A Chronicle of Choices

by Gylden Glor

Rating: mature
Tags: Main 6, Discord, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Human, Other, Romance, Original Character, Comedy, Tragedy, Adventure, Princess Celestia, Sex
Length: 203243

When a human arrives in Equestria, how will he cope? And more importantly, how will he survive?

When Peter Roose, a famous psychological scientist, digs deep into the human psyche and is finally able to enter it, how will his mind cope to the new surroundings and rules, and how will he survive in a world of vegetarians?
However, more importantly, what will become of him once Celestia finds him? Will the old Prophecy be true, and will he become something greater than Magic itself, or will he leave, and leave his destiny unfulfilled?
And even more importantly, when he arrives, will the ponies shun him or leave him to the elements of nature, with no food, shelter, or a way to defend himself?
And when it comes down to it, he will have to choose many times, and so will all the ponies in Ponyville. And when a new element joins the variables in his choices, he will be left in the shadows of his actions, constantly asking himself if he's doing the right thing.
But, before that, he goes on vacation.
FOR A LONG ASS TIME, AND THAT LONG ASS TIME RUINS THIS STORY.

I've cancelled this. If you want to see this story executed as it was intended, then read this.
Please comment, as I love to see what people think of my story! And don't say what you like about it, say everything you think of it, especially your qualms with it. I read all of my comments, as I'm kind of obsessive like that.

Published 2012-01-04 06:49:33 UTC
Last updated 2012-11-04 17:36:13 UTC

Dreams and Amnesia

Rainbow rolled over, images flooding her mind.

A flooded tunnel, with countless ponies and chariots sunken beneath the ocean...a tunnel from one city to the other, one that had been bombed out, the one she had abandoned...and then a grand station, one where ponies walked to and from their destinations, and one where her friends met her demise, and she kept walking, unharmed...and then a school, where ponies cried and held each other, and she walked out, just before it exploded into flame, burning everypony in it alive...

She knew that the thoughts weren't her own. They felt...different. Somepony, or something, else is in my mind. This...this never happened. This never will happen, at least not here. I won't let this thing fool me!

She nodded back off to sleep, her mind once again her own.

And then an explosion shook the ground, the sound of it reaching Rainbows' ears, the shaking so violent it could be felt high above in Cloudsdale...

She stuck her head out, to see a giant glowing orb of energy that disappeared in seconds, leaving a large crater in the Everfree Forest.

"Heh...must be Zecora, she must just be digging for relics...or...something..." She hoped her out-loud thoughts were right. If the images from Discord that were still in her head ever came true, and her friends were ever hurt like that, she would...

I would break.

The realization wasn't new to her. She knew she would break if anything happened to her friends like what she had seen in her nightmares. But, the feeling of acceptance, that it was the only thing, was what surprised her, and caused her to cower in her bed, until a lavender unicorn knocked at her door, a spell working on her hooves to keep her up in the air.

It was about 1 o'clock in the morning when Twilight woke up.

And not because she wanted to, but because an explosion had happened in the Everfree Forest.

She knew it immediately, she knew it was an explosion. The flash of light, the giant wisps of smoke that spiraled out of the impact zone, and the shaking that sent all her books to the ground and Spike and herself to the ceiling...it was definitely an explosion.

What could do that? What could ever do such a thing like that?

Twilight jumped out of her bed, her mane a mess, and walked over to Spike, who remained unconscious. She nudged him, and he woke up, and immediately turned over and retched all over her carpet. Normally, she would have been angry that he had just spewed his stomach juices all over her fine decorations, but she merely held him, worried for him, Fluttershy, Zecora, and Rainbow Dash. Twilight had been the only pony that Rainbow Dash told...the only one that Rainbow told about the dreams she was having. Twilight hoped desperately that she could corral the rest of the girls and get to Celestia before it was too late for Rainbow Dash.

She suddenly had an idea, her worries disappearing and replaced with determination. Holding the mumbling baby dragon with Magic, she tucked him and performed the same spell she used to walk on clouds to Rainbow Dash's Best Young Flier competition, where she first did a Sonic Rainboom.

She immediately teleported to Rainbow Dash's house, worried for her Loyal friend.

Pinkie laughed hysterically, scaring Mr. and Mrs. Cake more than they already were.

Cupcake Corner had received the blunt of the explosion-as in, it had been shaken up so badly that the frosting had come off of the walls, ruining Pinkie's hard work.

The said pink fluffball was currently laughing so hard that Mr. and Mrs. Cake immediately ran out of the house, avoiding the building's now-destroyed supports, and ran right to the doctor.

Pinkie kept on Laughing, and then finally snapped open her eyes and beheld the destruction before her.

She stopped laughing when she saw that everything had been destroyed in her room: her bed was in shambles, and luckily it had not landed on her, and her mirror was smashed, her brush was snapped in half (as if she ever used it,) and her box of cupcakes was on the ground, the icing forming a circle around the box like blood would on a splattered body. (Pinkie had no idea what blood from a splattered body looked like, but she knew what icing from a murdered cake looked like, and the cupcakes had the very same condition.)

She jumped off her bed and fell to her knees, her tears staining the cupcake box.

"My...cupcakes...are....RUINED!!"

She launched the cupcakes across the room. They had taken true work-a full five hours! Using her mouth to place everything while not eating it......not eating it! Do you have any idea how stressful that is?

She cowered under her bed, shaking.

"What if...the other cupcakes are ruined too?!"

She had made the cupcakes for her friends and the new pony in town. She looked up and was relieved to see that the iron box had not moved a bit. (Yes, she keeps her important cupcakes in an iron box. And yes, it is bolted onto the floor. What, you don't? Freak. Cupcakes are important!)

She immediately stood up, determination in her eyes.

I will find who did this, and I will splatter a cake all over their face. That's right, Mr. brain, we get to have some fun today.

She was going for an evil laugh, but ended up hysterically laughing at the idea of smashing a cake into sompony's face.

She remained laughing for a minute, then quickly bounced out of the house before Mr. and Mrs. Cake could do that weird 'do not resist' game with her again.

Rarity remained crashed, this time into the wall. She was still unconscious. The spell had taken a huge toll on her. Unfortunately, she didn't wake up until five hours later, her stunning tail captivating her and distracting her from what had happened.

Applejack was devastated, her mouth hanging open. Big Mac was staring out of the window next to hers, in his room. His jaw was practically on the ground.

"Our...apple trees...they're..." Big Mac couldn't finish his sentence, his red coat stretched by his comically open jaw.

Empty... Applejack mentally completed for him.

The explosion had shaken all of their trees empty, and the apples were all on the ground, most of them bruised.

Applejack finally snapped out of it, got on her customary hat, and went outside to help Big Mac collect the apples.

"Big Mac...do...do you have any idea what happened last night? Because ah' sure can't make manes or tails of it!"

"Nnope."

Applejack smiled, happy that at least one thing was the same as it had been the other day: Big Mac and his small word answers.

Applejack walked into the barn about five hours later, her baskets of bruised apples heavy on her back.

Consarnit...the sun ain't even up yet and Ah'm workin' my flank off. What in the hay happened...

She found out about six hours later, when Twilight teleported right in front of her.

Fluttershy let out a squeak, and hid behind Devil's cage. Devil merely sniffed her and nibbled Fluttershy's snout a bit, ushering a high pitched laugh and a sparkling look, as well as a small kiss on Devils' nose.

Fluttershy rubbed her eyes, the sun streaks still present from the explosion that had just happened. She looked around, and was amazed that she was still breathing.

First, her bed was in shambles. Totally smashed. And the glass from her bedroom window covered the entire thing, a shower of sharp glass that would have cut Fluttershy into pieces.

She gulped, fear running through her. She looked to the left, and saw Angel bunny unconscious on the floor, his bed a bit passed him, the table on which it had rested strewn around Fluttershy's living room.

"What happened..." was all the yellow Pegasus could muster from behind her messy, pink mane.

She looked for her brush, and found the handle of it. The head of it was embedded into her wall.

She looked for a mirror, and almost stepped on the glass remains.

She looked for a couch, and almost tripped over a burnt cushion.

She looked for any fully intact remainder of her life, of her home, and found none.

She sat down and cried.

"Who would do such a thing...destroy my house..."

Her tears joined the mess of furniture.

"I wish Twilight was here...she would know what to do..."

And, after about four hours of waiting, Twilight knocked on the door, frantically searching for Fluttershy, her kindest friend.

Rainbow Dash embraced Twilight in a hug, so tight that Twilight couldn't breath.

"When I heard that explosion, when I saw that light, I thought...I thought my nightmares had...had..."

Twilight held her, feeling the tears dripping down her coat.

"Everything's going to be alright, Rainbow...everything..."

Suddenly, Spike burped from inside the hot air balloon. Twilight thought he was just throwing up again, but was surprised when a scaled, purple arm held a letter in front of her, already opened: not enough time to wrap it.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I need you and your friends to go into the Everfree Forest and find whatever made that explosion.

Please, do so as quickly as possible.

I must research something, and I will tell you what I find.

Signed,

Princess Celestia

The formality of the letter shocked Twilight. No 'faithful student', no 'your adamant teacher', just formality and an order.

"Rainbow Dash...are you okay now?"

Rainbow Dash sat back on her haunches, her wide, watery eyes slowly focusing to the world, slowly coming out of that dark place in her nightmares.

After a few minutes Rainbow Dash nodded, the determination that was always present in her eyes returning.

"Wait, get your Harmony Necklace. In case it's hostile."

Rainbow Dash was about to Sonic Rainboom right to the Everfree Forest, but instead went inside.

"'K, you know best, Twi'."

Five minutes later, they both had their Harmony necklace and tiara on, Twilight's magic speeding the balloon towards a bouncing, pink pony.

The balloon necklace bouncing with her, Pinkie watched Twilight's balloon descend.

"Took you long enough! Let's go to the Everfree Forest! And let's smash this cake in whoever made the explosions' face!"

She suddenly pulled a cake out of her mane and replaced it, causing a balloon to fly out.

"Pinkie, get your...oh. You're already wearing it."

The lavender unicorn had never seen Pinkie so prepared. It was as if she wanted to go beat something up...

They immediately took off, Rainbow Dash staring at Pinkie.

"What?"

The pink pony could be way too direct sometimes.

"Pinkie...how the buck did you do that? I mean, but the cake in your mane, and how in the hay did you have a balloon in your mane?"

Pinkie Pie merely looked at her rainbow maned friend and shrugged.

"I dunno. I just do these things. They just make sense to me."

A snap was heard from Pinkie's mane just as Rainbow was about to respond. The cyan Pegasus' lips puckered up, her eyes became small beads.

"Pinkie...is Gummy in your mane too?"

Pinkie merely sighed.

"Of course he is, dummy? Where did you think I was going to put him?"

As if on cue, the de-toothed crocodile popped out of Pinkie's mane.

"He's an Alligator, Rainbow."

"What?"

"I just heard that the Crocodile jumped out of my mane as if on cue. You know he's an Alligator. Why did you call him a Crocodile?"

"Uhh...I didn't say anything?"

"Huh...weird, I just thought that WOAAHH!"

The hot air balloon slid to a stop in front of Fluttershy's house.

(I know, it seems like this all happened in a maximum of four minutes. And it did. In our time. In Equestria an hour passes in the same amount of time that a minute passes back on earth. I call it an hour because the sun moved so quickly that day, it was as if Celestia had kicked Luna out of the castle to oversee the search party or something.)

"Twilight! Can you help! Please, I need help! My entire house is ruined!"

The lavender pony stopped in her tracks, the yellow pony's Harmony Necklace already within her magical grip.

"Well...uh...your Harmony Necklace isn't ruined, so let's go get Applejack and Rarity! We can fix this when we get back."

Fluttershy merely looked down.

"Oh, okay. I get it. We have to go to the Everfree Forest. I'll get my Harmony-oh, you already have it. Okay, let's go, I guess."

Twilight felt as though someone had driven as spike through her heart. She had never seen Fluttershy this...depressed. Twilight looked around, and realized that her house really was ruined. She quickly did a time reversal spell as soon as Fluttershy walked out the door.

"Fluttershy, what are you talking about, your house is destroyed?"

The yellow pony quickly zipped back in, leaving a visible trail of dust behind her. Rainbow Dash nearly fainted.

First Pinky has an infinity mane and now dust has a mind of its own...is Discord back or something?

The crocodile popped out at Rainbow again, causing her to shout.

Pinkie turned around, Gummy spreading his arms out, enjoying the short breeze.

"For the last time, Rainbow, Gummy is an ALLIGATOR!"

Rainbow fell down, her rainbow tail splayed out behind her, crawling backwards slowly.

"Uh...okay, okay, sorry!"

Pinkie's eyes were extremely intense. Rainbow felt as though her soul was open like a book, and not in a good way. When Pinkie finally looked away, Rainbow started to get up, but immediately fell back down as Pinkie spun around again, scaring the life out of Rainbow, causing her to fall back down.

She suddenly felt herself being lifted by Twilight's magic, into a secluded part of Fluttershy's house. Rainbow could hear the yellow Pegasus screaming with delight at her fixed house.

"Rainbow, are you sure you're okay?"

Rainbow stared at her, her mouth wide open.

"What? Are you okay?! Pinkie had a cake, a balloon, and an alligator in her mane! Isn't that a little weird?"

Twilight merely put a hoof to her head, which freaked out Rainbow even more.

How can she be so calm in all of this?!

"Rainbow, this kind of thing happens all the time. You're the one who told me that I should just go with the weird stuff Pinkie can do. Why are you so freaked out by it now?"

Rainbow realized that she was right. She looked down and sighed.

"I guess I'm not totally alright. Just those dreams...I had one last night, just before the explosion. Only it was...different. They were in places I'd never been before, and the thoughts weren't my own. They were thoughts of somepony or some....something else. The world in the dreams just felt so...different. They just felt...controlled, y'know? Like that kind of weird stuff could never happen. I guess that the dream's just affecting me, that's all..."

She looked up into Twilight's worried eyes. Rainbow shook herself, not wanting to worry her friends.

"But it's nothing! I don't care how weird things get, I'll just remember that that place in my dream wasn't real! It's just a dream, right?" She said the last part with a normal Rainbow laugh, the one that Twilight was used to hearing.

"Yeah, it is just a dream, Rainbow. Let's go get Rarity, Applejack probably has a bunch of apples to clean up."

Rainbow was relieved by the spark of...relief that had been present in Twilight's eyes.

Pull it together, Rainbow. Everything is just fine...those dreams are just dreams.

She pushed on, head held high.

Rarity screamed, and Twilight and the other three abandoned caution, bursting right into her room to find Rarity curled up with her tail, admiring how it glowed.

Twilight sighed and snapped the Harmony Necklace around Rarity's neck. She wasn't even going to bother trying to get Rarity out of her state of tail-appreciation.

Gummy jumped out of Pinkie's mane, the Alligators' eyes searching the room. He had never been in Rarity's room, and-

"Yay! You finally called him an alligator, Rainbow!"

Rainbow Dash simply nodded, her mind back to normal, the weird world in the dreams gone.

They pushed on to Applejack's house, Rarity floating and admiring her mane.

As they stepped into Twilight's hot air balloon, Rainbow received a healthy shove from a sleeping dragon. She had stepped right on his tail.

"Who stepped on my tail!!"

Spike stood up, trying to scare Rainbow Dash for stepping on his tail. Rainbow wasn't scared. Rather, she was freaked out at how his arms had just stretched, and how the interior of the hot air balloon seemed so much larger than it had before...

"Sorry, Spike. I was distracted by Rarity's...uh...interesting tail.

"Huh?"

Spike looked up and was captivated by the flashing colors.

Rainbow held back a chuckle, and then kept on an extremely bad poker face when Spike turned around, blushing.

Rainbow Dash started hysterically laughing. She couldn't control it, it was just so funny to see a dragon blushing like that.

Pinkie joined in, and when the alligator jumped out of the pink mane, Rainbow didn't freak out. She was finally back to normal, as the minutes had felt like hours.

As they rose over the Sweet Apple Acres, something bumped the basket, and Rainbow Dash's wings were splayed open by the jolt, causing her to catch a breeze and go flying, right into Twilight's back, breaking her hold on the magic.

Twilight let down her official-looking stature, meekly smiling.

"Sorry, AJ. Kind of in a hurry. We all need to get going, now."

Applejack put down her now empty basket, as Twilight's sudden teleportation had made her jump, letting all the apples fly in random directions. Applejack looked past Twilight and saw a hot air balloon impaled on a tree.

"It's alright, Twi'. Ah can get them up later. And where are the others? And where are we goin'? And why is your balloon in a tree?"

Twilight moved aside, realizing that she was literally in Applejack's face, obscuring her view of the four ponies following the lavender pony.

"Well, alright, there's everypony. But where are we goin'?"

Twilight simply handed Applejack her Harmony necklace. Applejack looked up and realized they all already had their Harmony jewelry on already.

"The Everfree Forest. You know, where that giant explosion happened this morning? Are you okay, Applejack? I think that was kind of obvious."

The bouncing pink pony always had a way with words.

"Uh...yes. We're going into the Everfree Forest, Applejack. We need to wear these in case it's something hostile."

Applejack simply nodded.

"Alright, then let's go!"

She reared her legs, letting out a loud whinny. The six ponies set off together, running towards the dark forest that had lit up the entire world that day.

She stopped suddenly.

"But wait...that doesn't explain why your balloon is in a tree."

Twilight sheepishly smiled, blushing. Rainbow Dash blushed as well.

"Well, you see, a breeze picked up and Rainbow Dash happened to be stretching her wings...and, well, she flew into me and distracted me. By the time I realized we were going to crash, I didn't have time to take control of the balloon. Oh, and Spikes' asleep in your bed, he kind of...passed out when Rainbow's hoof caught him in the back of the head."

Applejack winced. A hoof to the back of the head had to hurt, but she knew that Spike would be okay.

"Alright, Twi'. Let's go!"

And the six ponies set off, Rainbow just a small bit late, as she was desperately trying to ignore the fact that Pinkie was moving without touching the ground.

I sat in the center of a crater, hugging my knees.

How the FUCK did I get here?!

It was the only thing I could ask myself.

My 15-year-old brain had no answers, however.

Suddenly, I heard a voice.

"This way, girls! I can see the crater!"

Wait...is that...

A lavender unicorn walked into my field of view, her horn bathing her body in light, illuminating the five ponies behind her.

I realized that I was slowly going insane, and immediately scanned the eyes of the ponies staring at me, and found Rainbow Dash's eyes.

Good...she reminded me of myself the most...maybe something familiar can keep me sane...

Too little, too late.

I think I went schizophrenic for a few seconds, because I hugged my knees closer and fell to my side, and I began saying random things.

"I'm in a world, where humans are replaced by talking ponies...I have no idea how I got here, and I think that Celestia wants me arrested...and did I mention there are talking ponies?"

My vision doubled, my eyes were bugging out and taking control of themselves.

"Ponies ponies ponies ponies....poniesponiesponiesponies....mmmmpoonaaahhhss!"

I quickly sat up and smacked myself. Hard. it didn't do anything, I could still feel my mouth moving, spewing indiscernible gibberish.

I hope this works...

I face palmed.

And not in a comical way, I mean I shut down the capillaries in my head for a few seconds, caused the blood flow to refresh, kind of like pressing the 'restart' button on a Windows computer.

(SUBTLE FOOTNOTE: DO NOT TRY THAT AT HOME. YOU WILL DIE IF YOU DO IT TO HARD, AS YOU WILL GIVE YOURSELF AN ANEURISM. THAT IS TOTAL BULLSHIT. IT WORKS IN EQUESTRIA BECAUSE PINKIE PIE SAYS SO.)

My vision blurred, and then cleared. I examined them all, to make sure I was actually in Equestria, and not an a life-sized arena of the toys.

On the far left was Fluttershy, her pink mane covering most of her face except for her right eye. She was sitting like a scared cat, her eyes small and shaking, her mouth quivering. Her yellow body was trembling all over, making me go 'd'aww' in my head at the sight.

To the right of her was Rarity, her eyes covered by her tail. She looked a bit like a marshmallow, and her tail was glowing.

Wait, what? Why is her tail...whatever, screw it, I'll find out later, I have my sanity to destroy.

Once again to the right was Applejack, her mouth in a frown, looking at me with a confused and scared face.

I don't blame her, I just went schizophrenic and now I'm staring at her like a...schizophrenic mental patient.

Her hat was slightly tilted, but she didn't seem to care. her mane was on her side, ending in a bow. her orange skin seemed pale, probably out of fear.

I looked towards the right again, and saw Twilight Sparkle. Her main was straight and orderly, just as always, and her eyes bore deep into me. The frown she wore wasn't as unsettling as Applejack's, but more or less...shocking. She looked as though she was going to smack me with a hoof. I started blushing, realizing how weird I must have looked just then.

Jesus, I was rocking on the ground, on my side, whispering to myself. My eyes were bugging out, and I was barely even breathing, and then I just sat up and smacked myself and now I'm staring at all of them...

I kept on examining Twilight, making sure that I didn't miss anything. I needed to make sure all of my observant faculties were operational, and I would explain as much when I stopped ensuring.

Twilight's eyes were also bugging out slightly, but more from fear. Her tail twitched nervously, and her horn glowed with aura, the amount of light coming from it undulating in strength.

Next, I looked at Pinkie Pie, who was holding back a chuckle desperately, her eyes somewhat watering.

Her pink mane was flopping with every movement she made, whether it was to breath, or just to wipe her eyes, which was difficult due to her puffed up cheeks. She must have been horrified.

Then, I looked to Rainbow Dash. The fear I saw in her eyes...it scared me as well.

Her rainbow mane was unkempt, as usual, and her mouth was quivering. But that fear,,,was I really that bad just then?

Okay, I think that how much Rainbow's eyes affected me deserves some explanation.

I've been a Brony for about two months at this point, and I can see myself in all of the ponies: I love books and abandon friends on facebook sometimes just to study, I believe that hard work and being honest are the two main things I should keep up at, I'm extremely kind, (and I'm not being narcissistic, I'm just going off of what other people tell me. In all honesty, I think I'm a bit of a jerk and not very kind at all, but, whatever,) I have a deep appreciation for beauty and arts, I laugh when I'm scared and I very rarely ever do get scared (for example: during the trailer for Paranormal Activity 3, I started laughing hysterically. It was just fucking hilarious!) And, lastly, I'm always trying to go super fast, and I think that everything needs to be cooler.

However, besides the basics, I also see something personality wise: Rainbow Dash and I are extremely alike. I'll do work when I know I have to, but other wise, fuck it. When people complain about dumb stuff, I just walk away and drop an overused 'deal with it.' And, whenever someone shows me something they think is cool, I always have to think of a way to make it cooler. Once I started watching My Little Pony, I started saying that it needed to be twenty percent cooler all the time. But, overall, the same things tend to scare us, and we both tend to try to blow off that fear. But the fact that she was scared of my sudden bout of insanity shows me how over the edge I actually went.

I stood, dusting myself off, and spoke to them. They obviously didn't expect my deep voice to come out of my rather...small body. (I'm 112 pounds [water weight mostly], and I'm not exactly that tall. Also, I'm fifteen years old. My voice is deeper than my dad's and most of my teachers' voices.)

"Sorry about that...I just didn't expect to be here at all. I vaguely remember going through a portal or...something, but besides that, I just have no idea how I got here in the first place. My mind just went into shock or something. So, what exactly do I have to do?"

Rainbow Dash was the first to respond. Just like me. In every way.

Good, I can befriend her first...maybe the amount of familiarity I see in her can keep me sane through all of this.

"You need to calm the buck down, buddy. And then you need to come with us to the Princess."

I sighed. "I'm guessing you mean Celestia, Rainbow Dash?"

Shit. Too much said, fuck.

They all looked at me, surprise evident in their eyes. Even Rarity and Fluttershy came out from behind their tail and mane to look at me.

"Uh...it's a long story. A very, very, very long story that would probably send me into the depths of insanity if I tried to tell it."

How do I sound so calm right now?

"Uh...okay, right. Well, you seem pretty calm, so now I guess we can go to the Princess. Right, Twilight?"

Damn, Rainbow Dash. You're going to be one good substitute of a psychiatrist.

"Yes, Rainbow Dash. Uh, so, uhm...."

"Peter."

Twilight nodded.

" And I'm Twilight. So, Peter, do you have any experience with teleportation?"

I shrugged.

"I guess. Whatever I did to get here, it must have been teleportation, but I have no idea how. So, if you want to teleport me, I guess the answer is yes."

She nodded, and her horn started glowing.

I looked over at Rainbow Dash, to see that familiar spark, something to bolster my sanity.

Good...she's calm...composed...keeping my sanity might be easier than I thought...Jesus, I feel like I'm playing 'Amnesia' or something, constantly working about my sanity...

The word 'amnesia' sparked something in my mind, and I vaguely remember writing down my age as 29 on a terminal in a CDC...perhaps I was suffering from amnesia myself and I had lost 14 years of life?

Nah, don't be ridiculous. Just keep your sanity, it's all you should be worried about right now.

However, suddenly, I had an idea. An awful idea, and a choice.

Either I go with them, I fight them, or...

"Twilight, wait."

The pony looked up at me, her horn glowing with anticipating magic.

"What?"

I sighed, preparing for what I may have to do.

"I can't go."

The ponies gasped, looking at me. Pinkie's chuckles disappeared, replaced by disbelief.

"I have to stay in the Everfree Forest. If I go there, then I might be sent to Ponyville."

Twilight looked at me, confusion evident in her eyes.

"And why is that a bad thing?"

I looked at who said it (Rainbow Dash).

I sighed again.

Shit, this is going to be hard to explain...

I started the difficult task of explaining my diet.

"You see, I'm a human. And you're all ponies, obviously. And while you can all eat vegetation and popcorn and pizza and what not, I need to eat meat in order to survive, in order to get the right amount of protein and minerals. If I just suddenly stop eating meat and start eating pizza and popcorn all day, my body will go into shock, and I would probably die due to the diet itself. And I can't eat hay, the organ that humans use to process hay and other such things like that was excluded a long time ago, even though it's still in our bodies. And daisies are poisonous to me, as well as most plants that ponies eat. I just can't...live with the diet you guys have. I'm sorry, but if I want to survive, I have to live here and...hunt."

The ponies looked at me, still confused.

And, God damn it, why did Fluttershy have to say it?

"Uh, mister, um, Peter, what does it mean to...hunt?"

I looked her in the eyes. I had to tell her the whole truth.

I'm sorry Fluttershy...

"It means to kill animals, cook their meat, and then eat the cooked meat."

The ponies gasped, and Fluttershy backed off slowly.

"Well, don't go getting any ideas about eating pony meat, you here?!"

I looked Rainbow Dash right in the face, and said with the most honest face I have ever put on in my entire life, "I won't."

Suddenly, I felt a tugging at the small of my back.

"What the-?"

I realized what was going on.

Twilight was teleporting me with her, whether I wanted to or not.

Okay, Peter, you have a choice...palm Twilight in the base of the horn. That spot, where skull and horn connect, is probably extremely sensitive and very reactive to touch, and any force applied to it could probably knock her out. Or, you can let her take you to Celestia, where you have a shot at explaining your situation and not being hunted down by the Princess for attacking her personal protege...

I blinked.

Why the fuck is the first one a choice?

I looked over to Twilight.

"I know what you're doing. And you don't have to be subtle about it. Just teleport us, I'll go quietly."

Twilight blinked, confusion on her face.

"I'm not doing any teleporting!"

I blinked in return.

"But I feel myself being pulled, almost like I'm being pulled by the small of my back..."

Suddenly, all the other ponies seemed to feel it too, as they all gasped.

Twilight had a blank face on, and simply looked up.

"Celestia...?"

With a puff of smoke, a small purple dragon appeared, holding a scroll in his hand, his face as green as the scales on his under belly. Spike already had the scroll open, and Twilight hastily read it.

She looked at me, and back at the letter.

God, I hope it's not a death sentence...

She cleared her throat. She looked nervous...definitely not a good sign.

"Celestia has ordered us to...help you find your way back home."

I immediately perked up, a large smile spreading over my face.

"Thank you! I knew I could count on you guys to help me! Thank you, thank you so much!"

Suddenly, with a flash of yellow magic, were were teleported into Celestia's chambers, where I was immediately shoved in a cave, like some common animal, where I immediately blacked out from the teleportation, falling unconscious to the cast iron floor.

The last thing I saw before I totally went out was a teary-eyed lavender unicorn, mane a mess, staring into the eyes of a white Alicorn, her gaseous and yet corporeal mane floating behind her, a look of happiness on her face.

The Choice of Bliss

"But Princess, he's intelligent!"

Celestia wheeled around, looking Twilight straight in the face.

"It is not your call, Twilight Sparkle!"

The Princess of the Sun's eyes were filled with rage. Twilight had never seen her so angry...

"But Princess, he was scared out of his mind! He asked for our help!"

Celestia brought her hoof down, the ornamental golden show creating a more-than-audible slam on the marble floor of her chambers.

"I brought it here because it attacked us! It destroyed part of the Everfree Forest, and therefore, it does not deserve a bed! It deserves captivity for attacking such a pure world-it is truly an animal."

Each time she said the word 'it', her voice grew steadily louder, until it was almost as loud as the Royal Canterlot Voice. However, on the last 'it', her voice was reduced to a biting whisper, dripping with venom.

Fluttershy was shaking out of fear, her eyes closed. She seemed to be struggling against her self to run out of the door. Her five friends surrounded her, trying to comfort her.

And then some hot-headed pony called out.

"Celestia, that's...ridiculous!"

Everypony, except Celestia, wheeled around in surprise at the accusation, as well as how rude it was.

However, what shocked everypony more than the statement itself was who it had come from.

Her five friends moved out of the way, not wanting to get in the way of the conversation that was sure to ensue.

Pinkie Pie wasn't laughing at all, she couldn't laugh even if she wanted to. The pink, sugar-infused party pony sat still for once, genuinely scared at the idea of what would become of her friend.

Twilight's eyes were bugging out. The lavender unicorn couldn't believe her ears, or her eyes. Her mane was quickly getting unkempt, and she was visibly shaking, horrified at what was about to happen.

Rainbow Dash's jaw hung open, her eyes small. She sat on her haunches, too astounded to fly, her rainbow mane creating a projection of colors on the white tiled floor.

Applejack stared in earnest, shocked by the sight before her. Her hat fell off, making an audible click on the tile floor. She ignored it, too stunned by what she saw to pick it up.

Rarity tore her eyes away from her...magnificent tail, which had just changed colors to white, whiter than the white marble tiles surrounding her, when she beheld the sight before her.

Spike tore his eyes away from Rarity, his body shaking, his tail straight and his scales pulling back in fear for his friend.

Celestia swiveled in fury, her face practically red. Her rage was palpable, her gaseous mane as rigid as a steel sword, her mouth open to shout out a royal 'how dare you'.

She stopped in her tracks, the words hanging dead on her tongue.

In the center of the ponies stood a yellow Pegasus with a pink mane, her normally gentle, scared eyes narrowed into an infamous Stare.

"He's a living being! You have no right to shove him in a cage and keep him unconscious with magic! I demand that he has a bed, and that we help him get back to his home. You didn't see how scared he was! He was scared out of his mind, literally! He was going insane!"

Fluttershy advanced slowly, her wings open in a menacing fashion. Celestia's eyes became pin pricks of fear, and she moved back, her oriental golden hoof shoes clacking on the marble floor.

"I demand that he is removed from that horrible cage at once and given a proper bed."

Celestia simply nodded. Fluttershy was simply horrifying when she was angry, and Celestia was simply horrified. She felt as though she was a subject being told off by a Princess...

"Wh---whatever you say, F-f-f-f-fluttershy..."

The stuttering of her name snapped her back to reality, and she quickly knelt down in fear, her yellow body quaking, sending her pink tail into spasms.

"P-please...don't arrest me...I'm s-s-s-s-so sorry...."

The small sound of dripping tears was completely audible in the complete silence.

Celestia stood, staring at the Pegasus with a mix of respect, anger, and self-hate.

"No, Fluttershy...It is I who should be saying sorry. I know how much it takes for you to break out the..." Celestia swallowed, the eyes of anger still present in her mind. "the...Stare. I realize now that I must have been...horrible. Horrible to push you to that point. I am truly sorry, my faithful subject, and I thank you for reminding me that every living being deserves a second chance."

She stood tall, looking down at the now-still Fluttershy with a small smile. Her six friends immediately ran over, crowding her with hugs and shouts of how amazingly brave she was. Fluttershy simply blushed, the red spots growing deeper in shade when Rainbow Dash set out a truly rare proclamation that didn't ingratiate her own skills.

"Man, I never would've been able to do that, Fluttersy!"

Fluttershy let out a small chuckle.

"Spike, take a note, please!"

Spike pulled himself out of the huddle on Fluttershy, accepting a teleported quill and scroll, courtesy of Celestia.

"Will do!"

Celestia dictated the following to Spike:

"I declare that Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy are to observe the ways of this creature called 'human', and to befriend him.

"I also declare that he is to help my six little ponies in matters big and small, and that they come to him with problems. He will stay with Twilight Sparkle, and will tell her his reactions to the days' work and his interactions with Twilight and her friends.

"However, I also demand that by the end of this month, Twilight sends me a full description of all of his possessions and their purposes, which are stored in a burlap bag.

"And I also declare that he receive weekly psychological attention from Fluttershy, and should he want to talk to both Fluttershy and somepony else, the other pony must attend his next session.

"Lastly, if he proves himself as a faithful friend and a civil being, he shall be rewarded with full citizenship in all of Equestria."

Spike finished writing it down, the large words giving him some halt, such as 'psychological'. But, he finished nonetheless, and handed it to Celestia, who made it an Official Canterlot Document (OCD) through a complex process.

She impaled the paper on her horn, her magic coursing through it. It vanished with a small pop.

Fluttershy smiled at the Princess, her eyes filled with tears.

I woke up at the sound of voices.

Celestia was fighting with Twilight Sparkle.

I didn't dare open my eyes, the events of the previous day flying back to me.

One second, at robotics, the next second, in Equestria?

I wrestled the issue for a good five minutes, the questions roiling in the black sea of impending insanity.

And that's when I realized. I was emulating the idea of insanity: the idea that one tries the same thing over and over again, expecting the same results that they had the first time. I expected an explanation to be clear to me. That constant searching, that never ending denial of events until I found a reasonable...well, reason (sorry for the bad pun) would send me off of the unstable cliff of sanity I stood upon, the roiling, dark depths of insanity greedily awaiting my arrival.

I decided to go with it, and that I would search for a reason when I got back home.

Maybe this place is real...maybe I'm really in a world of talking ponies...

It gave me pause. I had rejected it before, that was all I had been trying to do...reject the idea that I was actually in a world of talking ponies. Instead, this time I tried to view it as though it was real.

If this world is real...then there is no war going on...there's no impending threat of terrorism...no economic struggle over oil...no homeless people in the dirty streets of Manhattan...

The idea gratified me. It was an idea I hadn't thought of.

A world devoid of pain...even if this world isn't real...even if there is a way to return to Earth...do I really want to go back to it? Where the people of pure good are crushed by the waves of corruption, the waves of war...

The word 'war' unlocked hidden memories. Images of Grand Central Station, once in its beauty, now burning.

But nothing else. Just the image of burning buildings.

No...I don't. I don't want to go back to a world of beauty, in which that beauty is always on the edge, threatened by those who would see it destroyed or exploited...

I steeled my nerves.

And I jumped.

I blissfully accepted the dark waves of the roiling sea of insanity.

Am I doing what's right...by choosing to stay here? Am I doing what's right by choosing to believe that this place is real?

As the violent waves of the dark sea of insanity crushed the cliff of sanity that I had once stood upon, it crushed my questions, replacing them instead with answers.

I came here to be given a second chance. To escape the pain. Something chose me...or someone. I don't know why, and I honestly don't care why. Something or someone chose to spare me, and sent me to Equestria...

A single tear streaked down my face, invisible to the six ponies, Alicorn, and baby dragon I could hear behind me.

This...this is where I've always wanted to be, consciously or not...

When I heard that I was to be taking residence in Ponyville, the thin boundary between 'belonging' and 'longing' broke.

This...this is my *home*.

Footnote: Hey! Author person thing here.

So, how do you like it so far? I actually just wrote this in about two hours, which proves how much of seat of the pants this is...

Anyway, this went through about three iterations. In the first, Peter was on display in a Canterlot zoo.

In the second, Celestia and Peter turned metal head, rocking out to Deadmau5 (stupid, right?)

And finally, in this one, I decided to make it happy. And make sense.

What's that? You expected insanity to be associated with fury and grief?

Well, when willfully accepted, the Seas of Insanity can be gentle.

However, that ride can get a bit bumpy.

Home

Note: Peter Roose is going to be in a Third-Person mode for a while.

When it goes back into first person, you know shit's about to get real.

New plan: first off, I wrote all of the new content on an ipod touch 1st generation. If any thing, please give me props for that, as it was as laggy as hell. However, on another note, if you guys want to see a change in the chapter while I'm writing it, feel free to comment! I make a point of reading all my comments and criticisms, but I can't promise that I'll always get back to you. Anyway, enjoy!

BTW adopting a Game of Thrones-like chapter format, changing between characters to reveal reasons to events or just to give you a LOL and a half...

Peter looked towards the horizon, out of the window of an oriental train.

Rainbow Dash flew around the interior of the train, holding a burlap sack and looking bored.

Fluttershy sat on her haunches next to Peter, resisting the urge to hug the human she had fought so hard for.

Twilight was busy trying to get her book back from Gummy the alligator.

Pinkie was busy rolling around laughing, as Gummy was running through her mane, causing havoc on the over-ticklish pink pony.Unfortunately, she was on the floor, and rolling around right near Peters' feet. He looked in from the window just in time to see a pink hoof fly into his crotch. The lack of reaction from everypony obviously showed that they didn't know about human genitalia always being...'around'. He resisted the urge to hold his crotch in pain, as it wouldn't exactly make a good first impression to Rarity, who sat across from him.

Speaking of Rarity, she was busy trying to explain to Applejack that her glowing tail was marvelously beautiful, not a waste of everypony's good time. Applejack was busy trying to block Rarity out, watching Pinkie Pie roll around.

He smiled, his gaze also diverted to the over-ticklish Pinkie Pie. To him, it was one of the most adorable things he had ever seen in his life. He looked up as Twilight gave up and instead struck a conversation up with the human.

"So, tell me, do humans have any books?"

He immediately answered, eager to talk about books.

"Yeah, from text books to famous series of fiction. One of the most famous right now is called 'A Song of Ice and Fire', by George R.R. Martin. It's about how the Others, a super natural race, is returning, and only the Wall can stop them. Their swords are made out of human suffering, and they can cut steel right in half with the blades. And, while the human race is being threatened by extinction from these species, everyone is fighting over the Iron Chair, which is a throne made out of swords. It's said that if a King or Prince cuts himself on the Iron Chair, he's not fit to rule. By the end of the first book, Martin killed off a main character, and it's a world-wide classic among fiction readers. There's also a series called 'The Walking Dead', in which a fever spreads while this cop is unconscious with a bullet wound. It kills people and then brings them back to life as 'walkers', and they go on killing rampages, looking for food. It's extremely gory, and is only for the older age groups. If only I had one of these books with me, I could show you part of it, because 'The Walking Dead' is actually a series of graphic novels."

Twilight blinked, and smiled, obviously interested by his enthusiasm to talk about books. He readied himself to talk about the Bible, but she cut across with another question.

"And what about science?"

He smiled, a spark entering his eyes. "Trust me, I'll never stop talking about it if you don't make me."

Twilight perked up at that. "Great! Tell me everything you know, especially Chemistry!"

He cracked his fingers, unintentionally drawing attention to himself with the unexpected noise. He didn't notice, he was about to get in his zone.

"Well, first off, we can actually study atoms. And not just how they bond, we can see how the electrons influence their bonding patterns, and how the protons cause a Lattice Energy influence. Also, there are.....

-----------------------------------2 HOURS LATER------------------------

"So, yeah, that's the idea of the God Particle, with the idea of the eighth base particle added in."

He was surprised to see that they were nearing Ponyville now, as he had only been giving basic summaries of the ideas of Chemistry, not delving super deep into them. He looked to Twilight to see her reaction to his nerd-out.

Twilight's eyes were wide open, sparkling with interest. She spoke for the first time in two hours.

"So, besides that Large Hadron Collider, are there any other uses for the atom and its energy?"

Images of the Atomic Bomb instantly filled his mind.

Should I tell her? Or should I keep it from her, as a secret, to ensure that nobody, or nopony, ever knows about the evils the atom can unleash?

He thought about his choices, but was spared one when the train came to an abrupt stop at the Ponyville station.

"Oh! Here's our stop!"

Rainbow Dash looked at her from the corner of her eyes.

"Well, duh. The only two stops are Ponyville and Canterlot."

Twilight simply met her gaze. It looked as though it was going to come to blows.

"Well, uh, shall we?"

Twilight and Rainbow looked up to see Peter leaning on the frame of the train door.

Rainbow Dash's 24/7 search for awesomeness picked up momentum. Wow, humans look awesome, like, so chill...

"Uh, sure, we'll be right there."

Twilight and Rainbow shared one last look, and then proceeded out the door. He followed them, not wanting to get lost in his new home.

Peter followed Twilight into her library home, eager to see his new house.

"Wow, it looks awesome in here!"

Twilight simply nodded, and looked at Rainbow Dash with a scornful look.

The Pegasus sighed. "Fine..."

She dropped the burlap bag she had been 'surreptitiously' carrying out of the door on the table in the center of the room.

"Well, see you later, Peter, Twilight. I have to go practice for the Wonderbolts!"

And with that, she flew off.

"Well, what's this?"

Twilight responded by pulling a chair up.

"Go on, sit down. I need to put Spike in his bed. He was knocked out today, and needs more sleep."

He nodded. He looked at the burlap bag, scratching his chin, the sound of fingers meeting stubble playing music to his ears.

Twilight sighed and came down, standing behind the table.

"I'm sorry about this, but I need to ask you what each of your possessions do."

She rolled her eyes. She obviously wasn't too happy with having to do the work either.

"It's fine, I don't mind. If I was in Celestia's position, I would probably want to know what someone's possessions do before I let them keep them, especially when that person is a strange arrival from a different world."

His consent to do this seemed to perk her up a bit, and he smiled at the change in attitude.

"Well, let's do it."

She opened the bag with magic, holding a quill and scroll at the same time, ready to write down Peters' explanations.

The first object out was an iPod touch, followed by a black case containing Bose noise-reduction headphones.

"Well, this is an iPod. It plays back music and video, and this particular model has touch capabilities. These headphones are noise reduction, and this little metal thing, called a 'jack'", he motioned to different objects as he spoke, Twilight's quill scratching down data, "and it plugs into this hole on the iPod. If you flick this switch on the headphones, it turns on noise reduction: you can't hear anything but the music with it on."

She nodded.

If only there were some speakers, I could see how she reacts to Deadmau5...that would truly be something to behold.

And, lo and behold, a blue case followed the headphones and iPod, a small set of speakers embedded into it.

Peter chuckled at the irony.

"What?"

"It's just that I wished there were speakers in the bag, and there were. I guess I'm a genius, huh?"

Twilight let out a small chuckle. The joke obviously didn't amuse her very much.

"Anyway, these are speakers. This little jack plugs into the iPod as well, and it can play music for everyone, or everypony, to hear. If you want, I can plug my iPod in and show you one of my favorite songs."

"Uh...maybe some other time."

He nodded, and she magically pulled out the next item.

By the end of it, Peter was feeling extremely tired.

He had explained a cough drop, an arch input for a shoe, (which he promptly replaced into his sneaker,) and a book he had bought the day before he appeared in Equestria. It was 'The Book of Memes'. Thankfully, it was an old copy, and didn't have any Brony memes in it.

Thank God, that would have been hard as shit to explain...

Twilight was obviously tired as well, as pulled up a cushion and laid on it, releasing a hearty sigh. She looked into space for a few seconds.

Huh, that's funny, the show never said anything about her zoning out...

When she came back, she muttered a small apology, (to which Peter responded with a small 'I don't mind,) and yawned wide and long.

Peter smiled, sympathizing with the lavender unicorn.

A sudden question caught him off guard.

"You never did answer my question from earlier...what are the other uses for the atom?"

Peter gulped. Aw, shit... "Well, you see, the U.S. got pulled into this really big war once...and we weren't exactly 'innocent bystanders' after that. We learned that a rival country was developing an atomic weapon, and so we entered the deadliest race in the world..." Peter steeled his nerves. "The race for the first atomic bomb. The U.S. managed to get one first, namely the 'Trinity' bomb. It was tested in 1940 something by Dr. Oppenheimer, who also designed it. The result was a giant mushroom cloud, and enough radiation to give a family cancer for years to come, releasing enough energy to vaporize someone, and t obliterate a small house.

     "In the year 1942, we dropped the bomb 'Little Boy on Hiroshima. It...it instantly killed over 300,000 people. About 100,000 people died in the after-effects, and I believe around 75,000 died of radiation poisoning. People within the irradiated families are stil affected by the bomb today...And then there's Nagasaki, where we dropped 'Fat Man'."

Peter paused. A single tear glistened in his eyes as the numbers hit him, and Twilight's eyes were wide and scared. Suddenly, the idea of war triggered something in him, unlocking hidden memories, showing him images of burning buildings while an insidious voice laughed in the back of his head, pulling strings here and there to move Peter's mind towards the hidden images.

"Go on, get some sleep, Twilight. I'll go around town and see if anybody-er, anypony, needs some help."

Twilight smiled, grateful for a chance to sleep after missing out last night due to the day's excitements. "Alright, good idea. Just don't be gone too long, it's almost night time."

He nodded, and asked how long of a walk it was to Fluttershy's house.

"Oh, about five minutes or so. Unless Celestia's really concentrated on something, because then the sun moves fast enough to pass an hour in a minute."

Peter nodded. He didn't really have any idea what she meant, but he decided to roll with it. He walked out the door, and immediately felt like a jackass.

"Uhh... Twilight, where is Fluttershy's house, exactly?"

Twilight pointed with a lavender hoof. Peter nodded and followed a mental path, arriving at Fluttersy's cottage in about five minutes. He knocked on the door, and was greeted by a very disheveled yellow Pegasus, her pink mane ruffled and unkempt.

"Please...catch...that... CHINCHILLA!!"

-------------------------------------------------Fluttershy------------------------------------

Fluttershy waved goodbye to her friends, including Peter, and started off towards her cottage near the Everfree Forest.

She first went to her garden, saying 'hello' to all the little animals, her sweet, low tones comforting the animals, assuring them that she was not a predator.

Oh, I hope Devil is okay...and I hope Angel bunny didn't pull any nasty tricks...

She opened her door to utter and complete chaos.

Hay was strewn around the house, and the boxes of grain for the chickens were torn open, their contents joining the hay on the floor.

Fluttershy stood, mouth agape.

Wh...what?

Her answer came in a small nibbling noise.

Fluttershy ran over to the couch, where she saw Devil gnawing on the feet of the furniture, spitting the wood bits out of his mouth. The chinchilla merely looked up at the yellow Pegasus, did a one-eighty, and bolted, tail spinning in circles behind it as it slid on the tiled kitchen floor.

Angel bunny poked his head out from under the couch, but ducked back in when he saw Fluttershy.

"Angel, did you let Devil out of his cage?"

Angel simply cowered under the couch, not willing to come out and receive an inevitable Stare.

"I told you not to let him out of the cage under any circumstances. Angel, come out from under there right now, mister!"

Fluttershy's hooves entered Angel's field of vision, followed by her eyes. Angel closed his eyes, horrified of how strong her Stare would be...

"Angel, look at me, now."

The bunny shook in fear, but finally obeyed, opening his eyes slowly, bringing them right into Fluttershy's Stare.

"Angel, tonight, no milk. At all, this time I'm not caving in. I told you to not let Devil out of his cage, and I asked you nicely. Your 'small tricks' have gone far enough. Now, stand back while I sort thi-oof!"

Angel laughed hysterically. He couldn't help it. Devil the Chinchilla had just leaped onto Fluttershy's head, immediately bouncing back off, propelling himself forwards and upwards, while driving Fluttershy into a face-plant. Angel ran for it before the Pegasus got back up, hiding in his bed, scared for the chinchilla.

Fluttershy looked around for Angel, and, not finding the mischievous bunny, smacked her hoof down in frustration.

"Devil!"

She ran after the chinchilla, Stare engaged at full throttle. Every time she managed to chase down the ball of fur, it jumped away, too fast for Fluttershy to keep up. They ran around the living room, the kitchen, and even upstairs, knocking down furniture and spilling cabinet contents everywhere.

