the Mayor without her even knowing.”

He’s not even giving us a chance here, is he? The boy concluded. As far as we’re concerned, he might as well be toying with us.

“Now then.” The Mayor began again. “The prosecution may now give the case summary and the opening statement.”

“That would appear to be in order.” Mikado acknowledge, spawning a sheet of paper with his magic as he held it in his levitation and projected his voice. “At approximately eight o’clock in the morning on the day of the fire of Sugarcube Corner, Captain Sunshower of the weather pegasi and her team gathered a set of rain clouds to be delivered to the former farmer Mr. Hayseed’s crops. However, instead of taking the rain clouds to their designated area, a fire broke out at the bakery known as Sugarcube Corner, causing the captain to demand that her team mates divert their course and dowse the flames with the rain.” The summary coming to a close, Mikado addressed the court. “I believe it is more than obvious as to what happened here. Captain Sunshower is a brave and noble pegasus, for how could such a mare ignore the cries of others when the tools necessary for their rescue are but only in hoof’s reach? Alas, the captain’s judgment on the consequences seemed to go without consideration, and thus the weather pegasi face repercussions for their misguided duty, and the Cakes a hefty fine for their misuse of the kitchen equipment which inevitably caused the fire.”

“Thank you, Mr. Mikado.” Mayor Mare hummed.

The ambassador gave a simple bow.

“The defense shall now call their first witness to the stand.”

Sam ushered the pegasus in question from her seat and up the center isle, crossing the red bar and trotting past the defense’s desk as she delivered a stoic gaze to her attorney. Sunshower eyed the boy with a hint of discomfort, moreover for him rather than herself.

“Guess it’s been a while?” David decided to say.

“I’m not going to pretend you know what it is that you’re doing here, because frankly I know that neither are you.” Sunshower said. “All I can say is, if we at least manage to get out of this with the hides still on our flanks, I guess I’ll be indebted to you all over again.”

“Consider it another sporadic attempt at hospitality.” The boy replied.

“You seem to be full of those.” Sunshower grinned. “Shall we keep it simple, then?”

“Agreed.” He nodded.

Sunshower climbed to the testimony stand, taking a breath and attempting to get comfortable. All eyes in the courtroom laid upon her as the words arrived.

「SUNSHOWER’S TESTIMONY ‣」
“I arrived at the office at six o’clock that morning, waiting for my crew mates to arrive.”
“After gathering the rain clouds I split the crew into two groups to distribute the rain evenly.”
“We were one pegasus short, however. So, I took the liberty of hauling twice a pony’s work.”
“Before we dealt the rain, the smell of smoke overcame me, and I could see the fire from afar.”
“I went against my better judgment and ordered my crew mates to dowse the flames.”
“As for me, I dove inside to save those who were trapped, and sustained only minor injuries.”

The testimony came to a quiet close, the courtroom settled, and the Mayor nodded with understanding. “I see.” The old mare began. “So you put the priorities of others over your own?”

“If that’s how you want to put it, your Honor.” Replied the captain. “Sadly, I can’t say the same for my crew mates. Even though I wouldn’t have been able to save Mr. Cake and the babies without them, I would have found it better that they not be involved in this mess.”

As the room once again fell into silence, David stood and carefully analyzed the captain’s words. If I’m going to pull Sunshower out of this, I need to find some way to justify her reasoning for using the rain clouds to put out the fire. But…the rain clouds were used for something other than their intended purpose. No matter how the court will look at it, she’s still in violation of the state provided services. How the hell am I supposed to go about this…?

“Please tell me we’ve got some evidence to back us up, o trusty assistant.” David urged his partner.

“Sorry, bub, we’re led dry at the moment.” Starlight sighed. “We’ll just have to hope something will come up in our witness’ testimonies. Pick ‘em for every hair they’ve got.”

“Right.” David nodded, turning back to the captain. “Miss Sunshower-”

“Just Sunshower.” She retorted.

“I-I’m sorry?” The boy blinked.

“I hate it when an honorific or something other is placed before my name, it makes me feel old.” Sunshower justified. “So, just call me Sunshower. Please?”

“O-Oh. Well, okay.” The boy was left at a pause.

“Say, ‘captain’ is an honorific too, isn’t it?” Cskie wondered.

“I thought her name was just ‘cap’.” Oskie added.

“Sunshower.” The boy began again. “You mentioned in your testimony that you were ‘one pegasus short.’ Could you tell us who this pony was?”

“A one, Miss Derpy Hooves.” Sunshower nodded. “Like the rest of her employees she had been scheduled to show up to work that morning, but called off due to ‘personal reasons’ as she had put it.”

Should I prod further? The boy thought. I don’t want to waste time on conversation that’ll get us nowhere, we’re on a thin line with the Mayor as it is. Maybe if I try to make it quick…

“Did she happen to list what these reasons were?” He asked her.

“OBJECTION!!”

Mikado swept a long, silver brush dipped in black ink across the papers strewn over his desk. His eyes flared alive and his voice boomed over the sudden silence. “The ‘personal reasons’ of this former employee no longer bare any relation to the court. Your Honor, I object to the defense’s tedious, time-biding tactics.”

The Mayor delivered a slow nod. “Objection sustained.” She glared to the boy. “The defense shall refrain from investigating questions unrelated to our case.”

Is this guy casually doing calligraphy in the middle of court? David stared on, dumbfounded. Never mind that. What gives him the gull to swat us like flies? Dammit, at this rate we’ll never get a word out of our witnesses.

“David, I just thought of something.” Starlight suddenly perked up. “A member of the court raises an objection every time they want another pony to shut up, right?”

“I like the way you put it.” David noted.

“Well, who’s to say we can’t use our opponent's own objections against him?” Suggested the unicorn. “Witnesses don’t have to be the only ponies we rely on for valuable information. Every time rice patty over there tries to hit us with an objection, we should hit him back with twice the force!”

The ‘personal reasons’ of this former employee no longer bare any relation to the court. Mikado’s words suddenly echoed over in the boy’s mind, and with that he understood what his partner was getting at. With a tightened brow and the intensity in his arms rising, David slammed his hands back to the table and raised yet another-

“OBJECTION!!”

“Young Equerry, what is the meaning of this?” The Mayor growled.

“Your Honor, the prosecution is holding back potential clues that could aid this case.”

“D-Don’t you mean the witness?” The Mayor tried. “Miss Sunshower?”

The pegasus captain gave the Mayor an icy stare.

But the boy shook his head. “I mean the prosecutor Mr. Mikado, your Honor.” He elaborated. “After Sunshower had stated that her employee called off work due to personal reasons, we had been rudely interrupted by the prosecution, whom stated that the personal reasons of this former employee have no relation to the court.”

“Your point being…?” The old mare waited.

“I’d like to hear as to why our prosecutor thinks these ‘personal reasons’ hold no potential information for the court. But no, I’ve thought of a better question.” The boy prepared. “That being…how did he know Derpy was a former employee before Sunshower even had the chance to mention it!”

A wave of murmurs sprinkled across the crowd, and the Mayor gave her gavel a light tap. Seemingly a single, feathered swing was enough to bring the court back to a reasonable volume, and the boy feared what that hammer might be capable of at full force.

“I do believe what the defense is asking for is some manner of proof.” The Mayor craned her head down. “Miss Sunshower, is it true that Miss Derpy Hooves is no longer among your ranks?”

The pegasus masked a grimace with a short nod. “That would be correct, your Honor.” The captain replied. “Derpy had filed in her resignation at least three weeks ago, and hasn’t returned since.”

“Do you think these personal reasons give clue as to why she decided to quit?” David supposed.

Sunshower returned a shrug. “You got me. Quite frankly, I’m as clueless on these reasons as anypony else, all I can say is it might have had something to do with family relations. I remember how the mare just couldn’t stop talking about her daughters.”

The court having settled back down, the silence ensued for a second or two before the Mayor turned to address the ambassador. “Does the prosecution have anything to say in return?”

Mikado was dreadfully silent now, the hairs of his brush being pressed into the paper with a little too much force. Suddenly, the tension faded and his face brightened. “Of course not, your Honor.” He hummed along. “Perhaps I had phrased my objection incorrectly. Being from foreign lands, it almost pains me to exercise the Ponish tongue instead of my own, you see? A simple misconception was all, carry on.”

Don’t think you can back out of it again so easily. David glared across the room. Every time this guy tries to raise an objection, I’ll just find something in his phrasing to call him out on. We can get information from both the witness and the prosecution. And the boy felt a grin creep to his lips. Two birds, one stone.

“Sunshower.” The boy resumed. “I do have one more thing I’d like to know about. You’ve mentioned time and time again how you feel that your actions were in the wrong, that your team mates shouldn’t have been roped into this mess, almost as though you’re apologetic for your acts of bravery. Why is that?”

“Well, it’s simple.” Sunshower answered. “I am a mare of my duty. And, we are not a rescue team, we’re a weather team.”

“So, you only feel that you are in the wrong.”

“What exactly do you mean?” She wondered.

“Sunshower, you know you didn’t do anything wrong because in that moment in time, your actions were justified.”

“OBJECTION!!” Mikado shot again.

This guy’s relentless… David groaned within. Well, lucky for the both of us, I’ve actually got a little trick up my sleeve this time around.

“The defense has neglected an important part of the testimony from their own witness.” Mikado explained. “Have we already forgotten what our dear captain had told for all of the court to hear? She clearly stated that she had gone against her better judgment and ordered her crew mates to dowse the flames of the fire. Noble as her actions might have been, if they are not just in her mind, how can they be just in the face of the court? In the face of the law for that matter?”

The crowd was only given mere seconds to give their concerns before the Mayor delivered a firm whap to the gavel’s plate.

“The prosecution has made a fair point.” The Mayor announced, unsurprisingly. “Mr. David, you claim that in the event of dowsing the fire your client’s actions were justified, and yet she had clearly stated before that she was out of her realm of better judgment. My question to you is, do you have any proof that her actions were justified?”

David stood amongst the eyes of the court, silent and arms crossed. Starlight had to stifle a groan, she knew he was just doing it for dramatic effect.

“Young Equerry, even you must realize there is no way to prove one’s innocence on faith and justice alone.” Mikado chuckled from his desk. “Within every art piece there is always more than meets the eye. What you lack is the vision.”

“Actually-” The boy prepared. “I already know where to look.”

“Y-You do?” Starlight worried “Please tell me you actually do.”

He delivered the unicorn a wink, and swept his finger across the courtroom. “You ask for my proof, your Honor? Well, there they are sitting right over there!”

As the courtroom stupored into yet another breathless and dumbfounded silence, two sets of bugged-out eyes accompanied by curious, doll-eyed beads stared beneath the menacing finger-pointing that the defense was always sporting. Mr. and Mrs. Cake joined the silence of the room, almost wishing they weren’t the ones the boy was attempting to address. Then, the baby cakes broke out screaming and crying. Once again, row after row of condescending glares stuck to the boy’s form.

“This day is going to be longer than I thought…” His finger dropped.

It reminded the boy a fair amount of what almost all of those Sundays spent in church were like. Someone’s baby was always crying, thus forcing their guardian to the back pews or into the cry room wherein those gathered could resume to their sacrificial hour for the week. Mr. Cake was now huddled in the back attempting to coddle and shoosh his children to a more acceptable volume, juggling Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake in both hooves, something he had grown quite skillful at even in his healing state. It was evident enough that the children wanted their mama, but the mare was front and center now, lining herself up to the witness stand as though she were preparing herself for an excruciatingly long night of interrogation. Everypony could only hope that by then they would get out before the sun hit the horizon.

“Stick to the truth and this’ll be over before you know it.” Starlight obliged the older mare.

“As if I intend to jeopardize what chances we have left.” The bakery mare gave a nervous chortle. “I just hope your friend here knows what he’s doing.”

Mayor Mare took the liberty of fixing her glasses and leaning over the side of her desk to bestow a warm and inviting smile to the pony up on the witness’ stand. “Chiffon Swirl.” She nodded happily. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Gosh, Miss Ivory, you look even better than when we last met.” Another chortle escaped the baker’s lips. “Harsh to believe that such events would bring us to meet again, and here of all places, eh?”

“A certain pair had us agree that fate has its strange ways.” A mournful expression fell over the Mayor. “I must give you my condolences for what has happened to the bakery. From what it seems you were in the thick of it.”

“That’s right, your Honor.” Mrs. Cake took a serious glance. “I’ve got a whole story to tell ya’, both you and this feller here.”

Seems like the Mayor and Mrs. Cake are on good terms with each other. The boy observed. Hopefully that’ll make things a lot less complicated for us.

「MRS. CAKE’S TESTIMONY ‣」
“I’ve been making pastries for more than thirty years, I can hardly express the shock I’m in.”
“On the morning of the fire, Mr. Rich had arrived to order a special made cake.”
“After leaving the cake on a timer, I set out to tend to the other customers waiting in the lobby.”
“The next thing I know, half of the kitchen is up in flames! I never even smelled any smoke…”

The testimony approached to its close and the court returned to a quieted setting. In the midst of the silence the Mayor lifted her snout and imitated that of somepony taking a long, warm sniff to freshly baked pastries. “Ah yes, thirty years since you first started at the bakery. Even back then your muffins were to die for.” The Mayor reminisced. “Hard to believe it’s been that long.”

More than thirty years, she says? David thought to himself. If she’s been working the bakery for that long, or any bakery for that matter, there’s no way Mrs. Cake could’ve made a clumsy mistake like that. Something tells me this was more than just an accident, and I might even have something to back it up. The boy’s mind went back to his time spent with Silver Spanner and the Doctor, their findings upon the burnt oven pieces and the chemical reactions that were produced from the tests.

“Your Honor.” Mikado gladly chirped. “At this time I would like to provide an article of evidence to the court.”

“Very well, Mr. Mikado.” The Mayor simply nodded.

“Wait, what…?” The boy paused. “You can just throw out evidence in the middle of court like it’s an instant card, or something?”

“He’s Mikado, he might as well do as he wants.” Starlight drawled.

