Starlight awoke to sun streaming through the window, birds singing cheerfully outside, and every muscle in her body aching in impressively novel ways. It took a few moments for her to untangle herself from the rest of herself, and a few more moments for her to grunt her way up onto her numbed out hooves. She shook some sensation back into them and let out a still-sleepy yawn.

Twilight and Spike were still in bed, wrapped up together and gently snoring. Twilight said they'd leave at dawn but there were a lot of good reasons why she didn't want to deal with waking the princess herself. She would rise when she was ready. Instead, Starlight ambled her way out the door and down the stairs, back out onto the porch.

Starlight had to admit that Sweet Apple Acres was certainly a sight to behold in the morning light. In its own right, of course, but also in contrast to the dull and lifeless surrounds. Acres and acres of flourishing green trees, dotted with fat shining apples of red and green and gold. In the distant fields, her eyes could make out an orange speck of movement, working the trees row by row as Applejack made her way back towards the farmhouse. Starlight couldn't help but notice that some of the farthest flung trees seemed neglected. One pony working the job of four wasn't quite enough.

She wasn't sure how long she watched for, but it was apparently long enough for Twilight and Spike to wake up and begin their own preparations. She could hear vague shuffling and rustling inside the house, but she paid it no mind. She was too enthralled watching the farmpony's steady progress through the fields.

Eventually, Applejack arrived with a cartful of apples. Slung across her back was a small sack of presumably also apples. She took an apple from the cart and tossed it in Starlight's direction. On reflex, Starlight caught it in her magic and was immediately struck with a wave of nausea and exhaustion. Great start to the morning. The apple dropped into her hooves as she released it from her aura and she took a bite, one eye on Applejack. It was delicious.

“Starlight Glimmer, if Twilight is trustin’ you, then I'm trustin' you, but make no mistake,” Applejack’s tone was low and warning, “If Twilight doesn't come back outta those woods, you might just consider gettin' lost in ‘em too.”

She didn't reply, just kept her eye on Applejack as she climbed the steps and rather unnecessarily pushed past Starlight to get to the door. She disappeared inside, and Starlight was happy to be alone again. She chomped through the rest of her apple, relieved nopony was there to see her make a mess of it– how did earth ponies and pegasi manage to eat everything with their hooves?

Eventually she heard the door click open behind her, and out strode Twilight, a bag saddled and strapped over top of her, rattling off a list Starlight had to assume were its contents, “... Water, food, rope, a firestarter and some blankets, a tarp just in case… It'll have to be good enough, Applejack, nothing more would fit anyways.” Spike was mounted atop Twilight, and Applejack followed them both out a moment later.

Starlight hurriedly ran her hooves over her muzzle hoping to hide any trace of the apple juice that had splashed down it, and then got to standing. It seemed it was finally showtime.

“Now I won't tell ya to be careful, Twi, what you're doing is anything but, so I'll just tell you to do your best. Just wish I could go with you.”

Twilight shook her head and pulled her friend into a brief hug, “You have your job, we've got ours. We'll be back soon, I promise.” They broke apart and Applejack nodded firmly.

“Spike, you keep her safe now. I know you always do.” Spike replied with a salute.

Finally, Applejack turned to Starlight. Their eyes locked for what felt like an eternity. Neither pony spoke. Applejack looked away first, eyes back to Twilight, and she finally said, “Good luck to all y'all. You best be off.”

Well that was fine. Starlight didn't need some pep talk or a dramatic goodbye like some ponies. She could look out for herself perfectly well. Still, it gnawed at her the way the farmpony insisted on treating her like a villain even when she was actually trying to help. Maybe it was because she insisted she was a villain.

The trio set out from the gates of Sweet Apple Acres and onto the long road towards the Everfree. Applejack’s farm was well clear of the ancient forest, and for good reason, nopony wanted Everfree animals confusing her fields for a new home. As such, they had a while to walk before there was even a chance of danger.