Finally, after about an hour of being chased around the house, Devil skidded under Fluttershy's bed, the only piece of furniture that had yet to be moved.

Fluttershy's eye twitched, her Stare giving her an insane look as she ran around the house, her disheveled mane simulating how she had looked at the Gala after getting frustrated at the animals in the garden.

"Come out, little Devil. I don't want to hurt you, I just want to shove you into your cage!"

She was about to look under the bed, her strongest Stare yet active, when she heard a knock at the door.

She went down, her stare still active. She saw Peter react in shock, and demanded him to help her.

"Please...catch....that.....CHINCHILLA!"

------------------------------------Peter----------------------------------

Peter tried to tear his eyes from Fluttershy's. They just wouldn't budge.

He could feel his grip on reality fading, his sanity going. What if...what if those images...what if they're real...what if I came here here from my home to escape them... A tear rolled down his cheek, the idea that his whole world had been destroyed gnawing at his heart...

All of Fluttershy's kindness and love came bursting back full fold, crushing her Stare, when she saw the fear in Peter's eyes, the tear rolling down his cheek. She held him as he curled into a fetal position, struggling to get a grip on reality.

No...this is my home...I live here...I didn't come here from somewhere else, that stuff never happened...I was given a chance, I was teleported here by...something...those images are just fake...ignore them, you never lived in that world after that day in robotics...this place is your home, and will be your home forever...

Suddenly, he felt a second conscious entering his own. It felt...dark, and it was interested in what Peters' mind had to offer.

Peter furiously shook himself, coming back to reality.

This. This is my home. Ponyville. I was never twenty nine on Earth. I came here when I was fifteen, I came to Equestria, and I have yet to live a full year here...

He looked into Fluttershy's eyes. She was crying.

"I'm so...so sorry Peter...I l...l...lost it...I was tr...trying to catch my chinchilla, Devil, and I guess I just kind of...sn...snapped..."

The Pegasus' pink mane shook as tremors racked her yellow body, sniffs and hiccups. interrupting her words at random intervals.

Peter put a hand on the side of Fluttershy's face, wiping the tears away, her coat warming his cold hands.

"It's okay, Fluttershy. I understand. I'll help you, alright? I'm good with chinchillas, I had one of my own back on Earth..."

After comforting Fluttershy for a few minutes, ensuring her that he was alright, (which he most definitely was not,) he got up and surveyed the pure chaos around him.

During the chase between pony and chinchilla, the couch had been knocked over, the cushions trampled and kicked around. The beautiful mirror that was in the upstairs bathroom was in pieces, its glass shards glistening on the stairs.

Peter stared in awe at the roof. There were hoof prints on the roof...

Fluttershy followed her gaze, and blushed.

"Heh, no wonder I couldn't catch him...I must have been flying on the roof..."

Peter simply laughed and ruffled his friends' pink mane.

"Well, we all go a bit loopy sometimes...let's go catch a Devil, then. Where is she?"

"He."

"Alright, where is he. Also, do you have any raisins around the house?"

Fluttershy's confusion baffled him. But, I thought she had a skill with animals...how could she not know about a chinchillas' diet...

"Raisins? Peter, I honestly don't think now is a time to eat a snack..."

"Uh, for Devil. Chinchillas love raisins...Didn't you know that? I mean, 'great with animals' is basically part of you..."

Fluttershy nodded, blushing.

"Hah, I kind of forgot in the...mess..."

Peter blushed in return now, embarrassed that he had brought the conversation back to Fluttershy's lapse in character.

"Heh, yeah, sorry..."

They stood there, awkwardly, for a few seconds, when a gnawing sound broke the silence.

Oh, thank God...that was almost too awkward to bear...

He whispered into Fluttershy's ear, and the Pegasus stealthily crept over to the kitchen, searching for a raisin. It took her a while to find a box that wasn't already torn open and empty, but she finally did, grasping it in her mouth, creeping back to Peter, dropping the box in his outstretched hand.

Peter opened the box and reached into its depths, taking out a small, dried grape, and crept over to the chinchilla, grasping the raisin between his forefinger and thumb.

"C'mere, little buddy...c'mere...that's a good Devil..."

Peter held back both a 'd'awwwwww' and a laugh as the chinchilla's whiskers tickled his hand. As soon as the chinchilla reached out, healthy yellow teeth grasping the black treat, Peter shot out with his hand, grasping the chinchilla by the tail, quickly taking hold of its body and loosening his hold on its tail, as he knew that grabbing a chinchillas' tail was very scary for the animal in question.

He whispered into its ear as he held it in place, close to his heart, soothing it slowly.

"Fluttershy, how are we going to make sure he doesn't wreak havoc on your house again?"

The Pegasus looked up, amazed that Peter had been able to grab the chinchilla, and then even calm down the over hyper rodent...

"Uh, let's put him in his cage."

Peter was surprised at the mention of a cage.

"Wait, but Angel doesn't have a cage. And chinchillas are pretty smart, can't you just give him a house in your garden?"

Fluttershy shook her head 'no', vocalizing the movement at the same time.

"Oh, no no no, we can't. He's the first chinchilla in Ponyville, ever. They mainly live near places like the town Appleloosa, where it's dry and hot. If anything, I want to wait until I can find a cute little girl chinchilla, so that they can have a family. Oh, I can't wait until I see little baby chinchillas..."

Peter nodded in consent. A cage it is then...

His short time in Celestia's cage came back to him, the fear and shock he had felt filling his mind.

He mentally shook himself. I've forgiven her for that. It was a lapse of character, that's all...

He didn't know why, but the idea of Celestia having a lapse of character sent a shiver down his spine, and gave him a dark, foreboding feeling...

"Uh, Peter, are you...okay?" The small voice brought him back to reality. The chinchilla was sniffing his white long-sleeved shirt, smelling a small crumb from the meal he had had in Celestia's chambers before they had departed for Ponyville.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. It's just, y'know, the mention of a cage and all..."

Fluttershy nodded. Looks like our session this week will be...eventful.

"Okay. We can talk about it at the session if you want."

Peter nodded, remembering that Celestia had told him about the weekly sessions.

And to think, I was going to sleep in tomorrow...

"Sounds like a plan. Let's get this little Devil away, shall we?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Sounds like a plan!"

Peter sat next to Fluttershy, watching the chinchilla practically fly around his cage, trying to get out.

Geez, I've never seen so much fight in such a small animal before...

Fluttershy yawned, but quickly covered her mouth with her hoof, blushing. Peter smiled at his friend, amazed that a living being his size could be so adorable, holding back another hearty 'd'awwww'. He really needed to get his head out of memebase...

"I think you should get some sleep, and that I should go see if anypony else needs help. If she doesn't mind, I'll bring Twilight over later, when she wakes up, to help clean up your house."

He concealed a frown. He was starting to feel oddly protective towards these ponies, even if he had only spoken to them a few times...

"Al...right. I'll see you...at the...session tomorrow, then Peter." Fluttershy struggled to hide her yawns throughout the sentence, the intakes of air interrupting her.

She saw him out, waving to him as he left, and then immediately went up to her bed, flopping down and quickly falling asleep.

--------------------------------Pinkie Pie------------------------------

The party pony sat by the door, bored, poofy mane deflated as her haunches grew raw from sitting on the linoleum floor of Cupcake Corner.

Aw, come on, I come home and skip Dashie's practice to set up this thing, and now he's not showing up? What a bummer!

She was about to go clean up the mess in her room, made during the explosion that had accompanied Peters' arrival, when the string-pull bell on the door post to Cupcake Corner rang in its sweet tone.

She immediately perked up, her poofy mane re-inflating like a giant, pink balloon, springing out in every-which way.

"Come in!"

He won't know what hit him... She rubbed her hooves at the thought.

Peter opened the door, mouth open to say 'hello', when a string pulled. He froze, following the string, Pinkie Pie watching, a huge smile playing over her lips.

The string untangled itself from a pulley, which let a sandbag fall, which brought down a large, tin platform supported by giant candy canes.

As the candy canes fell, Peter received a face-full of cake, his eyes closing when he saw the pink mass flying at his face.

He staggered backwards, releasing an involuntary cry. He wiped the cake out of his eyes, looking towards Pinkie Pie, who pointed, hollering in laughter, barely able to get half a sentence out.

"You.................you.................................you should see.....................................your.................f..............f.......................ffface!!"

She continued laughing, almost suffocating herself with laughter as cake dripped off of Peter's face.

She inhaled, her mouth stretching larger than seemed physically possible, the intake of air going on for about a half a minute. She let all the air out in a hearty laugh, her voice cracking.

She finally stopped, spasms still rocking her body as she looked at Peter's cake-covered face. She closed her eyes, attempting to compose herself.

As soon as she did, she herself received a face full of cake, the icing getting in her pink mane.

She used her tongue to lick the icing off of her eyes, and opened them to see Peter, a large portion of cake missing from his face, his hand covered in icing, laughter escaping from her lips.

"Looks like you've been caught...pink-handed!"

Peter roared in laughter, unable to contain himself, his deep voice going up at least two octaves as he laughed. After about five minutes straight of laughter from both Pinkie and Peter, his voice came back down in a sigh, a few chuckles making bumps on his descent back to his normal voice.

"Good one...Pinkie..." Chuckles interrupted him. Goddangit! How dare you, chuckles! So rude!

He smiled even wider as all of Tobuscus' random sayings came flying back to him. God, I'm such a nerd...

Peter and Pinkie shared a fist-to-hoof bump. "Brohoof," Peter said in an odd voice as their hand and hoof touched.

"Brohoof?" Pinkie was obviously interested.

"Yeah. Back on Earth, we do 'brofists', which is a name for a knuckle bump between really good friends. And since you have a hoof, and I have a hand, I just combined the two."

He felt elated that he had finally done a brohoof, but at the same time guilty for calling it his own idea, as it most definitely was not.

"So, Pinkie, do you need any help with anything around Cupcake Corner?"

Pinkie nodded.

"Come with me."

------------------------------------------------------------Peter-----------------------------------------------------

Wait a second, isn't that her bedroom...

His heart skipped a beat. Jesus, I can't do this...it's totally unmoral! Plus, she's a pony, and I'm a human...

He was about to speak when he saw the mess.

"What happened, an explosion?"

Pinkie nodded. "The explosion that happened when you came here shook up good ol' Cupcake Corner so bad that the icing on the sides came off! Twilight fixed that for Mr. and Mrs. Cake, but I told her to leave my room alone. I need to...say goodbye to something."

He understood. Losing a possession could be something devestating, and she had inevitably lost a few in this chaos...there was a broken mirror near the base of her pink bed, (the canopy of which was torn off and across the room,) her brush was snapped in half, and her dressers' drawers were hanging out, costumes and over-the-top party clothes hanging around the room.

However, what she mourned was a pile of icing in the center of the room. About six cupcakes, all smashed and destroyed.

That is soooo Pinkie Pie...

Still, he couldn't help but feel bad for the party pony. She had probably put a lot of work into them, and they were probably very special gifts for her friends.

"Can I...can I have some...some time alone?"

Peter nodded, but then realized that Pinkie couldn't see his head, and so verbalized his consent. He slipped out of the party pony's room, going downstairs into the kitchen.

He looked around at the ingredients on the counter.

Well, I haven't tried baking in a while...and I could do this thing for Pinkie Pie, at the least, just to make her feel better...

He nodded to himself, and set off on a task to create cupcakes.

------------------------------------30 Minutes Later--------------------------------------

Peter hurried as he heard Pinkie Pie coming down the stairs. Luckily, he had found an instruction book, and he was remarkably skilled at following instructions. The 6 steps that would have normally taken someone twenty minutes each to get the stuff prepared had taken him about ten, total. Now, he was loading the tray of cupcakes into the oven, having already finished the pre-heating while he put together the complex images on the tops of the cupcakes.

"What are you doing?"

Peter shoved the cupcakes into the oven, making sure that none of them cake out of the metal tray, closed it, and set the oven to the setting Mrs. Cake's cookbook instructed.

"Uh, just trying my hand at some baking..."

Pinkie looked at him, an incredulous smile spreading over her lips.

"You can bake?"

"Yeah, and what made you think I couldn't?"

Pinkie shrugged.

"Oh, nothing, it's just that you seemed to be more like Dashie than a baking type..."

Peter shrugged this time, feeling as though they were passing a wave back and forth.

"I guess I'm one big mix, huh?"

Pinkie shrugged, sending the wave back.

"Guess you are!"

Peter shrugged again, but couldn't think of anything to say.

And Pinkie shrugged.

Then Peter shrugged.

Then Pinkie shrugged.

They kept the shrug wave going, and then finally burst out in laughter, the weirdness of it washing over them.

"You're...hilarious, Peter!"

Peter smiled, reminded of his times at Robotics with his friends, when they ended up having a 'shrug war', in which they competed to see who could shrug the fastest. He felt a pang of home sickness for his friends, but crushed it.

This is my home now.

Note from the author: By the way, I would like to say that I actually used a real example to model this bit off of. I really did have a shrug war with a friend once, and it was in the middle of a crowded McDonalds. Shit got real.

"Are you...kidding...me? You're...the hilarious one...Pinkie!"

The two friends laughed harder as they realized that their sentences were filled with laugh-made hiccups.

They finally calmed down, and decided to talk about their favorite kinds of cake.

Peter was about to agree with her on the great taste of Chocolate Moose when the timer on the oven rang.

"I'll get it! I think you'll like this, Pinkie."

Peter pulled on the oven mitts, keeping them somewhat off so that he could have a depression in the palm of his hand, simulating fingers on mitts back on Earth. He opened the oven and pulled out the cupcake tray, placing it down on the counter next to an eager Pinkie Pie.

She gasped.

"Oh my Celestia! You made them all out of dark chocolate!"

Peter blushed. "Actually, each cupcake was a different color, and they each had a different image on top...and they were all vanilla with chocolate in the base."

Pinkie looked at the cupcake she was about to shove in her mouth, and put it down, slightly blushing.

"Well, how about you draw down the designs for the cupcakes? I can just make copies of them, I guess."

Peter held back a chuckle.

Designs for a cupcake...next-level cupcake makin' maneuvers...

He sketched down the image of a cupcake on a piece of paper, from the top, and designed six different cupcakes, each with a different image on top, and writing a different color on each. Then he showed the side view of each cupcake, in a view of what it would look like cut in half, with a different filling in each.

Wait...where did this paper and quill come from?

His question was answered as Pinkie stuffed the completed drawing, and quill, back into her poofy mane, dislodging a canister of confetti, which promptly exploded.

"I...how..." No, memebase, get out of my head! "Wat?"

Pinkie looked at him, surprised at his mispronunciation of  such a simple word as 'what'.

"Heh, sorry...just got a bit tongue-tied, is all..."

Pinkie nodded, and started bouncing up and down, an idea sparkling in her eyes.

"I have an idea! You should go see Rarity, and I'll go see Twilight and ask her to clean up this mess for me!"

"Uh, sure, just knock on Twilight's door, she went to sleep before I left, she may still be sleeping..."

Pinkie nodded, bouncing up and down. Peter smiled at the bouncing pony as they walked towards the door, and he ruffled her poofy mane and gave her a second brohoof, saying goodbye and waving to her as they split ways, Pinkie's giant shout of 'Rarity's house is that way!' still ringing in his ears.

Peter walked to Rarity's house, awkwardly aware of the looks he was receiving from all the ponies walking by.

I wish they'd stop staring at me like I was some kind of freak...I think I know how Zecora felt now...if it weren't for Celestia declaring me as perfectly normal except for my looks, I think that I'd be in the same exact position as her right now...

His feet hurting after walking for so long, Peter finally spotted the elegant Carousel Boutique. Walking up to the door, he was suddenly aware that the windows were obscured by fabrics.

He rang the bell, not sure what to expect. Nopony answered.

Maybe she's busy...

He walked away, heading towards where he knew Rainbow Dash would be.

-----------------------------Rainbow Dash----------------------------

Rainbow Dash lay on a cloud, bored to the ears.

Everypony's busy, and even Peter's busy. What the buck?

She stretched her back, spreading her wings as the cartilage-filled disks cracked.

Well, might as well practice!

She launched off of the cloud, practicing her favorite maneuvers.

"Awww yeah!"

The feel of the wind in her mane...there was nothing better.

Her flips, barrel rolls, and sky dives inspired her imagination, and she suddenly had an idea.

What if I do a barrel roll, a flip, and then come back up using the momentum to propel myself into wingless flight? That would be awesome!

However, it didn't work as she planned.

------------------------------------Peter--------------------------------

As he walked through the field near Rarity's house, a rainbow streaked right into him.

Rainbow Dash struggled to get up.

"Ow...didn't exactly work as I had hoped."

"Yeah, you're telling me..."

She looked to the right and saw Peter, holding his head as his vision doubled.

"Geez, Rainbow, what did you do? Or, rather, what did you try to do?"

Rainbow blushed, embarrassed by her failure.

"Uh...I tried to do a barrel roll flip, and then I tried to pull out at the last second to get some momentum...and, it didn't work...so well."

Peter chuckled softly, getting up from the ground.

"So, is there anything you wanna talk about, Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash instantly grew silent.

Wait...what? In the show, she never stopped talking about the Wonderbolts...

After looking around, the cyan pony leaned in and whispered into Peter's ear.

"Be here at midnight."

She flew off, waving at Peter with a hoof. Peter feebly returned the gesture, confused as to what the hell was up with that pony...

His thoughts were interrupted as a scream came from the Carousel Boutique.

----------------------------------------Rarity--------------------------

After the other ponies had gone off to do their own things, Rarity had gone straight to her home.

She walked right to her house, eyes open but not seeing, zoning out in a bout of thought, a simply divine design evolving in her mind.

It will take much patience, and even more concentration. The magic will be *tough, **grueling, and will wreak absolute havoc upon my mane, but if it is like anything that I want it to be, it will all. Be. Worth it.*

She opened the door to the Boutique, the orderly fashion of linens and fabrics meeting her eyes. She immediately set to work, drawing out her design.

"A bit of flair here, a bit of fire here, and...done! Oh, Rarity, you are a gem!"

She opened the book of spells that Twilight had given her two nights ago, the very same one that had the spell responsible for her simply wonderful new tail-style. She opened it to the folded page, taking care to flatten out the dog-ear on the page.

"Hm...This is very, very complicated indeed! Opalescensce, I need you to wait outside on the balcony."

"Sis, is there anything I can do to help?"

Rarity turned around, her work glasses floating down onto her face.

"Oh, Sweetie Belle. Uh, I think you should step out for this."

Sweetie Belle looked up in surprise. Rarity had always asked her to 'stay in that corner', or 'don't touch anything', not 'step out'.

"But why? I just wanna help!"

Rarity looked at her little sister, the white filly reflected in her eyes.

"Yes, I understand that. But listen to me: You must leave for this. I'm going to be performing extremely dangerous magic, and you must leave me to it. Go on to Sweet Apple Acres, I heard Applejack was looking for help carrying all of those bruised apples out of the farm. Well, go on!"

Sweetie Belle nodded, releasing an affirmative 'mhm!' She understood that magic needed distance, especially when Rarity was doing it. She was so emotional with her work, Celestia knows what could happen.

Once Sweetie Belle was out, Rarity took out her dress that she had worn to the Gala, expecting to be amazed with it again, the same way she had been when she had first seen it.

Rarity was somewhat disappointed with the outcome, as it only warranted a small gasp, but then remembered that she had work to do yet: she had to the jewels!

She started arranging the jewels, attaching them magically to the fabric of the dress, giving it a more complex look that, at the same time, made it look simple, the colorless gems arranged in a pattern of fire on the back, and sparks on the back.

She smiled, impressed with the outcome. It was time to do her magic.

"Make sure you're alone, blah blah blah...ah! 'To pour one's personality into a Gem of Soul, they must first know what it is they want as a result.' Well, that's obvious: something that says: 'look out world, here, comes, Rarity!' Okay, next step...'reach your magic out to the gems, and pour your intention into it by telling it what you want the most.' Sounds simple..."

She reached out with her magic to the colorless gems. They glistened as her magics' blue aura surrounded them, and she shouted out what she wanted most of all from these rare, rare gems.

"I want you to show the world who I am. I want the world to look at me and say-'She...she must be the beautiful, elegant, divine-Miss Rarity!'"

The Soul Gems glowed with power as a light show went on, light travelling from the tip of Rarity's white horn to the center of each of the Gems, filling them each with a light blue color: the color of her eyes, and also of the three gems on her Cutie Mark.

She turned back to the book when the step was done.

"'Now, let your very being fly into the Soul Gems, but do not think of anything but that intention-or it will have disastrous results!' Oh, my."

The images accompanying it were disastrous. Broken Soul Gems, burned dresses, destroyed fabrics and linens...a truly apocalyptic future.

"Well, notwithstanding, I shall succeed!"

She reached out with her magic to the Soul Gems and kept her intention in her head, the intention of everypony knowing her by her dress.

She was about twenty minutes into it when she giddily thought about how divine the dress would be.

Frustrated at her falter, she tried to focus on her intention.

However, she learned that once the mind wanders when pouring its soul into something, it wanders down every path.

Images of everypony she knew and everything she had ever worked on filled her mind. The images were sucked in a beautifully horrifying light show towards a ball of light, consuming her Gala dress.

Rarity passed out, an overwhelming amount of data pouring through her mind.

When she woke up, she was in a mine field.

Her dress had been duplicated thousands of times, and then torn apart. The fabrics littered the walls, covering Rarity. The Soul Gems all had a sickly green glow about them, the light pouring into a giant ball of energy that constantly changed color. One second it was a light blue, the next second a deep red, the next an undefinable color that had no sense or order to it.

The dress exploded into fifty copies, which instantly tore themselves to shreds and covered Rarity's Boutique in another layer of fabric.

She screamed, the fear of possible death by her own blunder, and by the weight of linens weighing heavily upon her mind.

After what seemed to be a millennium, the door burst open, revealing a red faced Peter Roose.

-----------------------------------------Peter-----------------------------

Did her magic backfire or something? Or is this just Sweetie Belle trying to 'help'?

He heard a meow, interrupting his train of thoughts. He looked around, trying to spot the white cat. He finally found her in a tree, the gem of her namesake glistening around her neck.

"Opal...how did you get up there?"

The cat simply shook, holding on the tree's limb, staring through the window.

Peter was getting more worried by the second. He put some thought in to what he should do.

Fuck it.

He grasped the door handle and pulled backwards, expecting it to come loose easily. Unfortunately, the door wasn't giving up without a fight.

"What the..."

He pulled the door harder now, and felt it give a bit, instantly slamming back into place.

What in the hell is *pulling** this door back?*

He heard a scream from the inside of the Boutique, a scream belonging to a white pony with an elegant tail.

His eyes opened in surprise.

What the fuck is going on in there?!

He looked around for help, but didn't see anypony. He looked back up at the white cat. Her shaking had intensified, and the entire branch was practically vibrating by this point.

He gritted his teeth, pulling at the door with all of his (lesser) might, desperately trying to get it open, his fingers and arms screaming in protest as the door gave way.

He jolted backwards as the door slammed open, his efforts at pulling the door open doubling back onto his own body.

His mouth dropped open, staring at the strange light before him.

The door started to close.

He dove through without a second thought.

------------------------------------Peter--------------------------------

"What in the hell?!"

He searched for Rarity, and found a white horn sticking out of the fabrics. He rushed over.

Or at least, he waddled over, pushing through layers upon layers of fabric. Suddenly, he lost sight of the white pinnacle.

"Rarity?" He started to panic, his heart beating faster than it ever had. "RARITY!!"

He pushed fabrics and linens out of the way, struggling with all of his might to get to the friend he had barely even gotten to know.

He finally dug to the spot where she had been, and managed to uncover her horn. He didn't feel too comfortable with grabbing the horn itself, as he feared it may be fragile, or even worse, a mediator to the nervous system, which would send her into unconsciousness.

He finally saw her head, and pulled on the base of it, raising her mouth above the mess, letting her take a breath.

"I need to stop this before it kills both of us..."

He looked to the door, hoping he could rush out and get Twilight.

It was covered by clothes.

"No..."

Death...the final journey...

"No! I can't die here because of a stupid mistake!"

He looked towards the dress, and pushed through with all of his determination, leaving Rarity above the layers of fabric.

When he finally managed to struggle over to it, he laid his hands upon the gems, hoping to tear them off, somehow stopping the energy orb that steadily built in size.

He recoiled in pain as the caustic gems burned his hands.

"Ah, Jesus Christ!"

He steeled his nerves. He tried again. This time he ignored the pain.

"For...Rarity!"

He tore off the gem, the green mineral glowing in his hand, even as he crushed it in his hand, screaming in pain as it burned off the skin on his hand.

Jesus Christ, what the fuck is this thing?!

Finally, the gem burst, its structure already fragile due to the heat being poured into it, the burning shards embedding themselves in his palm. It felt as though someone was sending electricity right through his nervous system.

The ball of energy dissipated before Peter's eyes. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was a pair of eyes that spoke of anger and coming revenge...

Trouble Ahoof

The Draconequus stood still, encased in stone. Pebbles sat upon the ground surrounding the base of his statue, their shadows spreading in all directions, causing the sea of mist to stretch and expand in random ways.

Discord mentally smiled, his eyes of stone taking in the mess of pebbles, each one representing another instance of chaos and disorder in the world. And while they were all small, their shadows not large enough to reach the master of Chaos himself, two pebbles stood, larger than the others.

Celestia and Fluttershy had now both gone against what they stood for: justice and Kindness.

And now, he was going to add two more.

He pulled his consciousness out of his body, focusing on a leaf that dangled before him, a focal point for his chaotic mind.

The disembodied spirit floated through the barriers Celestia had placed around his sepulchral clearing, the magic not stopping the essence of thought.

Discord floated towards Ponyville, sights set on the white Pony and her Soul Gems. He arrived at the perfect time, when she had to pour her very soul into the tricky minerals, the slightest lapse in concentration resulting in disastrous results.

Discord lay back, resting upon nothing, his amorphous tendril of thought invisible to the pony. He picked an idea out of the air and shoved it through Rarity's ear.

That won't be enough...

As Rarity's magic stream undulated between her and the Gems, the pony in question struggling to contain the magic, the disembodied spirit of Chaos enveloped the magic strands within himself, pulling them like the strings of a guitar, changing the outcome.

I want this pony good and dead...

The Element of Generosity went unconscious, her magic totally Discord's to control. He pulled himself into the Soul Gems, giving them a sickly green glow, and started forming a ball of energy above the mannequin: energy so concentrated that it could be changed into matter: a corporeal form for Discord to inhabit.

He split the dress into many parts, wanting this pony crushed under her own handiwork.

Yes...some irony will suit her well...

Suddenly, the marshmallow screamed, and in what seemed to be seconds to Discord, the door burst open, revealing the being that had set Discords' escape in motion by his arrival.

The human shouted, and Discord watched in boredom, the first parts of his body already forming in the dense center of the energy sphere.

The human walked over to Rarity and uncovered her. Discord multiplied the dresses again, while somehow missing his target.

Damn...no matter, I'll just have to kill him too...

Then the human did something that Discord had never expected from a creature belonging to such an evil race.

It walked over and reached for one of the Soul Gems, determined to save the pony it barely knew.

Well aware of how fragile the Soul Gems were at this stage, Discord pumped extra energy into the Soul Gems, pulling himself through them over and over again to gain more energy at the same time.

The human didn't care about the pain. When it felt how caustic the gem was, it simply gritted its teeth and took it, crushing the Discords' fragile focal point, sloughing the skin off of its palms, embedding the gems in its fingers.

No...no!

Discord tried to escape the quickly dissipating ball of energy. All he managed to do was give the human an angry look.

-----------------------------------------------------------------Peter------------------------------------------------

Peter woke up in an emergency room, his hands covered with linens, a red, angry spot in the center of each where the Soul Gem had burned his hands. Twilight sat next to her bed, observing the Soul Gem fragments, her lavender back and purple mane all Peter could see of her.

He tried to sit up, but immediately fell back down, pain coursing through his hands and head.

"Fuck, man..." Peter closed his eyes from the pain, his grogginess immediately replaced by his body's alarm.

Twilight immediately spun around, the Soul Gem fragments glowing red with an internal energy, surrounded by her purple magical aura.

"You're awake!"

Peter grimaced in pain. "In all honesty, I kind of wish I was asleep..."

Twilight chuckled a bit. Peter looked at her with a look that said 'I'm-serious-this-hurts-like-hell.'

Another shock of pain coursed through his nervous system, the fried nerves in his hand still sending distress signals to the brain. Peter gritted his teeth, eyes scrunched up, his teeth stifling a curse.

He opened his eyes, panting slightly from the pain. "Don't you guys...ponies...whatever, have any Morphine?"

Twilight nodded, magically placing a morphine distribution button in his hand. Peter thanked her and clicked the button, hard. He had never been in a hospital, but he knew enough about the technology to signal for morphine.

His clenched muscles relaxed as the Morphine took effect, slowly but surely, soothing his burning nerves with what felt like cool water.

"I would have healed you with magic, but these Soul Gems had a...strange effect on you. It seems as though...part of you is actually embedded in them now. I tried to catch a glimpse, but I had no luck."

Peter wracked his mind, looking for anything that seemed to be missing.

Well, I think I'm the same old me...but, even if I had changed, would I know it?

He went through his memories of the past five days. His memories of Earth abruptly ended in a Robotics meeting. He had no other memories of Earth.

Nope, all the same...even the odd cutoff...

He looked at Twilight, and then to the Soul Gems.

"Well, if you can't get to it, I don't think anybody can...I mean, you're the best with magic here, right? In all honesty, I would kind of appreciate it if you disposed of them. If I've lost a part of me, I don't want to cling to it."

Twilight blushed as he complimented her, but her blush was replaced by a look of shock.

"Dispose of it? Are you...are you sure?"

Peter nodded. He looked out the window, and saw the sun rising up.

Huh...it's morning already...

He wondered how long he had been out. That magic must have been-

Shit! I missed my da-I mean, meeting with Rainbow Dash!

He explained the situation to Twilight, who merely laughed.

"Twilight, this isn't funny! I was supposed to-"

He was cut off by a lavender hoof.

"Peter, you saved Rarity's life last night! I think Rainbow Dash would value that more than a meeting she had with you! And besides, she's here now, so you can talk to her alone now if you want. I don't mind one bit."

Seeing his look of confusion, Twilight pulled back the curtain, ushering a gasp from Peter at what it revealed.

Rarity was asleep on the hospital bed, her chest covered with a few bandages, her right hind leg obscured by a pristine, white cast, which was elevated by a hook.

Rainbow Dash slept in the chair beside her friend's bed, her rainbow mane spilling over the back of it as she snored.

"Two of her ribs were broken, and her hind right femur was practically snapped in half. Because all of the copies of clothing were magical, I couldn't fix her wounds with magic, just as I couldn't fix yours."

Rainbow Dash stirred at the sound of voices, her cyan eyelids flicking open.

Peter held down a second gasp, not wanting to appear rude.

Rainbow Dash's large, dark pink eyes were bloodshot from crying.

--------------------------------------------------------------Rainbow Dash--------------------------------------

After Rainbow Dash had flown away from Peter, she rested on a cloud, her practicing taking its toll on her stamina.

She heard Rarity scream in the distance, and saw Peter running off towards the Boutique.

Heh heh, Rarity probably just thought of a new design or something...

About seven minutes later, she saw her four friends rushing into the Boutique, Twilight in the head of the diamond of ponies, her horn glowing.

Rainbow quickly dove off of her cloud perch, worried as to what could have possibly transpired in the short amount of time she had been dosing off...

She rushed in to find the Boutique covered in clothing.

What the buck? She voiced her thoughts, drawing attention to herself.

"Rarity's spell on these Soul Gems went horribly wrong. I came to stop them, but it seems as though Peter stopped it. I have no idea how, though."

As she spoke, she removed all of the clothes in the Boutique, save the original Gala dress in the center, and poked Rarity with her horn. She frowned in frustration.

"It seems as though she has two cracked ribs and a broken right hoof. I can't heal them though, these wounds were made by a magical object. Only the caster can reverse the effects of her, or his, own spell."

Rainbow Dash remembered her dreams.

Her friends screamed as she slept on a cloud...

She reprimanded herself for being so ridiculous. Please, there was no burning here. Anyway, clothes don't burn by themselves, and-

Her thoughts were cut short by Twilight's scream of horror, her magical aura surrounding Peter's hands.

Rainbow Dash steeled her nerves, and walked over to her new friend.

She gasped and held down her stomach.

Unfortunately, Fluttershy wasn't as successful at holding down her meal of flowers and hay.

Applejack walked next to her, eyes wide at the scene in front of her, rubbing the yellow Pegasus' back as she panted, tears streaming in her eyes from both Peter's hands and having just thrown up.

Pinkie's sparkling eyes shrunk to the size of pin pricks, her poofy hair deflating as she beheld the damage done.

Peter's palms were devoid of skin in the center, revealing the meat underneath, both raw and singed. The area around the holes in his palms were dotted with red shards of what Rainbow Dash assumed to be a Soul Gem. The jagged edges had cut symmetrical holes in each palm, showing how hard he had grasped them.

And then, the smell. The smell of singed meat and vaporized blood, mixed in with a heavy mask of sweat, wafted into each of the five conscious ponies' nostrils.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash's lunch felt a sudden need to get some fresh air.

Pinkie put a hoof around her friend's shoulder, rubbing up and down, a tear in her eye as both the stench and the image took their tolls on her.

Twilight silently lifted both of her injured friends, slightly green in the face.

-----------------------------------20 Minutes Later-------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash leaned on Peter's bed, staring at his bandaged hands, the red dot in the center having spread to a rather large circle.

All because I didn't go in and help him...what kind of friend, what kind of Element of Loyalty am I?

She wept openly, not caring that her four friends watched on. After about an hour, she moved to Rarity's bedside, crying once again, her eyes itching as the salty tears fell from her eyes.

She cried herself to sleep by Rarity's bed, images of burning ponies and humans filling her mind.

A school with hundreds of people in it...Good God, what has this world become...

--------------------------------------Twilight Sparkle-----------------------------

"I need everything to be perfect for when Peter comes back. I want him to feel like he's at home."

"Yes, Twilight."

"And Spike, let me see that book. 'Equestrian History and You'...yes, put this on his bed."

"'K, Twi'."

"Oh, and clean up that mess! I simply will not tolerate having guest sleep in such a sordid room!"

The purple dragon didn't respond.

The lavender unicorn opened her eyes, looking for Spike.

She instead met the blue eyes of a yellow coated, pink maned Pegasus.

"Fluttershy? Why are you here? And where's Spike?"

"Uh...Twilight? Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

Fluttershy kicked at a piece of wood with her hoof.

"It's just that, uh, you teleported into my house..."

Twilight looked around, incredulity spreading across her lavender face as she took in the rampant destruction.

"But, Fluttershy, I fixed your house already...what...what happened?"

"Angel kind of let Devil out..."

Twilight looked at her friend, her eyebrows raised in a dubious fashion. "A little chinchilla did all of this, Fluttershy? Are you sure?"

The yellow Pegasus' face grew red with embarrassment.

"Well...uh...remember at....the Gala...when I...lost it?"

Twilight felt her right eye twitch. Oh, Celestia, not again...

"So you went insane on a chinchilla?"

Fluttershy nodded, her face ridiculously red, her voice lost to her.

"Do you need my help catching it?"

Fluttershy shook her head in denial.

"So, you caught it after destroying your house?"

Fluttershy shook her head.

"Then, who did?"

A whisper escaped the Pegasus' lips.

"What was that?"

The Pegasus sighed. "Peter. Peter caught it. After I...after I gave him the Stare...I'm sorry, Twilight, I...I wasn't in control..."

Twilight nodded. She understood completely. When Fluttershy got out of control, things could get real messy, real fast.

"Well, I might as well help you clean up this mess..."

"Oh, thank you, Twilight."

After a quick cleaning and reversal spell, the room was back to its former glory.

"Well, I'd better go, Fluttershy. I kind of...left Spike."

She was still confused as to why she had been teleported here.

Is it because her house was messed up again? Or is it something...bigger?

"Oh, and Peter was just here before you...uh, arrived. I think he was going to Sugarcube Corner, if you want to catch him."

Twilight was broken out of her reverie by the yellow Pegasus. "Oh, it's fine. I'm still trying to get his room cleaned up, so I'd actually prefer it if he was out for a bit."

Does it have something to do with Peter?

As Fluttershy saw her out, waving a yellow hoof to Twilight, who returned the gesture, Twilight shook her head.

Nah, don't be ridiculous, Twilight. It's probably just a coincidence. However, I must make a mental note to ask Celestia about this later...

She pushed the strange matter out of her mind and continued on her way to the tree library.

--------------------------------------------------Spike-----------------------------------------------

Twilight slammed the door to her library, startling the purple dragon who was busy cleaning up the guest room.

"Spike!"

The dragon fell flat on his face, sending the sheets on the guest bed into disarray.

"I just teleported."

Spike rubbed his stinging cheek. "Uh, congratulations?"

Twilight let out a hearty grunt.

"No, Spike, I teleported unintentionally to Fluttershy's house." She explained what had transpired at Fluttershy's house, leaving out her thought that Peter had something to do with her teleporting.

"Huh. That's weird. Well, just contact the Princess later."

The dragon turned on his heels, sighing as he did so.

"Great. Now I have to make the bed...again."

"And you have to help me get my books out of this room."

Spike looked around, despairing as he saw the giant stacks of books.

"Fine."

After making the guest bed, again, Spike started carrying books with Twilight, the unicorn's horn glowing as she moved books, the small dragon straining under their surprising weight.

Couldn't they have...made these...a bit...lighter? I mean, they're only...paper...

As forty five minutes passed, the boring work tiring both Spike and Twilight, Twilight's horn began to glow brighter.

Spike thought nothing of it. Probably just trying to move books faster because she found one she likes...

However, the dragon was proven wrong as Twilight disappeared in a flash of light, forcing him to shield his eyes from the glare.

Once the sun streaks faded from Spike's vision, he looked around the library.

"T...Twilight?"

He shrugged and continued cleaning, deciding that it would be better to wait for her to come back again.

------------------------------------------Applejack-----------------------------------------------

The orange work pony shielded her eyes, the yellow Pegasus next to her doing the same, as Twilight flashed into existence besides them.

They watched her walking, obviously concentrated on something.

Applejack leaned over to Fluttershy and whispered into her ear.

"Ah think it's best that we leave her alone for now. She looks like she's concentratin' mighty hard."

Fluttershy nodded, watching the lavender unicorn walk...

Right into the side of Applejack's house.

"Okay, forget leavin' her alone."

The two ponies rushed over to their friends' side.

"Twilight? Are you feelin' okay, sugar cube?"

The unicorn opened her eyes to see the sky, not the roof of her tree library.

"How...how did I get here?"

Aw, horseapples, she must be really out of it...

"Twilight, you teleported again."

Applejack looked up in surprise, her mane smacking Twilight in the face.

"Again?"

"Yes, she teleported into my house earlier."

"Well, ah'll be darned....Twi' are you sure you're feeling okay?"

The lavender unicorn shook her head, and stood up, spitting strands of Applejack's mane out of her mouth, causing the work pony to blush.

Twilight struggled to talk between spits, trying to get the mane strands all out of her mouth.

"Yeah....I....think something's......ahoof, girls."

The three friends looked at each other. Applejack spoke up first, breaking the veil of silence that had descended upon the trio.

"But, what?"

Twilight shook her head, her mane flopping as she did so. "I don't know, Applejack. I don't know why, Applejack. But...I'm starting to think it has something to do with Peter. When did he come here?"

Applejack looked at Twilight in confusion. "But, sugarcube, Peter hasn't been here all day."

Fluttershy nodded. "He's probably still at Sugarcube Corner with Pinkie Pie."

Twilight nodded in return. "Alright, let's go!"

The three ponies rushed off to Sugarcube Corner, not even noticing the human that they passed, their collective focus set on Sugarcube Corner.

-----------------------------------Pinkie Pie---------------------------------------

Pinkie burst into Twilight's library tree home...thing, startling the purple and green dragon inside.

"Spike, where's Twilight?"

The Spike shrugged in response, reminding the party pony of the shrug wave she and Peter had shared.

Ah, good times....

"I dunno, Pink. One second she was here, and the next she wasn't. She's teleported like this twice so far today, just totally random and unintentional."

Pinkie nodded. The fact that she wasn't here was all she heard, her mind on hyper drive about the cupcake designs currently in her mane, next to the nutmeg imported from Manehattan and her spare invitation envolopes.

Wait, didn't I put it between Gummy's bed and my extra confetti canister?....

She nodded to herself. She remembered the confetti falling out of her mane, dislodged by the rolled up paper.

"Thanks, Spike! I think I'll head back to Sugarcube Corner now.

She bounced off, leaving the dragon confused.

----------------------Twilight Sparkle-----------------------------------

Twilight leaned against the door frame in Sugarcube Corner, fatigued.

Everything's just...going....too fast....

Not only was her head hurting from teleporting so much, but her eyes were hurting at the mess in front of her.

There was cake splattered everywhere: the walls, the floor, and even the ceiling, which Twilight discovered as a large piece of cake dislodged itself from above her, landing with a rather large splat.

"Uh, where's Pinkie?"

Twilight looked over at the orange work pony.

"Obviously not here. Come on, let's go find Peter. Maybe he knows what's going on."

She turned around to walk out, and fell flat on her back as Pinkie did an over the top bounce right into her, the pink pony ending up on her back, her mane bulging at the ends like a squeezed balloon.

"Hi Twilight!"

Twilight braced herself as the hyper pony took a deep breath.

"Iwenttoyourhouseandyouweren'tthereandSpikewasalllike'Idunno'andIwasalllike'okay,bye'andthenIcamehereand..." Pinkie inhaled, her mouth growing to twice its usual size to intake the ridiculous amount of oxygen. "thenIbumpedintoyou!"

Twilight looked at the pony through half-closed eyes. Pinkie apparently didn't notice the petulant look.

"Pinkie Pie, do you know where Peter is?"

Twilight immediately regretted asking, as the pink pony inhaled quickly.

Before Twilight could interrupt her and just tell her where the buck this guy was, a shrill scream cut the hyperactive pony for her.

The four ponies looked at each other. They knew that scream.

"Rarity!"

They turned around to run out the door, Twilight's horn suddenly glowing.

They all teleported out of Sugarcube Corner into a world of darkness.

The four ponies all assumed tactical stances: Twilight dug in, prepared to use her magic to its extent; Fluttershy closed her eyes, waiting for a catalyst to set off the Stare; Applejack turned around, ready to bash in the head of anything that moved; and Pinkie assumed a random stance, ready to sing the enemy into tactical submission.

And then, they were separated.

My family...dead...the world in chaos...mother *fucker*, what has this world become?

Twilight denied the thoughts, struggling to regain control of her own psyche.

No. My family is safe in Canterlot. This world is ruled by Harmony!

Her magical orb of light broke through the darkness, illuminating everypony with its healing light, forming a heart in the darkness above the four friends, just like in the Heart's Warming Eve storybook Twilight had read as a filly...

The four ponies nodded, Twilight's horn glowing mysteriously, the purple aura spreading around it like mist.

They ran into the Boutique, Rainbow Dash following them.

Twilight ran to the center and removed all of the clothes, suppressing emotions for duty.

She looked over at Rarity and poked the marshmallow like surface of her skin with her horn, doing a Wounds Search spell: she fond two cracked ribs and a broken femur.

She attempted to heal Rarity, but was thwarted, the wounds caused by a magical source. Only the caster could heal her now, and Rarity herself was the caster, and was also in no fit shape to do anything about it.

She moved over to Peter, and simply pulled his clasped hands apart, revealing the bloody mess that sent Applejack to chucking.

What's...what's happening? Why did that happen with the dress...

She examined Peter's palms. He had obviously tried, and succeeded, stopping the dress from killing Rarity, a pony he barely even knew...

Twilight realized now why she had been sent by her magic to her friends.

She had been sent to Fluttershy's to compel her to go to Sweet Apple Acres to ask Applejack about Twilight.

She had been sent to Sweet Apple Acres to find her friends.

But that darkness...with memories that were not her own...

She looked over at Rainbow Dash.

Those ideas...those images...were they what Rainbow had seen?

She shook her head, bigger issues filling her mind.

She picked up Rarity and Peter in silence, telekinetically hoisting them towards the Ponyville hospital.

Rainbow Dash left them then, and sat on a cloud, her rainbow tail falling over the edge of it.

Fluttershy made a move to go to her, but Twilight stopped the concerned Pegasus.

"She needs to be alone. She'll tell us why when she's ready."

Fluttershy nodded, staying quiet, her caring gaze switching between Peter and Rarity.

As they entered the hospital, Twilight told the colt at the desk what injuries the two new patients had. Slightly green, the colt lead them to two beds side by side.

It was then that Rainbow Dash entered, her cyan fur under her eyes already stained with tears.

They were stained again as she cried over Peter's unconscious form, and Rarity's body of broken bones.

---------------------------------Later...----------------------------

Twilight sat next to Spike, the fragments of Soul Gem spinning before her, filling her vision with red sun streaks, a book on the malicious properties of the Gem open before her.

"Spike, according to this book..."

"Twilight, stop reading so much! You're not going to heal Peter by finding out why the Gem color changed to a solid, delicious looking, vivid red..."

The baby dragons' mouth watered, and Twilight rolled her eyes.

"First, no, you can't eat them. Second, why is because I have found out why the gem changed color in this book, thank you very much!"

Spike sat down and crossed his arms, now interested in what the book had to say.

"Well? Why did it change color?"

Twilight looked at him, emotion filling her as she prepared herself to reveal what she really held in her magical grasp.

"Spike, according to this book, these fragments now contain a..." she gulped, apprehension filling her as she read off the next line. "A....a part of Peter!"

Spike sat up in shock, and immediately fell to his stomach, holding back a retch.

"Aw, Celestia, and I wanted to eat them....auughhhh!!"

Twilight waited until the baby dragon had his stomach back under control to continue on.

"It says here that it can be anywhere from knowledge learned in school to a memory, and that when the Soul Gem is released and a memory is sucked into it, those thinking of him will actually experience a small part of the memory..."

She blinked. Is that what happened to us? Was that his...his *memory*?! Why didn't he tell us anything about it? It sounded...tortured...

Spike thought for a bit, a small click signifying his scaled finger hitting his scaled cheek. "Is there...is there a way to get it back in him?"

Twilight bit her lower lip. If his memories are this tortured, should I really try to get them back into him?

She turned the page, obscuring the small section on reversing the effects of the Soul Gem from the baby dragons' line of sight.

"Nope, at least not yet."

Spike nodded.

"Well, I'm going to bed. It's midnight already!"

Twilight conceded with Spike.

"Yeah, I think I'll call it a day too..."

Twilight sighed.

This should be more than a day...it feels like a hundred mashed together...

She closed her eyes and slowly nodded off into a fitful sleep, one question taking a predominent position in her sleep.

What the buck is going on...

----------------------------------------Pinkamena Diane Pie------------------------

Pinkamena shivered in her bed, remembering what she had seen in that darkness.

No longer did the people run around the park, no longer did the brass swing glow with brilliance. Now everything was...gone. Gone, gone, gone...all happiness...all replaced by sorrow...

Pinkie pushed the sentences out of her mind, remembering the strange echoes it had had in the darkness.

---------------------------------Applejack--------------------------------

Only Applejack's tail was visible as she cowered beneath the sheets covering her bed and body.

All the trees that had once supplied life and happiness...the entire park, all of it, burning down...even the water evaporated with the heat that day...the ground was parched, devoid of life...and at the center of it, the once grand tree sat, its beautiful ornaments melting in the fire, its small electric lights replaced with electrical fires as the circuitry melted...

The orange pony pushed her bed so that she could look out the window, disturbing Apple Bloom and Big Mac in the two adjacent rooms. Granny smith snored on below her, rocking back and forth.

Applejack stared out the window all night, keeping the flashing images of dead trees at bay with the way the crescent sun struck her apple farm.

------------------------------Fluttershy----------------------------

Almost none of Fluttershy was visible as she cowered under her sheets that night, her front hooves holding open a small gap for air to pass through.

All of the innocent animals that had lived here...all gone...ashes to ashes, dust to dust...no bird songs accompanied the day, no sweet chirp adorned the raise of the sun, and no small animals heralded the beginning of spring, and even those who were alive would not come out ,as the sun was obscured by ash and smog...the ash and smog of destruction, death, blood, corruption, hanging over all of the mans' small world like a blanket...