“May I present…” The stallion’s horn flared, and he prepared the item in question. “The burnt oven! The main source of the fire that took place at the bakery.”

“What the-?!” David jumped back. “Where did you get that?”

Mikado’s face fell to a blank, his eyes scanning over the boy. “We’ll just say some gentlecolt simply hoofed it over to me.” He snuck a chuckle.

Doctor Whooves? The boy shook his head. No, there’s no way he’d side with a menace like Mikado. He’s too smart to miss the fact that this guy’s up to something. And without a sign of warning, David’s palms collided with the table.

“Your Honor, the prosecution is withholding important information!” He dared.

“Is he now?” The Mayor raised a brow. “Would you care to explain, young Equerry?”

“Of course! He, uh…” The boy suddenly felt hesitant. “H-He stole that oven…! Y-yeah.”

The amateur defense attorney could almost swear that he had seen three little dots appear above the heads of every occupant in the building. Even Starlight found herself at the dumbfounded end, moreover entranced by the boy’s sporadic stupidity and what useless ends it might carry them to, along with its feats, of course.

“Is the manner of retrieval of the evidence so important to you?” Mikado bellowed back. “What matters is that the oven is here and ready to be examined. You are welcome to use it to your disposal as well, it’s court evidence. It’s free for everyone!”

“That’s got to be the most back-hoofed statement I’ve ever heard from any corporate boss.” Starlight deadpanned. “In fact, it’s the only back-hoofed statement I’ve heard from a corporate boss.”

David stood there motionless, shoulders drooped and face in a drop.

But does he realize that it’s already been tampered with? He pondered on. If that’s the case then he could have altered it to suit his needs in court. In other words, this slimy bastard’s been up to some autopsy report updating!

“Have we prepared a proper analysis on this article of evidence?” The Mayor called.

“Obligatory, your Honor.” Mikado produced another sheet of paper, scanning it over while casually drawing his brush across the parchment on his desk. “Analysis of the evidence indicates that the oven was indeed the cause of the fire, wherein the scoring marks left by the flames link back to the origin point, that being the burnt appliance we see before us now. There is a simple explanation as to what happened here.” The Neighsian struck confident as ever. “As she had stated in her testimony, Mrs. Cake went to tend to her customers after leaving Mr. Rich’s cake order to bake in the oven. In the midst of working she had forgotten about the cake, thus setting the kitchen up in flames.”

Moreso than murmurs of concern, mumbles of agreement were beginning to litter about the crowds as the volume of the room rose. Mayor Mare allowed a single tap of her gavel, and resumed to the argument below.

“So with this manner of explanation, the prosecution insists that the fire was indeed an accident?” The Mayor wondered.

“The hustling worries of her business had distracted her so, there is no other explanation.” Mikado insisted.

“OBJECTION!!” David boomed. “You’re forgetting something here, the timer which Mrs. Cake had set.”

“And what of it?” Mikado waited.

“If Mrs. Cake insists that she had set a timer for the cake, how come she never heard it go off?”

“Do you mean to answer your own question?” The stallion tsked. “Clearly the cake inside the oven had begun burning long before the timer was to trigger the alarm. Otherwise, the bakery would have never caught fire in the first place, now would it?”

“That still doesn’t explain how she never smelled the smoke.” David tried again. “If not the timer, then the smell of something burning would have given her enough time to do something before a fire broke out.”

“You appear to underestimate how narrowed a pony’s senses can be when distracted with multiple tasks.” Mikado countered.

“Are you saying that Mrs. Cake was impaired?”

“Impaired? I do not recall indoctrinating any possible medical disabilities into the argument, but if that’s the case then we need only to ask our faithful witness here.” Mikado raised his head and projected his voice. “Mrs. Cake, do you happen to recall what temperature you had set the oven to?”

“I-I, erm…” The mare recomposed. “Not off the top of my head. Mr. Rich’s cake was a special order, he even gave me a set of procedures on how to prepare it. Special ingredients, specific measurements, temperature, the whole shi-bang.”

She couldn’t have been bothered to tell me this when I, her attorney, was asking her? The boy drooped. Wait a second…special ingredients? Specific measurements? What’s all that supposed to mean?

“So you see, young Equerry?” Mikado chortled again. “I do believe I answer for both your curiosities and the questioning of the court when I insist that this was only a series of misconceptions and ill-timed events. Mrs. Cake is a very talented baker, of that I have no doubt. Unfortunately we all make mistakes, and the faults appear to have fallen on the Cakes this time around.”

Dammit, this guy’s got all the corners covered, for both the evidence and the witness testimony. David fretted within. I…I don’t know what to do now.

“Starlight?” David desperately looked to his companion. “You’ve been pretty quiet as of late.”

“This guy…” Her teeth tightened, eyebrow in a twitch. “He really pisses me off.”

“Need me to stand back?” The boy offered. “I wouldn’t mind if you blasted him away.”

“I like where your head’s at, but we’ve got enough problems on our plate as it is.” Starlight cautioned. “Back in my hay-day I would’ve been subduing government officials left and right without a second thought.”

“Wait, wha-?”

“Lucky for the both of us though, I’ve already been working on the next step.” A grin stretched across the unicorn’s face.

The Mayor fixed her glasses and glared below. “Does the defense have any means to prolong the court?” She trained her eyes on the boy.

“Starlight, if you’re gonna do something-” Sweat trickled down his brow. “Do it now.”

“It would appear that this case has come to a conclusion.” Mayor Mare raised her gavel high. “The court finds the defendants Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and the pegasi of the Ponyville Weather Patrol…”

“Starlight-!” The boy begged.

Alas, it was too late, the gavel had already met the plate. The resounding echo of the hammer to the desk reverberated like a cold, threatening sentence. The room lied dreadfully still, and all that was to arrive was the Mayor’s judgment.

Then, a cry filled the air.

“WAIT—!!” Came the voice of a pegasus.

The courtroom flashed back into shock, even Mikado found himself uncertain of what was to unfold before him.

“I-I mean, uh…” The pegasus scratched his mane. “Objection! Or…whatever it is you guys are supposed to say!”

The court exploded again, and the Mayor resumed to slamming her gavel. “Order, I call order!” She glared to the pony before her. “What is the meaning of this?! Who are you?”

“You’ve gotta listen to what I have to say!” He almost demanded. “We can’t let our captain down, not after we’ve come this far!”

“Young lad…” The Mayor fixed her glasses. “You are a member of the weather pegasi, are you not?”

“Th-That’s right, Miss Honor Sir! I-I mean, ma’am! Boss!” Sweat trickled down the young pegasus’ face. “The name’s Open Skies, but you can call me Oskie for short. Some of my friends call me Oscar.”

“Only when you deserve it.” Cskie called over.

The rest of the weather pegasi were more or less completely dumbfounded and caught off guard by the actions of their friend. Only a fool would raise their protests at such a time in court, and Oskie was the fool that everypony could rely on to do it. Almost immediately, Sunshower had raised herself from her chair, angrily approaching her crew mate.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Sunshower growled. “Now is not the time for this, Oskie, you’ll only make a fool of yourself.”

“If that’s what it takes to keep this trial going, then I’ll do it for you, captain!” Oskie triumphed.

“Mr. Skies.” The Mayor addressed sternly. “Rambunctious as your input to this court may be, I’m going to go against my own better judgment here and allow you a single chance. Do you have anything worth bringing notice to our case here?”

“That I do, your Honor…” The pegasus almost hesitated.

“Oskie, no!” His colleagues hissed. “Not yet!”

“And why not?” He pleaded. “We might not get another chance to show it!”

“OBJECTION!!”

Mikado swiped his brush across the paper. “The court has reached well past the matter of the weather pegasi, there is no need to prolong this trial.”

“OBJECTION!!”

David slammed his hands. “And how do you know he was going to give anything even remotely related to the pegasi?” He pointed. “Let the bird take the stand!”

Mikado went still. A single drop of ink spotted his page with undesired marks.

Got him. The boy deemed.

“Nice work, David.” Starlight provided. “You were quicker than I was.”

“If it wasn’t for your intervention we wouldn’t have made it this far.” The boy returned.

“Ehehe, yeah…r-right.” The unicorn gave a nervous chuckle.

“W-Wait, you mean-?” The boy blinked. “This goof ball wasn’t a part of your plan?”

“He should’ve been here by now.” Starlight looked about the room. “For the time being we’ll just have to bide our time on whatever this guy wants to tell the court. Hopefully he has something that can benefit us in the long run.”

“Mr. Skies.” The Mayor called once more. “Your testimony?”

“Test-a-what now?” Oskie gave a few blinks. “A-Actually, your Honor, I don’t think I have any useful information to give to the court.”

Had the Mayor had a shorter fuse that day…

“But what I do have is some evidence!”

“Evidence, you say?” The Mayor blinked.

“That’s right, baby! Cold, hard evidence.” Oskie attempted to sound confident. “Well, it’s not actually cold, but you get my point.”

“This court has been lacking some, as of late…” The old mare fixed her glasses and boomed again. “Well then, trusting weather pegasus, let’s have a look at it.”

“Right!” Oskie fumbled into his saddle bag and produced the item that had been given to him and his friends a mere week or two ago. The very jar that was meant to be the saving grace of both the captain and her team of weather pegasi.

And it was empty.

The equivalent of a tumbleweed passing through the desert encompassed the energy of the courtroom. Oskie was left staring through the transparent curvature of the mysteriously empty jar, and the better part of the court had begun to wonder if the poor lad had been born with any mental deficiencies.

The jar was empty. Why was it empty?

“Um…” David stared blankly. “Is he trying to tell us something, or…?”

“I’m guessing that’s the jar where he keeps his brain…” Starlight looked suicidal.

“Mr. Skies.” The Mayor began calmly. “It seems that you have brought a glass jar to the court.”

“…” Oskie stood silent.

“Are you aware that this is not a science fair?”

“…” The pegasus hesitated. “Would it help?”

“Open. Skies.” Cskie took a clamoring step forward. “You’ve been tampering with the evidence, haven’t you?!”

“I did nothing to it, I swear!” The pegasus fumbled with the lid. “M-Maybe it just leaked out or something-”

“Don’t make it any worse!”

“That’s enough, both of you!” The Mayor boomed, threatening to slam her gavel. “The court demands an explanation to all of these impulsive claims and behaviors at once! What was in the jar? What had ‘leaked’ out of it?”

Oskie and Cskie stared frozen and dumbfounded, both of their hooves clutched over the jar like a pair of siblings. Cloud Chaser had the obligation to run up and yank the piece from their grasp, raising it high for the court to see.

“Well, y-you see, your Honor.” Cloud Chaser recomposed. “The contents of this jar were collected from the Cloudsdale weather factory.”

“The weather factory, you say?” She blinked.

“That’s correct.” Cloud Chaser admitted. “We had managed to successfully store a sample of raw, unprocessed water vapor. However, it would appear that the sample has inexplicably…dissipated, so to speak.”

“Correct me if I had heard you wrong…” The Mayor dug her hoof into her ear. “Would you mind giving the court an explanation as to what exactly ‘raw, unprocessed water vapor’ is?”

“Ah, well…” Cloud Chaser rubbed the back of her mane. “It’s, uh, water vapor.”

The Mayor waited.

“That…hasn’t been processed yet?” The pegasus shrugged.

“Well, it was nice knowing you guys.” Oskie frowned.

“This was your idea!” Cskie argued.

Raw, unprocessed water vapor? David thought on the words, finding both how interesting and stupid they actually sounded. Hm, I remember hearing back home how there was a difference between processed and unprocessed milk, but that was only because the unprocessed milk wasn’t run through a dairy factory or something other. Maybe they’re actually onto something here…

“Um, your Honor?” David raised timidly.

The Mayor struggled a sigh. “Have you any empty promises to give to the court as well, young Equerry?” She glared.

“A-Actually, you Honor, I think what the weather pegasi are trying to tell us is that the evidence is in fact there.” He noted. “You just can’t see it.”

“OBJECTION!!” Mikado struck back. “The reason you cannot see the evidence is because it simply isn’t there.”

“And how do you know that?” David took a calmer approach. “Think about it. Just because we can’t see the air doesn’t mean that it isn’t there. Otherwise, how would we be breathing right now?” He pointed forward. “I say that the jar is in fact not empty, at least not as empty as we first deemed it to be.”

The Mayor gave a subtle nod as though attempting to understand. “And can the defense prove this?” She asked him.

“Starlight, I need your help.” David quickly turned to her. “If there truly is something swimming around inside that jar, what can we do to reveal its presence to the court?”

She led a hoof to her chin. “They said it was supposed to be water vapor, right? That means it must be a cloud of some sort. As a matter of fact, most of the air around us is also classified as ‘invisible water vapor’.”

“So…it really is just a jar full of air?” David nearly dropped.

“I’m not a hundred percent sure where they got it from, but if they haven’t opened it yet then that might not be the case.” She proposed. “Which would mean the only way to figure out if there really is a cloud inside of that jar…”

“…is if we open it.” David finished, running over the consequences of tampering with evidence in the middle of court. “Do we know what will happen if we do?”

“It’s like you said, buddy, only one way to find out.” With a hesitant strife, the unicorn turned to the judge at her desk. “Your Honor, we have a proposal for the evidence.”

“Oh, and what might that be?”

“We would like to open the jar.” Starlight announced.

Oskie produced a death grip on the jar. “I’ve only had it for two weeks!” He pleaded.

“Your initial interruption has been in contempt with the court, we have wasted enough time on this charade as it is.” Mayor Mare glared daggers. “Hoof it over, son.”

The colt pegasus gulped and shakily led the jar over. “Be gentle…” He quietly begged.

The boy and the unicorn stood idly at the defense’s desk, carefully analyzing the jar before looking to one another and giving their nods of content. “To think that opening a single jar would ever carry this much suspense.” David commented, and warily looked down at the lid of the container. “Well…here goes nothing!”

There was a twist and a snap, almost as though the boy were opening a can of soda, and an audible pop bounced off the walls of the hall. For a long moment then the entire room lied still and in silence, eyeing the defense as he raised the open jar up and down, took a peek inside, attempted to empty it, so and so forth. He rested the open jar to the desk. As such, not a creature nor a critter stirred.