While Twilight and Spike chatted, Starlight fell a bit behind, using the time to take stock of her frazzled mind. On the one hoof, she was feeling surprisingly alright today. Sleep seemed to have sorted out a large portion of the chaos that had made her so frantic the day before. The floors of her mindscape had been cleared and swept, the files sorted away into appropriate homes. On the other hoof, her sleeping mind treated both her, the real and proper Starlight, and her double as one and the same, equals in their claim to her brain.

The line had gotten blurrier. It was taking longer to decide which reactions were really hers, and she was just a little bit less certain she was choosing correctly. It galled her. Both Starlights could agree neither wanted the other in their head. At least the feeling was mutual.

She quickened her pace and caught back up with Twilight and Spike. She noticed they had reached a lull in their own conversation, so she interjected herself, “So I can't stop wondering about it, did you figure out what was up with the school? Taking after your mentor, Twilight?”

Twilight glanced her way, then back in front, constantly scanning the path ahead, “Apparently that's just what I decided to do after the castle appeared. Applejack had never heard of the Map, I guess without you, it just never appeared in this timeline.” She looked like she had some kind of realization, and she frowned, “That means there's probably a lot of other friendship problems we never solved, without the Map.”

Starlight didn't want to dwell on the causality of it all. If no Our Town meant no Map… Well how did that make any sense at all? It's not like Twilight's so-called Friendship Problems were all her fault, why didn't the map appear for one of those instead? She grumbled quietly to herself, apparently loud enough to catch a look from Spike. “So what happened to it? That place looked a lot more abandoned than the rest of Ponyville, it couldn't have been the changelings.”

“I don't know. Equestria has a pretty strict education board. I guess we didn't see eye-to-eye, it didn't sound like the school was ever really open, or at least not for long.”

Thinking a little too hard about it, Starlight realized this was actually familiar. This world's Starlight, in her idolization of Princess Twilight, had of course heard all about the princess’s School of Friendship. Not that she'd applied, a pony whose most important friendship was personally saved by Princess Twilight herself hardly needed to attend a school for it. Education at Celestia’s school was more than comprehensive enough to sate her love of magic. Still, it was even bigger news when the Princess fell out with the education board and shuttered the school for good. Nopony was sure what she'd planned to do after that.

Starlight, Villain Starlight as she'd taken to dubbing herself, wasn't sure what came after that either. She could feel the edge of those memories, but unlike the ones that couldn't resist leaping into her mind, the most recent events in her other half’s brain seemed to shy away from her grasp. That was rather foreboding, but at the same time, the less that other Starlight decided to leak out, the better.

She decided not to tell Twilight about any of this. It might have been nice to rub it in as another one of her failures, but the alicorn already looked so put out about it. Strategically, she didn't want her distracted with where they were headed. It wasn't relevant to their goals anyways, so it'd hardly constitute ‘helping.’

The silence that followed stretched as long as their path to the forest did. By the time they were almost directly beneath that void-black sky, Twilight stopped, staring hard at the trees ahead. “We're here.”

The forest was a strange sight. Starlight had assumed it was dark– it certainly looked that way from afar, and the frightening black void above it didn’t help correct that notion. Closer inspection, however, revealed that it couldn’t really be called dark at all. Starlight could see perfectly into the depths, but she couldn’t ignore the strangest quality of it all. The whole forest seemed to be greyscale, like the color had simply drained up into the sky. Her best guess was a strange trick of the light, as even the ponies started to lose their color as they closed in on the treeline. Everything held a flat, evenly lit characteristic that was difficult to wrap your head around. Where there should be long streams of light and pools of shade, there was simply flat grey, like every surface was lit from every side at once in some old photograph.

Despite the sinister look of the place, something about it did make Starlight breathe easier, and it took a moment to pinpoint what it was. Magic. It wasn’t actually that comforting, despite her body’s natural reaction to it. Whatever had happened to this place, corrupted magic was definitely a possibility, it wouldn’t do them any good to stay here too long.

