Written in Dust

Chapters

Fallen
Dawn
Arrival
Immersion
Hazards
Investigation
Introductions
Recognition
Pursuit
Entrapment
Interception
Endgame
Reconnection
Absolution (Bonus Chapter)
Intersection (Bonus Chapter)

Fallen

“Date is May 29th, 2013. Time is... 3:16PM. Location is the Old St. Nicholas Coal Breaker. Would have been here an hour ago, but there was an accident on Interstate 81... anyway. Weather is overcast, no rain forecast, fairly warm for this time of year- should stay so through the day. Sunset will be at 8:27PM tonight; I may stay somewhat past that, though near the entrance. This is a big building; should be able to get a lot of interesting shots. Jacob Doakes, ending log.”

Jacob tapped a button on the side of his phone, and the recording software stopped, saving the audio file. The habit had started from an offhanded comment from a friend a while ago, during an argument about how lost urban explorers could help themselves be found; the idea of logging one's planned activities on a recording device- which might be found by someone else if accidentally dropped by the explorer- had been bantered around a bit and eventually rejected, but Jacob had started doing so just to give it a try. While he hadn't yet gotten himself lost enough to test that aspect, the logs turned out to be a good counterpart to the pictures he took- a snapshot of himself, as it were, of his mood and thoughts just before entering a location.

The wide-open doorway of the building beckoned him in. Sunlight, filtered by thick clouds, streamed in through the windows, but as a precaution he slipped his LED flashlight into the strap he'd sewn into his baseball cap, adjusted his glasses, and took a firm grip of his camera before stepping inside.

Debris crunched under his boots as he made his way through the building, his steps echoing back to him at places. Tall machines, covered in dust and rust, stood as silent sentries as he passed them; even as their forms filled the viewfinder of his camera, Jacob could only begin to guess at what functions they once performed. He paused for a moment to gaze at a lonely table saw, marked in white chalk “James' 9/10/05”. After he snapped the photo, he took another moment to look it over. He'd never know who James was, or why his name and a date had been inscribed on the safety shield of a table saw. Had the tool been assigned to him alone? Was there a problem with other people using tools and not maintaining them properly? Not for the first time, Jacob wished he could peek back in time and see how this place was during its heyday.

He'd gotten several dozen shots of the gear and equipment in the front part of the building before deciding to head towards the back. The trip involved a walk down a long, completely lightless corridor; Jacob snapped on the flashlight strapped to his hat and made his way along its length. His footsteps echoed oddly along the corridor, as though he were traversing some grand hall instead of a cramped tunnel in a dilapidated building. If it weren't for the bright, blue-white beam of his flashlight, Jacob would be absolutely blind in this corridor- only a hazard for the debris scattered along it, as walking in either direction for less than a minute would get him to an exit, but still not a condition he wanted to inflict on himself.

Something felt off when he exited the hallway. It took him a few minutes of wandering around and feeling slightly uneasy before he realized- the angle of the sunlight filtering through the broad windows was a lot lower than he'd expected. He retrieved his phone and lit up the display to find that it was already 5:42PM. “Okay, what the hell?” he wondered aloud, rubbing his forehead with his free hand. “How long was I taking pictures?”

He shook his head, lifting his camera habitually... then struck on an idea. He brought up the saved pictures on the camera's small LCD screen and checked their timestamps. Just as he'd thought- the last picture was shot at 4:09. I couldn't have taken that long after the last shot to come back here... could I? he thought, rubbing at the back of his neck. Meh... maybe I was spending longer staring at the machinery than I thought....

With a confused shrug to himself and a quiet sigh, he put the issue out of his mind and started to line up more shots. The highlight of the area he'd found himself in was a huge machine that looked to be a menacing combination of thresher and grater, that would have looked entirely at home in some overblown horror movie. “Hell, OSHA would have a fit if you were still in action, wouldn't you?” he chuckled, taking a few shots of the machine from different angles.

A number of other things caught his attention as he worked his way through the rear of the building- no small number of conveyor belts, flywheels, tools, and even a rusted-out fuse box with tags too faded to read tied to each connection. He ended up snapping more than a hundred photos as he wandered about, until he finally realized that his flash was illuminating far more shadows than it had been earlier; a glance up at the windows showed that the sun was coming fairly close to the horizon, and a quick look at his phone showed the time to be 6:52. “Time to head back,” he murmured, taking one more moment to look around before starting back the way he'd come in.

Once more he found himself in that pitch-black, echoing corridor, but this time he found himself under a growing feeling of uneasiness with every step he took. An urge to run was building in the back of his mind, and it took him more effort than it should have to quash it. What the hell, he thought. You'd think I was marching to my execution, not walking back to the building entrance! Get a hold of yourself.

Emerging from the other side of the hallway, though, did nothing to ease his increasing unease- quite the opposite, in fact.

The waning gibbous moon peeked past the receding clouds and shed its light through the broken windows, coloring everything a bluish-grey and casting stark shadows along the floor and walls. Jacob practically slammed his back against the nearest wall, unable to comprehend what he was seeing for a moment. The sun was up when I entered that hall! he thought, feeling real fear begin to shoot through him. I did NOT take two hours to walk through it!

But the display of his phone- held in one trembling hand- told him otherwise, reading 9:40PM. He almost dropped the device trying to stuff it back in his pocket. This doesn't make any sense! How did I lose nearly three hours just walking from the back of the building to the front? Everything seemed fine until I....

Realization struck, and he slowly turned to look at that dark hallway. Nothing looked out-of-sorts when he shone his flashlight down its length, but what other explanation could there be? He'd only apparently lost time when he'd been walking along it.

Leave, he told himself. Get back to your car, and drive away. Weird shit is going down here. You know why stupid teenagers die in Stephen King novels? Because they DON'T GET IN THE CAR AND DRIVE AWAY.

But even as he did his best to convince himself to break several traffic laws in vacating the area as quickly as possible, something else tugged at him- a need to know what was going on, why something so bizarre was actually happening. He stood there for a couple of minutes, doing nothing but staring down that hallway, as his mind warred with itself in a clash between rationality and curiosity. Finally, some sort of bizarre compromise won out. I'll... just go partway down. Yeah. Not so far that I lose sight of the front of the building. ...God, I am such an idiot, but here we go....

As much as he tried to keep his footsteps quiet, it seemed that they echoed even louder than before. That same sense of foreboding pressed upon him almost like something physical, and he could feel sweat drip down the back of his neck despite the cool, still air around him. Yet there was nothing visible within the bright-white cone of light his flashlight gave off to justify the feeling of imminent danger.

A quiet sound interrupted his concentration- the alarm on his phone was going off. Slowly he pulled it out of his pocket and glanced down at it.

I didn't set an alarm for midnight... what the hell-?!

Light began to seep through the cracks of the cement floor, seeming to come from the very ground itself. Zig-zagged lines of illumination raced along the length of the corridor. Jacob's mind screamed for him to run, but his legs were sluggish to respond, like someone had replaced his bones with lead; he was only a quarter of the way back to the hall's entrance before the light caught up with him, surrounding and blinding him. He only managed a short yelp of fear as he felt the floor crumble and give way beneath him, and he instinctively pinwheeled his arms as he fell into pure whiteness.

(-)

...what?

What is this?

Can- can it be?! Sister! Sister, are you there?!

I am. What is it?

The contingency! It has been triggered, at last! But....

Hm. Strange. Very strange. Can you explain this?

No! I... wait. Wait! How long has it been since... oh no.

...my goodness. So very, very long... were we in slumber all this time?

Worse than that, I fear! We... we have waned! We are adrift within the ethereal plane!

And as we have drifted, so has our influence... your contingency came to affect a place it should never have reached. And now this unfortunate soul is trapped with us.

Trapped? Wait... no, not trapped. It maintains a connection to the material plane, somehow! Perhaps....

Sister! How could you even consider such a thing? Our plight is not its own! The only right thing to do is to return it to its home!

Would that I were able! Its realm is alien to me; I could easily visit all manner of horrors upon it unwittingly, merely through ignorance!

I see... but it cannot remain here. The ethereal plane would simply absorb it, destroy its uniqueness.

Perhaps... perhaps by rescuing it, we can in fact save ourselves and our home as well. I have an idea. Creature? Creature, can you understand me? Good. Time is short; I must hasten you to the physical plane in your own form, in a place which will prove unfamiliar to you. I can grant you some basic knowledge of what you will find there. When we are able, we will contact you again, but for now all I can tell you is this: Curiosity and caution must be partners. Tread lightly. Treat nothing as safe.

And above all else... avoid the sun.

(-)

He awoke to darkness and dust. His startled gasp turned into a coughing fit as the thick cloud of grit around him entered his lungs, and he reflexively covered his mouth to stifle the noise. His other hand fumbled for his flashlight, which had inexplicably gone dark; he was afraid he'd find it broken, but a single press of its button lit his surroundings.

He was laying on his back in a small depression of sorts, surrounded by broken rock and timber. His clothes were covered in dust, but otherwise unharmed, as were his glasses and other equipment- including his phone. Thank God, he thought with a sigh of relief. No injuries, nothing damaged, and it doesn't look like I should have much trouble getting out of this pit. You'd think I'd at least have a headache from knocking myself out, though... and what a weird dream that was!

He pulled out his phone again. The display read 1:32AM- and the connection meter showed no bars. Good thing I didn't need to call for help, he mused, tucking the phone away and slowly getting to his feet, then pulling himself out of the hole he'd fallen into.

But it wasn't the lightless tunnel of the Old St. Nicholas Coal Breaker building that greeted him. Instead, he'd come to inside what seemed to be an exceptionally cramped utility closet; brooms, mops, buckets and other such tools- curiously smaller than usual- were scattered haphazardly around the dust-covered room. The hole he'd climbed out of looked like nothing so much as an impact crater- but the amount of force that impact would've required would've turned his body into paste.

Standing around inside would give him no answers as to what the hell was going on. He grasped the knob of the door- which was also smaller than seemed sensible- and pulled it open... only to be hit by a burst of frigid air.

Beyond the door was part of a collapsed wall, the rubble having just missed blocking the doorway when it fell. Incomplete rows of tables, lamps hanging down from a partially-destroyed ceiling, what seemed to be a counter of some sort that sparkled with shattered glass- obviously some sort of restaurant, crumbling thanks to neglect. The only source of illumination aside from his flashlight was the bright white light of the moon flowing in through the still-intact front of the building; with nothing else to do at the moment, and desperate for some sort of bearings, he ducked through the open doorway and out into the street.

And then he made the mistake of looking up.

A moon that was in no way the one he was familiar with loomed large in the sky, its quarter-full light revealing a bizarrely flat surface; behind it, the skies sparkled with stars, far more than he'd ever seen in the night sky, glimmering like jewels beneath the surface of some impossibly deep ocean. He couldn't find a single constellation he recognized. The shiver that ran down his spine had only a little to do with the cold air around him. “What... the... fuck....” he managed to utter. “Where... where the hell am I...?”

A frantic glance around for anything familiar or useful as a landmark brought his gaze to a lonely-looking sanitation cart lying against the side of the restaurant. Something was painted on its side, but shadows obscured much of it; he practically sprinted towards it, bringing his flashlight to bear on it and brushing away a thin layer of dust that covered the stenciled letters on the side.

On the side of that dilapidated cart, in a language he'd never seen before but could somehow read, were stenciled two lines of text.

Property of Dept. of Public Works
City of Canterlot

Dawn

“Date is... according to my phone, May 30th 2013; time is 1:38AM. I'm holed up in a restaurant called 'Chez Veneto', judging by the sign outside, in a language I know I've never learned to read but can anyway. Apparently this place used to be an eatery in this city called Canterlot, which is someplace that isn't Earth. There's a quarter-full moon out that's about twenty times the size of the one I expected to be up in the sky, way more stars than I've ever seen, and... fuck me, I haven't seen a single living thing since I woke up here, but I can't get past this feeling that I'm not alone in this place.

“I don't know why I'm recording this. I've gotten past the idea that I've just lost my mind or I'm in a coma, because I seriously don't think I could dream up anything this weird or this vivid. So right now I don't have a choice but to assume I really am stuck on some alien world, freezing my ass off in a broken-down city where everything's about twenty percent smaller than it should be. Which means that those voices I heard when I blacked out have to have been real, too- so they'd better be getting back to me soon and start explaining things.”

He clicked off the recording app, watching his breath fog up the screen of his phone before he shut it off. The battery meter was already down one bar, and with nothing resembling an electrical plug anywhere in sight and still no signal available, conserving power was his best bet. He did have spare batteries for the flashlight, though, so he wasn't being terribly conservative in using that.

At the moment he was curled up in the disused broom closet he'd woken up in, using a couple of spare tablecloths he'd found in a storeroom as blankets while he read one of the menus. Oddly enough, almost every meal on the menu seemed to be some Italian dish- though the prices were listed in something called “bits”, and practically everything that had something analogous to an English name seemed to involve some play on words with horse terms. I suppose that makes sense in a city called “Canterlot”, he mused, blowing on his hands to warm them. Damn it, why is it so cold here? Figures, the only tourist in town pops in when everything's closed for winter.

And there he sat for a bit more than an hour, going between staring at the walls and staring at darkness, with nothing to spend his attention on. Any hopes that he would succumb to fatigue and fall asleep ticked away with the minutes, until he found himself pacing around just for warmth and something to do. His eyes kept flicking to the door.

Finally, at around three in the morning, he let out a sigh of irritation and put his hand on the cold metal of the doorknob. “Okay, time to go be an idiot just because there's nothing else to do,” he muttered to himself before opening the door.

The air was even more frigid than before, cutting through his light jacket and jeans like they weren't even there. Jacob took a couple of minutes to carefully wrap the tablecloths around his body underneath the jacket, providing an extra layer to keep his body's heat from being stolen away, then headed back out. “Damn, must be near zero, if not below,” he muttered to himself as he once more walked through the run-down restaurant and out into the street.

Now that he was paying proper attention to his surroundings, he found himself unnerved by how quiet everything was. Aside from a very occasional gust of wind, nothing made any sort of sound- maybe understandable for the temperature and time, but still unnerving. Hearing every attempt he made at walking quietly echo down the empty streets did little for his sense of security, as well.

CLACK-clack-clack-tick-tickticktick

The same went for random pieces of debris falling down a pile of rubble. Jacob let out the breath he was holding in a cloud of white mist as he played the beam of his flashlight across a chunk of rock that had dropped off the facade of what seemed to be a clock shop. After a moment, curiosity- and a desire to get somewhere even fractionally less cold than outside- won out, and he carefully stepped into the building.

Countless glass, metal and polished wooden clock faces gleamed as his light flicked across them. The walls and ceiling of the place seemed relatively stable, with little visible damage; inside, however, hadn't fared quite so well. Many of the shelves and display tables had collapsed, spilling their contents onto whatever happened to be beneath them- mostly the floor. The clocks themselves- mostly designed with a horse motif- had weathered the time well, though, and many looked as though they were ready to run with just some oil and winding.

In fact, there was only one clock he could find that had suffered any damage not related to falling. A gleaming white porcelain clock, gilded with gold and crafted in the shape of a winged unicorn with a strange halo, had suffered some sort of impact, and a spiderweb of cracks covered the glass cover of the timepiece; a brown, flaky trail of some substance traced a zigzag line along the cracks, and a single hair- it seemed green underneath the light, but that couldn't be right- was caught in the cover's golden rim. Nothing nearby suggested what might have hit the clock hard enough to cause that sort of damage- the windows it faced were still intact, if cracked and dirty, so nothing could have come through them to hit it, and nothing on the floor in the area seemed capable of producing the necessary impact.

Jacob groaned and rubbed his forehead when he realized what he was doing. I'm actually analyzing what happened here? he thought. Not the best time and place, maybe, Jake? I should be looking for a way home, or at least some place I can hole up safely until morning-

Something flickered in the reflection on one of the intact clocks near him. Instantly Jacob clicked off his flashlight and ducked down, scrambling towards the counter and peeking around it. There, out in the street, lit by the enormous moon that still hung in the sky- was that a cloud of dust, kicked up by something? It was gone before he could be sure he'd actually seen it. Regardless, he kept himself as still as he possibly could, scarcely daring to breathe, until he was sure that whatever had moved- if it was anything at all- wasn't going to return.

The clock shop held no answers for him, nor anything else actually useful, so he vacated it and carefully made his way down the street. It was becoming apparent that he was in some kind of commercial district, a variety of shops lining both sides of the road; some of the buildings had all but collapsed, rubble blocking their entrances and cluttering the street, while others were remarkably intact. One such store seemed to be a grocer's, and as Jacob took a quick look inside, he realized just how rustic it was- there were no refrigerators, nothing remained that looked to have been prepackaged, and even the cash register was one of those old-style mechanical ones that- once he got it open- held small golden coins, each one marked with a stylized sun on one side and a similar moon on the other.

But while the coins would've netted him a small fortune at home, here they were absolutely worthless. And the rows of shelves filled with long-since-rotted fruits and vegetables reminded him of another problem he faced- finding food. He had enough snacks and water in his travel pack to see him through a day, maybe two if he rationed tightly enough, but what then? It was glaringly obvious that this entire place had sat unattended for years, if not decades... unless he was lucky enough to find some forgotten, overgrown garden, hunger was going to be a serious concern fairly soon down the line.

Ranking above even that was shelter from the elements. The cold was seriously proving to be a problem; if the air stirred above a slight breeze somewhere he couldn't easily hide from it, he'd be in a lot of trouble. Then the idea hit him. There's a bunch of stores around here... how hard could it be to find a clothing shop? Any little bit is going to help here.

“How hard could it be” turned out to be an hour-plus of searching, having to double back a couple of times because of blocked roadways, and even climbing over a pile of rubble to get at an area that didn't seem accessible any other way. The effort paid off, though- just past the rubble was what had to have once been a very colorful store, if the remaining flakes of paint were any clue, with a partially destroyed sign reading “-dship is Fashion”. This building was fairly rare amongst all the ones Jacob had seen thus far, as it had three floors instead of the usual one or two- and the interior was remarkably intact, with only some cracking along the walls and the typical thick layer of dust.

When he got inside, though, Jacob found himself even more confused. Not just at how old-timey it seemed- all of the hanging clothing seemed to be made there in the shop; nothing had any brand labels that he recognized- but the fact that all of it hung on mannequins in the shape of horses. Small horses, too, barely past the size of a pony. And the strangeness of it all meant that it took him a full five minutes of staring around at the bizarre dress figures before all the facts clicked together in his mind.

Buildings with low ceilings and small doorways. A grocery store with only fruits and vegetables. Clocks with an equine theme. Clothing designed for small horses; accessories looking like a collaboration between a fashion show and a tack shop. Even the city name, Canterlot. What the hell, I'm in Horseyland, the place where everything's made for four-foot-tall ponies.

Made for... made by?

He decided that he needed to sit down. And so he did, in a heap in the middle of that dusty floor, not even caring about the light grey cloud that rose up around him. It was just too much for him to take in- stuck somewhere not just unknown, but alien. He could potentially, by some extreme rationalization and self-delusion, deal with somehow being on another planet, even one populated with small ponies... but a world where he was sifting through their ruins like a clueless accidental archaeologist? The number of things that could go wrong for him here- even fatally so- was more than he wanted to contemplate.

thwack

He was moving before his mind even really registered that he'd heard a sound, taking cover behind one of the dress forms and glancing out over it. The windows were filmed over with dust and grime, but he could just make out a shadow playing across the glass; something was moving across the roof of the building across the street... several somethings, in fact. And just at the edge of the window, a shape was visible- laying flat in the road, twitching madly. It sounded like a bit of a ruckus was going on, but with the thick doors and windows closed he couldn't really hear it.

Between a morbid curiosity and a desire to be above ground floor if anything came barging in, Jacob took to the stairs as quietly as he could manage, finding a fairly average-looking living area on the second floor. Both of the rooms facing out the same way as the storefront were bedrooms, so he simply picked the right-hand one and cracked its window open, thankful that it didn't make any noise audible over the snarling and growling going on outside.

At first it looked like a pack of wild dogs, or exceptionally large wolves, were clustered around one of their own lying on its side. But there was enough light to see that the resemblance was only artificial- they weren't really canines; they didn't even appear to be proper animals, their forms consisting of twisted and gnarled branches, mouths bedecked with thorns for teeth, and baleful yellow-green dots of light where eyes would be on anything normal.

Judging by its position and the amount of debris around it that Jacob knew hadn't been there before, it seemed that the fallen creature had taken a tumble off of one of the rooftops and landed very badly on the street. It was struggling to get up, but its rear legs were only twitching, and something was leaking... sap?... onto the cobblestone, while the rest of its pack sort of milled around looking confused and upset.

Then one of them- slightly larger than the others, and poised in a way that suggested “pack leader”- turned its head. For one blood-chilling moment, Jacob thought he'd done something to be noticed- but the creature was looking up the street. With a short snarl, it jerked its head back, then turned and tore up the street like its brambled tail was on fire; the rest of its pack followed suit just as quickly, minus their downed member, who feebly tried to drag itself after them, whimpering all the while.

After the last creature- wood-dog? No, wait, timberwolf? came the ludicrous thought- cleared the tall pile of debris up the road, Jacob made ready to close the window... but he found himself watching the injured wolf still struggle its way across the cobblestones, leaving a trail of sap behind it; a warm, steadily-increasing wind made it impossible to hear the timberwolf's pathetic whimpers. Only now did it dawn on him that the creature wasn't trying to follow its pack, but instead seemed to be desperately trying to reach a closer mound of rubble at the end of the block.

He'd just realized that the stars had faded away and the skies had brightened when something half-blinded him. He closed his eyes for a moment and raised his hand to block out the bright light; once his vision cleared again, he realized that he'd been blinded by sunlight reflected off of the very pile of crumbled stone the wolf had been trying to reach... though as bright as it was, it seemed more like someone was turning an enormous, sunlight-colored spotlight down the street. Shimmering heat was already rising from the top of the rubble even as the sunlight seemed to crawl down it.

The timberwolf was not taking this development well. It had already reversed course, practically pressing itself against the ground while dragging itself forward with a fervor that, had the wolf still owned four working limbs, probably would have set a new land-speed record. Even above the now-howling wind, he could hear it yelp in terror as it scrambled to get away from the advancing line of illumination.

It wasn't nearly quick enough. The moment the sunlight hit its tail, the wooden limb burst into flames like kindling; the timberwolf practically screamed, not giving up in its futile efforts in the least. But the unforgiving sun kept moving, and that bright light made its way up the creature's back, fire springing up in its wake like napalm.

The entirety of its lower body was aflame and the top of its head had just caught fire when Jacob slammed the window shut and scrambled away from it like it was about to attack him. A simple, entirely innocuous-sounding warning from a disembodied voice echoed through his mind.

Avoid the sun.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” He threw the curtains closed- as if the gauzy linen would do squat versus a solar laser- and made his way back down to the bottom floor, finding a windowless storage room still filled with various fabrics and slamming the door shut. He could only pray that he wouldn't bake inside the house, that the incredibly intense sunlight wouldn't superheat the entire building and broil him. He flicked his flashlight on and took a look around at the various rolls and folds of fabric around him. “Well, at least I picked a fashionable place to die,” he muttered to himself, leaning against the wall.

With the adrenaline fading from his system, he felt fatigue hit him like a train; somehow he managed to muster the energy to gather some of the swaths into a makeshift bed and pillow, and undressed partway, stashing his gear and supplies on a shelf next to him before getting as comfortable as he could in a strange room that he fully expected to become an oven, and his tomb, all in one go.

Despite the feeling of foreboding, he was asleep almost as soon as his head touched fabric.

(-)

Sister! It... no, he... returns!

So I see. Good that he survived his first night. This bodes well.

Indeed. Friend... as much as we regret your appearance here, it is imperative that you work with us and listen carefully to what we tell you. We-

Sister, can you not sense? He is frightened. Obviously the impact of what is happening has fully struck. Friend... please. We both understand your feelings. We would not ask this of you were it not utterly necessary. But without your help, all of us are doomed!

Sister, I fear that there can be no preparing him for what comes next. As different as he is from us... can he adapt?

We can only hope. Friend, as difficult as what is to come will be, it is necessary. My sister and I have found a way with which all that has happened can be undone- but we are powerless to travel this path. You, however, are not. You will be given a form and knowledge to help you blend in, but to help us, you will need to learn more. Sister, are you ready?

I am. We may begin at any time.

Good. Friend... what you will find, what you will become, will seem strange to you. Perhaps even beyond your ability to adapt. But you have come this far... please, we beg you, use this opportunity. Only you may learn what destroyed us- what destroyed everything we knew.

There was a bright flash.

Arrival

Rhythmic rocking and clacking slowly brought him awake. It was so quiet and calming that only the fact that it was even happening served to push him into alertness instead of sending him back to sleep. His eyes shot open- only to be blinded by sunlight; panic jolted through him for a moment before he realized that he was actually slightly chilly, instead of being burned alive.

While he waited for his eyes to adjust, his other senses helpfully supplied what information they could. A muffled whistle from ahead of him, a constant deep thumping sound, a hushed conversation a bit off to his left, the smell of fabric and wood, the feel of something soft underneath him rocking back and forth.

...a train. I'm on a train? Why the hell am I on a train? Come on, eyes, any minute now; it's not like you're my most important sense or anything!

Finally, his vision adapted to the morning light. He was, in fact, on a train- what seemed to be an old-style steam locomotive, in fact, with wood-paneled walls, brass fixings and upholstered seats. Grassy plains dotted with trees rolled past the closed windows, and the morning sun peeked through clouds on the horizon. It was so relaxing that he felt tempted to lay his head back on his luggage, tuck his forelegs underneath him and go back to sleep.

His head shot up. Forelegs?!

He slowly glanced down, then back. He'd been too overwhelmed by everything else around him to notice at first that he was laying on his stomach, but apparently that was a comfortable position for him now, seeing as how he had four legs rather than two. A charcoal-grey coat of hair covered his body, along with what seemed to be a sweater vest with a couple of pockets on the front. A jet-black tail sat behind him, curled past his hind leg, above which rested a strange symbol on his hip- what looked like a beam of light illuminating part of a ragged-looking scroll; a quick twist of his neck- much longer than natural- showed a matching one on his other... flank? Was that what it was called?

He laid his head down on his luggage- how he even knew it was his, he couldn't comprehend- and closed his eyes, trying to slow his breathing and pulse through sheer will. Calm down, he commanded himself. Calm DOWN. This is Disney World compared to where I just was. Maybe I'm some weird... pony... thing, but it doesn't look like I have to worry about getting eaten by wooden wolves or fried by sunlight. He took a few deep breaths, letting the gentle movement of the train help calm him. Okay. I can handle this. Just like before. Investigate, learn, understand. Those sisters, whoever they are, put me here for a reason, and me getting home is tied in to getting their mission accomplished.

Finally, he got himself to open his eyes and raise his head again. When in Ponyland, do as the ponies do. But first, I want a look at the rest of me.

A brass plaque, polished to a shine, set at the end of his row of seats was the best he could do for a reflective surface, and he got to his hooves and walked to it, surprised as to how well he was managing already. What he saw in it shocked him- an equine face, its ice-blue eyes almost comically large behind a pair of spectacles perched on his snout, stared out at him from beneath a spiky mane the same color as his tail; a sharp-looking horn jutted out from his forehead, with a spiral winding its way from base to tip. Okay, so, um, I'm a unicorn, he thought, resisting the urge to raise a hand- or, rather, a hoof- to touch it. Why not? How much of any of this has made any sort of sense?

“Oh, hey there. Didn't see you come aboard!”

Somehow he didn't jump out of his skin at the unexpected voice behind him, but he did almost spin in place to face... her. He wasn't even sure how he knew her gender, though the look of her seemed to confirm the first impression- somewhat shorter, with a less angular face and a more slender build. She bore no horn, and had a light-orange coat with a blue mane; her golden eyes held a curious expression. “I... get that a lot,” he told her, looking away for a moment. “I tend to move quietly.”

“I'll say. It's like you just appeared out of nowhere.” She chuckled. “But if you could teleport, what would you need a train for, right?” She giggled at her own joke. “Uh, well... anyway. You looked a little out-of-sorts, so I thought I'd make sure you weren't feeling ill.”

Only now did he notice that she had a mark on her flank, different from his- what looked like a white box with a handle, and a red cross marked on it. Something medical-related? It felt like he almost grasped the significance of the mark, but he kept himself from staring at it so as not to seem rude. “Oh, um... no, not at all,” he told her. “Just have a lot on my mind at the moment, that's all. Thank you, though.”

“Oh, no trouble, really. We paramedics are a little focused on that sort of thing, after all.” She gave him a pleasant smile. “Oh, where's my manners? I'm First Response. And you are...?”

He was almost too busy working out that she'd given him an actual name to realize she was waiting for his. But even as he started to rack his brain for some sort of fake name to give as reply, he found himself opening his mouth.

“I'm Story Seeker.”

“Well, it's nice to meet you, Story!” Her smile was oddly infectious, and he found himself returning it, even feeling a little relaxed by it despite the fact that he'd just spoken without meaning to. “Have you ever been to Canterlot before?”

Canterlot, again. Ground zero for the bad shit going down? If the sisters need me to find out what happened, I suppose they'd have me head right for the source. Can't fault them for style, either. “Err... no, I can't say that I have,” he answered. “I'm not really sure what to expect.”

“Oh, it's quite the city! No other like it in Equestria.” Somehow, he managed not to groan. The horse puns are just piling up. “And you're lucky- you're just in time to see how they've prettied the place up for the Renewal of the Covenant!” First continued.

He was just about to open his mouth when he caught himself. Whatever this “Renewal of the Covenant” was, it seemed well-known enough to where professing ignorance about it would seem odd... and looking any sort of “out-of-place” wasn't going to help him. So instead he merely offered a nod. “Yeah, I'm sure it's going to be quite a sight,” he replied.

First grinned, before her eyes flicked past him to glance out the window. “Oh, look!” she said, pointing with a hoof. “You can see the city already!”

He reflexively turned to see what she was talking about- and then froze in place, his jaw dropping. Off in the distance, set on the side of a mountain, was nothing less than a city of gleaming marble and gold, catching the morning sun and reflecting it back towards the train's passengers. Somewhere, Minas Tirith is sulking in jealousy, was all he could bring himself to think.

“I know! Isn't it gorgeous?!” First Response gushed, actually hopping up and down. “I heard they built the train line through this spot just so travelers can see the city light up in the morning like this, or watch the moon frame it just before setting! I mean, it adds two minutes to the trip, sure, but I'd really say it's worth it.”

“I can't argue that,” he murmured, needing another moment before he could tear his eyes from the sight. “Um... First, it was, right? I'm feeling kind of out of it... I'm going to go put my head back down for a while, if that's alright.”

“Oh! Absolutely.” She gave him another bright smile, and after all those hours of being lost by himself in Frozen Post-Apocalyptic Pony Land, a friendly expression from anyone felt heartwarming. He returned the smile and gave her a polite nod before returning to his luggage, taking just a moment to look over it- classic steamer boxes, probably oak, and written in that strange-yet-comprehensible pony language was what seemed to be his new name. So that's who I am while I'm here, I guess, he mused. And what kind of a name is-

“Story Seeker?”

His head jerked up. First Response was calling his name from her seat further down the car. “Uh... sorry,” he said. “Yeah?”

“I'm sorry for bothering you, but... your accent is familiar, but I can't place it and it's kind of nagging me. Where are you from?”

“Oh, I'm from Hobitken,” his mouth decided to answer.

“Ah hah! There we go. I had a friend in college from there, and the accent's so similar you could've been her brother. You don't happen to know a Sandy Shores, do you?”

Thankfully his brain was in top form for coming up with stories out of the clear blue this morning. “Uh... no, afraid not. Hobitken's not a small city.”

“So true! Well, thanks for the answer, hon. I'll let you be.”

He let out a soft groan as he laid his head back down on the luggage, feigning sleep as his mind worked things over. Hobitken? Is that supposed to be some pony variant on Hoboken? I've never even been to Jersey! ...ugh. Focus, “Story”. Concentrate. Where are all these little factoids coming from?

It took him a little while, but eventually things began percolating up in his mind- not memories, but facts, like someone else's history that he'd studied intensely and then forgotten, but was now slowly recalling. Story Seeker. Born and raised in Hobitken, attended the College of Magic in Whinniepeg, placed 51st out of 220 in his- my, I guess- class. Gained my cutie mark- is that what these flank images are called? Oy- finding an ancient tea kettle from the Second Age buried in my backyard. Headed to Canterlot to attend a symposium on historical discoveries, just happens to be the day after this Renewal of the Covenant, which surprisingly I still know nothing about. Sure enough, after a little work with his hooves- they were far better at grasping things than he expected- he discovered tucked away in one of his pockets a checked train ticket and a personalized invitation to the Greater Equestrian Historical Society's eighty-third annual symposium. Huh. A few holes in the cover story, but still- pretty damn good. The sisters can apparently get stuff done.

Incorporating this somehow-implanted knowledge into his regular thought processes wasn't the easiest thing, but by the time the train started making its way up the mountain, he honestly felt like he could do a good job of blending in here in Horseyworld- okay, quit making fun of it, it's “Equestria”, he told himself. Like it or lump it, here you are, now make the best of it.

Yeah, but, you know... wait a minute. Isn't this the sort of thing I've always wanted to do every time I've walked into some old abandoned place? See how things were when it was intact, active, alive? Isn't this, like... that, times a hundred? Maybe I don't belong here, maybe I'm only here in order to get home, but still... hell, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a whole different world! I'll need to keep my eyes open for anything that's important, but it'll be a lot easier to blend in if I'm actually enjoying myself here, won't it?

He wasn't exactly excited by the time the locomotive reached the Canterlot station, but he was definitely interested in what the city had to show him. But as the train rumbled to a stop, he hopped down from his seat- and then spared a glance back at his luggage. So... how do I carry these? he wondered. Can I grab both these handles in my mouth, or....

He was suddenly aware of a buzzing sensation in the front of his head, and everything near him lit up with a faint blue-grey light- the same as the strange, shimmering aura that suddenly covered his bags. There was a weird tugging feeling, like he was holding something in one of the hands of his regular body.

...you gotta be kidding me. Does this work like...?

Sure enough, with a mental effort that was a lot like raising his arm, the bags levitated off of the seat and settled onto his back, where they sat perfectly balanced even as he trotted off of the train. Right. Duh. Unicorn. Magic. I'm glad you know your stuff, “Story”, because Jacob here knows exactly squat about the subject.

He was in the middle of wondering if his inexplicable familiarity with magic was more “bestowed knowledge” or something inherent to his new body when he heard a now-familiar voice call out. “Story!” First Response shouted, waving a forehoof to get his attention. “Hey, over here!” She gave him a grin as he made his way over. “You look a lot more lively now; I guess that nap helped.” She glanced over his bags. “Wow, you're not a big believer in packing light, are you?” she teased. “Where are you staying?”

“I, err... I'm not sure.” An itinerary wasn't one of the things he'd found in his pockets. “I don't seem to have planned that far ahead.”

She giggled. “Stallions. Well, did you come up to see the Renewal? Because all the hotels near Equinox Square are probably already booked solid.”

“Well, that wasn't the only thing....” He almost reached up for his vest pocket with a hoof before remembering that he had magic now; he levitated the invitation out. “The Symposium... says here it's at the White Wind Convention Center.”

“Oooh, a bit off the beaten path. You might have some luck at the Apricot Inn; it's just a couple minutes' trot away. I've been there once- it's not five-star, but it's cozy.”

“Apricot Inn. Got it, thanks.” He took one step forward, then stopped. “...yeah, I'm going to need directions,” he said dryly.

With a laugh, First Response gave him a short and easily-remembered path to follow to get him to where he needed to go. “Seriously, thanks a lot, First,” he told her. “You just saved me a headache.”

“No trouble at all.” She smiled. “Hey, drop by the Sunset District this afternoon; me and my friends will be spending most of the day there. We could hang out for a bit, see the sights.”

Well, he couldn't think of a better way to learn about the place and its goings-on from the locals. “Okay, I'll see if I can make it,” he replied. “Thanks again. Take it easy.”

“You too!” She trotted off, and he made his way along the various roads, blending into the foot-traffic- or, rather, hoof-traffic- that was milling about in the mid-morning light. Small pony-pulled carts carried other ponies from place to place, and here and there were set carts stacked with food, souvenirs and other items for sale. His stomach growled. No; food later, get a room and drop off these bags now, he told himself.

It wasn't until he got inside the Apricot Inn that he realized something: He didn't have any money on him. He pulled the smallest bag off of his pile of luggage and opened it up, rummaging through for a bit- brush, shampoo, towel, toothbrush and toothpaste... there, tucked away at the bottom, was a fairly large bag with a tied-off top; it jingled quietly when he lifted it. Inside were quite a few golden coins, many of them marked with double-digit numbers. If the prices he'd seen on that menu in the restaurant were any gauge, this was a fairly hefty sum. The sisters did not skimp on the bankroll, he thought with satisfaction, tucking the coinpurse away under his vest before putting the travel bag back on the pile and heading up to the front desk.

His luck was in; there were still a few available rooms, so he booked a single, paid in advance for four days- which covered up until the night of the Symposium- and let the valet bring his bags up, giving the boy- colt?- a generous tip. The room itself was quite nice, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, he laid himself down in an actual bed. Hell, has it only been one day? he wondered. Not even that! It's just been one ridiculously long night and a really weird morning.

The temptation to just lay there on the comfortable bed was overridden by a loud growl from his stomach. Breakfast required, he thought to himself with a mental chuckle, slowly getting to his hooves and stashing most of his money in a safe spot before heading back out.

Breakfast was a carrot-coconut breakfast loaf, some apple fritters and a fizzy cola-like drink purchased from vendor stalls along the street just outside the inn; he also picked up a newspaper from a news stand and found some informational pamphlets near the front desk. Once he was back in his room, he took a seat to begin reading while he ate... only to pause once he took his first bite. Either the taste buds of this new body were much more sensitive than his own, or these ponies were far better at growing and baking than any place he'd ever been, because the food was delicious. Reading was put aside for a couple of minutes while he practically shoveled his breakfast down his throat.

Once he'd finished- and cleaned up the crumbs from his wild ravaging of the food- he settled down to read. Okay, here we go, learning some stuff now, he thought. The “Renewal of the Covenant” is a ceremony where Equestria's Princesses- Celestia and Luna- renew their power... over the sun and moon? Okay, if I wasn't a human going undercover in the body of a magical pony, I'd laugh at the whole thing... but damn if this isn't a whole lot to take in at once....

Wait a minute. Wait just a damn minute! The sun, the moon... like, that moon that was ridiculously close to the planet, and that sun that flash-fried a wolf made out of lumber? Okay, Story, looks like you've got your very first lead: Check out this Renewal of the Covenant. It's a thin one, but it's a start....

He finished off the cola, tossed the bottle in the waste bin and then set about opening his luggage. What was inside surprised him- underneath spare clothes and other effects was a plethora of reference materials, basic history books, culture guides, maps... basically a crash-course on how the ponies lived. Man, there is a LOT of reading here, he thought, levitating one of the books up and opening it to a random page. I guess the sisters wanted to give me background info but couldn't just shove it all in my head... but man, how am I suppose to read all this in just a couple of-

FLASH

He blinked in shock, dropping the book. The brief flare of light that had sparked from his horn hadn't even dazzled him, but now he had a strange afterimage of the book in his eyes. Wait... not in my eyes; in my head! He needed to close his eyes for a moment and concentrate; the image receded out of sight- but it was still there in his mind, as detailed as if he were still looking at it. What was more, there were other images seemingly “tucked away” in his mind as well. The pictures I took at the coal breaker! he realized with a start. Some kind of spell to replicate my camera? That didn't pop up out of Story's history... did the sisters decide on that? Well, hell, it'll prove useful....

It took him most of an hour to “mentalgraph” several of the most pertinent books. The process was no good for instant recall- he had to go into a sort of low-level trance to retrieve the images, meaning that while he could hold a conversation while doing it, anything more mentally involved was right out. Aside from that, it was no different than having pictures on his camera. Good to have 'em, though, he decided, stacking the rest of the books on a dresser for later perusal. I'll look over them whenever things aren't too busy. I've always been decent at multitasking.

Next up was a shower. He seemed clean enough, but it was kind of a ritual of his to wash up at the end of a trip anywhere. Fortunately the room was equipped with a full bath, and after undressing, he took full advantage of the hot water, letting himself soak under the shower for a good few minutes. Then he had a look at the complimentary cleaning products that'd been left for his use. Mane shampoo, coat conditioner, soap... straightforward enough. And having magic makes reaching the tough spots easier.

He'd never been one to primp, but the newness of his pony form meant that he spent about twenty minutes under the showerhead figuring out how to wash effectively. He also learned a few things about pony anatomy. Yeah, definitely male, just well-hidden. I was starting to wonder about this society that apparently doesn't believe in pants.

Drying off didn't take long at all, courtesy of the thick fluffy towels hanging by the bath, and he checked his bags for something good to wear. “Damn, Story, you dress like one of my college professors,” he murmured, looking at all the vests, sweaters and sweater vests that had been neatly folded and carefully packed. “If I had the time I'd do some clothes shopping... but I'm here to get things done, not to dress to impress.”

He picked a comfortable-looking vest and a white shirt to wear underneath it, then got dressed, tucked his room key and some money into his pockets, and headed out the door. Okay, Story, he told himself, eyes open, head on a swivel, and... ears up, I suppose. Time to immerse myself in some culture and figure out what's going on.

Immersion

“Oh! Hey, look who's here.” First Response gave him a wide grin. “Glad to see you decided to take me up on my offer,” she said, before turning towards the several ponies standing behind her. Somehow, he managed to suppress his shock at seeing most of them bearing wings. Pegasi? Why not, we've got unicorns. Let's invite the whole mythological crowd. “Everypony, this is Story Seeker,” First announced. “I met him on the train into Canterlot, and he just seemed too interesting not to pester.” She grinned impishly. “Story, these are some of my friends from Ponyville and the neighborhood. Here's Derpy Hooves with her daughters Sparkler and Dinky, Thunderlane and his brother Rumble, my cousin Noteworthy and his fiancée Amethyst Star.”

He didn't even know where to begin processing all this. From Derpy's cockeyed gaze, to her name, to the fact that neither of her daughters were pegasi, to the strangely sullen look Sparkler had, to Noteworthy's slight frown, to Amethyst Star's bright-yellow saddle/dress getup. It only took a couple of seconds for his brain to throw up its metaphorical hands and say “work it out later; react now”. “Oh, uh... nice to meet you all,” he said, managing a small grin.

The others made various responses in turn, from Derpy's wide-grinning “hey there!” to a polite “nice to meet ya” from Thunderlane. Noteworthy took Amethyst aside for a brief moment to whisper into her ear; with a look of shock and a rapid shake of her head, she whispered something back, and the stallion's expression immediately switched to one of shame before glancing back up at Story with a sheepish smile.

Either First Response didn't catch any of it, or she'd chosen to let it pass without comment. “So!” she declared with a clack of her hoof against the street. “Story, you haven't had lunch yet, have you?”

“Err, no. Actually, I'm getting a bit hungry.” It was true enough. Breakfast had been filling, but spending the rest of the morning literally taking mental pictures of books and reading any current periodicals he could get his hooves on for two hours after that had left him more than a little peckish.

“Well, we were just starting to talk about where to eat. What sort of food do you like?”

In this body? Not the foggiest idea. “I'm... good with just about anything,” he answered.

“Way to help us narrow things down, Story,” Amethyst giggled. “Anypony else have any ideas?”

“There's that great muffin shop back on Dressage Avenue,” Derpy volunteered.

“You and your muffins, Derpy.”

“You and your eclairs, Amethyst!”

“Settle down, mares.” First gave Story a pleading glance. “You see what I have to put up with from those two? And you're probably wondering what you've gotten into right now.”

He managed a chuckle and a grin. “Yeah, that's about right.” He glanced around for some sort of inspiration, and noticed the three foals- yeah, that's what young ponies are called- standing a bit apart from the group, looking various shades of bored and impatient. “Well, if we adults are deadlocked, we could ask the little ones what they're interested in,” he commented.

“Oh hey, now there's an idea.” First turned towards the kids, who looked surprised at the attention. “What are you little fetlock-biters interested in for lunch?” she asked in a teasing voice.

As one, they all spoke up. “Pizza!”

“Hey, that's not a bad call!” Noteworthy said. “There's this great place just off Dapple Street, Chez Veneto. Best Lipizzano food in the city!”

Story's mind ground to a halt. Chez Veneto? As in, the very same place I woke up in back in Frozen Canterlot? Oh, man... this is gonna feel weird....

“...sound okay to you, Story?” He blinked, realizing First Response was talking to him. “Uh... yeah,” he managed to say after a moment. “I'm always up for some pizza.”

“It's settled then!” First clopped a hoof on the ground. “Chez Veneto for lunch it is! Off we go, everypony!”

It was a short walk across town to Dapple Street, and then the restaurant came into view. Story had to force himself to maintain a casual demeanor as they approached the building, decked out in shiny red tiles, large windows and a bright yellow roof; above the entrance was a large sign with the name of the place next to a colorful rendition of a mustachioed pony tossing pizza dough into the air. I don't remember that sign, he thought distractedly. It must not have survived.

The slightly cool air outside gave way to warm, heavily-scented air as the group filed in, with Noteworthy holding the door open for the others. Despite how bizarre it was to see the place alive and vibrant, the familiar smell of Italian- I guess they call it Lipizzano here, he amended himself- food quickly washed away at least some of his discomfort. Still, it felt strange that he didn't even need to look over the menu board- he already knew most of what the place offered from reading its dusty menus in its freezing-cold, abandoned supply closet.