Fluttershy peeped her head out of her own blanket, keeping the sleeping Angel in her sight, watching the bouncing Devil as it awoke in its nocturnal frenzy...

---------------------------------Rainbow Dash----------------------

In her fitful sleep that night, the cyan Pegasus saw more than any other pony alive had seen.

The building burned as thousands of voices screamed, echoing the voices of the damned, lamenting those who died with them, lamenting those who had to continue on living in this world of pain...this world of rampant death...

Rainbow Dash instinctively curled up in the chair next to Rarity's bed, shaking in her sleep.

She saw never ending darkness, and then saw what seemed to be a never ending street. Her vision shook vigorously as she ran down the concrete road, hooves smacking against its surface. She turned around, and was blinded by the bomb that detonated in the place she had thought of as a second home, her place of wonderful memories melting and twisting before her eyes, the ponies inside melting and twisting in the same way, their screams of agony and pain reaching her ears...she pushed on, tears blurring her vision.

She squirmed in her sleep. She wanted to wake up, as she had done for the past three weeks of torture...

And, lo and behold, her eyes flicked open to the darkness of Rarity's closed off bed.

She had expected the dreams to go away when she met Peter. That human was so nice to Fluttershy and the others, he even laughed along with everything Pinkie Pie had done...

She sighed, remembering how everypony had tried to cheer her up with how nice he was, and how happy she would be to talk to him...

If only I had been brave enough to ask him right then and there...then I could have helped Rarity, and I could have gotten to know him...

She thought through how she would ask him this time, without looking weird at how it would break her no-nonsense, anti-school personality.

Maybe I should just work around to the subject? Maybe I should just ask him outright...? Oh, yeah, that would sound *great*! 'Hey, Peter, I know you have a burned hand and everything, but can you please explain to me how the planets moved by themselves in your world, what with the absence of a Sun Goddess?'

She sighed deeply, and went back to sleep, her head awash with grief.

-----------------------------------Celestia--------------------------------------------

Celestia sat next to Luna, the Book of Prophecies open wide before them on the 'Historical' page, Twilight Sparkles' note opened and read beside them, the part on the Soul Gem outlined in a golden glow.

Celestia muttered the Prophecies on the left page, skimming through the titles.

"Defeat of Nightmare Moon...Raise of Discord..."

To her right, Luna muttered the Prophecies on the right page of the dusty book, likewise skimming the titles.

"The Seventh Element..."

Something triggered in Celestia when she heard her sister mutter the name of the legend.

"Luna, can I see the Prophecy of the Seventh Element?"

The Princess of the Moon nodded in confusion, levitating the book so that the right page lay in front of her sister.

"The Seventh Element...said to raise from the ashes of war, this Element is even more elusive and powerful than Magic itself...It is said that this war shall start when Discord once again escapes, and the being that holds within him the Seventh Element shall be the catalyst...and he will find the Seventh Element when the time comes."

She blinked. Is that it?

She looked around the entire page, but found no other mention of the elusive Element.

"'Tia?"

Celestia looked down at her little sister. "Yes?"

"I don't think we'll find out anything in this stupid, dusty book. It's a waste of our time. We should just go down to Ponyville and investigate the Soul Gem."

Celestia stood, her authoritative aura expanding as she did so.

"Luna, never tamper with the soul and the mind. It is something dangerous that can send someone into insanity."

The blue Alicorn shrunk as her sister used a voice of muffled anger.

"Okay, sis..."

Celestia nodded, and walked over to her balcony.

She sighed in the night air, observing how carelessly Luna had arranged the stars that night.

Well, in the light of everything, I think she can be a bit careless now...

She rested her front hooves on her balcony railing, her golden oriental shoes clicking on the marble with a pristine, royal noise.

She whispered to the night, asking for guidance from the Elements of Harmony.

"Please...show me what I must do..."

A glowing orb suddenly descended from the heavens, landing right in front of her.

------------------------------------Luna-------------------------

The Princess of the Moon looked down as her sister walked onto the balcony.

I hope she doesn't mind how I just scattered the stars tonight...

She heard the click of gold on marble, and a whisper.

Suddenly, she saw a golden orb of light.

Luna stood, intending to move towards her sister, but was held by an unseen force, a force too powerful for even a Princess.

She tried to scream in protest as Celestia closed her eyes and dipped her long, white horn into the pulsing orb, but her voice was stopped in her throat by a sudden cork of air.

"Mhmm!"

After what seemed to be ages, Celestia opened her eyes, and nodded slowly, the ball of light tracking her horn, sticking to its tip.

"MHHHMMMM!"

Luna watched in horror as the light enveloped all of her sister's regal horn, using the magical pinnacle as a focal point to pour itself into her body, the orb growing smaller and dimmer as it was sucked into her body.

Celestia looked to the stars, and then walked inside. As soon as her golden hoof clicked on the floor of her chambers, Luna was released from the mysterious magic.

Celestia walked over to Luna and looked deep into her eyes. Luna saw her fear reflected in her big sisters' eyes.

Celestia touched horn tips with Luna, and the light orb enveloped both of them.

And Luna understood what the light had to say, and she understood why Celestia had agreed to carry it, and she understood its pain.

She looked back at the book, and so did Celestia.

They simultaneously touched horn tips to the passage that explained the prophecy of the Seventh Element of Harmony.

A beacon of light shot high into the sky, signaling the beginning.

Of the end.

Misconceptions (Tears and Anger Part 1)

Discord's disembodied spirit looked up at the beacon of light with a smile.

Well played, Celestia, well played.

he knew that this signified the rise of the Seventh Element, but he also knew what it meant to all the provinces and cities across Equestria.

'Oh, dear, our precious Princess is in trouble!' He chuckled. Oh, my little ponies, none of you have any idea how much trouble your Princess is in. For I may have just found a new pawn...

He looked down at the hospital in Ponyville, and was greeted with a pleasant surprise.

And it seems as though he's very willing to give himself away.

-------------------------------------Peter---------------------------------

Peter returned the hug just as strongly, careful to keep his palms off of her body.

"Peter...I'm so sorry...when I heard Rarity scream, I thought nothing of it...I could have helped you get rid of that thing...I'm so, so sorry."

Peter raised a hand to her head, holding her closer to him as he rocked her back and forth, his tears staining Rainbow's coat as her tears stained Peter's white undershirt.

"Rainbow, it's okay. I'm fine, really. It's just a bit of pain, what's the worst that could happen?"

A 'bit' of pain shot up his arm like a lightning bolt as his palm made connection with the back of her head, stroking her mane in the same way he would stroke a crying child's hair.

Twilight smiled, and placed the Soul Gem fragments next to Peter's bed.

"I'll leave you two alone, and Peter, I want you to dispose of them. Throwing out something that holds a part of you seems...wrong.”

Peter nodded. As soon as the door swung closed behind the unicorn's purple tail, he looked up at the crying Pegasus that he held in his arms.

How weird...the show always portrayed her as...well, kind of a jerk...

He struggled to sit up, Rainbow Dash watching him with eyes full of concern as he grunted.

She decided to leave him to it, but immediately helped him all the way up when he fell back down, letting out a gasp of pain as his exposed muscle rubbed against his bandages.

As soon as he was in an upright position, she flew down and sat next to him on the visitor's chair.

Should I ask her? Or should I wait?

He decided to ask her now.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about before, Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow looked up in surprise. She obviously hadn't been expecting him to care about what she was thinking...

"Oh, nothing..." she sniffed, still crying lightly. "Nothing important."

Before Peter could respond, she immediately asked him questions.

"Right now, it's your hands I'm worried about. Are they feeling better?"

Peter nodded, an absolute lie. His hands still hurt like holy hell, but the Morphine would take care of that... "Hey, how's your training for the Wonderbolts go-"

"Are you thirsty or-" *sniff* "-hungry at all?"

Peter shook his head 'no'. Which was true, as he had a ridiculous metabolism. "So, what's it like to do a Sonic Rainbo-"

"Is your head hurting?"

He shook his head no. "Rainbow Da-"

"What about your shoulders?"

"No, Rainbow Dash, I feel fi-"

"Are you okay, emotionally? I mean, part of you..."

"Rainbow Dash, I'm fine, I swear. I just want to talk!"

"Oh, should I get Fluttershy, she is your psychiatrist."

"No, Rainbow, I want to talk to you. And I want to know what you wanted to talk about last night."

"I told you already, it's nothing important."

Peter put a hand on her hoof, not in an intimate way, but as a friendly gesture.

"Rainbow Dash, it's important to me what you want to talk about."

Rainbow Dash blushed, slightly embarrassed by the remark.

"Why should it be? I'm the worst friend ever! I heard Rarity shout, and I didn't do anything! I just laid back down on the cloud and ignored it! And then you got burned...all because I didn't bother to get up..."

She started crying openly again. Peter quickly reached over to her, holding her head in the nook between his neck and his shoulder.

"Come on, 'Dash, it wasn't your fault, not at all. You had nothing to do with it, it was totally out of your hands...er, hooves..."

She sniffed, her head on his shoulder, her tears staining his shirt.

Jesus, I'm treating them like my children...I need to remember that they're adults, at least psychologically...

He forewent that as Rainbow Dash sobbed into his shoulder, leaning over awkwardly on her small chair.

He dislodged her from around his waist, moved over enough to fit a second person on the mattress, and signaled for her to come up and join him.

Rainbow blushed even deeper. "Uh, are you...are you sure? What if someone walks in and thinks we're...y'know, doing something?"

Peter blushed almost as deep as Rainbow now. "They won't. Trust me, I'll make sure of that. I won't let your good name be tarnished."

Rainbow sniffed, looking at him with eyes larger than life itself, making Peter's stomach lurch.

He held back more than a 'd'aww' as he looked at her, a sudden feeling of protectiveness rising.

She...she's so much nicer than they portray her in the show...or has something happened, and has she changed somehow?

He abandoned thinking as Rainbow hovered lightly, pulling herself onto his bed, landing lightly beside him. He put an arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder, crying. Peter waited until she was done, thinking the entire time, rubbing her shoulder as she cried.

Okay, so either the Hub portrayal of her only captures one side of her personality...or she's changed...and I don't like it. It's almost as if her own Loyalty...is tearing her apart.

"Listen, Rainbow...I know what you're trying to do." He gulped.

This is risky territory. If I slip up, I could let slip that I know all about her and the Elements of Harmony...

"You're trying to be...loyal. But I'm going to tell you something I learned the hard way back in my middle school...that loyalty is more than just your actions. It's how you act. The fact that you came here and stayed here all night...that's true loyalty, Rainbow Dash. And, if you don't mind me saying so, you're the greatest friend I could ever wish for."

Peter looked into Rainbow Dash's deep eyes. He wiped away the tears under her eyes, and smiled, kissing her on the forehead, feeling ridiculously protective of the cyan adult Pegasus.

"Thanks, Peter. You're pretty good at-" *sniff* "-showing loyalty yourself."

She hiccuped, still crying lightly. Peter held her to himself, feeling a protective love, like the love a parent feels for their child when they're hurt.

Jesus, what have I gotten myself into...

He smiled, realizing how much more of himself he actually saw in the rainbow maned cyan mare. He had begun to doubt that she was actually like him at all after a while, seeing himself more in ponies like Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Twilight, with Kindness, Laughter, and...well, not Magic, just an uncanny thirst for knowledge.

He kept on rubbing Rainbow's shoulder, recalling the fanfic 'My Little Dashie', and how protective the main character in  it had felt for Rainbow Dash.

Jesus, and I feel this protective for her and I barely even know her...imagine how that guy must have felt, having known Rainbow Dash for fifteen years as his daughter...

He looked down at the cyan Pegasus as he felt her breathing steady, and her grip on him loosen.

She must have fallen asleep...

He kissed her on the forehead, the same protective feeling surging through him.

Confound these ponies, they drive me to protect them like my own siblings...

He smiled to himself, amazed at how quickly his mind had associated these ponies with the idea of family.

He adjusted himself so that Rainbow Dash could sleep more comfortably, taking care not to wake her up in the process, and fell asleep, his arm around the Pegasus' back, right above her wings.

----------------------Pinkie Pie----------------------

Pinkie bounced out of Sugarcube Corner, excited to go see Rarity, Peter, and Rainbow Dash.

Oh, boy, what if Peter's awake! I can't wait to give him the cupcake he designed!

She stopped as she remembered the specially designed cupcakes, plunging a hoof deep into her mane to ensure it was oriented in a safe position that wouldn't fall out as she bounced. She nodded happily, assured that the cupcake tray was held in place by the carabiner.

She bounced on, her hooves acting like springs on the ground, propelling her forward at a faster and faster rate.

She finally reached the hospital entrance and knocked on the door. She walked in, head held high-as the cupcakes would go flying if she didn't hold it high-and bounced over to Peters' room.

She opened the door with a hoof, and was about to shout out 'Surprise!', the cupcake tray already in hoof, when she saw something...odd.

She left the cupcakes on the bedside table and walked out, eying Peter with suspicion. He remained unconscious, holding Rainbow Dash in his arms.

"I'd better tell Twilight about this, and fast!"

She bounced out, traveling faster than she ever had before, furiously vibrating in the entrance hall due to the low ceiling.

When she exited the building, she set off at the speed of Party towards Twilight's house.

-----------------Twilight Sparkle-------------------------

Twilight was enjoying some good sleep, taking Peters' advice from the other day, fully enjoying her magical mattress.

"Ah...peace and quiet...nopony to interrupt my sleep..."

And, as if on cue, the party pony Pinkie burst through the door, sending books flying.

Twilight sighed.

"Nopony to disturb me my flank."

She roused herself, standing slowly on her wooden floor, waiting patiently for Pinkie to finish her breath.

"-andthenIwentinandIwasgoingtobealllike'SURPRISE!'butthenIsawPeter sleeping...with...DASHIE!"

Twilight nodded. "Well, that's good...wait, WHAT?!"

The lavender unicorn's purple mane instantly split its own ends, giving her a frazzled, enraged look.

"We'll just see about that!"

Pinkie nodded, donning her game face.

They immediately set off, Pinkie towards Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight to the cottage near the Everfree Forest.

---------------------Applejack------------------------

The work pony leaned up against a tree, her hat resting casually upon her head, shading her from the afternoon's scorching sun.

She tilted it upwards slightly to take in the beautiful sight around her. The calm, complacent pond with composed ripples traveling across its surface, dragonflies buzzing over its clear surface, touching the water, the gentle breeze sending leaves from the tall, proud apple trees into the lake, their shapes reminding Applejack of-

"Ohmygoshyou'renevergoingtobelievewhatIjustsaw!"

Applejack sighed. Can't an honest workin' pony get a minute of shut eye around here without somepony buttin' in?

"What did you just see, Pinkie Pie?"

In all honesty, Applejack didn't care, but she listened anyway as the pony bounced around her field of vision.

"IwenttovisitDashieRarityandPeterandIdroppedoffmycupcakesandPeterwassleeping...with...RAINBOW DASH!"

Applejack bolted onto her hooves, eyes blazing with fury. "What in tarnation is that pony thinking? And ah thought that Peter knew better than to go around boppin' beds with ponies he barely knew! Ah'm gonna give that boy a piece of mah mind!"

Pinkie nodded, eyes closed, oddly huge smile spreading across her lips.

"Well, let's go! Twilight's getting Fluttershy!"

And with that, the bouncing pink pony disappeared in a flash, Applejack following close behind.

-------------------Fluttershy------------------

The yellow Pegasus stood in the center of her content, quaint cottage, trying to coax her bunny out of its bed.

"Now, don't you worry, Angel. I'll never do that again, I promise."

The bunny shivered in fear, still mentally unstable from when Fluttershy had gone...well, insane the other day, trying to catch that devil of a chinchilla.

"Alright, time to have breakfast. I'll get it ready, just wait right-"

Her sentence was cut off by her own small scream as the door to her cottage burst open, revealing an enraged Twilight, driving Fluttershy behind her couch and Angel deeper into the confines of his bed.

"Fluttershy, come with me, quick, Peter's sleeping with Rainbow Dash, we need to-"

Fluttershy was up in a second, eyes furious, avoiding meeting Twilight's gaze.

"Let's go."

Twilight's mane stood on end as the Pegasus left a yellow blur, flying off towards the hospital at high speed, her Stare blazing.

"Uh...let's..."

Twilight walked out, amazed at how quickly she had changed when she heard the words 'Peter', 'sleeping', and 'Rainbow Dash' together in the same sentence.

I'm starting to feel kind of bad for Peter, I haven't seen Fluttershy so pissed off since she tried to...protect him.

The unicorn realized how angry she must be as she walked: Fluttershy had given the Princess the Stare for his sake, and now he was taking advantage of one of their friends.

Twilight snorted derisively. He'll be back in that cage before the day is done...

The Darkness of the Rainbow, Part 1

Special Friday the 13th Chapter, guys! This is canon, but is also a surprise for me getting over 2,012 views before January 13th.

Side note: Don't read if you're squeamish. Seriously, this made me cringe as I wrote it.

The rainbow-maned, cyan Pegasus fell into the darkness of sleep, the convoluted images following her during her entire descent.

She dreamed horrible things...angry, murderous things, things of darkness...

All of Ponyville was burning around her. The once-happy, thriving town was now awash in darkness, a blanket of ash covering Celestia's sun.

The buildings surrounding Rainbow Dash sagged in upon themselves, tired and strained from the ravenous flames eating away at their infrastructure.

As she walked amidst the ruins of her old home, the sounds of her hooves the only thing accompanying the burning, she cried, looking for her friends, the friends she had abandoned to sit on a cloud as all of Ponyville burned to the ground...

She walked to Twilight's tree library, its once lively and happy branches now on the ground, burning into ash.

Rainbow Dash looked around the premises for her unicorn friend, her eyes filling with tears as the acrid smoke irritated her already-wet eyes, tears of grief and pain obscuring her vision.

She tried to enter the building, but was stopped by the raging flames, the heat forcing her to back out. She was about to fly off and get a cloud when a clear path was cut by an unseen force, blowing her mane in its wake.

She walked through the path, and found her friend in the center, pinned down by a branch, the flaming limb almost splitting her asunder.

The cyan Pegasus got on her knees to mourn the her lavender, horned friend when the unicorns' eyes opened, revealing nothing but darkness.

Rainbow Dash reeled back in fear, but was held in place by the flames quickly surrounding her, the heat singing the frayed ends of her mane.

Twilight's carrion pulled itself through the branch, splitting the skin slowly, Rainbow's eyes held in place as organs spilled out, the intestines becoming unwound on the bough as she moved, forcing her strides to become halted as the long, slimy organ was unwound from her body, eventually falling in a heap under the pony.

As Twilight advanced towards Rainbow Dash, her stomach shaking with tension as it was pulled between the bloody heap on the ground and Twilight's distraught, walking carcass, she spoke, her voice full of fear and pain, bringing Rainbow Dash to tears as she watched her dead but living friend advance.

"Why didn't you come back for me? Don't you like me? Aren't we...friends? Rainbow Dash, I thought we were friends! Why did you leave me?"

Rainbow Dash stood on her hind hooves, trying to distance herself from her dead friend, tears leaving streaks of water as they finished their journeys down her cyan face.

"I...I didn't leave you! I would never leave you!"

Twilight's stomach stretched in tension, the heap of intestines behind her not unwinding, and started to split open, acid burning through the already charred floor. Rainbow Dash held down her stomach, panting wildly, her chest heaving.

"But you did, Rainbow Dash...you left me to die here!"

Rainbow Dash cried harder as her friend approached, the eager flames licking at her hooves.

"And now, you'll die too!"

Rainbow Dash jumped, her wings suddenly coming to life, as the unicorn dove forward, her stretching stomach splitting open, rolling as she hit the ground, drawing forward her other organs as well, screaming in pain and agony as the flames burned her body to ashes.

"Twilight, I'm...I'm sorry!"

Rainbow's vision fazed into darkness.

When it returned, she was outside of a destroyed Cupcake Corner, the door wide open, the darkness inside inviting her, greedily awaiting her rainbow mane, the beautiful decorations in shambles around the Pegasus' hooves.

She gulped, and walked in, the building bursting into flame behind her as she walked. She ignored the heat, slowly moving through the house, stopping to retch by the stairs as the image of Twilight's body filled her mind.

She moved up the stairs, one at a time, and arrived in Pinkie Pie's bedroom.

"Pinkie! You're okay!"

The pink party pony stood at the mention of her name, hooves at her side, normally poofy mane flat on her back.

"Uh, Pinkie?"

"Don't call me that."

Rainbow took a step back, the venom and hate in her friend's name stinging her more than the flames that mischievously crept behind her.

"W...what?"

"I said, don't call me that."

Rainbow screamed as her friend turned around.

"My name is Pinkamena Diane Pie, got it?"

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as her friend's eyelids closed over darkness, patches of burned skin sloughing off as her jaw moved.

"What, have you forgotten all about me, Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow shook her head, fighting to hold her bile down as more and more of Pinkie's face fell off, revealing the muscle and bone underneath, blood oozing from the uncovered veins and muscles.

"No! You're my friend, Pinkie!"

Pinkie laughed, but not with the usual, cheery sound, but rather with a sound of hate and misery, her jaw bones clicking, the joint no longer covered by skin or muscle to hide the sound of bone scratching bone, the cartilage seeping out in a molten slime.

"Right, your best friend...is that why when I cried your name, you turned over and went back to sleep? HUH?! Is that why, when I cried here, my body burning, my face falling off as I breathed and cried!"

Rainbow Dash hurled as the last of Pinkie's skin fell off, revealing charred muscle that strained and split as her jaw moved of its own free will.

"Pinkie, I'm sorry...I'm sorry!"

She raised her wings, preparing for flight as her deranged friend came closer, teeth stuck in a perpetual smile, her mane burning as she advanced.

"For what? Leaving me to die?"

"No, for...this!"

Rainbow kicked her best friend in the stomach, sending the walking dead pony into the flames, to her second death, and flew off, Pinkie's screams haunting her as her view once again fazed.

"You're leaving me to die, again? You'll die sad and alone, Rainbow Dash, just you wait!"

Rainbow opened her eyes to a depressed, burnt cottage, windows and door burst open, giving it a dead feel.

The sound of clops followed the cyan hoof steps, the burnt grass crushing beneath her.

As she walked, she began to notice that it wasn't burnt grass she was crushing, but rather the bones of small animals, their skeletons still writhing in pain from their gruesome deaths.

The Pegasus swallowed and pushed on, steeling her nerves for whatever the dark depths of the cottage had to offer.

Thus ends Part 1! Expect even more gruesome scenes in Part 2, which will come out this Friday! Any fan art of this scene will be viewed in the bathroom, so that I can throw up immediately.

Memories (Tears and Anger Part 2)

--------------------Applejack---------------------

"Everypony here?" The orange work pony asked the question just as Twilight walked in.

"Good. Okay, Ah'll slap him awake, and Fluttershy, you'll give him the stare. We'll force the truth out of 'im."

Everypony present nodded in consent.

--------------------------------Peter-----------------------------

As he slept, he had a feeling of...peace. Rainbow Dash slept soundly in the crook of his arm, her tears stopped by his comforting embrace.

He was aroused by an orange hoof to the face, which not only hurt him but forced him to instinctively raise his hand to his face.

His first thought was to look down, to make sure that Rainbow Dash had not been disturbed.

He sighed when he saw her breathing lightly, still asleep. Well, time to set things right...

He turned to explain the scene to Applejack, knowing all to well that only she would walk in and slap someone when she saw them sleeping with her friend.

Instead, he was met with icy blue eyes of steel, the Stare looking deep into his soul, forcing him to stay fixed in place, drawing all his truths from deep within him.

Applejack's voice in his ear pervaded his thoughts. "What were you doin' with Rainbow Dash?"

He swallowed. "What do you mean?"

Applejack moved closer to him, her mane entering his field of view.

"You know darn right what ah mean. Now, answer mah question! What were you doin' with Rainbow Dash in your bed?"

Peter tried to look away from the Stare, but couldn't. Fluttershy's cold, blue eyes froze him on the spot.

"Nothing. I wasn't doing anything but sleeping in the same bed as her, I swear!"

He was starting to panic, his heart beating faster and faster, his mind being pulled into that never ending Stare.

"You're lyin'! You were doin' more than that!"

"Tell me! What...were you doin'...with Rainbow Dash?!"

Peter answered through gritted teeth. The only thing he could feel now was pain, the pain in his hands and mind as his carefully constructed reality was torn apart in the cold, blue depths of  Fluttershy's eyes.

I don't belong here...I belong at home, playing Skyrim, doing something other than this, this isn't my home...

"How dare you...I would never, and I repeat, I would never disrespect someone like that! I would never forgive myself, I would hate myself forever, she was crying, she thought it was her fault that Rarity and I were hurt...so I gave her a hug, and we fell asleep in each others' arms..."

He blushed as he realized how intimate it really was, but the blush was taken away from him as memories of pain were forced to rise.

Everyone surrounding him, taunting him...not touching him, but still, shunning him...no one he could turn to...just him...in the center of those he thought were his friends...he couldn't tell his parents, they wouldn't understand...they never understood what his life was like...never able to know what a friend felt like for twelve long years...

"Stop it...I'm past that...I have friends now..."

Tears streaked down his face as Fluttershy's Stare brought out memories best left forgotten in time.

"No...get out of my head...I have friends now...get out...get out, please, get out..."

His voice was reduced to less than a squeak, his sobs interrupting his pleads to the voice in his head, the voice that Fluttershy brought to rise.

You never had friends. Just like back in your junior high school years, your 'friends' here have come to reject you.

"No...it looked wrong...it looked like I was doing something with her...it looked like I had taken advantage of her...as though I had used her..."

You never had any friends. You never had anyone to turn to. You never had anyone's shoulder to lean on as you cried, shunned by your 'peers'. And now, when you give a shoulder to one of their friends and just happen to fall asleep with her, they immediately jump to conclusions. They're not your friends, all they want is to see you suffer.

"No...no...no...get out...get out..."

Fluttershy's eyelids twitched, wanting to break the Stare.

"Fluttershy, stop it, you're sending him into insanity!"

Fluttershy tried to look to Twilight, the veins in her neck bulging with the effort, giving her a stressed, scared look.

"I'm trying!"

She tried harder, and her efforts were evident to Peter, her eyelids twitching madly as she tried desperately to conceal the Stare.

They want to hurt you. Hurt them back, just like you should have hurt those kids in your class that day, the day they truly exiled you...

"No...no...please, no, don't make me hurt them..."

Fluttershy strained, tears now joining her angry Stare.

Do it, now!

"No! Get out of my fucking head!"

Applejack took matters into her own hooves then, and kicked Peter out of the way.

Fluttershy continued to Stare, struggling to contain herself, now going into a panic.

Peter landed on the bed, unconscious, next to Rainbow Dash, waking the cyan Pegasus to the image that lay before her.

--------------Twilight-----------------

The cyan Pegasus held the panicking Fluttershy, her eyes now fully closed.

"What...were you guys...thinking?!"

Everypony around her took a step towards Rainbow Dash in anger, and started shouting at her.

"Shut up! Applejack, what were you thinking when all of you came here?"

"What was he doin' with you in that bed, RD? And don't say nothin', I know you're lyin', Pinkie saw you sleepin' with him. What were you thinking, letting him take advantage of you like that?"

She looked at her pink friend, eyes full of fury. Twilight backed away as the cyan Pegasus swept her gaze across the entire room, thinking of what to say.

"First, you see Peter and I sleeping in the same bed, and instead of asking us what we were doing, you immediately went and corralled everypony to come and give him the Stare? And not only that, I'm assuming that Fluttershy was more pissed than when she shouted at that dragon, making her Stare stronger than it's ever been!"

Everypony simply looked down at their hooves, ashamed of themselves for jumping to conclusions.

"Yeah, but why did he give you a hug? Why did he go that far?"

A sudden grunt made them all turn around. Peter sat up, holding his head, still dizzy from being kicked onto the bed.

"Because I wanted to give a friend something that I never had...a shoulder to cry on..."

A single tear streaked down his cheek. Rainbow Dash immediately jumped onto the bed by his side and held him, the same way he had held her before, and let him cry on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Peter, I'm here for you. Just tell us, what happened?"

Twilight looked at her cyan friend in surprise. She had never seen this side of her...

She's acting like a tomcolt version of Fluttershy...I've never seen her so compassionate...either Peter just woke up that side of her, or she has a...

She gulped at the idea, leaving the thought unfinished, the final words still echoing in her head despite her attempts to suppress them.

He told them all what he had heard, about his friends not being his friends.

"That...voice, did it tell you to do anything?"

Peter shook his head 'no', his arms holding Rainbow Dash tight, as if afraid that he would fall if he let go. A cyan hoof moved up and down on his shoulder, the Pegasus trying desperately to comfort her friend.

Twilight was going to speak when Rainbow Dash suddenly turned harsh.

"Get out. All of you."

Everypony looked at her in surprise. She had never told her friends to 'get out'.

"I said get. Out. We both need some time alone."

Fluttershy uttered  small 'sorry' as she left. Applejack did he same, her hat low on her face to hide her single tear. Pinkie picked up a box of cupcakes from Peter's bedside table, placing them beside her two friends, feeling the most guilt for organizing the whole thing in the first place.

Twilight walked up to Rainbow Dash to say 'sorry', but was stopped by a mixed look of fury and anguish that she had never seen on her Pegasus friend before.

"I don't care how sorry you are right now, Twilight. Just send Spike here with Peters' things. I'm not leaving until the Stare wares off."

Twilight nodded, a tear glistening on her cheek.

She walked out, closing the door behind her, then joined the circle of friends that was waiting outside of the hospital doors for her.

The all looked up at each other, guilt ridden expressions present on each of their faces.

"Well, ah'm headed back to the farm, girls. Ah've got some thinking to do..."

And with that, Applejack walked off.

"And I'm going back to  Corner. I need to clean up the mess Peter and I made the other day before Mr. and Mrs. Cake get back from Manehattan..."

And with that, Pinkie walked, no longer bouncing, a trail of broken tears following in her wake.

"I have to go get Angel out of his bed..."

Twilight simply nodded as each of her friends walked off. When Fluttershy left, she followed her, simply stating that she needed to go to Zecora's. The yellow Pegasus nodded. They silently walked, and then muttered small goodbyes as they parted ways.

The Darkness of the Rainbow, Part 2

Part 2 of my Friday the 13th Special, this time actually released on the 13th!

Brotip: if you got a small bit of bile while reading the 'Cupcakes' fanfic...Don't read this.

Oh, and now canon. You'll see why.

Rainbow Dash fidgeted in her sleep, the cloud forming to her body, keeping her asleep as her body went on in bliss, but her mind fell into dark torment.

Rainbow Dash searched desperately for Fluttershy, but couldn't find anything in the debris and dust that obstructed her vision.

She heard moaning, the sound of a yellow Pegasus.

She ran over to where she heard it, and dug through the debris furiously, finally finding a wing.

"Fluttershy!" She tore into the debris more energetically, and ended up freeing the wing.

It fell out of the pile, blood spurting out of its severed end, the bone glistening in the dying embers of the flame that had consumed Fluttershy's cottage, the frayed nerve endings sending the muscles into spasms, causing the wing to spurt more blood, the meat and veins slowly getting forced out of the open end of the wing, sticking to the floor like a fine paste.

Rainbow Dash threw up as the wing stopped moving, the puddle of blood growing larger and larger, the wing finally dead.

The smell of blood and stomach acid made her throw up again, her eyes tearing as she sobbed with the pain in her stomach, hooves, and heart.

She heard the moaning again. She tore into the debris even more furiously, and uncovered a bloody stump, glass embedded into its emaciated ends.

"Fluttershy...no!"

Rainbow Dash dug around her, revealing the bloody mess of glass and wood splinters that impaled her.

Her old friend stood, shaking on her legs. Rainbow Dash gave her support, pulling her out of the mess that was once her home.

She immediately wished she hadn't.

Fluttershy's other wing tore itself in half, both segments flapping wildly, both sides spurting blood everywhere as Rainbow Dash's oldest friend died in her arms.

"Rainbow...I called out for you..."

The pony in question looked down at Fluttershy, eyes full of tears. She noticed then that Fluttershy wasn't looking at her.

She couldn't. Her left eye had a glass shard embedded deep into its milky, white core, blood and puss oozing out of the wound.

"Fluttershy...I'm sorry..."

Fluttershy's right eye remained stationary, a piece of wood embedded down through it, coming out through her yellow cheek bone.

"I...I'm scared...it hurts so much..."

The yellow Pegasus coughed up blood, causing her wing stump and half a wing to flap wildly.

At that moment, her half wing finally broke connection with the half embedded in the debris. The long, white nerve snapped, and the wing in the debris started flapping wildly, not wanting to die. Its meat was squeezed out, the unevenly cut bone causing it to flop unevenly, opening more wounds that caused the hole it lie in to bleed as well, the blood dripping down the feathers.

"Rainbow Dash...promise me...that you'll save Spike...he's somewhere in the house."

She looked around, searching for the baby dragon.

As she looked, Fluttershy coughed one last time, her unseeing eyes not changing as she passed into the void.

Rainbow Dash placed an ear to her heart.

"No...NO! Fluttershy...I'm...sorry..."

She sat there for what seemed to be too little time, rocking Fluttershy in her arms as the blood seeped out of her wounds, the smell of urine joining the smell of death as her bodily fluids were all forced out, creating puddles of liquid.

"Fluttershy..."

Rainbow Dash stood, and walked over to the same pile of debris she had found her dying friend in. She dug in it, careful to avoid freeing the yellow appendage, afraid that it would begin flapping and bleeding again.

As she worked, her tears blurred her vision, making it hard for her to recognize the baby dragon's purple arm.

She carefully dug around her friend's body, uncovering it bit by bit.

She retched when she found the rotting flesh, the dislodged scales that parted for the giant shard of glass that pierced him through the face, bits of brain left behind as she pulled the baby dragon off of it.

She laid down next to Fluttershy, and turned to leave.

Suddenly, she hurt a sputter, a buzz, and a gasp. She turned around just in time as an eyeless Fluttershy landed on top of her, darkness filling the eye sockets, her wing stub and half wing flapping wildly, spreading blood everywhere as it did.

"You said you would save him! First you let me die, and then you let him die!"

The cyan Pegasus tried to force Fluttershy off of her, her heart beating too fast for her mind to keep up. Her instinct an will to live pushed her to do what she had to in order to stay alive.

She grasped a large piece of wood that lay behind her and bashed her dead but living friend over the head with it, sending her crashing into the wall.

Crying, she walked over to Fluttershy as she rose, a thirst for blood filling her, a thirst for somepony to die and stay dead. She hit Fluttershy over the head again and again, each time deforming her friend's head more and more, splattering the yellow Pegasus' blood all over the walls, the skull caving in and stretching the skin like a balloon. Her head suddenly burst open like a melon, brains and blood splattering on the walls, floor, and cyan Pegasus, mixing with tears and sweat in a disgusting mixture.

Rainbow Dash threw the wooden rod away, stumbling backwards.

"What have I done...Fluttershy..."

She sat down and rocked back and forth, an insane smile twisting her features.

"Now she's dead. And she's not going to attack me. No, ma'am, no zombie Fluttershys here..."

As she closed here eyes, the world around her dissipated.

She opened her eyes to the black, charred interior of the Carousel Boutique.

Rainbow Dash frantically searched for Rarity, trying with all of her might to find the elegant, white unicorn.

She looked under mirror frames, under mannequins, and under countless piles of clothes, but couldn't find her friend anywhere.

Rainbow Dash was about to give up when a chill went down her spine.

"Looking for me, Rainbow Dash?"

The cyan pony turned in fear. The white unicorn's voice was cold and lifeless...

As was her deformed, crushed corpse.

"You didn't bother to come for me when I called your name while my spine broke. Look at what you have wrought, Rainbow Dash, through ignoring your friends as they died!"

The cyan Pegasus looked more closely at her dead friend. There seemed to be nothing wrong with her.

A sigh was about to escape Rainbow Dash's lips, relieved that there were no disturbing images here, when she saw what was truly out of place with the white pony.

It was the even whiter spine protruding from Rarity's white body, ribs stretching the place where the spine had left her body, giving her the image of a puppet, her inner workings being pulled out of her body.

As Rarity stalked closer to Rainbow Dash, her spine twitching as it was forced farther out, stretching her white coat. Rainbow Dash walked backwards, her heart beating furiously as she watched her dead friend getting slowly skinned.

With each step, Rarity's face was stretched a bit more, her legs were made a bit more formless, her skeleton was left a bit more uncovered, somehow keeping its form.

By the time Rarity was within striking distance of Rainbow Dash, her horn had snapped off, falling off of her body along with the rest of her skin, giving it the image of a puppet being used by this devil of bone, meat and organ.

Rarity's vital organs shivered as she walked, her lungs struggling to keep oxygen traveling through her body, the trachea vibrating with its final throes of life, the heart pumping wildly as it felt the body it depended on dying.

Rarity's white skull smiled at Rainbow Dash, the magical core of her horn leaking into its open teeth, the glowing substance creating a visible bulge as it traveled down the esophagus, into the stomach that lay beneath, quivering in its casing of meat and bone.

Rarity now stood right in front of Rainbow Dash, her bones clacking as she moved, the hooves clicking as they dislodged, bit by bit.

"Do you see what you have done, you rainbow maned freak? I'm falling apart!"

Even as the skeletons' jaw moved, the muscles fell away, meat slithered out in a fine puss, but the organs and skeleton stayed.

Her skeleton jiggled as it was bereft of tendons, cartilage seeping out from the unprotected joints.

Rarity's skeleton finally fell apart in front of Rainbow Dash, its bones clinking as it hit the floor, the organs squishing as they rolled around, vibrating with the quickly disappearing life.

Rainbow Dash ran out of the building, not wanting to spend another second with her friend's skeleton.

She looked to the dark sky, to whatever was making these horrible images. "What? Is that all you've got?!"

The insanity in her voice scared her, holding her still as the dark clouds descended upon her, fazing her vision out once again.

Her vision returned in a dark apple cellar.

The apple cellar of Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack was on the floor in front of her, her golden mane cut and torn, her hat covered with blood, the stump of her hind left leg spurting blood.

A large chunk of foundation lie on her hind left leg, about five feet from the orange pony's body.

A trail of blood traced Applejack's desperate crawl to safety, the red trail jagged as the uneven bone dragged across the floor.

A stone in the head had ended her desperate crawl, splitting Applejack's head wide open, the red halo around her head joined by bone and brain.

Rainbow Dash turned to leave. She had had enough. She was going to run away, run where nopony could ever find her.

But then the cellar doors slammed shut behind her, and Applejack rose to her hooves, the stone rolling away, the stump of her hind left leg apparently not hindering her as she walked around Rainbow Dash, blood spurting from the area surrounding the broken bone.

She looked at Rainbow Dash, her left eyeball hanging out, a strand of muscle, vein, and nerve coming out of the darkness. Her right eye was replaced by total darkness, a darkness that Rainbow Dash wanted to enter to end her sorry existence.

Applejack's face wasn't the normal, round face, but rather, was rather flat, with a pink thing exposed on top, pulsing.

Rainbow Dash's friend walked forward, brain jiggling with each step.

She lowered her head, preparing to charge the cyan Pegasus. As she did, her brain fell out of the unprotected cavity in the skull, the spinal cord holding it as it swayed back and forth each time Applejack pawed the ground.

"You said you'd never leave Ponyville hangin', and now ah'm dead because you decided to leave Ponyville hangin'. Ah guess ah just didn' count, did ah? Well, ah'll show you how much ah count. It's time for you to die, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow backed off in fear, her cyan coat covered with a fine film of sweat, matting the hair.

"Applejack...I'm sorry..."

The dead work pony didn't care. She charged, and Rainbow Dash rolled to the side, the wind from the carrion blowing past her at the same time the dangling brain made contact with her hoof.

Applejack crashed into the shelf of cider, the countless glass bottles smashing on the orange body that lay beneath them.

Rainbow Dash darted behind the adjacent shelf, cowering in fear, looking for an exit. Tears joined her sweat and Fluttershy's blood, forming a pool of pain and grief.

She stood, turning around to see if an exit had opened. She immediately regretted it.

The orange pony's empty sockets of darkness stared into Rainbow Dash's bright eyes. Her mouth hung open, a glass shard sticking out of her throat, blood dripping off of it, back into her decimated throat.

Rainbow Dash's rival tried to talk, her brain smacking the wood shelves, the glass shards embedded in the pink mass going deeper, drawing more blood.

The rainbow maned, cyan pony fell into the darkness where Applejack's eyes used to be, Her vision fazed, sending her deeper into her insanity, her hooves clicking as she held her knees close to her chest, shivering.

A light appeared in the dark, pulling Rainbow Dash towards it.

She moved towards the light, entranced by its heavenly, comforting glow.

The sight that awaited her was anything but heavenly and comforting.

Before Rainbow Dash, was the cloud mansion that was home to the cyan, rainbow-maned Pegasus.

The shaking pony walked through the door, an atmosphere of apprehension consuming as she walked, sending a shiver of fear down her spine.

She flapped her wings, blood and debris flying off as she flew up to her room.

She walked into the dark room, her eyes slowly adjusting.

When they did, the room became clear to her. Everything was normal.

Except for the noose hanging from the ceiling and the pristine piece of white paper that lay by Rainbow Dash's hoof.

She looked down towards the paper, and saw blood creeping across its surface. Her blood. It read:

You have a choice. You can end your sorry existence, or you can go back and try to save them.

She looked towards the noose, the gap creating a hole that distorted the world as she looked through it, showing her all of her friends' dying expressions.

Twilight, gasping for air as the tree branch impaled her, burning her intestines.

Pinkie Pie, her face melting off, her hooves scrambling at her face, tears and blood spreading everywhere as the flames consumed her.

Fluttershy, dying in Rainbow Dash's arms, the yellow Pegasus' eyes unseeing, debris impaling the white orbs.

Rarity, her elegant features contorted with pain as her spine was horribly removed from her back, the white bone splitting the white coat.

And Applejack, crying as a horrified Apple Bloom looked on, her face filled with fear and pain as the rock crushed her head, ending her throes of life.

Rainbow Dash walked up to the distortion, looking right through it into the void.

She swallowed.

As soon as her muzzle made connection with the rope, it ensnared her neck, chafing her as it tightened, pulling her higher up off the ground.

And then Rainbow Dash, gasping for air, hooves scrambling at the rope, came face to face with...

Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash bolted upright on her cloud, shaking her head, freeing her mind of those horrible images...

She pulled herself off of her thundercloud of nightmares and berated herself for ever believing a dream.

It was the first time she had seen the images.

Unfortunately for the (currently) mentally stable, cyan, rainbow-maned, happy Pegasus, it would most definitely not be her last time seeing them.

About a month later, an explosion interrupted her sleep, lighting the world up with its aimless light.

And thus ends the Friday the 13th Special Chapter.

By the way, if I didn't make it obvious (not sarcastic, I actually suck at referring to the story within a story...Leonardo DiCaprio is disappoint...) the ending refers to Rainbow Dash's part in the second chapter, when Peter Roose actually arrives in Equestria.

Pinkie's Gift (Dreams Part 1)

Twilight walked home, her stomach full of soothing tea, her mind full of soothing words.

She smiled as she thought of the Ponyville hospital, using the mindset Zecora had told her to use, knowing that in the dead of the night, her two friends probably slept arm in arm once again, their presence helping each other get through the darkness of what they had seen.

Maybe if Rainbow Dash can help Peter with what he saw in the Stare, then Peter can help Rainbow Dash with what she sees in her dreams...

The unicorn's purple mane glistened in the moonlight as she passed Fluttershy's cottage.

Hmm...I haven't spoken to her since we parted ways when I went to Zecora's at least an hour ago...maybe I should talk to her, if only to make sure she's okay after using the Stare on Peter.

She nodded to herself in consent, and walked over to Fluttershy's cottage door.

"Coming," the small voice responded to Twilight's knocks, revealing nothing of how the yellow Pegasus was feeling.

The door was answered by a teary-eyed Fluttershy. Twilight looked inside, and saw her Harmony Necklace on the table behind Fluttershy.

"Uh, do you mind if I come in, Fluttershy?"

The Pegasus' pink mane jiggled as she shook her head in invitation.

The two friends walked over to the table where the Harmony Necklace of Kindness rested, sitting beside each other in the moon's tired light.

The yellow Pegasus simply blinked as Twilight broke the silence.

"Why's your Harmony Necklace out?"

Fluttershy sighed. A small silence filled the next five minutes.

"I was wondering if I really deserve it..."

Twilight looked at her in amazement. "Of course you do, Fluttershy! Why wouldn't you?"

Fluttershy looked deep into Twilight's eyes, and explained what she had done after they parted ways.

---------------------------------Fluttershy------------------

After Twilight and Fluttershy had parted ways, Fluttershy to the comfort of her small cottage, Twilight to the counsel of Zecora, Fluttershy decided to take out her Harmony Necklace.

As well as something else she hadn't taken out in a long time.

She placed the Element of Kindness on her wooden table and sat down, placing her bottle of Manehattan wine besides the necklace.

She looked at the wine, apprehensive. I normally only take this out on special occasions...should I really...

She shook her head. She needed a drink right now, even if it went against her morals.

She poured herself a small glass, steadying the ornate wine glass with a hoof as she poured the wine with her mouth.

Sighing, Fluttershy sat down in front of the Harmony Necklace and took a small sip of the wine.

The fear in his eyes...my Stare almost broke him...what if I've actually done some mental harm to him? Celestia would banish me for being the worst psychiatrist ever...

Fluttershy took another small sip of her wine. It was already making her dizzy, its alcoholic properties strong on the docile Pegasus. She placed the sweet liquid aside, trying to avoid its seductive aroma.

And what he said about twelve years of no friends...how can he call us his friends after we assumed the worst of him? And I willingly used the Stare on him...

A single tear dripped down her cheek. It was quickly joined by more.

She stayed there for about an hour, sipping lightly at her Manehattan wine from time to time, not getting up to close the shades on her window as the day turned to night.

She started as a knock reverberated on the door.

"Coming," she said, surprised at her steady voice.

She opened the door to a lavender unicorn, eyes full of worry.

--------------------Twilight---------------------

"So you sat here for an hour and asked yourself if you deserved the Element of Kindness?"

Fluttershy nodded, her pink mane covering her eyes.

"Fluttershy, you deserve it. You were angry, and all because we assumed the worst of Peter. You were just a victim of the assumption."

The Pegasus' eyes met Twilight's, calming as the sparkle of sincerity evident in her eyes fortified her speech.

"I...I just want to say that I'm sorry to him..."

Twilight put a foreleg around her friend in an attempt to comfort the shaking, yellow Pegasus. She waited there for some time, simply holding her friend as she sniffed quietly. Twilight subtly used her magic to put away the wine bottle and glass, placing the glass in the sink while placing a stopper in the wine bottle.

Finally, after about twenty minutes of sniffing and being comforted, Fluttershy spoke.

"You know, Rainbow Dash wasn't always like she is now..."

"I know. She's normally so hardy and confident, and is more blunt with her friends than compassionate."

Fluttershy shook her head, confusing the lavender unicorn. "I mean how she normally is. She used to be so...different. More like how she was with Peter in the hospital."

Twilight looked at her, a smile on her lips. "Fluttershy, are you sure the wine isn't getting to you?"

The yellow Pegasus shook her head. "I'm serious. it was about a year before she got her cutie mark that she changed...before that, she was so...different..."

"How so?"

"She was more like...me. She was more...shy, and careful with how she spoke to other ponies. She was still confident, just...not as confident as we're used to seeing her. When the other Pegasi in Flight School started calling her 'Rainbow Crash', she just...changed. She stopped being so shy, and started being more like...well, Rainbow Dash. She made a shell of inflated confidence, and then eventually grew into that shell. It wasn't until she did the Sonic Rainboom for the first time that she actually totally filled out her shell of confidence...and somehow, despite all my efforts to find that old, gentle Rainbow Dash, Peter somehow broke down that thick shell...he somehow broke through to the old Rainbow Dash. The Rainbow Dash that, instead of being so direct with her views, always cared about how other felt."

Twilight nodded. The Rainbow Dash she knew could be surprisingly upfront about things, like when she remarked on the dresses Rarity had made everypony for the Gala. But the Rainbow Dash Twilight saw in the hospital was so...different.

"When I realized that in the hospital...I immediately knew that I had to stop the Stare, but I just...couldn't..."