Twilight was eyeing her carefully. Starlight nodded, “I feel it too.”

“No using magic. It’s bad enough we’re walking through it, I wouldn’t want to see what happens if you try to channel it. We’ll make for Zecora’s house first, if we’re lucky… She’ll be there to help us.”

Starlight raised a brow, “And if we’re unlucky?”

“Let’s just hope we aren’t,” Spike snarked as Twilight led the way without a word. With that, they entered the forest.

They were unlucky, of course. Despite her insistence that she had the way to Zecora's house memorized, Twilight seemed absolutely lost, and of course Starlight herself hadn't stood a chance. It's not like she'd been here before, but tales about the woods made their rounds like any good ghost story. It also didn't help that between the three of them, they could hardly see. It still wasn't dark, but the perfectly flat grey lighting made for a strange effect, she struggled to make out where the edge of one thing ended and another began.

It reminded her of a nightmare, not the parts full of terror and monsters and tragedies, but the esoteric parts of her nightmares. Experiencing the dream from an odd angle, or in black-and-white, or not quite able to move your body properly. It evoked a lack of control, a lack of coherence.

For all the strange feelings it brought to mind, it was actually far less horrific than Starlight had imagined. Eerie, certainly, off-putting the way the only sounds were their shallow winded breaths and the crunch of dead leaves underhoof. Worrying, the way the path behind them seemed to disappear, and the path ahead only wound deeper and deeper, revealing no splits or turn-offs. They could have been walking in circles and there was no way Starlight would be able to tell.

Twilight stopped short all of a sudden, and only quick reflexes spared Starlight the embarrassment of ramming straight into her rump. Whatever feeling she might have felt about that didn't last long enough to matter as she realized the reason for Twilight going still.

Crunch. Crack.

In the distance, audible only thanks to the absolute quiet that fell over the trio, was the sound of old-growth trees being casually felled. Growing, thumping quakes beneath their hooves only made the obvious even clearer. Something was coming. It was big. It was fast. It probably wasn't friendly.

Twilight looked at Starlight, and Starlight looked at Twilight, and neither spoke as the same thoughts raced through their minds. What could they do? Talking was a bad idea, it could certainly hear them. Hiding wouldn't work, it probably had their scent. It sounded so big and so fast that running probably wouldn't–

They weren't given time to consider any more options. The sound of trees giving way just a few dozen feet behind them made the choice for them.

“Run for it!” Spike shouted, and both ponies were off to the races. There was only the one path, still, and cutting through the woods would slow them down far too much, they barely had a hope even with the best odds.

They galloped as hard of a pace as the terrain would allow, and as they ran, Starlight couldn't help but think they were being toyed with. The clamour behind them had faded, and she didn't hear noise coming from anywhere else. So of course that was the exact moment a blur streaked from the woods on their right and sent both Twilight and Spike tumbling into the woods with a loud crack.

Starlight felt her heart lurch. A hit like that would have crushed a normal unicorn, and it was truly, maybe a bit selfishly, lucky that it had been Twilight who took it. Even with the hardiness of an earth pony, it was enough to put her out of the race for a while.

Time felt slow as her adrenaline hit its peak. She glanced to her right and saw nothing, to the left only the still bodies of Twilight and Spike, but… Above she caught a flash of movement. It was enormous, but racing through the treeline above them like it was made for nothing else. Her first impression reminded her of a bear. She didn't look long enough to have a second impression.

All the while, her hooves were still carrying her forward. She had to make a decision. She barely even thought it through, there was nothing she could do for Twilight, except maybe keep running and hope to distract the beast.

Spike though…

She didn't second-guess herself, whichever part of herself had decided, as she wrapped the prone dragon in her aura and wrenched on the fabric of reality that lay between them. It wasn't levitation, she couldn't afford to channel her magic that long, it was more of a punt. He arced beautifully, and the jostling seemed to bring him back to himself in mid-air. With a desperate claw and impressively quick thinking, he grabbed ahold of Starlight's mane, snapping her head painfully to the side, and swung himself over her back.