The group made their way to the tables and picked the biggest one in the house, which still needed two extra chairs- and a booster seat for Dinky- to hold all of them. After a minute, a waitress came by, and they asked for drinks while they decided on what to order. “You guys really ought to try the manicotti,” Noteworthy said. “Best I've ever had, and I've been as far south as Appleloosa and further north than Neighagra Falls.”

When the waitress returned, everyone had made their choice. The foals went for pizza with various toppings; First Response agreed to give the manicotti a try, but Story found something else that looked more appealing. “I'll have the gnocchi di ricotta,” he told the waitress.

“Oooh, you'll love that,” she said with a grin. “Okay! The slices we'll have out for the little ones in a couple minutes; the rest will be about ten.” She gathered up the menus and headed back towards the kitchen. “So, Story,” First said as she leaned back in her chair. “Tell us about yourself!”

He did so, giving them a brief overview of this new self he inhabited, thankfully able to answer the few questions the others asked. The others briefly told him about themselves as well- Derpy handled mail delivery, Thunderlane managed the weather- I still can't believe they move the weather around themselves here, Story thought, though after the whole “sun and moon” thing I suppose my “suspension of disbelief” bar should be in low orbit- and Noteworthy played in a small band that performed in a club that Amethyst managed.

The conversation was in full swing when the rest of the food arrived, piping hot. The foals had already finished their slices and were clamoring to go play in the little collection of child-sized gymnastic equipment in the back of the restaurant- I never saw that there; the rubble must have buried it- so the adults let them go have their fun, assigning a less-grumpy-looking Sparkler to keep an eye on them, while waiting for the food to cool.

Once the food had given up some of its heat, Story hesitantly took a bite of his gnocchi di ricotta... and then gulped down the rest of the forkful like he hadn't eaten in a week. Apparently breakfast hadn't been a fluke- this city had the best food he'd tasted in his life. “Whoa!” First teased him after a few moments of watching him dig in. “You okay there, Story? Or are we gonna have to dive in and rescue you from that plate?”

He had to chuckle at himself as he set the fork down and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Sorry. Seriously, I've never had food this good.”

“Yeah, Sandy was always complaining about the food they had in Hobitken. Canterlot really gets the good stuff.”

The conversation went on as they ate. Story was taken aback by just how social the other ponies were; he supposed it made sense for a species apparently descended from herd animals, but it took him a little while to get himself “up to speed” with just how open they were with each other- maybe he'd never been a social butterfly, but he was certainly no slouch... but these ponies were on an entirely different level. And what was more, he found himself actually wanting to participate even more, held back only by his lack of real knowledge regarding much of what was being discussed.

First Response seemed to pick up on this. “You're a bit quiet, Story,” she commented. “You okay over there?”

“Yeah, just... kind of enjoying listening to all of you talk.” He waved a hoof. “Don't mind me.”

“Come on, it's not like we're that interesting,” Thunderlane snickered. “There's got to be something exciting about what you do!”

“I spend my time going through places covered in dust, that haven't seen a living soul in ages. Their stories are interesting, sure, but it's nice getting to hear more recent tales as well.” Plus that excuse keeps me from having to try to make up some plausible-sounding story, considering I still don't know actually much about this world's history.

“Heh, okay, that's fair enough.” First put down her fork and knife. “But... why? Doesn't stumbling around in some abandoned place get boring?”

“No, no, it really doesn't. It... it's almost like visiting another time, another place, that's familiar but yet almost alien, you know?” He was sitting up without even realizing it, gesturing with his forehooves. “Even if we're only talking about a few decades, the differences in everything you can find... the effects of others who are long gone, traces of their daily routines, old work clothes, tools, even scraps of what they had for lunch on their last day on the job. It's like... a peek into the past, I guess is the best I could call it.”

He expected the others to be indifferent to his description, or at best mildly interested. What he hadn't expected was the utter fascination all of them were showing. “You know, I've never heard it put that way,” First admitted, rubbing the side of her neck with a hoof. “It does sound pretty interesting when you think about it like that.”

“Yeah,” Derpy agreed. “That reminds me of an idea my boss had once... displaying old mail that was undeliverable and had just been stored away- not anything personal; just flyers, advertisements, stuff like that. Just a way to show how what goes through the mail has changed over the years. I didn't really go for it when he thought it up, but now....”

Story shrugged. “Hey, I'd go to see that,” he offered.

“You know what? I would too. It might be cool.” Thunderlane grinned.

“Do you guys really think so? I should tell my boss that when we get home!” Derpy smiled broadly. “Thanks, Story.”

He blinked. “Thanks for what?”

“For making the past seem so interesting! You oughta be a teacher or something, or maybe a professor, getting fillies and colts more interested in history.”

“Eh....” He chuckled, glancing away. “I don't think I'm cut out for that sort of thing.”

“Nah, really, maybe she's right.” Noteworthy raised his glass. “You've got a knack- you should at least give it some thought.”

“Well... okay. I'll give it a little consideration.” He managed a smile as he turned his attention back to the food. Truth be told, I think about that sometimes, he mused. Not teaching, really, but sharing history with others so they can see it how I do. Just... never really found the impetus, I suppose.

It wasn't long before they'd finished lunch, collected the foals and headed back outside into the early afternoon sunshine. The group was just milling about from one street to another to kill time before a mid-afternoon concert starring a group called the Canterlot Quartet- Amethyst couldn't stop talking about a cellist named Octavia who she'd been a fan of for years- when a brief gleam of light against metal caught Story's eye. He glanced towards the source... and froze again, having to consciously keep his jaw from dropping.

“Clockwork's Clocks” read the dark oak sign over the shop's doors. He couldn't even remember if he'd seen it in the abandoned future version of the city- he'd been too busy watching for pursuit. Now, though, it was a gleaming, gold-and-silver gilded store, through which he could see- and, he imagined, could almost hear- the ticking of the countless clocks standing on almost every flat surface inside.

“Story?” First called after him, breaking the brief trance. The group had covered a bit of distance before noticing he'd stopped. “You okay over there?”

He shook his head to clear it. “Um... yeah,” he called back. “Go on ahead; I'll catch up. I want to check something out.”

“Okay then! We'll probably stay on Cinch Road for a while. If you're there past four, come look for us at the concert!”

The group continued down the street as Story trotted into the clock store. It wasn't as loud as he'd expected- most of the clocks weren't wound, probably just because of that sort of problem- but the steady ticks of multiple timepieces made for an effective form of background white noise, making the outside world seem more distant. The contrast against the utter silence he'd heard the last time he'd been here was jarring.

“Help you with anything, young stallion?”

Somehow he managed not to jump. An older pony, his green mane streaked with grey in places and his dusk-blue coat showing a bit of age-related paleness, stood next to him with a friendly smile. “Oh, um, no,” Story answered. “Just looking for the moment.”

“Certainly. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.” The older stallion- cutie mark of three gears intermeshed; why am I not surprised?- returned to the counter, while Story continued to look for what he knew had caught his eye. And after a moment, he spotted it- the very same winged-unicorn-shaped clock he'd seen before, now clean and gleaming enough to serve as a centerpiece in any display of treasure, with a complex mechanism in its base turning back and forth to mark off the seconds.

“Isn't it a beaut?” the older pony- Clockwork, most likely- said, trotting up again. “Only one other of its kind in the world, and it keeps the time in Celestia's very own bedchambers.”

“I've never seen anything like it.” He was telling the truth. It seemed like every feather of the wings had been given lifelike detail, that the spiral of the horn had been etched with exacting dedication to realism. It seriously looked as though the figurine could just spread those wings and fly off at whatever moment it chose.

“I'd be shocked if you had!” Clockwork guffawed. “This clock and her twin were commissioned by the Princess herself for the Summer Sun celebration back in 997. Well, only one, really, but I made two just to be on the safe side. Stayed up for four days straight crafting them! She chose one, I kept the other. The timekeeping mechanisms are identical- I bet they're still synced!”

“That really is something.” Story had just been about to ask about the clock's uniquely shaped hands when a bell rang out- there was a customer at the counter. Clockwork excused himself, and Story gazed at the clock for a few moments more before turning away to look out the front windows. Yeah, I remember hiding behind that counter when I saw something outside before, and I guess that building across the way with the scaffolding was the one that the timberwolf fell off of- probably was one of the first buildings to start crumbling after whatever happened- and... wait, what's that?

A small, light-grey shape near the scaffolding caught his attention, and he approached the window. “Dinky...?” he murmured, not quite believing his eyes. “What's she doing by herself...?”

It didn't look like any of the rest of the group were nearby. Quickly, Story flung open the door of the shop with his magic and cantered out, intent on finding out what was going on. “Dinky?” he called out as he weaved his way across the street. “Hey, Dinky. What are you doing all alone, kiddo?”

If the filly heard him, she showed no sign of it, instead slowly walking towards an alley just past the scaffolding. Concerned, Story picked up his pace, almost running into a few ponies. “Dinky!” he practically shouted.

A sound tickled at his left ear, barely audible above the noise of the crowds- a strange metallic groan. He paid it no heed at first, intent on getting to Derpy's daughter and finding out what was wrong with her- but then a harsh snap caught his attention, and he froze in his tracks, ears flicking back and forth, not even registering how weird that felt as he searched for a potential threat.

The groan returned, louder than before, partnered with more snapping noises, and there was movement in the corner of his eye. The scaffold!

He didn't even need to think. Dinky was too far away to grab with his magic, so he pushed himself into a gallop, charging up to her with a clatter of hooves that she didn't even flinch at. He swore he could feel dust falling on his coat as he scooped up the unresponsive filly in his magical grip, sat her firmly on his back and then... slipped as he tried to cut a tight turn. He just barely caught himself from falling, keeping all four hooves underneath, and muttering every profanity he knew under his breath as he scrambled to get out from the far-too-heavy-to-levitate construction rigging. Too close too close TOO CLOSE-

BANG

The edge of the scaffolding just brushed the end of his tail as it hit the ground with an ear-splitting racket; the jolt it sent through the ground took Story off-balance, and he hit the ground chest-first, still keeping Dinky on his back as well as he could. The ringing in his ears faded after a moment, leaving him catching voices in mid-sentence.

“...you see that thing fall? What happened?!”

“...ran right in, it was amazing!”

“...saved that poor filly!”

“Dinky!” came a familiar voice over all the chattering. Derpy came swooping in, causing the crowd to scatter before her. “Story! What happened?!”

The rest of the group was close behind as Derpy pulled her daughter off of Story's back, pulling her close; the foal shook her head slowly, as if she were waking up. “Derpy, how'd she get here?” Story asked. “I looked out the window from the clock shop and saw her hanging out by that scaffolding. She wouldn't answer me when I called for her, then....”

“...Mama?” Dinky's voice was slurred. “Wh... what happened? Where am I?”

“Easy, Muffin, easy. Mama's got you.” The group crowded around the dazed-looking foal and her worried mother; the crowd seemed hushed, some of the ponies trotting away looking worried. After a few moments, the circle of onlookers parted for a pair of imposing-looking stallions bedecked in gold armor. “What happened here?” one of them inquired.

One of the onlookers, a lemon-yellow mare with a blue mane, turned towards them. “That little filly must have wandered off on her own, sir. The grey stallion there pulled her right out from under that scaffold just before it crashed!”

“I see.” The stallion looked over at Derpy. “Ma'am, how did the foal get away from you?”

Derpy was practically in tears. “I don't know, mister guard! I turned my flank for, like, one second! Then she was gone!”

“Sir,” Thunderlane broke in, “there were seven of us there with her, and none of us saw her wander off. It was like she vanished.”

The guard leaned forward to peer at the confused-looking unicorn filly for a moment... and then his expression softened just a little. “Miss, you're much too young to go teleporting around by yourself,” he teased gently. “So stay near your mother from now on, hm?” He smiled at Dinky's confused nod before turning to Story. “As for you, sir, it seems that your quick thinking may have saved a young life. What's your name?”

“I'm, uh, Story Seeker.”

“The Princesses will hear of this act of heroism, Mr. Seeker. I'm sure they'll reward you fittingly.” The guard turned. “Alright, now, everypony, you can disperse. Nopony is hurt. The Royal Guard will handle things from here.”

The crowd began to break apart, murmuring amongst themselves about what they'd seen; the two guards made their way towards the collapsed scaffolding, where the apparent owner of the building stood with an expression of shock. Derpy gently set Dinky down on the ground- and then flung herself at Story, wrapping her forelegs around him tightly. “Thank you so much for saving my Dinky,” she sobbed.

“Yeah, if you hadn't been there....” Noteworthy glanced at the wreckage next to the building. “...ugh. I don't even want to think about it.”

“Who knew the boring historian in the vest was secretly Daring Do?” First chuckled, mussing Story's mane.

“Um....” Everyone stopped and turned towards Dinky as she carefully stood. “What... what's going on? Why's everypony here? How did we get here?”

“Muffin, are you okay?” Derpy worried over her daughter, looking her over carefully. “Yeah, Mama, I'm okay,” the filly replied. “I just... I don't remember how I got here.”

“What's the last thing you do remember, sweetheart?” Amethyst asked.

“Well, I was walking with you guys, and I looked down an alley, and there was... something there. I don't remember what, but I think I just felt like I had to take a look, you know? And then... poof, here.”

“That's weird.” Sparkler frowned. “I don't remember seeing anything strange in an alley.”

First took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Wow. This wasn't the sort of excitement I was looking for in Canterlot! But thank Celestia everypony's okay. Let's all get moving... I think some classical music will help us all calm down, and then we can see if the Guard figures out what happened.”

Everyone else agreed to that, and Derpy carefully put Dinky on her back before heading out with the rest of the group. Story hung back for a moment, still trying to work out what had just happened; his ears just barely picked up a moment of conversation between the two Guard ponies.

“...right here, sir. Have a look.”

“I've never seen rust marks like this... have you, Corporal?”

“No, sir. I'm not even sure it's rust- the rest of the rigging looks sound. If this one spot hadn't given out I doubt the scaffold would've fallen.”

“Strange. And that smell... I'd almost say that the metal was rotted through, somehow....”

Hazards

The concert had been exceptionally enjoyable, even for Story- or at least Jacob, who decided he needed to give classical music a fair shake when he got home- and the group was making their way back through the city, weaving through the early-evening crowd. Dinky was seated on his back, and Rumble had perched on Noteworthy's; the two young foals were already tired out from the day's activities. “Maybe we should put the little ones down for a nap for a while,” Amethyst said, “and group back up later tonight for the pre-festival expo.”

Story stifled a yawn with his hoof. “Yeah, a nap's sounding kind of good to me at the moment,” he murmured.

“Heh. Nopony's gonna say you don't deserve it, hero,” First said. “So, that sounds like a plan. Let's regroup at Equinox Square at, let's say, eight-thirty or so? That'll give the foals- and Story- a little while to rest up, and we'll be fresh to look around and do a little shopping. How's that sound?”

The others agreed, and walked back together to the hotels and inns that each was staying in. Story carefully levitated a now-snoozing Dinky onto Derpy's back, and she gave him a light nuzzle. “Thanks a lot,” she told him. “You're really a good stallion, Story.”

He could actually feel himself blushing a little, much to the amusement of the others. “I try,” he said, habitually adjusting his glasses.

Derpy escorted Dinky and Sparkler into the hotel, and the others moved on. Noteworthy dropped back a bit to talk to Story. “Hey, listen, I kind of feel the need to apologize,” the earth pony- I still think that's a strange name to call the wingless, hornless ones, but whatever- said quietly.

Story blinked. “About what?”

“Well, I know you caught me giving you a dirty look when we first met....”

“Oh, yeah. I kind of wondered about that, but you seemed mellow afterwards so I just sort of put it aside.”

“Well, that's good of you. But still.” Noteworthy sighed. “I'd thought you were Amethyst's old coltfriend. I swear, aside from the cutie mark- and the apparent love for vests- you're practically his spitting image.”

“Huh. Well, I don't have any identical twins I'm aware of.” Story chuckled. “Though with the look you gave, I'm certainly glad I'm not him.”

“He was... not a good pony. In fact, he was an abusive, drunken pile of horseflesh. Thankfully Amethyst has gotten past that point in her life, and I thought I had too, but....” Noteworthy sighed and looked away, an expression of shame crossing his face. “Maybe not quite so much, I guess.”

Damn. I guess some things are the same everywhere. “Well, I understand the reaction, then. No offense taken.”

The other stallion gave him a look of relief. “Heh. You're nothing like him, seriously; you already proved that today. That jerk would've thrown Dinky under a falling scaffold if he could get something out of it.”

“Oh, doesn't he sound like a winner,” Story murmured.

“Yeah, you don't know the half of it....” Noteworthy seemed set to continue on, but Amethyst's voice caught his attention. “What are you two doing back there?” she called.

“Probably that 'male bonding' thing,” First snickered.

“Har, har.” Noteworthy trotted back up to them. “Just settling a misconception, that's all.”

First was obviously confused, but Amethyst understood. “That's big of you, Note,” she said quietly, giving him a gentle nuzzle.

Eventually Story had to split away from the rest of the group to return to his own hotel, and the others wished him a good rest before the night's activities. Wearily, he trudged up to his room and practically threw himself onto the bed. “Ugh, barely half a day spent in this place and I'm beat,” he groaned into his pillow. “Who would've guessed that being a pony is so damn hard? You wouldn't know it by looking at them!” He let out a deep sigh. “Well, I'm learning things about this place, but nothing that'll help figure out what destroyed it. I can't be a tourist forever.” He laid there for a moment longer, trying to sort through all that had happened in the last ten or so hours, before a yawn broke his concentration. “Screw it. A nap sounds good. Hour and a half, that'll help me feel better.”

His magic took hold of the wind-up alarm clock on the end table and set the alarm for eight, to give himself time to freshen up and get to the Square. It seemed as though he'd barely put his head down on the pillow when he felt sleep encroach; with a quiet sigh, he let it overtake him.

Fear.

No, not just fear. Blood-freezing, heart-stopping terror. It overwhelmed him, destroyed all rational thought, leaving only one impetus: Flee. Flee for everything he was worth, as fast as he could.

But it was already too late. He could see it now, that wall of pure nothingness- beyond destruction, nullification- coming towards him as swiftly and unstoppably as a wall of water in a flash-flood. He tried to scream, to cry out for mercy, to warn others to run, but nothing would come out from his throat.

Others did not have that problem. He could hear them, shouting in panic, calling for help, even praying, even though their paired deities were just as terrified as them. Through the pounding of his heart in his ears, he could just make out voices- some familiar, others not.

“...cannot hold it back... you must all flee, my ponies...!”

“...ceremony is sacred; what could have caused this...?”

“...help us! Please! Make it stop...!”

“...Mama! Mama, where are you?! I'm so scared...!”

“...so sorry, this isn't what I meant to happen...!”

And then the glowing wall reached him, touched him, and twisting, unbearable agony coursed through him as he felt himself being undone, obliterated, removed....

“...aaaaahhhh!”

He found himself reflexively kicking his legs out, scrabbling for purchase in order to run, before he remembered where he was. He was covered in sweat, shivering, panting for breath, half-tangled in the covers he'd managed to kick loose. “...the fuck was that....” he rasped, needing to gather himself before he could hop down out of bed- almost to have his legs almost give out on him as he landed, all four limbs feeling like jelly beneath him. It was all he could to do get his sweat-soaked shirt and vest off and then stumble into the bathroom for a shower.

As he waited for the hot water to start flowing, he spared himself a glance in the mirror. The haunted-looking visage that greeted him there made him take a step back and close his eyes, shaking his head to clear it. I can't even convince myself it was just a dream, he thought morosely, stepping into the tub and letting the warm water spray across his hide. Not after all this. But then what was it? Was that what happened to this place?

Dammit, if I hear from those sisters again, I've got a goddamn boatload of questions for them to answer.

The alarm clock went off just as he was stepping out of the shower, and he rushed to shut it off. Once he'd gotten himself dried and dressed, and his mane brushed, he decided to go ahead back out into the streets early- sitting around the hotel room would only leave him dwelling on the dream, and at the moment he wanted nothing more than a distraction.

He found himself instinctively melding into the crowds as they trotted along, content to follow the herd as his mind ran itself in circles. When he found himself bumping into other ponies due to being distracted, he decided to take a seat on a random bench instead, watching them mill by with only part of his attention.

“...Story?”

He shook his head to clear it and turned towards the voice, to find First Response sitting next to him with a worried expression on her face. “Oh, good, you've come back to Equestria,” she said with a halfhearted chuckle. “I was getting ready to check you for a concussion.”

He let out a sigh and looked away. “Sorry. Lost in my own head.”

“Worse places to be lost. Want to talk about it?”

“Just... a bad dream during that nap.”

“It must have been one heck of a bad dream to make you look like that.”

“Still shows, huh?” He sighed again.

“Seriously, I was worried you'd gotten bad news about a family member or something.” She lightly rubbed his shoulder with a hoof, and he found himself leaning into it. “Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?”

He nodded. “...yeah. I just need a little time to sort myself out, that's all.” He looked up and gave her a slight smile. “But I appreciate the concern.”

“Oh, well....” A blush crossed her face, and she suddenly gave the armrest of the bench her complete attention. “Just... y'know, what I do for a living....”

He chuckled. “I still appreciate it anyway. So how did you just happen upon me sitting here?”

“I was on my way to gather up everypony. Just random luck I ended up trotting by you, sitting on this bench, staring out into space and looking like a lost puppy.”

“...you're such a balm for a stallion's ego, First.” He stuck his tongue out at her, making her laugh. “Well. I suppose we should go ahead and rendezvous with the others?”

“Oh, you make it sound so romantic with your Fancy speech.” She gave him a playful wink as she slid off of the bench with him.

Reconnecting with the rest of the group was a simple enough affair- though all of them noticed and commented on Story's still-somber expression- and they made their way to Equinox Square for what Story had learned was the 508th annual Canterlot Spring Market Expo. “So they moved this whole thing up a month to take advantage of the traffic for the Renewal?” he asked.

“Yep,” Derpy answered. “And it's not usually here in the Square, either, but since this is what everything centers around during the ceremony, it's the best spot to be!”

“And since this is the first Renewal we've had with Princess Luna in, well, a thousand years, and Princess Cadence is present... it's gonna be one to remember!” Thunderlane flexed his wings in anticipation.

Story slowed. “One to remember....” Unless no one's left to remember anything at all....

A rough bump against his side brought him back to reality; First had brushed against him. “You're doing it again,” she said, her tone teasing but her eyes worried.

“Gah....” He shook his head to clear it. “I really need to quit that. Sorry.”

“Are you sure you're okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure.” He managed a smile. “Look, I don't want to be a damper on anypony's night.” Well, at least I'm getting the local vernacular right. “Let's go ahead. I promise to be less mopey.”

“It's okay, Story!” Derpy gave him a cheerful grin. “We can get a muffin in you, and you'll feel right as rain.”

“Again with the muffins, Derpy?”

“Muffins are better comfort food than eclairs, Amethyst!”

“Okay, you two.” Thunderlane stepped between the two mares, using his forelegs to separate them. “Bickering isn't going to help Story any, now, is it? Let the stallion decide what he wants.” The pegasus gave him a pained glance. “Mares, sometimes, huh?”

“Hey, I know better than to say anything to that,” Story shot back with a smirk.

“Smart stallion.” First giggled. “Come on, colts and fillies, we're burning moonlight and there's bargains to be had!”

He hadn't been sure what to expect at the Spring Market Expo. What he found was at once familiar and strange- countless stalls and displays of all kinds, organized neatly in a grid pattern all along the square and along the roads leading away from it, with hundreds of ponies moving through in a steady stream or stopping in front of whatever tables interested them. But it was what was being sold that caught his attention- an almost ridiculous range of goods, from basic foodstuffs to strange, retro-looking technological constructions that would've looked perfectly at home in a 50's science-fiction movie. Apparently these ponies were more advanced than he'd thought, and the spread of their technology was spotty for reasons he didn't know about.

He was learning quite a bit as they walked along, just by listening to conversations and reading what he could along the way. The Renewal of the Covenant wasn't just a simple ceremony- it was an actual renewal, conducted once a century, of the bond between the Princesses and their corresponding celestial bodies. Besides being the first one in a millennium to have Luna participate- all he could find out was that she'd been banished for some transgression- it was also the first in four hundred years to involve something called the Elements of Harmony, carried by six ponies who were low-profile celebrities living in Ponyville. No one seemed sure as to just what the ceremony would be like, but excitement was high.

One thing he didn't learn, though, was the status of the investigation into the accident that had almost claimed Dinky. Not once, but twice the guards politely but firmly rebuffed any questions about it, only saying that they couldn't speak about any ongoing investigations, and that the Royal Guard would contact them with any important information. Eventually, First and Derpy decided it would be best to just let the matter drop for the time being and enjoy the night, and the others agreed.

The group gradually broke up as they wandered through the Square, remembering their previous agreement to meet back up at the entrance at 9PM. Story, First, and Derpy and her daughters had stayed together for the time being, and were wandering around the food section when Derpy stopped short. “Oohhh, Story, I know what'll cheer you up,” she said, grabbing his mane in her mouth and practically dragging him towards one of the stalls.

“Well, howdy, Derpy!” came a cheerful, country-accented voice. “Nice t' see y' could make it after all!”

“Heya, AJ!” Derpy brought Story up to a wide applewood stall festooned with apples. Behind it stood an orange-coated mare, her blond mane done up in- oh, I can't even pretend to be surprised- a ponytail, and a brown Stetson perched atop her head. “How's sales?” Derpy asked.

“Doin' pretty good!” The cowpony glanced down at the the counter, upon which sat all manner of apple products- from plain apples themselves, to baked goods, even to carved applewood trinkets and knick-knacks. “Hey there, girls!” she said to Dinky and Sparkler, getting smiles from both of them. “Enjoyin' yerselves t'night?”

“Yes, ma'am,” Sparkler said.

“We sure are!” Dinky chimed in.

“Glad t' hear it.” The orange pony looked up. “Who's yer friends, Derpy?”

“Oh! This is an old friend of mine, First Response, and her friend Story Seeker. Guys, this is Applejack; she lives at Sweet Apple Acres over in Ponyville.”

“Huh. Story Seeker?” Applejack scratched her head. “Think I've heard that name before.”

“You probably heard how this action hero here pulled Dinky out from under a collapsing scaffold over near the clock shop,” First said, ruffling Story's mane again.

“That was you? Well, lemme congratulate ya, pardner!” She grabbed his hoof and shook it, with enough force to almost shake him off of the ground. “From what I heard, that was some right quick thinkin' and movin' ya did!”

He rubbed his fetlock against his other foreleg in hopes of getting some feeling back into it. “It, uh... it was just what needed to be done, and I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.”

Applejack grinned. “Modest sort, huh? I respect that! Y'seem like a right good feller, Story, and anypony who helps a friend of mine is a friend of mine too. So lemme give ya a little somethin' by way of thanks.” She nimbly seized up a plate of apple fritters and held it out for her; he took hold of it with his magic and lifted a fritter to his mouth, taking an experimental bite.

“...oh, wow. Oh, wow.” He would understand completely if his taste buds decided to stay here. This mare's cooking was as far above his previous meals in Equestria as they had been above everything else he'd ever experienced. The rest of the fritter went into his mouth as quickly as he could levitate it. “Heh!” Applejack chuckled. “I'm proud'a mah cookin', but it ain't often I see a reaction quite like that.”

“He's from Hobitken,” First said with a smirk.

“Ohhh. Say no more.” AJ grinned. “Those'r all yours, Story, on th' house.”

He had to finish swallowing the fritter before he could speak. “Thanks, Applejack, but I'm afraid if I eat all of these I'll spoil my taste buds for everything else.” He grinned. “But if my friends here would like some....”

The rest of the fritters very quickly disappeared from the plate and into the mouths of four very grateful mares and fillies, and AJ smiled. “Right good of ya, Story,” she said, taking the plate back to set it down on the counter. “Y'all stayin' around fer th' Renewal?”

“You bet,” First said.

“Good t' hear! Y'all oughta come find me an' th' family tomorrow- I can introduce ya t' them and mah other friends. I bet it'd be a load'a fun.”

Derpy snickered. “Oh, that'll be something. AJ's friends are... um... interesting.”

“An' by that y'mean we're a crazy bunch and weird stuff always happens around us,” Applejack amended with a laugh. “It's true, I won't deny it. But we sure as hay ain't borin'!”

“Well, we didn't come all the way to Canterlot to stick with the usual!” First laughed. “We could meet up in front of where Story is staying; he's over at the Apricot Inn. It's a bit off the beaten path, so it'll be less crowded and noisy. What do you say to 1 in the afternoon?”

“Sounds like a plan! See you ponies then.” Applejack waved, and Story and the others returned it before heading off. “Derpy, you never told me you knew one of the Bearers!” First exclaimed.

“Well, I got to know a few of them over the years delivering mail in Ponyville,” the pegasus replied. “But Applejack and I became friends after I... uh, sort of wrecked City Hall.”

“You what.” First's voice was as flat as her expression.

“Well, you know I'm a bit of a klutz sometimes when I'm in the air... and I may have accidentally knocked the spire off the top of the building....” She blushed at First's disbelieving stare.

“Mom, that building was termite leftovers,” Sparkler interjected. “The Mayor should've had the place condemned years ago. Instead she ended up suckering you and Applejack into doing fundraising to replace the entire top half of the building.”

“Well, I did accidentally hit the place with a few lightning bolts beforehand, too....”

“Which means the Mayor skimped on proper lightning protection too.”

“Aw, c'mon,” Dinky complained, glancing between her sister and her mother. “Do we have to have this argument here? I wanna go see some more stuff!”

Sparkler and Derpy glanced down at the filly, then back up at each other, and shared a mutual sigh. “You're right, Dink,” Sparkler said. “Sorry, Mom.”

“I can't be mad at my big muffin.” Derpy mussed her elder daughter's mane with a hoof. “Consider it all forgotten. Now let's go do some shopping!”

There was plenty to look at and buy, and Story found himself getting a pair of tinted spectacles that matched the prescription of his glasses, as well as a nice baseball cap-style hat and a set of saddlebags just in case he wanted to carry something too big for his pockets. “The specs are a good look for you,” First commented. “They make you look a lot less... um, how can I put this....”

“Stuffy?” Derpy offered.

First laughed. “Well, if we're going to call a spade a spade....”

“Sure, pick on the poor academic.” He chuckled. “Well... nothing wrong with updating your look once in a while, I suppose. Like you said, First- why come all the way here just to stick with the usual?”

“That's the spirit.” She glanced up at the clock tower that loomed over Equinox Square as the bell began to chime. “Nine o'clock. Let's go catch up with the others.”

As they passed a section dealing with magical items and other goods specifically for unicorns, Story's ears picked up something of a heated discussion in front of a stall selling wands and other secondary magical transduction tools. One of the two ponies doing the arguing- a light-blue mare with a white mane- was speaking in a low, angry voice, but something about it struck Story as familiar. Probably just my imagination, he thought. C'mon, Story. Time to go find the rest of our merry band of misfits.

Doing so was easy enough; at some point Thunderlane had purchased a ludicrously-oversized straw hat, and at the moment when Story and his group found him, Rumble was standing atop his head “wearing” it- with only his lower legs visible beneath it. “Where in sweet Celestia's name did you get that thing?!” First laughed.

“There's a stall that has novelty and gag gifts,” Thunderlane answered. “I saw this and just had to get it. It'll be great for the apartment.”

“It's a good thing he bought that and not you,” Amethyst told Noteworthy with a smirk. “If you brought that ridiculous thing home, you'd be sleeping in it.”

Noteworthy snickered. “Pssh. If you kicked me out of the house, I could go live in it!”

The night wore on as the group made one more tour of the Expo to see everything they'd missed. Eventually the clock struck 10:30, and the foals- not to mention some of the adults- were yawning, so they agreed to call it a night and head off for some well-deserved sleep. With his increased familiarity with the roads, Story opted to see First off to her hotel before heading back to his. He had to admit to being impressed with where she was staying; the Golden Trails Inn was a ten-story building with long marble columns running up the front. True, he'd seen bigger and grander buildings back home- but for ponies, this was a pretty swank building.

“Glad to see you're feeling better now,” First said, interrupting his thoughts. “You really did have me worried earlier. Are you sure you don't want to tell me about that dream?”

Yes, First, I'm sure I don't want to tell you about that dream where your species is scrubbed from existence. Especially since I know it'll come true if I don't figure out how it happens. “Yeah, I'm sure. Just ramblings of the mind, you know.”

“Mmmh. Alright, if you're sure. You're a grown pony, after all.” She gave him a smile. “Be sure to get plenty of rest- tomorrow there'll be a lot of performances, and there may be singing and even dancing!”

Heh, I can't even dance on two legs, let alone four. “We'll see about the dancing,” he replied, “but I might be persuaded to sing a little. I might even-”

crack-kssshhhhnk

“...huh. Did you hear that?” He glanced around. “Sounded like a rock skipping-”

“Move!” First's foreleg slammed into his neck as she pulled him towards her. His gasp of surprise became a cry of pain as something sliced across his right side before thudding against the ground. “Gyah-!” he yelped.

“Oh sweet Celestia! Hold still, Story.” She pulled his vest and shirt up slightly, and he hissed between clenched teeth. “Wow. You're fortunate you like to wear tweed, hon... would've been looking at a serious laceration here otherwise.”

“What...?” He craned his head to look. His clothing had been sliced cleanly by whatever had hit him, along with his hide beneath, just behind the saddlebags he was still wearing- but the cut was shallow, only bleeding a little. It stung like hell, though. “Where did that come from?!” he groaned.

“Above.” First glanced up. “Looks like it broke off of one of the columns. I am going to give the manager a piece of my mind....” She looked back down at him and shook her head. “...later. Right now we need to get this treated. Come on inside.”

The pony at the counter was understandably shocked at the sight of a bleeding pony being brought into his hotel- but snapped to attention as First barked out a demand for a first-aid kit. While she treated Story's wound, she demanded the presence of, and then chewed out, the manager. To her credit, the manager was extremely apologetic, calming First down enough to at least get her to stop shouting. Within the space of a couple minutes, she had his wound cleaned, treated and bandaged so expertly that he didn't even feel restrained by the gauze wrapped around his midsection. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Stings like you wouldn't believe, but....” He shook his head. “I think you just saved my life, First.”

She gave him a warm smile. “I want to have another look at that stone, if that's okay with you, Story.”

“Yeah, sure.” They went back outside, tailed closely by the manager. The shattered shard of marble lay in pieces around the deep groove it had dug into the cobblestone; Story let his breath out slowly. “...I'd have been shish-kebabed if you hadn't pulled me away, First,” he murmured.

“Well, I just....” Her voice trailed off as she looked down at the shards. “This is weird,” she commented, nudging one with her hoof. “This side is all blackened and rough, like it was eaten away by something.”

“That's strange.” The manager knelt down to take a closer look. “We have a craftspony look over the structure twice a year to check for any sort of damage. He told us he didn't find anything on the last visit, and that was two months ago.”

“I think you need to have a talk with him. This rock looks like it's been rotted away or something.”

Story froze for a moment. Okay, something weird is going on with this. But what? I think I have an idea or two on how to find out... after I go to sleep.

The manager headed back inside, and First gently put her hoof on Story's withers. “Are you going to be alright?” she asked.

“Ought to be.” He twisted his midsection a bit to test it. “I think that salve you used is working already.”

“Good. Um... I know this'll sound a little forward, but what room are you staying in at the Apricot? I can stop by tomorrow morning to have a look at it.”

He couldn't help but laugh, even though it hurt to do. “331. If you're early, knock loudly- I'm a heavy sleeper.”

She chuckled. “331. Got it. Will you be okay to walk back?”

“Yeah.” On an impulse he didn't entirely understand, he leaned forward to nuzzle her cheek; when he moved back, she was blushing. “Thanks again, First,” he told her. “That... phew. I... I need to get some rest.”

“You certainly do.” She lightly patted his neck. “Sleep well, Story. See you in the morning- I'll try to stop by at about eight or so.”

“That'll work. Thanks.” He carefully made his way back to the Apricot Inn, getting no small number of concerned stares from the ponies still out on the streets over his torn and bloodied clothing and bandaged side. Once he made it into his room, he pulled off his shirt, vest and saddlebags and unceremoniously dumped them in a corner, then pulled himself into bed with a soft groan. “These working vacations are rough,” he murmured, burying his head in the pillow.

Despite the ache in his side, sleep was quick to catch up to him.

(-)

Sister, he returns! He... oh no. Oh no. This cannot be.

What is it?

His connection has been compromised! Something infests it! It could gain entry into the Ethereal Plane!

But what could... no. You are right. It should be impossible, but... we may wonder about that later. Friend, I know you have questions, and we ache to answer them- but this is not the time. You must be returned to your own form immediately so that we may cleanse this infestation safely. When next we meet- if we are able- we will gladly answer all that you would ask of us, to the best of our ability. But in the meantime....

(-)

“...well, that was disappointing.” Jacob let out a soft groan as he came to his senses. The first thing he noticed was that he was alive, and not an overcooked slab of meat roasted in a building-sized, sun-baked oven. In fact, he felt amazingly well-rested. And despite having not eaten last night before going to sleep, he didn't feel the least bit hungry- or thirsty, for that matter.

“Okay, hopefully it's night now,” he murmured, reaching over to turn on his flashlight before sitting up. “And I know just the place I need to find, right after I- agh!”

A jolt of pain shot through his side as he sat up, matched by a thrill of fear as realization struck a moment later. “Oh, fuck no,” he said quietly. “No. No no no. You can't tell me....”

As quickly as he could manage, he pulled up his shirt and brought his flashlight up to shine on his torso. There on his right side, surrounded by an angry-looking bruise, was the thin red line of a partially-healed laceration.

Investigation

Okay, let's see. I just passed Harness Boulevard, I think... lemme check. Yeah. Should be four more blocks to Spur Street....

He lowered his phone again. Just as he'd expected, everything he'd used his mentalgraph spell- including the map of the city on the complimentary guide he'd picked up in the Apricot Inn- on showed up in his camera's memory; how that worked he had no idea, but he wasn't one to question good fortune. The camera's LCD screen wasn't the best option for seeing fine details, though, so he'd copied everything over to his phone, which gave him many more options for image manipulation. A pity the GPS doesn't work, but I've probably already benefited from more miracles than I deserve.

And there was another strange thing. He knew his phone had been missing one bar on the battery gauge last night, but now it showed full again- as did the charge meter on his camera. Somehow, in some process he knew he was never going to understand, his equipment had been completely recharged. He could not think of a single reason to complain about it.

At the moment he couldn't spare much thought for it anyway. The lion's share of his attention was working on making sure he was going the right way, watching for anything hostile, and keeping himself from being visible or making too much noise. He wouldn't be graduating from ninja school anytime soon, but common-sense tactics- stay out of the moonlight, watch where your feet are going, don't skyline yourself- had kept him unmolested for the last two hours.

And two hours was how long it had taken Jacob to make it across the same amount of distance it would've taken Story about twenty-five minutes to cover, at the most. Of course, Story would have had the benefit of not needing to hide from timberwolves or keep out of the biting cold wind, not to mention he wouldn't have had to worry about crawling over collapsed walls or even the occasional entire building. And of course you've got four legs, you lucky bastard, you, he thought, pausing a moment to peek around a half-crumbled wall. Thumbs are handy- ha- but sometimes speed is what you need....

Finally, he reached Spur Street and took a left. The buildings in this area were smaller and more squat than further uptown, and consequently there was less rubble blocking the roads, meaning he could make much better time towards his destination. He didn't let that make him careless, though, and he made sure to keep himself as hidden as he could manage. Let's see... Buttercup's Cakes there, next block should have Trinkets & Things... okay. There it is.

The West Canterlot Royal Guard Station was an imposing-looking, three-story building made of red brick, with the royal crest just barely recognizable on its side. The ivy that had probably once been kept neat and trimmed now covered entire swaths of the building, its roots digging into the walls, causing cracks great and small to form. Jacob only spared a moment to wonder how the broad, green leaves hadn't been turned to ash by the sun or frozen in the cold night air. Let's see. Front door, front door, where are you... here you are. Let's hope beyond hope that you were left unlocked....

click-thunk

...of course not; that would be too easy. He sighed. Couldn't depend on that sort of lucky streak to last forever. This is a thick door, too, and it feels like a solid lock- forcing it might not be an option....

He made his way back to the side of the building and stared at the ivy-covered walls. It seemed unlikely that the plant growth would hold his weight, but unless he found a battering ram conveniently left lying around, the main entrance was not a likely option. Well, let's try moving up in the world, he decided, moving at a brisk walk towards the leafy green lines running up the wall. Hope these vines have a good enough hold to bear my weight... what the hell?!

His hand jerked back instinctively from the ivy. Somehow, despite the below-freezing air it was exposed to, it was warm- probably close to eighty degrees, even. He carefully ran one hand across the leaves, wondering just how in the hell they were pulling this trick off-

CRACK-thunk-thunk-thud

-and then he was seven feet off the ground, having practically scrambled up the vines almost before his brain was finished processing the fact that he'd heard a sound. Good, good, the body is learning, he thought, even as he tried to slow his heartbeat through sheer force of will. I've had too many things falling around me lately.

It was a slow and careful climb, only slightly complicated by his still-healing wound, up to the second floor. Fortunately, the window nearest the vines hadn't been locked, and after pulling it open- a quick and easy process that only involved him nearly falling and breaking his neck twice- he was inside; he quickly clicked on his flashlight and did a quick sweep, finding the room he was in both empty and reasonably clean. However, it also seemed to be some sort of administrative office, which meant it very likely didn't have what he was looking for, so he made his way to the thankfully-unlocked office door and out into the building proper.

Man, I never felt tall until I came to this place, he thought, ducking ceiling light fixtures and support beams as he walked. Dust danced in the beam of his flashlight, but the halls themselves were mostly clear of debris, a testament to how clean the guards had kept the place previously. It was deathly quiet, as well, which for once was a comfort- in that it meant the building was less likely to collapse on him, not to mention he'd be able to hear anything hostile more easily. Of course, anything hostile can hear me better as well, but I think most things able to survive around here could probably hear me coming from a quarter-mile away.

It took him a few minutes of searching to find what he was looking for. The plaque outside the door read “Ironwing- Watch Captain”; the door opened easily, the hinges of the frosted-glass-windowed door barely squeaking. The movement of air from the door sent a wave of dust billowing across the room, forming strange shapes in the beam of his flashlight before eventually settling back down. There in the back was his primary target- the watch captain's desk, laden with paperwork. Jackpot. Now let's hope I can find something about what the hell happened.

It was fortunate for Jacob that he was a fast reader, because the amount of minutiae he had to sift through was ridiculous; apparently the Royal Guard were sticklers for detail in their paperwork. It took him more than an hour to sift through all the various reports and updates before he started finding things useful to him. Here we go, a report on the scaffold collapse. ...damn, these ponies could give the CIA a run for their money- they gathered facts on all of us in the space of a few hours. Huh, what's this? “Story Seeker- male unicorn, age 32, invited to historical symposium. No previous criminal record. Multiple eyewitness accounts of individual bravery in retrieving Dinky Hooves (see file ADCN27315) from perilous situation involving faulty construction rigging (see report AMCN3864). Recommended for royal citation....” Wow. Congrats to me, I guess.

Okay. They've got more info on the others- Amethyst, Noteworthy, Derpy... wait. “Adopted daughters”? Derpy adopted Sparkler and Dinky? I had no idea... I think I owe that mare a hug next time I see her, because that is absolutely awesome of her. He shuffled through some more papers, skimming along page after page. Public drunkenness, fighting, graffiti, lewd behavior- heh, couldn't keep their hooves off each other, I guess- okay, here we go, found the form about the scaffold collapse; let's see. They interviewed the shop owner... no previous citations for safety... the rest of the scaffolding was found to be in good condition, corrosion found at only one critical point... okay. Once is chance, twice is a pattern. I'm starting to feel targeted... but by who? I still have no idea what it was Dinky saw that seemingly mesmerized her into walking away from the group and under that scaffold; it could be a unicorn with a hypnosis spell of some kind, and maybe another spell to rot away the steel on that scaffold- and the stone on the front of the Golden Trails Inn. But who would go to the trouble of trying to off some unassuming historian from Hobitken... unless they knew I was hitching a ride and what I was doing? Yeah, that's another on the pile of questions for the sisters.

Something was nagging at the back of his mind, and he flipped back to the report on Story, scanning it intently for anything out of the ordinary. But it was something completely ordinary that caught him off-guard. Interviews with colleagues... Story has colleagues? Ponies who knew him before I got here? What the sweet fuck- Story Seeker is a real pony! I thought I was just walking around in a faked body with a cover story, not hijacking some innocent guy's life! He put down the report and leaned back in the desk chair, rubbing his temples with his fingertips. Maybe I overestimated what the sisters can do. Maybe this was their only option. Needs of the many, so on. Doesn't make me feel one bit better about it.

Oh, here's a disturbing thought. That dream I had... was it just a dream? Or was it the last minute of Story's life before whatever happened destroyed him and every other pony in this place? Time and space are starting to feel really soft and squishy right about now.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, staring blankly at the papers before him, before he could shake himself out of his funk. Irrelevant, he told himself. Put it aside. None of it will mean a damn thing if you don't figure out what happens when, and how to stop it.

It took him a few more minutes to sort out all the reports he had on-hand into two piles, one for ordinary and useless, the other for anything out-of-the-ordinary that might hold even the most tenuous bearing on the problem he faced. He let out a quiet sigh at how small the second pile was. Okay, I want to read these over completely, maybe take notes, he thought. But do I want to do it here? The place seems solid enough, it didn't have any obvious breaches that I could see, and it actually feels a bit warmer than any of the other buildings. On the other hand, there's a lot of rooms to check to make sure they're secure, and I've got no idea how hot it'll get inside once the sun rises. What time is it? He checked his phone. 2:17AM. That gives me about four and a half hours until sunrise. I'll give myself until 3:30 to check the place over; if it's safe, I'll stay here, and if not, I'll have more than enough time to get back to the clothing shop.