“Nothing indeed.” Mikado nodded with satisfaction. “I believe this court is overdue for its conclusion. Mayor Mare, would you do the honors?”

“Gladly-” The mare paused. “As soon as somepony tells me who just shot a spitball at me.”

There was a pitter, and a patter.

“Say,” David swept his brow. “Does anyone else feel a little…sweaty?”

“I think that’s coming…from above.” Starlight noted.

Everypony paused, blinked, and looked up. It began to rain, heavily.

“I believe this court is overdue for a recess…” The Mayor growled.

It never would have crossed the mind of anypony that having to stand outside instead of inside to avoid the rain would become a thing. Almost anypony. An industrial sized wind dryer was placed inside the hall while the better part of the court spent their recess outside, the dryer itself being provided by none other than a certain earth stallion with more degrees of knowledge than what might have been good for him, or even anypony for that matter.

“This is officially the longest recess in the history of this town’s trials.” Starlight added.

“And the trial?” David wondered.

“It speaks for itself.”

“I can only wonder if any of this could have been prevented, had I shown up a little sooner?” Doctor Whooves chimed in. “So sorry, Miss Glimmer.”

“Just as long as you brought the real evidence, I won’t bat an eye.” The unicorn glanced to her partner. “In any case, Mikado’s already caught on to what we’re up to. We need to come up with a new strategy before we confront him again.”

“The way I’m looking at it,” David proposed. “If we can prove that the fire at Sugarcube Corner was more than just an accident, then we can win over the Cake’s case and focus on helping the weather team.”

“Hold ona’ second there, pal.” Starlight cautioned. “As much as I hate to burst your thinking bubble, you do realize that proving something is more than just an accident means that it was done on purpose, right? In other words, we would need a culprit.”

“You know any arsonists around town?”

“Please, you may have me on your side, but I know you’re not that cold-hearted.” Starlight scoffed, considering the boy for a moment. “No, you’re not cold-hearted, you’re ambitious. Sometimes a little too much for your own good.”

“The only way we’re going to win this case is if we convince the court otherwise.”

“If you go around flaunting that the fire was on purpose the court will demand a culprit right then and there, and I suggest we don’t do that until we have more than enough evidence on who this supposed arsonist could possibly be.”

“If I may suggest.” The Doctor included. “A step-by-step process is the easiest route to the conclusion of any procedure. I have brought here with me the evidence which had been lying in the oven tray.” He produced a small case, the chemical testing tubes lying within. “Focus on the details, young Equerry, and we just might be able to assemble the pieces to the bigger picture.”

David stood back and weighed his mind heavily on the words of the ponies before him. He warmly reminded himself of the faith he had been placing in those who were willing to go through this trial with them, how their confidence and endeavor had inspired him in return. That’s right. He remembered. Sometimes the best thing I can do is put my trust in my friends. After all, that’s what…Twilight told me. Right? A sting coursed through his mind. Once again, the urge to confront the Alicorn on such trivial matters plagued his thought. His strategies and his ideas, his thoughts and processes were beginning to leave him so, in turn for the strife he trialed within. That strange sting like an ember.

“David.” Starlight attempted. “You can’t go on like this, not for much longer.”

“W-What?” He slowly looked her way.

“For Celestia’s sake, just spit it out already!” The unicorn demanded, stomping a hoof. “I don’t care what it is, I just need to know now before it’s too late.”

“Why?” The boy drawled.

“Don’t forget what I said, you’ll burn out in the middle of court if you don’t get over these stupid thoughts, or whatever it is that’s been bothering you.” Starlight shook her head. “Look, you don’t have to tell me anymore, I just want to be reassured that you’ll be alright. Let me take over the defense’s position for the time being.”

“I…I can’t let you do that.” David tried, but the ember was all the bigger this time around, much harder to extinguish than last time. “It wouldn’t be fair, and I think our good chum the judge would raise a helluva lotta’ concerns.”

“And you can’t say the same for your current state?” Starlight shook her head again. “Alright, new strategy then, I’m taking over.”

“…” David rubbed his palms over his temples, wiping his fingers over his nose and down his chin. He gave a long and ragged exhale. “Okay.” He sufficed. “Just…don’t get in over your head.”

“I’d never make the same mistake twice.” She delivered a confident nod, addressing her newfound colleague. “Well, Doctor, ready to rock this boat?”

“I’ve always had somewhat of a fear of the ocean…” The poor colt admitted.

As the two trailed inside, David found himself a comfortable spot beneath the awnings of the plaza square. He sat back and reclined over the bench a size or two small for him, his eyes towards the shelter above shielding him from the rays of the sun. With another long and shaky sigh, he craned his sights upwards, and spotted an all too familiar figure standing on the other end of the road.

Clack!

“The court is now back in session for the case of the Cakes and the Pegasus Weather Patrol team.” The Mayor announced over the crowd. She came to a halt, scanning over the defense’s desk with slitted sights. “Has the defense turned up absent?”

Starlight fixed her mane. “No, ma’am. I-I mean, your Honor.” She attempted. “I will be taking over the defense for the time being.”

The Mayor once-overed the unicorn with an almost doubtful glare. “If you are up to the task…” She fixed her glasses. “More importantly, I must know if the Equerry will be making his return?”

“In due time.” Starlight nodded. “He, um…just needed a little break was all.”

“OBJECTION!!”

Sweet Luna, this rice nibbler is already at it again… Starlight grumbled within.

Mikado swept his brush from side to side, one stroke of ink after the other to produce a clear kanji of disapproval. “This mare cannot fill the role of the defense without a suitable subpoena. Therefore, she is automatically in contempt with the court.”

“B-But, Mr. Mikado.” The Mayor tried. “There are no other suitable attorneys at this time.”

He swept his brush again. “It does not matter.” Mikado boldly deemed. “Either the boy will show his face or this case shall come to a close.”

“OBJECTION~!!” Starlight projected.

Hehehe, wow. She chuckled lightly. That felt kinda good.

“Your opponent is me now, Mr. Mikado.” The unicorn puffed her chest. “Or are you trying to tell me you’re too scared to face me in court?”

Mikado gave a nicker of delight. “Ambitious as ever, are we Miss Glimmer?” The foreigner released a menacing laugh. “You’ve deemed this opportunity as your one and only chance to encompass the true authority of the Equerry’s title. Capacity, control, competence. This is what you truly crave, isn’t it?” His eyes flared to an ethereal yet icy blue.

Starlight weighed on her desk, hesitance swarming her mind. What is he talking about?

“Hmph.” The stallion recomposed. “Who am I to subdue the endeavor a sorceress yields herself to, in the pursuit of knowledge and power? Very well, Miss Glimmer, you have piqued my interest. I will face you in court.”

He’s dropped his defenses all of a sudden. Starlight pondered. That could mean something good just as it does bad. I guess I’ll just stick with what the kid said and try not to get too into it. For right now, I’ll focus on the evidence and see where that gets me.

“Without further ado, we shall resume this case.” The Mayor deemed. “Does the defense have any further contributions to bring to the court?”

“We have, your Honor.” Starlight replied dutifully. “As a matter of fact, my good friend the Doctor here would like to provide an explanation to his sampled evidence.”

“Sampled evidence, you say?” The Mayor clicked.

“I present to the court, Doctor Time Turner Whooves.” Starlight announced, giving the stallion the floor.

“Greetings, ladies and gentlecolts of the jury.” Whooves assumed a courteous bow, glancing over his audience with a content grin. “For many years I have studied the sciences, and in both my academic and researching endeavors, I have come across an almost infinite array of problems that not even I could solve. That is to say, almost surely-”

“OBJECTION!!”

Mikado was busy rubbing his ink stick to the stone. “Get to the point.” He growled.

Whooves stiffened, frozen and scared. He looked to Starlight for help, to which the unicorn simply shrugged.

“Objection sustained.” The Mayor nodded. “Whooves, get on with it.”

“R-Right…” The poor stallion looked hurt. He rummaged into his saddle bag and produced the vials in question. “These test tubes contain samples of ash from the oven tray. After running a series of tests, it was found that copious amounts of copper had been lying within.”

“And what does this prove?” The Mayor raised.

“This proves, your Honor, that the cake itself was not the main cause of the fire.” Whooves led on. “Rather, it was what lied within the cake that caused the flames to break out. Copper is a highly conductive element, and can more than likely cause a short between circuits when introducing extremely high temperatures.”

“There’s no way Mrs. Cake could have been careless enough to drop those pieces of copper into her pastry, especially when considering that she works in a bakery.” Starlight prepared, placing her hoof to the desk. “The question then stands, how did those samples of copper really end up inside of the cake?”

The courtroom was run through with another series of chattering concerns. In response, the Mayor raised her gavel and swung it to the plate.

“Miss Glimmer, if you claim that Mrs. Cake is not responsible for the tampering of her pastry, then who?” The Mayor demanded.

I suppose we’ve already gone off the deep end with this one. Starlight surmised. I don’t know if the kid would have done it any differently, but now that I see it, this was inevitable from the start. All I need to do now is press the witnesses for the culprit.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk…” Mikado clicked from behind his desk.

Is he…laughing? The unicorn took a step back. Wait, what’s he planning this time?

The court leveled back down into silence, all eyes focusing on the foreigner at his desk.

“Mr. Mikado?” The Mayor raised her brows. “Is there something you’d like to add?”

And the stallion gave a subtle nod. “Oh, Miss Glimmer, I expected more of a fight from you.” The ambassador twirled his ink brush. “You should have known better than to lend this case over on a silver platter. Why, if your Equerry were still with you, perhaps he could have steered the course of this trial in a more desirable direction.” He chortled on. “But let’s face it, this was inevitable from the very beginning.”

“What’re you on about?” Starlight questioned.

“Your schemes were blatant from the moment they had begun.” Mikado’s glare sunk deeper. “Every objection I had raised was a means to produce the results that I wanted from the defense’s side. Inevitably, the trial was led to this very point in time.Don’t you see? The trap was set the very moment you stepped up to the plate.”

“N-No.” The mare seethed. “No, that can’t be!”

“And now I, the prosecution, shall give you the true culprit to this crime!” Mikado projected, swiping across the papers with his brush as he spoke on. “Allow us to look back on the humble words of our faithful witness, Mrs. Cake. There was one customer whom had walked into the bakery that morning to have a special cake made for them. Everything was provided to the bakery by this customer. The instructions, the ingredients, everything. Is it not safe to say that the customer was responsible for the upbringing of the cake as well, the very pastry and the contents within that had caused the fire?” Mikado bellowed over the court. “I will tell you who that customer was, it was none other than Mr. Filthy Rich himself!”

More than once now the Mayor had slammed her gavel to the desk, and yet the cries of the crowd roared on. Worse yet, they were all in favor of the accusations aimed towards the culprit.

“I-I don’t understand!” Starlight protested. “You’re putting the blame on both the Cakes and the Rich family?”

“This is a trial, Miss Glimmer.” Mikado tsked again. “I have been through a many in my time, more than you can even begin to fathom. Each and everyone one of my opponents had met a fate far worse than what I have so generously inflicted upon you. You, and your missing Equerry, that is.” The old stallion released a hearty, gut-wrenching guffaw. “It’s time to face the truth of it, Starlight Glimmer. After everything, you truly are incompetent.”

No…no, that’s not true! Starlight clenched her eyes shut, hooves over her head as she pressed her temples to the desk. Did I…Did I mess up?

It was more than just sitting around and doing nothing at all. Sometimes the birds would buzz by, singing and chirping as they fluttered into the rays of the sun. Sometimes a warm breeze or rather a chill would carry down the isles of the plaza, rustling dead leaves like miniature tumbleweeds, and the short stalks of grass dancing gracefully in the wind. It was more than just a beautiful day, it was absolutely stunning. Gorgeous, even.

“And that,” Discord ended. “Is the simplicity of it all, my dear boy.”

David could only produce a long and tired sigh. As he sat on the bench beneath the awning, overlooking the red and yellowed trees in the far distance, his good pal the draconequus of the hour had decided to find his seat next to his.

“You’re not gonna give me another excruciating lecture, are you?” David wondered.

“Heavens no, my dear boy, I don’t even think my ears could take such a beating.” He drooped. “This chapter has gone on for long enough as it is.”

“Does that mean you’re going to end it here?” The boy chuckled involuntarily. “Is this dream finally going to end? Come to think of it, this is the first time since I’ve been here that I actually don’t want it to end just yet. Not because I feel any obligation to stay, but I really want to find out how all of this is going to turn out.”

“Ultimately, that decision is left up to you.” Discord told him. “This is your story after all. You decide how you want it to turn out.”

The boy craned his sights up to the beast, eyes tight and confused.

“Oh, don’t give me that look. Even when I’m not trying to break the fourth wall that line makes plenty of sense.” The draconequus swept his gaze across the land. “The true trial is whether or not you are willing to see it through to the end.”

For that sliver of a moment in time, even if the boy himself knew that he wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, he felt as though the world around him bounded together in a single understanding. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the touch and the taste, it all settled and blended together. It lived together and it thrived as one, in harmony. For it was only that moment in time, and just like the simple snap of fingers, he realized himself back into the world.

“I’m glad that all of this has happened. Truly, I haven’t had this much fun in many, many years.” Discord admitted, looking back to the boy. “I’ll tell you what, since you’ve held out for this long, I’m going to give you all the answers you and your dear Starlight are going to need to finish this trial, on one condition.”

“At this point, agreeing seems to be the only option.” David sufficed.

The draconequus took on a fatherly vibe, and lent his paw to the boy’s shoulder. “Come bowling with me in the winter. I’ll invite Spike, too.” And with that, he dropped his arm.

David sat and stared at the beast, motionless and inexplicably at a loss of words. He need not to attempt and agree with the old trickster any further, for Discord knew that the boy would already accept the offer anyhow. It was a degree of intuition.

“Here you are.” Discord produced a simple folder, a single set of pages within. “Go in there and give ‘em a bit of hell first. When you open that folder, the rest will be taken care of.”