“Twilight!” He shouted. Starlight couldn't tell if that was a demand or simple concern. She was too preoccupied with keeping all four hooves in proper order and pushing forward as feedback from the tainted magic sent arcs of black lightning into her horn. What followed was a splitting headache, and nausea so deep she almost stumbled. It was agony, but she blazed forward on sheer willpower, and the worst of it seemed to fade quickly enough.

The beast was on the move again, now that she knew what to listen for, she could just barely make out the rustling of leaves above them. That was good, maybe, it had left Twilight alone at least, probably. She, however, could not afford a full-force hit from whatever this creature was. Every twig that snapped under her hoof made her briefly think about her bones.

Spike had turned himself around on her back, and by his leaning, she assumed he was watching above them. He had picked up on the same thing she had.

“Left!” He called. It wasn't a call to turn, there were no turns, so it had to be… She ducked to her knees and her body slid in the dirt and leaves as a massive clawed paw swooshed just barely over the top of Spike’s head. She scrambled back to her hooves and got back up to pace, but her breathing was ragged now, she couldn't keep this up.

“Low right!” She leapt and sailed over the paw, just barely able to make out the blur of the rest of the body attached to the paw in the greyscale haze. She landed hard and stumbled, her energy flagging. The next one was going to hit, she realized, feeling not terror but horrible, peaceful acceptance.

“Starlight,” She heard in her ear, “Starlight, I think it's after me. I need you to trust me.”

“Whh–” She wheezed in reply. She couldn't form words right now.

“Stop, as quick as you can, and pick me up.” She shook her head. That was an insane plan. If she stopped, that was it, every bone in her body crunched to dust. “Please, Starlight, I know it's a lot to ask, but you have to trust me!”

Well, fine. It was going to end the same either way, so she could afford to humor the little pest in her final moments. She slammed her back hooves deep into the dirt, dragging out furrows as she reared up on her hind legs and snatched Spike off her back with her forelegs. She held him up, panting hard and spinning to check every angle of the forest around them. At the end of her second spin, she nearly yelped. There, on the path ahead, was the beast.

It truly was massive, as tall as three ponies, broad and hunched low. The bear comparison was rather accurate for the body, but its face looked more like a mutilated ox or yak, a chimera’s scorpion tail held at the ready over its back, and most surprising of all, a broad pair of bat wings. It didn't move, just sat there, eyes fixed on the pair of them, low growls issuing from its throat.

“Now… Put me down.” Spike whispered gently. Starlight lowered him to the ground and moved back a step. The tension in the beast’s frame seemed to ease, just a little.

“Okay, now do something kind for me.”

“What!?” Starlight hissed, just a bit too loud, a bit too incredulous. The beast tensed again, and the growl grew louder. It took a step forward.

“Anything! A pat on the head, a- a hug, anything!” Starlight glanced down at him, then back at the beast. Whatever idea Spike had, it seemed better than anything she could come up with. She gently patted his head with a hoof, then lowered herself to pull him into a gentle hug, which she quickly and awkwardly released. The ground shook, suddenly. Starlight froze, but it was just the beast sitting. It looked at them intently, but the aggression had left it. “See?” Spike said to it, “No changelings here. It's me.”

“Spike, I'm really gonna need you to explain what just happened,” She said as tenderly as she could, fearing agitating the creature again.

Before Spike could muster a reply, the bear-thing snapped to attention and they could hear shouting in the distance, “Spike! Starlight!?” It was Twilight!

Spike stepped towards the beast, shushing it and holding his claws out reassuringly. His approach was slow, and carefully he thrust a claw deep into the creature’s fur, and gave it a nice scratching on its leg, which was really as high as he could reach.

“Spike, what are you doing?” She demanded as pleasantly as possible, trying to keep her tone light.

“What's wrong, Starlight?” He turned back at her and flashed a smug grin, “Don't recognize a friend when you see one?”