He set his phone to sound a quiet alarm at half-past three, then tucked it and the rolled-up reports into the inside pocket of his jacket, picked up his flashlight and left the office to do a quick check of every room he hadn't already been through. The second floor was entirely administrative, and the third seemed to be long-term storage with nothing of interest to be found, so he made his way down to the first floor to have a look.

Despite the absolute darkness and silence, and the decades' worth of dust covering everything, this part of the building had an almost palpable feeling of having seen many ponies come and go. Things were quite a bit more messy than on the second floor, with lots of paperwork scattered about, more papers sitting half-typed in strange pony-design typewriters, and even some long-since-rotted food and drinks left on desks and shelves. There was a holding area with four small cells, probably for temporary restraint of prisoners or overnight “lodgings” for drunks, a file room stacked with cabinets, and a locker room for staff to dress as they came on and off duty.

And then Jacob found an unexpected but welcome surprise- an armory. Rows of once-polished armor and weapons hung on various racks and stands, all still serviceable; the room must have been sealed or warded against moisture and mildew. Unfortunately none of the armor was useful for him, due either to body size and shape or practicality, but a pair of sheathed short swords- though more like daggers to someone of his size- came off of the racks easily, with one strapped to his right leg while the other hung at his left side on a loop attached to his belt. “Not bad,” he murmured, testing both weapons to make sure he could draw either one quickly in an emergency. “I wouldn't mind a shotgun at the moment, but this is better than nothing.”

Within the space of forty-five minutes, he'd cleared the entire first floor- but along the way he'd found an entrance to the basement as well. The door was closed and seemed pretty solid, but without a lock he couldn't say for absolute certain that it was unpassable- so down he had to go, if he wanted any sort of assurance that he'd be safe. The heavy door creaked as he pulled it open, sounding for all the world like a sound effect from a bad horror film. Okay, bad thought there. Shut up, brain.

Bizarrely enough, the first thing to hit him once the door was open was a wave of warm air. As he slowly made his way down the wide stone stairs, his light playing back and forth across them to ensure that there was nothing to trip over, he considered. Maybe this building's basement holds heat better or something. If it's safe enough, maybe I'll leave the door open and let it warm the first floor; that'd make it more comfortable if I was going to use this as a new base of operations. I... wait, what's that?

Something was giving off a gentle, steady yellow glow at the very bottom of the stairs. Slowly, with as much stealth as he could manage considering he was holding a flashlight, he made his way to the basement floor and brought his light to bear on whatever was casting the strange illumination.

A bright-orange crystal of some sort, roughly cylindrical with jagged edges, sat on the floor about ten feet away from the end of the stairs; the light it shed came from a thin strip of luminescent material in the center of the crystal. After a few moments spent looking around to ensure the area was safe, Jacob made the decision to see if the crystal was dangerous through the scientific technique of poking it with one of his daggers. As it didn't explode, erupt into flame or try to eat him, he decided to pick it up, only to find it too warm to handle- not blistering hot, but uncomfortable against bare skin. He pulled loose the dishtowel he'd been using as a scarf to wrap it around the crystal, then tucked it away inside his jacket; the warmth felt nice against his still-chilled skin. Well, whatever this is, right now it's pulling double-duty as a Jacob-warmer.

A few more minutes of exploration showed him that the basement had been sectioned off for use as a training area, sparring ring and long-term storage. The air seemed to be getting progressively warmer as he moved on, to the point where he no longer saw his breath and felt comfortable enough to open up his jacket halfway. Several more of the crystals were haphazardly placed on the floor along the way, emitting various amounts of light and heat; he left them alone, keeping a reasonable amount of space between himself and them.

There was a much brighter light coming from the far end of the training area, but a dividing wall was in the way. Every last fiber of his common sense was screaming at him to just get the hell out, but he was so close to being able to declare the building safe for use- how could he turn back now? So he turned off his flashlight- there was just enough light to see by- ducked down into a crouch and approached the dividing wall as quietly as he could.

What he saw on the far side almost made him trip over himself. The source of light was now abundantly clear: A long, sinuous shape, standing about three and a half feet tall and almost ten feet in length- half of that a thick, powerful-looking tail. Four short legs kept the body off of the ground, and a large head swung about lazily, its one visible eye replete with a glowing slitted pupil. The entirety of its form glowed a bright yellow-orange, and flames flickered along its skin.

You have got to be kidding me. Jacob couldn't even get himself to breathe for a moment, let alone blink. It's a goddamn salamander. The old mythical fire-elemental kind.

As he watched, the salamander lumbered over to a half-crushed locker. With impossibly powerful bites, the creature tore chunks out of the metal object and gulped them down, gorging itself on the wrecked piece of furniture. Just past it, next to the far wall, illuminated in the creature's bright glow, Jacob could see a tunnel burned through the floor, its edges rimmed with black cooled slag and the roots of the ivy that clung to the walls outside. Yeah, the building is definitely compromised, he thought. Staying here is a no-go. It's time to... wait. What's it doing?

The salamander had finished its meal and was shifting back in forth in what appeared to be discomfort. It made its way to the far corner of the room, lowered itself into a squat, raised its tail and seemed to strain; after a moment, there was a soft clink, and the flaming reptile trotted away, leaving behind a brightly-glowing crystal.

Jacob's face went slack. You're kidding me. I'm carrying around a lump of salamander shit?! Okay, that's it. As carefully as he could, he stood up. I'm out of here, like I should have been five minutes ago-

thump-clunk-clink-clink

He froze. The crystal he'd tucked under his jacket had slipped out and hit the ground, and then rolled free of the towel he'd wrapped it in; its gentle orange light now illuminated him perfectly- just in time for the salamander to turn at the sudden noise. Two baleful, flaming eyes locked on to him, and a soft snarl came from the beast's mouth. In that moment, Jacob could only think to utter one sentence.

“Fuck me gently with a chainsaw.”

The salamander lunged. Jacob practically sprinted backwards for a good few dozen feet before spinning around and racing towards the stairs; he could hear crashing much too close behind him as the flaming beast gave chase. It took him only a few seconds to reach the staircase and a few more seconds to ascend, taking the steps five at a time until he finally regained the first floor. The salamander was already at the bottom of the stairs when he threw the door closed and slammed himself against it, panting heavily for breath. Why do I never listen to myself? Why do I always do what I know is dumb? And why is this door getting hot- oh, shit!

He backed away from the door, watching in disbelief as it began to smoke, and then burst into flames. Right! Flaming lizards have FIRE! It's time to leave! There was a loud crash as he ran through the offices, trying to retrace the path to the front door, hearing snarling and the crackle of flames behind him. In what seemed to be far too much time, he managed to stumble his way into the main reception area and the locked front door; he pulled at the lever for the locking mechanism, heard it click, and then shoved the door open with enough force to send himself sprawling out into the street-

-and into the midst of the very same pack of timberwolves he'd seen yesterday.

There was an almost comedic moment of stunned confusion as human and plant-predators stared at each other, only to be broken by a gout of flame coming through the doorway. The timberwolves immediately scattered, and Jacob was very quick to follow suit, sprinting back the way he'd come. The salamander, for all its rage, couldn't hope to match his speed with its squat form, and Jacob was only one-quarter of the way back to the clothing shop before he could no longer see the light shed by its body, or the flames that had spread across the guard house- but he didn't let up, keeping as much speed as he could manage, sweating and panting into the cold night air and grunting in pain as the still-healing wound in his side complained.

It was forty minutes later when he finally stumbled into the storage room of the clothing store, slamming the door shut and almost immediately collapsing to his knees, stripping himself bare from the waist up in order to get cold air against his skin. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” he growled to himself. “All I had to do was be careful and not push things, and I could've left that lizard in the basement all by itself and gotten all the information I could want. Now all that paperwork is up in smoke and all I've got is a handful of reports that may or may not be useful. Dammit.”

It took him a while to calm himself down, finally resigning himself to his mistakes, throwing himself onto the pile of cloth he was using for a bed and pulling out the paperwork he'd managed to save, as well as his phone. He started up the voice-recording app as he leafed through the pages, taking note of anything that seemed pertinent from each report.

Eventually he reached a report of graffiti that he'd tucked in with the others; he wasn't sure why he'd saved it, but he had a strange hunch that there was something unusual about it, and he was finding that his intuition was seriously coming in handy- when he chose to listen to it. “Let's see,” he murmured. “Multiple reports of strange symbols being painted on streets and private property... indelible paint of some sort... meaning of symbols unknown. Seven locations discovered so far, including... Golden Trails Inn, Clockwork's Clock Shop? Ah ha, I knew there was a reason I kept this. Possible perpetrator spotted near Whisper Winds Hotel, blue-coated female unicorn, cutie mark undetermined. Likely not to be Canterlot native. Investigation ongoing.” He let out a sigh. “Well. Another potential lead, but seeing as how it's now 5:58AM and this map tells me that I wouldn't even get halfway to Whisper Winds Hotel before dawn under ideal conditions, that's a lead I'll have to have Story check. All the dates I've been seeing on these reports are leading me to believe that it's the day of the Renewal that this extinction event happens, so that gives me... two and a half days. It's a good thing I can work twenty-four hours a day with this arrangement.” He stared at the reports for a moment, before reaching over and clicking off the flashlight. “In the meantime, I'm exhausted, so I'm going to go to sleep and try to forget that I nearly died because of salamander crap. Jacob Doakes, ending log.”

He closed the recording app and set the phone down; the display dimmed, then shut off, leaving him in darkness. It didn't take him long at all to fall into slumber.

Introductions

Sister! He returns!

Thank the sun and stars. We had thought you lost to us, friend! Wait... oh my. The wound... it carried over?! I sense it upon you even now! Sister, how could this be?

The contamination of his link. It must be. We could not cleanse it, only isolate it. We no longer have full control of the connection.

It felt like the hardest thing he'd ever done to simply utter one word. “...wait.”

...he speaks! But how?!

He is melded to the link now, inseparable. This... this should be impossible, but... here we have it. Friend... what is your name?

“My name... is... Jacob.” Speaking was getting easier... slowly.

Jacob. A resourceful one you are, friend. There was a pause, and he felt a strange sensation flow through him. There. You are more attuned to our presences now; you should be able to speak without difficulty. My sister and I both know you have questions- as time and knowledge permit, we will answer them.

A thousand questions tumbled through his mind, all demanding to be asked, but one pushed its way to the forefront. “Was Story Seeker a real pony before I woke up in his body on that train?”

Yes. He would have closed his eyes and sighed if he'd had a body at the moment. To usurp him as we did was not a choice we made lightly, Jacob. But we had few alternatives, and none placed you in as advantageous a position.

“I suppose I'd hoped it was just... I don't know, a conjured body or something with a backstory.”

Would that we had the power to do such! There was an almost palpable wave of sadness and irritation. We would do so much more to assist you had we the ability, Jacob. We are nearly powerless here.

“I understand.” He did, honestly. They were doing all they could with the one-in-a-million chance his arrival had given them. “What happened with that wound? Why did it carry over to my real body?”

Your connection to Story Seeker was meant to be ephemeral. Temporary. Easily severed. We hedged our bet- were you unable to succeed with him, we could retrieve you, place you within the body of another pony, give you a second chance. But... then the link was compromised.

“Compromised... how?”

The wound you received... infested the link, through some manner neither of us can determine. Though both your body and that of Story Seeker will heal physically, some form of dark sorcery has tainted your connection- it is now inviolable, unseverable. What becomes of one of you will become of the other.

“So if I'd gotten scorched by that salamander last night, Story would be waking up with burn wounds?”

Indeed. ...wait. Salamander?

“And if Story dies... so do I?”

...that is the most likely scenario, yes.

“I was kind of operating under that assumption anyway, but I suppose it's good to have it confirmed.”

Indeed. Now... about that salamander....

“Long story.” He paused a moment- or an eternity; it was impossible to tell for sure here- to collect his thoughts. “As far as I can tell, this whole thing went down on the day of the Renewal, maybe during the ceremony itself. Is that what happened?”

It... may be.

“What do you mean, 'it may be'?”

Jacob, whatever happened to destroy us, did much more than simply that. It... erased us, somehow. My sister and I remember much of the time before the disaster, but of the days approaching it... all becomes more and more blurred. Of the very event itself we have only the vaguest recollections.

Indeed... Jacob, you may know more of what transpired than either of us, by now.

“Could that be because of what happened, or because I'm changing things? ...wait. I guess that doesn't really matter, does it.” Most of his questions simply fell away at the realization that the sisters simply couldn't remember enough about what happened to be of much help to him. “I... I slept for a bit while in Story's body, and I had... well, I'm not sure what it was. I'd thought it was a dream, but it was so detailed- I saw the moment of destruction just as it hit. Could it have been Story's last moments alive?”

It... it is possible. Things are in a state of flux now. Between our sending you to our past, your changing it, and whatever has taken effect upon you- there is no telling what may “leak” through the veil of time.

“I see.” One more moment's pause to think. “Okay, it's time to get down to business. When I was in Story's body, there were two accidents that seem to have a connection. The first was a young foal by the name of Dinky Hooves being lured away from her mother and under a scaffold, which almost collapsed on her in view of me. I barely got her out from beneath it in time. The scaffold checked out fine by the Royal Guard- except for one point that had been weakened, corroded away.”

I see. I am... disturbed that I do not remember this event; we would have commended you for the rescue. Continue, please.

“The second incident happened directly. A piece of marble fell off the facade of a hotel and would've gone right through my spine if a friend hadn't saved me- that's the wound I ended up with. The piece that hit me was partially coated with some kind of black substance that looked like it had eaten away the stone itself.”

And you believe these two incidents to be connected?

“I know it seems thin, but I have two connecting threads. One, the corrosion that affected only one minor area in each place, just enough to cause a hazard. Two, the fact that a Guard report showed strange symbols painted in some kind of unremovable substance in several areas- including those two.”

That is indeed suspicious. Sister? Thoughts?

A hunch, perhaps. I need more information... which our friend Jacob here seems eminently capable of gathering. The locations of all these areas, and the shapes of these symbols.

“The first I can give.” He recited the areas he'd read off of the graffiti report. “I can't guarantee that's all of them, but that's all there were on the report. As for what was painted, I don't have any idea yet.”

Those locations... hmm. There are too many possibilities. Please, Jacob, find out all you can about these symbols and who placed them. If they are connected, and you are in fact the target of somepony- or something- aware of your true nature, it would have to be a considerably powerful or knowledgeable mage behind these actions. Remember this, and exercise all due caution.

“You don't have to tell me once.” What else could he ask? He knew he was running short on time, somehow. “My phone and camera somehow recharged themselves while I was in Story's body. Do you know how that happened?”

We magically linked your devices to Story Seeker's body as a set of spell patterns. Your camera became a spell to capture images; we could not replicate the functions of your communication device, but perhaps you might discover a way to do so yourself. He hadn't even realized that might be possible. Due to the link you share with Story Seeker, your own body rejuvenates while it rests- it would seem the devices drew upon his magical energy in the same fashion.

“So that explains why I wasn't hungry when I woke up.” He could feel the strange pulling sensation that seemed to indicate when he was about to awaken, either in his body or Story's, and he was eager to get started on finding out more. But.... “I have one more question.”

Ask.

“Are you... are you the Princesses? Celestia and Luna?”

An overwhelming wave of emotions- sorrow, resignation, despair- washed over him. As he faded from this strange substanceless place, he could hear both of their “voices” respond quietly.

...we were.

(-)

knock knock knock

“...hang on, hang on, I'm coming.” It took him a few seconds to disentangle himself from the blanket and blink the sleepiness from his eyes. He didn't even think to try to make himself presentable before he stumbled over to the door and opened it, to find First Response on the other side; she opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it, tilting her head to look at him more closely. “Not a morning pony, I take it?” she deadpanned.

“If the clock reads 'AM' then it's too early for me to be up.” He stepped back to allow her in. A quick glance at the mirror in the short hallway showed him to be a ridiculous sight- a bad case of bedmane, bleary eyes, and a rumpled undershirt. “Yeah, I'm a mess, I know,” he murmured.

“I'm not exactly ready for a session with Photo Finish when I roll out of bed either.” She snickered. “Sleep rough last night? I hope you weren't having more nightmares.”

“Mmmh, no, not that I can remember.” I did spend the night snooping around a Royal Guard stationhouse and running away from a giant fire-elemental reptile, but we'll save that conversation for the second date. “Just slept really hard, I suppose.”

“Ahh. Well, a good hot shower will probably get you running on all four hooves again. In the meantime, let's have a look at that wound.” She pulled her saddlepacks off, and retrieved quite a few medical-related items from them. “Off with the shirt, tough guy,” she said in a sing-song voice.

“And you didn't even buy me a drink first.” It was a bit more difficult to levitate his shirt off than it should have been, and he got his head caught in it for a moment before he could manage to pull free. Huh. No nudity shame. Getting comfortable being a pony, I guess.

“Okay, good. The bandages didn't shift while you slept.” She tugged a piece of the tape she'd used loose with a hoof, then grabbed it between her teeth. “Thi'f if gunnah fing ah widdle.”

“What-”

shrrrrrriiiip

“-gyaaah!” It was all he could do to muffle his yell with a hoof. “Son of a beesting, that hurts!” He'd almost used more objectionable language, but it really didn't seem right to do so here.

She spat out the tape. “Quit bellyaching. You're lucky I only had to use that much tape. A lesser-skilled paramedic would've needed three times as much.”

“Just... just tell me, did you leave ANY of my coat on me?”

“Four whole square inches! Flesh tone is in this year, didn't you know?” She chuckled. “Relax. You can't even see where the tape was. It's a good thing you've got a short coat- I didn't have to shave it for the tape.”

Cripes. Didn't even think of that. These ponies certainly don't have it easy with some things. “Yeah, good thing,” he agreed as she removed the bandaging. “So how's it look?”

“Well, you should probably use a better coat conditioner; you seem a little dry-”

“The wound, First.”

She snickered. “Killjoy. It's looking pretty good- better than I expected. You're a fast healer.”

“Well, I eat right and take my vitamins.” He chuckled. “Speaking of coat conditioner, I'm going to get that shower. Have you eaten yet?”

“Mmh, no, basically just came right over to check on you.” She seemed to think that over for a moment, then blushed slightly.

“Heh. Well, feel free to order a bite to eat from room service. My treat. Just get me some coffee and a little something to eat on the run.”

“That's sweet of you, Story.”

He looked over his shoulder to give her a smile. “Hey, least I could do for the checkup.”

The tape really hadn't made much of a mark on his coat, and as he stepped into the shower what few signs remained of it disappeared. The cut itself had faded, more just a pinkish line than the angry red one it had been when he'd last woken up, and he wondered how much of that was due to First's treatment and how much was because of this weird body-swapping he was doing; he hadn't thought to check the wound when he'd gone to bed in his own body. The hot water felt wonderful against the wound, stinging a little at first but then relaxing the skin. Still, he couldn't dawdle with company waiting on him, so he finished up the shower quickly, dried off and trotted back out into the hotel room, finding a tray with a mug of coffee and a danish waiting for him. “Don't tell Derpy or Amethyst that I didn't order any muffins or eclairs,” First chuckled, bringing a chocolate donut to her mouth as she sat on the bed.

“My lips are sealed, except when it comes time to put that danish in my mouth.” He came up to her, showing her his injured side. “Good enough to go without bandages, Doc?”

“Hmm... not quite yet. Though I'm less concerned about it opening than I am about clothing irritating it. Fortunately, that just requires a basic dressing and we won't need any tape.” He waited patiently as she placed a square of gauze with light adhesive against his side and then wrapped more gauze around his midsection to keep it secure. Once again, he found the wrappings to be secure without restricting his movement. “That's nice work,” he told her.

She actually smiled bashfully and looked down at the floor. “Thanks,” she murmured, paying close attention to her donut while he went for the dressers. As he looked through what he had to wear, he heard First shift on the bed. “Okay, seriously, is all your clothing sweater vests and dress shirts?” she asked.

“No! I'll have you know that I also own a cap.” He put on the hat he'd bought yesterday, and she laughed. “Oh, that makes it all so much better,” she giggled. “Come on, Mister Stuffy Academic, and get dressed. We're burning sunlight.”

“Right, right. Hm. Stuffy Academic... that has a nice ring to it. Maybe I could get my name legally changed.” She guffawed as he slipped into one of his shirts. “So, what do you think? Vest, sweater, or sweater vest?”

“Be bold, go with the argyle sweater vest. No, the other one.”

“You're just jealous because I can make argyle work.” He was having way too much fun bantering with First. Sorry to mock your fashion sense, Story, but she's right- this wardrobe of yours is just horrid. But it covers the bandage nicely, at least.... “All set. Let's finish this mini-breakfast and be on our way, shall we?”

It was a few minutes later that a moderately-less-hungry-and-sleepy Story trotted outside along with First. “So what's on our agenda?” he asked. “Going to pull the rest of our group together?”

“Not quite yet.” She stared down at her hooves for a moment. “I was kind of hoping we might... talk a bit, you know?”

“Well, talking is good.” He could tell she was nervous, so he gave her a comforting smile. “What about?”

“Well... you, honestly. I mean- don't take this the wrong way, Story, but you've definitely not turned out to be the kind of stallion I would've expected from looks alone.”

“Heh. Well.” Well, First, you see, the truth of it is I'm an alien whose spirit is tethered to this body by the remains of your Princesses decades after your entire species was wiped out. I'm walking Story Seeker around like a meat puppet with no idea if he even knows what's going on. Think she'd believe it? Hell, I still barely do. “Maybe this was a good time to rediscover myself.” He could practically hear the follow-up questions percolating in her head, so he moved to head them off. “But you know, I hardly know a thing about this one mare named First Response. I'm thinking this might be a good opportunity to fix that.”

“Oh, well, um....” She blushed again, and he had to admit- it was kind of cute when she did. “What's... what's to know, really? I just work at Neighbraska City Hospital, splitting time between the ER and emergency calls.”

“I understand being a paramedic's a pretty tough job.”

“It is, definitely. But there's something about being the one of the first to respond to an emergency, to treat somepony's injury or get them out of a dangerous situation. It's, like... a combination of an adrenaline rush and the feeling of helping somepony in need, you know? There's been times I wish I'd been born a pegasus just so I could get there all the faster- but sometimes the strength that comes with being an earth pony comes in handy.”

“I bet it does.” He gave her a wide smile. “I honestly respect the ones who go out and make a difference like you, First. I'm willing to bet you've made the lives of a lot of ponies better.”

She stopped short, staring at him in what seemed to be a mixture of disbelief and giddiness. “I... wow, Story,” she murmured. “That... I... I wasn't expecting that.”

He blinked in confusion. “You weren't?”

“Story, I don't mean anything against you when I say this, but... I've run into a lot of intellectual types over the years, and usually when they find out what I do, they turn their muzzles up at me. 'Oh, look, she couldn't qualify as a real doctor, so she does the easy stuff.'”

He walked up to her and put a hoof on her shoulder. “First Response, I'm going to tell you this straight out. That sort? They're not intellectuals- they're idiots who've read a lot of books without actually learning anything. They've got no clue how the world really works, and if things went pear-shaped in their general location their first reaction would probably be to run away, not rush in to help. You are infinitely better than them and I hope you don't ever take their insults to heart.” He paused for breath and noticed her shocked expression. “...uh, not to go off on a rant or anything,” he added, chuckling self-consciously and rubbing his neck.

“No, no, that's... that's the most wonderful thing I've ever had said to me. Thank you.” She put a foreleg around his neck in a gentle hug, and he returned it. “You've been a complete surprise to me ever since we met on the train, Story,” she told him. “I think you've given me a good lesson in not judging the book by the cover- or the stallion by the sweater vest.”

He smiled again. “Always a good thing to learn.”

(-)

“Well, folks, this here's m' family. Lemme introduce mah big brother, Big Macintosh, an' mah little sister Apple Bloom.” The bulky stallion gave a nod and a soft “howdy”, while the filly smiled warmly and said “how ya'll doin'?”; Applejack turned to her other side. “And these here are mah friends from Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.” Story couldn't help but be surprised at the fact that Twilight had what looked like a baby dragon on her back. Dragons too. This place is something else.

“And these are my friends.” Derpy motioned to her group with a hoof. “You guys probably already know Thunderlane from the weather crew, and that's his brother Rumble. This is my old friend First Response, her cousin Noteworthy, his fiancée Amethyst Star, and Story Seeker, somepony First picked up on a train.”

“Derpy!” First stuck her tongue out at Derpy's cheeky grin. “Story's in town to attend a symposium on history after the Renewal. We met on the train coming in yesterday.”

“Oh! You're attending the GEHS symposium too?” Twilight perked up. “What's your field of study?”

Fortunately by now he had Story's past memorized so completely it might as well have been his own. “Mid Second Era to modern,” he answered. “My focus is the everyday lives of ponies- homes, workplaces, wherever they went about their everyday routines, what they did, what they left behind when they moved on.”

“That's a very interesting focus!” Twilight seemed set to say more, but Dash swooped in front of her. “Whoa, academic mode detected,” the pegasus said. “Better nip that in the bud. We've got a lot to see and do today, and we can't spend all morning having you two eggheads going all lecture-y on us.”

“Trust me, Story here isn't your average academic.” First chuckled, nudging Story with her shoulder. “This guy yanked Dinky out from under a collapsing scaffold yesterday.”

“Oh hey, I heard about that!” Dash landed in front of Story. “That was you? Wow, I wouldn't have guessed. Sometimes you eggheads surprise me!”

“Now, Dash, eggh- I mean, academics are just as capable of physical feats as you are of enjoying a good book.” Rarity stepped up to him, eyeing his sweater vest with an expression that seemed equal parts distaste and pity. “Mr. Seeker, my good stallion, I mean no disrespect, but... who is responsible for your... errr, wardrobe?”

“A pony with less fashion sense than most rock formations. Maybe you've met him, his name is Story Seeker.” Story chuckled, and Rarity giggled behind a hoof. “Goodness!” she said. “At least you're honest with yourself. If you should find yourself in Ponyville in the future, do stop by my shop- the Carousel Boutique. I would be more than happy to fit you for a new outfit or two, 'on the house'.” She smiled. “To coin a pun, it would be a suitable reward for your bravery.”

He smiled. “That's very generous of you, Miss Rarity. Thanks. But honestly? I can think of somepony who deserves it more.” He pulled a surprised-looking First over with a foreleg. “Here, take a look at this,” he said, tugging up his shirt with his magic to show the bandage underneath. “That right there was caused by the falling piece of masonry that didn't go right through my spine because First here has the reflexes of a cat.”

The others made various sounds of shock and surprise; Fluttershy immediately rushed up to him to have a look at the bandage. “Oh my goodness,” she said, her voice barely audible above the others. “I hope it wasn't too serious an injury.”

“No, just a flesh wound, thankfully. First treated me on the spot. It's healing well.”

“Oh, I'm so glad to hear it.” The yellow pegasus turned towards First. “This dressing was applied perfectly, Miss Response. Are you a doctor?”

“Huh? Oh, no, just a paramedic, that's all.”

“Oh, Miss Response, there's no such thing as 'just' a paramedic! Ponies like you are so important when others are hurt or in trouble!”

The others voiced their agreement with her; Story grinned. “You see, that's what I told her,” he said to Fluttershy. “I'm not sure she listened though! Maybe you can get through to her.” He gave the paramedic a smile as she blushed brightly.

Applejack stepped forward. “Well, now that we got introductions outta the way, what say we get stuff started off? We gotta lot goin' on, gonna hafta keep our hooves movin' if we wanna catch even half of it.” She grinned. “Nothin' sayin' we can't chat along th' way, though!”

Their group had practically become a crowd in itself, flowing through the greater masses of ponies that milled about the streets. All of the pegasi had taken to the air to free up space on the ground; Dinky was perched on Pinkie's back, somehow unmoving as the hyperactive pink mare bounced along. As difficult as it was to keep track of the myriad conversations, Story found himself learning quite a bit about these Elements of Harmony and their exploits. Amazingly enough, the six mares had more or less saved the world no less than twice in the space of two or so years, first from a creature called Nightmare Moon- who he learned had been some sort of corrupted version of Luna whose attempt to enforce permanent night had led to that banishment- and then from a chaos avatar called Discord; then they'd fended off an invasion of their capital from shapeshifting emotion-eaters called changelings, and their leader Queen Chrysalis. And then they'd gone to the frozen ends of the world to rescue a place called the Crystal Empire from the immortal warlord who'd banished it from existence for more than a millennium.

The tales had all the makings of some ridiculous Disney movie or Saturday-morning cartoon... but knowing that these ponies had overcome real situations so overwhelming all on their own, at the very real risk of losing everything they knew, was breathtaking. God, he thought. Little candy-colored, sweet-as-sugar ponies in a picture-book world... full of monsters and mad gods and demons that could probably knock over Earth and all its military might like a corner convenience store. I don't know how these ponies do it.

So what the hell exactly brought them down? Was it something too powerful for even them to stop? Or did they never see it coming?

The group stopped short abruptly when a barely-grown stallion, wearing a camera rig around his neck, practically galloped up to them. “Oh, wow,” he gushed, practically hopping on his hooves. “I can't believe it! It's the Elements of Harmony! Right here in front of me!”

“The one and only!” Rainbow declared.

“I'm Snapshot; I run the Quickie-Print Photo Booth. I would love to get a picture of all of you and your friends together! I'll give all of you free prints if you let me get a photo.”

Everyone agreed, and they settled themselves into a group pose, with half of the non-pegasi laying down in front of the others while the winged ponies hovered just above, so that they could all fit into the photo without needing a wide-angle lens. Story was on the ground with First to his left and Pinkie to his right. “Hey, Story?” he heard First half-whisper to him while everyone got themselves in place.

He turned his head to look at her. “Hm?”

“I... really appreciate you telling the others about what I did. I mean, I'm not looking for attention, but... it felt nice, seeing that the first thing you did after they praised you was to do the same for me in return.”

“Heh. Well, you deserve it.” He smiled. “Though you seem to be promoting me as some sort of superhero.”

She blushed, looking away for a moment. “Sorry. It's just... I want to see you recognized for what you did. It was-”

“Here we go, everypony!” Story didn't even have time to react to Pinkie's words before her hoof pressed against the back of his head, pushing him forward- and he suddenly found his lips touching First's. His eyes and hers both widened in stunned realization just as there was a bright flash.

“Perfect!” Snapshot declared, tugging loose a pink numbered receipt from a small roll on a dispenser hanging from his side and giving it to Twilight. “Here you go. Just come to the booth- it's just past the memorabilia shop down on Mane Street, you can't miss it- at any time after 3PM. I'll have a free print ready for each of you!”

He cantered off with a hay-eating grin. The group resumed their trek through the streets, but now First was walking a little nearer to him than before; he gave her an apologetic look. “Uh... sorry about that,” he murmured.

She smiled for a moment before glancing away bashfully. “...you don't have to be,” she replied quietly.

He gazed at her for a moment, then down at his hooves. A cool breeze rustled its way down the road, ruffling his mane and shirt- but it didn't take away the warmth he still felt on his lips.

Recognition

He never thought it would be possible to pack so much into three hours. He'd seen everything from carnival games- Dinky now had a plush manticore toy bigger than she was; only Derpy could somehow manage to knock all the bottles over with one toss in an obviously-rigged throwing game- to historical displays to racing and flying competitions. It had become obvious to him that Canterlot was a city with a long and colorful history, but to see it put out on display like this was almost too much to take in.

He, First and Noteworthy were listening to Twilight give her own perspective on one of the historical events being displayed- she tended to be a bit dry and clinical in her lectures, but she really did know her stuff- when the blaring of horns interrupted her. A quartet of armored pegasi, wearing full regalia, hovered overhead; as one, they began speaking, their voices amplified through what was probably some sort of spell. “Attention, citizens of Equestria and guests!” they announced. “Please be aware that Their Royal Highnesses, the Princesses Celestia and Luna, have convened a celebration ceremony at Equinox Square at three o'clock this afternoon. The Royal Sisters, Princess Cadence, and many other celebrities will be in attendance. The event will be standing-room-only, so be sure to come early to find a good spot!” With that, the quartet of pegasi assumed a formation of some sort and streaked off, probably to repeat the announcement elsewhere.

“We are definitely going to want to see that,” Noteworthy said. “It'll be the only public appearance by all three Princesses before the Renewal itself! Do you think we should head over there now to get good spots?”

“You don't need to worry about that.” Twilight smiled. “The other Bearers and I will be attending in an official fashion, and any friends of Derpy's are friends of ours- so I'm sure we can get you and the others front-row access.”

“Tsk tsk tsk. Look at this. My own sister, abusing her position to get favors for friends.” Everyone turned towards the source of this new voice- a tall, broad-chested white-coated unicorn, decked out in a military dress uniform with no small number of ribbons and medals attached. His playful voice and grin showed that he was joking. “I thought Mom and Dad raised you better than that, Twily!” he teased.

“Shiny!” She galloped up to the newcomer and pulled him into a tight hug that he eagerly returned. “It's great to see you again, big bro. How have you and Cadence been holding up?”

“Not bad, not bad at all, really. She and I finally got back in town last week after we managed to work out that agreement up in Stalliongrad. It's beautiful up there, the architecture and history are like nothing else in Equestria... but it's great to be home.”

“It's great to have you back too.” Twilight smiled. “Oh, where's my manners? Everypony, this is Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard and my Big Brother Best Friend Forever.” She grinned. “Shiny, these are some new friends of mine by way of Derpy Hooves. This is Noteworthy, First Response and Story Seeker.”

Shining's eyebrow raised. “Story Seeker? First Response? I've been seeing your names come up on some of the paperwork this morning.”

“Um.” First lowered her head a little. “Nothing bad, I hope? I mean, that napkin got away from me in the wind; I don't want a littering fine!”

Even Story felt himself begin to sweat at the stern look the Captain held- until he broke out into a laugh. “Sorry! I couldn't resist doing that. No, no, nothing bad at all. Let me just say that you two really should attend the ceremony today. I'll leave it at that.”

“Shining!” Twilight prodded her brother with a hoof. “You shouldn't do that to my friends! Not when they don't know what a joker you are.”

“Aw, you're no fun, Twily.” Shining grinned. “Okay. To make it up to you two, I'll clear you and your friends to sit in the VIP area. I bet mingling with the likes of Sapphire Shores, Vinyl Scratch and other celebrity ponies ought to make you happy.”

Story had no idea who they were, but First and Noteworthy certainly seemed thrilled, so he went along with their reactions. “Well, that's more like it,” Twilight said with a grin.

“Aw, you know me, Twily. I have my fun, but I make up for it.” He smiled. “It was good seeing you and your friends, little sis, but there's still a lot of preparation to do, so I've got to get going.”

“Okay, Shiny! Be sure to give Cadence a hug for me.”

“Always willing to do that!” With a wave, the stallion cantered off. Twilight turned towards the others with a sheepish grin. “Sorry about that,” she said. “Shining Armor is a great guy, but sometimes he likes to play a joke now and then.”

“If that's the kind of way he always makes up for it later, he's welcome to do that anytime!” Noteworthy guffawed.

Story took advantage of the moment to recall the map he'd mentalgraphed and the graffiti report. The Princesses told me I could duplicate what my phone could do... let me see.... After a moment, he found that he could place markers of a sort on the image of the map. There, that's helpful. Now, if we are where I think we are....Another marker, a red “x”, showed up; after a moment, a thin red line made its way along the map, snaking through the streets, connecting the “x” with the nearest locational marker. When he brought his attention back to reality, he could see that very same thin line stretching away from him into the distance. Awesome! My very own trip-directions spell. Man, where was this when I got lost in Pittsburgh three years ago?

There was a flash of light just off to his side; Twilight had summoned what looked to be a golden desk clock, which she was levitating in front of her face. “Oh, ponyfeathers,” she murmured. “Everypony, I need to go- the girls and I need to get prepped for the ceremony. I'll see you all there, right?” The others nodded, and she smiled. “Excellent! Until then, enjoy yourselves! It was nice meeting you!” She gave them a quick wave before she and the clock both vanished in a burst of purple light.

“You know, I've got to learn how to do that,” Story said quietly.

First chortled. “Yeah, let me know when you do. You could really help me cut down on my morning commute!”

The three shared a laugh at that before Noteworthy glanced up at the clock. “Sorry to skip out on you two,” he said, “but Amethyst wanted to hit up a tour of the Creamy & Crisp Bakery that starts in a few minutes. Plus I've learned that she can get a bit spendy with the bits in places like this if I don't keep an eye on her.” He grinned. “I'll catch up with you two at the ceremony!”

He waved to them and then trotted off. Story stared off after him, then shook his head after a moment. “Do you also get the feeling that we were deliberately left alone together?” he asked First.

“Note never won awards for subtlety.” First chuckled. “Well, we've still got some time before the ceremony... what do you feel up to doing?”

The red line that he knew only he could see shimmered at the edge of his vision. “Okay, this'll sound a little weird, but....” Time to tell a story, Story. Or, you know, lie. “I overheard a conversation in the stairwell of the inn last night, that there was somepony going around painting strange symbols all over the place. The way they were described made me want to go have a look at them- sort of like a little mystery!” One I really need to solve, and one I wish I didn't need to drag you into, but it'd take longer to get you to stay behind- and I'd really feel more comfortable with you watching my back.... “What do you say?”

“You're right! It does sound a little weird.” She grinned. “But now you've got my curiosity piqued. Let's go have a look.”

They chatted along the way, with Story fighting the urge to break into a gallop. He had a real lead now, something he could possibly bring back to what used to be the Princesses, something that could put him ahead of the clock he could practically hear ticking down. Balancing the social responses of a normal pony with the increasingly-urgent need to investigate was getting harder all the time. Dammit, I wish I could get First's help on this, he mused. She's smart, she's knowledgeable, she's quick-witted... and she'd think I'd gone completely insane if I even tried to explain what's going on, let alone who I actually am. I need to find ways to turn her skills towards my goal while making it seem like just innocuous sightseeing.

And hey, once I pull that off, I'll juggle flaming chainsaws. Piece of cake.

Somehow he managed to not let his distraction show as they walked, and in almost no time at all they made it to the first point. If he hadn't known what to look for, he could have easily missed it- a spot near the rear wall of a picture-frame store, with a couple of orange cones blocking it off and a mop and bucket left nearby. What had been an obviously determined effort to scrub the silvery lines and curves of the symbol away had failed completely. Story couldn't help but shiver at the bizarre, seemingly random complexity of the markings; it would've been at home in a Lovecraft epic. “Wow,” First murmured, looking the symbol over. “Do you have any idea what that is? Because I sure as hay don't.”

“Me neither,” he answered. “Give me a second, and don't look directly at my horn.”

“Huh? Err, okay....”

flash

“There, got it.” The image of the symbol faded from his eyes, filed away in whatever supernatural “folder” his spell placed them into; with a quick mental exercise, he “tagged” the map marker for the spot with the picture. “Wow, what was that?” First asked.

“Basically a mental photograph spell. A little something I learned to keep from having to carry a camera around when all I want is shots for my own reference.”

“Huh! Useful.” First seemed about to scuff at the symbol with a hoof, then apparently thought better of it. “What do you think this is for?”

“I don't really know.” Need to think of an excuse to find them all other than simple curiosity. “One of the ponies I heard the story from thought it might be some kind of contest being set up by a local business, like a scavenger hunt.”

“Without notifying the city bureaus or the landowners, and risking fines? Huh. Well, at least it's not as bad as when somepony thought it'd be brilliant to have a pegasus crew dump three thousand advertising flyers over Neighbraska. The things got everywhere.”

“Sounds like an absolute mess.” He brought his mental map back up, and selected another point. “Want to find the others? If it is some kind of contest, we might be able to win it almost as soon as they announce it.”

“Hmm.” She rubbed the side of her muzzle with a hoof. “You know what? Let's do it. I'm really curious now.”

Despite the crowds, it didn't take them terribly long to get to each point so that he could mentalgraph the symbols. Each one was different, but all of them followed the same basic theme- seemingly random lines and arcs overlaying a circle about three hoof-widths in diameter. “Okay, if there's a pattern to these things, I sure as hay can't figure it out,” First admitted. “How about you, Mister Academic?”

“I haven't got clue one.” He didn't need to. The sisters would be able to figure it out. “Well, that's handled, we got some exercise, and we ate up nearly an hour! Now that's what I call-”

He froze. His right ear twitched, bent, caught a familiar voice. “Hang on,” he murmured towards First, before trotting forward a bit and turning a corner. A heated argument was being held in front of a hardware store; a blue-coated mare was alternating between shouting and growling at a peach-colored stallion in a smock- probably an employee. Over the noise of the crowd it was hard to tell what was being said, but one fragment of the argument did make it through.

“...she placed that order two weeks ago! She needs it today!”

“Look, lady, silver nitrate and arcanocite solution aren't the easiest things to get a hold of!”

“Your competitors at Soluble Solutions had no such problems! Perhaps she should have simply doubled the order there instead of entrusting you with such a critical shipment!”

“Jeez. Look, I'll check some of my sources in the city, okay? Whatever I can scrounge up I'll deliver to you. I can probably get you at least half of what you ordered.”

“...that will have to do. Be sure you have them delivered to her hotel room as soon as possible! She needs these substances in a timely manner!”

With that, the mare stormed off, and the employee stomped his way back into the shop, muttering imprecations. Story heard First trot up to him. “What was that about?” she asked.

“Huh? Sorry... I thought I heard a familiar voice.” It was familiar, actually; he knew he'd heard it twice, but could only recall the second time- just after he'd met Applejack. Then he remembered the graffiti report and the mention of a blue unicorn mare. Could that be her? he wondered. Is she the magician who's been trying to get rid of me? Fuck- I've lost track of her, and I wasn't close enough to make out any details. But I can come back here tonight, or check out that “Soluble Solutions” place- if she wanted deliveries, she had to leave them an address to deliver to. I've got no idea what “arcanocite” is, but silver nitrate could be part of what she's using to make these symbols permanent. It's a thin lead, but I should be getting used to that, shouldn't I?

“You okay there, Story?” First prodded him with a hoof. “That wasn't an ex-fillyfriend or anything, was it?”

“Huh? Oh, no, no. Thought it was a old friend of mine from college.” Dammit, I hate lying to her. “Sorry.”

“Don't worry, I'll let you know if your penchant for getting lost in thought starts to annoy me. Right now I kind of find it cute.” She winked. “Let's start heading towards the square; we have a bit of time, but I'd rather be early than late.”

“That sounds suspiciously like a plan.”

“I come up with those sometimes!” The pair trotted back towards the square, melding in with the crowds moving in that direction- until a guard made her way up to them. “First Response? Story Seeker?” she questioned.

“Yes, ma'am,” Story replied.

“I will be escorting you to the VIP area. Follow me, please.” The earth pony mare took position just ahead of them; her imposing presence created a natural path for them as other ponies moved to make way. “I could get used to this kind of treatment,” First giggled.

“You're not kidding!” He couldn't help but prance just a little as the crowd watched them follow the guard. Look on my privilege, ye average ponies, and despair. What's the old saying? “Cock of the walk”? C'mon, I've got to believe I've earned it, just a little.

Eventually they made it to the northern end of the square, where a large stage had been erected; a roped-off area nearby held a couple of dozen ponies- including the Bearers and the rest of his group of friends. “Oh, hey! There's our two lovebirds!” Pinkie called out.

Story almost tripped over his hooves in surprise; various chuckles and guffaws came from the group. “This is gonna be a 'thing', isn't it?” he asked First.

“Yeah, it sure looks that way.” She wasn't quite able to hide a smile.

The guard escorting them conversed with a pair of her comrades; one of them lifted the rope, and First and Story trotted through into the VIP section. “I was starting to worry that you two would be late,” Amethyst said, her tone teasing. Story got the implication; he spared a glance over at First, who was blushing through a slight smile. “Well, you know,” she replied in the same tone, “Story wanted to show me something, and it took a while longer than I thought it would.”

This time he did stumble, barely even noticing it in his shock as he stared at First; she gave him a playful wink. “I'll get you for that,” he chuckled into her ear.

“Is that a promise?” Her smile only got wider.

Fortunately there were no further embarrassments as he and First took their seats. He couldn't help but feel conspicuous as the crowd gathered around, but it seemed that their attention was focused mainly on the Bearers and the small group of ponies he didn't know; apparently they were celebrities from a number of different fields, from the musician Vinyl Scratch (whose club name was DJ PON-3, and didn't that almost send him into uncontrollable laughter) to the fashion critic Hoity Toity. Rainbow Dash was also going on incessantly about the Wonderbolts, who were apparently an aerial precision team that it was her life's dream to join. “You guys just watch,” the cyan pegasus insisted, “this is gonna be the most impressive ceremony ever!”

It didn't take long for the square to fill with excited, talking ponies. Even from his only slightly-elevated viewpoint, it looked to Story like someone had spilled a bag of rainbow-colored candies on a floor; he could only wonder what the place looked like from the air. The crowd's energy was so infectious that even he found himself fidgeting, anticipating what was coming up

His ears pricked as the clock tower bell sounded off the hour; the crowd almost immediately hushed, to the point where the only thing underscoring the bell's toll was the shuffling of hooves and the occasional cough. As the last ring of the bell echoed across the square, a low thrumming noise began to overtake it, coming from just above the stage, from two strange floating spots that had somehow formed without him noticing- one a bright white, the other a deep black. The sound built up into a rolling, almost subsonic hum that he felt as much as heard as the spots began to grow- but despite having no idea what was going on, he felt nothing but a sense of peace and belonging, apparently shared by everyone around him.