Twilight looked at the yellow Pegasus, curiosity peaked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that...I wanted to stop it because Rainbow Dash sees something...special in him that let her be so...open with her inner personality, and I didn't want to hurt him, because that would hurt her...but I couldn't stop it because I was afraid that...that he had already hurt her. What with the idea that he had slept with her...but when he started talking about twelve years without friends...it made me realize that he wouldn't ever hurt Rainbow Dash."

Twilight smiled, but the smile quickly faded as she remembered something Rainbow Dash had told her...about dreams.

"Fluttershy, I think there's something I should tell you..."

"Hm?"

"Rainbow Dash...she told me that she was seeing images in her dreams...of everypony she cared about...dead. She said it started about three days after we defeat Discord, and after she abandoned us for her wings, after she disregarded Loyalty...could that possibly have opened the old her?"

Fluttershy looked at her incredulously.

"And you never told me about this?"

Twilight shrunk back, blushing slightly as Fluttershy let out a sigh.

"Well, it doesn't matter now. All I can hope for is that...whatever it is in Peter that brought out the old Rainbow Dash...can help her with those images."

Twilight looked back to Fluttershy in surprise. "You're not mad?"

Another sigh escaped the Pegasus' yellow lips. "Well, no, not really...I just would have preferred it if you had actually told me about Rainbow Dash's dreams before now. But at least now I can rest assured, knowing that Peter really comforted Rainbow Dash..."

Twilight smiled, but instantly jumped into action as Fluttershy began to sway.

"Uh, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy's face reddened, and she stood, unsteady on her hooves. "Twilight...I think I'm drunk..."

"How many glasses of wine did you have, Fluttershy?"

"Uh...one."

Twilight held down a hearty bout of laughter, still unable to get over the fact that she was less of a lightweight than Fluttershy...

"Well, let's get you to bed before you pass out on the sofa. No more partying, you hear me?"

Fluttershy chuckled lightly.

"Yes...let's..."

Fluttershy stumbled up the stairs, following Twilight's guiding hoof to her bedroom.

Once the yellow Pegasus was safe and sound in her bed, Twilight left the house, remembering a promise she had made to Rainbow Dash back in the hospital.

---------------------------Peter-------------------

The cyan pony, fore-leg draped around Peter, hoof sliding up and down on his broad shoulder, cried with the human, images from her own time of being bullied raising, only to be quelled by her drive to comfort her friend.

"In junior High School...I thought I could make some friends...I didn't know what a true friend felt like until two years later, when the kid who was getting everyone to torture me was expelled..."

She hushed into his ear, whispering comforting words, amazed that he had managed to stay sane this long, what with not having any social interaction for twelve years...

"But you have friends now, Peter. Me, Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity. And not only us, there are other ponies in Ponyville who would definitely love to be your friend..."

Peter sniffed. "And you're all the best friends I could ever ask for..."

Rainbow Dash held him to her as he calmed down, the images from his past life finally calming, the tempest in his mind easing its ballad of images that Peter had chosen to forget long ago...

It's over now. You have friends, not only the ones you left back on earth, but even better ones here in Equestria...the new ones in your true home.

He hugged Rainbow Dash back even harder now, grateful for how kind she was being.

"Thanks, Rainbow Dash...you're a true friend. All of you. You're...you're all like family to me."

He slightly withdrew from Rainbow Dash's comforting embrace. He looked her right in the eyes, a tear blurring his view of her.

"I..."

He halted, faking a large yawn to cover up his pause. What if she takes it the wrong way? Things could get pretty awkward if she takes it too far...

Rainbow Dash looked at him with an understandably confused look, her head slightly cocked to the side, sending her already messy mane askew. "'I' what?"

Peter was about to answer with a remarkably stupid line when his stomach released a loud roar, bringing a blush to Peter's cheeks.

"I...I guess I'm pretty hungry..."

The two friends, still embraced, laughed lightly, Rainbow Dash eying the box Pinkie had left behind.

"Well, Pinkie Pie left some cupcakes for you. Might as well eat them!"

Peter turned around to see a small, white box, a ribbon adorning its surface.

"Yeah, might as well."

He untied the ribbon, scrambling to open the sealed box, and beheld the most amazing thing he had seen in the past five hours.

"Wow...they look..."

Rainbow Dash looked sideways at him, already prepared to snap at him that Pinkie worked hard on them.

"Amazing!"

The cyan pony sat bolt upright, looking over Peters' shoulder. They did look amazing. They all had white bases with different colors of icing, and each one had a different symbol on it.

"Pinkie Pie must've been up all night making these, Peter! They look insane!"

Peter reached down to a cupcake with blue icing, a white balloon adorning the surface. He bit into it, anxious to see what it tasted like.

His taste buds were assaulted with colors, as he bit right through a layer of sugary paste made of every flavor. He chewed it slowly, savoring the taste, and swallowed, looking at the interior of the cupcake.

"Wow! Look at that, 'Dash! There's icing inside of the cupcake!"

Rainbow Dash gasped as she saw the interior, and immediately picked up a cupcake of her own, one with a pink balloon on white icing. She bit into it, and her taste buds were assaulted in turn as well by the same kind of paste that was in Peter's cupcake. She swallowed it, savoring the taste, eager to speak.

"This is really good! Pinkie Pie must have worked so hard to get every flavor in the icing..."

As soon as she said 'every flavor', Peter couldn't resist saying it.

"I guess we're really, 'tasting the rainbow' now, huh, Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow Dash burst out into laughter, remembering how Pinkie Pie had dipped her hoof into liquid rainbow when she was in cloudsdale, on the same day Rainbow Dash had performed a Sonic Rainboom.

Peter burst into laughter as well, a certain part of the My Little Pony episode 'Sonic Rainboom' running through his head, in which Pinkie Pie had dipped a hoof into a liquid rainbow.

"Well, Peter, this is the best-tasting rainbow I've ever had!"

Peter let go of another chuckle, and threw his arm around Rainbow Dash, holding her as two friends would when sharing a great joke. Which they were. Well, at least two friends sharing a...joke.

He had a sudden spark of inspiration, his giddiness driving him on. He dipped his finger into the rainbow icing in his cupcake, taking a rather large glob of it with his hand...

And slathered it all over Rainbow Dash's face faster than she could react to his random movements, the prank shocking her with how upfront it was.

She sat their, blinking as the rainbow icing slowly fell down her face.

Oh, crap, I hope she's not angry...

He was about to apologize when he received his own face full of rainbow icing, Rainbow's carefully poised hoof-tip slathering icing all over his face.

He wiped the icing off of his eyes, and looked to Rainbow Dash, meeting her grin with one equally as large.

They both burst out laughing, the image of their friend's face covered in rainbow icing too much for either of them to handle.

Just as they were about to clean the icing off of their faces, a purple dragon carrying a burlap sack burst into the room, staring incredulously at the sight before him.

So, if you haven't noticed, I've adopted the method of using chapter segments as each chapter instead of slowly releasing each chapter bit-by-bit. Anyone who has been reading this from the beginning knows what I'm talking about.

I think I may just use this as a new way of posting chapters, it depends on how large a chapter is.

Apologies (Dreams Part 2)

Twilight magically opened the door to her library, her glowing horn giving her purple mane a generous sheen as she walked through the door.

"Spike! I need you, quick!"

The purple dragon jumped out of bed and down the stairs, ready to do whatever Twilight wanted him to do. "What?"

"I need you to take this burlap sack to the Ponyville hospital. And I also need you to-"

She suddenly stood straight up, her pupils contracting to the size of ants, her frown overtaking her entire face.

"Uh, Twi'? Are you...okay?"

The lavender unicorn looked to Spike, a crazy realization running through her head.

"I didn't send Celestia a letter about Peter and the Soul Gem yet!!"

Spike looked at her, and ran to Owloysius, grabbing the quill and paper the owl clutched in its feet.

He whispered a small 'thanks', not wanting to let on that Owloysius had actually reacted faster than him.

He ran back to Twilight and scratched down what she said, readying his dragons' fire to send the letter as the unicorn dictated a letter.

"Dear Princess Celestia, I have learned that misconceptions can suck. Sorry for the short essay on friendship, but I have something much more serious to tell you. Peter just crushed a Soul Gem to save Rarity! And now part of him is stuck in it! He said he wants to throw it away, to forget what he lost...But, you'd know how to handle it best, wouldn't you? Sincerely, your student, Twilight Sparkle."

Spike put down the quill, flexing his claws, his wrist in pain due to how quickly Twilight had spoken.

"Alright! I'll send this now!"

He puffed fire onto it, and it floated away towards Celestia's chambers.

The unicorn nodded, and the baby dragon started on his way, the door already opened.

"Spike, before you go, can you do me a favor?"

The dragon turned, scales shining as the moonlight hit them at varying angles.

"What?"

The lavender unicorn walked over to him, a tear in her eye, startling Spike. She whispered something into his reptilian ear, and put something in the burlap bag that lie in the dragon's claws.

Spike nodded and turned, Twilight's gift and words weighing heavy upon his arms and mind.

The door shut behind him, the cold of the night blocked by his naturally elevated body heat.

------------------------Spike-----------------------

The dragon let out a hearty sigh as the doctor blocked the way.

"The human has been through enough today...kicked, Stared at, I will not have my patients treated barbarically! You and your friends must wait until he has calmed down."

Spike simply looked at him, his impatience heating up. A small strand of fire escaped his nose, which he immediately quenched with a quick snort, the embers dying as quickly as they had begun. The doctor backed off slightly, shocked by the outburst.

"Uh...well, if you insist, you can..." the brown earth pony gulped. "Head on in..."

Spike's eyebrow cocked. He shook his head and simply accepted the oddity.

Whatever...at least I can do what Twilight told me to do...

He walked over to the door behind which Rarity, Peter, and Rainbow Dash were present. He heard hearty laughter-the laughter of a deep-voiced human and a rainbow-maned cyan Pegasus. He opened the door with one claw, precariously balancing the burlap sack in the other.

He opened the door to see Rainbow Dash and Peter laughing hysterically, their faces covered in rainbow icing, two cupcakes with destroyed centers in hoof and hand, respectively. His eyebrows shot up, a dubious and incredulous expression adorning his features.

"Uh...what are you guys doing?"

Peter's lips were stretched by a cocky smile, which seemed uncharacteristic of the human to Spike. I thought Twilight said he was so composed and nice, not cocky...

"Well, my fine reptilian friend, we were just eating some cupcakes, and then we both, simultaneously, forgot how to eat."

Rainbow Dash snorted, and Spike simply rolled his eyes. Great, a comedian...

"Whatcha got there, Spike?"

Spike looked to Rainbow Dash, fighting to resist a chuckle as he imagined the cyan pony trying in vain to eat a cupcake, her hoof repeatedly smashing it into her face, spreading cupcake everywhere...

"Well, Twilight told me to give Peter this bag full of her stuff, and also to tell you something."

Rainbow Dash looked at Spike in curiosity. "What did she tell you to tell?"

Spike leaned close to her. "She wanted me to tell you that she's sorry."

Rainbow Dash looked into Spikes' eyes, a tear shining in her red eye, which was instantly whisked away by a blink.

"Tell her that I'm sorry for blowing up, okay? I don't want her to be mad at her."

He dropped the burlap sack in front of Peter, looking up at him, intrigued by how many-sided his personality seemed to be.

He's bookish like Twilight...kind like Fluttershy...fun-loving like Pinkie Pie...and now a bit cocky, like Rainbow Dash? What's this guys' story...

"Thanks, Spike. Oh, and tell Twilight and Pinkie Pie that I said thanks, as well."

Spike's curiosity gained another boost as Peter spoke. "Pinkie Pie?"

He nodded. "Y'know, for the cupcakes she gave us. They're really good. You want one?"

Spike thought about it, and ended up accepting the new cupcake Peter extended towards him, the blue star standing out on the red icing.

"Thanks! I'll make sure to tell Pinkie and Twilight you said thanks. Oh, and how's Rarity doing?"

Peter and Rainbow Dash blushed slightly, having forgotten that Rarity was asleep in the bed next to them.

"Well, she's still unconscious, but she's healing."

Spike turned, Rainbow Dash and Peter looking up in surprise. They hadn't even seen the doctor pony approaching, and Spike hadn't heard him, either. He walked to the side as the doctor walked in, and quickly backed out, not wanting to interfere.

----------------------------Peter-------------------------------

"Uh, thanks, doc. I'd better get going, guys, Twilight's probably wondering where I am. See 'ya!"

Rainbow Dash and Peter both responded with their own 'see 'ya's, and the doctor pony walked over to Peter's burlap bag, the hourglass image stretching on his flank as he walked.

"There's something special in this bag. Something that can help your hands. It's very rare, and it's to be handled with care...." he let out a small snicker, causing Peter and Rainbow Dash to consecutively raise their eyebrows. "See what I did there? Help with your hands, handled with care?"

When he received no response, he cleared his throat and kept going. "Anyway, just put it on the inside of your bandages. Rainbow Dash, you'll have to help him, as it won't be fun. I'd best get going, don't want to be late!"

And with that, the odd pony walked out, spiky, brown mane and equally brown coat disappearing around the corner of the door to Peter's room.

"Huh...weird doctor. Well, we'd best follow his advice."

Peter looked up at Rainbow Dash. "Yeah, I agree. That pony was...weird. And, I agree, let's see what's in the bag."

He shook his head, trying to ease the tempest in his mind, images from the internet of the doctor pony flooding his mind.

Why would Doctor Whooves visit me? He's the pony time lord, and I'm not exactly important...then again, I am the only human in Equestria, so I guess that would kind of warrant a visit from the pony version of Doctor Who...kind of like if a pony ended up in Earth. Doctor Who would be all over that...

He cleared his mind and searched through his things for something new, pulling out his iPod touch, which Rainbow Dash looked at with some interest, large Bose headphones following them, the wire taught; his Book of Memes; and finally, a strange, small, black box, a tag on it that read:

Peter,

This is a gift from Zecora. It's very, very rare, and should be handled with care. Have Rainbow Dash help you put it on your bandages. You'll find out what it does.

Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle.

"Huh...that's the same thing that doctor said..."

Peter nodded, pondering why Doctor Whooves would waste his time on someone as insignificant as himself...

So wait...me crushing that Soul Gem...is it actually important enough to create, what was it...oh, right, 'wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff'? Huh...I guess I'll find out in time. Right now, I want to get rid of that Soul Gem...and whatever part of me that's locked away inside of it. Oh, and try out Twilight's gift...

"Uh...so, Rainbow Dash, feel like helpin' a friend get his bandages off any time soon?"

The cyan pony looked at him, a small smile the result of his oddly asked question.

"Sure."

She grabbed one end of the bandage with her teeth, Peter the other end with his fingers. they pulled simultaneously.

Peter gasped at what he saw.

The muscle was visible, and there were seven, small holes surrounding it. It didn't smell, and it wasn't rotting, but it felt and looked...weird. Just the fact that he could see the muscles as he flexed his fingers...

He shook his head again, and opened the black box, grimacing in pain as his muscles stretched. He pulled out the small vial with his left hand, and read the label aloud.

"'The End of Pain-Hurt No More!' Weird name, but if Twilight said it could help, it probably does."

Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement. He put a drop on the center of his bandages, and replaced it on his hand. Somehow, it stuck back onto his hand, almost as if it had never been removed. The pain in his palm was immediately eliminated, a feeling akin to cool water washing his nervous system tingling his entire body, sending him into a state of ecstasy.

"Wow!" He gasped, warranting a surprised, concerned look from Rainbow Dash. "This stuff is great! The pain is...totally gone!"

Rainbow Dash smiled. "Awesome! Now, time for the next hand!"

They repeated the process, Peter releasing the same smile as the feeling of cool water spreading through his nerves repeated itself, forcing another gasp of ecstasy between his lips. He smiled, a wild sparkle in his eyes, driven by the simply amazing sensation coursing through his veins.

"Man...Twilight's awesome. I've got to pay her back for this somehow, this stuff is friggin' amazing..."

Rainbow Dash looked at him, dubious. "'Friggin'?'"

Peter blushed slightly, remembering that the words 'friggin'' and 'fucking' were 'bucking' in pony dialect. He decided to lie about the origins, not wanting to explain that he had just used a word referring to sexual intercourse.

"Uh, it's a saying back on earth. Like, 'that's friggin' awesome!' Or, 'that's friggin' insane.' It's kind of weird, but it means that something is extremely...something...yeah..."

Rainbow Dash laughed lightly. "Huh. Humans must be so weird...No offense."

Peter smiled, all his time in the robotics 'cage' returning to him. "Oh, trust me, humans are anything but weird. If anything, I'm one of the weirdest humans ever. That, or just one of the least boring humans..."

Rainbow Dash snorted in laughter, her smile widening. They were about to talk more when a shaft of light illuminated the sky, shining through the window above Peter's bed.

At the same time Peter said, "the fuck?", Rainbow Dash said, "the buck?", both of them staring at the pulsating shaft of light.

"What does it mean?"

Rainbow Dash looked to Peter, and Peter to Rainbow Dash. He marveled at how she looked in this strange light.

Wow...it makes her look...

He pondered how she looked in the light, seeing how how the light played over her rainbow mane, giving it a dark tint, and how it gave her face a more focused bath of light, making her eyes shine, making her face more prominent against her body and mane, showing Peter the greatest parts of her, while also showing him her faults, such as a spark of uncertainty in her eyes.

Beautiful.

He looked away, blushing, suddenly aware of how intimate the light was. It showed him every part of her personality. He didn't know how, but it did...

But that wasn't why he looked away.

He looked away because the protective feeling he had for Rainbow Dash was overstepping its boundaries from a friendly emotion, to something...greater.

He stared at the light, resisting urge after urge.

---------------------Rainbow Dash----------------------------

The cyan pony marveled at how the strange light made Peter look.

Wow...it makes him look...

She thought about how he looked in the light, his hands, arms, and torso shaded out by the light's shadow, making his face more prominent, bringing forth the spark of protectiveness and of care that she already knew were there. However, it brought out his flaws as well, showing her his cockiness and sarcasm.

Suddenly, instead of a realization as to how he looked in the light, she found how intimate the light was. It showed her every part of his personality...but also stirred a feeling in her. Seeing his entire personality spelled out before her...it stirred something...odd.

She blushed and looked away at the same time he did, looking towards the beacon of light.

After a long pause, Peter broke the silence.

"Well, it looks...beautiful."

Rainbow Dash nodded in consent, blushing even deeper, knowing that he wasn't talking about the light itself.

"It looks...different...In a good way."

She blushed even deeper now, as she had made it painfully obvious that she wasn't talking about the light.

Peter looked at her from the corner of her eyes, and so did Rainbow Dash. She smiled mischievously.

"It looks...'friggin' awesome'."

Peter smiled wide and threw an arm around Rainbow Dash, sending her stomach into a cartwheel.

He's done this so many times before...why does it feel...different this time?

As the light faded, Peter yawned. "Well, I'm tired. I think I'd better go to sleep before the doctor comes back and forces me to sleep..."

He got up, taking his arm off of Rainbow Dash, and picked up Pinkie Pie's box of cupcakes. He placed it down on his beside table, and smiled as Rainbow Dash lifted off of his bed, her spirits anything but.

"Well, goodnight, Rainbow Dash."

"Goodnight..."

She turned around to leave, but suddenly stopped, apprehension making her coat stand on end as she remembered the dreams she had, and how she hadn't had them when she slept in Peter's comforting embrace...when she had a shoulder to cry on...

Peter was crawling into bed when Rainbow Dash turned, eyes full of fear.

Please, Peter, don't take this the wrong way...

"Hey Peter...can I...can I sleep here tonight? Just one more night..."

Peter looked at her in confusion.

"Why? Don't you want to sleep in your own bed?"

Rainbow Dash sighed, a tear running down her cheek.

"Rainbow...what's the matter?"

She sat down, staring into Peter's eyes, her rainbow tail falling off of the edge of his bed.

"Peter...when I slept here...I didn't have nightmares...when I had somepony...or someone...to comfort me..."

She spoke haltingly, feeling stupid and embarrassed for asking to sleep in his bed.

"What nightmares?"

Rainbow Dash cried openly now, the horrible images flooding her mind.

"Nothing...it's nothing..."

She felt the urge to curl up into a ball and cry, to rock back and forth and get the images out of her head.

Twilight, burning to death...

"No, it's not nothing. I want to help you!"

"No, it's fine! Really, everything's fine!"

Pinkie Pie, burning to death...

"No, it's obviously not!"

Rainbow Dash curled into a ball, trying to defend herself from the onslaught of images, a crazy smile spreading across her face, her eyes contracting into pin pricks.

"Everything's...fi-i-i-i-i-i-i-ine...fine fine fine fine fine fine fine...everything's perrrrfect..."

Fluttershy, dying in her hooves...

"Rainbow Dash!"

Peter was crying as well, horrified by what he saw.

"Fine...everything's fine....nopony's dead..."

Rarity, her carcass falling to pieces in front of Rainbow Dash...

"Rainbow Dash, please, snap out of it!"

"Fine....everything's fine...just get out of my head...out...of...my...head..."

Applejack, dead but living...

"RAINBOW DASH!!"

"Fine...fine...get out of my head...everything's fine, I swear, everything's fine..."

Rainbow Dash, looking upon the strangling Pegasus with disgust...

She was brought back to reality by a sharp slap to the face, the mark stinging where Peter's hand had made contact.

-----------------Peter------------------

Everything had been calm, and then suddenly, that calm was destroyed by the dark waves of insanity, its tsunami breaching the levies that Rainbow Dash had constructed around her small island of sanity.

One second, she was crying lightly, the next second, she was in a ball, whispering in a schizophrenic fit.

Peter immediately jumped up and knelt next to her, shouting her name as she whispered to herself.

"Rainbow Dash!"

Jesus, these nightmares must be fucking horrible...to send her over the edge so quickly when she just thinks about it for a moment...what the fuck...

He steeled his nerves, knowing what he would have to do.

"RAINBOW DASH!!"

He sobbed, tears now streaming down his face, which fell, glistening, onto his bed.

"I'm sorry..."

He slapped her, hard, across the face, his fingers burning, the solvent on his bandages soothing his palm as it made contact.

Rainbow Dash looked into his eyes, in which he saw hurt and fear, sending his stomach into a barrel roll.

"You smacked me..."

He gulped, his stream of tears becoming a waterfall.

"You were in a schizophrenic fit...I had to get you out of it..."

She backed away from him, still in shock that he would hit her.

"You slapped me...hard..."

He gulped again, salty tears stinging his taste buds.

"Damn it, I was trying to help you! You were going insane, you weren't in your right mind..."

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, trying to get away from him.

"You hit me..."

Why can't she see that I was trying to help her? It was all I could do...

"You think I'm going insane...you think I'm a freak...so you hit me..."

All of his feelings for her, the feelings he had tried to keep locked away, started spilling over, creating a tidal wave of emotion.

"Rainbow Dash, you're not a freak!"

"You...you helped me before...and now you just slapped me...I'm just a freak to you..."

"Rainbow Dash, you're not a freak...I was trying to help you...I want to help you...why can't you see that it was the only way?"

He moved towards her, trying to grab her hoof, anything, trying to comfort her. She backed off, towards the door.

"You...you're not a true friend..."

He felt a bit of himself die inside as she spoke.

"Rainbow Dash, please..."

She backed off farther, tears streaming down her face.

"Don't 'please' me! Don't you dare-" *sniff* "-'please' me!

His emotions were bubbling over, and all the feelings he had for Rainbow Dash were starting to rise, the feelings he had kept locked away in his heart to protect Rainbow Dash from himself.

"Please, Rainbow, I..."

She looked at him, eyes full of anger, hate, fear, and hurt. "'I' what, huh?! 'I' what?"

What if she takes it the wrong way...I don't think I could live with that...

He felt sick to the stomach, wanting to punch himself for smacking her, for not thinking out the consequences of not actually trying to comfort her before getting her out of insanity...

"You were in a schizophrenic fit...it was all I could do!"

His emotions were bubbling over, threatening to send him into his own schizophrenic fit.

"All I could do..."

"Why? Why was it all you could do?"

"Because...it was the only thing I could think of...I thought you would forgive me if I explained why I did it..."

"FORGIVE YOU? You smacked me like some common insane pony! I thought we had something...special! Something where I could tell you about the dreams I've been having, about seeing everypony dead! About seeing them burn or fall apart, about watching them die in my arms...I guess I was wrong. I can't trust you with that..."

"No, Rainbow Dash, you can, please, just sit down, calm down, please,  you can trust me..."

"How do I know i can trust you, huh?! How do I know you won't tell everypony that I'm insane, that I see these images? How do I know that you won't tell everyone that I'm a freak?!"

His emotions got the better of him. He didn't care that he was human, or that she was a pony. He said it.

"God dam nit, Rainbow Dash, you can trust me because...because...because I love you!"

She immediately stopped shouting at him, shock contorting her features, her red eyes contracting, her rainbow mane covering her left eye, surprise and an odd fear replacing anger and pain.

"You...you what?"

Peter sighed, running a hand through his hair. "That...that came out wrong. I mean that...you're like a sister to me...I just feel like...I want to be there for you. And that...if I ever did something that would hurt you...I wouldn't be able to forgive myself...and it's more just feeling protective of you than actually being in love with you..."

He blushed, wanting to do nothing more than just regress into his sheets and hide from Rainbow Dash.

------------------------------------Rainbow Dash----------------------------------

Rainbow Dash sighed as well, relieved that Peter didn't actually love her, but just felt protective of her.

"Rainbow Dash...I'm sorry for slapping you...I just...panicked. I...I was afraid that you were going insane, and I thought that I needed to snap you out of it, before you actually lost it...and I guess I just chose the first thing that came to mind...do you...do you forgive me?"

The cyan Pegasus suddenly felt a pang of guilt for what she had done and said.

I should have listened to him...

She sniffed again, and hugged Peter.

"I forgive you...and you're not a jerk, and you are a true friend...just, please, don't smack me again. It hurt a lot."

They shared a small chuckle.

"I'm sorry for blowing up on you like that...it's just...these dreams...they're so..."

Peter held her closer, comforting her, waiting for her to compose herself, not rushing her at all. She held him close as well, so close that she could feel his heartbeat.

"So...horrible...and when you slapped me...I thought you were trying to reject me as your friend...for seeing them..."

She pushed herself off of Peter, and looked into his eyes, saw how much he cared for her.

"It's okay, Rainbow Dash. And I'm sorry for saying that I...yeah. I was just..."

"Not in control?"

He nodded.

"I just lost control of my emotions...I've been trying to hide them from you...I thought you would take it the wrong way..."

Rainbow Dash smiled as his hand cupped the side of her face where he slapped her, knowing that he was trying to comfort her.

"I'm so sorry, 'Dash..."

Rainbow Dash smiled. "It's okay, really. I just need some time...you know, to think about my dreams..."

Peter wiped a tear away as it fell down the cyan cheek, his protective love for her calming her.

"If you want, we can talk about them.I'll be here the entire time, I'll hear you out. I'll always be here for you, Rainbow Dash. Always."

Rainbow Dash looked up, her tears of pain and anger replaced by tears of gratitude.

"Thank you...so much...and I'm so sorry for blowing up on you before..."

Peter kissed her forehead, sending a shiver through her spine.

"It's okay, I forgive you, Rainbow Dash...I understand why you blew up. I would too if I was in your situation."

Rainbow Dash smiled a bit, comforted. She took a deep breath, shuddering as she did so.

"I think...I think I'm ready to talk about it now, Peter."

Peter nodded and moved back on the bed to the pillows, and arranged them so that Peter and Rainbow Dash could both comfortably lay on it and talk.

By the time sun rose in the morning, he was happy that he had done so.

The Light within The Darkness (Dreams Part 3)

Spike opened the door to Twilight's library, slamming it behind him as entered, heralding his arrival.

"Oh, Spike, you're back! How did it go?"

The purple dragon looked at the lavender unicorn, wondering how she would take the news.

"Well, it turns out that Peter's more than just a nice guy."

Twilight's eyes sparkled in curiosity. "Oh?"

Spike stared at Twilight, not surprised in the least by her reaction.

"He's sarcastic, but in a...funny way. Kind of like Rainbow Dash in a way, but it seems to be more like a joke."

Twilight looked at him, eyebrow raised. "How so?"

Spike held down his laughter, not wanting to end up laughing more than talking.

"I went into his room, and Rainbow Dash and Peter were sitting there, holding two cupcakes. There was rainbow icing all over their faces, and when I asked Peter what they were doing, he put on a cocky smile and told me that they forgot how to eat!"

Twilight's expression grew ever more dubious, watching in slight surprise as Spike started laughing hysterically, clutching his stomach, his words interrupted by chuckles and chortles.

"Just...imagine...that...Rainbow Dash........forgetting.....how to eat..."

Twilight imagined it, and the image she saw sent her into a fit of giggles, the image of a Rainbow Dash with a Ditzy Doo like face on, smashing a cupcake into it over and over again, spreading icing all over her face as she repeatedly missed her open mouth...

Their laughing fits were interrupted by a strange light shining in from Twilight's window, its color green with envy one second, and blue with composure the next.

"Weird..."

The lavender unicorn and purple dragon walked up the stairs, side by side, their mane and claws glowing as they were bathed with the mysterious light.

Twilight looked for the source, and found it in the Canterlot castle. Spike broke the awed silence.

"Is it some pony holiday, or something?"

Twilight shook her head. "Celestia would have told me about it if it were...especially if it included magic this strong."

They continued to stare into the depths of the light shaft until it died off, its mysterious glow leaving Twilight and Spike in the dark.

"Uh...Twilight...should I get that 'Book of Pony Prophecies' out again?"

Twilight simply nodded. She flipped through the book as soon as it was presented to her, searching furiously for anything that had to do with a shaft of light.

She found a single entry, its letters glowing with the faintest light.

"'The War'...it's blank, except for an image of a shaft of light..."

Spike jumped onto Twilight's back to see the book, and stared on, just as incredulous and dumbfounded as his unicorn friend. Then he noticed something...strange.

"Hey, Twilight, what's that in the center of the light?"

The unicorn strained her vision, making out a strange shape.

"It looks like a...a weird knife of some kind..."

Spike leaned closer, whispering into Twilight's ear despite nopony being around to hear him.

"Twilight...I don't think it's a knife...I think it's a sword..."

Their gazes met, confusion shared between both of them. Suddenly, the book glowed, and the shaft of light disappeared  from its pages, strange item and all.

They stared in disbelief, not believing their eyes.

Then they realized what they were looking at.

---------------------------Peter---------------------------

The cyan pony cried boisterously in his arms, her tears sliding down his shirt, the moon about three quarters of the way across the sky.

"Rainbow Dash...you can stop if you want..."

The cyan pony shook her head. She was five hours into it, she was not stopping now.

"No...I want to get it all out..."

Peter nodded, and went back to comforting her, pressing his lips to her forehead, whispering words he prayed could calm the frantic Pegasus down.

"It's okay now...you have nothing to be afraid of..."

She pushed herself off of Peter, just enough to speak. She opened her mouth, Peter his ears.

He held her head into the crook of his shoulder as another bout of tears escaped her, her words replaced by a giant sob, rocking her back and forth, hugging Rainbow Dash just as hard as she hugged him.

"It's okay...it's okay, it's okay...I'm here for you, Rainbow..."

He swallowed, the word 'Dashie' stuck in his throat. He wanted to comfort her, but after his...outburst of emotions, he didn't know if it would be appropriate.

"Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie are fine, Rainbow...trust me, they're fine...and if anything ever did happen in Ponyville, we both know that you wouldn't sleep through it...you'd be the first one trying to save Ponyville..."

She pushed herself out to speak again, this time getting an actual sentence out, albeit cut to pieces by her sobs and hiccups.

"But....how....do you...kn....know.....that I won't? The dreams...in the dreams, I slept right through it, just like I ignored Rarity's scream...."

Peter held her to himself as she exploded into tears once more, speaking into his shirt.

"It's all my fault! If only I hadn't ignored Rarity's scream as a new dress...if only I had cared enough to go check it out...you two wouldn't be..."

Peter pulled her off of himself, a palm on either side of her face, Zecora's special solvent soothing any pain he would have normally felt.

"Rainbow Dash...you are a wonderful, young mare. And while it is most definitely not your fault, the grief you feel for Rarity and I getting hurt shows how loyal you really are, shows how much you care for your friends. Don't you remember what I told you?"

She sniffed. "That loyalty...is more than just...the actions you do....but it's....how.....how you act...."

Peter nodded, his arm once again wrapped around Rainbow Dash, his hand holding her head close to him as she cried.

Her tears slowed slightly as she remembered the rest of what Peter said, speaking into his shirt once again.

"And that....my staying here....and being here for her.......is true loyalty...."

"Exactly. Rainbow Dash, you're the most loyal of friends, and you've shown it more than once here. Don't let a dream make you forget that."

She nodded. Her sobs were farther apart now, replaced by hiccups. Peter let out a surreptitious sigh.

Two of her friends down...three to go....

"I'm going to help you through this, Rainbow Dash. Keep going if you want, and tell me what happened next, but if you don't feel you're up to it, we can just go to sleep instead of talking more about your dreams."

She pushed herself off of him again, this time taking a deep breath, more composed, her distraught rainbow mane and bloodshot eyes the only things that made her seem...unsettled.

"I'm ready."

He nodded. Rainbow Dash opened her mouth, Peter his ears.

-------------------------5 Hours Later......-----------------------

Celestia's sun rose, bathing Rainbow Dash in its heavenly glow, her tears glistening, Peter's thumb wiping them away as his palm rested on her face, soothing the distraught Pegasus.

"And that's when I wake up...when I see myself...almost like I'm...disappointed in myself..."

"There...doesn't that feel better? Now that you got it all out?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, her rainbow mane tickling his nose, the daring spark back in her eyes.

"Yeah...it does. I guess you know what you're talkin' about, huh?"

Peter smiled as she rose up, back to the Rainbow Dash he knew from the show.

Well, this explains why she was acting so different...she was having these nightmares...

He opened his arms, inviting her for a hug. She smiled, and immediately jumped into his arms, her wings splayed out behind her.

"Thanks, Peter. You're awesome. But, there's one question I just have to ask..."

She pulled herself out of Peter's embrace, eyes full of fear. Peter immediately prepared to comfort her again, should she start crying.

"What...what if I have these dreams again? I still see the...images...now. And I still regret that each time I woke up instead of going back to save everypony...how will I cope with it if I have the dreams again? And what if they..." she gulped, "get worse?"

Peter oriented himself so that he was sitting next to Rainbow Dash and put an arm around her, looking into her eyes, a spark of protectiveness kindling within his eyes.

"If you ever, ever see the dreams again, you can come right to me. Or go to Fluttershy. Or anypony. We're all here to help you."

Her eyes watered a bit, warranting a sympathetic smile from Peter.

"But...what if...they're freaked out by what I see?"

Peter opened his mouth to respond but then had a better idea. He picked up his iPod, unlocked it, and found the track he was looking for.

----------------Rainbow Dash---------------

The cyan pony watched, intrigued, as Peter flicked through menus, using nothing but his fingers. He finally poked something, and put the large headphones around her ears. His words were slightly muffled, but Rainbow Dash could make them out.

"I'm going to turn on noise reduction. Stay calm, alright?"

She steeled her nerves, confident that whatever Peter had in store for her was going to help her.

Rainbow Dash felt his finger catch on something on the headphone, and the world went silent.

She looked around in shock, not able to hear anything. But then the soothing voice kicked in, sending her into a state of calm...

The small, black box hung in front of her eyes, Peter's hand holding the bottom of it. She could make out two name in the small text: 'Relaxing Journey', and below that, 'nlpmagic'.

She let go of her stress as the voice said, laying down on the bed, Peter laying down next to her, hands behind her head.

Allow your eyes to close...

She did so, the melody starting up. It was so...peaceful.

She focused on her breathing as the voice said, and let her stress...go.

...and begin the Relaxing Journey...

And so it began. She imagined it as it spoke.

You're standing on a path...at the entrance to a safe, magical, forest...

And, behind her closed eyes, she was, the gravel crunching beneath her hooves as she alighted upon the ground, her wings dissolving away with her stress.

And as you look ahead you may...sense, that this path leads to a special place...a place where you can learn new things...and discover how to unlock your true potential...It's a path that leads deep into the forest, and deep into comfortable...relaxation...

Outside of her mind, Rainbow Dash rolled her shoulder, relaxing the tired joints.

With every step you take...But before you begin, to follow the path...you may become aware, in a moment or two...of the comfortable temperature of the air on your skin...

She moved her hooves around a bit, noticing how nice the temperature was...

And the color of the sky...you even notice, whether or not there are any leaves on the trees, and whether the path is dirt, or wood, or paved, or some other material...as you begin to walk, now.

She started to walk in her imagination, the gravel crunching beneath her hooves as she stepped into the dense foliage, a light at the end of her journey, the blue sky flickering through the trees, the scent of pine tickling her nose...

She walked down the 'right' path, thoroughly relaxed, the birds chirping high above her, the smell of damp earth a result of a recent rain storm.

Now, as you get on the right path, and as you continue to follow the path, through the woods, you may become aware, in a moment or two, that your self confidence is building within you, increasing more and more...with each and every step.

She smiled. She was feeling pretty awesome, like she could conquer the world...

And as you continue to enjoy these wonderful surroundings, I'm wondering if you can realize, with your, real eyes, just how wonderful it is to be...you...can do anything...and achieve anything you desire...

She smiled even more widely, realizing how awesome she was.

...Because in a moment, you're going to notice that up ahead, the forest opens up, into a beautiful clearing, and in this clearing is a hammock, strung between two trees...a little house...and beside it, a large garden, that used to grow fantastic things. But now, both the house and the garden have been left unattended, and the house needs paint, and repairs, and organizing...and the garden is overgrown with weeds.

She frowned slightly at the sad sight, the abandoned house and garden creating a rather depressing air in the elated forest...

And as you take a nice, deep breath... She did. You're going to think to yourself...I can do this. I can make this wonderful again.

She smiled, the realization that she could accomplish anything stinging her with ecstasy...

The voice pointed out tools and paint, giving her hope. She walked over to the garden.

You begin to pull the weeds that were preventing the garden from growing wonderful things, and things begin to click, one after another.

She smiled, a feeling of excitement bubbling within her chest.

Removing the weeds from the garden...making rooms for new seeds...and as you continue to weed the garden, you begin to hear friendly footsteps, coming into the clearing, and you notice that the people you like, have come to help you.

The track kept going, heard only by her subconscious. The last line struck something in her, the words 'footsteps' and 'people' somehow replaced by 'hoofsteps' and 'ponies' by her mind.

Her friends had come to help her overcome all of her difficulties.

There was Twilight, smiling at her with a Sparkle in her eyes.

And there was Fluttershy, a small bunny on her back, nibbling a carrot.

And there was Applejack, looking at her with a relaxed smile, leaning on a tree.

And there was Pinkie Pie, holding a cake that said 'Congrats on the new house, Dashie!'

"Hey, Rainbow Dash, are those headphones good?"

Rainbow Dash looked at Pinkie Pie, smiling. Yep, that's Pinkie Pie...

And there was Spike, his hands across his chest, eyebrow raised.

And there was Scootaloo, plans for the house already drawn on a piece of paper, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle joining her on their quest to find a Cutie Mark.

And there was Princess Celestia, joined by Princess Luna, both of them looking at Rainbow Dash with admiration. Her heart exploded with joy, realizing how awesome it was to be her.

But then, somepony else walked out from the crowd.

There, in all her glory, was Rarity, blue eyes full of compassion.

Rarity...she came to help me...

She was quickly joined by Peter, a smug look on his face, kneeling down next to Rarity.

"Likin' the house, 'Dash!"

And Peter too...all of them...they all came to help me...after I blew up on them...after I ignored their calls for help...

Her tears of happiness spilled over. All of her friends came to help her...

The track came to an abrupt end, the voice loudly saying the number five, waking her from her dream.

Tears of happiness streaked down her face. Peter lay on his side, elbow elevating his head.

Rainbow Dash pulled off the headphones with a hoof and some difficulty, and went to wipe her eyes with a hoof, but was stopped by Peter, who now lay a hand on her face, also crying, albeit not as hard. He leaned over and whispered something to her.

"That is one of the most beautiful pieces of art my culture has ever made...at least to me, it is. I listen to it whenever I'm feeling...down...and I remember how cared for and loved I am by my friends, and by my family."

Rainbow Dash sat up, nodding. Peter sat up as well, smiling at Rainbow Dash.

Her friends...they had all come to help her...

Rarity...she wanted to help me...

She felt better. More relaxed, more...stable.

She was about to suggest that they sleep when both she and Peter yawned at the same time.

They looked at each other and smiled.

"Can I...still sleep here, Peter?"

Peter pulled the sheets up, making an opening for human and pony.

"After you, 'Dash."

They were about to hit the hay when a single word escaped the lips of an elegant, white unicorn.

Side note: the italics thing for the Relaxing Journey: credit to Alan from Hypnosisdownloads.org for the lyrics! Not my stuff. He's a hypnotic genius.

Messages

Peter and Rainbow Dash stood on either side of Rarity, concern in their eyes. Rarity tried to speak, but all that she managed to do was gasp in pain as her broken rib was pushed by her diaphragm, held in place by the doctor's expert casting.

Well...at least I'm breathing...

A tear filled her eye as she looked to Rainbow Dash and Peter, the care she saw in her friends' eyes bolstering her constitution. She smiled slightly, but quickly gasped in pain as her rib got another nudge when she tried to say 'thank you'. Peter and Rainbow Dash both laid hand and hoof on either of her shoulders, respectively.

"It's okay, now, Rarity. Peter saved you!"

Rarity nodded. It hurt too much to do anything else but move her head. She had seen Peter, rushing in, face red. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep as she felt the pain of her leg snapping in half, the shock too much for her already worn out mind to handle. And then, she woke up in the hospital.

"You're gunna be alright, Rare', we promise."

Rarity looked up to Rainbow Dash, and saw the utmost care and concern in the cyan Pegasus' red eyes. A tear came to her eye, reminded that her friends were there for her. It traveled down her cheek and left its stain on the white pillow her even more white head rested upon, a tear of happiness and of relief, the relief that came with knowing you were in good hooves.

Peter put a hand on Rainbow Dash's shoulder, smiling at her. Rarity looked between the two, confused, even as Rainbow Dash nodded to Peter.

"Well, I think I'll leave you two alone for a bit. If you need anything, just call me, 'k?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, and Peter removed his hands from Rarity's hoof and Rainbow Dash's shoulder, and walked out the door to their hospital room.

He walked out to a pleasant surprise.

-------------------Peter-----------------------------

He rose from Rarity's bedside, walking to the door, assured by Rainbow Dash's nod, a signal that she would be okay to talk to Rarity.

He opened the door and stepped through, carefully closing it behind him. He leaned on the wall next to it, looking around the hospital lobby, and saw a pleasant surprise.

It was an hourglass, stretching as a brown earth pony walked and sat by the front desk, a bored look creating a nonchalant atmosphere around him.

Peter looked around, ensuring that it was only him and the enigma pony in the room, studying its surroundings.

This is the first time I've been out of that room for...what is it, two days now?

He shook his head, softly chuckling. His first time in a hospital, and for the weirdest reason he had ever heard of...

Hands burnt by a magical stone...my life is just full of surprises.

Assured that nopony else was currently in the waiting room, as all the magazines were packed neatly away in the wooden shelf on the wall, he confronted the brown pony.

"Hey, 'doc, your patient just woke up."

Doctor Whooves looked up at him, alarmed, his spiky mane bending slightly as he snapped his head up, the English accent giving his rushed words the same comical effect it had on Doctor Who's words.

"Uh...I...uh...I'm not...really a...doctor...well, technically, I am, but..."

Peter's eyebrows angled down, a small frown emulating them.

"I know who you are, and I know about the TARDIS. But there's one thing I don't know. Why did you visit me? What's important about me and that Soul Gem?"

The doctor's eyes thinned, and his slight panic was evident, having been found out.

"Uh...I...I have no idea what you're...talking about. Nope, not the slightest idea! Heh..."

Peter put his weight back on his feet, coming off of the wall, his eyebrows raised in a cocky yet dubious fashion, his skinny, weak arms now crossed against his chest, his broad shoulders giving him the illusion of strength.

"Okay, fine. Not the slightest idea. Just tell me: do you like pears?"

The pony exploded, raising his front hooves in exasperation. "No! I hate pears! I always tell the TARDIS specifically not to make pears, but it does anyway, doesn't it? I mean-" He gulped, lowering his arms.

Peter opened his eyes, taken aback. He hadn't expected the pony to say so much, but instead had expected the pony to stay calm and composed and simply say 'no'.

"Well, you've got me. What do you want? To go back and stop yourself from coming here? To stop yourself from saving Rarity?"

Peter lowered his arms as Doctor Whooves approached, suddenly very serious. Peter backed up until he was on the wall adjacent to the one he had been leaning on, this time pressing himself up on it out of fear of a brown pony, the Doctor's voice lowering to a whisper.

"Well, listen to me. You can't. You can't change the past. And I won't let you."

Peter held his hands up, the same way he would if a robber had corned him, and shook his head in agreement, gulping as he did so.

"I...I was just going to ask you why you came to me...I wanted to know why I'm so important, y'know, important enough to create that...'wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff'...stuff..."

The Doctor backed off slightly, eyebrows elevated in surprise. Peter sighed in relief, the pony's eyes no longer staring right into his.

"Oh...well, I mean, you're a human, Peter. I kind of need to watch you. Y'know, kind of comes with the job of being a Time Lord...but, don't worry, there are no Weeping Angels after you. It's just that, since part of you is in that Soul Gem..."

The door to the doctor's office suddenly clicked open, and Doctor Whooves started, hurriedly whispering something into Peter's ears.

Peter nodded, understanding why, but not understanding...why.

"Will do, Doctor."

The earth pony nodded, and walked away from Peter, quickly dashing out of the door as the professional's door creaked open, revealing a white pony, stethoscope adorning his head, just below the white horn, which was covered with a sanitary cap. Peter instantly assumed a leisurely stance upon the wall, looking at the doctor.

"Is everything okay out here? I thought I heard voices."

Peter returned the doctor's look with a raised eyebrow.

"Morning, 'doc. Your patient's awake. Y'know, Rarity?"

The doctor's eyes thinned, and he quickly rushed into the elegant pony's hospital room, signaling for Peter to follow him.

Confused as to why the doctor had reacted so quickly, and also as to why he didn't bother asking Peter what he was.

Peter rushed inside, panic coursing through his veins as he wondered what could possibly be going on.

Mind (Healing Part 1)

Peter stood in the door frame, watching the white doctor pony push his stethoscope to Rarity's heart, observe the Sine graph that marked out Rarity's pulse, and poke her with his horn, tip adorned by sanitary cap, finding out whether her waking up had caused anything to click, such as her fractured ribs.

And all the while, Peter and Rainbow Dash stood by, watching worriedly as the doctor stood and cleared his throat, magically picking up the clip board and pen that lay on Rarity's bedside table, scribbled down a few things, and placed it back on the table.

"Uh...is she okay?"

The doctor looked over at Peter, right eyebrow dubious.

"Yes, of course she is. Why wouldn't she be?"

Peter blinked, his eyebrow dubious as well.

"Well, when I told you, you kind of...freaked out. You ran in here like there was no tomorrow."

The pony turned incredulous, answering in a degrading tone.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Peter shook his head, feeling like an ass, a blush joining the 'no' that tumbled out of his lips.

"She's been in a coma for the past two days now, and she just woke up. She's my patient, I'm her doctor. I needed to ensure that she was stable. What did you think I was going to do, leisurely stroll over and open the door? Pop my head in and ask if she would like some tea?"

Peter's blush deepened, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. Rainbow Dash held back a snicker, her lips curling upwards as she did so.

Peter chuckled awkwardly, causing his blush to redden as he made it even more awkward. He changed the subject, shooting a look at Rainbow Dash as her snicker pushed its way through her lips.

"Anyway...is her leg going to heal right? Like, no jagged ends on the bone or anything?"

The doctor turned and poked her leg with his horn, seeing inside her leg, checking the bones.

"Nope. Thing is, while I can't actually fully heal her with magic, since it's a magical wound, I can influence the surrounding area to go through more mitosis, and then influence how it grows."

Sighing, the doctor explained something to Peter without turning around.. "Mitosis is-"

"The splitting of two cells in which the chromosomes and nucleus are split in half, organelles are reproduced, and two cells result from one in a form of asexual reproduction. I'm not a total moron."

The doctor spun around now, looking at Peter with surprise.

"Oh, snap!"

Pony and human snapped at the neck, looking straight at Rainbow Dash.

"You just got told, 'doc!"

Peter raised his eyebrow and smiled a cocky smile.