“I’ve always meant to ask…” The boy started. “Why do you want to help me?”

And the beast shrugged. “We’ll just call it a spur of the moment.” Discord decided.

David sat still for a moment longer before giving a firm nod of satisfaction, seemingly moreover because the conversation was finally brought to an end. He rose from the bench and turned in the direction of Town Hall, steadily marching towards possibly his final endeavor in this grand scheme of, more or less, nothingness.

“Oh hey, Discord.” He turned and called back. “I almost forgot to tell you, I came up with an answer to your riddle.”

The draconequus was sipping on a slushie. He paused mid slurp, smacked his lips, and thought hard. “My riddle?” He questioned.

“The seven letter word. Y’know, the one you told me after our long talk at the bar?” David stood in silence for a moment, pondering over his answer, and with another shrug he simply grinned. “Oh well, I guess I’ll tell you some other time.” And with a final wave he turned and continued down the path into Ponyville.

Discord was alone now. The words from the young human had hit a peculiar mark, one where he had not felt something for a long, long time. “He…remembered?” And Discord realized that since the beginning of their little conversation, he had always remembered. “How long has it been since I last visited her?”

The prosecution stood at the advantage, and the defense was no more than a crumpling heap of papers and panic, trying anything and everything to obtain the upper hoof in the argument. Alas, the unicorn couldn’t find a shred of evidence, nor a testimony to tell of their client’s innocence. She had done it, then, Starlight had mistakenly gotten in over her head. Not to mention in so little time, too. Was it more of Mikado’s tricks? More of his foreign magic and strange enchantments at play here? No, Starlight knew that deep down she couldn’t pin the blame on anypony any longer, her own incompetence was entirely to blame. And for that, she damned herself.

“Does the defense have any further statements to make?” The Mayor awaited, as though preparing for the sentence.

“There’s a contradiction…” She tried. “There’s a testimony…” And tried again. “There’s…”

“The defense appears to have lost their composure.” Mikado raised. “Your Honor, I believe that you know what must be done now.”

“Very well.” Mayor Mare raised her gavel. “The court has found the defendants Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and the pegasi of the Ponyville Weather Patrol-”

Her gavel hovered over the plate…and the doors to the courtroom slowly swung apart.

David walked down the center isle, folder tucked beneath one arm, shoulders broad and gait strong. He adjusted his imaginary tie and fixed the ends of his jacket, a stunning glare and the intention to bring this trial back to its knees.

“It would appear that our noble Equerry has come to join his companion in their defeat.” Mikado splayed a cocky grin.

“I was told to give this court a little hell, first.” David announced, crossing the bar and walking to the center of the room. “And that starts right after you wipe that grin off your filthy face.”

“Playing at insults, are we?” The ambassador tsked again. “You should know better than to ruin your chances with petty remarks.”

“Then you know just as well as I do that we do still have a chance.” The boy triumphed. “And I’m here to set this trial on that path, once and for all.”

“David…?” Starlight looked on from her spot at the desk.

“Don’t worry, Star.” He returned a reassuring glance. “I know what to do now.”

“It would appear that our Equerry has returned to the defense’s chair?” The Mayor proposed.

“That’s right, your Honor.” David nodded. “And I bring with me-”

“OBJECTION!!”

“Your Honor, the defense only plans to prolong this trial.” Mikado pushed. “End it now!”

“OBJECTION!!” David returned. “To reject my pursuit would mean to claim a false verdict! What say you, your Honor?”

“You are already in contempt with court for leaving your post!” Mikado shot back. “Your Honor, I did not give you that gavel to simply look at. Use it now!” He pushed.

A spell of silence reigned over the courtroom, everypony present awaiting the Mayor’s decision. She laid still and quiet for an uncomfortable amount of time, almost too long for her own good. With a content nod, she addressed the prosecution.

“Mr. Mikado.” The Mayor called. “I do not believe I will be needing your gavel any longer.”

“W-What?” Mikado was in shock, and so was everypony else.

“The defense’s objection is sustained. In the name of justice, we cannot deny any evidence that could further a potential outcome.” She glared down at the ambassador. “Therefore, you are overruled.”

Once again, a single, undesired drop from the stallion’s ink brush landed onto his page.

This court sure has brought a lot of one-eighties out of a lot of people. David thought.

“Without further ado,” Mayor Mare looked on over the room. “I believe this court is overdue for this much anticipated shred of evidence. Mr. David, if you would explain to us please?”

“With pleasure, your Honor.” The boy prepared. “I have suspicions which claim that the fire at Sugarcube Corner was in fact not an accident.”

“You have suspicions, not evidence.” Mikado argued. “What good will that do you?”

“Then perhaps I should begin with the fact that this town is lacking something, something that would be imperative to the safety of its citizens.” David nodded. “A fire station.”

Concerned murmurs rose from the jury and the audience.

“Had Ponyville been equipped with a fire station, then the tragedy at Sugarcube Corner would’ve almost never happened. But it did, and the culprit whom started the fire took advantage of this fact. That is to say, I do not have suspicions alone that the fire was on purpose, but I have proof.” David dared. “And that’s because I have evidence that Captain Sunshower and her team of weather pegasi…had been set up!”

The roars of the crowd bellowed on, Mayor Mare almost wished she hadn’t given up her gavel.

“Explain this proof to the court.” She demanded.

“We’ve only to look back at the jar that was given to us.” The boy reminded. “The very jar from the weather pegasi which, by opening the lid and producing a rain cloud here in the middle of court, proved that there was indeed a cloud inside of it. If we were to compare this cloud with the rain clouds that the weather pegasi had used in dowsing the fire, there is a distinct difference to note here.”

“OBJECTION!!” Mikado raised. “You have no concrete evidence of these clouds whatsoever!”

“And are you so sure?” The boy turned smug. “Just ask our trusty Doctor. From the get-go he had provided us with all the evidence we would ever need, just in the wrong manner.”

“Does the defense mean to say that the Doctor’s evidence is false?” The Mayor questioned.

“Not exactly, your Honor.” David returned. “What I really mean to say is that the copper found in the tests the Doctor conducted didn’t come from the pastry that Mrs. Cake tried to bake. Rather…it came from the clouds the weather pegasi used to put out the fire!” He upraised. “As I said before, all we have to do is compare the cloud in the jar with the clouds the weather pegasi had used. And we have that evidence, right here, in the Doctor’s test tubes.”

“Ah, but you are forgetting something, ambitious Equerry.” Mikado twirled his brush. “It would appear that you do not have all the evidence you need after all.”

“Is that so?” The boy waited.

“Do not forget that when you had opened that jar, the cloud was released into the courtroom, thus rendering the glass container before you now as truly empty.” The stallion gave a chortle. “So sorry, young attorney, but it appears that your evidence has run up a little dry.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that, ambitious ambassador.” David felt stupidly smug in that moment, eyeing the foreigner’s piece. “Tell me…when was the last time you cleaned that brush of yours?”

Mikado froze, his eyes now wide. Yet another drop landed on the paper.

“Still looks a little wet to me, don’t ya’ think? From our little indoor showers, I presume?” David raised his hand. “Would you be so kind as to lend it to the court, so that we may run a proper test on comparing these cloud samples?”

“Y-You can’t.” Mikado hesitated. “This was a special gift.”

“And that special gift of yours has got evidence bound to the court dripping all over it.” David raised his finger. “To discard of it now would mean you agree that the two cloud samples do indeed have differences between them. Am I wrong?”

“This is outrageous!” Mikado raised angrily. “Your Honor, this filthy monkey has been in contempt with court from the very beginning. Be rid of him at once!”

The Mayor was in a state of deciphering the boy’s words, simply ignoring the ambassador’s protests. “It would appear that we have come to an understanding.” She announced. “The rain cloud samples that which the weather pegasi had used to dowse the flames are to be found within Doctor Whooves’ test tubes samples from the oven tray, and the raw, unprocessed water vapor that was released from the jar would be found in Mr. Mikado’s ink brush. If we were to compare these two samples, and find distinct differences between the two, that would then prove that the weather pegasi were given an invalid shipment of clouds from the weather factory all along.” She nodded with content. “I see then. Excellent work, young Equerry. I knew you could pull through with this one.”

*drip* *drop*

“M-Mr. David?” The Mayor alarmed. “Are you alright?”

“Just a little weathered down…your Honor.” He mumbled.

“Why is there a brush on your head?”

“It would appear that I have obtained the evidence.” The boy raised a finger. “If you would like to consult the provider, he’s standing right over there.”

All eyes in the room returned to Mikado. For having taken such a heavy defeat, the old ambassador appeared quite calm now. He simply flared his horn back to life and produced yet another ink brush, nonchalantly dipping the end into his stone as he swept and stroked across his parchment. “I thought I’d let the boy know,” Mikado huffed. “He missed a spot.”

And thus, the Doctor got to work at obtaining the samples and running the proper tests. The concerns over whether or not the weather factory had been producing invalid rain clouds would be questioned for another trial, perhaps even in council with the higher-ups of Cloudsdale and those of the capitol, in Canterlot. These were all questions to be saved for another time, and although the boy and the unicorn slowly felt reassured over the whole ordeal, something was missing. Perhaps Mikado was right when he had mentioned that ‘he missed a spot.’

David looked down, and there the folder still lay. The one given to him by Discord. He picked it up and slowly opened it, emerging the contents within.

“What is it?” Starlight wondered.

“These are…the blue prints.” He looked on, perplexed. “Mr. Mikado’s blue prints.”

“For the Nightmare Night festival?”

“One is in Ponish” He raised the two. “And the other in Japanese.”

“Koumanese.” Returned a familiar tone.

As the voice sounded throughout the hall, everypony turned to watch as the double doors to Town Hall swung apart for a final time. Light poured down the center isle, and down the carpet came a pair of ponies. Mikado grinned, unable to mask the menacing glare that took hold.

“Ronin Edelhoof.” The emperor nodded. “I have been waiting for this moment for a long time.”

“Don’t worry, your excellency.” Ronin returned. “I will not fail you this time.”

Amethyst stood by in the light, and the audience gawked as the showdown between the two Neighsians was in the midst of its beginning.

The defense had now outnumbered the prosecution four to one, even though it already appeared that the outcome of the trial was clear. Alas, Ronin and Amethyst had insisted on unfinished business, taking the reigns to the defense’s desk as they stood before their opponent at the other end of the room. The hall laid quiet, everypony present taking the much needed spell of silence as a call to reflect upon the outcome of today’s events. The evening glow shined through the windows from the defense’s side, streaming across the skies outside in splashes of orange, yellow and white. The silence broke as Mikado spoke.

“It would seem that my exposure is imminent.” He almost chuckled.

“Exposure?” The boy wondered.

“Those blueprints belong to my construction company, I did not expect them to appear here.” Mikado said. “But, wherever I go, they go as well. They are now at your disposal.”

“So you’re just giving yourself up then?” Starlight cautioned. “I don’t like this, it must be another trick.”

“No, it’s alright.” Ronin calmed. “He had been planning this from the very beginning, that I know for sure now.”

The room laid quiet again, everypony tight in tension, and thus the Mayor projected.

“Mr. Mikado?” She addressed. “Have you any means to defend yourself?”

“I do not, your Honor.” Mikado dropped his defenses. “As I had said before, I’ve been waiting for this moment for a very long time. I will allow my fellow Neighsian this triumph, just this once.”

“I-I see.” The Mayor attempted. “Well then, Mr. Edelhoof, is it?”

The young foreigner nodded.

“Before court is adjourned, have you anything to provide to this trial?”

“Not this trial in particular, your Honor.” He raised the blueprints in question. “But it does have to do with our noble ambassador and construction owner standing right over there. As a matter of fact, it has something to do with the entire town, and I can prove it using these blueprints.” The young unicorn sprawled the two prints over the desk, side by side, and continued. “One of the prints was written in Ponish, while the other was written in Koumanese. The prints written in Ponish were given to the construction crew building the attractions for this year’s Nightmare Night festivities, while the prints written in Kouma were of Mikado’s personal belongings, prints exclusive to his viewing and his viewing only.”

“Is it so strange that the owner of a construction company would have his own prints to look at?” The Mayor wondered. “And in his own, native tongue to boot?”

“That’s where the secrecy lies, your Honor.” Ronin provided. “Look closely now, do you see the differences in the prints?”

The Mayor fixed her glasses, comparing the two. “Ah, yes.” She blinked. “There appears to be a small modification in this spot, right here.”

“And do you recognize that spot?” Ronin pushed on.

“If there was any highlight I had taken from that little field trip, it was the fact that you and your faithful partner, Miss Amnesty, were all but responsible for the injury I had acquired.”

“And for that, I am sorry.” Ronin shook his head. “But there is a reason as to why the integrity of this construction did not hold up, when it should have. I am no stranger to my own culture’s way of building.”

“And what do you inquire, Mr. Edelhoof?” The Mayor finally asked.

Ronin gave a firm nod. “Mikado led you to this spot on the construction sight on purpose.” And he slammed both hooves to the desk. “Your Honor, I have no doubt in my mind that this scheme the ambassador of Neighsia had tried to lead you through…was an assassination attempt!”

The Mayor needn’t even ask, but the question

weighed on the tip of her tongue. Slowly, she lowered her glasses from her face and rested them to the desk. She eyed the ambassador with several amounts of dreadful regard, and breathed coldly into the space of the court.

“Mr. Mikado.” She mumbled to him. “Is this true…?”

The old stallion was uncomfortably quiet. His eyes fell to a close, and he laid still. Then, as he reopened them, in his sights lied blue, ethereal orbs, daggers of ice stinging deep beneath Ronin’s form. The young stallion held strong, embracing the ambassador’s cold gaze.

“No other member of your family had even dared to defy me for the many years I had reigned, not even your uncle had stood up to the challenge.” Mikado spoke on. “But you, Ronin…you truly are the one I have been waiting for all this time, aren’t you?”

Ronin did not answer, his gaze all the answer the stallion needed.

Mikado nodded. “Sōuka.” He concluded. “Shōrai matai ima shōu.”