The spots continued to grow in size, stretching, forming into two large four-legged shapes- and then, in a flash of brilliant white light and a flare of darkness as black as the void, two ponies materialized on the stage. Something deep within Story brought him to bow his head, even as realization shot through his mind. The Princesses. It has to be them. My God... they're beautiful.

The two alicorns gazed at the assembled crowd around them with expressions of appreciation and motherly love. “My little ponies,” Celestia called out, her voice somehow amplified to reach across the crowds without being deafening to those up close. “It's so wonderful to see so many of you gathered here in this place, our capital, for this celebration. Have you all been enjoying yourselves this past day and a half?”

There was a loud cheer and a stomping of hooves in reply. Celestia's smile grew. “Excellent! Stallions and gentlemares, tomorrow will be a truly glorious occasion- for the first time in thirteen hundred years, the Renewal of the Covenant will be attended by both my sister, Luna, Princess of the Moon, and the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. And it is my further privilege to welcome the rulers of the Crystal Empire, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and her husband, Shining Armor.”

In a bright-pink burst of light, two more ponies appeared on the stage. One was Twilight's brother, but the other was a complete surprise- a light-pink pegasus unicorn, differentiated from the two alicorns only by her more typical pony proportions. Both raised a hoof in recognition as the crowd cheered. “Truly,” Celestia said once the applause had died down, “are we blessed with such a wonderful confluence of events!” She paused for a moment as the crowd cheered again. “But there is another aspect to this ceremony, one that can sometimes be lost in all the grandeur. My sister will be glad to remind us all of what it is.”

She stepped aside for Luna to take center stage. “My little ponies,” she said, her voice somewhat more authoritarian- but in the manner of a stern but caring mother. “It has been an eventful two and a half years since my return. Adjusting to a new time, new ways, has been difficult... but with the help of my sister, and of many caring and dedicated ponies, I have come to see the joys and ways of this age.” She paused for a moment, looking around at the crowd as a handful of cheers and whistles broke out. “But there is one thing that is as true today as it was in ages past. The Renewal of the Covenant is not about myself or my sister, nor is it about royalty, or celebrities.

“No, my little ponies. The Renewal of the Covenant is about you. You, the citizens of Equestria, who work day and night to advance our nation's interests, to protect our lands, to bring joy and peace and friendship to all. Be you earth pony, unicorn or pegasus- or not a pony at all, but an immigrant from another land who has come to find a place amongst us- it is you who we, your Princesses, serve. This ceremony, this celebration, this day is yours!” There was another burst of applause and cheering, louder than the last. “And it is my pleasure to recognize two of Equestria's citizens who have exemplified the bravery and compassion all of us strive for every day and night. One, an unassuming historian whose quick thinking and bravery saved the life of an innocent filly; the other, a dedicated paramedic with a long record of excellence, who in turn saved our historian from a potentially fatal accident. My little ponies, I introduce to you Story Seeker and First Response.”

The lunar princess subtly motioned towards them, and both Story and First were quick to canter onto the stage, to the thunderous applause of the crowd. He would have expected to feel vulnerable, singled out, but somehow in front of all these ponies he felt... accepted. “My good ponies,” Luna said, giving him and First a broad smile, “please accept from your Princesses these tokens of our gratitude, memorializing your good deeds here in this city. Captain?”

Shining Armor trotted up to the pair, levitating a pair of silver-and-gold medallions in front of him. “First Response, Story Seeker,” he said, his voice also amplified like those of the Princesses. “By order of the Royal Sisters, I present to you the Solstice Star, in recognition of selfless efforts to protect and help your fellow pony.”

By some unspoken cue, Story and First both lowered their heads, and the medals slid down onto their necks. They waved out to the crowd in thankful acknowledgment of their cheers before Shining escorted them to the side of the stage so that all three Princesses could move to its center; as they walked, a speck of color out in the audience caught his attention.

There, about twelve rows back, was the very same mare he'd seen arguing with the pony at the hardware store. She was one of the few not applauding, she was staring directly at him, and her expression was anything but friendly- if hatred could fuel laser vision, he'd be a very messy collection of chunks at the moment.

He let his gaze slide right on by her. Don't let her know you think she's anything but another face in the crowd. Maybe you know who I really am, my dear, and maybe not. But what you don't know is that you're my target, too.

He took a place next to First as the Princesses stood together at center-stage. Something tingled along his spine, and he could sense a strange feeling of anticipation building amongst the crowd as Celestia lifted her head, opened her mouth...

...and broke out into song.

“In first light of morning,
The sun says hello
To each pony starting their day

The baker, the doctor
Dressmaker and plumber
Yes, my sun will light up their way

From morning to evening
All days of the year
Equestria's ponies will know

The sun and the moon
Forever are watching them
Work, play, explore, learn and grow”

What happened next was something he could never have seen coming. Everyone around him- the crowd, the celebrities, the Bearers, the rest of his group- joined in on the song. And to his complete and utter shock, so did he.

“From morning to evening
All days of the year
Equestria's ponies will know

The sun and the moon
Forever are watching us
Work, play, explore, learn and grow”

Was he hearing music from somewhere? He was far too entranced to even check; he could only watch as Celestia moved back so that Luna could take the stagefront. Her voice was just as beautiful as her sister's as she began to sing her own refrain.

“In last light of evening,
The moon says hello
To each pony ending their day

If looking for parties
Or only their pillows
Yes, my moon will light up their way

From evening to morning
All days of the year
Equestria's ponies will know

The moon and the sun
Forever are watching them
Work, play, explore, learn and grow”

From wherever they were coming from, the lyrics to the refrain found their way through Story's mouth.

“From evening to morning
All days of the year
Equestria's ponies will know

The moon and the sun
Forever are watching us
Work, play, explore, learn and grow”

Now he was swaying. So was everyone else! On some level he felt like he should be worried, even afraid, about this overwhelming feeling- but the unbelievable sense of... togetherness, of belonging flowed through him like warmth from a cozy fire. He watched as Luna stepped back to allow Cadence to come forward. Her voice didn't quite have the majestic power of the alicorns, but that made it no less wonderful to hear.

“Come daytime or nighttime,
Your Princesses work
To keep our lands vibrant and free

They'll never stop wishing
For safety and plenty
For ponies just like you and me

In summer or winter
All days of the year
Equestria's ponies will know

That their Princesses
Forever are watching them
Work, play, explore, learn and grow”

Story found himself pouring his heart into what he somehow knew was the final refrain, as if from some deep, almost primal need to express gratitude for the Princesses and the duties they faithfully filled every day.

“In summer or winter
All days of the year
Equestria's ponies will know

That our Princesses
Forever are watching us
Work, play, explore, learn and grow”

The crowd broke out into raucous applause, their cheers and whistles echoing across the square. Story slumped in his seat, feeling overwhelmed and emotionally drained from the entire experience- and yet there was still that warm glow in him, that connected feeling fading but not entirely gone. “Wow,” he murmured quietly.

He felt First brush gently against him. “First time having that happen?” she asked.

First time knowing something like that was possible. “Yeah.”

“Me too. I've seen it before, sure, but I've never been a part of it. It felt even better than I heard.”

“Yeah, but... how...?”

“Nopony really knows! It just... happens, sometimes, when conditions are just right. I suppose it's just an effect of the magic of friendship.”

The magic of friendship. At any other time, in any other situation, the phrase would've made him laugh- but having just felt it himself, he could only give it all the respect it was due.

The celebration went on for two hours, with an aerial routine from the Wonderbolts- who could give the Blue Angels a run for their money in precision and skill, if not speed- a few songs from pop singer Sapphire Shores, and a quick fashion show from Hoity Toity; the most exceptional part of that event was the appearance of a zebra, a minotaur and a buffalo, each in what seemed to be modified versions of their own traditional garb. I'm starting to think that this place is never going to run out of surprises for me, he mused.

Eventually the celebration ended, with the Princesses and the Captain vanishing in a burst of magic and everyone else filing out in a gradual way. “See? Told you!” Dash said as she hovered overhead. “Most impressive ceremony ever!”

“Yeah, you know what? I'm not going to disagree.” Even if he'd wanted to, Story wasn't sure he could manage enough rational thought to mount an argument. Processing what had happened during that song was going to take him a good long time.

“Even the egghead agrees with me! I must be right.” Dash snickered. “But seriously, Story, congrats on the medal. You too, First. I like seeing good ponies get recognized for going above and beyond the call.”

The medal. With everything that had happened, he'd forgotten he was even wearing it; he reflexively levitated it up to have a good look at it. The thin disk was half-silver, half-gold, depicting stylized versions of the moon and sun, respectively, and in the center were carved artistic representations of Celestia and Luna forming a circle. “I almost don't feel like I really deserve this,” he thought aloud.

First bumped against him roughly. “Don't you even think that,” she told him sternly. “That might be true for me- I'm not really feeling comfortable with accepting a medal just for doing my job, especially since there's so many others just at my hospital alone who work just as hard. But you? Dash is right; you went above and beyond the call.”

“First, dear, I'll hear none of that from you either.” Rarity trotted up alongside the paramedic. “If for no other reason than I feel it due recognition for the hard work all those in your field do for everypony. But you went past even that for our friend here, from everything I've heard.”

“That's right!” Derpy had a broad grin on her face. “And if you knew about all the crazy stuff that goes on in Ponyville, you'd know that Miss Rarity here knows about that kind of thing.”

“Boy howdy, she ain't kiddin', First,” Applejack put in. “What'd ya call Ponyville, Twi? A 'nexus 'a weirdness'?” The violet unicorn chuckled and nodded. “So yeah, girl, take it from ponies who know- you deserve that medal as much as anypony.”

First blushed profusely, looking down at the ground with a shy smile. “Thanks, all of you,” she said quietly.

Story brushed against her side. “You know, being the one whose life you saved, I like to think I get a little input on the whole thing, right?” He grinned as she nodded. “So yeah, you deserve that medal as much as I do this one.”

“Thank you, Story.” She lightly nuzzled him. “I appreciate that.”

“See? Lovebirds,” Pinkie giggled, getting laughter from the others. Story rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it's a 'thing' now,” he said, his disapproving tone belied by his smile.

First brushed against him playfully. “It sure looks that way.”

(-)

Evening had fallen by the time their group left the movie theater. Story couldn't help but be surprised at the quality of animation they had in the cartoon they'd watched, Lady of the Flutterponies- it was easily comparable to anything in Disney's golden era, but had some of the whimsical humor and supernatural tones of a Miyazaki classic. It'd be a box-office hit if they screened that on Earth, he thought.

He was taking a moment to look at all the advertisements for other movies, just to peek a little further into Equestria's culture. By now he wasn't even surprised to find a close resemblance to movie posters from the 50's, complete with sci-fi pulp fare; he stopped at a particularly cheesy-looking one, entitled The Thing From Beyond Luna's Moon, showing what looked like a pile of slime with eyes and tentacles fighting off a squad of Royal Guards in the center of a city.

“Mister Seeker?”

He looked down to find Dinky standing next to him, her eyes fixated on the poster. “Oh, hey, Dinky,” he said. “You know, you can call me 'Story' if you want. 'Mister Seeker' sounds so... well... stuffy.”

She giggled at that. “Okay, Story,” she amended. “Can... can you lift me up? I wanna look at that picture.”

“Sure thing. Hang on.” He gently took her in the “grip” of his magic and lifted her onto his back, then stood sideways so she could get an up-close look at the movie poster. “How's that?”

“Perfect!” She took a careful look at the bizarre alien creature on the poster, with its multiple limbs swinging at the flying Royal Guards that swarmed around it. “Wow, that thing is creepy,” she commented.

“Yeah, it sure is, huh? I don't think I'd react well if it showed up for dinner.”

She laughed. “I don't think it would want Mama's dandelion casserole!”

“Nope! Looks more like it's interested in pony souffle! Om nom nom ponies.” He made exaggerated chomping noises in her direction, getting a squeal of laughter from the filly. “No! I'm not a tasty treat!” she declared.

“But your mother always calls you her little muffin. Therefore you must be a tasty treat! Om nom nom.”

More giggles came from the squirming pony before she settled down, looking intently at the poster; her gaze seemed fixed on the starry sky painted behind the creature. “Story, can I ask you something?”

“Sure thing, kiddo.”

“Do you think there really might be aliens somewhere?”

He paused for a moment, taken aback by the unexpected question. “I'll tell you what- let's go back outside, and I'll show you something.”

“Okay.” He trotted out of the theater with her still perched on his back, finding a nice place out of the way of the crowds and in full view of the night sky. “Do you see all those stars up there?” he asked her.

“Uh-huh.”

“How many do you think there are?”

“I dunno. Mama and I tried counting once; she lost count at thirty. I got to fifty!”

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. “Not a bad start. But let me tell you something, Dinky. I used to be interested in astronomy- that's the study of stars- and I read up a lot about it. And do you want to know what I read?”

“Sure!”

“I read that, in our galaxy alone, there are around three hundred billion stars.” Sure, that was his galaxy, and he had no way of knowing if he was still in it, or even in his own universe- but Dinky wasn't likely to fact-check him.

“What's a billion?”

“Okay. Imagine that you have a thousand, and you multiply that by a thousand. You have a million. Then you multiply that by a thousand, and you have a billion.”

Her eyes went wide. “...wow.”

“And that's not the half of it. Some very smart scientists came up with a theory that there could be two hundred billion other galaxies in the universe- each one with millions, or billions, of stars of their own!”

She stared at him, slack-jawed. “That... that's a whole lot of stars!”

“It sure is. Even I can't count that high. And you know what, Dinky? Each and every one of those stars could have a world that's a lot like this one. And each and every one of those worlds could have some kind of alien life on it.” He smiled. “Life like that slime monster, there. Or giant slug creatures. Or living, thinking machines. Why, I bet there could be a species out there that looks like a hairless ape, with hands like a minotaur, tiny eyes and a flat face.”

She giggled. “That sounds silly.”

“It does, I know.” He chuckled. “There are so many stars out there, Dinky, that I can't possibly believe that there isn't other kinds of life near some of them. I imagine that one of those silly-looking hairless apes could be looking at our star right now, wondering if there's anyone out there.”

Dinky was silent for a moment, staring upwards, and then: “Do... do you think they'd wanna be friends?”

Story's throat tightened for a moment, and he felt his eyes misting up. “You know what... I'm absolutely sure they would, Dinky. I bet they'd love to be friends with a sweet filly like you.”

“Dinky! Story!” They both looked up to see Amethyst beckoning them over. “Come on, we're heading out!”

He carefully levitated Dinky off of his back and onto her hooves, then let her trot ahead of him, lost in his thoughts. I really think us silly-looking hairless apes would love to be friends with you, Dinky, and all the other ponies.

I know I would.

(-)

“One heck of a day, huh, Story?” First grinned at him as she walked up to the doors of the Apricot Inn with him. “Let me tell you, this wasn't the sort of experience I expected when I planned this trip.”

“You know, I'd be worried if you had expected it.” He winked at her.

“You and me both!” They paused inside the lobby. “I'll tell you what- I'll stop by again tomorrow morning, same time, to have another look under that bandage. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good to me. Breakfast will be my treat.” He smiled. “Thanks, First.”

“You don't need to thank me, you goof. I'm happy to do it.” She playfully nudged his muzzle with a hoof. “You know, I've come to the conclusion that you're a pony who makes strange things happen around him.”

You don't know the half of it, First. “I'm finding that out myself.”

“Heh. Talk about self-discovery.” She gave him a grin. “Not that it's a bad thing, mind you. You've certainly made my time here a lot more interesting.”

“I can say the same for you.” He hadn't actually meant to say that out loud, but there it was, and it was certainly truthful enough. “Oh, is that so?” she replied, her smile becoming warmer. “That's sweet of you. I don't feel all that remarkable, though- just an ordinary mare going through life.”

“True, but then again isn't that the same for all of us? How special do you think I feel?” Aside from being a human walking around in the body of a pony, sure, but you know, besides that. “But here we both are, in the middle of all of this, just doing what we can to manage. Sometimes that's pretty extraordinary all in itself.”

She nodded slowly. “That's an interesting philosophy, Story. I think I see some merit in it.” She leaned forward, and- to his surprise- placed a gentle kiss on the side of his muzzle. “Just do me a favor and don't stop being so unique, hm?” she asked.

“I'll see what I can do.” He grinned. “See you tomorrow, First.”

“You too, Story. Sleep well.”

It wasn't the easiest thing to get his exhausted body back up to his room, but instead of undressing and flopping right into bed, he found himself standing at the mirror in the hall, looking at his reflection- at the body of an unassuming historian who definitely hadn't been expecting everything that had happened over the past two days. Out of some bizarre inclination, he found himself talking to that reflection. “Look, Story,” he said quietly, “I don't know if you can hear me, if you'll remember this when this is all over, but... I need to explain myself to you. My name is Jacob Doakes, and I'm... not from this place. I didn't ask to be put in control of your body, and I didn't like the idea at first once I realized that I was essentially hijacking your life- but the Princesses were right... it really was necessary. I... I've seen what happens if nothing changes, Story- it's a fate you ponies don't deserve in the least.

“I don't know just how strange and bizarre you might have found the events of the last couple of days to be. But let me tell you, from a complete outsider's perspective- this world you have, this civilization... it's amazing to me, Story. You ponies are like nothing I've ever known, and, seriously... I have to admit I've fallen in love with you guys. I just... I can't really wrap my head around how you live, but it's like nothing I've ever known before.” He let out a quiet sigh. “And I've seen how it ends. I've seen its destruction. And I can't let that happen, Story. Not just because of what happens to me if it does, but because you ponies don't deserve that. So I apologize to you for anything I may put your body through tomorrow, even if it means both of us die- but there's just too much at stake now to do anything less than whatever's needed to stop this.” He paused for a moment, looking over this strange body he was inhabiting. “And you know what, Story Seeker? I get the feeling you're the kind of stallion who'd agree with me on that.” He smiled, watching his reflection copy the movement. “So, hey, if we get through this and I'm no longer around... just do me a favor, look around you, and realize how absolutely wonderful this place is.” He went silent for a moment. “And now I'm going to put this body in bed and go to sleep, and that means more work for me to do in my real body. It's... complicated, and I won't bother you with the details. Just know that the guy who's been pulling your strings here isn't doing any less for you guys in his own body. So try not to hate me too much, okay?”

With a tired sigh, he trotted away from the mirror, undressed, placed his clothes atop his suitcases, and pulled himself into bed, then nestled himself under the warm blanket, rested his head atop the soft pillow, and let sleep take him away.

Pursuit

I sense something different about you now, Jacob. Something separate from this... infestation of your link. What happened?

“It was....” He needed a moment to organize his thoughts. “There was... a celebration, where the two of you gave me and a friend of mine a medal. And then there was... singing....”

Ahhh. There was a strange feeling, almost like a combination of laughter and an embrace. You have been touched by the magic of friendship.

Indeed he has. There is nothing like it where you are from, Jacob?

“No. We don't have magic of any kind.”

My goodness. You must have had the most difficult time adjusting to our world!

So that is why your realm felt so alien! A sapient species in a world without magic... it is difficult to comprehend. Sister, the things we could learn from them....

“Princesses... I don't mean to be rude, but I've got a lot to tell you both and I'm not sure we have a lot of time.”

You are correct, of course. Please, share with us what you have learned.

“Let me see if I can show you this properly....” It took some effort, but he was able to “project” the map he had constructed of the symbols and their locations. He could actually feel the surprise of the sisters. This... this is most useful! Sister, look at this... do you see what this shape could form?

It is rough, but yes, I see three... no, two possible runeforms. But it is impossible to determine which. Jacob, are you certain these are all that were placed?

“Actually, I'm thinking they aren't, and that brings me to a second point. I think I've found the unicorn who placed them.”

Whom?

“I don't have full ID yet, but she's a blue-coated mare with a white mane. I haven't gotten close enough to her to get anything else. But she was watching me during the ceremony, and the way she was looking at me was like I was her mortal enemy. I guess there's an off-chance that she's someone Story knew before I got here, but there's more that connects her to all of this.”

We are listening.

“I overheard her arguing with an employee of a hardware store. She was angry about a late delivery of two things- something called arcanocite solution, and silver nitrate. I think she may have run out before she finished whatever she's putting together here.”

There was a pregnant pause. You... you are sure of this, Jacob? Those materials are what the mare sought?

“About as sure as I can be. I'm not a chemist, and I have no idea what arcanocite even is.”

Arcanocite is a magical conductor; in solutions, it can be “painted” onto surfaces to serve as a temporary conduit. It degrades quickly in this form, though, and so is used for only short-term applications.

“And... does the nitrate change that?”

It does. It forms an exceptionally strong bond with the arcanocite crystals within the solution, granting it near permanence once the mixture dries. If our opponent sought to prevent the disruption of these symbols before their use, she could not have chosen better. But this method is seldom used.

“Why's that?”

In liquid form, the mixture emits a vapor that is extremely hazardous. It is known to cause paranoia, sociopathy and even psychosis in cases of extended exposure. Due to its properties, it cannot be manipulated by magic at any safe distance, and even the most stringent safety measures place ponies at risk of exposure.

“So if our mystery mare has been running around with buckets of that stuff painting up the streets at night... there's a good chance she's gone crazy by now, isn't there?”

It is unfortunately possible. At the very least she could be delusional, schizoaffected... if she has had enough exposure, she could even be violent. Perhaps this explains her reaction to you.

“Yeah, but... it's just too specific to be pure chance. I'm convinced she somehow knows I'm different, that I'm out to stop her.”

We cannot rule that out. What plans have you?

“Our crazy unicorn placed orders with two different stores, and asked for delivery. That means they had a record of where she was staying. If I can find that, I can look for anything she might have left behind- plans, a map, notes on whatever magic she's using. You can't pull something like this off on the fly, and if she was killed along with everyone else, she might not have had a chance to destroy or hide all of her reference materials.”

A sound plan. With a complete listing of the marks she has made and their locations, we can tell you exactly what the effect of the runeform will be- and how to stop it. There is one who will be most capable to help you, a unicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle-

“I've met her.”

Excellent! She is- was- perhaps the most powerful unicorn of her era; once she knows of the threat, she will have the greatest chance of researching and implementing a countermeasure. But you will need to get word to her as soon as possible.

“Sure, but what am I going to tell her? That I'm an alien masquerading as a pony to stop the destruction of all higher life on her world? She'd have to be huffing that mixture for a week to believe that.”

I taught my student a very specialized set of codes in case we were unable to communicate directly in times of urgency; anypony given one of the codes can be considered a trustworthy intermediary. When you see her next, you must tell her that her Princess wishes her the most glorious sunrise next morn. Those exact words must be used, Jacob. Can you remember them?

“ 'Your Princess wishes you the most glorious sunrise next morn'. Yeah, I think I've got it.”

Excellent. But even with that, explanation may take too long. I would ask one more thing of you, Jacob, above and beyond even all you have done for us and all of ponykind so far.

“Well... you already gave me a medal for going above and beyond the call, I suppose I might as well earn it.”

You have already, even if you do not believe so. But Twilight Sparkle has learned a memory-recall spell, one that can bring up even the most buried or forgotten memories. What she must do, in order to gain understanding of the situation quickly, is modify the spell to provide a neuromantic link- so that she can perceive the memories as well.

“So essentially I'm going to be asking her to read my mind.”

In so many words, yes. I understand what I ask of you, Jacob. But Twilight must see what you have seen, know what you have learned. Words alone are too imprecise, too undependable, for this critical task. And she must have your unconditional consent, Jacob- elsewise the spell will not work. Can you do this?

He had to think about it... but only for a moment. “Hell, I'm already okay with putting my life on the line; this makes too much sense to refuse.”

Immediately he felt an overwhelming yet gentle sensation- as if he were being hugged mentally by both sisters. Your appearance here was an absolute boon to us, Jacob. Your bravery and determination in service to a land and a species not your own speaks of compassion unparalleled. Our little ponies could not ask for a better champion for their cause.

“I... I think by now, I feel like... they're my little ponies, too.” He sighed, or at least whatever analog existed here. “It's... even if you said I could go home this minute with no strings attached, I don't think I could turn my back on them now. I wouldn't be able to live with myself.”

You care for them so completely?

“Honestly? Yeah. Yeah, I do. They're just... all of you... you're too amazing for me to just let you all die off like that.”

...it is no wonder you were so affected by the magic of friendship. You truly have an open and sympathetic heart with which to receive it. Again the feeling of being embraced twice over surrounded him.

“Okay, okay,” he chuckled after a moment. “I appreciate the flattery, but I've still got work to do. I can't believe I'm actually eager to go back there, but....”

...it is a desolate and dangerous place you return to, we know. Please be careful, Jacob. Not only for our sakes- but because you are a dear friend to us.

“I'm in this to win it. I'll be as careful as I possibly can, I promise.”

Then... until we see you again, go with our blessings.

(-)

thump thump thump thump thump

His shoes beat out a quiet, steady rhythm as he ran. What a difference two days had made- whereas his first foray into abandoned Canterlot had been fearful and furtive, now he had a destination in mind and knew exactly how to get there- and how to get around whatever might be in his way. That surety didn't stop him from keeping both eyes open and his head on a swivel, watching for any threats; he knew the place hadn't gotten any safer since last night... but he was most definitely working against the clock, and mission failure meant doom just as much as getting eaten by something large, mythical and hostile.

There was also the matter of the enormous-looking storm building up towards the northwest, which seemed to be hell-bent on invading Canterlot's airspace and looked like it would accomplish its mission before midnight. Knowing what he knew now about how weather was supposed to work in Equestria, a storm of that size was not something he'd want to be outside to play in.

Okay, here we are, 22nd and Gallop... aw, hell.

Soluble Solutions was... well, a wash. The building behind it had collapsed directly onto it, and now the chemical supply shop was spread halfway across the road, leaving everything that had once been within it buried under stone and plaster and timber; the chances of finding anything useful underneath all of it within his time constraints was nil. On to the other store... I guess along the way I can pray that it's still standing.

The wind seemed to pick up a bit as he backtracked, but the makeshift cloak he'd rigged up out of some midnight-black fabric from the clothing store- along with the extra fabric he'd wrapped around himself in vulnerable spots- did a fair job of retaining his body's warmth.

tik-tik-thunk

He froze for just a moment, then ducked behind a wall, glancing around it towards the way he'd just come. While the timberwolves were practically silent compared to him, they weren't noiseless, and the half-dozen number of the pack he'd run into twice already would have to travel even slower than him to not make enough of a ruckus for him to pick up on if he were alert. Seeing and hearing nothing suspicious, he resumed his trek.

Buildings flashed by as he sprinted, moving from shadow to shadow, stopping for breath only near places that would serve as a place to hide should something approach him. It was during one of these stops that he realized he'd hit a stroke of luck- the jewelry store he was standing next to had a second floor with windows; if his reckoning was true, it would have a nearly unimpeded view of the hardware store he was looking for.

He deliberately avoided looking at the pictures that hung along the wall of the staircase- he didn't want to see any familiar faces behind the dust-caked glass panes- as he made his way up to the second floor. The closest room facing where he needed to go was the bathroom, which fortunately had two windows to choose from, one on each outside-facing wall; he picked the one with a better vantage point and pulled it open, facing only slight resistance from the window frame. “Perfect,” he whispered to himself, pulling up his camera.

3X optical zoom was enough to give him a fair view of the area around what appeared to be Constructive Thinking Hardware. Aside from a partly-demolished wall, the building itself seemed sound, at least from the outside. Great, my luck is in. Chances are decent that I'll find something useful inside. I may have enough now for Twilight to work with, but we'll be on the clock from the moment I wake up- the ceremony starts at 8PM, which gives me twelve hours from when First should be waking me up. Everything I can give Twi to speed up the process is a bonus- I'm not looking to see how close we can cut it!

Everything seemed clear around the area, so he quickly stowed his camera, rushed back out of the building and made a beeline for the hardware store. He made it inside unmolested and apparently unseen, if his half-minute of watching for pursuit without incident was any indication. Once he'd caught his breath, he began a quick search of the building for anywhere he'd be the most likely to find customer records.

There was what he was looking for- the manager's office, complete with “authorized ponynell only” sign. It opened easily enough for him, and stale air rushed past him as he stepped inside; inside was an absolute mess, with papers, bags, folders and other items scattered around- but none of it had been disturbed in ages. Obviously the manager was a slob, he thought with a silent chuckle. Okay. Customer records. Come out, come out, wherever you are....

As quickly as he could, he rifled through the desk and filing cabinets, cursing whoever ran this place for his, her or its inability to alphabetize, or even follow a loose kind of logic in filing forms. Old inventories, pay stubs... what the hell, was this a banana? Eugh... wait! What have we got here? Customer records! He spent a moment gathering all the folders he could find marked as customer info, until he had a tall stack of grey folders sitting on the desk. Damn, this is a lot... better settle in and get through this.

He managed to squeeze himself into the office chair and began skimming through each page, eyes flicking back and forth as he looked for any mention of silver nitrate or arcanocite solution. No, no, no, no... I won't even ask what that stuff is, no, no, n- wait! He'd almost tossed aside another sheet when his eye caught the word “arcanocite”. Okay, we've got that solution and the nitrate on this one... put that aside, check all the others. I need to make sure I'm not following a false lead with someone who just so happened to have an order for these things in.

It was a long slog through the rest of the paperwork, some of which seemed to be stuck together with various remnants of food, but eventually he hit the end of the pile with nothing more matching his criteria. He quickly brushed all of the other papers off of the desk and pulled his one match over so that he could read it carefully. Let's see... order #22138, 0.5 gal. arcanocite solution 4%, 1 gal. silver nitrate, order date whatever, customer name... scratched out?! Oh, what the hell- wait. There's still the address... room number 713 in the Golden Trails Inn? Where First is- was- staying? They have a ledger at their front desk- I'll be able to track down whoever had the room from that!

Something was scribbled at the bottom of the order form- “Nutty as a fruitcake, possibly dangerous, almost attacked delivery mare- never accept orders from her again”. It seemed that the sisters had been right about the deleterious effects of the mixture. Well, I've got my lead and maybe the last piece of this puzzle, he thought as he stood, rolling up the aged sheet of paper and tucking it away in his jacket. I'm tracking you down, Psycho Mare, and you can't stop me.

A quick look around showed that the coast seemed clear, so he quickly left the shop- and then paused. He realized that he wasn't far from the symbol where he'd overheard that conversation between the shop employee and the mare, and it would be worthwhile to have a second look at the spot to see how, if at all, it had changed.

But he was going to be smart about it. The back of the picture-frame shop had faced the next street over, and there were several buildings he could choose from in order to gain a good vantage point. A careful approach got him to them unharmed; the furthest building down was half-gone, and the middle was leaning on what remained, but the closest structure seemed relatively sound... and had what looked to be an accessible rooftop, all the better for safe surveillance. The building hardly creaked at all as he made his way to the roof and found himself amongst a long-dead miniature garden; the brown stalks and branches sticking out of various planters made for a paltry but not-unwelcome form of camouflage as he approached the edge of the retaining wall, camera in hand.

There it is. The viewfinder brought the symbol into clear, crisp view- only instead of the glittering silver color it had been when he'd last seen it, it was now a matte black, surrounded by what looked like scorch marks. He made sure that the camera's flash was off and snapped a picture of it. Just in case, he thought.

He was just about to rise to his feet when he caught motion at the edge of the camera's view. His movement and his breathing both halted, and even his heart seemed to join in for a moment, as he realized that the pack of timberwolves he'd surprised yesterday was in the street just beyond the building. He could see them with almost perfect clarity through the lens of his camera- stalking along the road in a staggered formation, with what he'd guessed to be the alpha of the pack at point.

So intent on watching them was Jacob that he almost missed a strange, black smoke beginning to rise from the scorched symbol near the picture-frame store. The alpha, however, picked up on it almost immediately- and began to growl, taking up a defensive stance. The others of its pack reacted much more fearfully, backing away from the sight with tails tucked away.

There was an instant of motion- something dark, unidentifiable, yet bone-chillingly disturbing flashed out from the circle towards the alpha timberwolf. The creature immediately yelped and jerked away, crashing to the ground in what seemed to be a seizure of some kind, spasming and twitching on the street as the rest of its pack gathered around in confusion.

Jacob grimaced at the sound of something popping and snapping, as the timberwolf whined in agony. Parts of its body began to warp, bend, even break- as though some invisible hand were attempting to remold its very shape and being none-too-gentle in the process. Sap and other unidentifiable fluids spilled out from its body as the pitiable yelps it made grew louder and deeper, while its compatriots looked on in obvious fear.

He was barely aware that he was taking pictures of the event, his finger reflexively pressing down on the shutter button every time some new change wracked the timberwolf's form; it was only in passing that he noticed the creature's coloration darkening with each twitch and spasm, until it was almost uniformly a dusky black.

Eventually whatever was happening ran its course, and the beast- now at least one-quarter larger than before- staggered up out of the pool of its own fluids it had been lying in. Cautiously, one of its packmates creeped up towards it, ears and tail flicking in confusion. It made a movement to touch its snout to its leader's-

crunch snap-crack CRACK

-and in one smooth motion, the alpha dipped its head beneath the other timberwolf's, bit into its throat within fangs much larger than before, and pulled. The smaller creature's head tore off with a sickening noise, its expression frozen in shock, as its body began to jerk and stumble before falling over, ichor pouring from the stump of its neck as it twitched madly.

The rest of the pack fled, some whimpering or baying in fear as they headed for the hills as fast as they could. The corrupted alpha stood motionless for just a moment, looking down at the corpse it had just created- then, slowly, its head turned, until it was staring up at him. Jacob felt the blood practically freeze in his veins- even despite the distance and the sense of separation that the camera's viewfinder provided, the gaze of the wicked, glistening-black eyes that had replaced the creature's glowing yellow-green orbs seemed to burn right through him. I know you're there, the gaze seemed to say, and you will succumb to me.

Then, without any sort of preamble, it spun and ran off, leaving Jacob feeling as though his soul had been bathed in filthy ice water. He glanced down at the LED screen of the camera to see that he'd unthinkingly snapped a picture of the creature's face, capturing those horrible eyes for posterity. Despite wanting more than anything to delete every last image of the thing, he forced himself to leave them be- it was entirely possible that he'd gotten yet more evidence that Twilight Sparkle could use. Assuming, of course, that she'll be able to see them with her memory spell- but I can't see why she wouldn't be able to.

The camera went into his backpack, wedged between spare layers of fabric- he had no more intention on using it tonight, and didn't need it hindering his movements or getting damaged somehow- and he carefully made his way back down to the street. The corrupted timberwolf was nowhere to be seen, but he wasn't taking that for granted- he just knew the damn thing was aware of his presence, and he was absolutely certain that he was on its menu.

A roiling stench hit his nose almost the moment he stepped outside. The slain timberwolf's body was already beginning to rot from the neck down, parts of its anatomy decaying even as he watched; the thing's head was barely more than a fetid smear of black goop covering some branches and leaves. He stopped in mid-step as realization hit him. Black goop? Like the stuff that was on the piece of rock that hit me? Fuck... I think I know what I'm up against. Whatever spell or power Miss Crazy was using to corrode things must have formed a connection to the runes she painted- it's living in them somehow, and it infested that timberwolf- and now it's controlling that thing like....

Like a puppet. An avatar.

tap tap tap taptaptaptaptap

Droplets of freezing rain began to strike the ground around him, some of them hitting the rot consuming the corpse and sizzling before evaporating away; only the bizarre rules of reality Equestria ran on could explain how it hadn't frozen into snow. Jacob's mind continued to work even as he ran for cover. Supposition: I'm up against some kind of living force of nature, a decay spell gone sentient somehow, or maybe some type of creature that feeds on entropy and destruction. Miss Crazy has been painting these runes to... contain it? Channel it? Summon it? It's also likely that- dammit, that rain is seriously starting to come down, and me without my umbrella- that whatever the Princesses said infested my link to the Ethereal Realm and to Story is linked to that corruptive energy the mare was using- and, therefore, to whatever infested the timberwolf. Does that mean that it'll be able to track me through that infestation?

If that's the case, evasion takes second place to finding a safe place to hide. And I know just where to hole up.

By some miracle he was managing to stay just ahead of the main downpour as he ran, and by the time he reached the Golden Trails Inn, he was merely soaked instead of sopping wet; the difference was enough of one for him to be happy with it, and it was with a faint sense of accomplishment that he stormed into the building and proceeded to barricade the front doors with everything within reach.

By the time he was finished, the outside of the building was just as lightless as inside, and the beat of rain against the walls was a low, steady roar. There, he thought, taking a moment to catch his breath and try to wring himself dry. Now. If our little wood-pup hunts by scent, he'll have a hell of a time finding me in this downpour- but if he's got other ways to track me, all I've done is buy myself some time. Best not to dawdle.

Flashes of lightning threw bizarre white shapes across the main entrance, competing with the sharp-edged circle of his flashlight's beam to illuminate the area. The inside of the building itself seemed exceptionally intact, save for broken plaster and fallen pictures; the front desk looked almost like it was ready to serve lodgers once more, waiting only for a good cleaning and an attentive clerk. Jacob couldn't avoid the feeling of deja vu brought from walking through the once-lively hall again, but he didn't let it slow him down, making his way to the desk.

It seemed that his guesses were right. The last entries in the ledger were only a few hours before the Renewal ceremony; probably almost everyone in the city who could go to see it had done so. And that's when it all ended, he thought sullenly, brushing away some of the dust with his hand, then turning back a page when he didn't find what he was looking for. Here we go. 713... rented to a T. Lulamoon, one day before I got here. No departure date listed.

He was about to leave when something else caught his eye. F. Response, room 509. Also no departure date listed. She had such neat writing for an earth pony.... He closed his eyes for a moment. No, Jake. You're here to stop her death, not mourn it. And you can't do that if you sit here and go all sad-panda. Now. Stairs. Room 713. Get moving.

His already-aching legs protested the long climb up the entirely too-thin stairs, but he ignored them. The seventh floor welcomed him with dust and utter darkness; carts were scattered around, a couple of them carrying trays or linens, and a broken window let in the occasional gust of wind but- thankfully- none of the rain. The lightning was getting more frequent now, and the thunder louder. I really don't want to have to go out in that mess if I can avoid it, he thought, playing the flashlight along the row of doors as he walked. Let's see. 721, 719... on and on we go... ah. 713.

Getting in wasn't going to be much of a problem- water damage of some sort had wiped out a sizable amount of the drywall next to the door of the room. Everything inside, however, looked remarkably intact. Thank God for that, he thought, stepping into the room and taking a moment to fish out a piece of linen from his backpack to clean his glasses. Okay, Detective Columbo, let's get to investigating.

The inside was an absolute mess in a way that suggested that had been the case even before the mass extinction of the tenant's species. Papers were scattered everywhere, a pile of empty buckets lay in a corner, books had been left open or stacked on each other while sporting multiple bookmarks, and the bed looked like it hadn't been made in a week- apparently this T. Lulamoon had requested no room service.

As quickly as he could, he gathered up everything that looked even marginally important or informative into one pile on the bedstand, then shook as much dust as he could from the blanket, spread it out, took off his backpack and sat himself down on the bed. It felt almost luxurious to be resting on an actual mattress in his own body, but he couldn't afford to simply lie back and enjoy it- so he set his flashlight on the bedstand facing up towards the ceiling and got to reading.

The first thing he learned is that the note on the order sheet had been right- this mare was certifiably insane. Lining notes on spell preparation, runeforms of various spells, and other careful notations were scribbles about getting revenge for some injustice visited on her in Ponyville, rants against Twilight Sparkle and exultations of her future glory once she'd “showed everypony” what she could do. Again, he made sure to take detailed pictures of anything that might be useful for Twilight, but so far he hadn't found anything related to the runeform the mare had painted across the city.

He paused for a stretch and accidentally jostled the bedstand, making his flashlight fall over and roll into a partly-open drawer he hadn't noticed before. Cursing quietly to himself, he pulled the drawer fully open- only to find the flashlight illuminating a thick, well-worn journal of some sort. “Hello, what have we got here?” he murmured, fishing it out along with his light, then flipping the diary open to the first page. “Property of the Great and Powerful Trixie... oh, aren't you precious. Let's see what you've got to say for yourself.”

The opening pages were fairly pedestrian, journaling the trials and travails of a traveling showpony. But a third of the way in, the writing became more erratic, starting at the mention of a “humiliation” in Ponyville that had ended with the destruction of her wagon; her journal had been one of the few things to survive, and she had been forced to retrieve it under cover of darkness. Entry after entry raged about what had happened, the hardships she had to endure to get back on her hooves, the unmitigated gall of one purple unicorn to show her up so effortlessly.

Then the writing became neat again. Trixie had found... something; her entries didn't go into much detail about its exact nature, but the constant references to it seemed as though she'd found some new source of power, one that could amplify her own to previously unheard-of levels. Each entry after that was more grandiose than the last in how this newfound power could be used to prove to the world just how great and powerful she truly was.

After a short entry about obtaining arcanocite and silver nitrate to craft a runecircle in which she could store and amplify her magical power for some grand ritual, the writing began to get more and more sloppy, devolving into weeks of nothing but ranting against everyone she could name for being “against” her and anticipating the culmination of her ritual.

Then, in the middle of an otherwise blank page, a single line in tiny script, obviously written in a rush:

“oh sweet celestia what have i unleashed it wants to consume me somepony HELP ME PLEASE”

Every entry after that looked like it might have been written by a different mare. Paranoia was replaced by abject hate; the ranting had turned into detailed screeds against almost everything around her for the most meaningless slight or inconvenience, and more and more words were dedicated to describing her own oncoming greatness and due recognition.

Then, the last entry, dated at 3AM of the day of the Renewal: “All is finally in place. Equestria will know my greatness when they look upon the sun and the moon every day and night until the end of time.”

All the pages beyond that were blank. As he was checking for any more entries, two folded pieces of paper slipped out from behind the back cover. Carefully, he unfolded the brittle pages and laid them out on the bed... and then smiled, picking up his camera. “Jackpot,” he murmured, taking a snapshot of each page- one a detailed map of the city with inked-in locations for each shape, and the other a much older parchment with an exceptionally detailed runecircle whose purpose he couldn't even guess at. Doesn't matter. More brain-fodder for Twilight.

He was just standing up to leave the room when a flash of pain across his side made him wince. Agh, did I aggravate it? he wondered, rubbing at the wound across his side- only to pause as a wet, sticky feeling came through his shirt. In a moment, he pulled the garment up and brought his flashlight to his side.

Despite the wound being nearly healed, a thin line of blood was oozing from it. How the hell did I open it just standing like that? he wondered. Did I aggravate it from all the running, or-

crash

A deep thud came from somewhere in the building below him, heavy enough to shake a bit of dust from the overhead light. Realization clicked in Jacob's mind.

Oh, hello, wolfie. I see you've come to catch up with me. I was wondering where you'd gotten to.

Entrapment

Okay. Going to assume the building is symmetrical, so there'll be two staircases at opposite points close to the center of the building. I'm near one now. If I don't hear him at this one, he'll be at the other one. Dammit, the old song is right- the waiting really is the hardest part.

Of course, his plan rested on the assumption that he could hear anything shy of a main battle tank coming up the stairs at all. The storm outside had become a squall, raindrops thundering against the walls like someone had placed the building underneath a waterfall, and heavy winds threatened to push the entire inn off of its foundations; even well inside the building, the racket was considerable. But the very storm that made staying inside with a predator dangerous made leaving almost suicidal- blundering out into a veritable monsoon in the black of night guaranteed death by exposure at best, if not being swept away by a flash flood or having a less-sturdy building collapse on him.

Of course, being stuck inside an abandoned, pitch-black building with a corrupted timberwolf who could potentially pinpoint his location with ease wasn't the best situation either- but Jacob, in a way, had home-field advantage. This was an abandoned building, not so different from many others he had made his way through, and the dangers and opportunities such a place presented him were far more clear to his experienced eye than they would be to some darkness-infested wild animal.

creak

Jacob's body tensed. The sound had echoed up from the stairwell he was watching, just a little too loudly to be settling building materials. He made sure that the cloth he'd tied around the front of his flashlight to dim its output was still on securely, then risked a glance over the railing, staring down the winding stairs.

Something was projecting a dim but noticeable green glow onto the stairs leading away from the third floor. It seemed to be the timberwolf, but... something was off about it; he kept his position despite every instinct telling him to run, straining to hear above the beating of his heart. Come on, up or down, quit blocking the stairs, he mentally ordered whatever it was he was seeing.

It obliged; the green glow shifted, moved, slid along the stairs leading up- slowly, cautiously. It had to be his hunter, but if the light was coming from its eyes, why did the angle look wrong?

Then a flash of lightning snaked its way into the stairwell, and for a split-second his adversary was framed in a column of white light... and for the second time that night, Jacob's blood turned to ice. The creature had grown, somehow, even larger than when he'd seen it transform outside- it approached the height of an Bernese Mountain Dog, but its form was much leaner, more angular, with thin sticks jutting out along its spine. Its body seemed to ooze darkness, as if it were wearing a cloak of pure shadow. Well, I think I know what it was doing out in the rain, he thought. Must have been out pulling more energy or whatever from some of the other runes.

Doesn't matter. Plan stays the same. I'll just have to be... how would Dash put it? “Twenty percent more cautious”. At least I know the thing needs light just as much as I do.

He placed his back against the wardrobe he'd maneuvered into position at the top of the stairs, peeked around its edge and waited. That eerie green glow made its way to the fourth floor landing and paused- and then there was the distinct sound of sniffing, and then a growl. Obviously it had picked up his scent. Yep, I'm right up here, tough guy, he thought. Come and get me.