Well, at least she's back to normal...

The doctor pony turned back to Peter, assessing his patient.

"Well, anyway...now, Mr. Roose, it is time for you."

Peter nodded, deciding not to ask how the pristine white pony knew his name. Walking over to him, the doctor used magic on the bandages on Peter's right hand, finding the strange solvent and exposed muscle under the white bandage as he telepathically looked past the linens.

"Oh! I see that Zecora sent you a gift. Strange thing, Poison Joke...can wreak havoc, or be used as a painkiller."

"Poison Joke? You mean we put Poison Joke all over Peter's hand?"

Once again, pony and human snapped at the neck towards the cyan pony.

"Well, if extracted correctly, the roots of Poison Joke can be crushed down to create a very rare substance, which calms the nervous system and heals nerve endings."

Rainbow Dash blinked. "Oh. Okay."

The doctor smiled and turned back to Peter, rolling his eyes.

"Well, let's see your eyes, Mr. Roose."

About two minutes later, the white pony was shouting Rainbow Dash out of the hospital.

"He needs his sleep! His eyes were completely shot! The bags of his eyes had bags, he needs-"

The voices faded out as Peter fell to sleep, unconsciousness tugging at his mind, bringing him into that realm of dreams and mental re-invigoration.

Peter stood in the crisp air of mid day, Celestia's sun blinding him and the pony that sat in the wheelchair. He pushed the burlap sack farther up his left arm, taking care not to hit the white horn sticking out of the wheelchair.

Damn, I haven't been in the sunlight for...two days...

He smiled, realizing how much he missed it in comparison to the room he had been sleeping in. It had a big window, but nonetheless, it didn't have the same warmth, or the same radiant glow.

He pushed the wheelchair on, Rarity taking a breath of fresh air, her tail once again awash with light, her unconscious self not feeling enough to feed it with emotion.

"Ah, the outdoors! My beauty may flourish again!"

Peter rolled his eyes, unseen by Rarity. Really? That's the first thing you're concerned about? Not the fact that you almost died?

He smiled, remembering how Rarity had spoken herself coarse as soon as her voice had returned to her, thanking Peter for saving her, asking after Rainbow Dash.

Who just so happened to land right next to Rarity at that exact moment.

"Hey, Rarity! Feels good to be back outside, doesn't it?"

The elegant white pony nodded, eyes wide and sparkling as she watched the skies.

"Listen...Rarity...about what I said in the hospital..."

Peter quickly reached into his bag with his right hand, pulled out his iPod, fit the headphones over his ears, and turned shuffle on, clicking on his playlist 'Dubstep, Techno, and Instrumental,' blocking out the private conversation Rarity and Rainbow Dash were about to have.

He knew what Rainbow Dash was going to say, and in fact, he knew more about it than Rarity did. But he just felt that when Rainbow Dash told Rarity, it should be private.

Rainbow Dash smiled up at Peter, who winked at her, already bopping his head to deadmau5, oblivious to the world around him as they walked around the outskirts of Ponyville, just as Rarity had asked him to do.

He made a mental not to himself as he walked.

Don't sing along. Do. Not. Sing.

----------------Rarity-------------------

"Uh...shouldn't we have this conversation where Peter can't hear us, Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow Dash smiled down at Rarity.

"Don't worry. He has his headphones on, and believe me, those headphones block out all the noise in the world. He can't hear us at all right now. As long as we don't shout super loud, that is."

Rarity nodded, smiling, remembering the special headphones she had made for Vinyl Scratch the week before Peter had arrived.

They were slightly garish...but who am I to question music?

"Rainbow Dash, it is not your fault. If anything, it's mine."

Rarity remained calm as Rainbow Dash snapped around, shock contorting her features.

"Your fault?! But I heard you scream, and I didn't do anything!"

Rarity held up a hoof to silence her friend.

"I was trying to perform magic that was too difficult for me, and I knew it was too difficult for me. I kept going on with it, though, all on the search for something as vain as beauty. I endangered myself by doing it, and then Peter when I didn't cut off the magic when he walked in. If anything, I pumped in more magic, trying to fix the mess! I endangered him by not giving up my vain search, and I endangered myself by ever starting it!"

Rainbow Dash put a hoof on Rarity's shoulder, using her wings instead of three legs.

"It's not your fault. It could happen to anypony. I ignored you. I could've stopped it myself, but I didn't..."

Rarity placed a hoof on her friend's arm in return.

"Listen to me, Rainbow Dash. It is not your fault. I made a stupid decision, and then a stupid mistake. I forgive you for ignoring me, even though there is nothing to be forgiven. Now, all you have to do is forgive yourself."

Rainbow Dash looked down into Rarity's tearful eyes, a tear of her own sliding down her cyan face.

"I already have. Peter helped me do that...I just wanted to know if you had forgiven me or not."

Rarity smiled, tears brimming. "I have, Rainbow Dash. I have."

Rarity held down a gasp as Rainbow Dash cried, rather openly.

Oh, my, she never cries like this...

"Rainbow Dash, are you okay?"

The cyan pony nodded, saying something that Rarity would have never expected from her, drowning out the tapping that accommodated Peter changing to the general library of his iPod, bored by the constant dubstep repeating itself.

"It's more than fine. I just needed somepony to be there for me. And Peter was. He heard me out, and really listened to me. He was...he was there for me. He helped me to remember that Loyalty...Loyalty is more than just what you do. It's how you act. And he reminded me that my friends were always there for me."

Rarity blinked, surprised by how much Peter had managed in the apparent two days they had spent in the hospital, and also by how expressive and open Rainbow Dash had become.

Oh, my, I simply must find out what happened in the hospital...

"Well...that was very nice of him."

Rainbow Dash nodded, now looking away from Rarity, and instead ahead, refusing to look back at either the unicorn or the human.

"What is it Rainbow Dash? You seem to be...holding something back."

Rainbow Dash leaned over into Rarity's ear.

"Listen...can you keep a secret?"

"Cross my heart and hope to stick a cupcake in my eye."

Rainbow Dash chuckled slightly, emulating the Pinkie Pie swear.

And she whispered a secret to Rarity that was heard by nopony but her and the white unicorn.

But not by nothing.

---------------------------Rainbow Dash----------------------

The cyan Pegasus leaned back from Rarity's ear, relieved that she had gotten it off of her chest.

"Well, that's very nice for you, Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow Dash looked over, smiling.

"Thanks...but can we not talk about it right now?"

The elegant white unicorn nodded in consent. "Whatever you say, Rainbow Dash."

They walked on in silence for the next few minutes, Rarity, Peter, and Rainbow Dash simply enjoying the outdoors.

Well, mostly.

Rainbow Dash and Rarity looked back in surprise as Peter sang in his deep voice, emulating whatever he was hearing in his headphones. They giggled as he sung, not noticing that they were watching him.

"He's pretty good," Rarity whispered over to Rainbow Dash, giggling.

"Yeah, he's not half bad..."

"My life is gunna be...beautiful...She's telling me, we'll be wed...she's picked out a king-sized bed...I couldn't feel...any better, or I'd be sick...Tell me quick...Oh, ain't that a kick? Tell me quick...ain't that a kick...in the head?"

The two ponies giggled, expecting another song about love, showing an unknown sappy side to Peter's personality.

Little did they know, in a shuffled library, the letters 'A' and 'S' can end up being right next to each other.

Rainbow Dash smiled as Peter's head bopped, glancing over at Rarity.

Probably about giving someone a wedding brace...

She strained to hear him, not able to hear his whispered lines until about a half a minute into the song.

"I don't think he knows the lines, Rarity...probably about marriage or someth-"

"I'm sexy and I know it!"

They laughed hysterically as he sang the song, singing about his body and working out, and a 'passion' in his 'pants' (whatever those are...)

They laughed even harder as he sang 'wiggle wiggle wiggle...', not understanding what he meant.

Rarity laughed one last time, commenting on the strange songs.

"Oh, my, this is simply hilarious! I wonder what song is next...I can't wait to hear!"

Apparently, he heard them, as he tapped his iPod, smiling mischievously and winking at Rainbow Dash.

---------------------------Peter------------------------

He remembered where he was when he saw the rainbow mane flash in front of his face.

Oh, shit! Was I singing!? Great...I just sang almost all of 'I'm Sexy and I Know It' in front of Rarity and Rainbow Dash...fuck my life.

He quickly repealed his 'fuck my life' when Rarity said that she 'couldn't wait to hear'. He looked at Rainbow Dash and winked, doing his best to put on a mischievous smile, tapping his iPod as he pushed Rarity's wheelchair with his elbows.

Remember...'fuck' is 'buck' here...

He pressed play and sang.

"I see you drivin' round town with the girl I love, and I'm like, 'buck you!'"

Rarity and Rainbow Dash exploded into laughter. He kept going, replacing the word 'fuck' with 'buck' as he sang 'Fuck You' by 'Cee Lo Green', not caring if anyone in Ponyville could hear his raucous singing.

The three friends laughed together, Rainbow Dash flying next to Peter with a foreleg draped around his shoulder as she cried from laughter.

"Oh...my...that's simply...outrageously...uncouth!"

She struggled to admonish Peter through fits of laughter.

"Yeah, I know, it's great, right?"

Rainbow Dash laughed harder at Peter's remark, giving him a hoof to fist.

"Brohoof!"

Rainbow Dash ended up having the hiccups after Peter explained what a 'brohoof' was.

"You...you're so...weird!"

Their laughter was suddenly cut short by Twilight Sparkle, running past them, frantic.

"Uh...Twilight Sparkle!?"

Rarity's raised voice obviously reached the lavender unicorn, as she turned around and beamed at all of them.

"Oh! You're out of the hospital, I see! And all laughing! Great...Uh, I need to go see Zecora. Just...yeah. Bye!"

And with that, the unicorn bolted off. Peter broke the resulting bewildered silence.

"Huh...weird."

The three looked at each other, trying to find an answer. They shrugged and continued on, walking towards Fluttershy's house, zig-zagging their way towards the center of Ponyville.

Peter put Rarity next to him and knocked on the door, Rarity sitting in her chair beside him.

Fluttershy opened the door, smiling at Rarity, then Rainbow Dash, but then avoiding Peter's smile.

"Uh...Fluttershy? Is something...the matter?"

A small whisper escaped the yellow Pegasus' lips as she whisked the three inside.

It's like the first episode of Friendship is Magic all over again...

Peter put Rarity's wheelchair next to Fluttershy, where they could talk, behind the table. He sat down opposite of Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash landing, and sitting, next to him. Peter decided to try and get some conversation going.

"So, Fluttershy, is Devil okay?"

A whisper.

"How about Angel?"

A smaller whisper.

"Are you okay?"

A squeak.

"Come on, Fluttershy, you can tell us!"

Fluttershy and Rarity looked at Rainbow Dash, somewhat startled by how kind she was being rather than outright and abrasive. Peter only gave her a sideways glance, smiling, proud of himself for helping Rainbow Dash become a better pony, also of Rainbow Dash for becoming a better pony.

"Well...I felt...guilty for...giving Peter the Stare..."

Peter smiled at Fluttershy, placing a friendly hand on her shoulder, warranting a strange look from Rainbow Dash.

"Listen, Fluttershy. You can't blame yourself for that. I understand what it looked like. It looked like I had taken advantage of your efforts to get me into Celestia's good graces, and I wouldn't expect anypony, or anyone, to react in a different way. Trust me, I'd be pissed, too. Hell, if I did something like give my ruler the Stare, and then the person I did it for took advantage of it, I'd probably beat the hell out of them with these...amazing guns."

Fluttershy laughed as he showed off his muscles, or rather, profound lack of. Rainbow Dash and Rarity laughed as well, undoubtedly thinking of the song he had sang before.

"Do you...do you forgive me? Especially for driving you...insane?"

Peter put his hands behind his head, and leaned back slightly, putting on his Big Mac impression.

"Eeeeeeyup."

The three ponies looked at him, bewildered. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak.

"Wow, Peter. That impression of Big Macintosh was...really good!"

And then, Fluttershy brought up a good point, but an awkward one at that.

"Hey, wait, I don't think Peter's ever met Big Mac. How does he know what he sounds like?"

Peter tried to think of something, and found it, using a random jazz name to cover up his blunder.

"Well, I don't actually know who 'Big Macintosh' is. But I do know that a singer named Sachmo, back on Earth, used to say things like that, so I guess it's just coincidence."

He winced as he defiled the singer's name. Sachmo, Scatman John, forgive me, O legendary Scatters...

He held back laughter at the randomness of his thoughts. Geez, I need a psychiatrist...

"Oh, Peter, I just remembered!"

Peter sat bolt upright, removing his hands from behind his head, unintentionally smacking Rainbow Dash in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Sorry," Peter mumbled, blushing.

"Everypony else was feeling really bad about jumping to conclusions. I think you should go see them. And I'm not kicking you out or anything, but I think you should...uh...go see them...right now...We can talk more tomorrow, okay?"

Peter nodded, just realizing that the day was almost over.

So much to do...so little time...ah, hell, who am I kidding?

He walked out, pushing Rarity's wheelchair, the door closing softly behind the three friends. Rarity stopped them with a raised hoof, asking them the obvious question.

"What, exactly, was she talking about?"

Peter and Rainbow Dash looked at each other, slightly blushing. They whispered, and finally decided after a heated debate that Peter would explain it.

"Uh, listen, Rarity..." he smiled at Rainbow Dash. "We'll fill you in back at the Carousel Boutique."

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped, and Peter stuck out her tongue, his eyes scrunched. Rainbow Dash smacked him across the face with her tail, holding back laughter as he spit out rainbow hairs.

"Uhm...okay. Well, to our friends!"

Peter nodded and pushed on, Rainbow Dash flying circles above them, not willing to leave either of their sides.

Peter knocked on the door to Sugarcube Corner, rocking on the balls of his feet as they waited.

All of their pupils contracted as Pinkamena Diane Pie opened the door, her mane flat, her tail flat, her kitchen a mess, Mr. and Mrs. Cake nowhere to be seen.

--------------------Pinkie Pie----------------------

Pinkie walked home, feeling...not quite herself.

She didn't bounce, and as she walked, her hair deflated, slowly.

I jumped right to thinking Peter was 'doing' something with Dashie...he probably hates me...

She sat down in the kitchen, remembering that Mr. and Mrs. Cake had expanded their stay at Manehattan by a full week. She sighed, relieved that she could have some time alone.

She sat amidst the orderly kitchen, looking at the supplies, getting more and more depressed.

Finally, after hours of thinking that Peter hated her, she knew that Peter hated her.

---------------Pinkamena Diane Pie--------------

Pinkamena made a point of removing anything party related from her kitchen.

"I don't deserve these parties...I don't deserve to make cupcakes...I don't!"

Her flat, long mane flapped around as she threw icing and batter at the walls, making a mess.

"I don't deserve any parties! In fact...all parties...are stupid! Why bother having a party...when you have nopony that likes you anymore? Peter, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity...once they realize that it was ME that jumped to conclusions first, they'll hate me!"

Pinkamena jumped around, not in happiness, but in anger, her eyes darting madly.

"ADHFSALFJSDFLSJFSLK JSFLSEAJFSOFJSDF LKDJ!"

She had no idea how she had said that, but she didn't care. All that mattered as that she got all of the anger out of her, onto the kitchen supplies.

Finally when she finished, Pinkamena Diane Pie looked at what she had wrought.

She flopped down, now thoroughly depressed.

"I destroyed the kitchen, and killed cupcakes that weren't even born yet! What have I done..."

She sat there, mind switching between how she had let down Peter and how she had killed countless cupcakes, when a knock at the door heralded the arrival of two ponies and a human.

She opened the door, backing away, her flat mane plastered to her back by batter and flour.

"Uh...hi."

Peter pushed Rarity through, and Rainbow Dash followed. They stood there, mouths agape, silent as Pinkamena waited for them to shout at her.

Peter started it.

"Pinkie..."

"Pinkamena..."

"Uh, alright...Pinkamena...uh..."

She shrunk back. "I know what you're going to say. You're going to say that I'm the worst friend ever! I jumped to conclusions when I saw you, I didn't bother giving you a second chance!"

Peter looked at her. She expected anger. What she saw was compassion.

And, strangely enough, compassion in Rainbow Dash's and Rarity's eyes.

Peter and Rainbow Dash knelt and sat next to her, respectively. They both placed hand and hoof on her shoulders, once again, respectively, and whispered comfort into either ear.

Rainbow Dash. "Listen, Pinkie, loyalty is more than what you do. It's how you act."

Pinkamena Diane Pie's tail and mane inflated slightly, almost like when one slowly pumps air into a balloon.

Peter. "It's not your fault. It didn't look right, I know...it looked inappropriate. It wasn't your fault. I forgive you."

Pinkamena Pie's tail and mane inflated a bit more.

Rainbow Dash. "I forgive you too. You're my friend, and you always will be. Nothing will ever change that."

Pinkie Pie's tail and mane practically exploded.

------------------Pinkie Pie---------------

She drew her two friends into a close embrace, and then gave Rarity her own hug, talking all the while.

"Idon'tknowwhatgotintomeIthoughtyouguyswouldhatemefordoingthatand..." *GASP* "...ohmygoshRarityyou'reinaWHEELCHAIR!" Pinkie Pie burst out laughing, hugging her friend.

"Is it fun? To have your own little chair with wheels?"

Rarity hugged her back, careful to keep the apparently amorphous pink pony off of the cast on her leg. "Uh, not exactly...but I'll get used to it."

Pinkie smiled, but her smile died as she turned around.

"Let's make some cupcaaa---oh. Right."

Pinkie let a single tear fall at the horrible sight.

My Celestia...I...I'm a monster. I created a massacre!!

"Pinkie?"

She turned around to see Peter and Rainbow Dash, holding a broom and dustpan, respectively.

-------------------Peter---------------

"You, you don't need to bother with those stupid things!"

Peter watched on, amazed, as Pinkie somehow pushed everything under the rug, and it disappeared.

"How in the hell did you do that?"

"Do what?"

Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Peter looked between each other, simply amazed.

"Oh, right, that! Well, you see, when you shove stuff under the rug, if you just think about the things you're shoving under it as ideas, they become ideas! Just like you shove secrets under the rug!"

Peter blinked. So, wait, is that breaking the fourth wall or just Troll physics?

Pinkie looked around the room, realizing how bereft it was of supplies.

"Hey, guys, here's an idea: go visit Applejack. I need to go buy some stuff, alright?"

Peter nodded, raising. "Good idea. Let's go, guys."

He grabbed the handles on the back of Rarity's wheelchair, spinning her around. He pushed her out, Rainbow Dash close behind, once again flying circles above her two friends, watching over them.

Peter walked towards Sweet Apple Acres, pushing Rarity, but was cut off by a lavender unicorn, scowl on her face, lampshade stuck on her hoof.

"Uh...Twilight?"

The unicorn looked at her friends.

"If you're going to Sweet Apple Acres, don't bother. Applejack's busy preparing the new harvest, and you two," she motioned towards Peter and Rarity with the lampshade, "need a place to stay tonight. Come with me."

Peter looked up towards Rainbow Dash, who landed next to him.

"Rainbow Dash, will you be alright?"

He looked deep into her eyes, and immediately knew the answer.

"Twilight."

The lavender unicorn turned around, sighing.

"What?"

"So does Rainbow Dash. I'll explain at the library. And you can explain the...lampshade."

Twilight thought about it, and shrugged. "I can fit you all in the library. And I'd like to explain it as quickly as possible. So, let's go."

They pushed on towards the tree library, tried and curious.

Twilight's Explanation(Visions Part 1)

Peter put Rarity's wheelchair on the left side of the table, the only place where the white pony could actually reach the salad on the table. Peter sat on the floor next to Rainbow Dash, apple in hand, stomach rumbling in anticipation for the round, green fruit.

Twilight sat across from Peter and Rainbow Dash, working up all of her memories from the point after she sent the letter to Celestia. She cleared her throat, holding her hoof out so as to keep the lampshade at a comfortable angle.

"I'm going to show you all my memories of what happened, does anypony mind?"

They all shook their heads in a unanimous 'no', Spike snoring slightly from above them.

"Alright...it'll feel a bit...weird."

Peter shrugged.

Twilight's horn glowed, her memories traveling across her nerve system into the tip, a ball of thought forming where the nervous impulses met. It grew until it contained Rainbow Dash, Peter, Rarity, and even Twilight herself.

They all delved into her memories, watching from beside Twilight.

Twilight nodded to Spike, the letter flying through the open window, consumed by magical fire.

"Okay. Well, I need to go see Zecora."

Spike looked up at her, confused. "Why?"

Twilight looked at the dragon, exasperated. "Because we just had a vision, Spike! And if anypony knows what it means, it's Zecora. She's been right on many occasions about this...weird stuff. I want you to stay here. If Celestia writes back, just leave the letter on my bed."

And with that, Twilight rushed out, mane billowing behind her, the mid-day sun reflecting off of...

Wait...mid-day? When I had the vision...it was almost mid-night! Did Spike and I just...pass out?

She shook her head, not wanting to think about it, ignoring everything that passed her, running straight past Fluttershy's house, into the Everfree Forest, delving deep into its-

"Uh...Twilight Sparkle!?"

The unicorn in question stopped, shocked by the voice. She ran back to Peter, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, the latter occupying a wheelchair, the human and cyan pony struggling to hold down laughter.

"Oh! You're out of the hospital, I see! And all laughing! Great...Uh, I need to go see Zecora. Just...yeah. Bye!"

She ran off, blushing slightly at the show she had made of herself.

I just need to see Zecora...that's all I need to be worried about now.

She ran through the dark forest, avoiding the Poison Joke, heading towards Zecora's humble hut.

She burst through the door, the interior of the hut not intimidating her as it had first done, all those months ago.

"Zecora! I need to ask you something! It's really important!"

The zebra looked up from her cauldron, golden rings clinking as she moved, a look of confusion riddled across her striped face. "Yes, Twilight? What is it that you must speak of?"

The lavender unicorn sat down across from the zebra, concentrating her memories, preparing herself to cast a reversed memory spell.

"Zecora, I had a vision. I need to show it to you. Do you mind if I show you my memories?"

The zebra looked at the lavender unicorn, interest sparking in her eye. "No, not at all. I will gladly view the visions of which you speak, and the answers, I shall seek."

Twilight nodded, only concerned with the consent the zebra had given her. She released her memories in a ball, its greedy light gripping at Zecora's and Twilight's minds, pulling them into her memory.

Zecora and Twilight opened their eyes, adjusting to the light in the room. Both Twilight and Zecora donned looks of confusion and worry, the vision's meaning hidden to them both.

The zebra dropped a few herbs into her pot, the stew bubbling as she spoke in her native tongue, the words' meanings lost to the studious lavender unicorn.

"Mimi naona maono, lakini si maana. Yatangaza kwangu maana, oh busara kuwa."

Repeating the chant multiple times, the zebra stared into the agitated water's roiling bubbles, forming images that only Zecora herself could see, the waters imparting hidden wisdom unto her.

After taking a deep breath, Zecora looked up at Twilight, a serious look in her eyes. The lavender pony leaned forward in anticipation.

"What this means..."

Twilight leaned ever closer, now up on all hooves, eager to learn what the bubbles had to say.

"I do not know."

Twilight fell over, the shock causing her to lose her balance completely.

"You...you don't know?"

The zebra shook her head, looking directly into Twilight's eyes as the unicorn recovered from her fall.

"But I know a certain pony who does."

Twilight immediately focused up, eager to hear who could discern the meaning of this vision.

"While strange, she may seem, she is wise beyond her short years. Her 'doubled vision' allows her to see past reality, into the realms of dreams and visions. However, she uses her strange power only in situations of the most dire. She now lives in Ponyville, a local mail mare."

Twilight opened her eyes wide in shock. "You...you don't mean..."

The zebra nodded. "Yes, I do. No matter how strange her requests are, follow her advice, as it is most certainly wise."

Twilight nodded, holding back laughter at the prospect of talking to the strange Pegasus as a wise pony.

"I will, Zecora. You can count on me."

Zecora nodded once more. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go."

Twilight nodded back, shouting a 'thanks' over her shoulder as she ran towards the house of a grey Pegasus.

Twilight knocked on the door, patiently awaiting its resident.

The grey mail mare opened the door, speaking in her mystified, dreaming voice.

"Oh, hello, Twilight Sparkle. Come on in, tell me about the vision."

Twilight looked at Ditzy Doo in surprise, shocked by her knowledge of her vision.

"Uh...Ditzy? How did you know that I had a vision...?"

The grey Pegasus looked back at her, eyes crossed, one of them glowing slightly in the iris.

"You were at Zecora's. She told you that I can see into the realm of dreams. I saw it following you, saw the dream leaving its wisps of thought in your wake, and you have many questions. Come with me, Twilight Sparkle."

Ditzy Doo lead her deeper into her house, right into the basement, talking the entire way. She sat down on a pillow, her lazy eye still glowing slightly, its light now more prominent in the darkness of the basement. She lit a match, and lit the candles in the center, filling the air with an aroma that cleared Twilight's mind and refreshed her thoughts. A lampshade sat in the center of the circle of candles.

"Now, Twilight, if you would be so kind as to place the lampshade around your hoof, we may begin."

Twilight looked at the Pegasus in confusion. "Uh...what?"

A sigh. "Put the lampshade on your hoof."

Twilight was about to protest when she remembered Zecora's words.

"No matter how strange her requests are, follow her advice, as it is most certainly wise."

Twilight swallowed her questions, and nodded, walking into the ring of candles. She placed her hoof in the lampshade, which expanded to allow her foreleg in.

Ditzy Doo's eye started glowing somewhat brighter as she angled her head to see Twilight through the lazy eye, using the lampshade as a focal point for her vision, mumbling to herself as she observed the lavender unicorn, the glowing orb seeing past reality and into Twilight's dreams.

"Mhm...you have seen the Sword of Harmony, have you not?"

Twilight sat bolt upright, the lampshade slightly chafing her hoof as she did so. "Yes, Ditzy! How did you know?"

The grey Pegasus smiled, closing her good eye, pointing to the glowing one. "Thus is the strange power of the Eye of Dreams. A curse or a gift, I do not know. But I do know that it was given to me for a purpose. And I believe that the Sword of Harmony is that purpose."

The grey Pegasus looked into Twilight's eyes with her Eye of Dreams, tilting her head slightly to get a better view.

"Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic. There is one thing you must know. Do not go in search of the Blade of Harmony, as you will not find it. It does not exist."

Twilight stared at Ditzy Doo, incredulous. "But, Ditzy Doo, how can you say that? It obviously does! Doesn't my dream mean that it's going to become real?"

The grey Pegasus shook her head 'no'. "It is merely a sign. A sign of an Element that combines them all to become the sword in the darkness. It reflected light off of the darkness in the dream, did it not?"

Twilight nodded, accepting the wisdom of the grey Pegasus, sitting down in awe at how much she had misjudged the mail mare.

"It is the sign...of the Seventh Element of Harmony. One that combines them all. One that is them all."

Twilight gulped. "Who...who is its wielder?"

Ditzy Doo sighed, closing her Eye of Dreams, the glow still slightly visible underneath her eyelid.

"I do not know. And even if I did, I couldn't tell you. It would be interfering with the natural flow of things, as if I told you, you would try to rush the process...the wielder needs to develop, needs to grow. If you rush that process, all will fail, and the Seventh Element will never appear, but instead be lost forever."

Twilight sighed, amazed at how quickly the mail mare had told her everything.

"Thank you, Ditzy Doo. I'm so sorry that I misjudged you as being..."

"Strange?"

"Yes...strange."

The grey pony laughed slightly, drawing a confused look from Twilight.

"Thus is the curse of the Eye of Dreams. It's what earned me that horrid name, Derpy Hooves."

Twilight suppressed a chuckle at the mention of the name everypony used when they referred to the mail mare.

I really shouldn't laugh...she's wise beyond her years, just like Zecora said.

Twilight nodded and thanked Ditzy, wanting to go back home and talk to Spike about what had transpired. As Ditzy Doo saw her to the door, something strange happened.

"Twilight. Never tell anypony what I'm about to tell you."

Twilight turned, all ears.

-----------Peter---------------

It felt odd to travel next to Twilight in the realm of her memories. First, he saw the strange vision, then, he saw Zecora, and then, Ditzy Doo.

The memory was cut off just as Ditzy whispered something into Twilight's ears, inaudible by pony and human.

He sucked air in, the out of body experience over as he felt the hard floor of the library, felt the apple raised to his lips. He took a bite, his stomach yearning for the green treat. As he swallowed a chunk of the apple, he broke the stunned silence.

"Well? What are the six Elements of Harmony?"

Rainbow Dash shot him a strange look. "How do you know there are six?"

"Ditzy Doo said the 'Seventh Element of Harmony'. She wouldn't say that unless there were six Elements."

Rainbow Dash blushed slightly. "Oh, right..."

Peter patted her on the shoulder reassuringly, warranting a strange look from Rarity and Twilight Sparkle. He blushed slightly as well, not wanting to explain how Rainbow Dash was like a sister to him.

Yeah, might not be the best time to explain that...

Twilight and Rarity looked at each other, dubious expressions meeting, Twilight starting to speak.

"Well, the six Elements of Harmony are wielded by six ponies in Ponyville. I wield Magic, Rarity wields Generosity, and Rainbow Dash wields Loyalty. Pinkie Pie wields Laughter, Applejack wields Honesty, and Fluttershy wields Kindness."

Peter nodded to each one.

"Well, whoever wields the Seventh Element of Harmony will be a great pony, and definitely a powerful magician."

Twilight looked to Peter with a strange glint in her eye.

"Uh, Peter, I kind of thing it's...you."

Peter looked up at her, returning the look with a smile.

"I'm not. I couldn't possibly be the wielder of an Element of Harmony that's a combination of all the other Elements. I may be Kind, I share a Laugh with friends, and I'm Generous to people who are in need. But I'm not Honest. I lie to get what I want, I've lied to my mother countless times just in order to play a game. I'm not Loyal, because if I was, then I wouldn't have left my family for video games all the time. And I most definitely can't do Magic."

The three ponies looked at him in surprise as he broke himself down, proving that he was incapable of being a wielder of the Seventh Element of Harmony.

"I'm sorry if you expected me to be some great hero. But I'm not. I'm a good person, but only on the outside. I recognize that I'm not a good person every time I ignored my family, ever time I lied to my mother. I'm just a bad person with good morals."

And with that, he stretched his arms, releasing a long, wide yawn, not wanting to pursue the matter any further.

"Well, is there anywhere I can sleep? I'm tired as hell..."

Twilight nodded, and led him upstairs to the guest bedroom, next to Twilight's large bedroom. Inside was a neatly made bed, big enough for Peter and then some, and a bookshelf.

"Wait...where will Rainbow Dash sleep, Peter?"

Peter knelt down and looked at Twilight, eyes level. "She can sleep with me. You can trust me."

Twilight nodded. Rainbow Dash walked in just as Peter stood, standing next to Peter.

"I can trust you, Peter."

She walked towards Rarity's wheelchair, shooting one last remark over her shoulder.

"Because you're Honest."

Hey! Gylden here. Just want to say a few things: First off, Zecora's chant was actually in Swahili. Thank you, google translate. Also, eight thousand views mother of god holy crap. Carry on.

Deities (Visions Part 2)

Discord's disembodied spirit stared into the hospital window, at Rainbow Dash and Peter.

Well, well, our rainbow friend is near insanity...and our human friend believes this place is truly his home...let's change things a tiny bit... He looked into Rainbow Dash's soul, forcing the painful dreams to surface. He smiled as she curled into a ball, teeth chattering.

Now...time for that meddlesome human...may as well have our little pony reject him...

He changed Peter's mindset, pushing an idea through the back of his head. The only way to get her out of it...is to smack her. Hard. The sound of skin meeting skin played music to his ears.

Discord delved into Peter's mind, watching things click as the human panicked, worried that his friend would come to reject him. However, something else clicked. Something Discord hadn't expected.

"God damn it, Rainbow Dash, you can trust me because...because...because I love you!"

He...he...what?

"You...you what?"

Discord's disembodied spirit banged on the glass of the hospital window, staring in rage, his amorphous form as it spiked in his anger. No...my carefully constructed reality...the dreams I pumped into Rainbow Dash for all those weeks...all destroyed by a simple, fledgling emotion!

He banged against the glass harder, trying to breach the wards that his old friend had placed around the hospital room.

Him...again...I thought I killed him many years ago...

He shook his head. The Seventh Element can't possibly have returned...

He was proven wrong.

Discord stood behind Twilight and Spike, blinded by the darkness.

Before him floated the Sword of Harmony.

Discord blinked, putting on sunglasses.

Well...it seems as though he has returned...I can only hope that Magic does not find the manuscript of his legend...

The world went black, returning Discord's vision as he stared out of the never-seeing eyes of his stone statue.

And if he does return...I will kill him.

A spark entered his mind.

I will use him to kill every damn pony in Equestria.

He slept, his mind tired by the amount of time he had spent out of his body.

-------------Celestia and Luna----------------

The two alicorns sat across from each other, in the middle of a debate.

"'Tia! We can't make assumptions! How do we know that he will return? He's been dead since Discord first reigned!"

"Luna, we both saw the signs. We both saw the Light. All we must do now is wait."

The Princess of the Moon gritted her teeth, frustrated with her composed sister.

"'Tia, how could you possibly be so calm!? Discord is waking up, and you suggest we just wait!? We HAVE to do something!!"

The Princess of the Sun looked at her sister, eyes full of rage, causing the substantially darker alicorn to shrink back slightly.

"Listen to me. We. Must. Wait. If we don't, all could be lost! We must wait for the vision to come, Luna! After that, we can take action. But if we do so before, then he will never return!"

Luna gulped. "V...vision?"

As if on cue, a spark of energy traveled between the tips of the two alicorns' horns.

"It begins now."

Before them, in the Darkness, was the Sword of Harmony.

"'Tia...what is that?"

"It is the Sword of Harmony. I must meet with a certain pony..."

Luna nodded. "The Dreamer?"

Celestia nodded in return, serious and sullen.

"I know what this means, but I must be sure. If the Seventh Element truly is returning, and its wielder as well, I must know where the Guardian will be, and what form he will assume."

Luna looked at her. "The...Guardian?"

Celestia looked down at her.

She spoke the Guardian's name, the two words reverberating throughout the Day and the Night. Luna shivered as the words traveled down her spine.

"Oh...him. I thought...he was dead."

Celestia shook her head.

"Luna, he is. Nothing can change that. But his soul lives on, and with that soul, the Seventh Element of Harmony. Its new wielder must first find that soul within him."

Luna looked down, disappointed, wanting to speak to the pony who had sacrificed himself for all of Equestria only once more...

Celestia put a hoof on her shoulder, reassuring her sister. "All in due time, my sister. All in due time."

And with that, she left, seeking the Dreamer.

Legends Part 1

As soon as the door closed behind her, Twilight moved Rarity up to her room.

"I can't possibly thank you enough for letting me stay here, Twilight."

The lavender unicorn smiled at her friend.

"Oh, it's no problem! I just hope you can get enough sleep while I'm fumbling around in the library."

The white unicorn looked at her friend in surprise. "Fumbling around? At this hour?"

Twilight returned the surprise with a look of seriousness. "You and I both heard Ditzy Doo. There's a Seventh Element of Harmony. I'm going to go through my Almanac of Legends to find it. Or any legend I haven't heard of."

Rarity nodded, understanding completely. "Good luck, Twilight."

Twilight simply nodded, focusing, Spike's snores the only other sound pervading the silence as Twilight walked down the stairs, hooves lightly clopping on the wooden steps.

Legends...Legends...aha!

She opened the dusty book, immediately flipping back to the page Spike and Twilight had been at before the vision. It was still blank. She went to the table of contents, determined to find what she didn't know.

Raise of Discord...Defeat of Discord...The...The Golden Warrior?

Twilight looked at the name, intrigued. She flipped to the page, its number written next to the curious legend name.

Its first line read as such:

Eager reader, beware, as this is not a tale for the weak of heart, nor of soul.

It is a tale of love, war, and, above all, Sacrifice.

It is the tale of the original bearer of the Element of Harmony.

The one who created the Six Elements of Harmony...

And became the Seventh Element of Harmony himself.

This is the story of Gylden Glør.

Twilight Sparkle started at the mention of the Seventh Element of Harmony, reading the rest of the passage. She struggled to pronounce the strange name, the 'ø' giving her halt.

The lavender unicorn's purple mane shook at the same time as her head. She read on, eager to see what the book had to reveal.

-------------------------------The Legend of Gylden Glør (as in Twilight's Almanac)-----------------------------------

The Golden Warrior arrived upon the winds of the night,

His steel wings whispering the darkness of his coat,

His ebony horn glowing as gold as the stripes upon his coat.

The Golden Warrior walked out into a world of Chaos and Discord,

Onto a battlefield between good and evil,

His breastplate and cloak of fire burning as hot and as passionate as his soul.

Thus is how the great Guardian presented himself to the Princesses,

His horn awash with light,

His wings thrumming with energy.

Thus is how Gylden Glør, the Guardian of Harmony appeared to the Sun and the Moon.

He fought bravely, loved the shunned;

He beat back the forces of Chaos, and he used his Harmony to recreate Reality.

Upon the final battle with the deity of Chaos, the Guardian of Harmony lost his life,

But not in vain, as he gave his Harmony to the world,

Created the Six Elements of Harmony,

And Sacrificed himself to become the Seventh Element of Harmony.

When the tendrils of Chaos extend into the world for a third time,

It is said that the Seventh Element of Harmony shall present itself,

Not only to the Sun and the Moon,

But to the Dreamer as well.

And that He who Wields the Seventh Element of Harmony,

Shall be Kind,

Honest,

Loyal,

Filled with Laughter,

Generous,

And able to perform the greatest feats of Magic.

Twilight stared at the seven passages, enlightened and confused.

So, the Seventh Element of Harmony has existed before...and there's some hero named...Guile....den...Glower...? And he wielded the Element of Harmony, and split himself into the other Elements of Harmony...and he was a...

She gasped, realizing what the legend was.

He was a Zebra!!

She turned around, bolting out of the house at top speeds, warranting a confused look from Rarity.

Maybe he's also a legend in Zecora's homeland...maybe she knows more about him!

The lavender unicorn's purple mane glistened in the moonlight as she ran towards the Everfree Forest, not aware of what had transpired at the house of a certain mail mare...

-------------------The Dreamer-----------------

The grey Pegasus tried to sleep, in vain.

Her Eye of Dreams glowed all too brightly, reminding her of her long, sad life.

She gave up her attempts at sleep and sighed, opening the eyelid that concealed the Eye of Dreams, allowing it to suck her centuries into the past.

There she stood, besides the Guardian.

"Ditzy Doo...I'm afraid."

The grey Pegasus put a hoof on his shoulder.

"Don't be. I'm here for you, Gylden."

The Zebra looked deep into her eyes, a tear shining on his cheek.

"But...if what she said is true...you'll be cursed with the Eye..."

The grey Pegasus steeled her nerves.

"A burden I will gladly bear, especially if it means I can help you."

Gylden Glør blinked, and smiled.

"Thank you, Ditzy Doo..."

He inhaled, and exhaled, steeling his own nerves, his metal wings scraping each other, his ebony horn glowing with a golden aura.

He cried out, calling for his foe to face him in the Darkness.

Ditzy closed her Eye, crying, not wanting to remember what Gylden had done for the world...

A sudden knock at the door brought her back to reality.

She opened the door, and couldn't believe her eyes.

There, before her, was Gylden Glør.

"G...Gylden..."

The Zebra walked in, wisps of corporeal nothingness in his wake.

"I cannot stay here for long, Ditzy. This form is more than difficult to keep..."

The grey mail mare's Eye of Dreams glowed even brighter, staring down at the floor as her normal eye stared at the image before her. She extended a hoof towards the transparent apparition.

"Do you remember what I told you the day I first met you, Ditzy Doo?"

The mail mare closed her eye, but not her Eye, crying as her hoof passed through the ghost.

"You told me...that I had beautiful eyes..."

"And you still do."

Ditzy opened her eye, the Eye already opened.

"How can you say that? I'm a freak..."

The apparition tried to reach for Ditzy Doo, but cried just as hard as his hoof passed through her.

"Because your eyes were beautiful before you Dreamed, and still are now that you have Seen."

She smiled, still crying, a pain in her chest rising as she remembered that she could no longer be with Gylden...

"Ditzy Doo, I must go now. But I will tell you several things before I do..."

He swallowed, invisible tears streaming.

"One...the Seventh Element is coming back.

"Two...Celestia is on her way.

"Three...Twilight Sparkle knows about me, but not fully.

"Four...don't tell Twilight about...me. I know, she knows already, but don't tell her any more than she already knows.

"Five...I'm sorry.

"Six...you're beautiful.

"Seven...I love you. And I always will."

Ditzy sniffed, hysterically crying, her dreamy voice cracking as she spoke.

"I...love you too, Gylden...then, now, and forever more..."

They looked at each other, and smiled, taking shuddering breaths.

"Goodbye, Ditzy Doo."

"Goodbye, Gylden Glør."

And with that, the apparition dissipated, leaving Ditzy Doo alone with her pain and her tears...

I love you, Gylden...

Suddenly, in the apparitions' place stood Celestia, white coat charged with energy.

Visits (Legends Part 2)

As soon as the door shut behind Twilight, Peter drew Rainbow Dash into a firm, comforting hug. That was all she needed, and he knew it. Well, all she needed for now.

After a few moments, Rainbow Dash pulled herself off of Peter, his grip immediately expanding to hold her as she moved back.

"Peter, I'm...I'm afraid...that if I go back to sleep...I'll see those...images again..."

Peter smiled sympathetically, holding down a strange urge to...do something stupid.

"You won't, Rainbow Dash, I promise..."

Rainbow Dash wasn't convinced as her fear got the better of her, driving her to outbursts of emotion.

"How do you know? How do you know I won't see them?"

Peter moved so that he sat next to her on the floor, his legs out in front of him, his arm around Rainbow Dash.

"I just...know. I don't know how I know, but I just know that you won't have any bad dreams tonight. It's just...a feeling."

Rainbow Dash leaned closer to him, and the two friends remained like that for a few moments, saying nothing, doing nothing, but feeling as though they had everything. Peter finally stood after about a minute or so, motioning for Rainbow Dash to follow him. He picked up the sheets on the bed, letting Rainbow Dash in first.

He crawled in, making sure not to pull Rainbow Dash's tail, or lay on any of her limbs. He lay flat on his back, pulling the cyan pony in close, her small sniffs the only sound besides his light breathing and the sound of his hand rubbing up and down on Rainbow Dash's shoulder, comforting her.

"Good night, Rainbow Dash."

"Good night, Peter."

Rainbow Dash dreamed that night.

She was in a garden.

And in that garden were all of her friends.

Peter woke in a cold sweat, resisting the urge to bolt upright, not wanting to disturb the sleeping Pegasus.

The images he had seen flickered out of existence just as quickly as the strange glow in the burlap sack that contained the seven Soul Gem fragments.

He drifted back into sleep, not remembering anything but that overbearing feeling of...of the world crumbling around him as he watched.

He had no more dreams that night, at least dreams that he could remember.

-----------------------------------Discord----------------------------------------------------------

The Draconequus tried to breach the barrier around Rainbow Dash's dreams, but failed each time.

Gylden Glør...you coward...I'll kill you once more!

The disembodied spirit stopped, his scant reserves of energy depleted by his attempts to crush the barrier made by the Seventh Element of Harmony.

Disgusting, fledgling emotion, it is...the 'Golden Warrior' would choose something like that as his embodiement...

The Draconequus was suddenly distracted by a glow coming from a burlap sack, the steady flow of images floating from the sack to Peter's mind interrupting the ward that held Discord out.

Discord watched, intrigued, as the Soul Gem fragments sent the images and emotions stored in them to Peter. He knew what they contained, he had seen them himself, but now that his mind and the fragments were connected...

Surely, he will want to discard of them now, now that he knows what lies within him...even if he remembers only the emotions, he will soon enough know that he wants them gone more than anything else...

He returned to his stone body, exhausted from bashing against the barriers that Gylden Glør had created.

Just like the 'Guardian of Harmony' to use that fledgling emotion to keep me out...oh, if only Celestia had shown Twilight the 'True Story of Gylden Glør', written by that ridiculous 'Dreamer'. I would have enjoyed seeing that pesky unicorn reject the Element of Magic, knowing how it had been created...

The Draconequus flexed his single freed finger, circulation flooding back into it as he did so, dust falling off of the appendage as he moved the joints, the particles coating the pebbles that lie beneath his hand in a fine gossamer of Disharmony, turning the pebbles into mist.

The spirit returned his attention to the Soul Gems, and to how he would use them.

Discord had heard what that pesky Time Lord had told Peter. And deep down, both the human and the Draconequus knew that Peter would fail at it, and discard of the Soul Gems anyway.

Discord chuckled.

That puny human is so weak...if he ever experienced what Rainbow Dash experienced, he will break...and will be mine to control.

The final thing the 'Doctor' had said to Peter still rang in Discord's mind, making his finger waggle with anticipation.

"And if you don't follow my instructions...well, I'm afraid that Weeping Angels will be the worst of our worries, Peter."

Discord drifted off to sleep yet again, his mind and soul tired from relentlessly attacking the wards around Twilight's library.

-------------------The Dreamer-------------------

The alicorn rushed to the Dreamer's side, putting a large wing around the crying Pegasus.

"Ditzy Doo, what troubles you so?"

The mail mare sniffed and looked up at the Princess.

"Princess Celestia...off of the top of my head, I can only think of five ponies who have lived as long as we have...you, Luna, the Doctor, Gylden Glør, and I. And only four of them remain alive...Gylden Glør sacrificed himself for us, for me...and I live on. I let my true love die..."

The alicorn stood, her horn glowing with warmth, comforting Ditzy Doo with her power.

"Ditzy Doo, you remember what he said to you on that fateful night. He told you that it was his destiny, don't you remember?"

"And that he was...sorry..."

"Yes. I thought we had moved past this. Why do you cry so, Ditzy Doo?"

Ditzy Doo's Eye of Dreams glowed brighter, her tears flowing even more as she remembered the apparition.

"He...he Descended in an apparition...he visited me..."

Celestia's wings sagged, sympathetic for what the Pegasus felt.

"Ditzy Doo, he loved you. And he still loves you. You have to let him-"

The Pegasus stood, Eye of Dreams glowing hotly, her fury and anguish finally exploding in one large outburst.

"Why couldn't he stay longer? Why couldn't he put off his battle with Discord, why couldn't we have more time together!? Why couldn't he keep an apparition form for longer, why can't I see him in the Realm of Dreams, why, why, why?"

The mail mare sobbed heavily with each 'why', already knowing the answers.

"Because he chose to save us. He chose to save you. Doesn't it make you feel better to know that he's always watching over you?"

The Eye of Dreams glowed brighter than Celestia then, blinding the regal alicorn.

"But you don't understand. I loved him, and I still do. I want him back more than anything else in this world, or any other! He was the only pony who ever loved me, and I was the only pony who ever loved him! He was only twenty years old when he died! Twenty! I had but a few minutes with him, and all we did was cry and say 'I love you!' Is it too much, if that's not enough for me!? I've had over one thousand years of loneliness, constantly being called 'Derpy Hooves'. I try to keep my composure, try to fill the role of the 'odd pony', but all the while I see what the ponies think of me."

"Ditzy-"

"No! I will not calm down! You came here to ask a question, and I will answer it. The answer is yes, and do something where they can develop as friends. All of them. And make sure that Twilight Sparkle is kept ignorant as to the True Story of Gylden Glør. If anypony but you, Luna, and I ever learn of what really happened to Gylden Glør, all would be lost. Now, good bye. I must sleep."

As she spoke, she closed her eye, and her Eye. A blast of energy told her that Celestia had teleported.

The mail mare sighed and opened her eye, but not her Eye.

She recoiled at what she saw.

She was in her old chambers in the castle, the room in which she had lived with Gylden for all those...months.

"What is this?"

"You deserve it. You can sleep here. In fact, you must sleep here. Gylden Glør's wards still live on in this place, and you must be well protected in the times to come."

Ditzy Doo simply nodded as Celestia left, walking over to the bed.

A single note lay on its surface. She picked it up with her hooves, intrigued.

It read as such:

Dear Ditzy Doo,

If you're reading this, then I've already Descended to you. I'm sorry that we couldn't have more time together. I cherished every second we had together. All I can ask you to do is the same for me. Remember not that we had so little time together, but instead what we did with that time. Remember what we both said to each other in the Garden that night.