Starlight was still sputtering, trying to get a clarifying question out, when Twilight finally arrived up the path behind them. She was limping and one wing sat at an odd angle, but at least she was upright. At least she was alive. Starlight told herself the flood of relief was because it meant Applejack wouldn't tear her horn from her skull.

Twilight gasped as she saw the creature, which was now laying prone on its belly, and Spike, who was perched atop a paw and scratching mightily at a spot just behind the beast's ear. Starlight watched as some recognition that yet eluded her clicked into place across the alicorn’s expression.

“You always were her favorite,” She said quietly as she approached the creature's face. One heavy eyelid lifted to get a look at her, and the beast immediately raised its head, nearly knocking Spike over. He oof’d into the fuzzy fur of its foreleg. “It's me, I Pinkie Promise. It's me.” She stepped forward and nuzzled against the creature, its nose twitching as it took in her scent and gently returned the gesture of affection.

Starlight just watched, jaw hanging open. It was emotional whiplash. It was mere minutes since the thing had tried to smash them to pieces, and now they were all snuggling? “Can somepony please explain what exactly is happening?”

Twilight put a hoof to her mouth, giggling, “I don't know what happened or how, but… Starlight? Meet the Element of Kindness. We've found Fluttershy.”

Zecora’s home flooded its surroundings with a soft orange glow. Where the light touched, color was restored, lending the whole clearing an otherworldly feel. A sole beacon of color and life in a grey and silent forest. The trio had rode here on Fluttershy’s back, who had left the path and cut straight through the forest. Starlight felt validated in her nightmare comparison. It seemed as though the path would never have led anywhere, and Fluttershy was one of few creatures capable of navigating the unreal terrain.

As they entered the clearing, a herd of animals of all sorts– a bear, a rabbit, a dozen birds, a trio of racoons and everything in-between– came rushing out of the tree home to greet Fluttershy. Whatever silent communication crossed between them was lost on Starlight as Fluttershy touched noses with each and every one of them. While the ex-pony made rounds with her animal friends, Starlight, Twilight, and Spike dismounted and headed for the house.

As they reached the doorstep, the door clicked open and out stepped a zebra. Zecora, of course. Starlight didn't know much about Zecora, the zebra was strangely absent from many of the tales that surrounded Princess Twilight, but certainly the name had come up. She was also aware of the zebra’s curious habit.

“Ah, dear Fluttershy has returned,
And she has even brought a new friend.
Your rest here will be well earned!
But much is still needed to put this world on the mend.”

Right. She spoke in rhyme.

Zecora beckoned them inside and they followed. The interior was warm and safe, if a bit cramped by the clutter of relics and herbs, potions, and other objects Starlight had to assume were purely decorative. A cauldron bubbled away in the center of the room, smelling not of some heinous brew, but rather like carrot soup. Starlight’s mouth began to water. Finding a seat, she groaned with relief as she sank down, barrel supported by the cushion beneath. She wasn't surprised that she was sore and dead tired, her head still ached from the bolt of black magic that had grounded itself in her horn, but in the comfort of Zecora's home she felt like she was on the mend.

“Zecora, I don't even know where to start,” Twilight started up the conversation as Starlight got herself settled in and comfortable, “I know you'll believe me about it, but it's still a lot.”

“Twilight Sparkle, I have my suspicion.
Though I know not all of what you might say,
I know you come on a mission,
You wish to once again change that day.” Starlight couldn't help but notice Zecora watching her close as she spoke. Anxiously, she wondered what else the zebra might suspect.

“That's true enough, I guess, that is the whole goal. But Zecora, how could you know that? Only Starlight and I seem to remember anything else.”

“I know great many a thing
That might escape the pony eye
But we all now feel history’s sting
This new truth you sprang from a lie.”

The rhyme took on a scolding tone as Zecora looked back at Twilight for a moment. She shrank in consternation.