Just as that glow illuminated the stairs leading up to the fifth floor, Jacob shoved the wardrobe over the edge of the staircase. The heavy oaken furniture, filled with as much debris and junk as he could scrape together in the short time he'd had, slammed into the staircase- and crashed through the rotten wood as though it weren't even there. And that's why I went all the way across the fourth floor to the other staircase instead of taking that part of these stairs, he thought with a sense of satisfaction, watching the wardrobe and the remains of the staircase crash down on the timberwolf's head.

Or almost on it, anyway. The creature just barely avoided having its skull smashed flat with a backwards juke, but it couldn't quite keep its paws on the stairs and tumbled down to the landing, followed by the half-shattered wardrobe, all of the junk that had been inside of it, and pieces of the staircase. There was a brief snarl as the creature ended up half-buried under the pile of rubble that resulted, and then a ruckus as it struggled its way free. Damn, I was hoping that alpha strike would end all my problems. No such luck. But still- first point goes to me... and now, time to fall back.

As silently as he could, he retreated into the fifth floor hallway, checking several of the rooms along the way- not only to see what was inside, but to check for possible destroyed floors, ceilings or walls he could use as emergency passages; the fact that he was spreading his scent around to confuse the creature was a minor but not unwelcome bonus. He deliberately avoided room 509 along the way. I don't think I'm ready to look in there. I need all my concentration.

The last door in the hallway was some sort of utility closet. Hoping for something he could use as a weapon besides the two blades he was still carrying, he pulled the door open- and was greeted by darkness and wind. The closet, the room next to it, and a fair section of the rooms above and below them had more or less disappeared. Not an exit, he thought, carefully closing the door again before the wind had a chance to slam it into the corner.

crash

Guess who just found the other staircase? He let out an almost inaudible sigh. Okay. Not enough time to set up another trap... looks like we're running the obstacle course. He made a beeline for the stairs he'd just partially destroyed and took them up to the seventh floor. Let's see... suites? What's inside these- ah hah! Now if I can just find one with a way into the next room over....

Room 702 had seen some egregious water damage at some point, and was not only missing much of the wall separating it from 700, but some of the floor as well. More importantly, it had a huge armoire next to the door, with just enough room between it and the opposite wall for him to wedge himself between them and brace a leg against the armoire, clicking his light off as he took position.

He let out a hiss of pain as the wound in his side flared again. A moment later, there was a snarl out in the hallway. That's it, wolfie, I'm over here. Cowering in the corner in fear and just waiting for you to come eat my face. So let's hurry this up, huh?

Slowly, carefully, he began to push against the armoire with his foot, gritting his teeth with the effort it took not only to apply the force but to control it to such precision. The wood beneath the furniture creaked in protest, and he could only pray that the floor didn't give out beneath it before he had a chance to spring this trap.

Slowly, the floor just past the slightly-ajar door brightened, and then the door itself creaked almost inaudibly as something pushed it open. A couple of more sniffs came from outside, and then a soft growl and the thump of something against wood- the creature was making its way in.

Three, two, one... now! The armoire seemed to growl in protest as it finally gave over to gravity with one more push. The wood snapped and shattered as it hit what lay beneath it- including the timberwolf, which had apparently been far too intent on looking ahead to notice what went on next to it; not all of the sounds of breaking wood came from the furniture as it slammed down.

Jacob took a moment to catch his breath before daring to click on his flashlight and step around the now-wrecked armoire. The thing had practically broken in half on impact with the broad shoulders of the timberwolf, but the impact had done its job- the creature was splayed out on the floor, unmoving, the green light from its eyes fading away. He took in a deep breath and let it out in a slow, shuddering sigh. Thank God that's over, he thought. I was expecting a tougher fight- I'm almost tempted to think that it was too easy to be believed-

His breath caught in his throat as the timberwolf's body shuddered, and the wicked green glow returned to its eyes.

-brain, you're fucking fired. Clean out your desk and go.

He slowly backed away, one hand still holding up the flashlight and the other gripping the handle of one of his blades. That vicious muzzle shook back and forth, harsh snarls escaping from it, as the creature began to thrash and buck underneath the furniture pinning it down; he could see thin trails of darkness work their way up the cracks in the wood paneling, rotting it away at a distressingly quickening pace. After a moment, part of the ruined armoire pinning it down simply broke off, moldering even as it fell, and the creature bunched its legs up underneath it to begin pushing itself up.

Jacob spun on his heel and ran for the adjoining room. Time to get the hell out of here before that thing- gah!

Apparently the water damage that had obliterated the wall between rooms 702 and 700 had also done a significant yet stealthy job on the floor around the area, as Jacob was surprised to discover when it simply caved in under one of his feet. His brief yelp of terror as he fell was cut off as his chest slammed into long-rotted wood, collapsing more of the floor and showering room 600 with flakes of timber, shreds of rotted carpet and one dazed human.

thwack

Fortunately, the bed inside room 600 stopped Jacob from hitting the floor, at the cost of its own legs; it slammed into the carpet with a heavy thud, and dust shot up like confetti at a celebration. Jacob tried desperately not to wind up in a coughing fit that would further torment his already-aching chest. Slowly he started to climb off the bed-

thump

-and then reflexively kicked out at the dark shape that had landed on the mattress right next to him. The timberwolf didn't even have time for a threatening snarl before Jacob's foot sent it tumbling off the bed and crashing to the floor; he could hear it scrabbling to get back on its paws even as he hustled for the door, which he yanked open and dashed through... and then turned back to slam it shut just in time to block the corrupted wolf's leap towards him. The door cracked at the impact, but held.

Have fun gnawing through that, pooch, he thought, clutching his sore chest and coughing as he ran back down the hallway. Dammit, I think I inhaled my own body weight in dust there. At least I didn't get impaled through the chest by a beam or something. Wouldn't that have been an embarrassing way for things to end....

He could have sworn that he almost felt the door burst open, like it had been rigged with explosives. A deep snarl served to notify him that the timberwolf had gotten out of the room and was, indeed, pissed. A jolt of adrenaline shot through him as he realized he was in a seriously bad position- he was still a good distance from the stairs, and there was no time to check more than room; if he chose poorly, he'd end up trapped. One thing to do then... full speed ahead!

The muscles in his chest protested as he sprinted as fast as he could for the stairwell. He could hear the heavy thumps of the timberwolf's paws as it pursued, gaining much too quickly for his comfort. No time to take the stairs; only have one option....

With the timberwolf so close that he could see his own faint shadow from its eyes, he made it into the stairwell- then jumped onto the railing and leaped, arms outstretched. His hands slapped the railing for the opposite side of the staircase, slipped, and just barely managed to get a grip on the posts. A split-second later, a heavy crack and a loud yelp notified him that the timberwolf hadn't been able to stop its charge before it hit the railing he'd jumped off of... and another crack followed closely by a thud announced that it had hit the railing for the next set of stairs leading down.

Unfortunately Jacob couldn't look down to see what condition the wolf had ended up in, as he was too busy trying to pull himself up onto the stairs. Slowly, with painstaking effort, he managed to get himself high enough to grasp the railing itself and set both feet on the edge of the staircase-

snap

-only to have the railing break away, sending him falling backwards with it still in his hands. In a move of pure desperation, he pushed himself off the edge of the staircase with his feet, trying to get himself back to the landing he'd jumped from before, twisting in midair so that he wouldn't land on his backpack and its fragile contents.

thwack

That decision had the unfortunate side effect of him slamming belly-first into a still-intact piece of the railing, ripping it free as if it were made of balsa wood and landing on top of it as he hit the platform. The impact drove the air from his lungs and left him groaning and gasping for breath as he pulled himself away from the edge. Sweet mother of fuck, that hurts, he thought, slowly getting to his hands and knees and then standing unsteadily; his entire front was sore now, and he knew he was going to have a nice set of bruises shortly.

He turned back towards the stairwell, pulled the cloth from the flashlight's front and shone the beam down where he figured the timberwolf had landed- only to find nothing there but a shattered railing and a black mark of some kind staining the carpet. Despite his instincts screaming at him not to bother, he risked a closer look. Not blood, he realized. More of that rotting effect. Is it leaking off of that thing's body, somehow? And if it is... how is it holding its own body together without being affected? Okay, Jake, conjecture later; find a good place for surveillance now.

He picked up a sizable piece of the railing he'd smashed to serve as a club, then headed up the stairs for the tenth floor- only to find that a good amount of the roof had caved in, sealing it off just a bit past halfway beyond the ninth floor. The rubble was so dense that not even the rain was making it in. A quick walk across the hallway confirmed that the other stairwell was similarly blocked off. Well, so much for the penthouse suites, I suppose. I wonder if there's anything-

He barely had any warning- just a blur of green light and the sound of paws on carpet. It was just enough time to brace himself for impact as the timberwolf slammed into his shoulder; he could hear its teeth clack together in the space by his ear where his throat had just been a second ago, before the both of them hit the door for room 912... and shattered it like a window.

Both of them tumbled out into wind and water. A fair amount of the ceiling remained, but the rain was falling nearly diagonally, drenching what remained of the bare, half-rotted floor- which Jacob met shoulder-first, sliding uncomfortably close to the far edge, while the timberwolf leapt off of him in order to escape a potential nine-story fall.

He was quick to scramble away from the precipitous drop and get back to his feet before the creature could take advantage, then squared off against it, carefully sidestepping towards the door, keeping his makeshift club at the ready while the timberwolf likewise sidled to match his movements. He could hear his heart thudding in his ears even over the roar of the rain as his body tensed, ready to start fighting for his life-

-when, seemingly noiselessly, the far end of the floor dropped like someone had pulled out its support, turning it into a dangerously slippery ramp. Jacob landed hard on his backside, almost losing his grip on his club, and frantically dug his heels in to try to halt his slide; his right foot caught on a jutting piece of wood that was just big enough to stop his momentum. Further down, the timberwolf managed to halt itself by digging its claws into the floor, deeply enough to peel off long ribbons of rotten wood.

And there they sat for a moment, rain pounding against them, staring at each other. Jacob considered throwing his club at the wolf to try to knock it loose, but wasn't sure he'd be able to manage a hit- so after a moment he simply tucked it under his jacket, drew one of his blades, and drove it between two planks in order to use it as an impromptu climbing axe. Then the other blade came out, and he repeated the process, going hand over hand while his shoes slid across the soaking-wet floor, desperately seeking purchase. He couldn't see or hear what the timberwolf was doing to resolve its own situation, but he could only assume that it was catching up to him and that he needed to hurry.

Finally, he reached the doorway; he threw one sword into the hall, gripped the ledge with his now-free hand, then started to pull himself up- only to be yanked back by something gripping the end of his pants leg. In a panic, he kicked blindly, scoring a glancing blow on what seemed to be the timberwolf's muzzle; its fangs tore through the bottom of his pants as the creature slid back, and he hustled his way back up into the hallway.

Parked next to the wall further down the hall was a steel pushcart that gleamed in the glow of his flashlight. As quickly as his tired limbs could manage, he sprinted for it sheathing his remaining blade as he ran, then grabbed it in both hands, spun around and hurled it towards the open door he'd just climbed through; his aim was good, but his throw was late- the timberwolf was just now making its way into the hall, saw the cart on a collision course with its head and barely managed to leap aside as the carrier slammed into the doorway and tumbled off into the darkness.

Jacob had just managed to get the chunk of wood back out from his jacket when the beast leapt at him. It was by sheer luck that he juked the right way to avoid being slam-tackled by the creature, but he couldn't quite keep his balance and ended up hitting the wall shoulder-first; the wolf landed, executed a quick turn and jumped again, aiming for his legs. His desperate jump kept those wicked fangs from clamping on a leg, but his knee smacked its shoulder and sent him spinning in the air to once more land on his chest. Pain lanced through him as a brief yell escaped his lips.

No time to hurt, that thing's going to be on you again, fucking move!

He could hear the beast's claws tearing at the carpet as it came at him again, and as soon as he made it to one knee he threw himself to the side. He felt the foliage covering the wolf's body brush against his face as it flew past, and one of its rear legs hit his shoulder, turning its graceful leap into an uncontrolled tumble.

My turn.

Adrenaline turned his pain into a dull ache as he charged at the still-recovering timberwolf, both arms raised above his head with the club clenched in both hands, the beast framed in the light from the flashlight still strapped to his hat. His first swing clipped the timberwolf's muzzle, the second caught it in the side of the head, but the third missed completely when the wolf stumbled back; he lost his balance again and fell onto the wolf, slamming into its side with his own and knocking it off its paws. Its teeth clacked together just in front of his face, and he instinctively brought the club up to protect himself- just in time, as those powerful jaws clamped down on it. Immediately the makeshift club began to creak as fingers of black rot streaked across its surface.

The timberwolf's eyes flared green as it pressed its advantage, trying to bite through the chunk of wood that was the only thing keeping his throat from being its chew toy. Slowly it pushed the club towards him, snarling around it, its teeth grinding down on the thick oak wood.

That's it... closer... closer... now!

He stopped resisting the wolf's pushing for just a moment, and the club lurched towards him- until he drove his forehead into it, jamming it further into the creature's mouth, snapping its jaw and breaking several of its teeth. The creature stumbled back as Jacob fought the urge to pass out from the cranial trauma- but he managed to keep his wits about him, gritting his teeth as he sat up. “I've had enough of your bullshit,” he murmured, reaching for the knife he'd sheathed earlier.

It took a supreme effort to lunge forward and grab the timberwolf's still-open muzzle before it could get away. With one quick motion, he buried the blade in its throat, twisting and pulling, hearing whatever the creature had for a windpipe crack and break; a weak gurgle escaped its mouth and its body jerked about for a moment, until he yanked the blade free and the lupine form collapsed onto the floor, its twitches gradually slowing and then stopping.

There was a strange bubbling sound from the short sword, and he looked down at it. The blade was practically melting away, the black slime coating it eating at the metal like an exceptionally effective acid; with a grimace, he let it fall from his fingers before staggering to his feet. “Are we done?” he questioned the unmoving body in front of him, before delivering a weak kick to its belly. “Yeah. We're done.”

The other knife had disappeared somewhere during the struggle, and he didn't feel up to looking for it. But with his pursuer finally down for the count, he had the chance to look into something else before he finally called it a night. So he carefully- and painfully- made his way back down to the fifth floor and along the hallway until he reached his destination. And there he stood, swaying just a little, staring at the door in front of him, reading the plaque still set on it.

509. First's room. I shouldn't even go in there... it feels like I'm violating her privacy, even after her death. But no matter what happens, tomorrow's the last time I'm ever going to see her- and I guess I've just come to care about her too much to want to spend the rest of my life wondering how she felt about me in return.

The door opened smoothly, revealing a dusty but otherwise-tidy room that had somehow managed to avoid any real damage, aside from some water stains on the wall facing the outside. Several personal items had been left on the dresser, including a brush and small mirror; he could see that the alarm clock by the bed had been set to ring at seven. “Wanted to make sure you saw me on time, huh?” he murmured. “I appreciate that....”

Near the far wall, a jacket and a familiar set of saddlebags were hung from a coat rack; both were absolutely covered in dust, but showed no sort of damage. He blew as much of the dust off as he could, then wrapped his hand with some fabric so he could get the rest without turning his palm black. Yet he still hesitated for a moment before opening the clasps and pulling back the flaps.

Inside were a small amount of unused medical supplies, fliers for some of the shows, a couple of mashed-up food wrappers and a coinpurse that still held a dozen or so bits. Well, that makes sense, he realized. She has the saddlebags for carrying stuff around in the city; she wouldn't put anything personal in there. He left the coat rack and began looking across the rest of the room, until his gaze came to rest on the nightstand next to the bed. Well, that's where Trixie kept her diary... I wonder....

It turned out that two very different mares thought alike in at least one way. Jacob carefully lifted First's journal out of the bedstand drawer; it looked relatively new, but showed signs of use. A thin blue bookmark dangled from between the pages about one-third of the way from the front cover. Keep it recent, he told himself. You're already prying enough as it is; don't go peeking at the personal stuff that doesn't even involve you.

His fingers flipped through the pages until he came to the entry of the day she arrived in Canterlot. Once more, he set the flashlight down, shook the dust from the sheets and took a seat, noting for a moment that everything had gone quiet again- apparently the worst of the storm had blown past- before leaning his aching back against the headboard and reading.

“Finally arrived in Canterlot! The city's a lot bigger than I ever imagined. This hotel is really swank- I'm glad I saved up the bits to get a nice place to stay while I'm in town. Met a kinda strange guy named Story... something. Finder? Seeker? I think Seeker. He seemed out of it, but I guess long train trips will do that. I invited him to hang out with me and my friends- I dunno what made me decide to, really, but he seems like a nice stallion and maybe some time with friendly faces will perk him up.

“Speaking of, gotta go catch up with Noteworthy, Derpy and the others. I haven't seen Dinky in a year and never got to meet Sparkler; I'm excited to finally get the chance!”

The next entry was written a little more shakily, possibly due to First being excited or emotional. “Still can't believe what happened today! Dinky could've been killed! Some dumbflank moron didn't do proper upkeep on a scaffold and it almost fell on her head! Story was checking out a clock shop and saw her wander underneath it. A whole bunch of ponies saw him run in, scoop her up and just barely get both of them out before it hit! I could tell he was pretty shaken up himself- right now he's back at his room taking a nap- but still, you wouldn't think he was the heroic type by looking at him!

“Okay, maybe that's a little mean-sounding. I don't mean that he seems like a bad pony or anything- it's that he's so quiet and withdrawn sometimes that it seems like he'd rather not be around others. But then he opens up a little and starts talking, and it's like there's this whole other pony inside him.” He couldn't help laughing at that. “If only you knew....” he said quietly.

“Noteworthy figures he's one of those introverted types, at least until he feels comfortable enough to come out of his shell. I kind of want to make that happen more often. Note also told me he thought Story was Amey's old flame, says they look almost exactly the same; if that's the case- I never met that bucking jerk, because if I ever did he'd be crapping his teeth for a week- then Story must be his good twin or something.

“Poor Derpy is still a bit of a wreck from what happened. Nopony saw Dinky run off, and not even Dinky knows why she did it! It's weird. It looks like the filly's going to be okay, though- but I think the rest of us are going to keep a really close eye on her and Rumble for a while. I hope there isn't some weirdo pony going around messing with foals. The Royal Guard's looking into what happened, though, so hopefully we'll get answers soon.

“Need to head out to collect everypony soon and check out the Expo. I'm going to get fat if I'm not careful- there's so much great food here that it's hard not to want to stuff my muzzle everywhere we go. It's gonna be REALLY hard to resist temptation at the Expo- there'll be so many food vendors bringing out their best stuff!”

He needed to take a break to reposition himself; all of his various sore spots were beginning to stiffen, making it difficult to get comfortable. Once he'd finally gotten himself situated in a way that didn't make him clench his teeth in discomfort, he continued reading.

“What a crazy day! We got to meet one of the actual, in-the-hide Bearers today! Turns out Derpy knows a few of them from Ponyville. Applejack was running a fruit stand at the Expo and invited all of us to meet her family and the other Bearers! I'm so tempted to bring something for them to autograph, but I know they're out here to enjoy themselves as much as I am and I don't want to pester them.

“Word's getting around about Story's heroics earlier today. I'm kinda glad to hear it, really; he's a nice stallion and he deserves kudos for what he did. I did have a scare with him just a few minutes ago, though- a piece of the marble pillar out front almost went straight into his back! Poor guy didn't even see it coming, and I had to pull him out of the way. Thankfully it was just a minor laceration with no apparent imbedded particles or infection, so I treated it on the spot with the hotel's first-aid kit and gave the manager a nice loud piece of my mind. Story had to talk me down a bit, nice guy that he is.

“He did worry me a little when I caught up with him this afternoon. I found him sitting on a bench just staring out at nothing, looking really depressed. As much as I want to make a joke about hearing a sad Story, something about that look he had really got to me... he said it was just some dream he had while napping, but sweet Celestia, by his expression I thought he'd just lost a friend or something. I'm glad he eventually snapped out of it, but still- nopony should ever look that sad!

“Derpy told me a story about how she wrecked City Hall in Ponyville. That's my Derpy! One-mare demolition crew. She and Sparkler got in a bit of an argument over it- that's teenage foals for you; always a little rebellious. Dinky settled things, though. Those kids are so adorable... I never pegged DH for the adoptive type, but I should've known she had a lot of love to give to orphans, being one herself.

“I'd best not stay up too late. I promised Story I'd stop by his room in the morning to check on his wound. Then a big day planned!”

The last entry spanned multiple pages, even written as small as it was. “I can't believe everything that happened today! Story and I received medals from the Princesses in front of everypony! We got to go on stage and there was a song and- okay. I need to calm down; I'm as giddy as a schoolfilly at her first dance. Breathe, First.

“First of all, we got to meet the rest of the Bearers! They really are as friendly as I've heard. Pinkie Pie is one crazy pony, lemme tell you, but she's also a sweetheart. Note, Story and I also got to meet Twilight Sparkle's brother, Shining Armor; he's the Captain of the Royal Guard and a bit of a prankster, getting me and Story to sweat a bit before lightening up. He gave us all VIP access and even an escort for the celebration, though, so hey- no complaints from this filly!

“And then the BIG surprise- Story and I were awarded Solstice Stars! Now Story getting one made sense for what he did, but apparently there were witnesses to me getting him out from under that piece of rock, and I guess someone at the hotel told the Royal Guard about me treating him afterwards. So that ended up with both of us on the stage with the Princesses and being congratulated in front of everypony in the Square! I swear, it's a wonder that I didn't faint right on the spot. My knees still get a little weak just thinking about it! And then there was a song... and all of us ended up being touched by the magic of friendship. I can't even begin to explain how it felt; I don' t know the right words. I don't think I'm ever going to forget it, though.

“Speaking of Story...” There were a few black dots around those words, showing that First might have been tapping her pen there while thinking. “The others have taken to calling him and me 'lovebirds'. I kind of go along with it because it's funny and cute, but... I don't know. Maybe they're on to something. Story told me right out how much he respects what I do for a living, and verbally ripped a new plothole in all the stuffy jerks who like to put me down because I'm not an actual doctor, and I can't begin to say how wonderful that made me feel! I mean, he's absolutely not the uptight bookworm I expected when I first saw him. He's smart and funny and brave, open-minded as all heck, and every time he smiles at me I feel like I've got my own personal sunbeam shining down on me. I only met this guy two days ago... so why do I feel like I'm falling for him?”

There were a couple of crossed out lines that he couldn't read, then: “I keep looking at this picture we all got taken of us, where Pinkie pushed Story into accidentally kissing me. It felt... really nice when he did. This isn't my first time around the track, so to speak, but I've never met a stallion like Story Seeker. Nopony's ever made me feel the way he does. I mean, I went on some silly search for weird symbols painted on the ground with him just because I wanted to spend more time with him!”

There were a couple of scrawls on the page, just abstract shapes she might have drawn while thinking before she'd resumed writing. “I don't know for sure how I feel. But I do know one thing... after tomorrow, I go back to Neighbraska, and I doubt I'll ever see him again. So I've made my mind up- tomorrow morning, I'm going to ask him if he's maybe interested in dating some strange mare who picked him up on a train.

“I really hope he says 'yes'.”

He felt something touch his finger. A piece of paper was sticking out from behind the cover of the journal; he took it out to find a carefully-folded photograph- the very one that had been taken at the Expo, that he'd forgotten to pick up after all the day's events. The colors had faded over time, but he could still easily make out the entire group posed along the street... and there, near the corner, were Story and First, staring at each other in surprise as their lips touched.

A drop of water hit the photo, jittering in place for a moment before rolling off. He glanced up, but the rain had stopped a while back, and there were no leaks above him. Then he brought one trembling hand to his cheek- and it came away wet. He needed more than a couple of moments to collect himself before he could put the picture down. Come on, Jake, pull yourself together, he told himself. I'm going to miss them when I leave, but... I was damn lucky to ever get to know them in the first place! Let alone being able to save them from being obliterated. Maybe none of them will ever know... but I will. And that's good enough for me.

He realized after a moment that he could just barely see the walls of the room around him. Dawn was on its way, and none of the rooms on this floor were likely to be safe- the blinds hardly looked thick enough to stop the sunlight- so he decided to head back up to the seventh floor to take advantage of the thick curtains the rooms there had. He fought the ridiculous urge to put the diary back where he'd found it as he got off the bed. No one's here to find it, he reminded himself. And if everything goes well, this will have never happened.

Sunlight was already starting to stream in through a few open spots, but he knew that the stairwells faced towards the southwest and would be safe for a while. His tired, aching body protested as he left First's room. Won't have any sort of trouble falling asleep, he thought with a soft chuckle, limping his way towards the stairwell.

He was almost there when a bizarre yet recognizable sound froze him in his tracks.

snarrrllllggglgllbbb

Almost against his will, he turned. Standing there in the hallway, right next to the room he'd just left, was the timberwolf; in the faint light that filled the hall, he could see that it was still a mess, the darkness that had surrounded it greatly faded, and its breathing came with soft gurgles from its still-severed windpipe. But it was still alive, still a threat, and it was limping towards him with grim determination. “Fuck,” he breathed, backing away from it as quickly as he could manage- which wasn't very quick at all. “What the hell are you, part-cockroach?!”

He was trapped. His body was too hurt to fight or to flee; all the timberwolf had to do was get him off of his feet, put its teeth to his throat and let its corruptive nature do the rest. He couldn't muster the strength to fend off a determined 10-year-old, let alone this seemingly immortal horror.

He let out a soft grunt as his back hit the corner of the hallway. He had to press one hand against the wall to steady himself, finding the wood oddly warm; his fingertips brushed against a metal handle- and then he realized exactly where he was. Despite his pain and fatigue, he managed a smile, setting himself as well as he possibly could.

And then he began to sing.

“Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting....”

The timberwolf stalked towards him, its expression almost victorious, as it seemed to savor every step it took.

“Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear....”

A thin, barely-visible line of light traced its way across the side of the creature as it strode forward; in only a few seconds it would be within leaping distance of its helpless victim. Slowly, carefully, Jacob slid his still-wrapped hand under the uncomfortably hot door handle.

“...here comes the sun.”

He pulled the door of the destroyed utility closet wide open, ducking behind it to shield himself. The timberwolf had only a brief second to express pure terror as it stared directly at the rising sun, as it flooded the hallway with daylight.

The creature burst into flames almost instantly. There was a weird, ear-piercing screeching sound as the shadows that cloaked it burned away, and the black orbs it had for eyes burst like overripe grapes; parts of the wooden body simply exploded as pockets of sap flash-boiled, and the entirety of its slender frame caught fire like kindling.

Somehow the remnants of the carpet beneath it didn't catch fire as it collapsed to the ground. After a moment, Jacob slammed the door shut and staggered his way towards the corpse; there was no way it was going to be able to get up now- much of the body was ash, and what remained wouldn't be able to move, let alone attack. Still, he took no small amount of satisfaction in grinding the thing's head into soot with his heel.

It was a slow and exceptionally painful climb to the seventh floor, but thankfully neither sunlight nor darkness-spawned horror appeared to stop him as he made his way back into Trixie's room. Even despite the sun beating down on the outside of the building, it was cool enough to be comfortable, and the thick curtains blocked the indirect sunlight from getting through; he removed his backpack and shoes as quickly as he could manage, dropped the pack on the bed and then flopped down next to it, his face hitting the pillow with a soft thump. He was able to stave off exhaustion just long enough to check inside the backpack and ensure that his camera hadn't suffered any serious damage during the fight for his life, then slipped off his glasses and cap and closed his eyes.

“Tag me out, Story,” he murmured, his voice thick with pain and fatigue. “I'm beat.”

Interception

...sun and stars, Jacob, what happened to you?

For once he was thankful for the disconnect from physical sensations that this place gave him. “I got in a tangle with a corrupted timberwolf. I have pictures if you want to see the slideshow.”

He projected every last picture he'd taken on his trip to and through the hotel for the Princesses. In his mind's eye, he envisioned them poring over a collection of snapshots. This... this is unlike anything I have ever seen. Sister?

This is dark magic, sister. Jacob, can you tell us anything else about what possessed this creature?

“It had some kind of ability to... corrupt things. Rot them away. Not only the other timberwolf it killed, but wood and metal as well.”

I see... and examining these notes from our adversary, I begin to wonder....

What is it, sister?

I see two shapes at once. The general locations of the runes themselves form a fairly basic runeshape that appears to be for... projection, of some sort? But as I examine each individual rune, I see that they are designed to draw other shapes within the greater one. Perhaps... containment, amplification... bah, these notes were written by a madmare!

“Containment?” he repeated. “It looked like whatever infested the wolf jumped out of the rune. And when it vanished for a while and then came back bigger and more evil-looking than before, I figured it had run off to hit up more of the runes.”

That they even still exist after all that time... even the mixture Trixie used could not have endured so long by itself. Could she have somehow imbued them with this corruptive power, allowing it to sustain itself within them, and them in turn? And if so, towards what aim?

“She just wrote something about the sun and the moon, and how all of Equestria would know her greatness when they rose.”

It does not seem that either of us have the necessary information to solve this mystery. But Twilight Sparkle will. Once you have shown her all you have learned, she will certainly be able to deduce Trixie's plan and put a stop to it.

“I'm going to see if I can't have Trixie arrested as well. It's clear she's completely gone off the deep end, and she could do something dangerous if she finds out we're moving against her.”

Indeed. Once Twilight is brought up to speed on events, she can explain the need for such to Shining Armor. Should it prove necessary, he is also aware of the codes we use, and will respond in the same manner. With luck the Royal Guard would be able to surprise Trixie and detain her without incident; without luck... we employ some of the most skilled battlemages in the lands- any resistance she offered would be quickly overwhelmed.

“I'd rather it didn't come to that. I want to keep things neat and clean. Zero problems.”

We can hope for such good fortune, but to expect it would be foalish. All contingencies should be considered.

“Don't have to tell me twice.” He considered for a moment. “Honestly, I'm not sure Trixie's entirely, or maybe even at all, in control of herself. Not from that one entry in her diary. There's a chance that whatever power she found has been corrupting her....” He paused, sorting through his thoughts as a line of logic began to appear. “In fact, that's about the only way I can imagine she would even know Story was any sort of threat to her,” he said. “Could the link between my body and Story's somehow be detectable? Or could whatever that dark energy was that infested the timberwolf have somehow influenced Trixie to view me as a threat in the past? We're already playing pretty fast and loose with causality; I certainly couldn't rule something like that out.”

There was a moment of quiet. That is absolutely not outside the boundaries of possibility, Jacob. Your link is uncommon- the normal rules of time and space have already proven malleable in your situation.

And... if she is aware of the altercation and your injuries- which will, unfortunately, carry over to Story- she may decide to strike against you when you are vulnerable. You must exercise caution when you return to Equestria, Jacob.

“I'm not too worried. I've got a friend coming to visit me in the morning. Anything that wanted to threaten me would have to go through her... and quite frankly, I'd feel sorry for anything that tried.”

A friendship you have no doubt truly earned. Another moment of silence. Jacob, before you leave this place for what looks to be the last time... thank you. You have given us true hope when all seemed lost to us. I wonder if it is even possible for us to reward you justly for all the effort and sacrifice you have made for our world and our kind.

“Just... just take care of our little ponies for me when I'm gone. That's all I want.”

...truly are you the most stalwart of defenders, Jacob. An example for all ponykind to admire.

Once more there was that feeling of being embraced, even stronger than before, and he did his best to return it. I am amazed that you do not resent us for what happened, Jacob. That we inadvertently tore you away from your world, and basically used you in order to save ourselves....

“Like a friend told me: Don't you even think that. What happened was an accident, and what you did was turn that into an opportunity to save all of us- you, your world, and me. Otherwise we'd all have ended up as fading ghosts in this place, wouldn't we?” He chuckled. “Besides... I guess I always wanted to be a hero somehow.”

Consider that wish fulfilled.

“Heh, not quite yet. Story and I still have some work to do.”

And we will let you get to it. Be safe, Jacob... and when you return home, remember us- for we will remember you.

(-)

“Well, somepony's up without a fuss this morn-” First's words died in her throat as she realized the state he was in, and she reflexively reared back. “Sweet Celestia, Story, what happened to you?!” she exclaimed.

“I had a rough night,” he deadpanned. He knew he looked bad- he was sporting a lovely welt over his right eye that showed through his coat, along with a number of bruises along his sides, and his left stifle joint was swollen as an apparent carryover from his knee. He wasn't sure he'd be able to move now if he hadn't taken some hotel-provided aspirin and a nearly-scalding shower first thing out of bed. “I don't have any time to explain, First. I need your help.”

“W- with what?”

“I need to talk to Twilight Sparkle as soon as possible. It's extremely important. Will you come with me?”

She nodded despite the obvious confusion on her face. “Look, Story... if you're in trouble....”

“I might be. We all might be. I wish I could explain, but I need to talk to Twilight first. Do you have any idea where she's staying?”

“Probably in the Castle. Getting into the guest wings outside of direct invitation or Royal business might be difficult. Maybe we can find one of the other Bearers along the way to vouch for us.”

He liked how she said “us”. “First, seriously... I really appreciate this,” he told her, putting a hoof on her shoulder for a moment. “Come on. We don't have a lot of time.”

She followed him out of the building, matching the determined pace he set despite his injuries. “Story, you do understand that I'm rightfully concerned at the moment,” she told him.

“I know. Look....” He let out a sigh. “Something is going to happen at the Renewal tonight. It needs to be stopped, but I can't do it. I've been told to tell Twilight everything I know and let her come up with a solution.”

“Why Twilight? Why can't we talk to the Royal Guard, or the Princesses?”

“Because the first would get us tied up in bureaucracy or possibly arrested, and the second would take too long. Time is really of the essence, and Twilight's got the best skills for the job.”

“Okay.” She fell silent; he glanced over at her. “I expected more questions,” he told her.

“Oh, I've got plenty. But I've learned that I can trust you, and I believe you when you say you can't tell me what's going on.” She gave him a stern look. “I do want answers, though, Story. You can't just stay things like that and then expect me to not care what's going on.”

“You're smarter than that, I know. Once I'm done explaining things to Twilight, I'll tell you everything that I can... though she's going to have to have the final say on what I can talk about and what I can't.”

“This... must be something deep.” Her face took on a look of concern. “How'd you get mixed up in this, Story?”

“Completely by accident.” It felt nice to be able to tell her something completely truthful, and a slight smile crossed his face when she chuckled. “You're one accident-prone stallion, do you know that, Story?” she replied.

“My dear, you don't know the half of it.”

The best he could manage was a decent canter, no matter how much he wanted to gallop through the streets like his tail was on fire; he caught First giving him concerned glances from the corner of his eye at his occasional wince or stumble. “You're going to tell me what happened to you, too, right?” she asked.

“If I can,” was the only answer he could give her.

A flash of color caught his eye from the next street over, and he heard a familiar voice. “...so I told him, 'oh yeah? Well, your dad doesn't know a cirrus from a cumulonimbus!'.”

“...but Dash, Contrail's father is an earth pony.”

“Yeah, but I didn't know that then!”

“Dash! Derpy!” Story called out, his voice breaking a little as he pushed himself into a run. “Over here!”

The two pegasi halted and spun in midair. “Oh, hey, Story,” Dash called out. “What's the emergency? You- whoa.” She landed, staring at him incredulously as he limped up to her. “First, what'd you do to this guy?!” she exclaimed, her tone joking but her expression worried.

“I wish I knew, but he won't tell me.”

He had to pause to catch his breath. “Dash... I need to talk to Twilight. It's absolutely vital. Do you know where she is?”

“Um... nope, sorry. Rarity and Shining Armor asked before you, too. What's going on?”

“We've got a serious problem and I need to talk to her. Shining would do in a pinch, though. Do you know where he's at?”

“Last time we saw him was, uh... over on Furlong Row. He had a couple of guards with him and looked pretty serious. I didn't really think about it then, but....” She frowned. “Story, what's wrong?”

“I can't say right now. Can you two do us a favor and see if you can find him and get him to wait for us?”

“Uh, sure. Derpy, you take the north end and I'll take the south.”

“Oh, wait. I know we're on the clock, but....” Story trotted up to the grey pegasus. “Derpy... you adopted Sparkler and Dinky, didn't you?”

“Huh? Um...yeah, yeah I did, but how did you...?”

“That's not important.” He shook his head. “I just wanted to tell you, in case I don't get a chance to later... the fact that you took in two fillies who needed a home just out of love? That makes you one of the sweetest and most awesome individuals I've ever been lucky enough to meet.” He leaned in and gave her a light kiss on her cheek. “Don't ever let the world change you, okay?”

He didn't give her a chance to respond before he rushed off towards Furlong row, but he could hear the short conversation that followed between the two pegasi. “...so, um, not that I'm complaining, because it's totally awesome that he said that to you, but... where'd that come from?”

“I... I don't know! But I'm really glad that he said it!”

Pain was shooting up from Story's injured sides and swollen leg joint, but he ignored it as best as he could and kept pushing himself to go faster. “Story!” First exclaimed. “I know what you're doing!”

“I suppose that makes one of us!”

“Whatever it is that's happening, you don't think you're going to survive it!”

“What-?”

“I've seen this before. You're trying to 'wrap things up', aren't you?” She halted in place, and he almost stumbled trying to copy the maneuver. “Ponies who think their lives are almost over become determined to say and do all the things they've wanted to but never did. Story, you need to tell me what's-”

At that moment, he did the one thing he could think of to explain to her how he felt.

He kissed her.

It was a light kiss, but it had a definite effect on First, as he saw a range of emotions cross her face- confusion, shock, even joy. She was trembling when he finally pulled away. “First,” he said quietly, “it's not like that. Well... it sort of is, but not how you think. I promise you- I swear- that I'll tell you all that I can. I owe it to you.” He put a hoof under her jaw, raising her head so that he could look her directly in the eyes. “I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am that I've got you with me on this. I just need you to bear with me until I can talk to Twilight. Okay?”

She stared at him, slack-jawed, for a moment, then collected herself and nodded. “Whatever's going on, Story... I've got your flank.”

“You're a sweetheart.” He gave her a smile before resuming the trek towards Furlong Row.

He was absolutely thrilled to find the white-coated stallion standing next to Dash and Derpy- until he saw the angry expression he and the guards at his sides had. “Story?” he questioned when the pair got close to them. “I think you and I need to talk.”

“Yeah, we do.” He was almost shivering from the exertion he'd put into running, and his body was aching all over, but he forced himself to carry on. “First things first... your Princess wishes you the most glorious sunrise next morn.”

There was a flicker of shock across the Captain's face, but that was his only reaction. “I'm listening.”

“I need to talk to your sister as soon as possible. We're facing a serious danger that's set to strike during the Renewal tonight, and I have information about it that she might be able to use to stop it.”

“I wish I could make that happen. Walk with us.”

Story felt his heart sink as he moved along with the others. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy, he thought, as Shining led them into an out-of-the-way spot before turning to look at him and speaking the last three words he wanted to hear at the moment.

“Twilight is missing.”

“Oh, of course, everything was going much too well.” He sighed.

Shining's expression hardened. “Story, you had better explain yourself. If you know what's going on....”

Being on the receiving end of this pony's legitimate hostility was not a pleasant thing, and he found himself swallowing nervously. “I think I might. The first thing we need to do is find a mare named Trixie Lulamoon.”

“Trixie?” Dash repeated. “As in, the so-called 'Great and Powerful' Trixie?”

“Yeah, that's her. I take it you were in Ponyville when whatever happened went down?”

“Hay yeah, I was. She got her flank magically handed to her by Twilight and galloped out of town like a panicked filly. But you're not saying she foalnapped Twi, are you? Because Trixie can't hold a candle to her when it comes to magic.”

“Maybe that used to be the case.” Story turned to Shining. “Captain, you should send somepony to check out where she's staying. Golden Trails Inn, room 713.”

“Never mind 'send'. We're going there right now.” He glanced over Story's battered form. “Can you make it?”

“Yeah. Let's go.”

Despite his bravado, the run to the inn was borderline agonizing for Story, and it was only through willpower he hadn't known he had that he reached the building with the others. Seven flights of stairs was too much to ask of him, though, so he, First and Derpy stayed in the lobby while the others went up to look. First insisted on looking Story's wounds over while they waited. “Dear Celestia, Story, what did you do to yourself?” she murmured.

“I wrestled with a timberwolf.”

Her jaw and Derpy's both dropped. “You what...?” First breathed. She looked like she wanted to comment further, but a woosh of air cut her off; Rainbow Dash came swooping out of the stairwell with a haunted look on her face. “Whoa,” she said quietly, ruffling her wings for a moment. “So that's what Crazytown looks like.”

He had to resist commenting on just how much he agreed with her. “Was Trixie there?” he asked.

“Nope. The Captain's got one of his guards going through all her stuff while the other goes for reinforcements. I think he's taking this really seriously.”

“He should. Trixie is out of her mind, and there's no telling what she might do if she's got Twilight.”

“We've gathered that.” Shining followed his words out of the stairwell. “How she could've overpowered somepony as magically skilled as my sister is beyond me....”

“She's amplified her power somehow,” Story interrupted. “Something she discovered at some point in the past, a kind of corruption-based magic.”

“Corruption?” First repeated. “Can you explain things to the non-unicorns?”

“Remember what you saw on the back of the stone that almost skewered me? That. Same thing that made that scaffold fall. She also painted those shapes that your reports called 'graffiti', Captain- they're actually parts of an enormous runeshape.”

She gaped at him in a mixture of horror and fury as Shining frowned. “How did you know about those shapes?” he demanded. “Nopony outside the Guards was told about that.”

“I can't really go into it right now. As soon as I can talk to Twilight, she and I will be able to explain things.”

“Well, that's the difficult part, isn't it?” Shining sighed. “What exactly is Trixie doing this for, do you know?”

“It has something to do with the Renewal ceremony, that's the best I can say. Is there any way the ceremony can be postponed?”

Shining shook his head. “That's not possible. The ceremony may be pomp and circumstance, but the Renewal itself is vital; hold it off for too long and it's possible that the Princesses could actually lose their link with the sun and moon.”

“Yeah, I figured that was too easy a solution.” He sighed, thinking for a moment. “I can't believe Trixie is teleporting any kind of significant distance, even with this new power she's holding, so it's likely Twilight's still somewhere in the city. Where's the most likely place Trixie would want to hide her?”

The Captain's eyebrows furrowed. “I can think of one place, but it depends on how well Trixie knows the city.”

“Let's assume she's well-educated.”

“Then she may know about the gem caverns beneath the city. It's where the Changeling Queen hid Twilight and Cadence during the coup attempt; the crystals reflect and distort magic, so Twily wouldn't be able to teleport out or signal for help easily.”

“It's our best shot, I think.”

“I have to agree. You stay here, and-”

“No.” Story raised a hoof. “I need to come with you. Twilight needs the information I've got as soon as possible.”

“And if he's going, I'm going.” First stepped forward. “Somebody needs to keep this colt out of trouble.” She gave him a quick wink. “Besides, I'm a trained paramedic, and if this Trixie is as crazy as you say then Twilight might be injured.”

“And I can... um.” Derpy scratched at the back of her head. “Relay messages really fast?”

“I'll handle that, Derpy.” Dash grinned. “You should go keep an eye on Sparkler and Dinky. We've got this angle covered.”

“Uh... okay, if you're sure.” The grey pegasus actually looked relieved at that. “Hey, Story? Thanks for what you said. I don't hear that a lot.”

“Well, you ought to, but I can't fix how ponies think.” He smiled at her, and she returned it with a brilliant grin before taking off. Shining gave him a dubious look. “Are you sure you're going to be able to manage this?” the larger unicorn asked. “You already look like you're on your last hooves.”

“I don't have a choice.” He met the Captain's gaze with his own, as solid as he could manage. After a moment, Shining nodded. “Alright then,” he said. “I'll organize a carriage to the mine entrance, but it'll all be on-hoof from there. Let's move, ponies.”

(-)

“How old are these caverns, anyway?” First asked quietly, looking around.

The crystals embedded far up in the cave roof glittered in the light of Story's illumination spell. Maintaining the spell was not helping his headache any, but he insisted on going to the effort rather than having Shining do it- if things came down to a confrontation with Trixie, he wanted the Captain as fresh for combat as possible. “They're at least a few hundred years old,” Shining answered. “They were mined to help support Canterlot's economy when it was still a growing settlement- interestingly enough, it looked like somepony had begun the process already a long while before that, but then abandoned it for some reason. The mines were decommissioned once arcanocite deposits were discovered in a hooffull of areas nearby.”

“Hey... hold up.” Dash pointed a hoof. “You see that? Story, aim your light there on the ground.”

He did so. The pegasus had spotted a faint hoofprint in a patch of soil. “It's fresh,” Shining declared. “Can't be more than a few hours old. I think we're on the right track.” His horn glowed, and the hoofprint flashed white for a moment- and then more spectral hoofprints began to appear in a line after it, stretching off into the darkness. “Tracking spell,” the Captain said with the barest trace of a smile, even as he led the group ahead. “Ponies all leave imprints of their inherent magic when they move. Typically the tracks are overwhelmed by the flows of ambient magic in a matter of minutes- but down here the arcane currents are so still, it's like tracking scents in a windless cave.”

“We couldn't do that before?” Dash wondered.

“It's not the easiest spell, and without a known location to cast it on... well, imagine trying to wrangle clouds blindfolded.”

“Ohhh.” The pegasus blushed. “Sorry. I should've figured you know what you're doing.”

Their pace picked up, with Shining recasting the spell every time the trail started to fade. Story was sweating despite the cool air of the caverns, panting heavily and letting out soft grunts every time some particular step put a little too much strain on a sore part of his body. And yet the urge to collapse isn't nearly as strong as the urge to ask “are we there yet”, he chuckled to himself.

The Captain abruptly came to a halt, raising a hoof, and the rest of the group assembled around him; he motioned for silence, then signaled for two of the four guards accompanying them to take positions ahead. It took a moment for Story to hear over the pounding of his heart the reason he'd stopped: An all-too-familiar voice.