Remember the meals we shared in this room, remember how we could enjoy each others' company by merely looking into each others' eyes, seeing the truth in them.

And remember that I love you. More than anything else. Tomorrow is the day I face Discord.

I'm scared, I'll admit it. But you'll be with me. You'll be there. That's how I'll pull through with it.

Ditzy Doo, you are beautiful. You're the most beautiful mare I have ever met.

And I love you.

Old, dried tear stains blurred out the rest of the words. Ditzy Doo's fresh tears joined them, her sobbing filling the silent room. Only the last three sentences were legible after the first few, and they read:

And Ditzy Doo, I'm sorry.

And when I Descend, I'll have to leave quickly.

Just promise me this.

That when the war is over, no matter who won,

That you'll never forget me.

I love you,

Gylden.

Ditzy Doo held the letter close to her heart, crumpling the magically preserved paper.

"I love you, Gylden...and I'll never forget you..."

She sobbed for the rest of the night, cradling the letter, her wings stretched out as if to embrace her lost love...

----------------------Twilight-------------------------------------

The lavender unicorn knocked on the zebra's door, and waited, the moon waning high above her. She heard hooves clop and a zebra grumble under her breath in a language Twilight didn't understand.

The door opened, exposing Zecora to the night's cold air, blowing her mane aft.

"Twilight...why are you here so late? It's almost tomorrow morning..."

The unicorn in question smiled sheepishly, but immediately went back to an air of business and importance.

"I found out what the vision meant. It means that the Seventh Element of Harmony is returning. And I found out that its original wielder was a zebra, named...Guileden...Glower. I was hoping that he would be in zebra folklore."

Zecora perked up at the mention of the Seventh Element of Harmony.

"Do you mean...Gylden Glør? I believe the Mayor of Ponyville has one of the full manuscripts of the Legend of Gylden Glør in her library...one that expands upon the passages in the almanac."

Twilight nodded, making a mental note to check it out.

"But beware, Twilight. It is not the truth.You will have to find the True Story of Gylden Glør to learn what the Seventh Element of Harmony truly is."

Twilight nodded, still determined to find and read the Legend of Gylden Glør.

She set off towards the Mayor's house, determined, her purple mane glistening in the moonlight.

The Legend of Gylden Glør (Legends Part 3)

Twilight knocked on the door to the mayor's house, eager in the moonlight.

It opened rather quickly, shocking the lavender unicorn, who had expected a groggy, disheveled earth pony. Instead, a quite awake, alert earth pony answered the door, glasses reflecting the fire place inside.

"Oh, Twilight Sparkle, good...uh, night! How are you?"

"Uh...good. I was told that you have a certain book here, titled 'The Legend of Gylden Glør'?"

The mayor nodded. "Ah, curiosity! Well, come on in, Twilight, don't stand out in the cold of the night."

Twilight nodded, smiling.

Even if it's not the truth, I can still learn a bit about this...Gylden Glør.

The book was presented to her. It was black with golden ink lining the cover.

---------------The Legend of Gylden Glør (According to the Mayor's copy of the book)--------------

The Golden Warrior arrived upon the winds of the night,

His steel wings whispering the darkness of his coat,

His ebony horn glowing as gold as the stripes upon his coat.

The Guardian of Harmony opened his eyes. Discord was killing his carefully constructed Reality, as well as the ponies who inhabited it...

For one year, he had watched the forces of Discord meet those of Celestia and Luna again, and a gain, and again. Now the Draconequus was winning the war, slowly crushing the life out of Harmony.

The zebra stood, his ebony horn glowing, his wings of metal spreading, whispering as they did. He summoned the winds of the night; the dark guardians of the light. He let them carry him to the dying world.

The Golden Warrior walked out into a world of Chaos and Discord,

Onto a battlefield between good and evil,

His breastplate and cloak of fire burning as hot and as passionate as his soul.

The Golden Warrior entered the wordl, dozens of retreating ponies staring as the zebra entered the land, streaks of golden light falling behind him.

He wept, seeing the destruction, the dead ponies everywhere...the minions of Discord flooding the battlefield, killing those who could not run. Fillies wept for lost fathers, colts for lost mares, and mares for lost fillies and colts.

As usual, in the war, the women bear the greatest responsibility...the mourning of the dead, and the mourning of the living...

The Golden Warrior felt the Chaos in everypony's heart, the tumult they experienced. His soul of flaming rage became corporeal, donning him in a breastplate and cloak of pure fire, of pure anger and pain, the embers glowing as bright as his horn as he descended into the world, the power of Harmony enveloping the ruins of the Canterlot castle, flying buttresses crushing those who were once held up by the elegant arches...

He warded the castle, ushering ponies into its crumbling foundation from left and right, receiving looks of awe as he spoke.

"By the Power of Harmony, I command you to flee this battle! Run back to the castle, as I have warded it, it is now protected by the grace of Harmony! Run, everypony, run!"

As soon as everypony was inside of the castle, the Warrior stood his ground, staring the horrifying beasts down, their gesticulating limbs slick with the blood of fillies and colts alike, their nightly raids having angered the residents enough.

Thus is how the great Guardian presented himself to the Princesses,

His horn awash with light,

His wings thrumming with energy.

Thus is how Gylden Glør, the Guardian of Harmony appeared to the Sun and the Moon.

He fought bravely, loved the shunned;

He beat back the forces of Chaos, and he used his Harmony to recreate Reality.

Gylden Glør's wings glowed with a hidden power, his horn expanding to huge spike of light, his eyes replaced by glowing orbs of power, the golden irises hidden from view.

The golden stripes adorning his black body glowed as well, the power of Harmony surging through his veins, embodying him, making his breastplate glow even brighter, his cloak billow with more corporeal wisps of anger and determination.

He released the power, an involuntary cry of 'Harmony!' escaping his lips, bathing the area in a healing light. Strange patterns returned to grass, clouds of cotton candy to crystallized water vapor, and the beasts into nothing, turning to the Darkness they had come from, returning their souls to Discord, telling him that a true warrior now stood in his way.

He completed the ward, fully encircling the castle, and walked into the audience chamber, up to the two regal sisters, the Sun and the Moon.

"I am the Guardian of Harmony, the Golden Warrior, and Gylden Glør. I come to restore this land to its former glory, and to beat back the powers of Discord."

As he spoke, his horn glowed, filling all the ponies in the room with Kindness and Loyalty, reminding them to help their neighbors. He walked up to the two alicorns, maintaining his prominent stature, his metallic wings awash with power, his horn spreading Harmony throughout the distraught castle.

"You two...must remain here. Under no circumstances can either of you leave this castle, until I deem it appropriate."

The white alicorn answered first, her authority obvious.

"As thou wish, so it shalt be. Thy princess and I shall remain in this castle, and shall bequeath you with our trust and loyalty."

Gylden Glør nodded, turning, ready to face the horrors that Discord had created, ready to find any ponies on the brink of death and restore them, his duty top priority in this world of death.

He moved from body to body, checking their life force, confirming that they were dead, not dying. The few ponies he found that were not yet dead were past the point of return, their intestines spilled out and emaciated, their minds smashed in, their hearts and lungs acting only on instinct.

He found one pony, however, who could be healed. One single pony, whose wounds were not physical, but instead, on the soul. The grey Pegasus sat alone, weeping, back to the castle full of comfort.

"Young mare...why do you weep alone? You should be inside with everypony else, where you may be comforted, and comfort others."

The Pegasus looked up at him, the pain in her eyes causing his cloak and breastplate of fire to burn ever brighter, hating Discord for ever causing such emotional pain to a pony with such beautiful, yellow eyes, both looking straight ahead into the future.

"Because...I have no cutie mark..."

Gylden Glør looked at her flank, confirming the statement.

An almost grown mare, and no cutie mark...how odd...

"But why should that stop you from enjoying the company of others?"

The mare sniffed, eyes brimming with tears.

"Because everypony hates me...they think I bring pain and suffering with me..."

Gylden Glør knelt down next to the broken mare, placing a hoof under her chin, raising her eyes to his, the yellow irises meeting.

"You...you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. They should not be clouded by tears of mourning for being shunned, but rather by tears of happiness for being accepted and loved."

The Pegasus smiled, her soul bolstered by his compliment.

"Th...thank you...your eyes are nice, too..."

Gylden Glør forgot his duties to the realm, as only this Pegasus mattered at the moment, reminding him of his life before he had become the Guardian of Harmony...a time when he, too, was shunned for having such a spiky mane, and golden stripes rather than white...and a horn, but no wings. Then the Element of Harmony had presented itself to him after he had tolerated everypony who shunned him, for being Kind to those who hurt him, for Generously giving back to those who took from him, for Laughing as he was ridiculed, for being Honest with the only pony who had ever loved him, for being Loyal to the only pony who had ever loved him, and finally, for performing the greatest Magic to defend the pony he loved.

Unfortunately, the pony he had loved was torn away from him, killed by the passage of Time while he remained living as a god...

But now, he had found that same love among the Chaos of his heart as he looked into the yellow eyes of the grey Pegasus, her golden hair falling over her shoulder.

"What is your name, young mare?"

"Ditzy Doo...what's yours?"

"My name is Gylden Glør. Ditzy, would you...would you care to walk with me?"

The grey Pegasus nodded, the zebra comforting her.

Gylden Glør walked everywhere with Ditzy Doo. She had become not only his partner, but his friend, and eventually, the love of his life. He had already loved her, but now, she loved him in return, about five months into his campaign against Discord.

He stumbled into his chambers in the crumbling castle, tired from attacking Discords' minions. Ditzy Doo looked up at him, love shining in her eyes.

"Gylden! You're okay, thank Celestia! I heard that everypony on the team had been..."

The zebra hugged Ditzy Doo back, kissing her, his love for her overwriting a century of immortal coldness.

"I love you, Ditzy Doo...you make feel...like a normal pony again..."

However, the sound of his metal wings whispering as they scraped against one another proved him wrong, his ebony horn glowing with dutiful Harmony reminding him of his never-ending job.

"Gylden...I think it's time we go see her..."

The zebra nodded, the Princess' words still ringing in his ears from the last time they had met.

'Thy love shall be thy downfall, or thy strongest attribute in this war...'

Gylden Glør walked with Ditzy Doo to the Princess' chambers. Once safely inside the warded room, he asked the question that was on both of their minds.

"Princess Celestia...when will I face Discord? What will happen to me and Ditzy Doo when I do?"

The Princess looked up, years of sorrow evident upon her face.

"You will make a choice, and that choice will be hard for you and Ditzy Doo...and if you do not make it, then all of Equestria will fall into Chaos...but if you do, then Ditzy Doo...will be cursed with the Eye of Dreams."

Celestia explained what the Eye of Dreams was, and then drifted back to sleep, her recent debate with Luna having exhausted her to the point of no return.

"Doo, let's go back to our room."

"What choice, Gylden?"

"I'll tell you in our room."

He walked back to his room with Ditzy Doo, the grey Pegasus never leaving his side.

Once safely inside their warded chambers, Gylden Glør looked at his love, not knowing how to tell her what he had tried to reject so many times...

"Ditzy Doo...I saw something in my sleep...about a choice. A choice that would depend the fate of Equestria from now until the End Times...a choice of Sacrifice. I can either give up the Element of Harmony, and make it into the six Elements of Harmony, which would then be Celestia and Luna's to control, and I can Sacrifice my soul to become the Seventh Element of Harmony itself...or-"

He was interrupted as a kiss was planted on his lips.

"Gylden Glør...I will never leave you, no matter what choice you choose. If you choose to Sacrifice yourself for the good of all of Equestria, then I will use the Eye of Dreams to help you find your wielder in later years..."

Gylden looked at the grey Pegasus, love filling his eyes, and he kissed her again, a passionate kiss full of emotion and gratefulness.

"Ditzy Doo...I love you...I never want to leave your side...I want to be there for you, always..."

"You will. If you choose to Sacrifice yourself, you will...and I will be with you, as well. In your heart. You may be a century old, and you may be a god, but you still have my love. You still have my love with you, Gylden...I will never leave you, and you will never leave me."

They kissed again, crying, already knowing which choice Gylden would choose.

"Ditzy Doo...just please, don't look when it happens..."

Upon the final battle with the deity of Chaos, the Guardian of Harmony lost his life,

But not in vain, as he gave his Harmony to the world,

Created the Six Elements of Harmony,

And Sacrificed himself to become the Seventh Element of Harmony.

Gylden Glør walked up the hill, the wind blowing his spiky mane astray, the golden stripes all over his body and hair glowing with love for the grey Pegasus that walked next to him.

When the reached the top, Gylden sighed, feeling apprehension as he prepared to call the name of the foe he had fought for the past half a year...

"I'm afraid, Doo..."

Ditzy Doo put a hoof on his shoulder, comforting him.

"Don't be. I'm here for you."

"But...if what she said is true, then you'll be cursed with the Eye..."

She kissed him, hard, their tongues darting at each other instinctively, trying to find the partner that made them feel...safe.

"So be it. I will use it to protect the world as you have, and I will live through each century as the Dreamer. And when the time comes, I will help you find a new wielder."

Gylden Glør nodded, staring deep into her beautiful, yellow eyes...

"You have beautiful eyes, Doo..."

"And so do you, Golden Embers..."

He shouted the name of his foe.

"Discord! I summon ye to face me on this accursed rock, as I will banish you to the world from whence you came! I shall defeat you here, with the Power of Harmony!"

His wings glowed, his horn turned into a staff of light, and his eyes disappeared behind pulsating energy. Just like his first day in Equestria as the Golden Warrior.

A cold, dark laugh filled the land, echoing off of the mountains, playing a note of Disharmony.

"My foe...you who have been a thorn in my side for a long half a year..."

And there stood the Draconequus, in all of his disjointed glory.

"Come to die, at last. You cannot possibly best me."

Ditzy Doo hid from the horrifying beast, its claws reaching out to crush the life out of the love of her life...

"I can. And I will. Through the Power of Harmony."

Discord laughed. He reached down and touched Gylden.

At that moment, Gylden did what he had to. He put all of his energy out, used all of it to create the Six Elements of Harmony, even as Discord tore at him, tearing his limbs off, opening his body, tearing at his organs with a greedy blood lust, Ditzy Doo forced to cower in fear, tears streaming down her face, as Gylden cried out in agony, gurgling as the energy and life left his body.

And suddenly, Celestia and Luna stood there, awaiting the six Elements of Harmony, their separated powers greater when combined, greater than the overbearing Element of Harmony.

They took them, the six glowing stones revolving around them, three around each alicorn.

And, even as a chromatic magical bolt shot from their horns, enveloping the screaming Draconequus in stone, Gylden Glør uttered one last thing.

"Ditzy Doo...I love you...now...then...and forever more..."

And his body disappeared in a wash of light, the Seventh Element of Harmony forming from his life force, leaving this world to await its wielder.

Ditzy Doo walked out into the hill, watching as Gylden Glørs' soul was carried off, the Seventh Element of Harmony shining with its hidden light.

And, as it faded, a light gathered around Ditzy Doo, designating her as the Dreamer who would help Gylden return to the world as the Seventh Element, and to help him find his true wielder.

Her eye was held in a fixed position, suddenly glowing with wisdom and Sight, allowing her to see past the Realm of Reality into the Realm of Dreams, where she could see the dark manifestations of a Nightmare in Luna, and two resurrections awaiting Discord...

When the tendrils of Chaos extend into the world for a third time,

It is said that the Seventh Element of Harmony shall present itself,

Not only to the Sun and the Moon,

But to the Dreamer as well.

Gylden Glør descended, the peacefully sleeping ponies not noticing the power that shone from within the comet, held deep within the clutches of Harmony.

He first descended to Celestia, unable to keep any form more than a ball as he did so. She dipped her horn into his energy, and saw the truth, the truth that the Seventh Element was coming back, and so was Discord.

After he shared the truth with Luna, he descended upon Ditzy Doo, who now lived as a mail mare.

He picked up a stone with his magic and knocked the door with it, eagerly awaiting seeing his true love again.

She answered the door, gasping, Gylden Glør immediately noticing the lazy eye, the Eye of Dreams.

She reached for him, but could not touch his ghost.

He reached for her, but could not reach her body.

They cried, and when Gylden Glør had finished talking, he left, the apparition draining his scant amount of energy.

And his favorite memory with his love rose up as he retreated from the world, tears of Sacrifice falling behind him as he painfully remembered that glorious day...

Ditzy Doo and him sat side by side, simply watching the patch of Harmony that grew in the Princess' garden.

They watched the beauty, and Ditzy Doo leaned upon him, wrapping her arms around him like she did so often.

However, today was different.

Today was the day that Gylden would tell her how he felt.

"Doo, I have something that I want to tell you..."

The grey Pegasus shushed him, raising her lips to his.

She kissed him, her tongue darting into his mouth, grappling with the zebras' tongue.

Gylden held her tighter, regretting that he would one day have to die to save her...

"I love you too, Gylden..."

At that moment, his heart exploded with joy, and he kissed her again, tears of joy squeezing past through his tear ducts.

"Doo, I love you...I love you, Doo...I love you!"

They repeated the word 'love' to each other over and over again, not tiring of its magical effect.

And they both knew that if anypony had walked in on them, then and there, they wouldn't have understood what it was like.

But to Gylden, it was not only the greatest day of his life, but it reminded him of what it felt like to be loved...

And that He who Wields the Seventh Element of Harmony,

Shall be Kind,

Honest,

Loyal,

Filled with Laughter,

Generous,

And able to perform the greatest feats of Magic.

Gylden's soul still watches over all of Equestria today.

And it would be wise for one to not search for that soul.

Twilight put down the book, confused as to what the 'Truth' was. It seemed to be pretty detailed, and it could have only been written if Gylden Glør had given Celestia direct information...

"Thank you, Mayor. I have to go home now, Spike's probably worried sick."

The Mayor nodded, smiling as the book was returned to its rightful place on the bookshelf.

"Good night, Twilight Sparkle!"

The lavender pony cantered home, questions filling her mind.

What is the truth...

Body (Healing Part 2)

The orange work pony sighed at the breakfast table, waiting for the two ponies sleeping in Apple Bloom's room to come down.

Finally, Applejack heard hooves clopping of her barn house, her sister followed closely by Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle immediately plopped down across from each other at the breakfast table, eying their meal of hay and flowers with delight. After they ate, Applejack joining them, dreading how the young unicorn would take the news, Sweetie Belle remembered her manners.

"Thanks for letting me stay here so long, Applejack! I can't believe it took Rarity so long to complete a simple spell!"

Applejack gulped at the mention of the elegant white unicorn. Well, here goes nothin'...

"Uh...Sweetie Belle, there's something Ah've got t' tell you. Rarity...never finished her spell."

At first, Sweetie Belle chuckled, believing that her elegant sister had simply fried one of her Soul Gems. She stopped as soon as she saw the look on Applejack's face, the smile that normally adorned her face turned into a small, sympathetic frown.

"Is Rarity okay? Where is she?"

Applejack gulped again.

"She...she jus' got out of the hospital yesterday, and now she's stayin' at Twilight's library."

Sweetie Belle sat bolt upright, alarm in her eyes.

"Hospital!? Well, what are we waiting for!? Let's go!"

Applejack smiled, the bond between the two unicorns reminding her of her relationship with Apple Bloom.

"Applejack, wait, you were here all day yesterday! How d'you know that Rarity's out of the hospital?"

Applejack raised an eyebrow at Apple Bloom, momentarily caught off guard by the question.

"Well, ah saw Peter pushin' her wheelchair over to Twilight's, so-"

"WHEELCHAIR!? Apple Bloom, Applejack, let's GO!"

"Wait...who's Peter?"

Sweetie Belle stopped in the door, looking at the two earth ponies with impatience, realization suddenly dawning on her.

"Yeah...who is this 'Peter' pony?"

Applejack sat bolt upright herself.

"Ah...ah forgot to tell you about Peter?"

The two young ponies nodded, Sweetie Belle lightly tapping her hoof in anxiety.

"Well, uh...you two will see who he is when we get there. Just, don' be rude, he's a bit...different."

The two friends nodded, Sweetie Belle already running towards the Ponyville library at top speeds, Applejack and Apple Bloom close behind her.

Apple Bloom

Apple Bloom burst into Twilight's library, panting, her big sister likewise panting beside her. Twilight stood outside the door to her room, sitting on her haunches, nodding to Applejack.

Sweetie Belle and Rarity must be havin' a heart t' heart...

Apple Bloom and Applejack walked up the stairs, side by side, as Sweetie Belle exited her sisters' room, sniffing slightly, Rarity's smile visible through the open door, looking up at Twilight. Apple Bloom walked over to her friend, putting a hoof on the unicorn's shoulder.

"Twilight, where's Peter? I want to tell him something."

Apple Bloom raised her eyebrow at her unicorn friend, confused as to what she could possibly want to say to the enigma.

"Sure. He's in the guest bedroom, right over there."

Huh, that's weird...

Apple Bloom's stomach felt as though it was filled with butterflies, anticipation rising at the prospect of meeting this enigma.

Twilight walked over the guest bedroom, telling the two fillies to 'stay here', and knocked on the door, walking in when it was opened by Peter, who neither Apple Bloom nor Sweetie Belle caught a glimpse of.

They heard a window open, and a window close. They made nothing of it, eager to see who Peter was.

Twilight walked out, closely followed by...

"Uh...what...what is he?"

Applejack shot her a look that said 'what-the-buck-did-I-tell-you?' Apple Bloom shrank back, embarrassed for being so rude. She looked up in shock as Sweetie Belle launched forward, suddenly jumping up and hugging the...Peter.

"Uh...hi? Nice to meet you...?"

Sweetie Belle clung onto him, not letting go one bit.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! You  saved my sister's life!"

"He...he what?"

Applejack shot her the look again, face reddening as her sister acted out again.

"Oh, you must be Sweetie Belle...uh...you're...welcome?"

Laughing slightly, the white unicorn finally let go of Peter, walking over to Apple Bloom.

"Apple Bloom, he saved my sisters' life! Her spell went horribly wrong, and he stopped it!"

Peter simply nodded, blushing.

He's almost as shy as Fluttershy...

Apple Bloom looked at Peter with confusion, not understanding how something so...obviously-not-magical could've stopped a spell.

"But....how?"

The two fillies recoiled slightly as Rarity's savior raised his hands, showing the bandages that were wrapped around his palms.

"I crushed one of the Soul Gems...burned my hands pretty bad, but in all honesty, it was worth it."

"Worth it?"

Applejack glared at Apple Bloom, now thoroughly angered by her lack of manners.

"Well, I'd say saving somepony's life is a good trade off for burnt hands, don't you think?"

Apple Bloom chuckled slightly, and so did Sweetie Belle.

"Apple Bloom, why don't you go see Rarity? I'm sure she'd like that."

The filly in question nodded at Twilight, taking her advice as she turned around, walking into Rarity's room.

Peter

Peter frowned slightly as Applejack followed Apple Bloom.

Oh, boy...somepony's gunna get it big time.

In all honesty, Peter hadn't really minded the rather pointed questions that Apple Bloom had asked him. In fact, he had expected nothing less from the two young ponies.

"Peter...how can I ever repay you?"

He looked down at Sweetie Belle, the pristine white pony's eyes dilated.

"You don't have to pay me back, Sweetie Belle."

The white unicorn advanced on him, determination in her eyes.

"But you saved her life! I have to repay you!"

"Uh, no, really, it's fine. I'm just happy that Rarity's okay."

The white unicorn stopped right in front of him, eyes dilated, playing to the softness in his heart.

D'aawwww...maybe there is a way she can pay me back? I mean, she really wants to...

He blinked, rubbing his eyes, his grogginess starting to finally catch up with him.

Ah, mornings...ten minutes of being awake, two hours of feeling like shit.

"Listen, Sweetie Belle, you don't have to pay me back, honest."

"Pleeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaassssse?"

Peter's heart melted as he looked at the white unicorn, eyes watery, lower lip quivering. However, he stayed strong, keeping his morals in first priority.

"No. You don't have to pay me back, and  I don't want you to. Just, make sure that Rarity keeps herself out of trouble for me, okay?"

The white unicorn sighed, but nodded, apparently appeased by the simple task.

Applejack and Apple Bloom walked back into the hallway, Applejack's younger sister blushing slightly.

"Peter, ah'm sorry about my rude questions earlier..."

Applejack nodded as her sister spoke.

"I don't mind, it's understandable."

"Oh, okay!"

Applejack rolled her eyes, exasperated with her sister, not even bothering to turn around and reprimand her this time.

"So, if you don' mind me askin', what, exactly, are you?"

Peter smiled, eyebrow raised.

"I'm a human, from Earth."

He rubbed his hands together, still somewhat unaccustomed to how his body looked in this world.

It's almost like two dimensional objects on a three dimensional plane...

It didn't actually bother him, as he could still move three dimensionally, it's just that his body looked weird as he did so.

Apple Bloom nodded, pleased with the response.

They all snapped at the neck as a white pony walked in, stethoscope poised perfectly on his forehead.

Right...physical therapy...shit, I hope he doesn't try using methods for hooves on my hands.

"If everypony who isn't currently living here could please step out, it would be much appreciated."

Applejack nodded, ushering the two young ponies out with her, her mane bouncing slightly as she walked.

"Peter, come visit if you ever want t' make a few bits. We've got plenty of room at Sweet Apple Acres."

He nodded to Applejack, making a mental note to go and make a few 'bits'.

The doctor walked up the stairs towards Peter, all business.

"Now, if you would please sit down, we can begin our physical therapy session."

Peter turned, rolling his eyes as he did. Woohoo.

The doctor stood in front of Peter, raising an eyebrow at his hands.

"Uhm...I actually have no idea how your hands work."

Peter looked at the doctor pony, incredulous.

"Your spell thing, where you look into a pony's body...can't you, like, do that to my hand to see the muscles and stuff?"

The doctor nodded. "I was about to do that, and I was about to tell you to keep still."

Peter rolled his eyes again, extending his hands.

"Work your magic, 'doc."

The unicorn lowered his already glowing horn towards Peter's hand, the sanitary cap letting magic through its porous mesh.

After a few moments, the unicorn removed his horn from Peter's hand, nodding.

"Well, move your hand at the wrist."

Peter moved his hand at the wrist. No pain.

"Now, move your..."

Forty minutes later...

Peter sighed, his wrists and fingers cramping from moving them so much.

I might not be in the best shape ever...if moving my hands around cramp up my wrist and shit.

The unicorn moved on to Rarity's room, staying in there for a good hour and a half, during which Peter and Twilight struck up a conversation.

"So, how do you like Ponyville so far?"

Peter raised an eyebrow. "I like it, but it's gunna take some, y'know...getting used to."

Twilight nodded. "Is there anything you want? Like, new clothes or something?"

Peter thought about, and came to a conclusion. "A new pair of glasses would be nice."

He raised and eyebrow as Twilight's head shot up in apparent shock.

"You...you wear glasses? How come you never told us?"

Peter shrugged. "I dunno. It just never bothered me much...and I never really got a chance to ask about. I mean, I could barely make out the Carousel Boutique until I was right next to it, but this entire time I've only needed to see things close to me."

Twilight nodded.

Huh...I wonder if they can even make glasses for me....

"Well, I'll look into it."

He nodded, muttering a 'thank you', too tired to keep a conversation going.

Until a certain question was asked.

"I have a question: are there things more complicated than your iPod where you come from?"

Peter smiled, and got up, leaving Twilight confused. He returned with the iPod in question, unlocking it and bringing up pictures of a robot, from the CrIO to the drive train. When he got to the Victors and the Power Distribution Board, Twilight shook her head, stunned.

"Okay, I guess you do...who made that thing, anyway?"

Peter took a large inhale, smiling.

"Me."

He raised an eyebrow at the shock that met Twilight's face.

"Well, not only me. I designed the frame of it, and I helped put it together. I know how it all works, and I know what hooks up to what. Unfortunately, we kind of had an electrical fire at a competition called 'Brunswick Eruption'...exposed terminal on the power button with an exposed terminal on a victor equals tons of fun, y'know?"

Twilight closed her eyes and shook her head once more, warranting another raised eyebrow from Peter.

"So...what exactly does that thing even do?"

And thus, they passed the next forty five minutes, talking about victors, digital sidecars, servos, Cim motors, gear ratios, pneumatics, solenoids, PWM cables, and much more.

45 Minutes later...

Peter had just finished explaining what was so important about victors when the doctor pony walked out once more, smiling to himself.

"So, what's up with Rarity, 'doc?"

The doctor shot a derisive look at Peter, the word ''doc' triggering an instant reaction.

"Stop calling me ''doc'. My name is Syringe."

"Alright. So, Syringe, how's Rarity?"

The doctor smiled to himself, proud of the work he had done on her leg.

"I couldn't heal her fully, but I accelerated the mitosis around the break to the point at which she can now walk, albeit with a crutch."

Peter sat bolt upright, elated. "Sweet!" He brohoofed Twilight, this time not vocalizing the action, realizing that it would be somewhat awkward with the stuck-up Syringe nearby...

"And your hands are coming along nicely, as well. As long as you keep those bandages on, you'll be fine."

Peter nodded. He didn't plan on taking the bandages off.

Syringe nodded and walked down the stairs, then out the door. Peter and Twilight smiled at each other, and were about to burst into Rarity's room when Peter remembered something important.

He ran back to his room and opened the window, standing aside as Rainbow Dash alighted on the wooden floor.

"I saw the doctor walk in here. What'd he say?"

"Rarity can walk, but with a crutch."

Rainbow Dash exploded out of the room, leaving the books a mess, and Peter thrown onto the bed.

Well, I can see she's happy...

He followed the trail of chaos that led to Rarity's room, intrigued at how Rainbow Dash had managed to practically turn the entire library inside out.

It's like she did a mini sonic rainboom...

Twilight groaned and stood from her place on her own bed, holding a hoof to her head.

"Oh, Celestia...it'll take me all day to re-organize all my books!"

Peter looked back at the chaos and had to immediately bite his tongue, laughter trying to force its way through his lips.

Fus...Ro Dah!

He shook his head, amazed at his comical genius. Or rather, lack thereof.

Peter pushed open the door to Twilight's room and saw Rainbow Dash, her wings holding her about a yard off of the ground.

"Uh...Rainbow Dash, you do know that you just tore apart the entire library, right?"

"Heh...yeah...sorry about that."

Peter chuckled, a remnant of the Pegasus' mad dash to Rarity blowing out the window, accompanied by Twilight's voice and retrieval spell.

"So, Rarity, you excited?"

"Yes, very much so. I can't wait until I get the crutch. I've never walked on a crutch though...it will take some getting used to, I suppose."

Peter smiled, patting the elegant white unicorn on the shoulder.

"Well, since today's your last day with that cast, how about we sign it?"

Rarity blinked, not understanding what he meant at all.

"Sign it? Why ever would you do that?"

Peter ran a hand through his hair, but immediately stopped, feeling how greasy it was.

Okay, note to self: find a fucking shower.

"Well, back where I used to live, we would sign casts. I don't know why, but it was just a way to show that people were supporting you, I guess. That, or just a way to draw...'rude' things on the cast. But don't worry, I won't do that. At least, not to you."

Rarity and Rainbow Dash asked the same question, eyebrows raised. "Then to who?"

Peter smiled. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Rainbow Dash smiled, but Rarity frowned. "Well, I would suggest that you don't do it to anypony."

"Oh? What about somepony you hate?"

Rarity shook her head. "There's nopony I hate. Nopony at-"

Twilight walked in, disgruntled, cutting across Rarity's sentence.

"Celestia answered still hasn't my letter about the vision. It's been a full almost day!"

Peter raised his eyebrows, confused at the horrible grammar.

"Uh, Twilight? Are you sure you're speaking right?"

"Sure, yes, I am. You worrying much too."

He looked over at Rainbow Dash and Rarity for help. Rainbow Dash explained the situation in a whisper.

"Sometimes, when Twilight's really stressed out, she'll start speaking funny. That, or go on a psychotic rampage. It's better that she's speaking funny, though. You...don't wanna see her on a psychotic rampage. Seriously."

Peter nodded in agreement. Yeah, I don't want to have to deal with a crazy Twilight...

"Anyway, Peter want what you?"

"Uh...I need a shower. D'you have one?"

"Shower I have down hall, yes."

Peter's eyebrow raised more. Twilight was starting to worry him, as her speech was not only jumbled grammatically, but it sounded jumbled. The lavender unicorn was speaking the words normally, only putting them in the right order. Basically, the word 'yes' was said in the same tone as if it had been said in the beginning of the sentence.

"Uh...okay...call me if you get any mail, 'k?"

Just as he walked out into the hall, searching for the shower, when Spike ran past him, his mouth bulging, panic in his eyes. Peter turned on his heel, following the baby dragon back in.

"It is what, Spike?"

The baby dragon simply opened his mouth and belched something awful.

"Auughhh, dude, breath mints, Jesus..."

The baby dragon blushed slightly as a parcel hit the ground, the paper wrappings bulging with the contents, the twine holding it  all together.

A Present from Celestia

"Finally! Mail from Celestia!"

Peter relaxed as Twilight's grammar returned to normal. Nope, no psychotic...events.

She opened the parcel magically, exposing a stack of tickets. She took the letter out, anticipation coursing through her.

She read the letter aloud.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle,

"Your vision is not for you to worry about. Luna, the Dreamer, and I have it covered. Don't fret, my fateful student, as I understand how important it is. The three of us will take care of any problems that arise.

"Please, don't stress yourself over it. I sent this parcel with the goal of relieving your stress.

"You have had a long few days, full of surprises. So, Luna and I have decided to send you, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Spike, and Peter on a vacation, starting next Friday. There are train tickets to Manehattan, and you will be staying in the hotel 'Tower de Celestia'. We have arranged your reservations, and special arrangements have been made for Rarity and Peter, as well as Spike. The other set of tickets are for a cruise. We will have a...surprise party pick you up. They'll bring you to the cruise ship. We've had a first class cabin arranged for all of you, with each of your individual needs and wants.

"Enjoy,

"Princess Celestia.

"Post script-Ditzy Doo regrets not being able to meet you today, as she has other obligations. Just leave the lampshade in her P.O. box."

Peter and Rainbow Dash's mouths hung open in wide smiles. They looked at each other and brohooved, screaming simultaneous 'Awww-yeaaah's. Rarity sat upright, eyes sparkling with anticipation. Twilight sagged a bit, disappointed with the lack of a real answer, and Peter immediately tried to perk her up.

"C'mon, Twilight, be happy! Celestia will take care of the vision and stuff, and if anything, you can ask her about it when we come back. For now, we've got a vacation to prepare for!"

Twilight smiled. "Yeah, I you're right."

Everypony and Peter looked over to Spike to see his reaction. Unfortunately, the baby dragon wasn't present, but the sound of his snores most definitely were.

The four conscious friends looked to each other. After talking for a while, they decided who would go to whom with tickets.

However, that day proved to be one full of...challenges.

Preparations Part 1

Peter, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight were about to walk out the door, tickets stowed in saddlebags and pockets, when a grand roar met their ears. Rainbow Dash and Twilight chuckled slightly, knowing fully where the noise had come from.

"'Guess I'm just a bit hungry..."

Peter chuckled, his stomach rumbling again, even as Twilight went into the kitchen, horn already glowing. Peter and Rainbow Dash sat down at the table, eagerly awaiting their meal.

Unfortunately, the meal for that day was a bout of awkward moments.

"Uh...Twilight? I...uh...can't eat...hay."

The lavender unicorn looked at Peter, somewhat irritated. "If you don't like it, just hold your nose when you eat it."

Peter blushed, thinking hastily.

"Well, I'm sure that the food is wonderful, y'know, as far as hay goes...but, uh, I literally...can't eat hay. I can't digest it. Don't you remember what I said to you on my first day here? That the organ that digests it was excluded from the human genome?"

Twilight nodded, blushing slightly at her lapse in memory. "Right...well, what can you eat, besides meat?"

Peter thought about it, using the synthetic foods they ate as a focal point for his thoughts.

Well, they have cupcakes, which needs batter, which needs eggs...so maybe I can ask for some scrambled eggs? Wait, why am I even using cupcakes as an idea for that? Sweetie Belle cooked eggs in an episode!

His stomach rumbled again, the thought of scrambled eggs entering his mind, and staying there.

"Could I have some scrambled eggs? If it's not too much trouble, of course..."

Twilight nodded, her horn already glowing as she went into the kitchen.

"Oh, it's not a trouble at all. With magic, I can get it done in about a minute!"

Peter nodded, looking to Rainbow Dash, who was currently, rather sloppily, gulping down hay and flowers, making a mess. She looked up, swallowing, releasing a satisfied sigh as she leaned back, the emaciated meal's remains littering the plate.

Twilight walked out of the kitchen, rolling her eyes at the mess Rainbow Dash had made. She magically placed a plate of eggs in front of Peter, who immediately asked for a fork.

"Uh...okay, I guess."

A fork joined the plate, which Peter promptly picked up, and began to devour the eggs, making almost as much of a mess that they cyan Pegasus had made.

When he was done he dropped down the fork, the metal utensil clattering on the plate, and stretched, read to face the day. He ran his hand through his hair, but stopped as he met the grease inhabiting his hair once more.

"So, Twilight...where did you say the shower was again? I need one, like, really badly."

Twilight nodded, eying the mess on the plate with some disdain.

"Uh...right next to the guest room. Towels are in there too."

He nodded, going up the stairs two at a time, rushing into the shower room. He closed the door behind him and undressed. He looked down at his bare chest, raising an eyebrow at the ribs.

Well, that's normal...I'm still a skinny ass white person. Check one on my body.

He walked over to the mirror, the ceramic tiled floor chilling his feet, and blinked in shock, the small stubble he had had now transformed into a mess of hairs, making him look unruly and...different. He smiled.

Wow. My first time shaving might just be in Equestria. Who knew.

He was about to go in the shower when he remembered something. He grabbed his legs, feeling the taught muscles under the skin, hundreds of yards of freestyle and backstroke having bulked up his legs quite a bit.

Well, at least I didn't lose any muscles in my legs during my time in the hospital...

He rolled his shoulders, his Trapezius and other such muscles in his back flexing, hundreds of laps of butterfly stretching and splitting the muscle in his back over the seven years he had been swimming.

Finally, he took a deep breath, and angled his abdomen so as to stretch his rectus abdominis, the muscles taught from butterfly and breaststroke. He almost jumped with joy when he managed to form a six pack, but then remembered that there was no meat between his skin and the muscle. He was literally the skinniest person he knew.

He chuckled at the irony as he flexed, the muscles rippling in his back and on his abdomen. I abhor anything with physical exertion...and yet I have the muscles for running about five miles? Yeah, fuck that shit. Not running unless someone chases after me with a gun. Which, thankfully, I don't have to do here!

He placed his clothes on the convenient towel rack next to the shower, covering them with the towel he would use to dry himself.

Twenty minutes later...

Peter opened the bathroom door, pants on, soaking wet undershirt held in his towel.

"Twilight, do you know a spell to dry out my shirt?"

He stood on the landing of the stairs, feeling somewhat vulnerable as Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked up at his bare chest.

"Uh...sure."

Twilight walked up the stairs to him, her eyes glued to his midsection.

"Uh...Peter? Are you sure you're...okay?"

He nodded, confused as the lavender unicorn tilted her head.

"Then why can I see your ribs?"

Peter smiled. "Well, according to my friends at Robotics, I'm what known as a, 'skinny ass cracker'."

Rainbow Dash laughed slightly, now standing next to Twilight.

"'Skinny ass cracker'? You guys are so weird..."

Peter nodded, his wet hair, spiking as he did so, the wet shirt leaving the towel as Twilight picked it up with magic, using a spell to transfer heat from the surroundings into the shirt. Peter gratefully donned the now-dry shirt, shielding his body from the cold of the morning.

He scratched the stubble on his cheekbone, and was about to ask if he could shave, when he found that it wasn't really that unruly...

He looked down at Twilight, mind cleared now that he had taken a shower, the veins in his arms clearly standing out, giving him the illusion of strength.

"Well, let's go. I wanna get something first, I'll be right with you guys."

He walked into Twilight's guest room, striding right over to the burlap sack, taking out his iPod, plugging in the Bose headphones. He put them around his neck, ready to take a stroll.

They were about to walk out the door, smiling as the tickets rested in saddlebags and pockets, when he realized he wasn't wearing any shoes. He quickly ran up to the guest room, leaving Rainbow Dash and Twilight befuddled, grabbing his socks and sneakers, having slight trouble with the sneaker as the forced his flat feet past the arch support. He went over to the night table, searching for his glasses.

What the...where are they?

He was about to panic when he remembered that he had no glasses. He chuckled lightly, squinting as he looked out the window.

Yeah, I'm getting some glasses today right after I'm done at Sugarcube Corner...

He walked downstairs, jumping down the last five wooden steps, his sneakers blunting the fall. He walked up to the door where Twilight and Rainbow Dash waited, and pulled on his headphones, putting on noise reduction. He shook is iPod, putting on shuffle, and proceeded out the door, headed towards Sugarcube Corner.

Don't sing. Do. Not. Sing. And more importantly, since you won't notice anypony walking by, don't dance. Do. Not. Dance.

He walked along, bopping his head to the song 'New Divide', by Linkin Park, the dark, angst-filled music playing in extreme contrast to the happy, bright world surrounding him.

Tickets (Preparations Part 2)

Rainbow Dash walked to Applejack's, conscious of the tickets in her saddlebags, laughing slightly as Peter bopped his head and bounced on the soles of his feet, apparently oblivious to everything around him, his sights set on Sugarcube Corner.

He just gets lost in those headphones...

She returned her attention to keeping herself on the ground, not wanting to lose the tickets in a reckless flight, smiling wide as she thought of how Applejack would react.

She's gunna freak! I can't wait to see the look on her face!

She kept on walking, rainbow mane flopping in and out of her field of view as she walked, echoing 'hellos' as she walked, lost in her anticipation.

After walking for about five minutes, Sweet Apple Acres came into view. Only something seemed...different.

She walked up to the door and knocked, her hoof sending a resounding sound throughout the entire barn house. Nopony answered. Rainbow Dash tried again, her cyan hoof smarting as it banged against the wooden door. Still, no answer.

Confused, Rainbow Dash looked out to the apple tree orchard once more, noticing something different, but not knowing...what.

She gasped as she realized what was so different. Something so obvious, and yet so unexpected.

Half of the trees were devoid of leaves.

In the middle of summer.

She suddenly saw Applejack, the orange work pony running towards the lake with a basket, panic in her eyes. Rainbow Dash put the saddlebags down on Applejack's door step and flew over to her friend, confused.

"Hey, AJ! What's going on!?"

The work pony didn't stop. Instead, she kept on going to the lake, filled the bucket, and then sat, waiting for Rainbow Dash.

"The trees...they're dyin'."

"Well, I can see that. But why are they dying?"

Applejack looked up at the rainbow maned pony, fear in her eyes. "I...I just don't know."

Rainbow Dash frowned, confused. Maybe now isn't the best time to tell Applejack about Celestia's gift...

"Do you want help, AJ? I could get a few clouds for you and make it rain on the orchards, if you want."

The orange pony immediately perked up. "You'd do that...for me?"

Rainbow Dash expanded her wings, smiling with cockiness.

"Of course, Applejack! We're friends! I would never leave you hangin'!"

Applejack smiled, and drew Rainbow Dash into a hug. "Just like you never leave Ponyville hangin'..."

Rainbow Dash's eyes dilated, her smile faltered.

"You said you'd never leave Ponyville hangin', and now ah'm dead because you decided to leave Ponyville hangin'. Ah guess ah just didn' count, did ah? Well, ah'll show you how much ah count. It's time for you to die, Rainbow Dash."

The images from her dreams clouded her mind instantly, making Applejack's hug seem more like a tackle...

She disentangled herself from Applejack, hiding her fear with cockiness.

Just like I did back in Flight School...

She flew up and wrangled a few clouds, all the while remembering her dreams. She carried the clouds over the orchards and bounced on them, forcing the rain out of the balls of fluff. As she did, the dreams gradually left her mind.

My friends are here to help me. And I would never, ever abandon any of them.

Her smile grew, just as her belief in herself, and her thoughts. She stopped bouncing, having poured about a half a day's rain on the orchard.

She disbanded the clouds and looked down at the ground, pleased that she hadn't flooded it, but hadn't left it dry either. She returned to Applejack, all smiles.

"Well, that should take care of that...thanks, Rainbow Dash. Ah really owe you one."

The cyan Pegasus nodded, and suddenly thought of a great way to tell Applejack about the vacation.

"I know! Follow me."

She took off, rainbow mane swirling behind her, Applejack close behind.

The cyan Pegasus stopped, and picked up her saddles, pulling the two tickets out with her mouth, presenting them to the work pony as she approached.

"What...what are those?"

Rainbow Dash put the tickets on the ground in front of Applejack, letting her see them.

"They're gifts, from Celestia! We're all going on vacation next Friday!"

"Really? Come on in, Rainbow Dash, have some lunch!"

Rainbow Dash's eyes sparkled as her smile widened. "Thanks, Applejack!"

She walked inside, forgetting, or rather, not caring, that she had eaten breakfast less than twenty minutes ago.

Thirty minutes later...

The two friends sat at the dinner table, munching away at hay fries, giggling as they spoke of what they would do at the hotel.

"I'm so gonna hit the beach! Waves, here I come!"

Applejack nodded, smiling.

"So am ah. Ah can't wait to feel the sun on mah tired back..."

"I'm gonna surf so much!"

"Ah'm gunna relax, take a load off..."

"I'm gonna shred those waves!"

The two kept going at it, going back and forth about what they would do at the beach, at the spa, etc. Finally, they decided to go back to Twilight's library, to tell her that Applejack was definitely coming.

They walked outside into the hot summer sun, Applejack smiling at the trees.

"Thanks, Rainbow. You're a real friend."

The cyan Pegasus smiled, hoof bumping the orange work pony. They turned around to walk to Twilight's, just in time to see Peter, headphones around his neck, blasting a song that neither ponies recognized, running at full speed towards Rainbow Dash and Applejack, a letter clutched in his hand. He stopped in front of the two ponies, panting and sputtering as he leaned on his knees, Twilight close behind him, likewise panting.

"Uh...guys? You okay?"

Peter looked up and handed the two ponies the letter, falling to the ground under the afternoon sun, panting like he had run five miles in two minutes.

Applejack opened the envelope, the seal already broken, and put the letter on the ground in front of her and Rainbow Dash. They read it hastily and gasped, looking at each other in surprise.

Twilight

Twilight walked to Fluttershy's cottage, the tickets in her bag filling her with excitement.

I can't wait to see Fluttershy's face! She'll be so surprised!

She hummed as she walked, knowing how stressed Fluttershy must be, what with Devil and Peter...

She finally arrived at the cottage, having not run across anypony on her way there, and knocked on the door, wide smile joining her sparkling eyes.

The lavender unicorn raised an eyebrow in confusion when there was no answer. She knocked again. Still, no answer.

And then, she heard a scream from within the Everfree Forest, sending chills down her spine. She placed the saddlebags down, rushing into the forest.

No time to get anypony...if Fluttershy's in danger, I have to help her now!

She ran through the thick foliage, following the rough direction from which she had heard the scream, magically moving branches and debris, moving closer and closer to a blast center.

There, in the center, was the crater Peter had made on the day he had arrived.

Twilight looked around, certain that Fluttershy's scream had come from here. She looked behind bushes, under branches, and on trees, but couldn't find her friend anywhere. And then she heard a second scream, and turned around, feeling stupid for not checking the most obvious place.

She walked into the center of the crater, where Fluttershy lie. She dove to her friend's side, digging in, ready to use magic against whatever threats there could possibly be.

"Fluttershy, are you okay?"

The yellow Pegasus raised her head, still shaking, the fear in her eyes fading as she looked at Twilight.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

Twilight's eyes opened wide, incredulous.

"Uh...you just screamed. Loud."

The Pegasus got up, shaking her mane as she did so, eyes looking at the ground.

"Well, I was scared. I thought I saw a dragon at the edge of the crater. I was coming just to see if there was anything salvageable from Peters'...site of arrival."

Twilight nodded. Typical Fluttershy, scared by...

Her thoughts were interrupted by a squeak as the trembling Pegasus regressed into her scared position, and Twilight turned, just in time to see a very, very angry Ursa Minor.

The lavender unicorn gulped, and immediately did the same thing she had done to calm the other Ursa Minor, using the wind to make music from the plants. However, with the lack of a cup and milk to fill said cup, all she managed to do was distract the giant bear for a moment.