“What’s he saying?” Starlight asked.

“It sounds like he’s planning on leaving…” The boy determined.

“You won’t get away that easily.” Starlight dared. “You may be an emperor, but even so, everyone faces justice.”

“And truer words have never been spoken, Miss Glimmer.” Mikado gave a final nod. “And you, young Equerry.”

David simply stared, unreplying.

“I expect you and I have business in the future as well, I look forward to our next meeting.”

“Wait-!” Amethyst called across the hall. “I’ve something to ask you, Mikado.”

“Ah, yes.” Mikado chuckled, slowly and lowly. “My dear Senkō.”

And the young mare blinked, almost unbelieving. “Is it true, then?” She asked him. “What you told me in my dream, and the visions of my mother…”

Not a single word escaped the old stallion’s lungs. He simply breathed and stretched a small, knowing smile across his face. Without a second more of hesitation, he lowered his head, flared his horn, and in a brilliant flash of cold white and blue, disappeared without a trace. Immediately, the courtroom went into alarm.

“Ralph, search the building for Mikado at once!” The Mayor ordered.

“Yes, ma’am.” The bat pony quickly saluted, and sped off.

“Sam, search the vicinity for any sign of the ambassador, we cannot lose him.”

“Right away.” The white stallion sprung to action, barreling out the open doors.

From miles away, Mikado stood atop a hill looking over the expanses of the humble, little village in the valley. It was his first and last departure from the town, and though he intended not to return, some sense of a fleeting, yearning desire tugged at the deepest pit of his mind. Or rather, it might have been the sudden presence that was much too quick to accompany him.

“Golly, that’s it? The filly scoffed. “A little pathetic, don’t you think? I thought you would have put up more of a fight.”

“I want nothing more to do with this petty, country town.” Mikado replied coldly. “I only wish to return home now.”

“Does that mean…?”

“It is yours for the taking.” The stallion began trotting away. “Only if you are up to the task.”

The filly looked down on the town from the hill, eyes glowing like an amber fire as she deviously twisted her hooves together. “Oh, I’ll show these country hicks.” She cackled. “I’ll give them a Nightmare Night they’ll never forget.”

Chapter 74 - Courage

Wondering endlessly on his coming to be, the sand seeped and spread away into a vast pool of moonlight struck blue. A near perfect reflection shined in the waters below as they barely lapped at the edges of the pond, his face over the edge, amber-gold eyes staring straight back into his soul. He brushed a hand across the surface, watching as the ripples tore his image apart, the stars and the moon in the night sky above were all that remained. He sat back and closed his eyes, then reopened them.

Still here, still awake. Though the sight was true, his vision was flawed.

So he had confronted Twilight, she told him what he wished to hear, and he had gotten his apology. What then? It would not cover the strife which he had brought upon this town, it would not bring Apple Bloom’s memory back, and it most certainly wouldn’t bring him back to the place he had been yearning for this entire time. His home, Earth. If it had, then he would not be sitting here right now contemplating over such tribulations. Twilight’s words stung his mind over again.

I wanted you to feel like you belong because…I don’t know how to send you back.

Then, the memories of the dream reentered his mind. Into the thick of the Everfree, beneath the ruins of the castle, and to the tree. That is the place where everything began, the place where this story had started. And the day it all begun, the day the spell was cast upon him.

David stood up, digging into his pocket, pulling out the one and only piece that had been with him since the very beginning. The necklace laid open in his hand, the heart locket.

October 10th, 2010.

The date entered his mind, as though it had been there from the very beginning. He looked down at the locket once more, blinking, and quietly closed it in his palm. The silence of the night reigned over, and the boy was left to his own.

All of this happened because of me. He decided. That day, when I looked up at that television screen, there was no accident. There was no mistake. I decided to start this story. I don’t know what this date means, where I’m going next, or what my purpose is on this planet. But what I do know…

…

The sound of hooves running entered his ears. Shouts and screams followed, and the boy was broken from his thought.

“Please~!” Came a cry. “Somepony help us, please!”

“Huh?” The boy turned around, jogging towards the call.

“Look over there!” Pointed a mare.

“Luna help us, is that the beast?” Another screamed.

“No, it’s the Equerry!” A single stallion emerged from the group, trotting up to the boy. “Equerry, please, you must help us!”

“Okay, slow down.” He raised his arms. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“The town…” The pony looked on desperately. “I-It’s under attack!”

David looked up and beyond. Little pillars of what appeared to be smoke towered on the horizon leading to Ponyville.

No more than six, complete equine strangers timidly trotted behind the figure of the human as they snuck their way around the edges of the village, ducking beneath bush after rock and bramble, the boy making sure that his companions would stay out of sight well before they had even laid eyes upon the first buildings. Of course, none of these common citizens were quite so good at sneaking, being born with hooves and all. The boy quietly admired his efforts for having gone out the night he planned to leave town, Starlight catching him at the lake, as she had shown him various hiding spots on their way back. All the while and in the midst of the their haphazard stealth, a plan was attempting to accumulate itself in the boy’s mind. Alas, his legs were moving on their own. Fright and fear took hold with every step they gained towards the town.

As the group huddled behind a rock, the first of the buildings began to appear. The school house, the park gazebo, distant shacks and market stall awnings. Not a single light illuminated the streets, a straight, dark and deathly shot down the center lane which crossed the bridge into the heart of the plaza. All was quiet, and all was still.

Then, a snap.

David jumped and twisted around. The stallion from before had stepped on a twig. He swiped the sweat from his brow, everypony else breathing a sigh of relief.

“Now what?” A mare raised. “Wasn’t the plan to get away from the town in the first place?”

“And get eaten by monsters from the forest instead?” Another glowered. “Let’s face it, we’re sitting ducks either way.”

“Noble Equerry, surely you have a plan?” The stallion brought up.

Do I?! The boy panicked within. You geniuses have been here way longer than I have! At the very least tell me where the nearest sanctuary is.

David leveled his breathing, letting the first of his thoughts spill to the others. “The beast you described, it smelled like copper, correct?” He nodded. “If we steer clear of the scent, we should be further away from it.”

“Good call, captain obvious.” One mare drawled. “Did you wanna remind us to open our eyes if we want to see, too?”

Fuck you, I’m doing my best here. The boy gave a growl, turning his head and attempting to scan the scene again. “Has anypony been hurt?” He decided to ask.

“Not that we know of.” The only helpful stallion returned. “The beast was unspeakably fast. Like it was there, and then it was gone! Several of the townsfolk had vanished in the midst of the panic, but we don’t know where they went.”

“And it was all because of…her!” The first mare seethed. “That pink, little pegasus, the one with the blue curls.”

Cozy Glow…? David blinked, astonished. No, it couldn’t have been.

“I pray to Celestia that the children are alright.” An older, timid stallion shrunk back. “What are we to do, Equerry? How are we to save our fellow ponies?”

As his eyes returned to the darkened scenery ahead, the words of the ponies from behind him clicked as he went to reach inside his pocket. There in his hand laid the Equerry’s badge, the insignia and writing engraved onto the back. By hoof, by heart, by horn, to city and country we are sworn. And thus, the boy had his thoughts in line.

“Alright, listen up.” He turned to them. “Priority number one, get everypony to safety. Whether you take them to the edge of town or beneath the shelter of a building, I don’t care how you do it, just do it.”

“We’ll need a proper rally point.” The older stallion piped up.

“Anywhere from where the beast first spawned.” David decided. “That’s its main hunting grounds.”

“And priority number two?” The snippy mare awaited.

“Find Princess Twilight, she’ll know what to do.” The boy turned back around, placing both hands to the stone. “Stay low and stay sharp-”

“Equerry, wait-!” The first stallion alarmed, gripping the boy’s jacket.

David looked backed to the pony with wonder, and the equine was eyeing the skies. He took his sights to his own and found that the towering, layers of smoke from before were indeed not towers of smoke, but rocks. Large, high climbing spires, twice the height of Town Hall. His mind wandered back to his meeting with Mikado and Twilight in the second floor offices. The diorama of the town, featuring the black pillars standing all around. They held a menacing, discouraging aura which the boy could not quite place.

“The town has been surrounded by these strange, black pillars.” The pony warned. “If you pass this threshold, you will lose your magic.”

Lose my magic?

“But, I-” The boy halted, biting back his words.

If I tell them that I don’t actually have any magic, that’ll probably discourage them. He eyed the black pillars with triviality. If what this guy just said is true, then that means as soon as they cross this border, none of them can fly, none of them can use their horns, or anything. Twilight or even Starlight might not have their magic anymore, and that would explain why these ponies came to me for help in the first place. He winced visibly. Dammit, there go my plans for a flight into the sunset. Or rather the sunrise, I guess…

Upon that very moment, the dreadful stench of copper soon filled each and every one of their senses. The ponies became far too frightened to even move, and David could only take a timid step and shift before a powerful, unrelenting presence shadowed over their very beings. The spoor of blood was absolutely unbearable now, one pony threatened a gag and another choked as the figure of the beast appeared a mere trot and saunter away from them, inching ever so closely.

The same feeling from that night in the forest over-encumbered the boy once again. He had to act, he had to move! But, every part of his body locked.

Then, a blinding light filled their eyes.

Everypony shrunk back, shielding their faces, the boy doing the same as he peeked past the slits of his fingers and recognized the figure leaping in front of the group, standing between them and the beast.

“Only a fool would face death headfirst.” The zebra said. “Follow my lead, ponies, lest the situation get worse!”

Another beat later, and a tiny figure hopped into view. The purple bunch of scales puffed his chest and exhaled with all his might. A fresh stream of flames and fury poured from his lungs like a living flamethrower. The beast shunned to the light and wavered from the fire, retreating back into the shadows, likely awaiting its second chance.

“Everypony, follow Zecora!” Spike declared, gesturing with his arm.

The dragon hobbled ahead, the ponies quickly trotting along, and soon after David followed suit with a steady gait up the road leading to Sweet Apple Acres.

More than half of the audience surrounding the stage at Town Hall had all but dropped to the earth, as though a plague of some manner had suddenly overtaken them all. Far down below, the beast crawled and crept among its unconscious bunches of prey, swaggering haphazardly and swinging its arms from side to side. The beast was drenched black and red, as though the bloodied figure of a boar and a horse were conjoined, dipped in tar, and crumpled over by a train on the tracks. It’s figure was more or less human-like, sinister, sickly yellow for its eyes, shrouded beneath sockets bored deep into its head. It muttered, and called, and named the names of the townsponies in near, perfect imitation.

The gaunt yet burly, devilish figure sauntered about like a guard dog, and the collection of ponies on the Town Hall balcony peered down with varying amounts of fright and confusion.

“What is that thing?” Amethyst looked on, fear in her sights.

“The beast that slaughtered the chickens.” Ronin deemed. “No doubt about it.”

“But…why is it here?” She questioned fervently. “What’s going on?”

All grew quiet, and the pegasus of the group stepped forward.

“Amy, I need you to listen to me very carefully.” Derpy held her daughter by the shoulders. “I know how much it hurts for you to do this, but I need you to teleport Dinky, Ronin and yourself to safety.”

“W-What?” The young unicorn panicked. “What about you? And Doc?”

“Your mother and I will be fine, what matters is that the three of you find shelter.” The Doctor ordered. “We don’t know what’s going to happen next, or for how much longer this area will be safe.”

“But-!” Amethyst trembled. “What if that thing climbs up here and gets you!”

“We’ll be alright, I promise.” The mother cooed. “I can fly, and Doc here may not usually look it, but he can run faster than anypony I’ve ever seen.”

“No, I can’t do this…” The lavender pony blinked hard. “Not after I just came back to you guys, I can’t leave you all over again.”

As the mother further consoled her adopted daughter, Dinky timidly stood by and dared a glance to the creature lurking about below. Though its figure was gaunt, frightening and seemed to spell nothing but certain demise from its haunting aura, there was a strange sense about the thing that tugged at the back of the little unicorn’s mind. The filly raised her hoof to her horn and slid the ring she sheltered beneath her mane into her frog. The copper ring which Doc had stored, lying patiently in her hoof, almost as though it were calling out to her.

“Let me help you cast the spell.” Ronin added. “That way, we can gain more distance.”

“You see?” Derpy encouraged. “Your special somepony is willing to help.”

Amethyst gave no protest to the tiring assumptions, simply wiping a hoof across her eyes as she looked back up with strained, bleary eyes. The unicorn gave a slow, shaky nod. Accordingly, Derpy and the Doctor stepped back to give the younger ponies their space, ready to cast the teleportation spell and warp away to safer grounds. They waited, and they waited…alas, neither of their horns flared to life.

“What…?” Amethyst blinked, unbelieving. “What’s going on?”

“Our magic.” Ronin worried. “It isn’t working!”

Derpy flexed and opened her wings, finding little to no avail in even gaining an inch off the ground. The Doctor, more or less, felt severely slow as though two-ton weights had been chained to his ankles. The panic slowly began to settle over the ponies, and soon neither one would know what to do or where to go. That is until, a great presence had shadowed overhead, blotting out the moonlight as their sights rose to a great, bulbous figure covering the night sky.

Cherry Berry emerged from her hot air balloon, lifted her goggles, and waved down to the ponies below. “Need a lift?” She offered.

Streams of ponies were filtered down the center of the road, leading through the orchard and up the path to Sweet Apple Acres, all laid along in neat, single file rows per her Highness’ orders. Being well out of range of the tall, black pillars, every unicorn present lighting their horn to shine the way to their shelter. Princess Twilight hovered above the river of her subjects trotting down the path, taking careful headcount, even though it was painfully obvious that more ponies than not had been caught in the trap that ensued at Town Hall. Despite the strong lump in her throat and the wrenching at her heart, the Alicorn soldiered on, helping any and everypony she could at a second’s notice. That very next second, her flight companion soared across the trees and beat her wings to a halt, saluting accordingly and even perhaps habitually.

“That’s everypony outside of the ring.” Rainbow Dash saluted.

“What about Spike?” She asked fervently.