“...they will all see my power! All of them! Nopony will ever laugh at me again, do you hear me, Sparkle?! Nopony!”

There was a soft thud and a weak cry. The urge to charge in and slam-tackle Trixie into the dirt was overwhelming, but between her amplified magic and his terrible physical state at the moment, he'd probably offer all the resistance of a newborn kitten. As the group carefully approached, the position the voices were coming from became clear- a wide chamber of stone, with four roughly symmetrical pillars supporting the roof; clumps of rubble, long-abandoned mining equipment and other workplace detritus lay scattered around. In the center of the chamber stood the same white-maned unicorn mare from the audience, standing over a lavender form on the ground. “Twilight,” Shining breathed.

“We need to take Trixie down,” Story whispered back. “Quick blast, knock her out.”

“Negative. This place is warded, I can feel it. An attack spell could just alert her or bring the whole place down on our heads.”

“Then what do we do?”

“I'll confront her. Swift Wind, Needlepoint-” this was directed towards the two guards still at his side- “take point at the southwest and northeast spires there. Dash, I want-”

“I know you're here.” The voice boomed around them, echoing back and forth through the canyons. Trixie and Twilight had both vanished from the center of the chamber. “Sneaky little foals. But you assumed my trail was left accidentally, and that I had no way of knowing you were coming.”

“Trixie Lulamoon!” Shining called out. “I am Captain Shining Armor of the Royal Guard! By authority of the Princesses, you are under arrest! Show yourself and submit!”

“Oh, so very not likely. Though I do have a few... grievances I want to air. So step into my parlor, Captain... and do bring your friends; I have a few words for them too....”

pwomf

In the space of a single heartbeat, everything changed around him. Now he was in the middle of the chamber, laying flat on his belly, with some kind of force holding him down; he could move nothing below his neck. A quick look around showed him that everyone else in the group had ended up the same way; Shining Armor and Needlepoint had metallic rings of some kind stuck on the bases of their horns, and by the way they were grimacing and writhing, the rings were doing bad things to them. A quick glance upward showed that he hadn't been given one of his own. Thank heavens for microscopic miracles.

“What's going on?!” First demanded, struggling against whatever was restraining her. “Let us go, you nag!”

“Such language.” Trixie stepped out from behind a row of rusted lockers. “Young mare, you really should learn to respect your betters.”

“Yeah, buck that.” First scowled, but Trixie had already lost interest in her, turning instead towards Shining Armor and Needlepoint. “Oh, I do so apologize for the thaumatic restraint rings, Captain and friend,” the unicorn drawled, practically dripping false conviviality. “They are... crude, but quite effective.”

“But I don't get the pretty jewelry?” Story couldn't help but quip.

Trixie's head jerked towards him as if yanked by an invisible rope. “You,” she snarled her face contorting into a mask of hatred. “If it isn't the pretender, the puppeteer. Sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Interfering.”

“Oh, so you know what I am,” Story said, meeting her gaze evenly. “I figured as much.”

“How nice of you to at least credit me to be more observant than these foals.” Trixie's expression didn't change. “And the reason you don't get a ring is because I needed two of them to restrain Miss Sparkle's... admittedly prodigious magical reserves. The restraints are neither cheap nor easily found.” A predatorial smile crossed her face. “And it's not as if you pose any real sort of threat to me. The magical skills of that body you wear like a costume are paltry at best. You are as much a threat to me as a termite is to a titan!”

“Right.” He let out an aggravated sigh. “Do you have any idea what you're doing, Trixie? Do you know what you're going to unleash?”

“Unleash?” she scoffed. “The only thing I will 'unleash', you foalish alien, is proof of my greatness for all of Equus to see! Every last miserable form of life on this sorry world will witness my cutie mark emblazoned upon the sun and moon from now until the end of time!”

“Your- your cutie m-” He couldn't help it; he burst into laughter. “All this because you want to show off to every-”

There was a brief sensation of being lifted, then of flying backwards, and then he slammed into a wooden bench that shattered on impact. He let out a cry of pain as he tumbled across the stone floor. “DO NOT LAUGH AT ME!” Trixie roared, her eyes darkening- literally; it looked like shadows were coating them. Her horn flared, and Story lifted off of the ground again. “Nopony will ever laugh at me again! The name of the Great and Powerful Trixie will strike fear and awe in the hearts of all!”

“This... this isn't what you want, Trixie.” Even speaking hurt now, but he persevered. “I read your diary. You didn't want this- whatever you learned, whatever you absorbed, it's overtaken you. We need you to-”

wooosh THUD

This time he hit something metallic, and felt something snap in his chest. He yowled in pain, clutching at his barrel with his forelegs, his vision dark red around the edges. “SHUT UP!” Trixie roared. “Just. Shut. UP!”

“Story? Story!” First called out. “What have you done to him, you overstuffed- ow!”

“I can disassemble every last one of you, one at a time. Why do you seek to anger me?!” Trixie's face twisted in fury. “I subdued even Celestia's own student; you will understand that I am not to be trifled with!”

“There's... there's no way you could've beaten her in a fair contest.” Shining was gritting his teeth, staring at Trixie despite the obvious pain he was in. “Give this up, Trixie. Do you think the Princesses will simply let you walk away from this if you succeed?”

“It doesn't matter! The world needs to respect me! It must respect me!”

“Fear... isn't respect.” Story fought his way to his hooves, and spat out something that looked suspiciously like blood. “Trixie....” He swayed as he walked forward. “I have... one thing to say to you. And you're going to look me in the eyes when I do.”

“Is that so?” The blue mare trotted towards him casually, her horn glowing with pure-black magic as she approached. “Tell me, my good creature from another world, just what is it you have to tell me?”

He waited until she was standing before him, her eyes locked onto his and her mouth bent in a cruel grin. Then he let out a slow breath, lowered his head and closed his eyes.

“Smile for the birdie.”

flash

Trixie let out a decidedly unvillainous screech as she stumbled back, forelegs rubbing desperately at her face. “My eyes! I'm blind!” she screamed. Story didn't waste time- he galloped up to Shining as quickly as he could with a broken rib, set his forehooves on the larger pony's side, then dipped his head, clamped his teeth against the ring set on the Captain's horn, and pulled.

Immediately, Shining's horn flared. The row of lockers Story had slammed into rose up, quickly arced through the air and slammed down onto Trixie's form. “Story, remove the ring from Needlepoint's horn! I'll get Twilight!”

He could see that the others were getting to their hooves; apparently Trixie's spell over them had broken along with the lockers Shining had dropped on her back. The unicorn guard looked a bit dazed at what was going on- but perked up once Story yanked the ring from his horn. “Good work!” he exclaimed. “Now get to safety and let us handle things.”

“Not so fast!” The lockers lifted up again, flew through the air almost too quickly to see. Needlepoint tried to form a magical barrier to protect himself, but the massive projectile smashed through it and rammed into him, sending him tumbling backwards.

“Corporal!” Swift Wind called out. “Captain, one down!”

“Don't worry, I got this!” Dash immediately took to the air and streaked towards the still-kneeling Trixie, both forehooves aimed to slam into the unicorn's face.

thwump

Something black and jagged lashed out from Trixie's horn, slamming into Dash and blasting her backwards into a collection of waste bins. “Insolent foal,” Trixie snarled, her voice sounding even more sinister than before. “Must I kill the lot of you to get you out of my-”

She was cut off by a sphere of bright violet magic driving itself into her side, exploding on impact and enveloping her in the blast. Shining raised his head. “There, now will you submit to arrest for-”

kzzzrrrak

Another bolt of black magic screeched its way out of the smoke cloud. Shining immediately put up a shield around himself to block the attack- but it splattered against his magical field like ink, and began to eat away at it as though it were some form of acid. Trapped within his own shield spell, unable to dismiss it without letting that dark magic seep onto him, all he could do was continuously reinforce the spell to protect himself.

“Captain!” Swift Wind took to the air, twisting around several blasts from Trixie and pulling a steep dive, leveling out to attack her from the side. But at the last moment, she simply vanished, teleporting away; the guard began to pull himself into a tight turn- only to slam into a returning Rainbow Dash, who had been trying her own similar maneuver. The two pegasi spun out of control and crashed into the hard stone floor of the cavern.

Trixie let out a sigh of satisfaction. “Well, now that that business is concluded....”

thwack

A wooden chair shattered across the back of Trixie's head. The impact hardly budged her, leaving her reeling more in surprise than pain. “What the... how dare you.”

Story grasped a rock the size of his head in his magic, prepared to make a follow-up attack- but it fell back to the ground when Trixie's aura surrounded him, jerking him up off of his hooves and pulling him towards her. “Is there some sort of trait for your species where you just don't know when to stay down?” Trixie snarled at him as she brought him up to her. “We'll see if you're so defiant when I squash your body down to the size of an orange.” She smirked. “But before I do that, do you have any last words? And don't bother with your little light trick again.”

“Last words? Yeah.” He glanced away for a moment, then back to her, and employed his last-ditch gambit. “You're a carbon kid with a sinister diagram.”

“Ah, yes, well... what?” He almost fell from her grasp as confusion crossed her face.

thump

That moment of distraction was all First needed to charge in. Her rear hooves struck Trixie in the side of her ribcage, sending her flying across the cavern. Story hit the ground in a heap- and First was at his side immediately. “Story!” she exclaimed. “Talk to me, sweetie. Are you alright?”

“...define 'alright'.” He tried to stand, failed, and she slid her head under his neck to help support him.

“Oh, isn't that just precious.” Trixie stood in front of the pillar of rock she'd slammed into, still looking none the worse for wear. “I'll tell you what- I'll be merciful and destroy both of you together. No anguished hearts left in mourning!”

Story braced himself, ready to unleash everything he had in a last desperate attempt at survival, even knowing he didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell. Then another familiar voice let him know that he didn't need to worry about it.

“No you won't, Trixie. You won't be ending any lives today.”

“Sparkle.” As hateful as Trixie's voice had been towards him, Story was only glad to not have had that level of venom directed at him. He turned to see Twilight standing in the center of the cavern, looking almost as beaten up as him but seemingly ignoring her wounds. “I've already put you down once, Sparkle,” Trixie spat out. “Don't think I can't do it again.”

“You ambushed me coming out of the restroom, Trixie. You don't have the element of surprise this time.”

“I don't need it!” The blue unicorn lowered her head, launching a beam of her dark magic at Twilight- only to have the other mare's horn glow, and the attack dissipate harmlessly less than halfway there. “You won't defeat me again, Sparkle!” Trixie screamed, throwing herself into a pell-mell rush towards her adversary, lines of unnaturally dark magical energy streaking from her horn- each strike either fading before even reaching Twilight or being deflected away. “I'll KILL you!”

With a growl that had no business coming out of a pony, Trixie threw herself at Twilight, forelegs radiating the same kind of dark magic as her horn, aiming to bring them down on Twilight's head. But in a flash of violet light, Twilight vanished- and Trixie hit the steel container she'd been standing in front of head-first, hard enough to leave a dent and two hoof-shaped marks of corrosion.

As the blue unicorn staggered away, Twilight reappeared right behind her. “Now, First!” she called out.

First Response practically dove onto Trixie's back, tackling her into the ground, and wrapped her forelegs around the unicorn's neck. “Holf fhill!” she demanded, yanking Trixie's head backwards- and then sliding the restraint ring she had clenched between her teeth onto the other mare's horn.

Trixie screamed. Her anguished cry echoed through the caverns, piercing Story's ears and making him grimace, only in part from the way it spiked his headache. First rolled free of Trixie as the unicorn writhed on the ground, clutching at her horn, unable to remove the ring herself. First returned to Story's side as Twilight rushed up to her rival. “Stop fighting it, Trixie!” Twilight urged. “You're only harming yourself!”

“Sparkle-” Trixie snarled, before another scream tore its way through her throat. “No- no... help me! Twilight!”

“Trixie-?!”

“Get it out of me! Celestia's mercy, please! It's destroying me!”

Her voice had changed, striking a sense of deja vu in Story's mind, until he finally remembered where he'd heard it- in that dream-premonition-memory he'd seen when he'd napped, the last voice he remembered hearing before everything had been destroyed. “...so sorry, this isn't what I meant to happen!” “Twilight! That's the real Trixie!” he called out. “The ring must be interfering with whatever's been controlling her!”

“Of course!” Twilight rushed up to Trixie's side. “Trixie... I can free you of whatever's corrupted you, but you have to let me! You have to trust me!”

The ring upon Trixie's horn was beginning to smoke. “Anything!” she wailed. “Anything! Do whatever you must before it consumes me!”

Twilight's horn began to glow- gently at first, but getting brighter by the second, until Story and First both had to look away. Then there was a deep sound, like some universe-spanning bass string being plucked, and the light faded. Story looked up to see the ring that had been on Trixie's horn now floating just above her head, as a wreath of shadows- exactly like what he'd seen on the corrupted timberwolf- flickered across it; Twilight was obviously straining, magic streaming from her horn as her arcane field pressed against the shadows. Gradually, she won the battle, and the darkness sank into the restraint ring and faded away.

Trixie's eyes opened, looked up at Twilight. “Thank you,” she whispered, before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed onto the ground in a heap.

Twilight dragged the ruined lockers towards her, then concentrated. In a flash of light, the half-destroyed chests became a thick metal box with sturdy hinges and a strong-looking clasp; the ring floated into the box, and the lid closed with a final-sounding click.

And then the box dropped to the ground, along with Twilight as she fell to her knees.

“Twily!” The corruptive magic faded from Shining's shield spell, and he immediately galloped to his sister's side, lifting her head. “Twilight, talk to me! Are you okay?”

“Just... just exhausted. I need a minute.” She shook her head slowly. “Is everypony alright?”

There had thankfully been no fatalities- Trixie was still alive, but catatonic- though Needlepoint had come away almost as badly as Story; the impact from the locker had dislocated his jaw and broken a scapula, and it was obvious that if he hadn't acted to protect himself the blow would have probably killed him. The two other guards had been trapped outside of the cavern by a shield spell and were unhurt, and Dash and Swift had only suffered some bruises to their bodies and egos. “I'm really sorry about that,” Dash apologized to the guard. “I was trying to cut past you. I didn't think you'd be able to make that sharp a turn wearing all that armor.” She grinned. “I gotta admit, it was pretty impressive.”

Swift actually blushed. “Well, there's a reason I almost made the Wonderbolts second-string team,” he answered.

“You did? Cool! Tell me about it sometime!”

“That'll have to be later,” Twilight interrupted. “Shiny... how did you all know to look for me here? And what are Story and First doing here?”

“Maybe you'd better ask Story,” Shining replied. “He's been avoiding telling us anything until he gets to talk to you.”

Twilight blinked, then turned her gaze to Story. “Story? What's going on?”

He sighed. “Okay. Starting off- your Princess wishes you the most glorious sunrise next morn.”

Twilight's shocked reaction was much less subtle than her brother's had been. “I... I see. You have my attention.”

“Good.” He managed a smile. “I have all the information you should need to understand what's going on, Twilight. But there's one problem... it's all in here-” he tapped his head with a hoof- “and it would take me far too long to explain and draw. I was told you have a memory-recall spell.”

“Y- yes, I do.”

“I was told that you need to use that spell on me- with a neuromantic link.”

The unicorn gasped. “Are you sure that's what you were told? Story, if I did that I'd be effectively reading your mind- all of it. Your mind would be an open book to me; every memory you have would be accessible.”

“Yeah, I know. It's necessary, Twilight. I'm sure of it.”

She seemed to consider that for a moment. “If you're certain, Story. But for this I need your assent- your complete and unreserved consent- or your psyche will reject the spell. Can you give me that?”

“Yeah.” He nodded, not breaking his gaze. “You have that, Twilight. Do what you need to do.”

“Alright, then.” Slowly, Twilight approached him; at his side, First gently stroked his neck with her hoof. “Story, are you sure you're up for this?” she asked.

He nodded, giving her a smile. “It's all for the best, First. And I want to tell you what's going on.”

“Don't you worry about me. I'll wait for however long is needed. Your safety means more.”

“It'll be okay, First,” Twilight assured her. “There's nothing harmful about the spell, though it may be a little... disconcerting. Are you ready, Story?”

Again he nodded. “Let's do this.”

With one final glance to be sure, Twilight leaned forward and touched her horn to his. Almost immediately he felt her presence in his mind- like an unexpected guest in his most private retreat. But he felt no sense of violation, even as he sensed her reading through his memories, cataloging them; her presence was that of a trusted friend, not an unwelcome invader.

He wasn't sure exactly how long the process took, though when he felt Twilight's mind leave his own, First was still lightly caressing his neck. He watched a range of emotions flicker across Twilight's face, from confusion to fear to shock to understanding, before she looked up at him and gave him a small but heartfelt smile.

And then she spoke the two words he never expected to hear from the mouth of a living pony.

“Hello, Jacob.”

Endgame

“So... you actually are an alien? Like, from another planet?”

Dash wouldn't stop staring at him, flapping around to study him at various angles while they walked. Story tried not to pay too much attention to it all; the curiosity- and edge of distrust- was understandable. Twilight, though, had apparently had enough. “Dash, please,” she said. “Just let it go for now, alright? He's been through more than you can imagine.”

“Yeah, but....” The pegasus sighed, landing next to him. “Okay, that's fair. Sorry, Jacob.”

“It's okay. And please... I'd rather you still called me Story.” He gave her a smile. “All things considered, you're not taking the whole idea too badly.” He turned his head. “Neither are you, First... and to be honest, when it came to the idea of telling you everything, I was terrified that you'd feel lied to.”

“Part of me wants to feel like that, but thinking about what you've been doing for us....” She looked down at the ground. “What right have I got to judge you?”

“You have the rights due to you as a pony, and as my friend.” He brushed against her side. “What I am and what I've done doesn't change how I feel about all you've done for me, First. It doesn't make your opinion or your feelings any less important.”

Her smile returned, slowly. “Thanks, Ja- I mean, Story.” She fell silent for a moment. “Why is it you still want to go by that name? I mean, if you're okay with me asking that.”

“Because Jacob is just the guy along for the ride. Story is the one who's going to have to live with everything I've done to him. From what I know of him he isn't a very physical stallion.”

Dash snickered. “Coulda fooled me,” she said, pointing at the bandages he still had wrapped around his chest. “I'd think you were an earth pony, taking all that abuse and still standing.”

“I'm just stubborn.” He grinned.

“No way.” First gave him a light prod on the shoulder. “Going head-to-head with a timberwolf? Especially one like that one you told us about? That goes beyond 'stubborn' and starts straddling the line between 'brave' and 'crazy'.” She chuckled. “How are you feeling, by the way? Bandages too tight? I can rewrap them.”

“No, I'm good. The healing spell Twilight used took a lot of the edge off of the wounds. But thanks for asking.”

“How about you, Twilight?”

The violet mare blinked, looked over at them. “Huh? Oh. No, I'm okay, thank you.” She considered for a moment. “Story, may I ask exactly how this 'body-sharing' thing you've been doing works? You said that Jacob is in control... are you aware of Story's mind in any fashion?”

“No.” He let out a sigh. “I mean, I have access to his memories... sort of. Just knowledge of his life, no actual rememberings. I've never heard a whisper of a thought from him. As far as I know, ever since I've gotten here, I've been in complete control of his body every moment I've been awake.”

“I see.” She returned to her thoughtful silence, and the rest of them likewise went quiet for the rest of the walk, until they reached their destination. “Okay, wow,” Story murmured. “This is seriously something. I've seen big libraries, but this? This takes the cake.”

He'd also heard of the term “ivory towers” being used metaphorically, but this was the first time he'd actually seen any. The Canterlot Royal Archives consisted of several of them, linked together by a grand campus building. “I don't know, looking through your memories I'm seeing some pretty impressive libraries,” Twilight replied. “And other educational institutes, too. Did you really once get lost in the Smithsonian Institute for three hours?” She giggled quietly.

He sighed as the violet mare led them into the building. “Please tell me you're not going to relate every one of my embarrassing moments,” he said.

“Oh, I don't know, I think I could stand to hear a few more.” First gave him a playful grin.

“Sure, pick on the poor defenseless alien.” He couldn't keep from grinning for a moment. “Are they here? I thought they were going to be waiting for us.”

“We're right over here, sugarcube,” called a voice. Applejack, the other Bearers, Spike and Shining Armor were standing off to the side. “We're... sweet blushing golden apples! Twi? Story? What the hay happened to you two?!”

“Shhhhh!” The librarian at the front desk shot her a disapproving glare.

“Um... oops. Sorry.” She looked down at the floor sheepishly, while Fluttershy gazed at her injured friends with concern. “Oh my,” she murmured. “I'd... I'd heard you'd both been hurt, but....”

“It's okay, Fluttershy. It's not quite as bad as it looks. A little healing magic does wonders. I appreciate your concern, but we're galloping against the clock.” She sighed. “You don't really appreciate teleporting until you're too exhausted to do it when you need to.”

“Speaking of the clock, let's go, everypony.” Shining motioned for them to follow him. “I've restricted access to the Ancient Mythologies and Advanced Thaumatic Constructs sections. Once we're there, Twilight can fill everypony in on just what's happened and we can get to work on research.”

And that was what Twilight did once they'd reached the first section on their agenda. It was a streamlined explanation, to be sure- especially coming from someone as prone towards exposition as Twilight- but the others were brought up to speed quickly. The reactions to Story's true nature brought varied reactions from the others. “Whoa, wait, hang on,” Applejack said. “So... Story, technically, yer a spy?”

“Um... no, that's really not the word I'd use,” Story answered. “How about... 'undercover agent'?”

“Oooh, I like that.” Dash grinned.

“Okay, everypony, let's cut the chatter.” Shining took a look around the room. “The Princesses have been notified; they've accepted the explanation of what's going on, but can't join us yet- there's too much regarding the Renewal that can't be neglected. The front desk had no records of Trixie checking out any books, so she probably took her notes in here- and she's still in a catatonic state, so we have no way to know what she read. Twilight, what should we look for?”

“Anything regarding magic of a corrosive nature, or anything that would use it. Look for words like 'acidic', 'deconstructive', 'entropic' or anything else having to do with rot, decomposition or destruction.”

“Got it. Let's spread out and get started.”

It was a difficult search through countless numbers of old tomes and reference materials, during which Story seriously missed computers and the Internet. At least levitating books wasn't aggravating his headache. “Hey there, tough guy,” came a voice. “How are you holding up?”

Story looked to his left, then down. Spike was peering at him from around a stack of books taller than him. “Oh, hey, Spike. Yeah, I'm managing... could use a nap, though. What have you got there?”

“I skimmed the indexes of these books, and it looks like they might have something useful. You look like a pretty fast reader, so could you lend a hoof?”

“Sure. I've had no luck here.” He took half the books out of the virtual tower Spike was hoisting and laid them on his back, then trotted with the juvenile dragon to one of the tables that dotted the room. “So, um, Story,” the reptile said once the books had been set down. “Uh... what's it like, being an alien?”

He chuckled. “What's it like being a dragon?”

Spike blinked, then laughed quietly at himself. “Yeah, dumb way to phrase that, I guess,” he admitted, pulling himself onto the table and opening one of the books. “I just... well, I've never met somepony who isn't even from Equus before. I guess I'm kinda curious... what do you think of Equestria?”

He felt himself grinning, even as he began leafing through one of the thick tomes. “Spike... this place is absolutely wonderful. There's no magic where I'm from at all.” He caught sight of the young reptile's eyes widening. “No dragons, either. Or talking ponies or zebras or donkeys, or minotaurs or griffons. No timberwolves either, at least the kind you have here, but I'm not so put out about that.” They shared a laugh. “It's... there's so much I've seen here that I would've never come across back home. I envy you guys so much, seriously.”

“Wow. I... I guess I never thought about Equestria like that before. Is where you're from that bad?”

“It's not bad, it's just... my kind doesn't have the same kind of unity ponies do. What happened at the celebration, with the singing, that whole 'magic of friendship' thing- it floored me. There's been plenty of times we could've used that sort of thing, or leaders like your Princesses, to help us find our way.”

“Well, yeah, but... I mean, how bad can your kind be? If you're just some average pony- err, I mean, whatever you guys call yourselves- but you're doing all this to help us....”

“...then perhaps your kind are more open to friendship than even you know, darling.” Rarity followed her words up to the table, levitating a small number of books beside her. “From what little I've overheard Twilight mumbling about your home, I would think it some incomprehensible wonderland- but you seem no different from anypony. I simply cannot believe it to be an act.”

“Yeah, and I don't think that the magic of friendship would've touched you if you were some kind of bad guy. That's a thing.” Spike grinned.

“Heh. Okay, okay, thanks, you bunch of flatterers.” He grinned. “Yeah... when you get down to it we're not terribly different from you for the most part, at least in personality. I'm not saying we don't....” His voice trailed off as he spotted something on the page he was looking across. “...Spike, do you have any bookmarks?”

“Yep, brought a bunch.” He opened a small wooden box that had multicolored strips of cloth; Story levitated one out and slipped it between the pages he was reading. Rarity set her books down, picked one at random and opened it, and the three of them managed a light conversation while reading. Some time passed before First trotted up with a good couple dozen books balanced on her back. “Jeez, First,” Story chuckled. “Grab a few more, they'll build you a wing to keep them in.”

“Oh, har har.” She gave him a grateful smile as he lifted the books up with his magic. “I found a nice selection that have some chapters on... what was it? 'Self-sustaining counter-enthalpathic spell matrices'. I'll admit I don't have the best vocabulary....”

“I beg to differ!” Twilight interrupted, magically tugging an entire cart full of books behind her. “That's precisely the sort of thing I need. Good work, First.”

From then on it was a matter of buckling down and reading. Story had to take a short break due to his headache flaring up on him from all the staring at small writing; First went with him. “Let me have a look at your eyes,” she told him once they'd reached one of the quiet reading areas.

He did so, taking the opportunity to clean off his glasses. “Okay, seems like normal dilation,” she said. “I just wanted to be sure you weren't suffering from delayed concussion symptoms. You really took a beating in that cavern.”

“Yeah, but you ponies are made of some tough stuff, it seems.”

“Right, says the one who spent the night playing tag with a timberwolf.” She chuckled. “Hoo. This... this has been one memorable trip.”

“You're telling me.”

First sighed quietly. “Story... I'm in a weird place right now. I don't know how to deal with this. I know that the Bearers have strange stuff happen to them all the time, but now I wonder how they haven't gone completely insane.”

“It was my understanding that Pinkie Pie saved time and did that beforehoof.” He grinned.

First giggled. “Yeah, that's efficient.” After a moment, her smile fell, and she gazed down at the floor. “Story... I was going to ask you today if you wanted to start dating me. And now I find out that you're... well, a lot more out-of-town than I thought. And if we're not all wiped out of existence, you'll be leaving.” She let out another sigh. “I'm not good with long-distance relationships, Story. Especially, you know, off-planet ones.”

“Postage alone gets to be a problem with those.” The joke fell flat; his heart wasn't in it. Her forlorn expression was killing him. “First... I'm sorry. I never meant for this kind of situation to happen. You deserve better.”

“I really want to be angry at you, Story. But how can I? Knowing what you've been going through, how lost you must have felt trying to figure out us ponies while you were also trying to figure out how to save us....” She looked into his eyes. “I thought for a bit that maybe I'd fallen for an impostor, but I can't believe that. It just turns out I've found the most thoughtful, brave and caring pony I've ever known, only... he's not actually a pony.”

She looked close to tears, and he wasn't far behind. “First, I'm so sorry,” he told her, putting a foreleg over her neck in a gentle embrace. “I didn't want to hurt you. I wanted to tell you who I really am, what was going on... but honestly, what would you have done if I had?”

“...probably drag you off to the nearest psychiatric ward.” Her chuckles became quiet sniffles, and he lightly stroked her mane. “What's... going to happen to you after this?” she asked. “And to the actual Story Seeker?”

“I'm... not sure. One way or another, I'll be heading home due to the Princesses... either the ones here or in the Ethereal Plane. Then I guess Story gets to deal with the aftermath.” He shook his head and sighed. “I've got no idea how he's going to react. I don't know if he's been aware of what I'm doing, or if he's just in limbo, or what... but either which way, he's probably going to have a lot of issues to work out once I'm out of his head.” He fell silent for a moment. “First... would you do something for me?”

“You want me to look after Story once you're gone.”

“I want- um.” He went still for a moment. “Okay, did Twilight teach you that memory spell to let you peek into my mind?”

A chortle escaped her lips. “I'll do that for you. And for him.”

“You're an absolute sweetheart.” He patted her neck. “I think you'd like him. From what I know of him, he's not a bad stallion at all... even if he does have the worst taste in clothing. Maybe you can help him with that.” They shared a chuckle. “The guy is probably going to hate me, though. Especially after what I've done to his body.”

“If he's half the pony you are, that won't happen. Not if he understands the stakes. And if he doesn't, I'll knock some understanding into him. I know he can take it.” They laughed quietly together. “But still, Story... I feel like I'm being cheated. This 'Jacob' guy seems pretty interesting too, you know....”

He went silent for a moment, leaning against her, fighting a losing battle against tears. “I'm going to miss you, First.”

“Hey.” She leaned back and cupped his jaw with her hoof. “No tears, now,” she said, even as droplets rolled down her own cheeks. “I don't want to be a sad memory for you. We'll all still be right here in your heart.” She tapped his chest. “The magic of friendship, remember? It's a stronger bond than you might think.”

“She ain't kiddin', sugarcube.” Applejack peeked around the nearby stacks. “I really hate t' interrupt, but... th' Princesses are here, an' they want everypony together. But, uh....” She gave them a sympathetic smile. “It's awright if y' wanna take a minute or two. I never was any good at findin' mah way around a library anyhow.”

She gave them a wink and then vanished behind the bookshelves, leaving the pair alone. Story let out a quiet sigh. “Right now we've got a world to save. We'll worry about what happens after that once the job's done.”

First nodded slowly. “You're right. But... just one thing before we go.”

“What's th....” He fell silent as she leaned forward and placed a tender kiss against his lips. Her eyes gazed into his as she gently stroked his neck. “No sad memories,” she reminded him once she'd pulled away. “Promise me.”

“I promise.” He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “Thank you, First. For everything.”

“I should be saying that to you. But... you're welcome.” She nuzzled his cheek lightly. “Let's go, hon.”

Just as Applejack had said, the Princesses were standing at the table with all their collected reference materials; once more Story found himself kneeling before them, with First doing the same next to him. “Rise, my little ponies,” Celestia said quietly. “And allow my sister and I to thank you both for all you've done today.” Her eyes focused on Story. “And also allow me to welcome you, Jacob Doakes, to Equestria. I wish your reason for visiting-” her gaze swept over his bandages- “and your stay had been more pleasant.”

“Well, I promise not to give a bad review when I get back home.” He managed a faint chuckle. “I'm sorry for the deception.”

“You need not apologize. Given this situation, it was entirely warranted.” Luna paced her way up to him, studying him intently. “Can you feel it, sister?” she asked, not taking her eyes off of him for a moment. “So subtle... easily missed unless one were carefully looking for it.”

Celestia nodded. “Indeed. The spiritual link is so finely forged, so ephemeral... like gossamer in dawn's light. We apparently do good work when pressed.”

“Um... Princesses?” Story's gazed switched between the two. “What are you talking about?”

“Your link to the Ethereal Plane. And... beyond?” The solar diarch concentrated for a moment. “...ah. I see,” she murmured, giving him a cryptic smile. “Quite interesting. Much is hidden, but much can be seen. But that's a matter for another time.” She waved a hoof dismissively. “The present has enough demands for all our attention. Twilight?”

The unicorn smiled slightly as she gathered up her notes. “Thanks to the diligence of everypony here, and the information Story's given me, we've got a few leads. Some of this is guesswork without any input from Trixie....” She gave an askance glance towards Celestia, to get only a slight shake of her head in response. “...well. My best estimation is that Trixie's secondary source of power was entropic magic. The source she gained it from is unknown, but its effect was profound; it basically subsumed her more noble and selfless traits-”

“She had those?” Dash's chortle quickly died out at the stares everyone else gave her. “...um, sorry.”

“-and played up her narcissism and distrust,” Twilight continued as if nothing had happened. “Her work with the arcanocite-nitrate compound only accelerated her mental decline. And judging by the actions of the timberwolf Jacob fought, it's entirely possible that this form of magic either had from the beginning, or achieved over the years, some kind of sentience- and managed to extend its influence backwards in time to before the E.L.E. to prompt Trixie to stop Jacob, in Story's body, from interfering.”

“Uh... what's an 'E.L.E.'?” Applejack questioned.

“Extinction-Level Event.” Twilight's expression became serious. “Which is exactly what we're looking at if we can't stop this. It isn't just Canterlot that this affects, and it isn't just ponies that it destroys.” She paused for a moment, looking at each of the ponies around her in turn. “I haven't worked out every detail of the runeform Trixie devised; it has to be the most complex thaumaturgic construct I've ever seen... but I've figured out some of the details. It's designed to destroy- not just kill, but obliterate- any creature above a certain level of sapience. Ponies, zebras, donkeys, griffons, dragons... any intelligent, self-aware form of life within range of the runeform's effect would be effectively scrubbed from existence.”

The others looked horrified. Even Celestia and Luna had lost their normal aloofness. “And... and how big is that range?” Fluttershy half-whispered.

“By herself, even with all the time she's had, Trixie couldn't empower this runeform to be dangerous to more than, say, a third of the city. But....” She let out a quiet sigh. “She couldn't have picked a better time to do this. The Renewal of the Covenant requires the greatest amount of magical output ponykind has ever been witness to. Between the planet itself, the Princesses, the sun and moon, the amount of sheer thaumatic energy involved... if the entity inside the runeform managed to harness even one-tenth of all that magic to fuel its effect... it could sweep the entire world.”

Fluttershy fainted dead away. Even Shining Armor looked like he could be sick. “But... but why?” Pinkie whimpered. “Why do that? What could be so mean, so... so mean?!”

“Intelligence tends to create order, Pinkie. Even intelligence as random as yours.” Twilight managed a wan smile for a moment. “Entropy is the breakdown of order, a return of everything to its primal state. The ruins Jacob has seen, all across the world- it's practically a smorgasbord for an entropic entity; everything falling into disrepair, being worn down by the elements, crumbling into dust.”

“But it could only hijack one timberwolf to come at me in the future?” Story asked.

“I've studied the photographs you took of that rune, Story. The entity apparently expected to make the runeform its home for some time... and didn't take into consideration its own nature.”

He focused for a moment, bringing up the picture he'd shot as Jacob into his mind's eye and comparing it with the other picture Story had captured. “...you're right. The rune's distorted.”

“I'd wager that all of them were by then. Nothing made of pure entropy can preserve something as ordered as a runeform for very long. This entity engineered its very own deathtrap- by destroying every form of life intelligent enough to repair the runes, it consigned itself to eventual dissipation... extinction along with all the rest of us. Co-opting that timberwolf to attack Jacob could possibly have been its last-gasp effort; if you hadn't defeated it, I'm sure the very nature of the power it held would have destroyed it in short order.”

“But why not get Trixie to do something about it here and now?”

“Perhaps it simply cannot grasp that its own nature has doomed it,” Celestia pondered. “Like a goldfish in an untended fishbowl, fouling the water with its own offal and yet unable to comprehend why it struggles to breathe.”

“Okay. Well, good. We got a decent idea as t' what we're dealin' with.” Applejack took off her hat for a moment and dusted it against her foreleg. “Now how d' we stop it?”

“That, unfortunately, is the hard part.” Twilight levitated another batch of notes over to her side. “Trixie must have spent months designing this runeform- the complexity is astonishing. Trying to deconstruct it and determine its individual components... it's like trying to do one of those connect-the-dots puzzles, only there's no numbers, and I don't know what it's supposed to make.” She sighed. “Trixie's notes aren't very helpful. The paranoia was setting in pretty heavily by then; either she used some kind of bizarre codeset to encrypt them, or she was somehow able to memorize everything she did and all this is just half-crazy nonsense.” She paused a moment. “But... I was able to make a lot of headway.”

She set down her notes, and spread them across the table. “I'm going to say this for Trixie: If she had applied herself this hard towards learning and mastering runeforms in her youth, with a healthy mind, she'd probably have a wing in this library named after her by now. She's made a trap that we'll have to spring in order to disarm.”

Applejack blinked. “Uh... come again, sugarcube?”

“Indeed, do elucidate,” Luna agreed.

“There are a few potential weak points in layers of the runeform. The problem is that they're protected by other parts of it. Imagine... a treasure in the middle of a room with three ponies guarding it. Each pony can see the treasure and both of the other ponies. You can't get the treasure or subdue one of the ponies without alerting the others. Only the problem here is, if one of the guards spots you, the room explodes.”

“That... sounds like a problem, yes,” Rarity deadpanned. “But if we 'set it off', so to speak, before the Renewal... can we not minimize the damage it does? You did say it could only possibly have a relatively paltry amount of magic stored in it.”

“ 'Relatively', yes. The problem is where it'll go. I couldn't find any sort of channeling system built into the runeform- it would be like a release valve- so the most likely place it would be drawn to would be the leyline junction directly underneath Canterlot.”

Dash scratched her head. “Well, what's a leyline junction? And wouldn't the magic being drawn down into the ground be a good thing?”

“The leyline networks cross the entire surface of Equus, Dash. They're subterranean channels of pure magical energy that flow everywhere, like underground rivers. The junction beneath Canterlot connects to dozens, if not hundreds of leylines; if the entropic magic managed to reach it....”

“...it would infest it, spread, and eventually crack this planet apart like a rock beneath a sledgehammer. A choice between instant annihilation and eventual destruction.” Celestia sighed. “Twilight, how do you intend to 'set off' this runeform without destroying us all?”

“The same procedure we'd follow with a hazardous substance spill. Contain, dilute and cleanse. Now, if the energy got out all at once, no shield spell in the world could hope to contain it for more than a few milliseconds- I saw a minor attack practically trap Shining in his own shield....” The stallion in question grimaced slightly. “But if we can draw out the energy slowly, and use the Elements of Harmony to cleanse it....”

“Could we not simply use the Elements against the runeshape?” Luna asked. “Would not their power cleanse it of this foul destructive magic?”

“I can't guarantee that it would, Princess. The runeshape is specifically designed to strip any entering magical energy of its intrinsic properties and convert the raw mana into more entropic energy. Even the power of the Elements could end up corrupted the same way... and we'd only be accelerating our own destruction.”

“...y'know, I wish this was one of those times where I couldn't follow along with the egghead-talk,” Dash murmured; Story gave her a sympathetic look. “You and me both,” he told her.

“So what I think we can do instead is trigger the runeform to release its energy- and then seal it off, like a manual shutoff valve. Only allow out as wide a flow of energy as we can safely negate with the Elements and the Princesses' magic. The only problem with that... is that we have to allow the runeform to do what it was designed to do- absorb the energy of the Renewal.”

“So we have to light the fuse on the bomb in order to disarm it?” Story asked.

“In so many words, yes.” Twilight let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “I'm open to alternatives if anypony has some.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment... and then First stepped forward. “Look,” she said. “What I know about magic I can write on one side of a horseshoe and still have room for a limerick. But you... you're the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. If anypony can do this, you can. So if that's the best plan we have, let's go to work with it.”

“She's right.” Applejack stomped a hoof. “If we got a shot, we gotta take it! We ain't got much time!” She pointed towards a wall clock that read 3:47. “We got just a bit more 'n two hours before th' Renewal. Now, if I've been understandin' everythin' what's been said, doin' nothin' means we all lose, big time. So we gotta do somethin', even if it don't seem like the best idea right now!”

“ 'The perfect is the enemy of the good'.” Celestia nodded slowly. “I have no better suggestions... sister?” She shot an askance look to her side.

The lunar princess shook her head. “Twilight Sparkle's plan is superior to any I can formulate. Unless one of our number is struck with inspiration, let us proceed at her direction.”

Rarity spoke up. “Shouldn't we evacuate Canterlot in case anything goes wrong?”

“In that timeframe, we could at best get one-third of the non-pegasus population out- in what is guaranteed to be a mass panic.” Celestia gazed out through one of the windows at the afternoon sun. “Any sort of mass-teleportation spell could run the risk of setting off the runeshape. And should we fail... is there any place in Equestria- on Equus at all- we could evacuate to?”

“Maybe Princess Luna has a few extra bunk beds on the moon!” Pinkie volunteered.

Luna shook her head. “Unfortunately, my moon lacks one important substance- air. Mine sister and I would survive... but nopony else.”

“Then let our ponies remain... and remain ignorant.” Celestia gazed at the ponies around her. “Are there objections to this plan?”

Story wanted to object, but he saw the point of the sun goddess's decision. This certainly seemed like an all-or-nothing gambit- so what would be the point of subjecting Canterlot's citizens to two hours of panic and terror trying to outrun something they couldn't hope to escape? So he held his tongue.

“Okay then.” Twilight gathered up all of her notes and reference materials. “We know the problem and we have a potential solution. I think we should get started.”

With nothing else to say or do, the assembled ponies solemnly made their way out of the library.

(-)

“Twilight, I must warn you... Luna and I won't be of much help when this begins. We'll be too involved with channeling the magic required for the Renewal.”

The violet unicorn smiled up at her mentor. “That's okay, Princess Celestia. I factored that into my plan. Shining Armor will handle shaping the containment spells with Cadence's help, and the girls and I will keep the Elements focused on the energy that comes through. We're pretty sure we can maintain the effect for as long as it takes to draw all the entropic magic out of the runeshape.”

The solar goddess raised an eyebrow. “ 'Pretty sure'? That doesn't sound like your usual precision, Twilight.”

“Ugh, don't remind me. I've run the calculations through my mind over and over, but there's just too many variables. I'm still woefully unfamiliar with entropic magic, and we've never used the Elements in this kind of way before.”

Celestia smiled. “I'm sure you and the other Bearers will excel at the task, Twilight.”

Twilight let out a long sigh. “...I sure hope so. We only get one shot at doing this right.”

“I really wish there was some way I could help,” Story said, watching the Bearers, Shining and a few unicorn guards work on preparations. Next to him, First nodded in agreement. “Same here,” she chimed in. “I'm not the kind of mare who likes standing around like a decoration.”

“You have both done more than could be asked of anypony,” Luna countered. She took a moment to look around the square; the guards had set a perimeter around where the ceremony was to take place, ostensibly to protect ponies from the magical energies being unleashed. No one besides Princess Celestia had been around to see the last Renewal, so the procedure went unquestioned. “You have given us this chance to save ourselves. Fates willing, tomorrow will see you both marked as heroes of all Equus.”

First chuckled quietly. “Some vacation this has been. I thought I was just going to relax with some friends and watch a really pretty light show.”

“If we're lucky, that's all you'll have to do.” Twilight gave her a grin before turning to look at Story. “You know,” the lavender mare said to him, “I can't begin to tell you how frustrated I am right now.”

“Why's that?” he asked.

“You're the scientific find of a lifetime! Actual contact with a lifeform from beyond Equus! I have so many questions I want to ask you about all the things I've seen in your memories... but who's got time? We have to save the world first.” Twilight sighed. “I really hope I have the opportunity to interview you after all this. There's just so much to learn!”

“Maybe after the both of you get some rest,” First said, her tone and expression both professional. “Trixie did a serious number on you both. Healing magic only gets you so far.”

“Well... we'll have to see what happens.” He looked down at the ground. “Story going to sleep here has meant Jacob waking up in future-wasteland Canterlot.. and if we stop that from existing, what am I going to wake up to find?”

“Oh... yeah....” First rubbed her neck. “This is all really confusing.”

“If it makes you feel any better, First, I've read dozens of books on causality and time flow... and I'm just about as lost as you.” Twilight gave the earth pony a smile.

Eventually, Twilight had to begin setting up with the other Bearers, and the Princesses likewise had to prepare for the Renewal itself, leaving First and Story sitting by themselves off to the side. Both of them were quiet for a while, simply watching the others get themselves ready, before First spoke up. “Story?”

“Hmm?”

“Is it okay if I feel scared?”

“Of course it is.”

“How about terrified and helpless to the point where I feel like I can't breathe?”

“Considering that's about where I'm at, I don't think I can criticize you.” He leaned against her, feeling the trembling of her body. “We're not going down without a fight, First. No matter what happens, we're going to stand strong. Right?”

“Right.” She rested her head on his neck. “I like how you say 'we',” she told him. “Are all your kind as brave as you?”

“We're as different as you ponies are.”

“Ahh. I kind of find that... comforting, in a weird way. Knowing that you have your good and your bad, just like we do.”

“Yeah... I feel the same way.”

They fell silent again, just content to sit together and watch the preparations. For his part, Story had to admit it felt good to have her by his side- a living, breathing reminder of what he'd ultimately gone through all this for. Now it's up to them, though, he mused. Helpless as I feel... I don't think the situation could be in better hooves.

All the while, crowds had gathered around the center of the square, until it was literally packed with throngs of onlookers. All of them looked excited, expectant, and happy. “Damn, I wish I was as ignorant as them,” he murmured.

“Me too.” He felt First lift her head. “5:58. It's almost showtime.”

As if waiting for that cue, they both heard Celestia's voice ring out. “My little ponies,” she said, her voice magically amplified as it had been during the celebration. “I thank you all for coming to witness this momentous occasion.” He couldn't tell a thing different with her voice, even with the heavy weight of the circumstances on her shoulders; apparently over the centuries she'd developed some supreme self-control. “Once more will we, your Princesses, renew our link with the sun and the moon, so that we can continue to have them shine their light down on all that you do. And today we are fortunate enough to have the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony with us.” There was a few seconds of applause. “Rather than preface the event with preamble, let us simply begin, so that you may all witness what is truly a once-in-a-lifetime event.”