As soon as the music stopped, the Ursa Minor swiped at Twilight, still enraged that something had invaded its new nest. Twilight jumped back, using magic to lift Fluttershy up and out of the crater, into the safety of a bubble.

"Fine then! If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!"

Her mind cycled through hundreds of defense and attack spells. She finally settled on one that she could use to knock out the Ursa Minor without actually harming it.

She used the spell, the lightning bolt shooting from her horn to connect with the Ursa Minor's temple, sending enough voltage to knock out a small bear.

Unfortunately, this wasn't a small bear.

It swiped at her again, even more enraged as Twilight ran around him, using two spells at once: one to send constant bolts of lightning towards the beast's temple, and a second to keep herself moving in circles around the beast, desperate to avoid its claws.

However, avoiding the paws of an Ursa Minor is quite a larger challenge, as the lavender unicorn learned when the large hand slammed right into her, sending her across the crater. She immediately cast a healing spell on herself, mending the fractured hip with a click.

She looked up at the Ursa Minor, now furious, collecting enough energy to send a fireball the size of a boulder right at the giant bear's face. She was about to let it go when Fluttershy put a horn on her hoof, stopping her spell, sending Twilight into a state of mental shock as the yellow Pegasus' hoof made connection with the sensitive nerve endings, even more sensitive now that it was linked directly to her mind through the spell. She quickly recovered, watching in never-ending amazement as Fluttershy landed on the Ursa Minors' noise, shouting it down, Stare on.

"You do not hurt my friends! Now, go back to your cave and do not tell your mother about this. I don't want you to get in trouble for being a bad little bear, alright?"

The giant bear smiled, tears stopped by a claw, and it walked off into the Everfree Forest, looking more like a teddy bear than a bear with giant claws and deadly teeth.

"Wow, Fluttershy! That was amazing!"

"It...it was nothing. Let's go back to my cottage, shall we?"

Twilight stood in amazement as the Pegasus walked back to her house, totally calm, still not able to get over the fact that such a shy pony could have so many guts.

"Twilight, are you coming, or not?"

The lavender unicorn immediately obeyed, following her friend to the cottage, excited smile returning as she remembered the two tickets for Fluttershy.

Once at the cottage, Twilight magically picked up her saddlebag and took out the two tickets, flashing them in front of the yellow Pegasus' face, too fast for the docile pony to read it.

"Uh...Twilight, what are they?"

Twilight put then down on the ground, smiling a huge smile, a spark in her eyes.

"It's tickets! One for a train to the Tower de Celestia, and one for a cruise! I don't know on what ship yet, though. It's a gift from Celestia herself!"

The yellow Pegasus immediately pushed them away. "I want you to have them."

Twilight chuckled, smiling even more broadly.

"Fluttershy, you silly Pegasus! We all have tickets! You, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and I. Even Peter and Spike have tickets!"

The yellow Pegasus immediately smiled, eyes sparking, but then sat back down.

Ugh, now what?

"Who will take care of Devil and Angel? And all the other animals?"

"Celestia said she'd send somepony to watch them for you. Come on, Fluttershy, you need to relax!"

Fluttershy sighed. "Okay, you're right."

Note to self...ask Celestia to send somepony to watch Fluttershy's animals.

"Well, let's go back to the library. Peter and Pinkie Pie should be back by now, and so should Rainbow Dash and Applejack."

Fluttershy nodded, eager to talk about what everypony would do in the hotel, and on the cruise.

At Twilight's library...

Twilight opened the door to see Peter and Pinkie Pie laughing as they talked about what they would do at the beach.

"I'm going to have a huge dance party, with cupcakes, and presents, and everything!"

"I'm gonna body surf the hell out of those waves!"

"I'm going to bring music, and confetti, and everything you need for a party, all in my mane!"

"I'm gonna dive through each wave I see!"

Twilight cleared her throat, catching the attention of the human and the pony.

"So, Fluttershy's on board! Now, then, where's Rainbow Dash?"

Peter shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe she's hanging out with Applejack or something..."

Twilight shrugged in return, and was about to suggest they go find her when Spike walked in the room, holding a sealed envelope, the smell of mail following him.

Twilight opened the letter and read it aloud. Everypony, and Peter, gasped.

"We've gotta find Rainbow Dash and Applejack, now!"

"I agree. Peter, take this and follow me to Sweet Apple Acres!"

She put the letter back in the envelope, and Peter grabbed it, putting on his headphones.

"Let's go!"

She ran out the door, running at full throttle. She watched in shock as Peter not only caught up to her, but passed her, legs pumping almost as furiously as his arms, his headphones quickly falling off. The song that played was foreign to Twilight, but she kept going, keeping a careful eye on the sun.

Not much time...

Finally, they arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, Peter flopping onto his back as he handed the letter to the two shocked ponies, Twilight onto her stomach. The two ponies gasped, astounded by what they read.

Peter

Peter walked along, making  conscious effort not to dance or sing, reminding himself that there were ponies staring at him from left and right on his walk to Sugarcube Corner.

Geez...it's almost like a walk of shame...

He sagged his shoulders down, wanting to do nothing more than turn invisible at that moment.

Being a human here sucks. It fucking blows.

He finally arrived at Sugarcube Corner and knocked on the door, turning noise reduction off on his headphones. He simultaneously turned off the music on his iPod. He took the headphones off of his head and let them hang on his neck.

Pinkie Pie opened the door, her mane flopping all over the place.

"Hey, Peter! What's up?"

"Nothing much. Besides the fact that Celestia is sending us on a vacation!"

Pinkie Pie gasped, a huge, breath taking gasp.

Side note: see what I did thar? Carry on.

"Ohmygoshthat'sawesomedowehaveticketsorsomethinghuhuhuhuh? HUH?"

Peter opened his eyes wide, shocked by the random flow of words.

"Uh...what?"

"Do we have tickets?"

Peter nodded, pulling the two tickets out of his pocket.

"For both the train to Manehattan and the cruise. We're staying at some place called the 'Towers de Celestia'. Do you know what it is?"

A spark entered Pinkie Pie's eyes. "I'll tell you all about it!"

Peter smiled, eager to speak with the pink party pony. "Tell me on the way to Twilight's."

The pink pony nodded, bouncing by his side, speaking in a constant rhythm somehow uninterrupted by her hooves meeting the ground.

"Well, it's a really big tower hotel right near the beach, okay? It's got party rooms, a casino, huge elevators, a giant pool, a dance pad, and even more! There are also...'drinks'. Y'know, like wine? Best drinks there are!"

Peter raised an eyebrow to the word 'wine'.

I guess that that whole 'looks like the punch has been Spiked' thing was just Hasbro making a joke. I guess they really don't have real alcohol here...well, might as well get some of Applejack's cider and ferment it. It would be awesome to get it into circulation and watch shit go down, but, whatever.

Pinkie Pie continued talking, having just taking a deep breath.

"They give truly legendary massages there, and Celestia has her own reserved rooms! Oh, I can't wait! When are we going!"

"Next Friday."

Pinkie Pie stopped, a small frown stretching her face.

"But that's eight days away! That's too long!"

Peter looked at her, chuckling silently.

"Trust me, Pinkie Pie. It's going to faster than you think."

The pink pony nodded, trusting Peter perfectly.

They continued walking, Pinkie Pie giving him the scarcest of information.

"Wait, what do the casinos look like?"

The two stopped in front of Twilight's library, and the pink pony answered in a Pinkie Pie way.

"Duh, it would ruin the surprise!"

Peter nodded, smiling as he opened the door. They sat down and started talking about what they would do at the beach, excited.

Damn...eight days is too long...

"I'm gonna body surf the shit out of the waves."

And then, Twilight cleared her throat. Peter raised an eyebrow, surprised that her breath would smell so bad.

And then Spike walked in, holding a letter.

Twilight read it aloud, and Peter gasped at the same time as everypony else in the room, even Rarity.

"Peter, take this and follow me!"

Why? He didn't bother voicing his question, but instead took it and followed Twilight, headphones on out of habit, blasting the Skyrim Theme Song.

Well, time to run!

He ran past Twilight, Sweet Apple Acres visible in his field of vision.

Stopping in front of the two ponies, he flopped down on his back, panting, the letter on the ground in front of the two ponies. Twilight flopped down near him, panting as well.

The two ponies gasped, and all of the four friends looked at each other, frantic.

Haste (Preparations Part 3)

"The...the vacation is starting tomorrow!?"

Peter and Twilight nodded, still panting.

"What!? Applejack, get your stuff ready! I need to go up to my cloud house! I'll meet you guys in the library, okay?"

The three friends nodded at Rainbow Dash, speechless.

Peter looked down at the letter, reading it in incredulity.

It read:

Dear Twilight Sparkle and friends,

I regret to inform you that the stallion who is taking you to the train next Friday must leave on account of family emergency. Sorry for any inconveniences, but I must move the date of departure to tomorrow, at about six o'clock in the morning.

My sincere apologies for any inconveniences,

Princess Celestia

He shook his head. More like Trollestia...well, at least we get to go earlier...I was fed up with waiting already.

He suddenly remembered something important. "Hey, Applejack, Twilight, I need to go get some glasses. I'll meet you all back at the library, 'k?"

The two ponies nodded, watching Peter walk off.

Twilight and Applejack looked at each other ,waiting, smiling knowingly.

After about a minute of walking, Peter turned around, walking back towards the two ponies, once again, feeling like an ass.

"Hey, where can I get glasses?"

Twilight chuckled. "Come on, follow me. Applejack, go get your stuff ready. Peter, can you take the letter?"

Peter nodded, picking up the letter and stuffing it into his pocket, following the lavender unicorn through Ponyville.

Twilight

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

The unicorn behind the counter nodded to Twilight, already using telekinetic magic to measure Peter's face, finding glasses frames of the right size.

"How about these?"

Peter plucked the glasses out of the air, and nodded in approval. "I like them."

The unicorn nodded and placed them down in a box behind the counter, ushering Peter into the back room, leaving Twilight in the waiting room.

The lavender unicorn sat down, reading the various posters, thinking about what books she should bring.

Maybe the History of Equestria...Spike never did put that on Peter's bed...or maybe a book about astronomy, Pre Celestia? I think that maybe then I could find out how similar our worlds are...Oh, definitely the book 'One Hundred and One Spells through History'...oh, and the book on unicorn flight...Oh, Celestia, there are too many books to choose from! Should I just magically expand a bag and put all my books in it?

She thought about, and deigned to do the latter. It'll be hard, but it'll be worth it.

Finally, about a half an hour later, Peter walked out of the back room, rubbing his eyes as the dilation was magically reversed.

"Mr. Roose, your eyes are marvelously similar to those of a pony's, luckily. Now, I'll just inscribe the perscription into these lens, and you'll be good to go!"

Peter nodded. "Alright. When should I come back for them?"

The unicorn looked at him, incredulous. "Uh...I'm going to do them now. Watch."

Peter sat, obviously intrigued, as the unicorn magically inscribed each lens with the right prescription, changing the  way the world looked through them, all the while not having to change the glasses frame at all. He placed them on Peter's face, standing back to admire them.

Twilight got up and looked at Peter.

"Well, you definitely look better with glasses, Peter!"

Peter smiled, obviously pleased, his stature relaxing as his perception of the world returned to what he was accustomed to.

"You look better through glasses, Twilight. I could barely make you out before!"

The lavender unicorn chuckled softly, not realizing how bad Peters' eyes actually were.

"So, 'doc, how much does this cost?"

The unicorn thought about it, and finally deigned to call it a 'gift'.

"What?"

"I mean, you did save Rarity's life. The least I could do is give you a small gift!"

Peter smiled, grateful. "Thanks."

Twilight looked out the window, starting as she realized that almost a full hour had passed.

"Peter, come on, we have to go! There's only about four hours left for us to get ready!"

Peter nodded, lifting his glasses to rub his eyes.

"Yes, let's."

They both left the shop, thanking the doctor as they did.

Peter

"Wow...everything looks so...amazing with these glasses on! I could barely make you out when I was right across from you, Twilight. Everything looks so much...clearer."

Twilight nodded at his side, obviously deep in thought.

"So, Twilight, what books are you bringing with you?"

"All of them."

Peter looked at the lavender unicorn in surprise. "All of them? How the hell are you going to manage that?"

"Expansion charm on a bag. I just need to find it in my library..."

Peter grunted, remembering the mess Rainbow Dash had made.

At least Twilight got it all fixed up...

They finally arrived at the library, both of them deep in thought.

But what if my iPod dies...that'll be a bitch.

They opened the door to find Rainbow Dash struggling with Rarity's wheelchair, to no avail, a cyan suite case abandoned next to Twilight's table.

"Really, Rainbow Dash, it's fine. I don't need to get my accessories."

Rainbow Dash saw Peter and let out a sigh of relief. "Hey, Peter, you mind helping me with this?"

Peter shook his head 'no' and put his iPod, and headphones, down on the table, and walked over to Rarity's wheelchair, taking the handles from Rainbow Dash's hooves, and was about to push Rarity out when Syringe walked in, crutches and a small gel cast levitating by his head.

"Oh...hello, everypony. I see you've all forgotten about these?"

Peter chuckled slightly, and he and Rainbow Dash blushed simultaneously, embarrassed at their forgetfulness.

"Uh...yeah."

Syringe simply smiled, and telekinetically raised the white unicorn into the air, stripping her of her cast, and replacing it with the far more comfortable gel cast. He schooled her on using the crutches, and how to let her weight be supported by the wooden struts.

"Thank you, Mr. Syringe. Between you and Peter, I can't decide who to thank more!"

Syringe smiled. "Thank Mr. Roose more. He saved your life, remember?"

Rarity smiled, and Peter immediately felt embarrassed, shrinking back slightly as Rarity thanked both of them in turn.

"Well, have a nice night, everypony. Mr. Roose, stop scratching your bandage."

Peter did as he was told, blushing slightly as Rainbow Dash chuckled.

Geez, I feel like a child...

Syringe walked out, the image of his namesake stretching over his flank.

Huh...maybe I should ask them what those pictures mean...I mean, I know they're cutie marks, but they don't know I know that...

"Hey, Twilight, what are those pictures on everypony's legs?"

The lavender unicorn looked at him, confused.

"They're cutie marks. Don't you have one?"

Peter shook his head 'no'.

"Well, when a pony finds what he or she is best at, they get their cutie mark. It's a very revealing and amazing moment in a pony's life, and is, most of the time, the best moment of their life. I got mine when I was accepted into Celestia's school of magic."

Rainbow Dash flew into the air, wings spread out with pride.

"I got mine when I first did a Sonic Rainboom! And, if it weren't for me, Twilight wouldn't have gotten her cutie mark!"

Peter chuckled as Twilight groaned, obviously annoyed by Rainbow Dash's swelled ego.

Well, at least she's back to normal...

The cyan Pegasus was about to go more in depth when Rarity gasped, apparently having remembered something. Peter and Rainbow Dash rushed over to her, catching her as she swooned.

"Peter...you have nothing to wear!"

Peter looked down at his undershirt, sweatpants, and sneakers, and realized that it probably wasn't the best attire for a fancy hotel.

"Oh, right...well, where can I go this late? It's almost night time."

Rarity stood, wobbling on her crutches, and spoke.

"Come with me. Not only must I prepare my things from the Boutique, but I must also make some clothes for you!"

Peter didn't argue as he helped Rarity to the door, Rainbow Dash following.

I'll help her get her stuff ready, but then I'll refuse her offer. Hopefully she won't be offended if I do.

As they walked out, Applejack walked in, large orange luggage on her back as she strode in, her knees shaking as the large suit case wobbled.

Peter and Rainbow Dash walked on in silence, both helping Rarity to the Boutique.

Flutttershy

The yellow Pegasus flew faster than she ever had in her life, almost knocking her door down as she burst into her house, immediately going up the stairs, taking out her yellow luggage from underneath her bed.

For the next hour, Fluttershy zipped between random parts of her house and her luggage, frantically packing as she verbally made a checklist.

"Brush, check. Sunglasses, check. Sun screen, check. Towel, check. Bird seed, check. Pillow, check."

1 hour later...

Fluttershy silently closed the door behind her, not wanting to wake up Angel, struggling to pull the yellow baggage down the road to Twilight's house. She looked to the library, just in time to see a puff of smoke flying out the window, signifying a letter being sent by Spike.

Probably just acknowledging...the new...time limit...

About twenty minutes later, Fluttershy arrived in front of the library, panting, watching Peter, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash take off towards the Boutique.

She opened the door, panting, the orange work pony leaning back on her orange luggage, the lavender unicorn looking for something.

"Applejack...help me...please..."

The Applejack looked up, the Twilight turning at the same time, magical aura surrounding a purple suit case.

"Don't worry, sugarcube, Ah've got you."

Applejack bounded over, helping Fluttershy pull in the heavy luggage, placing it down next to a rather large cyan suit case.

"So...Rainbow Dash is ready...I see..."

Fluttershy sat down on her yellow luggage, panting.

"Yup. What'd you pack, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy quickly listed the supplies she had packed, and asked Applejack what she had packed.

"Oh, y'know, the essentials. Like some apples, for the trip, and mah summer hat. Also, Ah packed mah sunglasses. Also a few other bits and bobs."

Twilight's horn glowed brighter, causing both Fluttershy and Applejack to raise hooves to their faces, shielding their eyes.

"There...that should do it."

"Do what, sugarcube?"

"An expansion charm. I'm trying to fit as many books as I can."

Applejack and Fluttershy nodded, knowing perfectly well that nothing could stop Twilight from packing more books than needed.

"What about a towel? And a hat?"

Twilight blushed slightly. "Well, that too, Fluttershy..."

The three friends chuckled slightly, just as Pinkie Pie burst in, pink mane even more messy than usual.

Fluttershy closed the door silently behind her, struggling with the yellow suit case, pulling it up her

Pinkie Pie

As soon as Peter and Twilight left the library, the pink party pony took off at the speed of Party, ponies and buildings flashing before her eyes until she arrived at her destination, blowing the door to Sugarcube Corner open as she rushed in. She ran into the basement, where she stored all of her stuff.

Pinkie Pie reached into her mane, her forelegs disappearing deep within the pink mess, taking out bits and bobs, trying to decide what to take.

In order, Pinkie Pie took out Gummy's bed, Gummy, a confetti canister, nutmeg imported from Manehatten, a bottle of wine, a glass, a microphone, a packet of invitations, a stale chocolate moose cake in a container, (which she reluctantly threw away,) Peter's design for the cupcakes, a cupcake baking sheet, a portrait of a cupcake, a camera, a tripod for a camera, a pair of sunglasses,  pair of shutter glasses, a pair of Groucho Minx glasses, a pair of loud speakers, a water gun, balloons, a helium canister, (for the balloons,) about two pounds of baking powder, a carton of eggs, a carabiner, and, finally, a coat rack.

She looked around, frowning, aware of the small amount of time she had.

Pinkie Pie shook her head and smiled wide. "I'm about to be...brilliant!"

Gummy looked up at her, indifferent, as the party pony held her breath, causing her mane to poof up even more.

The best thing about having an inflated mane, is that when there's a bunch of air in something, there's a lot of room!

She shoved everything, save the loud speakers, back into her mane, organizing everything so that she could find it later. Pinkie Pie went up to her bedroom, wondering what else she needed to bring with her.

One hour later...

Pinkie Pie nodded in the middle of her room, making a mental list of the tools she had packed in her mane.

My soldering pen, my C-Clamp, my splicing kit, my drill, my jigsaw, my wire spools, my vice grip, my light set, and my ratchet kit.

She chuckled, remembering the conversation she had had with Twilight the first time she had shown her the stash in her closet.

'Pinkie, why do you need all of this?' Silly Twilight! Don't you know? It's perfect for hooking your microphone up to the speakers when you're not allowed on stage, or controlling the lights with your own remote when you're not allowed in the control room!

She chuckled even more as she remembered Twilight's opposition to her uses of the tools.

'Pinkie Pie, that's illegal! You could get arrested for that!' Oh, Twilight. You're so...silly! I always give the managers twenty bottles of wine before hoof! They let me use all of their things then! They're so happy when I give them gifts!

Pinkie Pie nodded again affirming her list of things. She stood, speaking aloud, to nopony in particular.

"Time to go on vacation!"

She bounced out, aware of the two hours she had passed in her house, her indecisiveness holding her up.

Pinkie Pie finally arrived at library's library to find Fluttershy, Applejack, and Twilight sitting around the table, talking, sitting on their luggage, laughing lightly.

"Hi, everypony! What's up?"

"Oh, nothing, Pinkie. Just talking about what we're going to do at the hotel! Now, where was that book about unicorn flight..."

"Oh! Well, I'm going to paaaarrtay! I can't wait to see the party rooms in the hotel! Oh, and I can't wait to try some of the wine there! Also I-"

Applejack cut across with a stern look. "Hold it there, sugarcube. You're not havin' any wine on mah watch. Remember what happened that night?"

Pinkie Pie nodded, still smiling. Oh, right...

"What happened on what night, Applejack?"

The orange work pony chuckled slightly. "Oh, nothing, Twilight. Let's just say it ended up with Pinkie Pie here upside down on the ceiling."

Twilight raised her eyebrow, but walked away, shaking her head, chuckling slightly. "Oh, Pinkie."

Pinkie Pie smiled and nodded. "Yep!"

The party pony walked up to the table and sat down, looking directly to Fluttershy.

"So, Fluttershy, what are you going to do at the Tower de Celestia?"

The yellow Pegasus immediately responded with a confidence that Pinkie hadn't seen in her since...ever.

"I'm going to get one of those marvelous Tower de Celestia wing massages. And, no matter what she says, I'm pulling Rainbow Dash along with me too. She needs to get one of those massages. What are you going to do, Pinkie Pie? Besides partying, of course."

A spark entered Pinkie's eye, but it died as soon as Fluttershy said 'besides partying'.

"Well...maybe..."

"You should really relax, sugarcube. Ah doubt that constant partyin' isn't tirin', even for a pony with your...uh, stamina."

Pinkie nodded. "Yeah, maybe I'll go to the beach. Sit back, relax, and even surf!"

Twilight stopped in the middle of putting books in her suit case.

"Pinkie Pie, you surf?"

The party pony bounced up, nodding.

"Yeah! Every time I go to a beach!"

Twilight raised her eyebrows and smiled, lowering her voice.

"Well, do you think you could...teach me?"

Pinkie giggled. "Of course, silly! And Peter can help you, too! He does 'body surfing', whatever that is."

"It's when I wait for a wave, and catch it just before it crests and ride it on my stomach. It's a bit dangerous, but fun as holy hell."

Everypony looked up to see Peter leaning in the doorway, beard trimmed, luggage on his shoulder, the moon reflecting off of his sunglasses and the buttons on his white tuxedo, the buckle holding his white pants up also reflecting the dull light, his black shoes bright with a recent shining.

Rarity

As she walked, Peter and Rainbow Dash stood by her side, not talking, focused on keeping Rarity upright throughout the trek. Rarity looked at Peter's clothes, wondering how he could keep an upright posture while wearing such hideous pants.

As they neared the Boutique, Rarity was filled with anxiety.

This is the first time I've been in here in...three days? I can't wait!

Peter opened the door for Rarity, holding it as Rainbow Dash walked her in. Rarity heard it snap shut as he walked up to her side, offering to get whatever she needed. She shook her head. Time was of the essence.

"No, I need you to stay down here. Rainbow Dash, would you be a dear and get some white fabric from my room? Also, some black leather and purple silk would be nice. As well as a buckle. And a-oh, my!"

Rainbow Dash picked her up, bringing her to her work station. Peter picked up the crutches, chuckling as the cyan maned Pegasus carried off the white unicorn.

Once upstairs, Rarity took back the crutches, and immediately set to work, measuring Peter's height, the length of his arms, the length of his legs, the width of his midsection, etc.

"Uh, Rarity? How do you know where to measure?"

The white pony didn't answer, obsessed with her work. She finally put away the measuring tape and ensnared the pencil and paper in her magical grip, drawing out a design that Peter couldn't see. She awkwardly moved over to the sewing machine and set to work, Peter still unable to see what she was doing.

About twenty minutes or so later, Rarity stood up, magically hovering the white dress shirt in front of Peter.

He put it on, buttoning it, surprised that Rarity had made something so quickly, especially for a human...

"Uh, Rarity? I appreciate it and everything, but...how do you know how to make shirts?"

Rainbow Dash sighed, already bored.

"Well, my dear, Spike has a very similar body to you. Making a shirt for him was very similar to making a shirt for you. I'm guessing you'll want pants, too?"

Peter nodded, a bit too vigorously. "Uh, yeah, I would like that."

The elegant white pony raised an eyebrow, but returned to her work, notwithstanding Peter's over-vigorous agreement.

About an hour later, with Peter giving slight suggestions-such as a clip instead of a button, and a zipper as the fly-Rarity levitated pants in front of Peter. He plucked them out of the air and asked if there was a place where he could change in private.

"You can change in the bathroom."

Peter nodded and briskly walked over to the door Rarity's hoof pointed to, closing the door behind him, walking out about five minutes later, sneakers and grey sweatpants and sneakers in hand, his socks nowhere to be seen, his shirt tails tucked into the white pants.

The cyan Pegasus looked up, smiling at Peter.

"Awesome!"

Rarity nodded, looking at the belt holes she had made.

"Uh, Rarity, if you don't mind me asking, how do you know how to make pants?"

"Because I made pants for Spike once. He decided not to wear them, though."

Peter simply nodded as Rarity moved over to her work station once more, stitching away at black leather to make a belt, attaching a buckle to the end of it.

"Try this on."

Peter did, and smiled as he looked at the silver buckle, obviously pleased with how it had turned out.

Rarity looked at his feet, now somewhat tired. He pulled the socks out of his shoes, and handed them to Rarity.

"You can use these as a mold for socks, I guess. And also the sneakers, you can use them as a mold for shoes, right?"

Rarity nodded, grateful that she had something more to go on than just drawings this time.

About an hour later, she presented Peter with socks and shining, black shoes, which he shoved onto his feet.

"They feel nice. Thanks, Rarity. I think we should head back now, Twilight's probably-"

The elegant white pony magically closed the door, and both Rainbow Dash and Peter snapped at the neck towards Rarity, confused.

"I still have to make you a tuxedo, sunglasses, and a second outfit. You can't walk around in the summer sun in that, darling."

Sighing, Peter admitted to more measurements, donning the white tuxedo about a half an hour later, joined by sunglasses. Rarity smiled as Peter raised an eyebrow, obviously pleased with the fact that Rarity had managed to copy the prescription in his glasses over to his sunglasses.

"Wow, I can see great in these!"

Peter

He shrugged in the tuxedo, his hands on the folds.

Thank God for Spike. If not for him, we would've been here all night, trying to make a fucking pair of pants...

He blinked, his vision still not totally used to prescription sunglasses.

"Now, dear, it's time for you second outfit. What do you want?"

Peter thought about it, scratching is stubble, realizing that he really needed to shave.

"How about..."

A song entered his mind, and he made up his mind, smiling mischievously.

"How about...the same pants, but with...a turtleneck and chain."

"You like turtles, Peter?"

Peter raised an eyebrow to Rainbow Dash, nodding.

"I have a pet turtle! His name is Tank. You wanna see him?"

Peter smiled. "Sweet. Can't wait!"

Rainbow Dash smiled wide, already spreading her wings to bring Tank to the Boutique, when Rarity cleared her throat.

"Rainbow Dash, we don't have time to play with our pets. We have about...an hour left before we have to sleep. We have to get up at at least five o'clock tomorrow, remember?"

The cyan Pegasus sighed, and sat down, her wings slowly retracting. Peter smiled, turning back to Rarity.

"Just one thing: can you make the turtleneck blue, and out of a light material? So that I'm not sweating all the time? And the chain...I kind of want it to be super thin."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at the mention of a blue turtleneck. Rarity nodded, walking away from Peter, things flying around, ready to become a turtleneck and chain.

I can't believe she's so energy filled. And she's using those crutches like a pro. When she gets in her zone, nothing can stop her, I guess.

About one hour later, Rarity presented Peter with a blue turtleneck and a thin, gold chain.

"Uh, Rarity? Where did you get the metal for the chain?"

The answer came in the form of twenty more thin chains, which Rarity explained as being for 'her next fashion line'.

"Well, I guess I just started your fashion line for you, huh?"

The unicorn laughed, but politely shot down his achievement.

"Yes, and no. It has to be on a pony."

Peter nodded, understanding. He didn't bother trying on the turtleneck, or the chain, but instead asked for a suit case.

"I don't have one, as I kind of just...arrived here, really."

Rarity nodded, bringing out two white suit cases, one large one for herself, one smaller for Peter. He put the turtleneck and chain in his bag, chuckling as he did so.

"What's so funny, Peter?"

Peter turned to Rainbow Dash, a wide smile on his face.

"I'll tell you at the library. Yes, Rainbow Dash, at the library."

The cyan Pegasus rolled her eyes, even as things flew around the room and into Rarity's luggage, but didn't pursue the issue any further, changing the subject instead.

"So, Peter, what are you going to do at the beach?"

He smiled. Finally! I never thought she'd ask! Time to see how awesome my plans are, according to the master of awesome.

"Well, the first thing I'm gonna do is catch a few waves, and body surf."

"'Body surf'? What's that?"

"I wait for a wave, and catch it with my body before it crests, and ride it on my chest. It's dangerous, but fun as all hell."

"That sounds awesome!"

Peter smiled, chuckling.

"Hell yeah, it does."

They were about to talk more when Rarity finished packing and ushered the two friends out, magically levitating her luggage as Peter swung his over his shoulder.

"Let's go, now! It's almost time for us to sleep! And I simply must get my beauty sleep!"

Peter and Rainbow Dash rolled their eyes. Neither of them were sleeping that night.

They walked out, human and Pegasus standing next to Rarity, ensuring that she wouldn't fall.

Twenty Minutes Later...

Peter held a finger up to his mouth, flicking his sunglasses down over his eyes, straightening his tuxedo, Rainbow Dash and Rarity raising their eyebrows at him. He stealthily opened the door, making no noise whatsoever. He leaned on the frame, holding a finger up to his lips as Applejack noticed him.

"Of course, silly! And Peter can help you, too! He does 'body surfing', whatever that is."

"It's when I wait for a wave, and catch it just before it crests and ride it on my stomach. It's a bit dangerous, but fun as holy hell."

Everypony snapped at the neck to see Peter, arms crossed, broad shoulder on the door, legs crossed at the knees, eyebrow raised over his sunglasses, the world tinted dark, yet sharp and definite, the prescription relieving his eyes.

The Morning (Departure)

Side note: The eight main characters (mane six, Spike, and Peter) speak in a very hectic way this chapter, so certain parts are recorded in a play-like fashion.

"So, how do I look?"

Twilight raised her eyebrows, forever logical.

"You look like you're ready to party, not to sleep."

Peter smiled, his sunglasses obscuring his eyes. Rainbow Dash walked in and sat next to Pinkie Pie, helping Rarity on her way in.

"I'll go change. I need to put some things in my luggage, anyway."

He picked up his iPod and went upstairs, white luggage on his shoulder, Rainbow Dash smiling at Pinkie Pie as the party pony bounced up and did what she did best.

"I think it's time for a song!"

Rainbow Dash was about to join the pink pony, ecstasy running through her at the thought of a vacation, when they heard Peter shout down from upstairs.

"Not without me!"

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash laughed heartily, anticipating Peters' singing with them.

They sat down and talked about what they would all do in the hotel, branching off into separate conversations.

T.S.: "I want to check out the Museum of Magic in Manehattan!

F.S.: "I'm going to go to the zoo. I've heard they have a bunch of cute animals!"

R.D.: "I'm so going to watch all the colts check me out!"

Rarity: "I'm going to get one of those divine massages in the spa."

A.J.: "Ah'm gunna check out that buckin' competition!"

P.P.: "I'm going to party all day, all night, and even when I'm not in a scene, I'm going to party!"

R.D.: "Uh...sure. I'm going to shred every wave I see! Helloo, surf boards!"

P.P.: "Oh, so am I! I love to surf!"

F.S.: "Oh, I can't wait to get a wing massage..."

R.D.: "Pinkie Pie, you surf?"

Rarity: "Fluttershy, maybe we can get massages together!"

T.S.: "Yep! She agreed to teach me how to surf!"

A.J.: "Rarity, you're not going to go to the beach?"

R.D.: "Pinkie, we can be surfing buddies!"

Rarity: "Of course I am! Oh, I hope I packed my sunglasses..."

P.P.: "Awesome, Dashie!"

T.S.: "Hey, Rarity, do you want to go to the museum with me?"

Rarity: "Why, of course, dear!"

R.D.: "Aww, yeah! It's gonna be awesome!"

F.S.: "Uh...what's that noise..."

Nopony heard Fluttershy's whisper, and kept talking, drowning out her voice.

Spike: "Hey, what's everypony talking about?"

R.D.: "About what we're going to do at the hotel!"

Spike: "Well, that's easy. I'm sleeping in!"

R.D.: "Ooohhh, good idea, Spike!"

F.S.: "Everypony, what's that noise?"

Once more, nopony heard her.

T.S.: "Spike, you've got to do more than that!"

Spike: "Nah. In fact, I think I'll go to sleep now. I'm tired. Wake me up when we have to leave."

Peter: "Hey, how do I look in this?"

Everypony looked up to see Peter, holding his speakers, white undershirt above grey sweatpants and ridiculously red feet.

R.D.: "Uh...wow."

P.P.: "Hey, Peter, wanna sing now?"

Peter nodded, shaking his speakers.

Peter

"Let's have some fun, everypony."

Rarity sighed. "If you insist."

Peter laughed, tossing the speakers down on the table, obviously having no regard for his belongings, raising an eyebrow at Rarity's incredulous look. "They're tough. They can withstand a fall down metal stairs."

He unzipped the speakers, taking his iPod out of the small pouch inside. He scrolled through his music, and finally found the song he wanted everypony to hear.

"Uh, sugarcube, Ah'm not sure we should have 'fun' this late."

Everypony looked at Applejack, then back to Peter as he agreed.

"Yeah. We should probably all get some sleep. I mean, we have to get up at five tomorrow morning..."

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash sighed. "Fine."

Rarity nodded, and Spike simply left the room. Twilight magically expanded several sleeping bags, one for each of them, Fluttershy yawning as she did so, Applejack smiling smugly.

"So, I'm guessing we're sleeping here tonight?"

Twilight looked at Peter, eyebrow raised. "What the hay do you think?"

"Uh...yes?"

The lavender unicorn nodded and lay down, tired from expanding her luggage and placing everything in it.

She immediately bolted back upright, even more grumpy than before.

"Ugh...I forgot to pack some things."

Peter chuckled as she got the essentials.

Yeah, some things...

He reached into his luggage and pulled out his noise-reduction headphones, unplugging the iPod from the speakers, too excited for the next day to fall asleep without music in his ears.

"Peter, just don' stay up too late, alrigh'?"

He rolled his eyes. "Applejack, I won't."

"Yeah, sure you won'."

Peter pulled his sunglasses off and put them in the white suite case, laying down on his sleeping bag, which was surprisingly comfortable. He put on his 'Dubstep, Techno, and Instrumental' playlist, starting on 'Levels' by Avicii.

He smiled as he tried to sleep, adrenaline coursing through him at the thought of spending time with his new friends on vacation.

This is gonna be awesome...I can just tell...

After about twenty minutes of listening to Dubstep, Peter finally turned off the music, but left his heaphones on. He set up an alarm on his iPod to wake him up at five o'clock.

He looked over at Rainbow Dash, and smiled, relieved to see that the cyan Pegasus slept soundly, her sleep apparently devoid of dreams. He looked up at the ceiling, listening to everypony's light breathing, the blue sheets covering him, the pristine white pillow and small blue mattress keeping his head and body off of the ground, not falling asleep for about two hours, energy running through him at the thought of going on vacation with his new friends.

5 o'clock the next morning...

Peter sat bolt upright, a ridiculously loud beeping harassing his ear, even as he tore off the Bose headphones.

Jesus...too damn loud...

He looked around to see everypony up and staring at him, eyebrows raised, Fluttershy next to a sleeping Rainbow Dash.

Peter smiled, seeing the cyan Pegasus sleeping. He cracked his knuckles.

Let's do this.

"Peter, Ah can't decide who's worse. You, or Rainbow Dash."

Peter smiled mischievously.

"Well, let's find out."

He crept over to Rainbow Dash, everypony watching in confusion as he placed the noise reduction headphones around Rainbow Dash's ears. She didn't notice the lack of sound, but rather, seemed to welcome it, her body relaxing even more.

"This is your way of finding out? By making her into a deeper sleep?"

He looked up at Fluttershy, smiling.

"I have a few...'methods' for waking people up."

He didn't explain any more than that, but rather, unplugged the headphones, still running off of their own battery, and turned the volume down to half way on his iPod. He then proceeded to open the app, Gun Club 2.

Man, this prank is gonna rock...

After about a half a minute of waiting, during which Peter huffed and puffed, his iPod taking 'too damn long', he swept across the screen until he found what he wanted, and tapped on it, smiling even more broadly as he imagined the look on Rainbow Dash's face.

Plugging in the headphones once more, he pulled back the slide of the Desert Eagle, causing Rainbow Dash to stir slightly.

"What...what was that..."

He looked up to see Applejack looking on, eager yet weary; Pinkie Pie holding a hoof to her mouth, anticipating the prank; Fluttershy slightly worried, but nonetheless smiling; Twilight raising an eyebrow, waiting patiently; and Rarity looking on with slight disapproval.

Peter looked down to Rainbow Dash, who closed her cyan eyelids, hiding the large, beautiful red eyes. A sudden pang of guilt for what he was about to do nestled in his stomach, but he threw it away, remembering that both time was of the essence, and that Rainbow Dash loved pranks.

He tapped the trigger of the digital gun, the screen lighting up, the blast audible by everypony, and especially by Rainbow Dash.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

She launched straight into the air, throwing off the headphones, wings spread wide, rubbing her ears. Everypony started laughing, even Peter. Pinkie Pie laughed harder as Peter greeted her with an air of nonchalance.

"Well, good morning, Rainbow Dash."

The cyan Pegasus appeared unable to hear Peter, still rubbing her ears.

"Uh...Rainbow Dash?"

The cyan Pegasus looked down at him, red eyes full of confusion, looking at Peter's moving mouth.

"You okay?"

"I can't hear you! I think I might be going-"

Suddenly, the world seemed to come back to focus as she stopped rubbing, blinking.

"Oh. I can hear now. My ears were just ringing. What was that?"

Peter motioned to his iPod. "That, my friend, was a prank I played on you. I pulled up a Desert Eagle and fired it. You should've seen the look on your face!"

Rainbow Dash smiled and released a loud, 'Hah!'

"Good one, Peter. I never would've thought you were a prankster!"

"I never was. I never had a chance to be. The first time I tried to prank my dad, he blew up over it instead of laughing. He took everything way too seriously..."

At the thought of his family, Peter blinked, a sudden home sickness leaving a pang in his heart.

Everyone must be so worried...I wonder how they're doing back home...

Just then, his spine was hit with what felt like two hundred amperes, his mind making connection with the Soul Gem fragments in his luggage, the crystallized memories glowing.

He ran from Grand Central Station as it burned to the ground, his burning sister holding a disfigured hand out towards him, his mother and father crying inside. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry..."

Peter opened his eyes, covered in a cold sweat, Rainbow Dash holding him in her fore legs, her red eyes full of worry.

"Peter, are you okay?"

He looked right into her eyes, the beautiful red circles helping his mind find secure footing on sanity.

"Y...yeah. I just need to...check something."

She nodded, helping Peter up, standing by his side as he walked over to his white luggage, unzipping it, all the other ponies looking at him with shock and concern.

He picked up the glowing Soul Gem shard, turning so that everypony could see it.

"I think that...there are memories in these things...and if they're what they appear to be..."

He let the red gem fall into the palm of his hand, shifting his gaze from the glowing red source of pain to the glowing red source of comfort that he found in Rainbow Dash's eyes.

"I want them gone. I'm going to throw them away on the cruise."

Everypony inhaled sharply, and he simply returned the shard to the pouch the other six rested in, the glow dying away at the same time as the images, leaving only that feeling of...fear, sorrow, and regret.

Twilight was the first to speak, always thinking on her hooves.

"Well, at least you can discard of them in a symbolic way."

Peter nodded, smiling, but everypony else looked between Twilight and Peter, confused.

"How is it symbolic?"

Peter looked directly to Pinkie Pie, his maturity passing his fifteen years of life.

"Because I'm throwing away some part of me that's from a past life, and replacing it with new memories of my new life. My life with all of you. My life with my new family."

He cringed as he dropped the word 'family', realizing that he had associated the mane six with family about...four days after his sudden arrival.

"Wow, Peter. That's...so nice. That you think of us as family..." they cyan Pegasus dropped her voice so that only she and Peter could hear what she said next. "Just like what you said to me in the hospital..."

Peter nodded, smiling at the Pegasus.

I feel so...protective of them. I know that I've felt this for a while now, but...they're about, what, twenty, twenty three years old, according to the wiki? And I'm only fifteen...it's going to be hard to explain it to them when I tell them how old I am.

"Well, I'm feeling...better now. Just, uh, let me pull on some clothes, and my shoes, and then let's get going, 'k?"

Everypony nodded, and Rainbow Dash pulled her cyan luggage over to the door. Peter opened his white luggage once more and pulled out his turtleneck, his 'thin-ass chain', his sneakers, and his sunglasses.

"Peter...are you sure you're okay?"

Peter turned around, sweater and chain over his arm, sneakers hooked in his fingers.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll be ready in a few minutes, 'k?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, still worried, her friends slightly raising their eyebrows in her direction.

He smiled as he pulled the sweater over his head, the blue material covering his arms and body.

It feels perfect...like, not too light, so I can still keep some heat, but not too heavy, so I can at least wear it comfortably during the vacation...

He donned the chain, the links too small to make a noise, the cool metal flowing through his fingers as he adjusted it. Then, he pulled on his sneakers, not bothering to untie the laces as he did so.

And finally, he flicked the prescription sunglasses down over his eyes, darkening the world, while making it sharper and more definite, somewhat disorienting him, but at the same time, letting him see what the ponies really looked like that morning.

Rainbow Dash's mane and tail were even more unruly than usual, but she was wide awake, courtesy of Peter. Twilight Sparkle's horn was glowing, her eyes groggy as she frantically brushed her frazzled mane. Fluttershy's eyes were half closed, her pink mane and tail somehow orderly, yawn after yawn stretching her yellow muzzle. Rarity's mane and tail were curled and brushed, and a rather elegant hat rested upon her horn, her readied body in stark contrast to her eyes, which were half closed. Spike stood next to Twilight, wide awake, which was probably due to sleeping during all of the previous day.

The only two fully awake ponies were Applejack, whose eyes were wide open, golden mane and tail held in buns by the red bands, and Pinkie Pie, bouncing up and down, her pink tail and mane flopping in her excitement. Peter assumed that the orange work pony was used to being up this early, as a result of living on a farm and everything. Peter didn't have to assume anything with the party pony. He knew that she was full of constant energy.

Damn, Pinkie Pie could probably power a city block or two, if someone tapped into her, more likely than not, high enthalpy...

Finally, he put the headphones around his neck, and he didn't even have to reach up to know that his hair was in a sorry state. He rubbed his eyes, the grogginess catching up to him after the short burst of energy he had had that morning.

He picked up his luggage, his iPod in one hand, the white bag on his shoulder. He was about to ask Fluttershy if he could help with her large bag when Twilight took all of the luggage, including Peter's, and stacked them, magically moving them into a pile, obviously set aside for telekinetic transportation.

Peter yawned, and sat down, leaning back on the table, everypony raising an eyebrow at him.

"What time is it? Does anypony know?"

"Uh, it's a quarter to six. Peter, I'm not sure you should be sitting down, what if you fall asleep again?"

Peter put the headphones over his ears, shaking his iPod as he did.

"I won't. I have some songs on here that actually wake me right up."

He didn't listen to whatever Twilight said next, already listening to the song 'Double Vision' by Foreigner. He counted the beats to each measure, determining that it was on a 4/4 tempo. As he listened to it, he bopped his head to the beat, counting the measures, gradually waking up as the music blasted in his ears. As he listened to the music, he got the strangest urge to play Tenor Saxophone.

He paused the music, taking off his headphones, a sudden idea presenting itself to him.

"Hey, Twilight?"

"Hm?"

"Is there a store in Ponyville where I can get a Tenor Saxophone? After vacation, of course."

The lavender unicorn popped up, mane now straight, eyes fully open.

"You play Tenor Saxophone?"

Peter smiled. I always seem to surprise her...

"Yeah, I play Tenor Sax. Three months after I started playing, I got into the Junior Jazz Band in my school. It's the...third best band?" He paused, thinking, then nodded, remembering the order. "Yeah, third best band. There's Junior Jazz, Senior Jazz, and Symphony."

"Really? That's great!"

Peter was about to answer when Rainbow Dash butted in, smiling

"Tenor Sax? What, with all that 'Smooth Jazz' stuff? It's all mushy and lovey-dovey! I never would've thought that you would play something like that, Peter!"

Peter looked up at Rainbow Dash, slightly offended by the attack on his favorite instrument.

"You serious? Smooth jazz is, like, one fifth of what jazz really is! There are hard rock songs that use Tenor Sax, and it sounds amazing! I mean, the song 'Smoke on the Water' has a variant that's played by Tenor Sax, Trombone, Trumpet, Alto, Baritone, Clarinet, and even Flute. And don't even get me started on the jazz from the '80s and late '70s, like the song 'Ça Plane Pour Moi', which is French for 'It Works For Me'. It's one of the most popular party songs in the world, and it uses Tenor Saxophone throughout the entire song!"

Rainbow Dash shrunk back slightly, argument defeated, but then came back with a retort. "Yeah, well, what about that song where you were all like, 'she's telling me we'll be wed?' You can't tell me that that song isn't all lovey-dovey!"

Peter chuckled, remembering all too well when he sang in front of Rarity and Rainbow Dash. "It's called 'Ain't that a Kick in the Head', first off. And while I admit, it's a bit lovey-dovey, the majority of jazz songs aren't like that at all. For example, the song-" He caught the words in his mouth, having almost blurted out 'Dick in a Box'.

"The song 'what'?"

Peter shrugged, lying to avoid what would inevitably be an awkward moment. "I forgot what it's called. Doesn't really matter, though. There are, like, fifty million more songs I can choose from to prove you wrong."

Rainbow Dash walked up to him, eyebrow raised. "Like what? I'm serious, I want to know how I could possibly be wrong!"

Peter scratched his head, thinking and smiling, enjoying the debate in spite of himself.

"Well, there's-"

Just as he was about to speak, there was a loud knock at the door. Peter looked to Twilight, who nodded. He stood, everypony else getting ready at the same time. Peter flicked his sunglasses down, eagerly looking forward to the ride on the train, despite being groggy as hell, and even more so towards the vacation itself.

Twilight magically opened the door, letting in the elegant unicorn.

"I'm assuming you're all ready?"

Everypony nodded, and Twilight remembered a part of the letter.

"I'm sorry for what happened in your family, sir."

The unicorn raised an eyebrow. "'Sorry'? Why are you sorry? It's wonderful!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow, taken aback. "What's wonderful about a family emergency?"

"My wife is going to go into labor next week!"

Peter clapped, smiling, and Twilight looked up, confused. "Congratulations! I'm sure that your child, or children, will grow up to be great people-er, ponies."

The unicorn smiled, thanking Peter, already picking up the luggage, and everypony followed him towards the train station at the other end of Ponyville, silent with anticipation.

When the seven friends finally arrived at the train, they all had butterflies in their stomachs, each of them looking at the oriental train with awe, the sun reflecting off of the golden corners, and the beautiful mahogany compartments, light streaming in through windows, gold inscriptions shining in the wood. They voiced their opinions of the marvelous train.

R.D.: "Pretty cool! I like the gold on it!"

Rarity: "Simply marvelous! Uh, Rainbow Dash, you do know you're still holding my arm, right? At least hold down your wings when you're holding me!"

T.S.: "Wow! It's...amazing!"

F.S.: "I bet that Angel would like this..."

P.P.: "Oh, it looks so fun to ride on!"

A.J.: "It's a wonderful train! Ah can't believe that we're ridin' this thing!"

Spike: "Imagine how good that gold would taste..."

Peter: "Damn, look at those wheels! They've got gold embedded in them! I wonder how that affects the gear ratio, seeing as how the gold could possibly create an uneven distribution of weight..."

R.D.: "Wow, you're right! The wheels are inscribed with gold! Everypony, look at the wheels!"