“Many ponies have sought to make wrong into right.
You would not have dared, were you not in a bind.
And I know by now this saying is trite,
But Twilight, an eye for an eye has left our whole world blind.”

“Shoulda just let me have the win, Twilight.” Starlight snarked. She quickly subsided when Zecora whirled on her with a glare.

“Starlight Glimmer, do not think yourself without fault!
You, who is at the center of it all,
For in your path you did not halt.
You would dare to let Twilight take the fall?”

“Right. Yeah. Sorry.” She mumbled out. She was too hungry and sore to put up an argument. Her stomach offered a noisy grumble as thoughts of hunger quickly turned to thoughts of soup mere feet away.

Zecora frowned at the noise,
“Oh dear, it seems I've forgotten my manners
Please now, before you start to brood
I know you both are master planners
But your bodies need fuel so please have some food.”

She quickly ladled soup into bowls for all three of them, passing them out and giving them all ample time to tuck in to the meal. It was a plain soup, consisting only of the vegetables and herbs that could still be scavenged in close proximity to the hut, but to Starlight it was divine. A brush with death really made you appreciate the flavor of a good carrot. While Starlight was busy savoring every drop, Twilight hastily slurped her bowl down and struck the conversation back up once more.

“Zecora, can you explain what happened here? With the forest, and Fluttershy, we heard something about the Pony of Shadows?”

“Fluttershy was here, to hide from changelings
When their queen freed the pony of night
It was his presence that began to change things!
The Elements were lost to fend off his might.”

“Are you saying she was… Mutated by the Pony of Shadow’s power, somehow? And the elements lost…” Twilight looked utterly defeated.

“Zecora, if the Pony of Shadows did that to Fluttershy, why do you seem fine?” Spike asked, laying his empty bowl beside him.

“Pay attention to my words, my dear,
Not all is what it might seem.
Tell me true, do you not hear?
It has changed my rhyme scheme!”

Starlight stifled a laugh, and quickly found those too-knowing eyes boring into her.

”Once again you draw my ire!
It is more than memories that burden you so.
Which Starlight is it that sparks this fire?
Are you certain you even know?”

She glanced away, guilty, but only found Twilight staring too. She was going to ask. Starlight knew she would, she could taste the answer on her lips, ready to blurt itself free with just a little nudge. Zecora was right. Whose laugh had she stifled? Which of her was ready to come clean to Twilight? She had her suspicions, it wasn't hard to guess, but her certainty had vanished.

But Twilight just sighed and shook her head, “Zecora, if the Elements are gone, how can we fix this? There's too little magic left to channel the spell, we thought the Elements might be our ticket out of here.”

“Tirek’s protege was almost successful,
But the Tree of Harmony grew from a seed.
The magic it contained is never restful.
Nevermind the elements, friendship is all you need!”

It was all too cryptic for Starlight, especially in her harried state, but the relief that flowed through Twilight's body was obvious. “Of course!” The mare shouted, leaping to her hooves, “The Elements were always just tools. The magic itself, the magic we need, has always been friendship!” She pranced and tapped her hooves, then pulled Zecora into a big hug the zebra instantly returned, “Thank you Zecora, thank you! And thank you for looking out for my friend.”

The zebra chuckled in reply,
“Though that is how it might appear
It is truly she who took care of me!
She is my friend too, I hope that is clear,
And in trying times, this one desired company.”

Twilight hugged her again, then looked between Spike and Starlight, “I know we just went through a lot, but I don't want to waste time. We need to figure out where Pinkie and Rarity are. Zecora, do you have any leads?”

Before she could reply, Spike broke in, “Actually Twi, I was thinking about that. I mean, I'm not completely sure, but where else does Pinkie go when things get bad?”

Twilight gasped, “Of course, Spike, you're right!”

Starlight rolled her eyes. This unspoken bond of friendship stuff was getting old, “Okay, tell me what I'm missing.”