With that, Celestia and Luna took place at either side of the enormous marble mural of their royal mark that lay in the center of the square, while three each of the Bearers stood at the ends; he could see determination and worry in varying amounts on each of their faces. The crowd quieted down to murmurs as everyone waited.

The clock tower began to toll. As the first bell's sound echoed across Equinox Square, a low, deep hum reached Story's ears, while a faint vibration tickled his hooves. The lamps around the area magically dimmed as a thin, tall column of light began to streak upwards between the two Princesses; he watched in fascination as it gradually widened, reaching up into the sky with its blue-white light.

Then something changed. Just on the edge of his perception, he felt a shift of some kind. A few ponies in the audience seemed to notice, but apparently accepted it as part of the whole ritual- but he knew better. The runeform just activated. Once it's working, Shining Armor is going to wait until there's a visible release of its energy- and then he'll seal off the underside of the runeform and allow the Renewal's energy to flow around it. It's a brilliant plan Twilight came up with... so why does the saying “no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy” keep coming to mind?

Within a couple of minutes, there was another sensation of shifting. The crowd gasped in surprise and delight as another circle of light- this one several city blocks wide- rose up around them, while the central shaft gained streamers of black-and-white light surrounding it. And there's Phase 2. Now, girls....

On cue, the Bearers began to lift up, glowing faintly with the power of each of their respective Element of Harmony; even with everything else he'd encountered here, it was a remarkable sight. After a few seconds, beams of light burst forth from the bejeweled necklaces they wore, striking the column of light and wreathing it in a rainbow of colors. It's working? He scarcely dared believe it. It's... it's working! Oh God, please let them hold out... just once, can things go exactly as planned?

He found himself approaching Twilight's group, careful not to distract them or get in the way, and First followed close behind. She, Applejack and Fluttershy seemed to be straining, but their expressions were resolute; still, Story didn't dare speak a word, lest he break their concentration.

He was just beginning to believe that everything would be okay when he felt another shift, this one a lot more noticeable than the last. The white-and-black streams of light flickered, then intensified, covering the entirety of the central beam of light. “Oh no,” he heard Twilight whisper.

“What? What's happening?” he asked.

“I don't know! The flow is increasing!” She looked to the side; Story followed her gaze to see Shining and Cadence rushing up through the crowd; the stallion's horn was glowing brightly. “That's not a good sign,” First murmured.

“Twilight!” he gasped when he finally reached his sister. “The runeform is absorbing my shield energy! I can't get the shield far enough away without losing control of it!”

Oh, shit. “Options?” Story asked.

Twilight looked on the edge of panic. “I... I don't know! We can't stop the process now!”

“Can we release the entropic energy more quickly?” Cadence suggested. “I can lend my magic to the Elements....”

“No good! We need you reinforcing Shining's shield spells! If they go down....” Twilight gasped as the Captain staggered; Cadence immediately rushed to support him. “Shining! What's wrong?!” the pegacorn gasped.

“I can feel the entropic magic eating away at the shield! The energy from the Renewal is going to tear through it at this rate!”

No. Not now, not so close to finally being in the clear! “Twilight! Theories! Anything!” Story demanded.

The unicorn's brow furrowed in concentration. “Reinforcing the shield would only feed the runeform faster. Increasing the outflow- we can't; the girls and I are barely handling it as it is. If only we had a safe place to shunt the entropic energy to! Some way to channel it to a place where it couldn't harm anything!”

A place where it couldn't harm anything.... An idea clicked in his mind. “Twilight, what if we could send it to the Ethereal Plane? What effect would that have?”

“The Ethereal Plane...? It... the very laws of thaumatics are different there; the entropic magic would denature, go inert. But the time and expertise it takes to forge a conduit to an entirely different dimensional plane-”

“We don't need to forge one. We've already got one.” He tapped his chest with a hoof.

Twilight's eyes widened. “...Story? You can't mean... no! Even I couldn't handle that sort of throughput! You'd be annihilated!”

He stared into her eyes. “And the alternative?!”

Her mouth opened- but nothing came out. The others glanced between her and Story as she visibly grappled with the idea. “...Celestia forgive me, I can't think of anything else,” she finally admitted.

He was about to step forward when he felt First's hoof on his shoulder. “Story, no,” he heard her whimper. “You... you shouldn't have to do this for us.”

He turned to face her. “It's okay,” he told her, patting her hoof with his. “I said I was in this to win it. I'm not letting you ponies die. Whatever it takes... I'm going to beat this thing.” He rubbed her cheek gently for a moment, then turned to Twilight, glancing from her to the center column of light and back again. “Put me in, Coach,” he said quietly.

She nodded. “Thank you,” she whispered, before her horn flashed.

And then the world turned to agony. He was in the center of a maelstrom, buffeted by chaotic energies that threatened to tear him apart body and soul, adrift in a metaphorical storm at sea without anything to grab hold of. He fought down a rising sense of panic. Focus! he commanded himself. You're here to do one thing... now do it!

With a supreme effort of concentration, he could feel the thin tether of energy that tied him to the Ethereal Plane. He magically took hold of it, opened himself to it... and then, once he had established the strongest anchor to it that he could, he lowered his defenses and allowed the energies that battered him inside.

Bad idea. BAD IDEA-

He couldn't handle it. The raw magic tore at his psyche, at his soul, threatening to destroy him utterly. He couldn't hope to last more than a few seconds, let alone for as long as it would take to drain the runeshape of its destructive magical payload. You were right, Twilight, I can't handle this... I can only hope I've bought you any sort of time-

A beam of light struck him, then two, then four, then six; bright enough to blind him were he actually seeing them with his eyes. The streams of pure magic encircled him, entered him, supported him. The Elements. The girls are using the Elements of Harmony directly on me! Oh God... it feels so pure, so welcoming....

With renewed strength, he began to pull as much of the entropic energy as he could manage into himself; as it passed through him, the Elements worked to negate its destructive nature, and then allowed it to pass through his link, sending it streaking away past his range of perception. It's working... it's actually working, I can do this, I- wait....

The energy he was receiving from the Elements was fading. The Bearers were reaching the limits of their endurance; he could feel their exhaustion, their panic. He struggled to hold on. Not enough... there's still too much of the entropic magic left; I just need a little more time...!

He was just starting to feel the raw magic attack him again when he felt as much as heard Celestia's voice call out. “My little ponies! Something has gone terribly wrong with the Renewal. Our dear friend Story Seeker is trying to help... but you must help him in return! Open your hearts to me, to him, and lend us your magic of friendship!”

For what seemed like an eternity, nothing happened. He was just beginning to despair that the gambit had failed when he sensed a spark of light ignite before him. Then another, and another... within seconds, there were dozens, then hundreds, then thousands- each one of them the mind and soul of one of the attendees in the audience. Not just ponies, either, but zebras, minotaurs, donkeys, griffins... all of them had opened themselves to Celestia, to him, in a desire to help. He could feel the innate magic of each and every single one of them pour into him.

If the power of the Elements had been a flood, this was a tidal wave. It took him a few moments to grasp it, to bring it under his control- and then he turned it towards the runeform, encompassing it, squeezing it, using the overwhelming power at his command to force it to give up the last of its energies and collapse. He felt himself losing cohesion, his very being beginning to fragment, and a sensation of pain in the back of his mind told him that his link to the Ethereal Plane was burning away... but he held on doggedly, determined to finish what had been started. This ends now, he thought. Even if I end with it. This world will survive!

Then came the moment where he reached for the next surge of entropic energy to channel... and felt nothing. The runeform, spent of the magic that had kept it functional, collapsed in on itself, becoming nothing more than a series of shapes painted on the ground. Exhausted, he let go of the power he had been channeling, and he watched those glowing lights fade away one after the other... until one solitary light remained, twinkling before him, feeling so very familiar.

First Response. He could feel her utter joy at being saved from extinction... and her sorrow at losing a friend. With what little strength he had left to him, he reached out to her. No tears, now, he whispered into her mind. I did this for you, for your kind, for your world. And I have no regrets. Go, and live, and be happy.

That last glowing light faded from sight, leaving him alone in darkness. But just as he felt himself succumbing to it, fading into nothingness, a new stream of feelings entered his mind- warmth, peace, and all-encompassing love. A voice, coming from everywhere, powerful and forceful yet tender and loving, spoke directly into his soul.

Your tale is not yet at an end, Jacob Doakes, my champion. Return home now, and know that you are a hero.

And then everything went white.

(-)

He shot up from where he had been laying, disturbing the bits of wood and dust that had covered him. He coughed reflexively, feeling blindly around the darkness that surrounded him, his hands brushing against cement and leaves and small rocks.

Then he remembered, and reached up towards his head, and clicked on the flashlight still strapped to his hat. And once his eyes adjusted to the light, realization struck. I... I'm back in the Coal Breaker, he thought, looking around at the very same tunnel he'd fallen in when this all had begun. I'm... back home!

Slowly he made his way to his feet, expecting the pains and aches of his earlier adventures... but feeling none. Confused, he checked himself over; the wound in his side was gone as if it had never been, as were the bruises and scrapes he'd earned in the Golden Trails Inn. That... that can't have been just a dream, he thought. Not a chance; it was just so real....

He yanked his phone out of his pocket and brought up the main screen. For a few seconds, the date/time display read “June 1st, 2013, 6:27PM”- then it was replaced by “Syncing”, and a moment later returned. “May 29th, 2013, 2:54AM” Okay, Jake, get a grip on yourself. There's one way to be sure of what happened. Check your camera.

He found himself walking towards the building entrance as he worked his way through the camera's memory, eventually ending up outside the building and well on his way back to his car before he reached the last of the photos he'd shot inside the Coal Breaker. He found his finger trembling as it hovered over the “next” button. Okay, time to see if I've just lost my mind or I did really have an adventure in a world full of talking ponies....

He tapped the button. What he saw come up on the small screen on the back of the camera almost made him drop it. Pages 84 and 85 of “A Tourist's Guide To Canterlot”... it's real. It's real! It did happen!

His sense of utter joy and relief lasted until he reached his car... and then faded away. It was real. But... but what now? He opened the trunk and carefully stashed away his gear, then leaned against the side of the car, staring at the building, which seemed to practically glow from the light of the moon. It... it feels strange to be home now, he thought, taking off his cap and running his fingers through his hair. How do I go back to my ordinary life, knowing what happened? It's not like I can tell anyone else- I'd be in a psychiatric ward in a heartbeat. Do I just... go on, pretending it all never happened?

He didn't know how long he stood there in the cool night air with his keyring clutched in his hand, wrapped up in his own thoughts, before he finally came to a decision. Come on, Jake. If nothing else, think of how First would be yelling at you right now, telling you that you should throw yourself back into life and live it as best as you could. You promised her “no sad memories”... are you going to break that promise? At the very least, go home and get some sleep, and deal with things in the morning.

His hand was just singling out the key for his car when he heard a voice.

“Your moon is beautiful.”

His keys fell to the ground, unheeded, as he turned. There, a dozen feet away, stood Princess Luna; the moonlight seemed to highlight her form, turning her already-ghostly mane into something ethereal, like a viewport into the depths of the universe. She was gazing up at the white circle in the sky. “This is a strange world you live in, Jacob,” she said quietly. “Untouched by magic, chaotic, without even the vestiges of Harmony. And yet your kind has built a civilization here. Truly remarkable.” She turned towards him, slowly, with a gentle smile on her muzzle. “And that such a harsh world could give birth to a gentle soul like yours... I can only be thankful.”

He walked towards her, stopping a couple of feet away, and reached out to touch her neck. “Please tell me I'm not hallucinating,” he half-whispered.

She chuckled at that. “Nay, you are not. I am as real as you, my friend.”

“But... how...?” he stammered. “I... I thought I was dead. Did you...?”

The lunar princess shook her head. “You were beyond even the power of myself and my sister, and of the Elements. But an even greater power interceded on your behalf. Our very world- the magic of Equus itself- took action to preserve and restore you.”

His mind reeled. “That voice I heard... it was your planet talking to me?”

“Indeed. And if Equus itself found you worthy of such a gift, I shall not argue against it.”

“But... then... how are you here? What happened after I left?”

“The Renewal of the Covenant was completed without interruption. All traces of entropic magic have vanished from the runeform- you were successful in defeating the threat. Our world is safe, thanks to you.”

“And... what about Story Seeker?”

She smiled. “He lives. He was unconscious at the moment I left, but First Response believes he will awaken soon. What these few days have done to him is yet to be seen- but rest assured that he has the support of the Crowns, the government and his friends to help him come to terms with events.”

He let out a sigh of relief. “I'm glad to hear that.”

“Indeed. And as for you, my friend....” She approached him slowly as darkness enveloped her horn; something seemed to fade into existence from the void itself. “Jacob Doakes, representative of humanity, citizen of the world called Earth, please accept this boon from the Diarchy of Equestria,” she said, her tone becoming official and stern. “By order of myself and mine sister, Princess Celestia, we bequeath upon you the Solstice Star in thanks for your noble and tireless efforts to protect the innocents of our world.”

He reflexively bowed his head as she levitated the medal over it, letting it come to rest around his neck. “Thank you,” he said quietly.

“No. Thank you.” She lowered her head before him. “Mine sister would be here to thank you as well, were she able. As it stands, she must remain in Equestria as an anchor, of sorts, so that I may return home.” She raised a foreleg and rested a hoof on his shoulder. “As did you serve as an anchor here, for me to find my way to this place.”

“But... but how...?” He couldn't comprehend. “Do- do I still have a link to the Ethereal Plane?”

“Nay; that conduit did not survive. But a different link was forged between you and our world... one you have already felt.”

“But I-” His words died in his throat as realization washed over him. “...the magic of friendship?”

“It is a stronger bond than you might think.” She gave him a knowing smile. “Especially given anchor in a soul so welcoming as yours.” She lifted a foreleg and rested her hoof on his shoulder. “I do not believe that Equestria has seen the last of you, Jacob Doakes,” she said quietly. “Your fate and ours are intertwined now, in ways even I cannot see for certain. But that is a matter for the future; for now... go home, Jacob, and seek the rest you have unquestionably earned. And know that you forever have our gratitude for all you have done.”

With that, she stepped away from him; reality itself seemed to warp around her, swallowing her, until she vanished- leaving him standing alone in an overgrown lot next to an abandoned coal breaker. He stared down at the medal still hanging from his neck, taking hold of it, feeling the still-warm metal against his skin.

It was a long drive home, but he didn't feel alone in the least- he had plenty of thoughts and memories to keep him company.

Reconnection

“...and of course we'd also like to thank Rick Serling of the Ohio Records Bureau for his time and assistance in helping us with our research. For anyone interested in more information about the places we've profiled in this episode, we'll have the Bureau's contact information listed in the credits, as well as in the info section for this video. Today is September 7th, 2014, and on behalf of the Under Dust crew, this is Jacob Doakes, signing off.”

He waited for a couple of seconds until Raul gave the “all clear” sign, then lowered the microphone. “Good shoot?” he asked.

“Great shoot.” Raul grinned. “I'll get on editing the footage as soon as we get back,” he said, removing the camera from the tripod and setting it aside, then folding the tripod up. “But before that... lunchtime?”

“I sure hope so!” Saffy folded up her headphones and dropped them into her case. “I skipped breakfast this morning to make the shoot on time. I'm starving!”

“Yeah, I could tell.” Jacob gave her a grin. “I'm hoping your stomach growling didn't get picked up by the mike.” He laughed at the look she gave him. “Come on, Raul, let's get this packed up and get some food in Saffy before she goes cannibal on us.”

It didn't take the trio long to get the equipment back into Raul's truck and pile into the cab. “Where to?” Raul asked.

“Just a sec.” Jacob worked at his phone, bringing up the local map and recommended places to eat. “There's a nice Italian restaurant about ten miles north... either of you ever had gnocchi di ricotta?”

“I am down with that! Raul, follow this man's directions to the letter or I will eat your face.” Saffy gnashed her teeth at him.

“Yes, ma'am!” Raul threw a ridiculous parody of a salute and started the truck.

In between giving directions and listening to his two friends talk about possible future episodes to work on, Jacob found himself looking out the window, letting his mind wander. This certainly wasn't where I thought I'd end up being when I started that video series, he mused, watching the trees flash by as the pickup truck rumbled down the rural road. Just thought that would be a part-time thing, sharing what I do with other people... just like First and her friends said I should try doing. And that's really all it was at first- then it just sort of snowballed from there.

He looked over at his friends while they improvised some ridiculous rap song involving funny street names that they passed. Both Raul Francisco and Safira Balamar had at first been avid commenters on his videos; then, as he'd built a rapport with them thanks to their excellent suggestions and his series had gained popularity, he'd brought them both on-board as advisors, then as colleagues. Now that the “Under Dust” urban exploration blog had its own website and pulled in enough money for all three of them to make it a full-time career- hell, they were set to bring on a fourth member to help with the back-end stuff- the trio felt more like an exceptionally weird traveling family.

It wasn't until well after seven PM that a tired but content Jacob was dropped off at his home. He gave Raul and Saffy a wave that both returned before the truck pulled away; he unlocked his front door, walked inside... and was immediately greeted by a furry mass winding its way around his ankles and meowing. “Hey there, Cicero,” he said, picking up the Abyssinian cat. “Miss me?”

Cicero purred deeply, flicking his notched ear and staring at Jacob with his one good eye with an expression that all but said “yeah, great to see you again, now how about some food?”. “Okay, okay, come on,” he chuckled, carrying the cat into the kitchen and putting down some fresh canned food before refilling the feeder with more dry kibble. Too adorable, he thought, watching the feline dig into his meal. Would never have adopted him if I hadn't seen the story about him on a recommended video... and then that dream I had that night about Fluttershy begging me to go to the shelter and rescue him. I'd be complaining about those ponies running my life if, y'know, they hadn't inspired me to turn my hobby into a sort of educational series.

He brought along a microwave dinner to eat as he started his computer, logged onto the Under Dust site and wrote up an update for the front page about their latest episode being in post-production. He watched responses build up in the comments as he ate- unsurprising; the site had a community of several hundred registered members, partnerships with a few other urban-explorer sites, and thousands of subscribers to its video channel. Still, every last comment he saw gave him a little warm feeling inside. They like what we do, he thought. They like learning about these places, their histories, the people who once called them “home”. And honestly, it's fun as hell bringing that to them. Derpy was onto something when she said I should do some sort of educational thing, getting others more interested in history.

Not for the first time, he brought up the image he'd found on his camera that he hadn't actually taken- the photograph of Story and the others at the Expo. I'll never know how it got on there, he thought, gazing at it even though he had its every detail memorized by now. It hurt to look at it for a while- a reminder of what I had to leave behind, what I can't ever tell anyone about. Thought I might go crazy for a bit dealing with it all. His eyes flicked to the bottom right area of the image, where Story and First had been caught in their accidental kiss. But I made you a promise, didn't I, First? “No sad memories.” That, and I always had the fear that you'd somehow find your way across the universe just to smack me upside the head if I went all sad-panda. With a winsome smile, he closed the image. I'm keeping that promise, First. Doesn't mean I can't miss you ponies, though.

Eventually, the hour grew late, and he shut everything down, changed for bed and slid underneath the covers. He felt Cicero jump up onto his customary position at the foot of the bed and settle down; the cat's quiet purring helped send him drifting off to sleep.

beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep

His bleary eyes slowly opened at the noise. On his desk, his phone was flashing and sounding off- an incoming text message. A glance at his clock showed that it was just past four in the morning. “Raul, if this is another of your too-damn-early inspirations you just had to share....” he muttered as he left the warm confines of his bed.

It wasn't from Raul, however. There was no sender name, and the body of the message was only two words.

“Come downstairs.”

“...the hell?” he wondered, staring at the message for a moment. Curiosity won out, and he made his way downstairs to the darkened living room- where he was stunned to find a single point of violet light hovering in midair in the center of the room. And as he watched, that point of light expanded, rippling outward, until it had become the size of a doorway; there it hung, like a pool of water set sideways.

And then something came through, something purple and horned and familiar. And a voice he had never expected to hear again spoke up.

“Hello again, Jacob.”

(-)

“...I've waited so long to have a chance to speak with you.”

Jacob went still for a moment, the magazine in his hands suddenly forgotten, as a voice he'd only heard himself speak in came from across Celestia's private waiting room. Slowly, his eyes rose to see its source- and found a pair of familiar, spectacle-framed ice-blue eyes gazing at him. “...Story?” he managed to ask.

“It's good to finally meet you, Jacob.” The pony raised a hoof, and nervously, Jacob shook it. “You almost look afraid of me,” the unicorn commented.

“I... well.” Jacob sighed. “Part of me has always been afraid that you'd hate me for what I did to you.”

“Did to me?” Story's horn flared- only to lift up his glasses so that he could look the human in the eyes without them. “Jacob... Twilight Sparkle and the Princesses told me everything about what happened. Everything. Including how you were a simple victim of circumstance, and your being placed in my body was an act of desperation to save everypony.” He shook his head slowly. “I can't hate you for that, Jacob. Luna's love... you're even more of a hero to me than to any other pony.”

“What... what do you mean?”

“I was completely unconscious while you were in control of my body, Jacob. As far as I can actually recall, I fell asleep aboard a train to Canterlot and woke up in the hospital feeling like I'd been deep-fried.” He chuckled. “But once I'd gotten my wits about me... I found that I could remember everything that happened in-between- sort of, anyway. I could remember the things you did, the 'what' and the 'how'... but not the 'why'. I suppose it makes sense, since the thoughts were yours and not mine.” He shrugged slightly. “But I'll readily admit this, Jacob... you were right. I wasn't a very physical unicorn, nor was I very good with magic. That you managed to do everything that you did, with what limitations my body presented you... well, I don't think I could've managed it in your stead.”

“Hey. You were good enough to get the job done.”

“We were,” Story insisted. “You know... I remember what you said to the mirror that one night, Jacob. How you explained yourself to me, not even knowing if I'd ever hear what you had to say. I think it was that more than anything that made me decide what a good pony- um....”

“You can use 'person'.” Jacob smiled.

“Person, right. What a good person you were. Everything you'd been going through, here and in the future, and you were still concerned about me. There are a lot of ponies who wouldn't have been that thoughtful, Jacob, even if you do adore us so much.” The stallion smiled. “So put yourself at ease; I couldn't hate you if I tried. I owe more to you than anypony else.”

Jacob blinked. “...how?”

“Well, for one, take a look at me. Or more accurately, what I'm wearing.”

Only now did the human notice that the pony was wearing a rather sharp-looking dress shirt with a string tie. “You... ditched the sweater vests?”

“You were right, you know. My fashion sense was horrible.” Story chuckled. “I honestly never cared, though. That changed after what happened. A lot of things did.”

Jacob sat back down and motioned for Story to take the next seat over; he did so. “Tell me about what happened to you after I left,” Jacob said.

“I... had a lot of things to deal with. Not just having had my body taken over for three days by an alien, but... all of a sudden I was a national hero, a recipient of a Solstice Star, a celebrity- for things I didn't do.” The pony sighed. “I felt like a fraud, Jacob. You were the hero, not me. But who could I tell? The Princesses swore me to secrecy, magically bound me to my word that I would never mention you to anyone not already aware of you; our society wasn't ready to learn that there was intelligent life out there somewhere, that it had possessed the body of one of our own- however noble the purpose. The end result was that I had to be you, in a way.” Those blue eyes came up to look into his. “Jacob, I'm not very much like you. I grew up an introvert, more interested in the past than the present. If First had approached me instead of you on that train, I probably would've begged off of her invitation on some technicality or other, gone off to my hotel and never paid her another thought. And then I never would have known her, or her friends.”

“I... was sort of hoping First would come as well,” Jacob said quietly.

Story smiled. “She'll be in shortly, actually. She actually sent me in first... she knew you and I needed to talk privately.”

Jacob chuckled. “Did she give you this face?” he asked, trying to copy the expression First tended to show when she knew what was best for her patient.

“Ha! Yes, exactly that one,” Story laughed. “Oh, Goddesses, Jacob... what I would've missed out on if you hadn't come along!” He ran his hoof across his mane. “For a while, after everything happened, I tried to be exactly like you. I couldn't pull it off, honestly... it was like trying to act a part in a play by only studying my own lines, not the entirety of the script. Then First helped me understand what I was doing wrong, and I came to a conclusion- I couldn't be Jacob Doakes, but maybe I could learn from him to make Story Seeker a better pony.

“So I decided to change myself. I revamped my wardrobe, with a lot of help from Miss Rarity. I started reading books and listening to music I ordinarily wouldn't touch, talking to ponies I'd normally ignore. I adopted a better balance in my life- on nights where I'd typically shut myself in and study, I'd take a train out to Neighbraska or Ponyville, meet up with First and the others, and see a movie or a show or just trot around and talk. It took me a while, but I started looking forward to those little get-togethers more and more. And what started as sending letters back and forth to First every couple of weeks became sending one to her almost as soon as I got one from her. Eventually, just to save on postage, we both decided to move to Ponyville together.”

“And let me tell you, the Neighbraska Post Office was the sorriest to see me go.” Jacob looked up in surprise to see First trotting into the room- but she looked different than he remembered; at first he thought she'd gained weight, but only her stomach seemed distended. Then he understood. “...First? Are you...?”

“Pregnant? Yep. All his fault.” She pointed a hoof at Story, who responded with a sheepish smile; Jacob grinned. “Story, you sly dog!” he laughed.

First grinned. “You know, Jacob... I thought you'd be taller,” she teased, before motioning him towards her with a hoof. “C'mere, you. I want a hug, but it's not the easiest thing for me to rear up at the moment.”

He knelt down in front of her, carefully wrapping his arms around her as she returned the embrace with her forelegs. “I knew I hadn't seen the last of you,” she told him, her expression serious even as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Magic of friendship. I absolutely called it.”

Story and Jacob both helped her into a chair, then took seats opposite her. Jacob gazed over at the mare, tapping his fingers on his legs. “Um... can I....?” he began, not sure how to broach the question.

First laughed. “Oh, go on,” she said, shifting herself a little in her seat. “You'd hardly be the first to ask if you can feel the foal.”

With a chuckle, he gently placed his hand against her abdomen- only to feel a light kick almost instantaneously. “Hey!” he exclaimed, drawing his hand back and leaning away. “Hold your fire! I come in peace!”

Both ponies laughed at that. “I'm so glad you could return to Equestria, Jacob,” First told him. “How are you feeling? Hungry or thirsty? I could go get something brought in for you.”

“There's her motherly instincts kicking in,” Story added.

Jacob grinned. “I'm okay, but thanks. After everything I ate at Pinkie's 'Welcome Back To Equus' party, I may not need food for a week.”

“Celestia's mercy, you made it through without your stomach bursting? You're even tougher than I thought!” First laughed. “Ask Story- we ended up so stuffed at Pinkie's 'We Saved The World' party that you could've rolled us out the door!”

“Oh, did we pay for it, though,” Story murmured, rubbing at his stomach. He went quiet for a moment, obviously thinking. “First, weren't...?” he asked, motioning towards the door.

“...oh! Oh, right! Gah, in all my excitement I forgot to tell them when to come in. Could you call them in, sweetheart?”

“Sure thing.” As Story trotted over to the door and stuck his head out, First looked up at Jacob. “We were sworn to secrecy about you,” she said, “but to explain the difference in Story's personality after you left, the rest of my friends had to be let in on the secret. They all would've liked to come greet you, but most of them had prior obligations. One of them, though, cleared her calendar when she heard you were coming back.”

With that, Story came back into the room with three other ponies close behind- Derpy, Sparkler and Dinky. The little grey unicorn was sitting on her mother's back, peering nervously around Derpy's mane at Jacob. “Is... is that really him?” he heard Dinky ask.

“Hey there, kiddo,” he called, reaching out a hand towards her. “I told you one of those silly-looking hairless apes would want to be your friend.” He gave her a playful wink.

Dinky's shock turned into joy. “It is you!” she shouted, leaping off of her mother's back and galloping towards him, leaping into his lap to hug him. “Whoa!” he yelped, instinctively wrapping his arms around the filly to keep her from toppling over. “Hey, kiddo, I'm glad to see you too- wow, you've gotten big- but I sort of need to be able to breathe!”

“Oops! Sorry.” She hopped back down, sitting at his feet and staring up at him. “Hee hee... you really do look kind of like a hairless ape,” she told him.

'Hey, you can't say I wasn't honest.” He grinned at her, before looking up to see Sparkler slowly trotting up to him. “Um... hi,” she murmured, only meeting his gaze for a moment before looking away. “I, um... I'm not sure how to say this, but....”

He leaned back a bit to look less imposing and gave her a gentle smile. “Go ahead, Sparkler. I'm listening.”

“Well, I... I heard from Rainbow Dash what you said to Mom, about adopting us. I hear a lot of ponies say a lot of bad things about our mother, and I really get angry at them for it- she tries really hard to make us happy, to earn money so we can have a place to live and food to eat. But... but you're not even a pony and you said that really kind thing to her, and it made her happy. So, um... I wanted to say thank you.” She raised a hoof, and he shook it gently. “You're a really nice... um....”

“Human,” he finished for her.

“Hu-man. Yeah. You're a really nice human, Jacob.” She gave him an awkward smile before stepping back.

“Can you believe I didn't even ask her to say that?” Derpy gave him a broad smile, trotting up to him and nuzzling him gently; he gave her a hug in return. “I know maybe it seems silly of me to just drop everything and drag the girls up here just to say 'hi', but... we all wanted to thank you, Jacob.”

“You didn't drag us, Mama!” Dinky put in. “We all wanted to come! I've never gotten to meet a real alien face-to-face before! Especially such a nice one.”

“And... well, you're our friend, too,” Sparkler added. “I mean... kind of a weird-looking friend....”

“Sparkler!” Derpy exclaimed.

Jacob couldn't help but laugh. “It's okay, she's right,” he said. “I know I must look strange.”

“Well, I didn't mean it in a bad way,” Sparkler answered. “I guess... you do look kinda cool. At least you're not a giant slime monster like in that one movie I saw!”

“Hey, you weren't supposed to watch that movie!” Derpy frowned at her daughter. “Missy, you and me are going to have a good long chat when we... we....” She trailed off, pausing to look up. “Jacob... hey, what's wrong?”

He was simultaneously laughing to himself and wiping away tears. “Sorry,” he murmured. “Sorry. It's just... I didn't think I'd get to see any of you again. I think it's just now hitting me that I actually am, you know? I really missed all of you.”

“Aww.” Dinky hopped back into his lap and snuggled up to him; First reached over with a forehoof and wiped at his cheeks. “Hey, no tears,” the mare reminded him.

“Heh. Don't think I can manage that right now, sorry.” He held Dinky with one arm and rubbed at his eyes with his other hand while the other ponies gathered around him. “Hey, this isn't a time to be sad,” Derpy insisted. “C'mon, tell us about what you've been up to!”

He gave them a brief overview of the work he'd done since he left Equestria; the ponies needed explanations on a few concepts like “blogs” and “the Internet”, but they picked up quickly enough. “Ha! See? I told you you could be a teacher!” Derpy teased. “And now you're teaching lots and lots of other humans, and getting paid for it! This is why more ponies should listen to me about things.” The pegasus strutted around a bit. “Uh-huh, yeah, Derpy knows her stuff.”

“Great, now you've inflated her ego, Jacob,” First deadpanned. “She'll be puffed up like that for a week at least.”

Their laughter was cut short by a knock on the door; all of them looked up as it opened, and Twilight Sparkle trotted in with a concerned look on her face. “Oh, hey,” she said. “I'm sorry if I'm interrupting, but... Jacob, I think you'd better come back to the conference room. It turns out that we may have just proven Princess Luna's theory.”

“Um... theory?” Story repeated. “What's going on, Jacob?”

The human sighed. “Unfortunately, I didn't stop by Equestria just to catch up with old friends. The Princesses asked Twilight to bring me back to discuss something that came up. Twilight... can you tell them?”

“Well, certainly. But what I say should not leave this room. Am I understood?” She gave a stern look to the other ponies, all of whom nodded. “Good. We've found that our method of saving Equestria wasn't quite as consequence-free as we'd hoped. Jacob's efforts drew out the entropic energy, and the Ethereal Plane did a perfect job of negating it. But... there was a complication.”

First sat up. “What kind of complication?”

“Well... Equestrian magic, being positively charged, is less quickly subsumed by the Ethereal Plane. And when Jacob, in Story's body, allowed both it and the Elements of Harmony through him... they carried through the entirety of his metaphysical link.” She pursed her lips for a moment. “All the way to his own homeworld, Earth.”

Story blinked. “Oh, don't tell me we saved our world just to doom another one....”

“No! No, nothing as bad as that. Just... complicated. You see... the magic sort of carved a tunnel through the Ethereal Plane and... well, poked a hole into spacetime where Jacob first moved between his world and ours. We think that the contingency spell that future-Luna used for rescue may have had already weakened it- formed a 'groove' of sorts. To summarize, the end effect is that Equestria's magical field is... well, leaking into Earth.”

“This isn't a bad thing, is it?” First asked. “Will it harm their world?”

“It's highly doubtful. Earth may be devoid of magic, but otherwise it follows many of our basic physical laws. Jacob sitting here in his own body is proof that Equestrian magical fields are harmless to humans, and we have every reason to believe that no other forms of life there would find them detrimental. Nor will we see any harmful effects here in Equestria, as our magical field regenerates quickly.”

“Oh! That's a relief.” The earth pony put a hoof to her chest. “So, if that's the case... why the serious faces?”

“Because humans might not react well to magic suddenly appearing,” Jacob answered. “We're... not the most peaceful species at best. If this hole can't be plugged- and it's looking like that's the case- then eventually Earth will have as much magic as Equestria. Which means that humans will be able to learn to harness it and use it.”

“And you're worried that some humans will use it for evil purposes,” Story finished for him.

Jacob nodded and let out a sigh. “That's the long and the short of it.”

“But... can't we do something to help?” Derpy asked. “That just doesn't seem right. It feels like we've... put them in danger, somehow.”

“I agree completely, Derpy.” Twilight gave her a slight smile. “Which is why the Princesses are now working on a diplomatic mission to humanity, with the goal of eventually helping them to harness and use magic responsibly, in whatever way it might manifest in them.”

“Errr....” Story adjusted his spectacles. “I've seen enough movies and read enough pulp science-fiction to know that that might not go over well. They could see us as invaders of some sort, even monsters.”

“Us? Monsters?” Dinky frowned and looked up at Jacob. “I don't wanna be a monster.”

“Easy, kiddo.” He patted her back. “Twilight's told me about the Princesses. They're very wise and knowledgeable, and I know they can figure out a way to introduce ponies to humans without...well, without too many problems.”

“Which is one of the reasons we asked Jacob back,” Twilight said. “A human with an even-keeled view of his own species. We can trust him to tell us the good and the bad about his world and its civilizations.” She looked over at the human. “You said you knew others who might be of help?”

“Yeah. Two friends of mine. They help me run the Under Dust blog. I think you guys would really like them.”

“Oooh!” Dinky's ears perked up. “Does this mean I might get to meet more humans?”

“It just might!”

As the filly cheered, Twilight chuckled. “Well. The Princesses and I do need to talk more with you, Jacob. Would you like it if the others came with you?”

“You know what? I would, if they want to.” Jacob stood, carefully hoisting Dinky up onto one of his shoulders; she giggled and kicked her legs out. “Things are going to be... difficult in the near future- and I'd like to have my friends close-by for support.”

“Hey, count us in.” First managed to climb down off of her chair with Story's help. “We owe you at least that much.”

Story nodded in agreement. “Me as well. I'd certainly love the chance to learn the histories of your world, Jacob. Perhaps... a joint venture?”

“That sounds like a great plan.” Jacob smiled. “Well... let's go, everypony. We've got a lot of work ahead of us yet.”

He let the others file out of the room ahead of him, and then followed them into the uncertain future.

END

Absolution (Bonus Chapter)

“She's right over there, sir.”

He followed the nurse's pointing hoof with his eyes, until they came to rest on the huddled shape in the wheelchair at the far end of the room. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “What happened to her?” he asked.

The nurse balked for a moment. “Normally I wouldn't be allowed to reveal that information, but given your... special status and your clearance....” She cleared her throat. “Her physical diagnosis is extreme thaumatic-system trauma and feedback-induced nonthaumia.” She caught his confused look. “In laypony's terms, it means magical burnout. Whatever type of magic she'd been using did tremendous damage to her body's ability to generate and channel magical energy, and when the restraint ring was applied to her horn in order to stop her from using it, it caused a feedback effect. In ordinary cases a single instance like this would cause only temporary damage, from which the patient could recover within a few weeks utilizing modern medical and magical techniques, but in her case....” The nurse sighed and shrugged. “We're just not sure. It could be permanent.”

He frowned. “There's no way to help her heal?”

“It's possible, but... that leads into the mental diagnosis. She suffers from deep-seated depression, post-traumatic stress, anxiety attacks... as unprofessional as it is for me to say, she's an absolute train wreck.” The mare shook her head slowly. “Her sentence bound her to undergo psychiatric as well as physical therapy, but we've been unable to get her to participate in any of the programs this facility offers. It isn't defiance she's showing... it's despair.”

“I see.” He gave the nurse a smile. “I appreciate the help. Is... it alright if I speak to her?”

She considered for a moment. “Yes. But please, be gentle. She's very fragile.”

“I will.” With that, he walked through the doorway, ignoring the strange looks he got from the other patients as he headed for the back of the room. There she was- wrapped from the neck down in a plain sky-blue comforter, staring blankly at the rain that pattered against the lounge's windows. Her face was gaunt, her eyes sunken, and her mane a barely-kept mess. He winced just a little at the sight, but didn't slow down until he was just outside her range of vision.

“Hello, Trixie,” he said quietly.

He expected a flinch, a jerk of her head, at least some sort of immediate reaction. The slow turn of her head towards him that happened instead was almost unnerving. He could see recognition flash across her face, though, and she was only able to hold his gaze for a moment before she closed her eyes and bowed her head.

“Can I sit?” he asked.

An almost imperceptible nod. He picked the overstuffed love seat that stood alongside where her wheelchair had been placed. “I've been meaning to find out what happened to you after... the last time we saw each other,” he told her. “It just turned out that it took me a little while to be able to come back.” She offered him nothing but silence in reply. “Trixie, look,” he began.

“...'m sorry....”

He almost hadn't heard her over the gentle thrumming of the rain against the glass; only the fact that he was watching her closely had let him see her lips move. “I know you are, Trixie,” he told her. “I know that you were controlled by that magic. I saw what you wrote in your diary.” Still no reaction. “Trixie... I hated you for a while for what you did, for what you almost brought into being. I saw the results of it. A city, an entire world, left in ruins- countless lives snuffed out for no sane reason.” Tears were beginning to streak down the mare's muzzle, but still she gave no other acknowledgment. “But I know that isn't what you wanted, Trixie. Even as far gone as you were, the most you wanted was acknowledgment- Twilight believes that the entropic magic itself clouded your judgment, bringing you to create a weapon when all you really wanted was a way to show yourself to the world. Is she right about that?”

She gave a slight, trembling nod.

“Yeah, I figured she was.” He leaned back in the chair, letting out a sigh as he looked her over. “I don't think anyone could punish you as much as you're punishing yourself right now. I read over the public records of your trial- not only did you plead guilty, you pled for banishment. The Princesses convinced the prosecution to accept a sentence of confinement to a psychiatric facility for rehabilitation. That's quite the second chance you were given.”

“...I don't deserve it.” It was painful to hear her voice- it was strained, rough, as though she hardly used it anymore. He suspected that was the case. “Why not?” he asked.

“I'm... I'm evil. I'm... a horrible pony. I would've k-” her voice caught in her throat. “...would've... killed... everypony. Everyone. Just... just because I didn't think... I was famous enough.” She sobbed. “I just... I just want to fade away. No more Trixie.”

“What would that give us, Trixie? Is that how you'd make amends to everyone?” She looked into his eyes for a moment, but said nothing. “It would be an absolute waste,” he told her, leaning forward again. “What you did was wrong, Trixie; it was horrible. But it wasn't your intention. I think you're better than that. I think you can still make a good difference in the world.”

“N- no I can't. Everypony hates me.”

“That's not the case, Trixie. It was made clear during the trial that you were under the influence of an outside power and not in control of yourself.” He leaned further forward, putting one hand on the foreleg-rest of her wheelchair. “But let me ask you this. Do you think the only way to make up for what you did is to let yourself wither away and die?”

She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears and her lip quivering, but said nothing.

“I want to forgive you, Trixie. I want to say 'you've suffered enough and you deserve a chance to rebuild'.” He rested his hand on her forehoof. “But forgiveness requires a lot of things. It requires contrition, remorse... and an effort to set things right, or at least to make good to offset the bad. Sitting here like this, letting yourself die one inch at a time- that isn't contrition, Trixie. It's suicide, and suicide is selfish. You don't want to be selfish anymore, do you, Trixie?”

Her eyes met his again, and after a moment she just barely shook her head.

“Princess Celestia has decided to offer you a deal. If you complete the original terms of your sentence- physical and mental rehabilitation to the point of meeting release conditions- then she'll offer you a position in her Trans-Dimensional Affairs Council. And if you accept that position and make it through the vetting process, she'll give you a full pardon.” He reached up and cupped her muzzle in his hand. “And if that happens... you'll have my forgiveness. Because we need help, Trixie- it's a difficult thing we're trying to accomplish, and we need every good mind we can get working on it. And Twilight and I both agree that when you truly set your mind to something, you can make amazing things happen.” He lowered his hand again, his eyes looking deeply into hers. “Do you accept the offer?”

The unicorn was silent for a long moment, her eyes flicking back over to the windows. He was about to offer her more time to consider when she spoke.

“...yes.”

His smile returned, wider than before. “Good. I'll notify the Princess.” He looked up to see the nurse coming towards them; it seemed that the lounge hours were coming to an end. “I'm looking forward to the chance to work with you, Trixie,” he said, moving to stand- but he paused when her hoof covered his hand, and she looked up at him with tearful eyes.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He nodded slowly, patting her hoof with his free hand before he stood and walked slowly towards the exit. The rain had quieted down, allowing him to hear the conversation behind him.

“Alright, Miss Lulamoon, let's go ahead and get you back to your room.”

“...nurse?”

“Yes?”

“Isn't... isn't there a therapy session about to start?”

“Why, yes, in just a few minutes.”

“I'd... like to go there instead.”

He stopped in mid-step, looked back the way he came. Trixie slowly turned her head towards him- and after a moment, her lips turned up ever so slightly in the tiniest of smiles.

He smiled back in return, and gave her a nod of his head before walking out the door.

Intersection (Bonus Chapter)

“Okay, so, I had the weirdest damn thing happen at the mall yesterday.” Saffy dropped the bags on Jacob's dining-room table and set the cardboard drink tray next to them; Raul and Jacob sat down and dug their food out of the bags, followed momentarily by Saffy. “You know the little galleria they got, with the food court and everything?”

“It's got that tree in the middle and the fountain, right?” Raul asked.

“Yeah, that's the one. Well, I was having lunch while doing some shopping, the crowd was kind of thin because of it being a weekday, so it was pretty quiet.” She took a few seasoned fries from their holder and ate them. “I was just kind of minding my business when I heard somebody humming. I didn't recognize the tune, but it was really catchy... and then all of a sudden, I was humming it too.”

Jacob almost dropped his hamburger in shock. Raul apparently didn't notice. “Well... so?” he asked between sips from his milkshake.

“ 'So'? Raul, man, I didn't recognize the tune and I was humming it. Perfectly. And in a minute, so was everyone else in the place!” Saffy ran her blue-painted fingernails though her hair; Jacob knew that was a sign of worry with her. “I mean, it was weird. Especially the feeling I got when it was happening. I mean, I should've been freaking out like nobody's business, but I felt... I dunno. Calm. No, more than that....”

“Connected?” The word left Jacob's mouth before he could stop himself.

“Uh... yeah. Yeah, I think that's the word I was looking for.” She gave him a searching look. “How'd you guess that?”

He shrugged noncommittally; Raul laughed. “You know Jacob. Always got the right words for the situation. That's why we put him in front of the camera, remember?”

“Ha, yeah.” Safira dug into her food, still looking thoughtful. “It's just... I dunno, I get this feeling that something weird is happening but I can't even put a finger on it.”

Raul looked up. “...yeah, you know, lately I've been kinda getting that feeling too. Weird shit happening, stuff I can't explain. Couple weeks ago, I swear....”

“Swear what? Raul, man, you can't leave us hanging like that.”

He shook his head hesitantly. “Nah. You'll both think I'm crazy.”

“What- after that whole humming thing, you think I'm gonna toss that kind of accusation around?”

“Okay, okay....” It was strange seeing the usually-confident Raul look pensive. “I swear that when I was doing grocery shopping a couple weeks ago, I dropped a carton of eggs... and it just stopped about halfway to the floor and rose back into my hand.”

It's starting. The thought froze Jacob's mind like a lake in the dead of winter. Twilight said she couldn't tell when the magic would increase to a point where it would actually start manifesting... she did say it would start around the coal breaker, that being the point where the “leak” came through, and that's only a couple hundred miles away. I think we've hit that saturation point in the neighborhood.

“Yo. Jacob.” He realized he'd spaced out for a moment, and Raul was looking at him with concern. “You awake there, man?”

“Uh... yeah.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Just thinking.”

“About what?” Saffy asked. “Have weird things been happening to you too?”

“You could say that....” He sighed. “Actually, there's been something I've been meaning to talk to you two about, but I need to get in touch with a friend of mine first. Do you two mind waiting for about an hour or so?”

“Uh, no, I don't mind.” Raul looked to Saffy, who shrugged. “Okay, that's both of us. But what's this about?”

“My friend can explain it better than I can.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket, selected “TS” from his contacts list and typed in a quick message: “It's starting. I think it's time my friends met you and the others. Have you got time to pay a visit?”