“No sign of the little guy, but I’m sure he’s alright.” The pegasus crossed her hooves. “He’s a dragon for crying out loud, he can take care of himself.”

Twilight hoped beyond hope that her friend was right. Furthermore, the urge to ask about the boy’s whereabouts weighed on the tip of her tongue, but she held the thought back. As Princess, it was her duty to first and foremost look after her citizens. Desires came second.

“Applejack?” She called to the earth pony below. “Are you sure this capacity isn’t too much?”

The farm mare snickered. “I’ve seen Apple Family Reunions bigger than this.” She tipped her setson. “Don’t you worry, Twilight, we’ll get these folk beneath the barn in no time.”

A timid, yellow pegasus joined the two in the sky. Tucked within the embrace of her hooves was a white, little bunny. “I’ve gathered all the critters and placed them around the edges of the farm area, just like you said.” Fluttershy informed. “Oh, but I’m not too sure if some of them were up to the task. Harry seemed the most frightened out of all of them.”

“Good work, Fluttershy.” Twilight acknowledged. “With their sense of smell, we should be able to detect the beast coming from miles away.”

“C’mon now, make some room! Outta’ the way, coming through!” Pinkie Pie honked her imaginary horn. “Move it or lose it, pal! Ey, I’m trottin’ ‘ere!”

“Pinkie, dear, would you please keep the volume to a minimum?” Rarity requested, trotting along with a D-ring rig about her waist. “It’s enough already that I have to haul this horrid, barrel bruiser of a wagon all the way from the boutique. So, be a dear and give our ears a rest too, hm?”

“I got a cart full of pies that ponies could be eating for weeks. My sister sure did grow tired of them, so it’s a good thing this whole Nightmare Night fiasco up and started.” The pink pony bounced along, hauling her cart of goods and food. “These pies are to die for! Hehe, get it? Die for!”

Suddenly, the white rabbit held in Fluttershy’s hooves took a good, long sniff at the air. The hare’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks as the pegasus’ chest felt the terrified grip of trembling paws. “Um, Twilight?” She cautioned timidly.

“Head’s up, y’all!” Applejack quickly warned. “Something’s coming.”

“And fast…” Rainbow braced.

Waves of copper filled the ponies’ nostrils nearly all at once, and the panic spread among them like wildfire. Twilight quickly ushered the remainder of the citizens past the orchard’s front gate, turning around just in time to watch her five friends group together with determined, defensive stances. A powerful gust of wind carried down the road to the farm, and in the midst of the shadow there appeared a single figure, intimidating in its size alone. Its form was like that of a great, black stallion, freakishly long antlers stemming from its misshapen head, eyes glaring yellow as they darted down the middle of the lane. Every step was like the twisting and tearing of flesh, every stomp an audible, bony snap. The ponies on the defensive looked to one another, delivering determined nods past veils of fear and uncertainty.

“Twilight, cast yer’ shield.” Applejack ordered “Now!”

“Hurry up and get inside-”

“There’s no time!” Rainbow dug her hoof into the earth. “You bring up the defenses while we keep stinky here occupied!”

One decision after the other, it had become harder for Twilight to follow her protocol. A Princess was to her duty, but what sort of Princess would she be without her friends? Time running painfully thin, the pony pushed her thoughts aside and ordered the rest of the ponies within the fences of the farm space to step back. Raising her horn skyward, a spiral of hot pink and lavender twirled towards the stars, stopping mid-flight and twisting outwards as a purple, transparent dome covered the skies and sped towards the earth.

In that very moment, the blackened beast charged forward, unspeakably fast. The five mares ahead tensed and braced for impact.

The fastest of the five, Rainbow Dash sliced past what she thought to be the figure of the beast, only to realize the monstrosity was practically twelve steps ahead of her. She twisted back around, damned should any competition at all upstand her, and by that time Pinkie Pie had already unleashed a barrage of projectile pies. Applejack twirled and whipped her lasso as though attempting to quell the roars of an untamed lion, and Rarity had unleashed a rather lethal stream of pins and needles straight unto the monster’s center mass. In all honesty, Fluttershy was simply there for emotional support.

As the shield finally touched to the earth, a pause came over the battle scene, and the beast broke free of Applejack’s lasso as though snapping a toothpick in two. The girls regrouped, smitten and panting.

“Look’s like we’re gonna have to kick it up a notch…” Rainbow deemed. “Girls, you know what time it is!”

“Time to rock this bad boy’s world!” Pinkie cheered.

“Buck up, buttercup!” AJ pumped.

“De l’avant!” Rarity forged.

“I-I’m sorry, but, you need to go down…mister.” Fluttershy peeped.

The black stallion whinnied with a great, howling cry, and charged forward to strike yet again. A grizzly bear out of seemingly nowhere leapt over Fluttershy, braced, and delivered a clean uppercut. Rarity flared her horn and forced the monstrosity back to the earth, met with the full taste of both Bucky McGillygutty and Kicks McGee. The monster was trying desperately to recompose, but had unfortunately landed on the receiving end of Pinkie’s party cannon. Confetti flared high into the sky, and upon the black-blue canvas of stars was a single figure, spreading her wings as she dove and tucked, transforming herself into a living missile. Rainbow Dash bulleted towards her target and screamed with all her might, the intention to maim beyond repair slicing through her mind. In that split second there was a flash, then an impact, and a great, rumbling crash. A building plume of rainbow smoke rose high into the air, nothing but the settling of dust and a crater left behind as the pony responsible had nearly threatened a recharting for the maps.

Five mares stood at the other end of the fence, in between their battle and the ponies staring beyond the pink veil of the shield. Hooves wobbling and lungs wheezing for air, they looked to one another with hopeful glances that the job was finally said and done for. The beast had been bested, and at last the town was saved.

They turned to join the others, and they would have applauded them on their victory.

Yet, the beast still moved…

The orchard’s barnyard felt nothing less than a pack of sardines huddled closely together, pigs within a pen brushing shoulder to shoulder, and the countless citizens snugged inside quickly began to understand the feeling of a farm animal trapped behind the walls of a fence, some deeming that their slaughter was only moments away. The children quietly whimpered to themselves, their mothers holding them close, and the rest wandering about with fear-stricken gazes. Tucked away into the far corner next to the water trough, Nurse Redheart and Doctor Horse were busy tending to the injured, the five brave mares among them.

“I thought we could stop it…” Applejack muttered. “Ah’m sorry, Twi.”

“You girls did everything you could.” Twilight calmed. “Get some rest for now.”

“Where’re you going?” Rainbow raised.

“To the castle.” She called back. “I need to find something that will put a stop to this.”

“If you leave, then who will maintain the shield?” Rarity cautioned.

“I can hold the defenses remotely.”

“But those scary, black pillars will drain your magic!” Pinkie warned.

“Not unless I get to the castle in time.”

“And if you don’t?” Fluttershy caved. “Everypony will be in grave danger…”

Twilight stiffened to the concerns of her friends, staring ahead but not daring to look back, lest the uncertainty in her expression be revealed to both her companions and her citizens. She was supposed to be a Princess, she was supposed to know what to do and when to do it, and maintain her actions accordingly and effectively. If Princess Celestia were here, she would have had this dilemma sorted out in almost no time at all, and she wouldn’t even had to have lifted a feather. How could I have let this happen? How could I have been so naive? Twilight shook. So…incompetent?

Suddenly, the moon light blanketed over the orchard shrunk and shrouded away, traded for a splotch of black hovering high above the dome of the shield. As the ponies delivered their waves of concern, Twilight strained her sights to find a bundle of ponies hollering and waving from above. She split the shield at its canopy and allowed the new visitors to enter, the rest of the equines quickly backing away to make room for the airborne transport’s landing.

Cherry Berry was among the first to emerge, yanking off her aviator helmet and whipping her mane. “This place really oughta’ install a landing pad.” She snorted.

“Your Highness!” Whooves bumbled past the onlookers. “A word with you, please!”

“Doctor Whooves?” Twilight quickly approached the stallion. “I hadn’t expected this sort of arrival. Are there any other survivors in the town?”

“No casualties, as far as we can tell, and I trust we’d like to keep it that way.” The doctor continued. “But the beast is the least of our worries. If we can find a way to bring down those pillars, then we can acquire all the power we need to vanquish our foe and liberate the town.”

“The pillars, I was partially responsible for their upbringing.” The Princess admitted. “Mikado had given me the details on how they’re supposed to work, but considering recent fallacies I’ll doubt they’re going to be of any help, especially if he’s the one responsible for all of this.”

“I do not know who to blame, but what I do have is a solution.” Whooves proposed. “Is it not clear already that the pillars have been separated because they work independently from one another? I theorize that if we are to connect each and everyone of the pillars in some way, shape or form, then they will neutralize one another. Think back to basic electro-theory.”

“If the output is trailed directly back to the source, the source will overload the circuit.” Twilight nodded.

“Precisely!” Whooves triumphed. “All we need now is a plan and suitable materials to undergo the procedure.”

“But this is only a theory.” Twilight paused. “As it stands, Ponyville has been more or less besieged, and one false move could mean a more than devastating price to pay. It has become apparent that if I am to leave this post then more lives will be thrown into peril, and I cannot allow that to happen.”

“Then I’ll go.” Came a young mare’s voice.

Whooves spun around, staring daggers into the younger’s eyes. “Blast it, Amethyst, have you been eavesdropping?”

“My apologies, Doctor, but this is personal. For her, I mean.” Amethyst marched forward, straining to get at eye level with the Princess. “I’ll be damned if I’m going to be out done by this same exact pony for yet the third time in my life. I don’t care if you’re a Princess, I don’t care if you have incredible feats of magic, or whatever! Let me take this chance so that I can prove to you I’m not just some ordinary pony, wandering in your background.”

“Oh…” Twilight blinked, strafing her eyes side to side. “I…hadn’t known you felt that way?”

“I forbid you to encourage her!” Whooves shouted, quickly slapping a hoof over his mouth in realization that he had just forbid the Princess of all ponies, forbid her to do anything that is. His eyes glared back at the younger unicorn. “Where is your mother?” He demanded.

“Hard at work.” Amethyst glanced over.

Derpy was surrounded by a group of ponies, most giving their acknowledgments and admiring the young, foreign colt in their midst. “Why, of course this is my daughter’s boyfriend!” She laughed. “Why, of course he’s from Neighsia. Why, of course he’s going to be my son-in-law.”

“Whickering stallions, I should have stayed in Trottingham.” The Doctor felt a migraine incoming.

Soon after, breaking away from the commotion of the ponies, two peculiar figures dotted the edges of the orchard space. Twilight’s eyes grew twice their size as she barreled past ponies and obstacles alike, swooping down and embracing her oldest and closest friend deep into her chest.

“Oh, Spike!” The Alicorn cried. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Easy, Twi.” The dragon chuckled. “We still got a lot to take care of before celebrating.”

“The dragon would be right.” Zecora approached. “The beast guards the horizons, and long is the night.”

“It’s good to see you, Zecora.” Twilight acknowledged. “I don’t suppose you would know anything about this monster that’s been terrorizing the village? The same one that we carried out the curfews for, too, I trust?”

“Long has this creature lurked the forest, facing all manner of foe and beast.” The zebra explained. “Where it hunts, it does not gain. When it kills, it does not feast.”

“How’re we supposed to stop it?” Spike asked.

“Violence is not the cure, of that I am sure.” The shaman answered. “Though its body is restless, its mind has fallen beneath slumber. Led astray, by one who dwells from under. For a new power, I fear, has taken control. All for the purpose of fulfilling one’s strange, uncertain, and sinister role.”

“You mean to tell us this creature is under control?” Twilight hastened. “By who?”

“I-It was her…” Spike trembled. “It was Cozy Glow.”

“What…?” The pony stared, unbelieving.

“When I went to go find you she grabbed me and pulled me onto the stage in front of Town Hall, and showed me to all of the townsponies before doing Celestia knows what!” The dragon went on. “When I woke up, I was in the Everfree forest, so I did the first thing I could think of. I went straight to Zecora’s place and told her everything that happened.”

“But…if you ended up in the forest, and the beast showed up in town, how could Cozy Glow have…?” The mare’s eyes turning wide once more, panic clogged at her throat and turned her eyes bleary, but not before returning to her companion. “Spike, have you seen David anywhere?”

“Yeah, he’s right-” The lizard twisted around, and came to a freeze.

The boy was nowhere to be found.

The night was almost nothing like the night the boy had decided to abandon everything, his friends, his belongings, this town, and escape from this world once and for all. Not because of the absence of ponies or the lack of dim lights illuminating the path ahead, but rather it was the presence of fear.

Quietly, Luna’s words reentered his vulnerable and feeble consciousness, slithering and slicing through like serpents instead of the calm tone the Princess of the Night had always assumed. When fear took hold, suffering would be endured, and suffering almost always led one to take unfathomably drastic measures into their own hands. Was this the path he was to take all along? Was he to suffer on this journey? Was he to be spent in order to save this town from such turmoil?

As David walked through the hushed isles of the dim, darkly, quieted town of Ponyville, he hoped that doing so would give him the answer he was looking for. To face his fears head on, to give himself entirely to something that he wasn’t even sure he understood completely.

Within moments, the fear grew to a pounding, deafening, heart-stifling boom. His mind was throbbing uncontrollably with the rhythm of his chest, as though both would burst at any moment. There he stood in the midst of the night, in the midst of the silence, broken glass and splinters of buildings cast all about. The plaza square center is where all of this trouble had begun, and it was where it would soon end. He knew what was standing right behind him now. And thus…the boy turned to face his fears.

“I know what you are.” His breath trembled at every word. “And I know what you want.”

The beast stared, motionless, deep yellow eyes awaiting his answer.

“I’m the one you’re looking for, right?” The boy struggled on. “Let’s face it, I’m no hero, I’m no savior nor some magical messiah. I’ve done things that I’m not proud of, horrible things, and quite frankly that’s part of the reason as to why you’re here. All of this was a mistake, which means that I’m a mistake. But…” He looked straight into the face of certain death. “That doesn’t matter to me, not anymore. What matters is that I’m alive, here and now! And as long as I’m still breathing, I still have the power to change things.”