“The rock farm!” The pair exclaimed together. There was a beat of silence where none of Starlight's confusion cleared up, and Twilight elaborated, “Pinkie Pie is a pony that's pretty hard to predict, except for one thing. Any time she's feeling down, any time something big goes wrong, you'll find her back at her family's rock farm.”

Starlight nodded slowly. Sure, that made sense. Only…

“What the hay is a rock farm?”

Starlight stepped outside from warmth into clear, brisk air. It wasn't quite cold, but certainly colder than the zebra’s home. The strange air that pervaded the rest of the forest was comfortably absent in the clearing, as if the shadow that blanketed the sky shied away from the fire. The color it imbued reached deep into the treeline, but look far enough and the deep greens eventually melded away into flat grey.

Fluttershy rested at the edge of the clearing, her massive form curled protectively around a bundle of varied critters. Her eyes tracked Starlight as she made her way towards the group, settling herself onto a stump a small distance away. “Twilight is in there making more lists,” She offered as explanation. Really, she'd felt a bit useless and she wasn't in the mood to fumble her way into yet another scolding. Cool air and distance were helping to clear her head. “You can understand me, right?”

Fluttershy’s head lifted just a fraction, careful not to disturb her furry friends, and nodded.

“Right. That's good then. I'm sure Twilight explained on the way, but… I'm Starlight Glimmer, and I guess all this is sort of my fault.” She felt ridiculous introducing herself like that. What was she doing here? Why was she talking to Fluttershy? She couldn't even talk back.

“When Applejack didn't remember me, I was angry. It felt like Twilight had taken an accomplishment from me, even if that accomplishment was making her and all her friends hate me. It felt like that's all she ever did! First she tears my village apart, and then she makes it so it never happened.” This was too honest. None of it mattered. Fluttershy wouldn't care. It didn't matter that those cyan eyes stared at her, giving her their undivided attention. She kept rambling anyways.

“I don't care if she thought it was wrong, it was still mine! It was my accomplishment, it was what I stood for! It was everything! And wouldn't you know–” Her voice cracked oddly, and only now did she realize tears were beading her eyes, “Wouldn't you know that you were the only pony with anything nice to say about it at all. And now you don't even remember! I'm a nobody, even to you.”

She cleared her throat and thrust her hooves to her eyes to wipe them dry. She spun on the stump, turning away from Fluttershy. Which Starlight was this? Maybe it was a bit of both.

“Sorry,” She mumbled, “Thanks for listening.” She was just about to stand and skitter away when a great yellow paw suddenly obscured her vision, wrapping around her and tugging her off the stump. In an instant she was buried in soft warm fur, struggling to free herself. “Fluttershy! What're you– Quit it! I don't– You shouldn't–” She couldn't find the words, and the broad arm just held her tighter. She crossed her arms and heaved a sigh. At least it was comfortable.

Twilight and Spike emerged from Zecora’s home and spotted her immediately, of course. Twilight was now sporting a bandage wrap pinning her wing firmly to her side– probably nothing broken or it would have been a splint. Spike was once again wearing a backpack; his old one, she realized, had been left behind in some potential reality. She could do nothing as they both came her way, grinning broad and smug. “She just grabbed me out of nowhere,” She claimed in too much of a hurry. She felt Fluttershy slowly, gently shake her head in disagreement. Whatever. She couldn't tell them what really happened.

“She's just being friendly, Starlight,” Twilight admonished while Spike hid his face.

“Too friendly. Get her off of me.” Twilight didn't even have to do anything, Fluttershy relaxed her hold and let Starlight scamper free. She made sure she was far enough that the paw couldn't make another grab at her.

“Fluttershy, we need to get to Pinkie’s rock farm, but I'd like to visit the Tree of Harmony first. Do you think you could take us?” Twilight asked, placing a hoof against her friend. Fluttershy nodded, and leaned down to her animal friends. Once more, something unspoken passed between them, and the crowd of them moved as one mass out from beneath her. A rather cross looking rabbit ran up to her snout and squeaked. Angrily. Fluttershy kissed it on the head and gently lowered her forehead to touch against the bunny. That seemed like enough for the rabbit, it backed away and joined its friends.