He put the phone down and reached for his burger- and the phone lit up with a response. “Can do. See you, and them, in half an hour.”

He chuckled; Twilight always was an eager one. “Okay, half an hour instead of an hour. Might as well eat.”

It was a quiet meal they shared, with Raul and Saffy both giving him curious glances, but they knew better than to press- he was practically a showman when it came to revelations, and wouldn't give away anything before its time. Besides, he thought, if I told them now, they'd have the men in white coats here measuring me for a straitjacket by the time Twilight got here. And wouldn't that be a show....

Finally, with dinner finished, everything tidied up and Jacob's friends now almost unsettled with anticipation, the half-hour passed. There was a soft chime from Jacob's phone, and he checked the incoming message- “Opening the gateway now.” He let a smile cross his face, and was just about to tell the others to get ready, when that familiar purple line drew itself in midair in the center of the room; both Safira and Raul practically jumped in surprise. “What the fuck is that?!” Raul shouted.

“Hey! Calm down, it's okay. Trust me.” Jacob raised both of his hands, getting up out of his chair to walk near the portal- not too close, though; he had no idea what'd happen if he happened to be in the way when it fully opened. “This is part of the explanation of what's happening. Just relax.”

“Yeah, but... but, wait....” Safira leaned over the chair she'd half-hidden herself behind, tentatively reaching out with one hand. “I... I swear I can feel that thing....”

Raul's face was a mix of wonder and fear. “Yeah, I'm getting that same vibe. Jacob, what the sweet fuck is going on?”

The portal rippled outwards gently, growing to the size of a large bedroom mirror, and after a moment a familiar shape stepped through, and a wide smile greeted the two humans at the far end of the living room. “Hello there,” Twilight said. “You two must be Safira Balamar and Raul Francisco; I've been really looking forward to meeting you. My name's Twilight Sparkle.”

Two pairs of dark brown eyes flicked between Twilight and Jacob, until one of them started to roll back. “Hey, surprise naptime,” Raul murmured as he fell bonelessly to the floor.

“...oh my gosh.” Twilight trotted up to the unconscious man as Safira watched in stunned surprise. “I... really wasn't expecting that sort of response. Is he going to be alright?”

“He ought to be. Just give him a minute.” Jacob looked up. “Saffy? You okay?”

She gave him an incredulous look. “I just saw a hole in space open up and a purple talking unicorn pop out. You tell me if I'm okay!”

He managed a chuckle. “You're okay,” he assured her, before moving to Raul, who was already stirring. “C'mon, man,” Jacob said insistently, though he couldn't quite get the smile off of his face. “This isn't how you should act when I've got company over.”

“Wha' th'... huh. Did I pass out or somethin'?” Raul rubbed at his eyes. “Think I was hallucinating, thought I saw....” His words died in his throat as his eyes focused on Twilight once more. “...that.”

“Raul, if you're hallucinating, then we are too.” Saffy put a hand on his shoulder, still not taking her eyes off of Twilight. “Jake... I think I'd like that explanation you promised.”

“Twilight's going to have to be the one to handle that. She knows a lot more about what's going on than I ever will.”

Saffy's expression gradually but visibly relaxed as she gazed at the unicorn. “What....” she murmured. “What's this weird thing I'm feeling from you?”

“It's okay. You're only sensing my magic.” Twilight gave her a reassuring smile. “I know it must seem strange to you... can you tell me what exactly it is you're experiencing?”

“How can I even find words....” The woman paused for a moment. “It's... like warm sunshine on my bones, coming straight from you. Like it's a weird kind of heat that my skin doesn't feel. I'm getting the same thing from that portal thing.”

“So'm I....” Raul was rubbing the back of his head, his eyes shifting from Twilight to the portal and back again. “And it's the damnedest thing, but... I swear it's like you and that thing feel connected.”

“Interesting. Your thaumatic sensitivity is remarkable. There are a lot of unicorns who wouldn't be able to sense me holding open the gateway.” She gave Raul a smile. “Do you mind if I help you to your feet?”

He gave the unicorn a bewildered look. “Um, how would you even...?” He went silent as her horn flared, and her aura wrapped itself around his chest; she easily levitated him back into a standing position. “...whoa,” he half-whispered. “I actually felt that happening. Like, the whole thing, the magic moving and everything.”

Jacob knew what he meant; exposure to Equus's magical field had left him temporarily sensitive to spells being formed, and he was beginning to feel that again with Twilight's casting now. Twilight nodded in understanding. “I can give the both of you a full explanation, and I'd love to perform a few quick and harmless tests to see how far your ability to harness thaumatic energy has processed. Plus there's some friends of mine who'd love to meet you. All that's needed is a small translation spell and a little hop between dimensions.” She gestured towards the gateway with a forehoof. “So... would you like to see my world?”

Jacob gave his human friends a reassuring smile. “Don't worry. I've been there a couple times; it's a really nice place.”

“You what.” Saffy's expression was flat. “Okay, you know what? I really want to know what the hell's going on. C'mon, Raul, let's go on a trip.”

Raul could only give a bewildered nod as Saffy practically dragged him into the gateway, with Twilight and Jacob close behind. “All in all, I think they took it pretty well,” Twilight giggled.

(-)

“Interesting. So you actually had a harmonic synchronicity event?”

Saffy's blank look was copied by Rainbow Dash's. “Jeez, Twi, just because she went to college doesn't mean she's the same kind of egghead you are,” the pegasus commented.

“Oops! Sorry.” Twilight chuckled. “It's commonly referred to as a 'musical number' or 'song moment'. It's a sort of feedback link event- here on Equus, music can engender strong feelings of community, and the magic of friendship will flow through it. Sort of like a network, if that makes it easier to visualize.”

“Huh.” Saffy rubbed her forehead with her hand. “Yeah, I guess that would be the best way to describe it. Jacob called it a feeling of being 'connected'.”

“He'd know... he's felt it before.” She gave Jacob a brief smile while her pen- not a quill, he noticed; had they adapted that from what Twilight had learned from his memories?- scratched away at her notepad. “I understand that this is very strange and maybe unnerving to you, Safira. I just want you to know that the Equestrian government will do everything it can to help humanity. Our Princesses are preparing to contact your own governments with offers of assistance once the spread of magic on Earth becomes better-known to them.”

“God.” Saffy slumped in her seat, holding her head in her hands. “This is some crazy stuff here. Magic? Holes getting poked between worlds? Everything's going to change, isn't it?”

“It's not gonna be so bad.” Dash landed and put a hoof on the woman's shoulder. “Big adjustment? Yeah, I'll admit that. It's gotta be weird for anyone who's never seen magic before. But us ponies aren't gonna leave you guys hanging- not just because of everything Jacob did for us, but it just wouldn't be right to say 'yeah, whatever' and leave you guys to figure it all out the hard way.”

“Always knew you were the type to help when you could, Jake, but man....” Raul shook his head, chuckling. “The whole 'save an alien world' thing? That's really taking it to the next level.”

Jacob shrugged and let out a chuckle, but his reply was interrupted by the door to the library opening. “Are they here?” came a voice. “Oh, I came as soon as I could! To finally be able to see our dear Jacob in his own form, and his friends as well- I couldn't miss the chance!”

Jacob couldn't help but grin. “We're here, Rarity,” he called.

“Oh, wonderful! The others should be along soon. A pity you couldn't schedule this on a weekend, darling!” The soft clops of hooves echoed down the steps, and soon Rarity trotted into the laboratory- and paused at the sight of the three humans. “My goodness!” she exclaimed, bringing a hoof to her muzzle. “I'd no idea you'd be quite so tall!”

Dash snickered. “Sheesh, Rare, it's not like they're dragons or anything. They're a lot closer to minotaurs. Even Raul there is only about as tall as Big Mac would be if he was rearing up.”

“Well, yes, but... anyway.” She cleared her throat and trotted up to their chairs. “If you are Raul, then you, my dear, must be Safira. It's a pleasure to meet you both!” She got a hesitant handshake from both of them. “I understand this must all be a great shock to you both. I hope my friends have helped you adjust.”

“They're doin' pretty okay, really,” Dash answered. “Better'n I'd be doing, I don't mind admitting. Saffy and Raul are cool.”

“I... still need to do some adjusting.” Saffy leaned back in her chair. “This is really hard for me to wrap my head around.”

Rarity placed a comforting hoof on her knee. “It'll be okay, darling. Would something to eat make you feel better?”

“Well, we did just have lunch-”

“Hey, I'll go for a snack!” Raul interjected.

“-but Raul there has a bottomless pit for a stomach,” Saffy finished, managing a chuckle.

“Maintaining this level of excellence in all things burns a lot of calories.” The man cocked his head and gave a grin, which got Dash chortling. “I think I like this guy's mindset,” she said.

“Well, food will be coming shortly for all who would like it.” Rarity made her way to Jacob's side and reared up to give him a tight hug. “Darling, it's so very good to truly see you,” she told him. “Has all been well with you?”

“For the most part, yeah. The Under Dust blog has been doing great, I moved into a nicer apartment, and Cicero's doing good. Twilight messaged me that you'd gotten top billing in a really swank fashion show in Trottingham last month- how'd that go?”

“Oh, just beautifully, darling! I'll tell you about that sometime. I think there are more important things to discuss, though.” The fashionista took a seat next to him. “How are your friends taking all this?” she asked quietly. “Saffy seems to be worried, though perhaps I'm merely misreading human expressions....”

“No, she is. Raul is too, but he's not really the overtly emotional type.”

“Typical stallion. Or, I suppose, 'man' in this case.” She gave him a playful smile for a moment before letting her concern show. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Just... be there for them, I guess. I've had months to wrap my head around this eventuality and I'm still having trouble; it's going to be a lot worse for them.”

“I can most certainly do that.” She patted Jacob's arm lightly before returning to the others; Twilight was performing another test on Saffy, so she went to Raul instead, asking him questions about various places he'd seen as a part of the Under Dust crew. Jacob sat there for a few minutes, letting his mind wander- until his thoughts were interrupted by the flapping of wings. “Hey, tough guy,” Dash said as she landed beside him. “You okay over here?”

“Yeah, I'm just thinking.”

“Kinda figured.” The pegasus chuckled. “Hey, can I ask you a few things?”

“Sure.”

“Twilight told me and the other girls a few things about your home, but some of 'em are kind of hard to believe. You've really had humans land on your moon?”

“Yep. And flown around the world, and put up a whole network of satellites-” he saw her confused blink- “they're machines that orbit high above the ground, that we use for things like communication and broadcasting moving pictures.”

“They... orbit? As in staying above the ground? How do they do that?”

“It's complicated and I'd sound like Twilight if I tried to explain.”

Dash laughed at that. “Okay, you can spare me that then. Weird how you guys did all that without magic, though!” She paused for a moment, considering. “But some of the other stuff she told us about... you guys have had world wars? You have weapons that could kill everything on your world?”

“Yes and yes.” He sighed. “Though 'world war' was really more about the scale- it's not like every last human was fighting in it.”

“Yeah, but... I don't get it. What makes humans so ready to fight?”

“It's complicated, Dash. It's all about politics and tribalism and territorialism and pride and us not liking to learn from history.”

To his surprise, she shrugged. “You think us ponies haven't been like that? Heck, unicorns and pegasi practically kept earth ponies in slavery back in the bad old days, making them farm food for us while we fought each other over stupid stuff- yeah, like pride and territorialism and all that. Then the earth ponies rebelled and ended up being just as bad before the whole thing got squashed. Then the windigoes came and pretty much forced us all to start trying to get along.”

“Windigoes... there's an old Native American legend about creatures called wendigoes, but I really doubt that's the same thing.”

“Yeah, Twilight talked so much about weird parallels between Equus and Earth. Some of 'em were kind of eerie. She said something about how our dimensions must be really close somehow, but I didn't understand much of it.” She scuffed a hoof against the floor. "I guess maybe if you guys had had rulers like the Princesses, or something like the magic of friendship, maybe you would've had a better time of things... I dunno."

She looked set to say more, but the upstairs door opening distracted her. “Hey, I hear we have some hungry humans down here!” Derpy called from the top of the staircase. “Well, isn't it lucky that the mailmare delivers! I've got some hot, fresh muffins right- whoa!”

Jacob could hear one of Derpy's hooves scrape against a stair in a way that sounded wrong, and turned in his seat to see the grey pegasus in midair- but not flying; she'd misstepped on the staircase and was plummeting headfirst towards what promised to be a painful impact further down the stairs.

And then, suddenly, she wasn't. A magical field had caught Derpy just a few inches from cracking her skull on one of the steps, and the tray of muffins she'd apparently been carrying hovered next to her. But it wasn't Twilight's magic that surrounded her- instead of her purple aura, it was more of a mossy green, and it didn't have the by-now familiar feel of Twilight's spellwork. Jacob turned to look towards the unicorn and saw her glancing in shock between Derpy and Saffy... who had her arm extended, her teeth clenched in concentration, and a dim aura emanating from her fingernails.

“Oh my gosh.” Twilight's voice was low, awed. “Saffy... you're managing a stable arcanokinetic field without any sort of training at all.”

“Yeah... great... how do I stop?” The strain was clear in the woman's voice.

“Here.” Twilight's horn lit up. “I'll take over the spellform, and then you lower your hand and close your eyes. That should disrupt your concentration enough for the spell to lose cohesion.”

The green aura around Derpy and her muffins was washed over by a brighter purple one, and once Derpy was set down on the ground, Saffy let her hand drop and her eyes close. The aura that had surrounded her fingernails faded from sight. “Wow, that was awesome, Saffy,” Dash breathed. “I mean, I see that all the time from unicorns, but they need lessons to do that even though it's pretty much second nature. But you just caught Derpy in, like, a half-second flat- and you didn't even know magic existed until today!”

“I dunno what happened.” Saffy was staring at her hand like it had grown an eye. “I saw her falling, and something inside me just said 'No, stop'. Next thing I know... I'm holding her up from twenty feet away.”

“It's possible that you subconsciously copied my own levitation spell,” Twilight offered. “Odd that your fingernails were glowing... perhaps the keratin in them is a thaumatic conductor, like an earth pony's hooves?”

Saffy lowered her hand to stare blankly at the unicorn. “Twilight, you're using the words I don't know again.”

“Oh. Sorry. Magic travels easiest through a unicorn's horn, a pegasus's wings or an earth pony's hooves. It looks like for humans, that route is along the bone structure of the hand and through the fingernails.”

“Well, I'm just glad you kept me from knocking myself out.” Derpy smiled at the woman. “Wow, you humans really do look interesting. My name's Derpy Hooves; what's yours?”

“I'm Safira, but you can call me Saffy. That's Raul.”

“Oh! You guys work with Jacob, don't you? I bet you didn't know that I'm the one who got him to start working on that 'blog' thing.” She strutted around a bit.

Raul laughed. “Is she serious, Jake?”

“In a kind of roundabout way, yeah, she is the one who inspired me to start up the blog.” He chuckled at Derpy's brilliant smile, and Raul laughed. “Well, then, I oughta thank you! That blog's the best job I've ever had.”

“Well, you're welcome!” She shrugged the still-intact platter of muffins from her back onto one of her wings, holding it out for him. “Want a muffin?”

“Are you kiddin'? I'll eat a muffin any day of the week, and twice on Saturdays.” He snagged one, and she gave his selection a critical eye. “Banana nut?” she said. “That's not too bad. How do you feel about blueberry?”

“They're okay. This kind's my favorite, though.”

The two were just digging into their baked goods when there was yet another knock at the door. “Twilight? Are our friends down here?” called a familiar voice.

Rarity smiled. “Indeed they are, Story! Come on down.”

Story Seeker and First Response carefully made their way down the stairs; Story was levitating something just behind him- what looked like a colorful baby carrier. Jacob couldn't help but get to his feet. “First!” he said. “You had your foal?”

“Yep! Three weeks ago. A little early, but he's okay.” The couple reached the bottom of the staircase, and naturally everyone else in the laboratory dropped what they were doing to see the newborn. “Oh my God,” Saffy breathed. “So adorable!”

Jacob couldn't help but agree. The little colt was a dark bluish-grey, reminiscent of a stormy sky, and his mane and tail were both as white as clouds; a pair of curious gold eyes peered up at the group assembled around him- and to Jacob's surprise, a tiny pair of feathery wings lay flat against the sides of his barrel. “He's a pegasus?” the human asked.

“That he is! I have some pegasus feathers in the family tree.” First grinned. “Grandmother's side, more specifically. The doctors said the odds were one to a hundred and twenty-five that he'd be one.”

“Which is why we decided to name him Longshot,” Story added, grinning when Jacob burst out in laughter.

First seemed to notice Saffy's enraptured stare, and gave her a gentle smile. “Would you like to hold him?” she asked the human.

“Can... can I?” With a nod of assent from the mare, Saffy carefully picked up the foal- barely an armful to her- and gently cradled him against her chest; Longshot immediately fixated on the long, beaded braids of black hair that hung down against her collarbones, and began playfully swatting at them with his forehooves. “I'm guessing you're Safira, then,” First said. “Or do you prefer Saffy?”

“Saffy, yeah.” She was hardly paying attention to anything aside from the little form she was holding.

First grinned. “I'm First Response, and the proud papa over there is Story Seeker,” she said. “The two of us have wanted to meet you and Raul for a while now. Jacob's said a lot of good things about you.”

“They're all lies!” Raul paused for a moment. “...wait, you said good things. Ignore that last.”

Everyone laughed at that, including Saffy, who was teasing Longshot with her fingertips. “Well, um... I'm glad to meet you two,” she said after a moment. “Story, uh... I know nobody here's been lying to me, but I'm still having trouble believing what I was told about Jacob being here. Jake... really was walking around in your body for three days?”

“Mm-hmm.” Story nodded. “I understand the disbelief- I still have a little trouble believing it, and I'm the one it happened to. But that truly is what happened.”

“But... could stuff like that start happening on Earth, if we start seeing as much magic as Equus has got? I mean, heck, it's not like we don't have enough craziness without needing to worry about the 'end the world' maniacs actually getting a way to really do it.”

“I wish I could say for certain.” Story gently put a hoof on Saffy's elbow. “Just try to keep hope in your heart, Saffy. Things will be difficult, but I've come to understand that you humans are nothing if not adaptable... you'll work something out.”

“And we'll be ready to help,” First added.

She gave them both a brief but honest smile before turning her attention back to Longshot, who was becoming fussy about something, reaching up with both forehooves towards Saffy's face. “Okay, little guy, what is it?” she asked, bringing him closer. “What's got you so grumpy-”

With one quick motion, Longshot leaned up, took hold of Saffy's face with his forehooves and pulled himself forward, then tilted his head sideways and clamped his mouth around the end of her nose. And there he sat for a moment, with the woman too surprised to do anything, before he began using his gums to gnaw on her nose like a chew toy.

“Om nom nom nom nom.”

Everyone else in the room positively broke down laughing. “Here, let... let me get... his pacifier,” First managed to get out between peals of laughter as she picked through the carrier to find it; in a moment, she'd coaxed her foal to release his grip on Saffy's face and accept the small colorful toy instead. “Oh, sweet Celestia, that was just too precious,” Story guffawed. “You know, First, this means we get to tease him about how he chewed on one of the first humans ever to come to Equus.”

“Just so long as you tell him that the human didn't really mind.” Saffy grinned, looking at ease for the first time since this had all begun; Longshot seemed to notice the lightening of her mood, and babbled in delight, tapping at her chin with a tiny hoof. “Oh, let's see how you like it!” she said, catching his hoof in her mouth and making playful chomping noises, getting giggles from him. “So, Saffy,” First said, “do you have any foals of your own?”

“Huh? Oh... um, no, no children. I'm only twenty-five, not really thinking about that kind of thing yet.”

“Ahh.” The mare glanced between her foal and the human who still gingerly held him. “I think you've got the makings of a good mother.”

After a little while, First had placed Longshot back in his carrier for a nap, while Derpy had gone out to pick up Dinky and Sparkler from school, with the promise to bring them right back so that they could meet the new humans in town as well. Twilight was running tests on Raul, and Saffy was relaxing in a chair, still looking somewhat distant but a lot less troubled than before, holding a quiet conversation with First and Story. Rarity and Dash were quizzing Jacob about human technology- Dash obsessing with aircraft, of course, and Rarity with fashion- when Raul looked up. “You know, Jake,” he said, “there's one thing I really have to ask about.”

“What's that?”

“You had this crazy adventure, spent three whole days split between walking around as a pony and running through some half-destroyed city... and you never told us about it? I'm kind of insulted, man.”

First chuckled. “I'll ask you the same thing he asked me, Raul. What would you have done if he did tell you?”

Raul rubbed his chin in thought. “...probably would've had him put in a padded room. Okay, yeah, that's a fair point.” He chuckled. “But still, Jacob. Just knowing about this place, and not being able to tell anyone? How'd that not drive you nuts?”

Jacob chuckled, giving a glance towards First. “I made a promise to a friend.”

“Ah, well, there you go.” Saffy made a gesture with her hand. “One of the things I like about Jake- the man keeps his promises.”

The next hour passed quickly, with Twilight moving from one test to the next and the others keeping up the conversation; along the way, Derpy returned with her daughters, and Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy and Spike- who'd been helping at Fluttershy's all morning- stopped by as well to say hello, and to drop off party invitations and some apple fritters, as well, when the conversation turned towards the Under Dust blog. The fillies wanted to see just what it was all about, so Twilight volunteered to reopen the portal to let Raul get his laptop computer- which had all of the episodes saved on it- from Jacob's living room, to show the ponies an episode or two. But when the portal reappeared, a small beige shape immediately shot through and sped across the floor, leaping into Jacob's lap. “Gah! Cicero!” he exclaimed, pressing his hand against the cat's head to keep him from trying to rub his head all over Jacob's face.

“Oh my!” Rarity giggled. “Jacob, is this your pet?”

“Heh, yeah. This little ball of fur and energy is Cicero.” Finally the feline calmed down and looked around him, seemingly surprised at the strange new creatures around him- but true to his nature, curiosity won out, and he hopped down to pad across the room, heading right towards Fluttershy, who watched him with a broad smile. “Oh, hello there!” she called out. “Such a handsome cat you are. ...oh my goodness, what happened to his eye? And his ear?”

“I don't know.” Jacob shrugged. “He had those scars when I adopted him, and the agency didn't know how he'd gotten them either.”

The pegasus held out her forehooves, and Cicero immediately stepped between them, purring loudly as she gently pet him. “Poor little guy. You must have had a rough time before Jacob took you in.”

Raul went through the portal, and reappeared a moment later with the laptop in hand. Twilight had just set a table up for the laptop when Spike stood stock-still and let out a belch- and a burst of sparkling light flew from his mouth, coalescing into an unrolled parchment. Twilight caught it with her magic and read it. “Ooh,” she said quietly. “Everyone, clear out some space in the center here. We'll be receiving some very important guests in just a moment.”

Getting the area cleared was easy enough, and the group waited near the front of the laboratory. As time passed, Raul's brow furrowed. “I feel something weird,” he said quietly. “Is this more magic? It's not like anything I've felt from Twilight, Story or Rarity.”

“Okay, now I'm getting a little jealous,” Story chuckled. “Brand-new to magic and you humans are already better at it than me? Unfair.”

Everyone went silent as a deep thrumming sound echoed through the room. A strange circle of magic- half bright white, half deep black- formed in the center of the room, spinning slowly for a moment, before a dome of light formed within it... only to dissipate a moment later, leaving behind a pair of shapes that hadn't been there before.

For the second time, Jacob found himself kneeling in his own body before the Princesses Celestia and Luna. A quick glance behind him showed that everyone else was as well, including Raul and Saffy; Jacob understood why- the mere sight of the two alicorns brought out a desire to show respect, even without being one of their subjects. “Please, arise, my little ponies,” came Celestia's musical voice. “And my good humans.”

Everyone stood again, Jacob's two human friends slower than the others, both of them staring unabashedly at the Princesses. “Ahem!” Twilight piped up. “Raul Francisco, Safira Balamar, may I present to you the Diarchs of Equestria, Princesses Celestia and Luna.”

“It is an honor to welcome you both to Equus,” Celestia said, approaching them and offering a hoof to shake; Raul apparently misread her cue and ended up placing a kiss on her gilded armor shoe. Both alicorns burst into chuckles. “That isn't necessary, my friend,” Celestia assured the man. “A simple shake will do.”

“Oh, um... okay then.” Seeing Raul blush was a rare thing, and it got a chuckle out of Jacob. Saffy was still too transfixed to notice, only mustering enough awareness to shake the hooves of the Princesses when offered. “It's, um... good to meet you too, Your... Highnesses?” she guessed.

Luna smiled. “Indeed. Please... relax, both of you. We wish not to intimidate you- you are friends to us.” She paused a moment, then looked down at her hooves as Cicero wound between them, rubbing his chin on her fetlocks. “And whom is this adorable little interloper?” she asked with a smile.

Jacob chuckled. “That's Cicero, Your Highness. He's my cat... or at least he lets me think that.”

“He says you remind him of his mother, Princess,” Fluttershy added.

“Well, I suppose that... wait.” He did a classic double-take. “You can talk to Cicero?”

“Mm-hmm.” The pegasus smiled. “I'd wondered if I would be able to talk to Earth animals the way I can with the ones here on Equus. It's a little tricky, but it looks like I can.”

“Interesting.” Celestia extended one hoof towards the cat, who bumped his head against it in a friendly greeting before returning to Luna's hooves. “It would seem you were in the middle of something when we arrived. I hope we didn't interrupt.”

“Oh! Uh, Jacob an' his friends were gonna show us that 'blog' thing they do, Yer Highness,” Applejack said, motioning to the laptop still sitting on the table.

“Indeed? Twilight mentioned this 'blog'. A show, of sorts? Of old buildings left abandoned?” Luna smiled when Jacob nodded. “Excellent! I would like to see this 'blog', then. Is this device the means by which to do so?” She motioned to the computer.

“That's right, Princess!” Twilight responded. “Raul was just about to show us one of the episodes of what they call 'Under Dust'. Let me just give all the ponies present a temporary translation spell so that they can understand.” Her horn glowed for a moment, and the other ponies' heads- as well as Spike's- briefly shimmered with her magic. “There. Raul, would you do the honors?”

“Uh, sure! Just a second.” The ponies watched in fascination as Raul powered up the laptop, brought up its media player and started one of the videos. Fortunately he'd invested in a widescreen model, and the crowd of equines could all watch without having to squash together.

Jacob laughed as he saw the title. “Seriously, man? You're playing the one we did at the coal breaker?”

“Hey, it kind of fits if you think about it,” Raul answered as he returned to his seat. “It's where all this started, right?”

Well, he couldn't argue against that, so he settled down in the chair, smiling as Dinky hopped into his lap for a better view; he saw Cicero curl up at Luna's hooves, and Sparkler took a seat by Raul. Story and First were on either side of Saffy while she held their foal, letting him also have a look at the laptop's screen.

To their credit, the ponies kept their questions to a minimum while the video played, though it seemed to be as much from a sense of awe at seeing such high-fidelity images as interest in the video itself. They gazed raptly at the video taken inside the coal breaker, the interviews, the detailing of the history behind the building, the machines and the workers. Once the episode ended, Raul closed the laptop and turned back towards the ponies. “So... what did you think?” he asked.

“I liked it!” Applejack exclaimed. “I mean, it's not my sorta thing usually, but I like how you showed how ordinary folks lived and worked in a place like that. Almost made me feel like they was tellin' me their history themselves.”

“I almost felt sorry for the poor dears,” Rarity added. “To work with such dangerous-looking machines, all that grime and dirt... they looked so unhappy.”

Pinkie nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it reminded me of living on the rock farm! Those poor miners could really have used a party.”

“Y'know, it's not my kinda thing either.” Dash gave a quick gesture towards Applejack. “But what AJ said goes for me too. Plus you didn't, like, go crazy using big words like some ponies I can mention.” She gave Twilight a sidelong glance, getting a sheepish grin in return. “Made it a lot easier to follow along and get interested.”

“I enjoyed the presentation of it,” Story added. “The flow was very smooth, every topic melded into the next, and nothing seemed overemphasized or short-shrifted. Something like this would get you a good grade in a university class, I'm certain.”

“Well, um....” Dinky's brow furrowed in thought for a moment, then she smiled. “I thought it was nifty!”

Everyone chuckled at that. “It would be wonderful to see this sort of production more widespread in Equestria,” Celestia said. “I think it would help ponies to better appreciate their past. Wouldn't you agree, Luna?”

“Indeed!” Luna's expression was thoughtful. “Though 'tis a pity we have not these wonderful devices with which to show them. I understand now your excitement about the concept of 'computers', Twilight Sparkle.”

“But... maybe we'll have them someday,” First said. “I mean... maybe if everything goes well, we'll end up trading with humans. Maybe we'll even get to visit Earth someday, and have humans visit here.” Longshot seemed to like that idea, letting out a quiet coo and kicking out his forehooves.

“Guys, look....” Raul let out a long sigh. “Okay. If Twilight's told you anything at all about Earth, you probably know that it's not the most peaceful place. I mean, we've got religious rivalries, national disputes, all sorts of seriously non-happy things that have gone on for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Entire cultures of people who'd as soon kill each other as talk.”

“Raul,” Jacob began.

“And now we've got this... this magical leak event thing, here. Some people are going to react really badly to that- they don't like having preconceptions challenged, you know? And if you ponies come walking through one of those portals, saying 'hi, we're here to help you with this', well... some other people are going to react even worse. They're going to think you're invading, or you're demons, or God only knows what else.”

“Raul.”

“Look, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to say that humans as a whole are like this, but honestly? There's a lot of us who are. I could have a month's worth of nightmares about what could happen to you ponies-”

“Raul.” Jacob put his hand on his friend's shoulder, breaking him out of his half-trance and finally getting his attention. “It's okay, man,” he said quietly. “They know.”

Raul blinked in shock. “...what do you mean, 'they know'? How...?”

“Didn't I tell you that Twilight saw my memories? All of them. And you know I read almost as much as you do, man.”

“That's right.” Twilight smiled. “And I interviewed him very thoroughly once it was clear that we would need to intervene to assist your world, just to make sure I wasn't misunderstanding things through cultural preconceptions.”

“And Twilight has spoken to myself and Luna at length about what she'd learned of your species,” Celestia added. “And the most shocking thing about everything she told us... was how closely you parallel us.”

Raul's jaw dropped. “...are you serious?”

“Yeah, just like I was telling Jacob,” Dash said. “Us ponies might be living kinda easy in comparison these days, but we've had a pretty rough history, and we've seen plenty of our own go bad. I mean, just a month before we met Jacob, we ran into a serious problem in the Crystal Empire because of a unicorn sorcerer gone rogue.”

“...huh? What happened?”

“Long story short: He made the Crystal Empire vanish for a thousand years because his try at conquering it was stopped by the Princesses.”

“Are you serious?” Saffy stared at Dash incredulously.

“Oh, you bet!” Pinkie replied. “And then when the Crystal Empire finally returned, so did Sombra! And he tried to take over the place again! And Twilight and Spike had to go through secret tests of character and Shining Armor threw Princess Cadence and then the Empire struck back! With love, of course.”

“...yes. Ahem.” Rarity gave the pink pony a glance. “The gist of the tale, my dears, is that humans aren't the only species that can do such horrible things to their own.”

“Indeed.” Celestia stepped forward, her magenta eyes gazing into Saffy's. “If you would stand with Raul for a moment, dear Safira, there is something that Jacob can help me demonstrate for you.”

“Uh, okay....” While Saffy handed Longshot back to his parents and stood up, Luna moved to stand by her sister. “Even I have been a victim of chaos and disharmony,” she said quietly. “In my affliction-fueled jealousy, I would have condemned this world to an eternity of night, a slow and cold death, only to sate my desire to be loved. I was powerful, yes... but Harmony was more so. In the end, what saved me- and our world- from the darkness within myself was the friendship of six ordinary-seeming young mares, banded together in common cause.” She smiled as Jacob walked up to his friends. “And as you say, Raul, some humans- just as some ponies- are capable of unspeakable acts. But despite all the violence in your history, you have endured, built civilizations, constructed great wonders of technology to broaden your horizons and forge friendships across all manner of divides. I strongly believe that this is not some grand miracle... but merely your own deepest nature, struggling to express itself through the distrust and fear that thousands of years spent living on a harsh, unforgiving world have bred into you.”

“And there's an interesting thing about the magic we use here on Equus,” Twilight said. “Magic itself is neutral, simply a tool- and just like technology, it can be misused, warped to serve evil purposes. But there's a force separate from magic yet linked to it, much more positive, and when harnessed by those whose hearts and minds are open it can empower them to do amazing things.”

“What is it?” Raul asked quietly.

Jacob chuckled. “The magic of friendship,” he said simply. “I know it sounds weird, but... you'll understand when I show you.” He raised both of his hands, one over a shoulder of each of his friends. “Brace yourselves. This gets a little intense the first time through.”

With that, he closed his eyes and lowered his hands to touch Safira and Raul. Behind him, he felt Celestia's magic embrace him, then go through him and into the other two humans.

As it turned out, the second time through wasn't any less intense, either; even though the audience was closer to a dozen than a thousand, the sensations that washed over him felt just as powerful as they had during the Renewal of the Covenant- that feeling of belonging, of acceptance, of connection. He opened his eyes to see Raul and Saffy both staring at him in complete shock. “Jake, what....” Saffy breathed.

“Look around,” he told them.

They did so. He heard them gasp as they saw what he was seeing- tendrils of gently-flowing energy, shimmering as if catching some ethereal light, flowing between the ponies... and them. Each stream of energy held a color connected to the one it came from, with Saffy's now-familiar moss-green, Raul's bright cherry-red, and Jacob's own blue-green. “This is what the ponies call the magic of friendship,” Jacob said, “though normally it's not quite as powerful, or visible like this. Think of it sort of like... an emotional Internet. The more people you have connected to it, feeding good vibes and emotions into it, the more powerful it becomes. Now, it's not going to become any kind of brain-link or hive-mind or anything like that, but when you've got people actually registering the feelings of others around them on a subconscious level... it's going to be a bit harder to fall into all our old bad habits, like hate.”

“There will be some humans who are unaffected, or who actively refuse to recognize this connection,” Twilight added. “Just like there are ponies, and other species, here on Equus that are the same. But like Story said, you humans are adaptable- you'll be able to come up with ways to keep those who would use magic to harm others from doing so. It'll be difficult, absolutely... but you've come through your own tough times before.”

“And Equestria and its allies will stand ready to help,” Celestia added. “Though I understand there may be governments or nations that will refuse, that will suspect us of ulterior motives. Just as I know that there will be those of my little ponies who refuse to trust or help humans.” She let out a quiet sigh. “They must be allowed to come around on their own, to see that unity and cooperation are the best paths to a safe and prosperous future.”

After a few moments, Celestia's spell faded, as did the vision of multicolored threads winding along each other; that feeling of connection once more waned as well, though not entirely, feeling like a soft bass thrum through his very being. Both Safira and Raul looked almost depressed for a moment. “Man,” Raul said quietly, shaking his head slowly and trying to be surreptitious about wiping a tear away from his eye. “Okay, that... wow. I haven't got any words except 'beautiful'.”

“That is Equus's gift to Earth,” Luna said. “While the connection between our worlds may have come about by accident, I believe for certain that both may come to benefit. I also believe that everyone in this room will work their hardest to help that scenario come to be.”

“I... I will!” Dinky hopped down from her chair. “Princess Luna... I wanna help any way I can. I wanna be able to be friends with lots of humans! I wanna be able to help them understand magic and learn how to use it for good things, just like how I'm learning to. Maybe I can even go to Earth and become a teacher!”

Derpy trotted over and nuzzled her daughter. “That's my little muffin,” she said with a broad, proud smile. “Always wanting to help.”

“I, for one, think you'd make a great teacher, Dink.” Jacob gave Dinky a smile and a playful tussle of her mane.

He heard a strange noise behind him and turned to see Saffy stifling a yawn. “Ugh... sorry!” she murmured. “It's, uh... been kind of a long day, hasn't it?”

“Indeed it has.” Celestia stepped forward to gently lay a foreleg over the woman's shoulder. “I see that Jacob has chosen his friends well,” the alicorn said. “I see in you and Raul what I also see in Twilight and her friends- hearts that are open to true friendship, intelligence and strength and bravery.”

“Bravery?” Saffy shook her head slowly. “I don't feel very brave right now, Princess. I'm terrified of everything that's going to happen. I just....” She let out a long, slow breath. “I know things are gonna change no matter what, there's no stopping it, so... what choice have we got but try to make the changes good ones?”

“Hay, sugarcube, that's th' definition of bravery,” Applejack countered. “When yer scared half t' death but saddle up anyway.”

“Yeah, and if you ever need help with somethin', just give us a shout!” Rainbow Dash added. “Whether it's needing somebody's flank kicked or just a friendly ear to talk into, we'll be there for you.”

“Oh, and I'm gonna throw a super-duper 'Welcome to Equus' party for you guys!” Pinkie had somehow gotten her hooves on a pike of confetti, which she threw into the air. “ 'Cause I just know you'll enjoy it!”

“Pinkie throws some serious parties,” Jacob chuckled.

First trotted up to the humans and reared up to give each a gentle hug in turn. “It really was good to meet you,” she told Raul and Saffy. “I'd personally like it to become a regular thing, if that's possible.”

“Me too.” Saffy managed a chuckle. “I do charge for babysitting, though.”

First and Story both laughed at that, only to pause as a rustling came from Longshot's carrier, then a soft buzzing sound- and then, his tiny wings beating like a hummingbird's, the little colt rose up from the carrier and zoomed across the laboratory, landing against Saffy's chest to wrap his forelegs around her neck in a hug. “Saaaaaa-ffy,” he cooed, snuggling against her.

“Oh my God.” A wide grin split across Raul's face. “Jake, you've got your phone, get a picture of this. This is too adorable to lose.”

With the press of a couple of buttons, the image of Safira being held by a tiny storm-grey pegasus was captured forever. “I think we're going to want a copy of that,” Story said with a cheesy grin, before coaxing his son back into his carrier.

“You know, Saffy, your name is the fourth word he's ever said,” First told the woman.

“Really?” Safira grinned. “What were the first three?”

“ 'Momma', 'Daddy', and... a word Story should not have said when he whacked his fetlock on a stepstool.” She shot her husband a look, getting a sheepish smile in return as everyone else laughed.

“Well, now,” Celestia said, her tone one of satisfaction. “Luna and I must return to Canterlot, and I am sure our human guests would appreciate the chance to return to their homes and rest. I would ask the three of you to report to us whenever you are able of the spread of magic through your world, and what may come of it.”

Jacob nodded. “Of course, Princess. I'll forward Twilight's contact 'number' to Raul and Saffy so that they can contact her directly.” He still had no idea how the unicorn had managed to designate herself a phone number without actually having a phone.

“An excellent idea. Until then, we wish you all the best.” In a bright flash of light and a burst of pure darkness, the alicorns vanished. “Y'know, I gotta learn how to do that,” Raul murmured.

“It's possible that you could, you know,” Twilight replied with a smile. “Who knows? We're in completely new territory here. I'm really looking forward to see how far humans can progress.” A small yawn escaped her muzzle. “But that's something for another time! I've kept you long enough... go home and get some rest, and thanks for being so patient with all my testing.”

It was a round of hugs and hoofshakes before Jacob collected Cicero, bid the ponies good night and went with his friends back through the portal, which collapsed into itself a moment later. Saffy went to sit down on the recliner, letting out a quiet sigh, and petting Cicero gently once he hopped up onto her lap. “Jesus, Jake,” she breathed. “You knew about all this for... what, more than two years? Did you know this would happen to me and Raul... us being connected the way we are now, gaining magic?”

Jacob shook his head. “I didn't hear about the magical leak until we were already heavily into producing the blog, Saffy. By then... well, it was clear that the magic couldn't be stopped, that it was likely to have the same effects here as on Equus, and that it had probably already started to link us together at that point. Even if I'd just packed up and moved out of the country that day, you'd still be experiencing everything that's been happening.”

“Yeah, and if he'd done that we still wouldn't have any idea what the hell's going on,” Raul said. “What's this about, Saffy?”

“I'm just....” She paused, looking as if she didn't want to go on, but Jacob could feel what was going on in her mind. “You're scared,” he said quietly, careful to keep anything that sounded like judgment or condescension out of his voice.

“Hell yeah I'm scared.” She leaned back in the chair. “Part of me wants to pretend that this was just some trippy dream and go back to my regular life. But I can't do that. I just got to hold a baby pegasus, for Christ's sake... and I think I fell in love with him. And his family. Scared as I am, I can't turn my back on them now.”

“Saff, if it makes you feel any better... I'm scared too.” A mild jolt of surprise went through Jacob's mind; Raul never liked admitting to being frightened or worried. “But I'm trying to look on the other side of all this. This could change everything... maybe for the worse, but maybe for the better!”

“Guys, look.” Jacob leaned against the chair. “Being scared is natural. You'd have to be stupid not to be, in this situation. But Raul's right. This is how I look at it- the world we know, kind of dangerous but in ways we at least understand, is a road that we've just reached the end of. We're sitting at an intersection we've never seen, another road brand new to us, and we don't know where it will lead or which way we should go. But we've got friends on this road, who want to help us along the way... we just have to trust in them.”

“And in each other,” Raul added. “I mean... seriously? I think we can do this. No bullshit. Hell, right now we're making a living reaching out to people, educating them, right? When news starts spreading about magic, all we have to do is just... well, tell them what's going on. Same for when the ponies make contact. We'll probably have to be careful, because you know how some people can be, but I think we're in a pretty good position to make a real difference right off the starting line.”

The cautious confidence that the man practically radiated was infectious, and it seemed to boost Saffy's mood as well. “Yeah....” she said quietly, her expression slowly changing from depression to determination. “Yeah. Hell. Dinky says she wants to be friends with lots of humans? Well, I'm gonna make an Earth where she can do that- and anybody who has a problem with it can go fuck in the 'off' direction.” She slowly got out of the chair and put an arm over the shoulder of each of her friends. “You guys are with me, right?”

“Hell yeah.” Raul chuckled. “You know you've got the two of us-”

“Mrrrrowl.”

“...the three of us,” he amended, looking down at Cicero, whose expression was as smug as a one-eyed cat's could be. “Yeah, we got your back.”

“Heh. I knew. Just wanted to hear it.” Saffy yawned again. “Shit. I think it's time I headed home before I start running the risk of falling asleep behind the wheel. You'd better too, Raul- you've got an hour's drive.”

“Damn, yeah, and it's getting late.” He grabbed his phone from the table. “Jake, don't forget to send Twilight's contact info to Saffy and me, just in case.”

“I'll do that now, while I'm thinking about it.” He tapped his way through a couple of menus on the screen of his own phone and forwarded the entry to them; both confirmed that they received it. “Okay, I'll Email the two of you tomorrow and we'll start discussing plans for the future,” Raul said as he walked with Saffy towards the door- only to stop there with his hand on the knob. “Oh, and Jacob?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for trusting us enough to bring us in on this.” A broad smile crossed Raul's face.

“Hey, you two deserved to know.” He waved a hand at them. “Go on, get moving. Talk to you both tomorrow.”

“See ya.” “G'night, Jake.” And with that, they headed out; he stood at the doorway, watching as his truck and her sedan pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street, and their taillights eventually vanished from sight. With that, he closed the door and went to his bedroom, changing into comfortable night clothes and flopping onto his bed, where Cicero joined him later. “Okay, it may be only nine in the evening, but I am beat,” he murmured.

“Mrrowl?”

“Yeah, guess I'll call it an early night.” He pulled the blanket over himself and switched off the light, and felt his cat take his customary place at the foot off the bed. “Moooow.”

“No, I won't forget to feed you tomorrow, you goofball. Though I'll probably be busy after that, planning with Raul and Saffy.”

“Mow?”

“What? No way, Saffy's like a sister to me, dude. Are you-” He paused. “Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Cicero... are you and I actually having a conversation?”

“Meow.”

“Oh, for the love of....” He rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. “This is really going to take some getting used to.” He laid his head on the pillow. “Tomorrow. Right now I'm just going the hell to sleep. Good night, Cicero.”

“Mrrrrow.”

Sleep didn't waste any time stealing up on him, but it did leave him enough time to have one last thought: Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day.

(-)

The drums and PVC instruments of Blue Man Group pulled her attention away from her latest project; she felt like she'd hit something of a wall anyway, so she closed the audio-mixing program, got up from her desk and went to her phone, noting that the screen read “Unlisted Number”. With a slight frown, she silenced the ringtone and took the call. “Hello?”

“Hello. Is this Safira Balamar?”

“Yeah. Who is this?”

“My name is Trixie. I'm with the TDRC.”

Saffy felt like someone had just poured ice water down her spinal column. The Trans-Dimensional Relations Council wouldn't be calling her directly unless something was wrong. “I'm listening.”

“Have you heard from Jacob in the last three days?”

“Um... no, no I haven't.”

She heard a sigh from the other end of the call. “I was afraid of that. Safira, I need to meet with you and Raul Francisco as soon as possible. We have reason to believe Jacob has been abducted.”

“...what.” She almost dropped the phone. “Is this a joke?”

“No, Miss Balamar. This is absolutely serious. Would it be possible for you to meet me at Jacob's apartment?”

“Yeah. Gimme about twenty minutes. Raul and I both have spare keys to it.”

“That's good. I will contact Mr. Francisco and then meet you both there. Until then, be careful.”

The call cut out. Saffy shut down her computer, then grabbed her purse and keys and headed out to her car. I knew things were going too smoothly, she thought, as she got into her car and started it. But I made a promise, and I'm going to keep it.

She pulled out of her parking spot and hit the road with as much speed as she dared.