The air all around them trembled, their staring duel soon to come to a close. The dust settled once more, and the boy spoke on.

“I am you, and you are me.” His hand went over his chest. “I started this nightmare, and now…I’m going to end it.”

There came nothing but silence. Undying, unnerving, and unrelenting quiet.

Then, a shadow sliced past at unspeakable speeds, and David hit the ground. He laid there motionless for a moment, blinking, finding that he was still alive and still in the center of the plaza. As he looked up, there on his chest lied a single pony, mane, coat and cutie mark undeniably recognizable.

“Starlight?!” The boy squirmed.

The unicorn peeled her eyes open, lifting off of the boy’s barrel. “I was wrong, you’re not a psychopath…” She could hardly breath. “You’re a suicidal maniac.”

A claw mark lied over the pony’s flank, a sure strike from the beast, gained from her efforts in saving the boy at the very last second. David trembled and hovered over the pony’s wound, mind racing at a million miles a minute as he damned himself tenfold for having let his happen. Then, the plaza square quickly flooded with the cries of what the boy could only describe as a rebellion. Ponies by the tens and hundreds waved over the square with screams to the skies and lights to the stars, wielding lanterns and torches alike. The beast quickly cowered backwards, shaping and shifting into several horrific figures as it fled beneath the stark, bright lights. It was almost as though the dawn of the day itself had arrived, and the monster was sure to retreat into the woods. However, its controller fought with every glimpse of effort it could muster, screeching and slicing wildly in its midst of blinded rage and fury.

David huddled away from the roaring crowds, Starlight cradled in his arms, as he took her to the steps of Town Hall. His hands cautiously brushed over the cuts scraped across her mark, but the unicorn was far more adamant on gaining his attention.

“I’ll be fine-!” She winced. “Go find out where that little brat is hiding.”

“Cozy Glow?” David surmised.

“She’s the one who’s been behind all of this, from the very beginning.” Starlight hissed. “If we don’t stop her, that beast will tear all of us to shreds!”

“She’s only one little pony, where the heck am I supposed to find her?” The boy asked fervently.

“If she could pull off a trick like this, that must mean she has far more powerful magic than we realize.” The unicorn gazed about the scene desperately. “She must have teleported somewhere…somewhere hidden.”

“Teleported?” He mimicked.

“Do you remember when you showed up on Trixie’s stage all of a sudden?” The mare recalled. “Spike had ended up in the castle because the two of you had traded places.”

“Then that wouldn’t mean just a straight teleportation…but she swapped places with something to make the jump!” David concluded, delving deep into his mind. In chess, there’s only one move you can make where you move two pieces at one time, and that move is castling. A player can only castle if they switch the rook with the…

As he looked up, his destination lied narrowly on the road ahead. The Castle of Friendship.

David could only recall few times in his life where he had ran hard enough for his lungs to catch fire and the balls of his feet becoming bruised and pained. The strife and the turmoil mattered not as he climbed the steps, burst past the golden double doors, and channeled down the main hallway with tremendous amounts of a fight and fury swirling at the ends of his fists. The map room opened up to him, cold and quiet, a single beam strung from table to center piece at the top of the rotundus room.

Alas, no matter how sharp his senses nor quick his wits, a sharp and halting sensation soon overcame his body. His flesh tightened, his bones clicked and his joints stiffened. It was as though the very blood coursing through his veins had come to an immediate halt, subduing each and everyone of his moves. As the strange, magical aura took hold of him, the boy was brought to his knees. In the center most crystalline chair of the map table, the throne spun around, slowly and dreadfully, revealing the very little equine he and the entire town had been in search of. The winged filly, now a horn atop her head, stared down her opponent. She grinned, let loose a string of cackles, and eased devilishly into her monotonous, sinister speech.

“You know, you remind me so much of the kids I used to know back home.” She said. “But moreover, you remind me so much more of somepony in particular. I see her in the mirror everyday.”

David delivered a harsh squint. He wished he could completely close his eyes, if only to momentarily rid this little demon from his sight.

“Do you remember what I said to you at the school house?” She queried. “What about when we played chess at the cafe?”

If David could shake his head, he’d rather spit.

“We’ve got a lot more in common than we think, you and I.” She told him. And suddenly, her pupils shrunk to the size of seething pinpricks, little fiery dots in a world of white. “You would not believe how furious that makes me. Not because I say it only to say it, but because it’s true.” She slowly eased from her chair, sauntering about. “Every single pony whom I uttered those exact words to, those words of connection, those words of relation, I knew deep down in my humbly decided mind that I was lying straight to their faces. I lied to them, every single one of them…except you.” She froze, shaking and blinking hard. Her speech like that of a twisting, breaking violin. “The more I came to realize how kindred you and I really are, the less I began feeling like somepony that actually meant something to this world, something that was supposed to carry a purpose. But now…that purpose is lost. And it’s all because of YOU!”

With hardly a shred of effort, the throne she had been sitting upon was thrown into the air and over the boy’s head, shattering into a million shards as it struck the wall behind him. The tiny, speckled, glass pieces fell all around and tinkled to the ground as he lied in his forced, kneeling position.

Suddenly, the filly turned unbelievably calm, as though the simple flip of a switch was all it took. “You may be wondering how we got to this point in the grand scheme of things. How I ended up being the surprise villain, and-oop! Spoiler alert, it turns out I’m the hero, too!” She cheered.

David could only stare and reply with a run of confused mumbles.

“Were you always that blind?” She cocked her head, dumbfounded. “All it really took was a different perspective.” Her gaze turned to slits. “You never knew it, boy…but I was always there.”

Always. There.

“But you know one thing?” Her eyes ran bloodshot. “You were right, you are a mistake! Everything you’ve ever done has been nothing but mistake, after mistake, after mistake, after mistake…! And I’m going to make you relive those moments, all over again!”

Cozy Glow trained her newly wound horn upon the boy, and in an instant his mind and body began to throb and contort, as though to the point that they might burst. Shadow figures swirled and raced all about, overwhelming amounts of guilt and grief plaguing his thoughts as he knelt to the floor even further than before, sobbing and crying uncontrollably.

The debt that which he owes Ponyville, the pain he caused Silver Spanner and Rose Luck, Apple Bloom’s coma and her fall into memory loss. It all came rushing back like a black, terrible wind, clouding his vision and throwing his judgment into complete and utter anguish. Cozy Glow closed in on the boy, deepening the cut, whispering into his ear from the black of her tongue.

“You are nothing.”

From the blazes and roaring ensuing outside, Doctor Whooves and Amethyst spun their coil around their respective spires. Zecora was onto the next, and Spike had nobly joined in on the efforts as well. Each and everyone gave their signal that the last black tower was connected to the next, and Twilight had only to connect her end, should the circuit become shorted.

The townsponies hollered and screamed to the heavens, pushing the beast back to the spot on the fountain’s pedestal, the very spot where Ponyville’s prized statue had crumbled and fallen. In that instant, a great, thundering crackle came coursing through the sky. Each and everyone of the black pillars surged with immense amounts of electricity, aiming back towards the center point of the town. Directly over the fountain space where the beast now lied. With a snap of blinding white, lighting coursed through the air, and struck its target so.

There was a bang, a rumble and flash of light.

Cozy Glow tensed, jolted, and was stricken frozen for a sure, solid second. Then, the boy lifted his arm and grabbed her horn. With a violent squirm, twist and crack, David pulled and ripped the horn right from the filly’s head. He lumbered to his feet, tossed the broken end aside, swiping a forearm across his jaw as the pony at his feet wailed and screamed against the castle walls.

“Maybe you’re right, Cozy Glow.” David said. “Maybe you and I are alike in one way or another. If there’s anything I’ve learned from my time here thus far, it’s that you ponies can be just as cruel and malevolent as us humans. There’s no ‘one side’ or ‘the other.’ It’s all just ‘us.’ We’re all the same, you and I both!”

The horn-torn filly struggled past streams of tears, holding the space over her head as she craned her sights upwards. “A-Augh! Sss!” She winced. “A-Actually, I just found a difference.” She snarled. “Only one of us is going to be alive after this!”

She howled and lunged forward, wings bolting her towards his face as they both screamed, thrashed, spun, and twirled all around the castle floor. Her broken horn in sight, Cozy Glow lunged over and pressured it between her hooves, forcing the rest of her weight down on the boy’s throat and chest.

She had seen it before, when he showed it at the schoolhouse. The wound over his chest was undoubtedly his weak spot, and the devilish little pony planned to slice right through. As the tip of the horn scratched upon the surface of his bare wound, she felt a strange sensation overwhelm her altogether. The struggling and the fighting came to a screeching halt, a teal aura surrounding the pony whole.

David watched as the blanket of light blue shimmered and swirled all around the little villain. It suspended her in the air, frozen stiff, and soon the filly found that her body was racing towards the far wall at alarming speeds. Cozy Glow was immediately knocked unconscious, bouncing off and hitting the floor with a loud, defeated thud. The boy crawled backwards, stopping and turning over his shoulder. There in the doorway stood the sorceress, Starlight, out of breath and trembling with exhaustion.

“How many times…” She breathed. “…am I going to save your life today?”

“Starlight…?” The boy struggled to his feet, lumbering over to the pony just as she was about to collapse. “You gonna be alright?”

“I think I got my steps in for the day.” She swept her brow.

“What about the beast?”

“Twilight and the others played some tricks, caught it in the crossfire.” The unicorn almost cackled. “Guess that covers the fireworks show.”

“And the ponies?”

“I think the town’s gonna be alright.” She relaxed into the boy’s arms. “Nothing that a little fixer-upper can’t do.”

“You seem awfully relaxed for all the shit that just went down.” David looked on, perplexed.

“Trust me, you’ll get used to it.”

There was a beat of silence, and David looked over to the filly before returning to Starlight. His eyes wavered upwards, down the hall and past the threshold of the castle. The faintest glow of the morning was just beginning to stretch across the horizon afar.

“I think I’m beginning to understand…” He began.

Starlight could only reply with a slow, wondering blink.

“There’s a lot of things in this world that are going to be above me, but just because I’m not as strong as I wanna be doesn’t mean I should give up. If anything, my weakness is my reason to move forward.” He decided. “I still don’t really know what’s going on, I don’t know what will happen or where I’m going next, but somehow I’ll find a way. I’m confident now that I can do that.”

With that, the unicorn finally gave a cackle and a laugh of her own. She sighed with comfort and slowly eased herself back into the comforting cradle of the boys’ embrace. “So, you finally figured out how to stop being such a little bitch…” She smiled. “That warms my heart, David.”

“S-Starlight…?” The boy drew closer.

“Thank you, David, for everything you’ve done.” She slowly closed her eyes.

“Starlight-!”

“Thank you…thank you…”

“Starlight, no! No, no, no!” He gripped her form, holding her close. “Don’t die on me, Starlight, please!”

“Mmf! Let go of me, you idiot! I’m not dying!”

“Oh! S-Sorry…” He slowly let go.

“I-I mean.” The pony blinked. “Thanks for looking out for me, I guess?” She dropped again and sighed. “Listen, I’ve had a pretty long day. Could you just let me rest here for a moment?”

“Oh, um…sure.” The boy sufficed, gently resting the pony to the cold, crystal floor. He stood, dusting himself off, and looking to the filly resting at the far end of the chamber. After a small spell of hesitation, he slowly wandered over to the unconscious form, and cradled the smaller one up into his arms.

Starlight’s ears flickered as she listened, hearing the boy trail out the door, down the hall and descending the steps to the castle with Cozy Glow in his arms. Quietly, after peering about to her left and right, Starlight located the broken piece lying on the opposite end of the room.

Chapter 75 - The Brave Little Unicorn

In the midst of the ponies and the broken bits of the town that lied all about, the dust filtered to a calm and quiet settle. Although the streets were littered and broken, they were free of hostility, all expect for the uncertain figure that lied in the center of the plaza, atop the fountain’s pedestal, lying over the space of the long lost statue. The beast remained motionless, the sound of its breathing just barely heard, should one dare to get close enough. Not a soul was willing to try.

Not a soul, except for one…

“She is the cause of all of this?” The Mayor stared down at the filly, unbelieving of whom was presented unto her.

“You’re damn right that I am.” Cozy Glow spat.

The filly squirmed and struggled in her restraints, but Applejack’s lasso was more than a match for the curly maned, little pegasus.

“It could’ve been easy, Ivory.” Cozy growled on. “One decision. One teensy, weensy tiny decision could have changed everything, but you backed out like the old hag of a coward you are. Mikado was but only a stepping stone to me, but even he couldn’t do his job right. Then, you just had to let your damn, dirty ape stick his smelly paws everywhere and anywhere he could.” She huffed and squirmed about again. “All over my town. That’s right! Y’hear me? My town!”

“What shall we do with her, Miss Mayor, ma’am?” Sam raised.

“Find Princess Twilight, call for her judgment.” She decided.

“She is out relocating the citizens.” Ralph informed.

“Then we shall see to everypony’s safety, first.” The Mayor nodded. “In the meantime, keep her here.”

“Hey, we’re not done here!” The filly rolled and wriggled on the floor. “This is the Nightmare Night that you will never forget! This is the day that I swear my revenge! You haven’t seen the last of me! Do you hear me?! I’ll get you, I’ll get all of you!”

“How’s the east end, captain?” Cloudchaser asked her superior.

“The fires shouldn’t spread any further now.” Sunshower nodded to her crew mates. “Good work, team.”

“Does this mean we finally get those doughnuts you promised?” Oskie asked fervently.

“I believe this means a revision to our Weather Patrol wing would be in order.” Mayor Mare called from below. Sunshower and her pegasi slowly made their descent, approaching the old mare as she continued. “Without a doubt, Ponyville has been in need of a proper fire and rescue team for quite some time, and I believe I know just the right ponies for the job.” She nodded, smiling.

Sunshower adorned a grin of her own, only for it to fade as she looked over her shoulder, turning to her pegasi. Her speech came as slow and meticulous as ever.