“Thank you, Fluttershy.” Twilight looked over at the rabbit, “Thanks for letting us borrow her, Angel.” She scrambled up Fluttershy’s flank, and helped Spike up behind her. They both looked expectantly down at Starlight. Starlight circled warily around to the side of Fluttershy, and then climbed aboard herself.

Fluttershy stood, impressively steady, her broad back making it tough to fall off. She sniffed the air, oriented herself in what Starlight imagined was the right direction, and shot off into a sprint.

The longer they spent in the Everfree Forest, the more Starlight theorized on the nature of the place. The truth was that for the most part, the forest was less deadly than it had been in its prime. There were none of the mythical monsters she'd heard so much about, save for Fluttershy herself, who seemed to only be a threat to careless changelings. Really, the only threatening part of the forest was its impossible geography. It reinforced her gut instinct that only Fluttershy was truly capable of navigating the corrupted woods.

The strangeness of the forest intensified as they approached the Tree, like ground zero. Even the greyscale tones began to melt away into inky black. By the time they arrived, they were navigating entirely by torchlight– supplies from Zecora to ensure they could reach their destination.

Fluttershy stayed outside, she refused to enter the cave. A few steps inside made it clear why. The mouth of the cavern that led to the Tree of Harmony was a canvas of carnage long-past. Black lumps of chitinous plates were scattered across the floor near claw marks that had taken gouges out of the rock. Dried splashes of rust red and vomitous greens told more of the tale. Starlight could guess why Fluttershy kept her distance.

Starlight wasn't certain what she had expected from the Tree of Harmony, but this certainly wasn't it. Even in the torchlight, the Tree was black, pure void black like a slash through reality. It was the same as the sky above the forest, void made manifest. If the Elements were in there, there was no chance of retrieving them. Around the trunk was a ring of plinths formed of raw crystal, each one colored to match an Element. There was no hint of what they had been used for, but Twilight's careful examination suggested they were new.

Finally, Twilight let out a sigh, breaking a silence that had felt absolute, even sacrosanct. Starlight released her own breath, one she hadn't realized she was holding.

“Zecora was right, somepony stopped the Pony of Shadows, but it cost the Elements.” Twilight frowned, looking down but not quite out.

“Aren’t you guys the only ones who can use the Elements?” Spike asked.

Twilight shook her head, “Celestia wielded them against Nightmare Moon, and maybe there were other bearers before her. The Elements choose who wields them. Maybe they, I don't know. Did what they had to.”

“Did the changeling queen really let it out to begin with? And how? It was barely more than an ancient legend even with all the research we could dig up,” Starlight pointed out.

“Zecora seemed certain that Tirek had passed along his tricks– you were still there when she mentioned his protege. After you left, she explained where all the magic went. Supposedly, Tirek had a penpal from Tartarus, Celestia knows how he even delivered the letters, and he convinced whoever it was to drain the magic from Equestria. It almost worked, and nopony knows why it stopped short.”

Starlight nodded, fitting the pieces together, “And then the Pony of Shadows was released. That's a lot of magic, if you were arrogant enough to think you could steal it. Plus the changeling chitin out there… It’s a shame Fluttershy can't just tell us.”

She didn't state her conclusion, but Twilight’s own nod suggested they had both reached the same one. If the changeling queen could find a way to drain pure magic rather than just love, the power from the Pony of Shadows would have made her unstoppable.

There seemed to be no more clues to find after that. With few answers and many more questions, the trio returned to Fluttershy and climbed aboard. It was impossible to tell if it was morning or night, but they returned to Zecora’s home and slept as long as their bodies would allow, happy to ease their aches and pains.

When they awoke, they set off towards the rock farm. The next leg of their journey had begun.

Author's Note

Everything through the last chapter is written and edited now, so I'll be picking up the pace on my uploads to twice a week, Monday and Friday.