“I may not have been the best captain, or any sort of suitable captain at all for that matter, but what I can say is you pegasi are the best wing ponies any captain could ever ask for.” She paused, going stiff. “Even if you are a bunch of slackers from time to time.”

Cskie delivered the celebratory elbow to Oskie, for no particular reason at all.

“I suppose this means goodbye?” Cskie looked on drearily.

“You do have that position in Cloudsdale to look to, after all.” Blossomforth added.

Cloud Chaser slowly trotted up to the mare, flexing and holding out her wing. “It’s been an honor serving under your wing, captain.”

“And…” The pegasus accepted the wing shake. “It would be an honor to continue doing so.”

The crew members were thrown into a pause, looking over the pegasus with wonder.

“Miss Mayor.” Sunshower turned back around. “Permission to extend my stay in Ponyville?”

“I would have to consult the Cloudsdale administration.” She nodded back. “I’m sure they would be pleased to hear of your results.”

Visibly, the entire team winced.

“All the good parts, I mean…” The Mayor corrected.

As such, Sunshower experienced for the first time the full force and fluff of a team huddle, much more like a dog pile, as her wing ponies erupted with cheers and laughter, embracing their captain with shakeless amounts of gratitude.

Sunlight crept steadily over the horizon, the skies shifting from the blackened blue of the night into thin streaks of purple, orange and yellow. Dawn was abound, and yet the locals continued to stare and keep their distance from the creature in the fountain.

The scent of rot and cropper had grown heavy, clogging nostrils and pinching eyes to the point of tears. Despite the unbearable smells, one little pony in the crowd stood out among the rest, one who felt a calling towards the strange entity occupying the pedestal.

Dinky Hooves, placing one hoof after the other, slowly approached the being.

There was a moment in every mother’s life where in the midst of watching their child preparing to do something so inconceivably stupid, their first and only reaction could muster a scream at the very top of their lungs before charging forward in a desperate attempt to save their young. Accordingly, there was a moment in every child’s life where they knew that no matter how much they argued, fought or protested against their guardian, the parent was never in a million years ever going to agree with them. The little unicorn knew this was one of those moments, and pressed forward ever so slowly, gently, and cautiously.

Whooves applied all of his earth pony strength, astounded by the effort the mother was putting in as he beckoned to Ronin for help, two now holding the pegasus at bay. The elder sister could only watch on, horn at the ready, eyes fearful and mind thinking of only the worst. But if there was one thing she was thinking of, her little sister must be doing this for a reason. If there was one thing Amethyst knew, her little sister wasn’t stupid, stupid as the situation may have seemed.

Just what was she planning to do? Beyond all honesty, Dinky hadn’t a clue as to what she was doing. The only action that followed next was her little hoof reaching for the Doctor’s ring. The copper ring lied in the center of her hoof, the early light of the morning bouncing streams of light off of its surface, and with that Dinky looked back up. Her face mere inches away from the beast upon the stone pedestal, her gaze softened and her lips moved slowly.

“You’ve been in pain this whole time, haven’t you?” She closed her eyes, reaching out with her hoof. The unicorn and the monster came in contact.

The crowd was still and frozen with fear, Dinky’s family at a complete loss of action and words. As the little filly’s eyes shined white, she opened her sights back to the being, and she understood what to do. The creature looked down, and she sensed the most subtle yet painful nod of content in its wordless, quiet gesture.

Dinky closed her eyes, and her horn flared to life.

The copper ring was lifted by her levitation, a spell she never thought she herself could achieve. She came to understand the creature’s pain, its suffering, its journey, and its story. All around them and the fountain space, golden specks of light twirled and shimmered as they followed the waves of Dinky’s horn spiral like a rising, roaring river around the creature, soaring for the sky. A faint breeze rushed about their vicinity, carrying the twinkles of light until they encompassed the beast on the pedestal whole, and its figure dissipated into the thin of the air, fluttering above and disappearing upon the canvas of amber gold painting the morning sights. As the bedazzling show of lights were lifted and carried into an ethereal and invisible nothing, the little unicorn at the fountain was all alone.

The beast was gone.

“The creature…” One pony muttered. “It disappeared!”

“And it’s all thanks to that brave, little unicorn!” Another triumphed.

“She’s saved us all!” The ponies stomped their hooves and cheered. “She’s a hero!”

As the citizens gathered to deliver their congratulations, Derpy, Whooves, Amethyst and Ronin quickly trotted up to the exhausted and crumpled form of the little Dinky. Having exerted so much energy out of nowhere, the filly had nearly fallen unconscious, struggling to keep her eyes open as her family lifted her in their hooves. They shared their sights to the copper ring, having landed back into the small of the young one’s hoof. It was completely verdigris.

“You, little miss Doo,” Whooves admired. “Are full of surprises, it seems.”

“That was incredibly brave of you, my little girl.” Her mother acknowledged. “You’re grounded for the rest of your life.”

“I’ve never witnessed such manner of magic before.” Ronin added. “How did you do that?”

“I’m…not sure.” Dinky replied steadily. “Somehow, I just knew what to do.”

Amethyst’s only response to the whole ordeal was a sharp gasp and a sudden shrill. She shoved a hoof in the direction of Dinky’s backside, sputtering and wordless altogether.

“What? What is it?” The mother fret.

“Has she been hurt?” The Doctor feared.

Amethyst finally spat it out. “Dinky…” Her eyes bright and brilliant. “Your cutie mark!”

“What?” Dinky blinked back, disbelieving. “Sis, I don’t have a-”

She stopped, looked to her flank, and there it was. A warm sensation overran the young one’s hide, and there the image appeared. The little unicorn’s very own cutie mark, after thirteen long years, had finally been revealed.

As the commotion and the clamor had all come to a settle, the ponies of Ponyville banded together, just as they had in days of strife and turmoil. Within a matter of mere minutes, instructions were made, tools and supplies were provided, and the bonds of brotherhood began in the spirit to restore and rebuild what they called their home.

Among the sea of equines, a single tall figure emerged and walked among them, approaching the fountain scene that he had idly watched from afar. Dinky’s family gave their admirations and congratulations, not to mention a select few from the crowds, and in the midst of it all the little unicorn looked up.

As they met sights, an urgent sense to speak with the boy washed over her eyes. She wobbled to her hooves and sped forward, David responding in a low crouch as he held out his arms to catch the small pony. Her immediate words put the human to a halt.

“David, I saw it.” She told him. “I saw your home world.”

The boy stopped, and simply listened.

“When I touched that creature, I saw what he really was. He was a human, once, just like you.” Dinky went on. “His people were in danger, and he wanted to protect his home, so he turned into that beast. Even though he knew that was the price he would pay, he did it for the people he loved.”

Dinky looked down, recomposing herself, and the boy calmly rested a hand to her shoulder. As her hoof climbed to his forearm, she found the strength to continue.

“I think I understand you now, why you’ve been so angry and frustrated.” She returned. “It’s because you had a home, but now you’re trying to learn how to live all over again. But you don’t have to worry because…I’m here to learn with you.”

Dinky’s eyes met the boy’s once more, the tears beginning to form and her voice trembling, but she pushed on.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is…home is where your friends are at. It doesn’t have to be a place, or a building, or anything like that. It’s where your heart truly lies.”

And then, the Glass shattered.

As he knelt there in the middle of the plaza courtyard, broken shards of glass surrounding them all about, the boy came to an epiphany. Even if he may never get to see his home ever again, what mattered to him now was the world, the people, and the voices set out before him. It was where he believed his destiny truly lied. He was here, and he was one-hundred percent truly and utterly awake. He was alive.

“Dinky…” The boy choked, wrapping the little mare up in his arms. “Thank you.”

The pony could only reply with muffled reassurance, and soon the two parted.

“I know what I need to do now.” He said.

David reached into his pocket and looked unto the piece in his hand. The memory talisman. Rising to his feet, the boy fell into a run as he weaved about the ponies and the buildings, making his way for Sweet Apple Acres.

Chapter 76 - The Reminder

Rushing up the trail, hopping over the fence and clamoring up the Apples’ front porch, he threw open their door and looked fervently about the building.

“Apple Bloom?” He called unto the halls. “I need to speak with you.”

The hour was quite early, the crack of dawn as a matter of fact, but it didn’t take a genius to know that not only had everypony been up all night, farmers were more than likely the first to wake before the sun even found its way over the horizon.

“It’d be a better idea to knock next time, young’n.” Granny Smith waddled into the front room. “’Less ya’ fancy gettin’ a skillet over your head.”

“Sorry.” He quickly apologized, and resumed. “Is Apple Bloom here?”

“David?” A little voice called from the top of the stairs.

The boy rounded into the next hall, the filly in question standing idly at the summit of the stair case, a wave of perplexity over her eyes and face. She hadn’t a second more to reply as the human took a single step and held out his hand.

“I’ve made my decision.” He declared. “I want you to take the memory talisman.”

“No, no…” Apple Bloom slowly shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Apple Bloom-”

“I told you to think about it.” She reminded.

“And he has.”

As the thum arrived to them both, the pony and the human found the familiar figure of a draconequus floating down from the ceiling. Discord went on. “Trust me, little one, our faithful protagonist here has been through enough strife now to know that this isn’t something he needs to do. This is something that he wants.”

The filly at the stairs could only give the serpent an odd gaze, and her eyes returned to the boy waiting below.

“Discord is right.” David nodded back. “I’m not doing this because I feel an obligation to do so. There is no duty, there is no protocol. This is genuine.” He justified with a firm nod. “And this-” Pulling out the memory talisman and presenting it to her. “Is what I want, for you.”

Streams of light poured in through the windows, speckles of dust twinkling past the figures upon the stairs, and a spell of silence overtook them all. Apple Bloom closed her eyes as though deep in thought, the first he had ever seen the filly do so, and with her mind made up she looked up with a small, sure smile.

“I only said no because I was afraid it wasn’t going to work.” She admitted. “You know that, right?”

“WHAT?!” Discord boomed, seething altogether. He snapped into thin air, and snapped back in front of the pony. “Tell me straight to my ugly, goat face just what exactly you mean by that! Do you doubt my magic? Do you doubt my skill?” He fumed. “Oh, I’ll show you…”

The very next second, the front door blasted open once more as a pair of fillies came rushing in and sliding over to the stair case. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were practically on top of one another as they shouted and screamed for their friend’s name.

“I heard Apple Bloom was getting her memories back!” Scootaloo cheered.

“Not unless you jinx it!” Sweetie Belle argued. “If she’s lucky, then she won’t have to remember you.”

“Take it easy, girls.” The boy hushed them. “Apple Bloom hasn’t been healed quite yet, but I’m going to put our trust in our friend here that she sees that light, soon.” He proposed.

Discord snapped out of his anger, peering back down at the boy and looking back to the filly with yet no memory to call upon. “Well, what are we waiting for?” The serpent shrugged. “Young Equerry, if you would do the honors?”

David gave a reassuring nod to the girls as they joined him side by side, and slowly climbed up the stairs to where their friend laid in wait. Each and every step felt heavy and haunting, yet earned and rewarding, as though the climb to triumph was finally reaching its tumult, and ultimately its understanding.

With a calm and graceful gesture, the talisman was raised to the little pony’s forehead. A teal blue glow filled the markings upon the parchment, slowly dissolving as it surrendered beneath the receiver’s forehead, and disappeared altogether. Everypony watched on with anticipation, and Apple Bloom blinked. Once, twice, thrice. She clamped her eyes shut, brought a single hoof to her head, and slowly looked to the outdoors.

“I…” She struggled. “I…” And she fought. “I remember now!”

Sweetie Belle prepared for a warm, heart-felt embrace, only to be batted aside by the thick-headed pegasus of their group.

“What are our names? When’s your birthday? What do you like to eat for breakfast?” Scootaloo quizzed. “How many hooves am I holding up?”

“That’ll do it, squirt.” The boy pushed her singular hoof down. “I think your friend is trying to say something.”

Apple Bloom squinted yet again, the memories forming in the pit of her mind.

“The twin trees…at the hidden grove, in the orchard!” She suddenly recalled. Without a second more to waste, she soared past her friends and down the stairs, clamoring out the front door and dashing down the orchard lane, and soon the others followed.

The little pony trotted on and on into the forest of barren apple trees, baskets and buckets filled to the brim, eager fruit patiently waiting to be gathered and collected. The time for harvesting season had passed, a day or two ahead, and the little pony trotting up the path knew exactly where her destination lied.

With the thought in mind she trotted on and soon came upon a spot of seclusion hidden away in the orchard. Two trees, one of pears and the other of apples, intertwined with one another as they created a heart shaped window of wood and leaves at the edge of the canopy. The little pony and her friends trailing behind sat before the monument admiring the warmth of the scenery and the bliss of the moment, and soon she produced a trowel.

“This is it.” She told them. “This is the place.”

As the company dug, they soon hit a hard spot, and clawed at the dirt to reveal what hid beneath. It was a small, mahogany box.

“It’s…” Sweetie Belle squinted. “It’s a box. How’s that going to help?”

“Well, duh.” Scootaloo drawled. “Her brain is inside of it.”

“It’s a time capsule.” Apple Bloom answered.

All present looked to her in question. The apple filly continued, smiling and confident.

“I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life on this orchard.” The pony began. “I knew that one day I would want to stop and look back, just to see how far this place has come, and how much I’ve grown. But…” She shook her head, stifling a laugh. “I guess I still got a lotta’ growing up to do. What I really mean to tell y’all is, I’ve realized something. This here time capsule ain’t complete, not quite yet…”

The pony trotted back over, took the box into her hold, and slowly opened for all of them to see. There lied within an assortment of items, the first of them, a single apple seed. Her friends looked on with wonder, Discord hovered in the background with content, and David stared on with admiration. He was the first the filly looked up to.

“What I meant to ask…” Apple Bloom said. “Would y’all be willing to help?”

For once, in that very moment in time, David felt an overwhelming sensation of what he believed was pure, unconditional acceptance. There on his face appeared a grin, and then a smile. Bright, brimming, and happy. Genuine.