T.S.: "That's definitely inscription magic. Nopony has enough tools to do anything like that."

F.S.: "Wow, it is nice..."

A.J.: "Well, darn, that's just right down nice."

P.P.: "Yeah! The wheels are nice!"

Rarity: "They probably look so elegant when they spin..."

Spike: "Hm...that gold probably wouldn't-"

Peter interrupted him with a gasp, and a shout.

"Holy shit, forget the wheels, look at the size of the thing...it takes up the entire station!"

Everypony looked at it, gasping as they suddenly realized that what they thought was two cars very close together, was in fact one huge car. The locomotive whistled from outside, signaling them to get aboard. Their chaperone cleared his throat, having just loaded the first six bags of luggage into the ornate train car, now loading Spike's green suit case into the train, as well.

The eight friends looked at each other, smiling, all ready to board the train, even as a small group of ponies walked out of the train themselves.

"Uh...who are you guys?"

"Twilight Sparkle, good to see you are well. Princess Celestia sends her regards. We are here to oversee the care taking of your various pets. We already know what and where they are, and how to feed them. We are experts in this field, of course. Have a good vacation."

Twilight nodded, her question answered as all of the ponies walked away.

They all looked to each other, ensuring that they were all thoroughly excited.

Pinkie Pie jumped up and shouted, signaling for them to occupy the car.

They bustled in, grinning, laughing, rubbing their palms, bumping hooves.

Their vacation was officially beginning.

The First Hotel

Side note: This story is going to be mostly dialogue, in a Macbeth-like fashion, only without the italics denoting a change in scenery. A change in scenery will be done in actual description.

Peter sat down on the chair, sighing in satisfaction, putting his iPod down on the table next to him.

Damn, this chair is mad comfortable!

Everypony bustled around the train, examining its interior, even as it left the station, the suspension in the wheels keeping the car steady.

Everypony

T.S.: "Look at all these books! I can't wait to read some of them!"

R.D.: "Oh, cool, hammocks!"

Peter: "There are hammocks up there? I've never used one...how many are there?"

F.S.: "Wow, look at all the birds outside the window!"

Rarity: "Oh, my, these gems are simply gorgeous! I must use some of them, and...Oh, my! There are even fabrics, and paper, and pencils, and mannequins! This train is simply amazing!"

A.J.: "Hey, there's a fridge with some cider in here!"

R.D.: "There are three hammocks up here! Fluttershy, you wanna have one?"

F.S.: "Uh, no thank you..."

P.P.: "Oh, I do! I do!"

Peter: "I call the middle one!"

F.S.: "Uh, everypony, why are we..."

Rarity: "Oh, my, and maybe some of this...and this..."

T.S.: "Peter, be careful! Are you sure you can get up there?"

Spike: "Can everypony be quiet? I'm trying to sleep!"

Peter: "Uh, yeah, I think I can...uh..."

F.S.: "Everypony, why are we..."

A.J.: "Wow, this cider is great! Ah wonder how they got power in this thing..."

P.P.: "Come on, Peter, you can do it!"

R.D.: "Need help?"

Peter: "Uh, Pinkie Pie, how'd you just jump from the floor to the hammock? And no, Rainbow Dash, it's fine...I think..."

T.S.: "Peter, you're going to fall!"

Rarity: "Oh, my, and a bit of this..."

Peter: "No, I'm not...uh....Shit!"

F.S.: "Everypony, listen..."

R.D.: "Alright, that's it, I'm helping you up."

Peter: "Uh...yeah, good idea..."

A.J.: "Uh...Peter? How'd you get your foot stuck in the hammock?"

Peter: "Skill. Pure skill."

F.S.: "Everypony..."

R.D.: "Yeah, that's skill alright..."

T.S.: "Hey, Peter, there's a book here on the History of Equestria, do you want it?"

Peter: "Uh, no, I'm fine. Hey, can somepony get my iPod? It's right there, on the table..."

R.D.: "So, Peter, how do you like the hammock?"

P.P.: "Here you go!"

Peter: "Thanks, Pinkie. The hammock is damn good. It feels like I'm laying on nothing!"

F.S.: "Everypony!"

Everypony (but Spike): "What?"

F.S.: "Why are we going in the exact opposite direction of Manehattan?"

A.J.: "Uh...hay, I don't know."

P.P.: "Maybe we're actually getting...fillynapped!"

Peter: "Oh, snap! Fillynappin' with comfort! I'm giving these criminals five stars..."

R.D.: "Hah! Good one!"

T.S.: "Oh, I get it now!"

Peter: "Yeah, it wasn't a complex joke..."

T.S.: "Shut up, Peter. I'm talking about why we're going in the opposite direction."

A.J.: "Why?"

T.S.: "This is a mobile hotel!"

Peter: "Mother of God...that's the most amazing thing I've ever heard in my entire life."

Rarity: "Oh, my, this gives me such a good idea!"

R.D.: "A what?"

T.S.: "We're not staying at one hotel, and taking a cruise...we're going to the second hotel on a long route! And we're staying...on a mobile hotel!"

Peter: "Yeah, one problem...Applejack found cider. Not food."

T.S.: "These mobile hotels make regular stops, once a day. We're probably going to stop later on today."

F.S.: "Wait...once a day? Then that means that..."

T.S.: "Yep! We're going to be on this for more than a day!"

Peter: "FUCK YEAH!"

Everypony: "Ah!"

Peter: "Heh, sorry..."

R.D.: "'Fuck' yeah? What's 'fuck'?"

Peter: "It's the, uh...same thing as...buck."

R.D.: "Well, then in that case...I second that! BUCK YEAH!"

P.P.: "BUCK YEAH!"

A.J.: "Curb your tongues, you three rascals!"

Peter: "Maaaaaaan, I ain't part of this system!"

T.S.: "What?"

Peter: "Uh...long story."

A.J.: "Uh, sure. Jus', watch yer language, alright?"

Peter: "'K."

Rarity: "Oh, maybe a bit of this..."

P.P.: "So, wait, we're on a mobile hotel, going to hotel?"

T.S.: "Yep!"

Peter: "Yo, dawg, I heard you like hotels, so I put you on a hotel going to a hotel!"

R.D.: "Peter, you're so...weird."

Peter: "Hell yeah, I am!"

A.J.: "Twilight, when you say 'more than one day', how long do you mean, exactly?"

T.S.: "Well, I remember reading in a book somewhere that a mobile hotel stay can range from two days to a month."

R.D.: "A month!?"

T.S.: "I doubt we'll be here that long, though. I kind of want to know how long we'll be on the train, though..."

As if on cue, the black box on the wall started up, the voice of a conductor coming through loud and clear.

Intercom: "Hello, everypony! I would like to welcome you all to your first day on this mobile hotel. In case you're wondering how long you're going to be on this track, it's day one out of fourteen. We'll be making our first pit stop in two hours."

Peter: "Fourteen days on a mobile hotel...Best. Vacation. Ever."

Everypony nodded in agreement.

It was going to be their best vacation yet.

Urgent Note From the Author

Hey, this is pretty important...

First off, I'm still working on the first vacation chapter, and second, each vacation chapter is going to be at least...I would say 15k words long.

However, that's minor.

The real big deal is that I just realized that...this story is FFFFFAAAARRRRRRRRRRR from over.

I have at least...40 chapters until the end of the vacation...

And even more to get halfway through the plot. Yeah. More than 40 to get halfway through the plot. (Including vacation chapters...hopefully.)

I'd suggest that you all hunker down, as this is going to be one long ass story...

Edit...

I did more math. Turns out that in order to get BACK on the plot, I need at least 50 chapters, including the vacation chapters.

In order to get half way through the plot...

I need at least 70 or 80 or even 100.

Dig in, and get a bunch of beers.

This is going to be long as hell.

The Morning (The Train, Day 1)

Hey! Just to clear up any confusion, I'm making this a play-styled story until after the train ride. There will be certain parts with a play format later in the story, but I'm just giving you a heads-up.

Rainbow Dash chuckled slightly as she looked up at the hammock, Peter snoring lightly from within.

R.D.: "I like how his idea of the 'best vacation ever' is sleeping for an hour."

T.S.: "I'm surprised you're not sleeping, too. You're always napping!"

R.D.: "I don't want to sleep, and besides, even if I wanted to, I couldn't. That 'Desert Eagle' thing is still keeping me awake."

F.S.: "About that 'Desert Eagle', I meant to ask you: what did it sound like?"

T.S.: "I caught a glimpse at his...iPod. What he had on it looked nothing like an eagle."

R.D.: "And it sure as hay didn't sound like a Desert Eagle."

A.J.: "What did it sound like, sugarcube?"

R.D.: "Like a big...explosion."

P.P.: "Oh, like fireworks?"

Rarity: "Hmm...fireworks...I could use that..."

R.D.: "No...like...I don't even know how to describe it. I remember a kind of...scratchy, metal sound, and then...just that bang. It sounded like...I was inside a giant, metal drum..."

F.S.: "That doesn't sound like it was an eagle..."

T.S.: "Hmm...I'll look around in my books for something on it. Rainbow Dash, when Peter wakes up, would you mind asking him about it?"

R.D.: "No, ma'am!"

A.J.: "Well, sugarcube, yer awful eager to talk to him."

R.D.: "Well, Applejack, I'm curious! I want to know what that thing was!"

T.S.: "Spike! Wake up!"

Spike: "Huh? What?"

P.P.: "So am I! Seeing as how it scared you so much, I can't wait to see how other ponies would react to the prank!"

R.D.: "It did not scare me! It just...startled me, that's all."

T.S.: "Spike, I need your help finding an encyclopedia about different sounds...I think it's in my luggage somewhere."

Spike: "How am I going to find it? You expanded your luggage, remember? It'll take me ages to find it!"

A.J.: "Sure, sugarcube. It just 'startled' yah."

R.D.: "It did! I wasn't scared! I was startled! That's what a prank does!"

P.P.: "True, true. Pranks are associated with the response of being startled, as when you're startled, you're taken by surprise, but you're not scared by the prank."

R.D.: "Uh...yeah, what Pinkie Pie said."

T.S.: "And that's why you're going to go in my luggage."

Spike: "What?"

T.S.: "You heard me. You're going to go in my luggage."

Rarity: "Hmm...maybe if I did this...oh, my, not that..."

A.J.: "Fine, you were startled, not scared. But, anyway, back to what Ah said before: You seem awfully eager to talk with him."

R.D.: "Applejack, I already told you that I'm curious! I want to know what a Desert Eagle is."

A.J.: "Ah mean in general. Ah could tell that you wanted to talk to 'im before, when he said that he was goin' to sleep."

R.D.: "And?"

A.J.: "If Ah didn't know any better, Ah'd say that you have a crush on 'im, Rainbow Dash."

R.D.: "Do not!"

Spike: "Ugh...fine, Twilight. Just five more minutes, 'k..."

T.S.: "Nope."

Spike: "Whoah!"

T.S.: "You're going in now, Spike. I need to find out what sounds like a loud metal drum."

Spike: "Hey, put me down! It feels weird when you use magic on me!"

T.S.: "Go on, get in there!"

Spike: "...Fine."

T.S.: "Good."

A.J.: "Sure you don't, sugarcube."

R.D.: "I don't!"

P.P.: "Dashie, if you have a crush on Peter, you can tell us. We both Pinkie Promise that we won't tell anypony, any dragon, or any human, ever!"

A.J.: "Pinkie Promise. Ah won't tell anypony, any dragon, any human, or anything else."

R.D.: "I don't!"

P.P.: "Dashie, you can trust us. We've both made Pinkie Promises, and you know better than anypony else that Applejack and I would never break a Pinkie Promise!"

T.S.: "Find anything yet, Spike?"

Spike: "I can't see a thing! How do you expect me to find a book?"

T.S.: "Oh...sorry. Let me get that for you..."

Spike: "Thanks, Twilight...whoa. This thing is...huge."

T.S.: "Well, do you see anything?"

Spike: "Hmm...'Encyclopedia of Colors', 'Encyclopedia of Scents'...Aha! 'Encyclopedia of Sounds!'"

R.D.: "I don't! I don't have a crush on him!"

P.P.: "Pinkie Promise to tell the truth!"

R.D.: "Cross my heart, and hope to shove a cupcake in my eye."

A.J.: "Well?"

R.D.: "I don't have a crush on Peter."

P.P.: "Hmm...well, you didn't break the promise! I can tell that she's telling the truth! My Pinkie Senses go crazy whenever somepony breaks a Pinkie Promise!"

T.S.: "Good job, Spike! Thank you! Fluttershy, I found the book!"

Rarity: "Hmm...well, since his body is almost exactly like Spikes', I'm guessing that  he would need something like that..."

A.J.: "Alright, then, Ah guess yer tellin' the truth, RD."

P.P.: "That's what I said!"

R.D.: "I'm glad that we could come to an agreement."

A.J.: "Just...tell me one thing, Rainbow...what, exactly, did you two talk about in the hospital?"

R.D.: "..."

A.J.: "You okay, sugarcube?"

R.D.: "I...I...I..."

P.P.: "Dashie, you can tell us!"

R.D.: "I...I don't wanna talk about it..."

A.J.: "Fine. Ah won't press it."

F.S.: "Oh! Well, Rainbow Dash described it as a giant metal drum, right?"

T.S.: "And a scratchy metal noise..."

Spike: "I'll be sleeping if you need me..."

T.S.: "Why is it that all boys want to sleep on vacation?"

Spike: "Because it's the point of going on vacation!"

T.S.: "Ugh..."

F.S.: "Uh, Twilight? I don't think Peter's sleeping anymore..."

T.S.: "Oh? Hold on...what is he doing?"

F.S.: "I...I don't know..."

A.J.: "Hey, Rainbow Dash, Peter's waking up. You have a question to ask him, remem-What in the hay is that boy doin'?"

R.D.: "Uh...I...I don't know."

P.P.: "I think he's...dancing...only lying down."

R.D.: "Yeah...but what's he dancing to?"

Peter

Peter lay on the hammock, hands behind his head, thrusting his crotch up and down, his noise reduction headphones and feeling of bliss making him forget that there were ponies in the room.

If you just had sex in the last thirty minutes, then you're qualified to sing with me...

Peter sat upright, holding his iPod in one hand, fist bumping with the other and making...obscene gestures as he sang, completely oblivious to the ponies surrounding him, his chain bouncing around as he thrust his crotch up and down.

"I just had se-e-e-ex! And it felt so good, felt so good...I wonder what let me put my penis, inside of her...I just had se-e-e-ex, and I'll never go back..."

Peter smiled, not singing the last lyrics, opening his eyes to unlock his iPod and raise the volume.

And then, the tip of a rainbow tail entered his field of view. His eyes opened wide, and he simply stared ahead, the rainbow tail bobbing in and out of his vision, almost giving him a mini heart attack.

Oh, shit...

He slowly looked up, ears turning red as he met Rainbow Dash's shocked and incredulous stare. Peter looked around the room, mortified as he realized that everypony was staring at him, and that he had just air humped in front of all of them.

The silence carried on for about a minute, Peter simply burying his face in his hands as everypony stared on, mouths agape. He finally broke the silence.

"Uh...good morning..."

Wow. Smooth. Smoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooth.

"Good morning, Peter. I can see you're enjoying yourself."

He looked down to Twilight, blushing madly.

"Uh...heh...sorry..."

"Peter...what...the...buck..."

He looked up to Rainbow Dash, blushing even deeper.

"It's...it's a song by the Lonely Island..."

Yeah. Teach them more about the song that has now scarred a baby dragon for life. Smooth as a fucking mountain.

Nopony spoke at all. The silence was deafening.

"Sorry...I kind of forgot that I was in a room full of ponies...I thought I was back on Earth..."

He blushed even deeper, wanting to do nothing more than roll over and disappear.

Fuck. My. Life.

"Peter, is that the art of your culture? A song about having sex?"

"Well, the Lonely Island is a comedic group of musicians who make fake music...it's not real music, but it's kind of like...a joke. You need to see the music video to actually appreciate the comedy..."

Just then, the intercom buzzed to life, saving Peter from further questioning.

Everypony

Intercom: "We are now coming up to the first pit stop in a half an hour. You will find a menu in the blue folder on the night table. And nopony in Equestria will ever kill another animal willingly, we were able to make certain adaptations for our human guest. Celestia has supplied us with a list of meals she found in your mind, Mr. Roose, and we are pleased to announce that they are edible by both human and pony."

R.D.: "Well, I think we'd better decide what we want. I'm starving."

Peter: "So am I."

T.S.: "Peter! Be careful!"

Peter: "...Ow."

A.J.: "Peter, y'all okay? You just fell 'bout six feet!"

Peter: "Yeah, I'm fine."

F.S.: "Are you sure? Your ankle bent in a really weird way..."

Peter: "Trust me, I'm fine. I can block out pain."

R.D.: "Well, in that case, let's look at the menu!"

P.P.: "I second that!"

Rarity: "I'll be right over, everypony..."

A.J.: "Peter, are you sure you're okay?"

Peter: "Trust me, I'm stronger than I look. Kind of."

T.S.: "I sure hope so. You fell far enough to break a pony's hoof."

Peter: "Well, good thing I'm not a pony. And besides, I do parkour, sometimes. I'm used to falling five feet and getting right back up."

R.D.: "You serious?"

Peter: "Yeah. I remember that one time I jumped down about six feet, and I was fine when I hit the ground. My lumbar vertebrae blunts most of the shock."

T.S.: "Lumbar vertebrae?"

Peter: "It's only in animals that walk on two legs, such as certain jungle mammals and humans. It's at the bottom of my spine, and holds up the rest of it. Having an erect spine can be a pain, though, quite literally. For example, I have very mild scoliosis, which means that there's a five degree angle in my back, due to bad posture."

R.D.: "Hey, are you going to pick out food or not? I want to try out some of your food, but I don't want to try anything you don't like."

Peter: "Why's that?"

R.D.: "You know your food best."

Peter: "True. Well, let me see here..."

Spike: "Oh, I hope they serve gemstones..."

Rarity: "Oh, my, so do I. It would be a shame if you didn't enjoy yourself on this vacation, Spike."

Spike: "Heh...yeah, it would, wouldn't it..."

Peter: "Well, for breakfast, I want some scrambled eggs, and for lunch, I'm definitely getting pizza...and then, for dinner, I'll get the...ravioli."

R.D.: "Well, for breakfast I'll get some eggs, for lunch I'm getting a hay sandwich, and for dinner, I'll get the ravioli too."

Peter: "Is there anywhere we can write this down? So that we can just hand the list to the chef...or whoever's going to take our order?"

T.S.: "Here's some paper, right in the folder, and a quill as well."

Peter: "Alright, let me just jot this down...Applejack, what do you want?"

A.J.: "Put down that Ah want an omelet for breakfast, a hay sandwich for lunch, and...aw, hay, might as well try some ravioli for dinner."

Peter: "'K...Pinkie Pie?"

P.P.: "Eggs for breakfast, Pizza for lunch, and ice cream for dinner!"

T.S.: "Ugh, Pinkie! You can't have ice cream for dinner!"

P.P.: "Yes, I can!"

Peter: "No, you can't. It's not on the menu. That's a hell of a good idea, though..."

P.P.: "Well, I guess...hay sandwich for lunch, pizza for dinner."

Peter: "Alright...Fluttershy?"

F.S.: "Hay for breakfast, daisy salad for lunch, and I think that I kind of want to try ravioli for dinner..."

Peter: "Alright...Spike?"

Spike: "Are there gems on the menu?"

Peter: "Hold on...hmm...Oh! Snap! There are rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and lapis lazuli!"

Spike: "Rubies for breakfast, sapphires for lunch, and...emeralds for dinner."

Peter: "Alright...Rarity?"

Rarity: "Hay for breakfast, a salad for lunch, and...I must admit, that ravioli sounds extravagantly elegant."

Peter: "If they serve it like Giovanni's' did, then yes."

Rarity: "Giovanni's?"

Peter: "It's a restaurant I used to go to. Now, what do you want, Twilight?"

T.S.: "Daisies and hay for breakfast, a daisy salad for lunch, and ravioli for dinner. I'm always up for trying new things."

Peter: "Alright...well, that was easy."

R.D.: "I can't wait to finally eat something..."

Peter: "Ditto."

P.P.: "I can't wait to see what their pizza is like!"

T.S.: "Peter, what is ravioli, exactly?"

Peter: "You'll see. I don't want to spoil the surprise."

P.P.: "Oh, I love surprises!"

A.J.: "Ah'm just happy to finally eat somethin'."

Peter: "Hey, everypony? About my...singing just now...sorry about that..."

F.S.: "It's okay...we forgive you...isn't that right, everypony?"

R.D.: "Yeah! We forgive you, Peter! You're our friend!"

T.S.: "Uh, yeah, what Rainbow Dash said."

P.P.: "Ditto!"

Rarity: "Er...yes, what Rainbow Dash said, exactly."

A.J.: "Yep, exactly what Rainbow Dash said."

Spike: "Uhm, yeah. Just...never sing that again, okay?"

Peter: "Thanks, everypony...and Spike, what would you rather have me sing?"

Spike: "Anything but that."

Peter: "You have yourself a deal."

Spike: "Good. Now, I'm going back to sleep."

T.S.: "What!? You...you just woke up!"

Spike: "Exactly! Call me when we get our food."

R.D.: "So, Peter, is there something you wanna talk about?"

P.P.: "Hey, Rarity, watcha doin'?"

Rarity: "I'm designing some swim trunks for Peter! But keep your voice down, I don't want him to know!"

P.P.: "Why? He can just take off his clothes, can't he?"

Rarity: "Well, yes, but if his body is anything like Spike's, underneath the clothes is just a pale dome. And since he has no tail, it probably looks very odd...you know, a flat white dome."

P.P.: "Domes aren't flat, and so what? Peter can just put his...thing away."

Rarity: "Yes, Pinkie, he can, but just imagine what he would look like without clothes. Doesn't that small dome look...odd, without a tail?"

P.P.: "Hmm...I guess you're right. Well, I can't wait to see what you come up with!"

Rarity: "I'm almost done...when I give you the signal, get Peter in here."

P.P.: "Will do!"

Peter: "Uh, yeah...just, come over here with me for a 'sec."

R.D.: "Uh, okay..."

A.J.: "Where y'all goin'?"

Peter: "We just need to talk about something, 'k?"

A.J.: "Um...okay."

R.D.: "Why did we come away from everypony else?"

Peter: "I wanted to ask you if you had any dreams last night."

R.D.: "No, I didn't...thanks, Peter. Y'know, for always thinking about me...and for always being there for me..."

Peter: "That's what friends are for, Rainbow Dash."

R.D.: "Y-Yeah...friends..."

Peter: "You okay?"

R.D.: "Yeah, I guess I'm just a bit...shaky. Y'know, after a month of having the dreams...it's just a bit...weird."

Peter: "I understand. Now, then, for something completely different...on the day that I...saved Rarity...what'd you want to talk about?"

R.D.: "You just won't give up ,will you?"

Peter: "Not until you tell me."

R.D.: "Fine. I wanted to ask you-"

They both stopped as Pinkie Pie apparently teleported between the two of them, staring Peter right in the face.

P.P.: "Peter! Come quick! Rarity needs your help!"

Peter: "Uh, sorry, Rainbow Dash, I'll be right back, okay?"

R.D.: "Okay..."

Peter: "D'you promise that you'll tell me later?"

R.D.: "Pinkie Promise."

P.P.: "Come on, come on!"

A.J.: "What is it, sugarcube?"

F.S.: "Is Rarity okay?"

T.S.: "What's going on?"

P.P.: "Rarity's fine. She just needs a bit of help!"

Peter: "Uh, Rarity is everything...oh."

Rarity: "Well? Do you like it?"

Peter: "Y...yeah! But...how did you know that I need swim trunks?"

Rarity: "Well, if your body is anything like Spikes', when you're hiding your...thing, it's just a flat pale dome, which must look so unbecoming."

Peter: "Uh...y...yeah..."

Rarity raised her eyebrows slightly as Peter's eyebrows angled in sudden panic. When she blinked, it had disappeared.

P.P.: "I like the fireworks all over it!"

Peter: "Well, thanks, Rarity! This must've taken you forever..."

Rarity: "Actually, no, only about five or six minutes."

Peter: "Huh...I'll try it on later, alright? Right now, I've got...unfinished business."

Intercom: "We are now coming up on the first pit stop. I recommend that you write down what your meals, and also what drinks you want. The cider in the fridge was complimentary. Once more, Celestia found certain recipes in your mind, Mr. Roose, but I regret to inform you that we were not permitted to distribute it on this ride, what with a young dragon on board."

R.D.: "Huh...well, let's see what the drinks are!"

T.S.: "Uh, Peter, are you...okay?"

Peter: "Yeah, I was just thinking...when did Celestia look into my mind?"

T.S.: "When you were unconscious in the cage, Celestia looked in your mind. She obviously set certain things aside."

Peter: "And none of you felt the need to tell me this?"

A.J.: "Tell you what, sugarcube?"

Peter: "That Celestia looked into my mind? I understand that she's your Princess, and a deity, and everything, but...none of you felt the need to tell me about this?"

T.S.: "Well...you never asked."

Peter: "I shouldn't have to ask. How would you feel if Celestia looked into your mind, set certain things aside, and everypony knew about it, but nopony bothered to tell you about it?"

T.S.: "Well...I guess I would be a bit...ticked."

Peter: "Yeah. A bit."

R.D.: "Uh...sorry, Peter...do you forgive us?"

Peter: "Yeah. It's all water under the bridge now, anyway. Just, tell me...did Celestia tell you anything about me after she looked into my mind?"

T.S.: "Well, she told us that you're twenty two years old..."

Peter: "...No I'm not."

T.S.: "Yeah, Peter, you are."

Peter: "Uh, no, I'm fifteen."

He didn't notice the shock and disappointment in Rainbow Dash's eyes at hearing that he was seven years younger than her.

T.S.: "Maybe back where you came from, you're fifteen. But in pony years, you're twenty two."

Peter didn't notice Rainbow Dash's relief and new found energy, either.

Peter: "Huh...that would make sense...I mean, earth is on a fixed, albeit elliptical, orbit around the sun, and it moves at a relatively set speed, and it moves much slower than the sun does here. So, I guess that time just takes longer back on Earth than in Equestria..."

He also didn't see Rainbow Dash's spark of excitement at the mention of orbits, suns, and planets.

A.J.: "Uh...what?"

Peter: "It...it's not important right now. For now, let's just see what's on that drink menu, shall we?"

R.D.: "Yeah, let's."

Rarity: "Oh, my, I hope they have champagne..."

Peter: "Well, I'm just going to go ahead and order three large bottles of soda..."

T.S.: "Three large bottles!?"

Peter: "Yeah. God knows, I'm going to blast through it."

P.P.: "Me, too!"

R.D.: "Aaaawww, yeah! I love soda!"

T.S.: "Well...maybe you should get...ten."

Peter: "TEN!?"

A.J.: "Yeah...Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash tend to go through soda like beasts..."

R.D.: "Heh..."

P.P.: "Yeah! That's me!"

Peter: "Well, I'll put down fifteen...I've gotta keep up with you guys, right?"

R.D.: "Hah! I doubt you can keep up with us when it comes to drinking soda!"

T.S.: "At least it's not wine..."

The eight friends waited, Peter clutching the orders, making very light conversation. After about five minutes, the train screeched to a halt, hissing as the pneumatics stopped the wheel.

Intercom: "Present your orders to the unicorn at the door. He won't talk very much, but he'll get your orders done lickity-split."

Peter did as the black box did, even as its signal crackled out.

Waiter: "Thank you, sir."

The unicorn walked away, red tail in stark contrast to his black body.

R.D.: "Finally! I'm starving!"

Peter: "Well, we have to wait a bit...so, Rainbow Dash, when do you want to talk?"

R.D.: "Uh...maybe...before we go to sleep? In the hammock?"

Peter: "'K, it's a date."

R.D.: "A what!?"

Peter: "A date. Like, you know, a set time and place? Not a real date."

R.D.: "Oh...g-good."

Peter: "Looks like our food is here, everypony! Damn, that was fast..."

Waiter: "Your order has arrived. Have a nice day, everypony."

Everypony watched, anticipating the food, even as it magically floated towards the table in the center of the train and was set down, Peter, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash eying the large case of soda.

T.S.: "I've got it! I'll put the drinks in the fridge. Everypony, get your orders."

Peter: "Wow, these scrambled eggs look...friggin' amazing."

A.J.: "'Friggin''?"

R.D.: "It means something is really, really good."

Peter: "Exactly. Now, who had eggs? I know that you had eggs, Rainbow Dash...who else?"

P.P.: "Me!"

Peter: "Here you go...now, who had the omelet?"

A.J.: "Me."

Peter: "Here you...go...damn, that omelet is huge!"

A.J.: "Just the way Ah like it!"

Peter: "I don't think I need to ask who got the rubies...can somepony wake Spike up?"

Rarity: "Here, let me do it..."

Spike: "Mm...what smells like rubies..."

Peter: "Hah! That's the best way of waking up a dragon that I've ever seen!"

Spike: "In the name of Celestia...a floating ruby!"

F.S.: "Oh, Spike, don't jump at it...or, if you want to, that's fine..."

Peter: "'Morning, Spike. Your breakfast is here."

Spike: "Aw, sweet!"

Peter: "Alright, who had the hay?"

Rarity: "Me!"

F.S.: "Me..."

T.S.: "Alright, the drinks are in the fridge!"

Peter: "Here are your daisies and hay, Twilight."

T.S.: "Thanks!"

The eight friends ate in silence, the only sound the scraping of steel on metal as Peter used the sole fork in all of the breakfast to consume his eggs. He looked around, suddenly confused.

Peter: "Where are lunch and dinner?"

T.S.: "...Huh. Good point."

Peter: "Maybe they're serving it later?"

T.S.: "Hm...I think I remember reading once that on a mobile hotel, they serve you breakfast in the car, but lunch and dinner in separate pit stops...kind of like small restaurants, only they already know what you want..."

Peter: "That sounds...awesome."

R.D.: "Those eggs were really good!"

Peter: "Damn straight!"

F.S.: "This hay is very nice..."

T.S.: "I agree. It is delicious..."

Rarity: "Oh, I absolutely love how they served it! So...elegant. Rainbow Dash, Peter, you two just had to destroy your meals, didn't you?"

P.P.: "And me, too! These eggs are amazing!"

Peter: "There's no other way to eat eggs but to decimate them."

Spike: "These gems are...amazing!"

Peter: "Jesus, Spike, you fucking destroyed those things..."

A.J.: "Watch yer mouth, Peter!"

Peter: "Uh...sorry...Hey, wait a second, you finished your giant omelet already?"

A.J.: "Uh, yeah. You gotta problem with that?"

Peter: "No, there's just one thing I've gotta say....LIKE A BAWSS!"

A.J.: "Uh...Ah beg yer pardon?"

Peter: "It's from another Lonely Island song...it's kind of a weird song..."

R.D.: "Wow, Peter, if you're calling something weird, then it's the weirdest thing in the world!"

Twilight sighed, still chuckling slightly at Rainbow Dash's joke.

As she chuckled, Spike gave her a pointed look, and whispered into her ear.

Spike: "Hey, I think you should ask him about that...song. You could learn more about him, y'know, for Celestia's report?"

Twilight nodded, smiling at the baby dragon.

T.S.: "Hey, Peter? You never answered my question before."

Peter looked to the lavender unicorn, raising an eyebrow.

Peter: "Oh? And what question would that be?"

It was now Twilight's turn to raise an eyebrow, amazed that he had forgotten it already.

T.S.: "About that...song you sang before...is that really the art of your culture?"

Peter: "Well, it's-"

R.D.: "No! He showed me something awesome, called the 'Relaxing Journey'. It helped me-" everypony raised an eyebrow at the sudden pause, surprised. "It...helped me...get over my guilt."

Peter: "Uh...yeah...well, what I was  about to say was that-"

R.D.: "He also sang on our way out of the hospital. The first song he sang was about marriage and stuff."

Peter: "...Um...yeah...like I was saying...that song is by the 'Lonely Island', which is a group of, self-named, 'fake rappers'. Their music is hilarious, and the song that I sang before was called 'I Just Had Sex."

R.D.: "Yeah, we kind of guessed."

Peter: "Mhm...wasn't exactly subtle, was it? Anyway, if you watch the video that they made to go with the song, it's really, really funny. They also have other songs, like...'Like a Boss', 'Dreamgirl', 'Boombox', and..."

He smiled, pulling at his chain and plucking his sweater.

Peter: "'Turtleneck and Chain'."

R.D.: "Wow. You based your getup on a song, Peter?"

Peter: "Completely."

T.S.: "Well, besides...'fake', music, what else is there in your culture, in terms of art?"

Peter: "Well, there are many different genres of music, and each one is, more or less, intrinsic to a certain time period. For example, The Beatles, a band, were popular in the sixties, and they still are, in the year 2012."

T.S.: "2012? It's 3058 C.R....that means 'Celestia's Reign'."

Peter: "Uh...yeah. Here it is. On earth, it's 2012, C.E....that means Common Era. There's also A.D. and B.C....A.D. is something in Latin, and B.C. is Before Christ."

T.S.: "'Before Christ'? Who's...'Christ'?"

Peter: "...It's a long story."

T.S.: "How long?"

Peter: "It spans over one thousand years, and two religions."

T.S.: "...Oh."

Peter: "Yeah."

T.S.: "Well, anyway, what's some music that's prevalent in your culture?"

R.D.: "Uh, Twi'? Are you forgetting the conversation we had with him on jazz?"

T.S.: "I would really appreciate it if you stopped interrupting, Rainbow Dash."

R.D.: "...sorry."

Peter: "It's fine, it saves me from having to explain jazz all over again..."

T.S.: "Well, could you just explain a bit about jazz?"

Rarity: "Yes, I'm sure we would all love to know more about the jazz in your culture. I'm rather fond of it myself."

Peter: "So am I. But, according to Rainbow Dash, it's all 'lovey-dovey.'"

R.D.: "Oh, not this again!"

Peter: "It's not all 'lovey-dovey'! That's total bull! There are songs like 'Ain't that a Kick in the Head', yes, and they're focused around love. But there are jazz artists such as Louis Armstrong, who make songs that are just about having fun! For example, he and Scatman John sang together in a song called 'Everybody Jam'. It's jazz, and it has nothing to do with love!"

R.D.: "So? Most smooth jazz is still lovey-dovey!"

Peter: "No, it's not!"

R.D.: "Yes, it is!"

Peter: "No, it is not!"

A.J.: "Uh, let's calm down, everypony..."

R.D. and Peter: "No!"

R.D.: "Admit it! Jazz is mostly about love!"

Peter: "No, it's not! Hey, you know what, I'll prove it to you!"

T.S.: "Uh, we're getting a bit off track here, Peter..."

Peter: "Woo-hoo."

Rarity: "Really, dear, is there a need to be so...rude?"

Peter: "Yes, actually, there is. Jazz is one of the most variable forms of music, and Rainbow Dash is being too stubborn to see that."

F.S.: "Really, I don't think you have to prove it...if you want to, though, that's fine..."

Peter: "Oh, I want to. In fact, I need to."

A.J.: "Uh, Peter? Ah'm kind of...confused. So what if Rainbow Dash thinks that it's all lovey-dovey?"

Peter: "...Here they are! They're speakers. And, Applejack, to answer your question, I'm not going through this vacation without proving to Rainbow Dash that she's wrong, and that jazz is awesome."

T.S.: "Welll, can you do it another time/ I wanted to find out more about you..."

Peter: "We have fourteen days on this train. We'll be fine."

T.S.: "Well, I wanted to learn it today..."

Peter: "It can wait. For now, I need to prove to Rainbow Dash that she's wrong. I'm sorry, but I just have to."

P.P.: "Oh, boy! I can't wait to hear some jazz!"

R.D.: "Yeah, neither can I. Some smooth, lovey-dovey jazz."

Peter: "Listen, Rainbow Dash, we can listen to that after we listen to some real jazz."

R.D.: "Pffft. Please."

Peter: "...Got it. I'm going to play it now. Say goodbye to your argument."

R.D.: "Yeah, whatever..."

Twilight opened her mouth to argue, but then spike pulled at her mane, hard.

Spike: "You're going to hear some of his music, Twi'! Isn't that what you wanted? Y'know, so you could tell Celestia more about humans?"

T.S.: "...I guess you're right."

Peter furiously tapped at his iPod, eventually choosing a song.

Peter: "This is called 'Everybody Jam', by Scatman John and Louis Armstrong."

As the song played, Peter stood and went over to the fridge, taking out one of the three bottles of cider, pouring it into a glass beside the refridgerator, pouring himself a generous amount. He placed it back inside, quickly walking over, still enjoying his shouting match with Rainbow Dash despite himself.

As the song ended, Peter unplugged the iPod, knowing that if he let the next song come on, he wouldn't have a chance to...'talk', to Rainbow Dash.

Peter: "So, what do you think?"

R.D.: "...Well, that wasn't smooth jazz. My argument stays valid."

Peter: "...What?"

R.D.: "I said that all smooth jazz is lovey-dovey, or at least most of it. That wasn't...smooth jazz."

Peter: "...Ohhhhh..."

R.D.: "Yeah. 'Oh'. Not all jazz is lovey-dovey, just smooth jazz."

Peter: "...Wow. I might be a dumbass!"

The two friends fell into bouts of laughter, everypony watching on in wonder, Pinkie Pie laughing with them.

P.P.: "I have no idea what we're laughing about!"

T.S.: "Uh...neither do I...what are you two laughing about, exactly?"

Peter: "We...we were..."

R.D.: "saying the...same...thing..."

Peter: "The whole...time!"

The two friends fell into deeper laughter, both somewhat relieved by the sudden development. They both remembered how close they had been in the hospital, and they didn't want their relationship to turn from a friendship into a rivalry. Because they both knew that Rainbow Dash would try to gain revenge for losing one argument.

T.S.: "Oh...hah!"

Rarity: "Well, it was an honest mistake, on both of your parts."

F.S.: "...At least you're not fighting anymore..."

A.J.: "Ah agree. Ah would've hated to see you two become rivals. That rivalry is only for me and Rainbow Dash! Ah don't want to have to compete with somepony for mah own time to race her and whatnot!"

R.D.: "Please, I could take you both on in my sleep!"

A.J.: "Without wings? Ah think not!"

Peter: "With or without wings, you'd both kick my ass."

P.P.: "OhmygoshIcan'tbelieveyouwerebothsayingthesamethinghahthat'ssofunny!"

Peter: "Uh...calm...yourself?"

P.P.: "AndthenyoubothstartedshoutingandIthoguhtthatyouwouldbecomerivalsand-"

R.D.: "Uh, Pinkie Pie, calm down."

P.P.: "-Istartedtopanicabitbutthenyouwerebothsayingthesamethingandyouwerebothlaughingand-"

T.S.: "Pinkie Pie, calm down!"

F.S.: "Yes, please, calm down..."

P.P.: "-thenIwasalllikehahahahahahahaha! ButthenIstoppedlaughingbecauseIdidn'tknowwhatwewere-"

A.J.: "Uh, Pinkie Pie?"

P.P.: "-laughingaboutandthenIfoundoutanditwasHILARIOUS!"

The pink party pony suddenly stopped talking and sat down, smiling as though nothing had happened. When she noticed that everypony was staring at her, she raised an eyebrow at the silence.

P.P.: "What?"

Peter: "Uh...Twilight...are you sure it was a good idea to get so many bottles of soda?"

T.S.: "...no."

Peter: "...great."

R.D.: "Well, we can help her out with them, Peter!"

Peter: "I'm kinda afraid of what's going to happen when she has one sip of soda..."

R.D.: "It's almost like wine for her..."

Peter: "Oh, great! I'm guessing we'll have a lot of fun tonight!"

However, something struck him, like a resonance in a bell.

Peter: "Wait, Rainbow Dash, how will we talk tonight if Pinkie's bouncing off of the walls?"

R.D.: "We'll find a way. Don't worry."

Peter: "I hope so..."

T.S.: "So, Peter, are there any other forms of art you want to...show us?"

Peter: "Hmmm...Oh! The violin is used in a lot of-"

R.D.: "Okay, hold up. Violin? Really? Violin? That's gotta be the..."

Peter: "No. Don't even start. Just listen to the music first. It sounds pretty damn epic, when used correctly."

R.D.: "...Fine. I'll listen to your...'epic' violin music."

Peter: "Good. I have you now...muahahahahaa!"

R.D.: "...What?"

Pinkie Pie inhaled.

Peter: "...Oh, boy..."

T.S.: "Peter, I'm going to hit you."

P.P.: "Ohmygoshthatwashilarious!"

Peter: "...Was...is...that it?"

P.P.: "Yep!"

Peter: "...Huh. Well, let's listen to the violin..."

R.D.: "...Yeah. Let's."

He plugged in his iPod once more, and scrolled through his library of music. He finally found the one he was looking for: the Game of Thrones theme song, remixed by Jason Yang on various string instruments.

R.D.: "Well, it's not that epic..."

Peter: "Wait for it..."

Rarity: "I, for one, think it's divine!"

F.S.: "It's...nice."

T.S.: "Hm..."

Peter: "Here we go..."

Just then, the song gained much more tempo, and about five more instruments entered the mix, making for a much more lively song.

R.D.: "Huh...this does sound pretty cool...Peter, what are you doing with your hands?"

Peter: "Sorry, force of habit...whenever I hear a song, I start conducting the music...like, this song is on a 3/4 count, with a...I'd say, an allegretto tempo."

T.S.: "Really? Huh...that's cool, how you can determine that just through hearing it."

R.D.: "You know, this song is pretty good!"

F.S.: "Yes, but does it have to be...so loud?"

P.P.: "I like how it goes all soft, but then gets loud. It sounds really cool."

Rarity: "It's simply divine!"

A.J.: "Ah kinda like it."

Peter: "You guys wanna hear another song like this?"

R.D.: "Sure, I'm down!"

Peter smiled, happy that Rainbow Dash had taken a liking to it. He decided to go a song that he thought she would like: A Fifth of Beethoven, as played by Walter Murphy.

Nopony talked, simply listening to the song as it played. When it faded out, Peter unplugged his iPod, and looked up at Rainbow Dash, whose red eyes were wide with surprise.

R.D.: "That...that was pretty good!"

Rarity: "It was...not exactly the type of music I listen to, but it was still...pretty good."

P.P.: "It was great! I think I might use it for a party soon!"

T.S.: "Interesting...well, you said before that the music was intrinsic to the time period. How, exactly, is that intrinsic to a time period?"

Peter: "In the mid-70s, disco was starting to become popular, and replaced the elite class traditional classic music. Walter Murphy rose to fame with this song in 1976."

T.S.: "How...how do you know so much about it?"

Peter: "I was bored one day, so I researched it."

R.D.: "Ugh, you're an egghead, too?"

Peter: "...No. I just went on google and-"

He stopped cold, smiling at his blunder.

Peter: "Right. I forgot. No internet here."

T.S.: "Internet?"

Peter: "Computers, which are essentially big iPods, connect into a network in which data is transferred to and from a huge-ass database. If you have internet connection, you can access it from about anywhere, and find almost anything in an instant. For example, if I wanted to know about...the angle of incidence of Earth during summer, I could just type that into a computer, and within a matter of seconds, I'd have my answer."

T.S.: "Really? Wait, what's angle of incidence, again? I think I've read about it before, but I can't remember it now..."

Peter: "It's the angle at which-"

R.D.: "A planet lies on its axis when it's at a certain point in its orbit."

Everypony looked at Rainbow Dash, surprised and confused.

Peter: "Uh...yeah. That's...exactly it. How...how do you know that?"

R.D.: "Uh...I had to read up on some...Pre-Celestia's Reign astronomy in...flight school! Yep, flight school! I almost forgot its name for a second there!"

F.S.: "...Yes, I remember that."

R.D.: "You do? I mean, yeah! What did I tell you guys?"

Peter: "...Okay then."

T.S.: "And you remember all of that from flight school?"

R.D.: "Duh!"

Peter: "Well, what else you do you about astronomy?"

T.S.: "Uh, we're kind of getting off track...again."

The lavender unicorn huffed and walked away, her hooves gently clopping on the wooden floor of the train car. Spike followed her over to the small library, in which Twilight immediately sat and began pouring over a book.

Peter: "What's her problem?"

A.J.: "Ah think she's a bit pissed off that you two messed up her studies. Y'know, about human culture?"

Peter: "Hm...maybe I'll go talk to her..."

R.D.: "Don't bother. When she gets like this, she can be pretty pissed off..."

Peter: "Okay, then, I won't..."

Rarity: "Oh, Peter, darling! You simply must put on your swim trunks!"

Peter: "Uh...okay. Rainbow Dash, is it okay if I ask you more about astronomy later?"

R.D.: "Yeah!"

Peter: "Sweet! I'm looking forward to it!"

Rarity: "Come, now! I simply need to see how you look in these swim trunks!"

Everypony fanned out slowly, going about their own business, their breakfast having been brought to an abrupt end.

F.S.: "Well, I have to...do...something..."

P.P.: "Hm...maybe if I...this is going to be hard to pull off..."

A.J.: "What's goin' t' be hard t' pull off, Pinkie?"

P.P.: "NOTHING!"

A.J.: "Uh...okay...Ah...Ah'll be over there...don't hurt me..."

P.P.: "Hmph."

R.D.: "I'm gonna nap a bit...'night..."

T.S.: "Spike, I need your help on finding a certain book..."

Spike: "What book is that?"

T.S.: "The one I...'borrowed' from the Mayor last night."

Spike: "You mean the one that you had me steal?"

T.S.: "Spike, quiet!"

Spike: "Fine. I'll get it."

Rarity: "Well, go on, try them on!"

Peter: "Uh...can I have some privacy?"

Rarity: "Oh, of course!"

Peter: "Uh...I'll just change in that corner..."

Rarity: "Take as long as you want!"

Peter: "Uh...'k..."

Spike: "Twilight, here's the book you wanted."

T.S.: "Get me a quill. I need to make some notes..."

Spike: "But it's not your book!"

T.S.: "Spike, the fate of Equestria might depend on this! Just hurry up and get me ink and a quill!"

Spike: "...Fine. And, Twilight, you always say that."

T.S.: "What?"

Spike: "That the fate of Equestria depends on it..."

T.S.: "...And?"

Spike: "Uh, never mind. Here's the ink and quill."

T.S.: "Oh, and can you also get the 'Almanac of Languages'? I know the translation for this word, but I don't know what language it's in...It's mentioned at a different part."

Spike: "Fine. Just keep that light ball going in your luggage, alright? I almost fell down the stairs last time...By the way, how did you manage to get stairs in your luggage?"

T.S.: "...It's a long story."

Spike: "...Huh. Well, I hope you can find the essentials. Hey, I just realized: Why don't I sleep in your luggage? It'll be like back at home!"

T.S.: "...No."

Spike: "Fine...I'll go get the Almanac of Languages..."

T.S.: "That's a good dragon..."

F.S.: "Maybe I should just ask him about his time in the hospital...but shouldn't I wait until tomorrow to have the session? Well, whatever...I think he needs some help right now..."

A.J.: "Whatever you think is right, Fluttershy. Ah personally think that you should do it today."

F.S.: "Really? Well, if you think I should..."

A.J.: "You don't have to, it's just a suggestion..."

F.S.: "No, I think that today is a good idea...you know, after everypony else is done talking to him..."

A.J.: "Uh...okay. Ah've got to make sure that Pinkie doesn't destroy the train. Ah'll be right back."

F.S.: "...Good idea."

P.P.: "Hm...I would have to solder that..."

A.J.: "What in the hay are y'all doin'?"

P.P.: "NOTHING!!!"

A.J.: "You must be doing something!"

P.P.: "No, I'm NOT! I don't want to spoil the surprise!"

A.J.: "Oh..."

P.P.: "Oh, no! I just spoiled it!"

A.J.: "Don't worry, Ah won't tell anypony! Cross mah heart and hope to stick a cupcake in mah eye!"

P.P.: "...Good."

A.J.: "Ah think Ah'll go...lay down for a bit..."

P.P.: "Okay! Goodnight, Applejack!"

Peter: "Okay, I've got the trunks on, Rarity."

Rarity: "...You're going to swim in your...turtleneck and chain?"

Peter: "...No."

Rarity: "Well, take them off! Along with your socks. I want to see what you look like when you actually swim!"

Peter: "Uh...okay then..."

Rarity: "I'll take them..."

Peter: "So? How do I look?"

Rarity: "...Hm...I don't think I like the fireworks pattern..."

Peter: "...Uh...to be totally honest...I think maybe...camo, would work better for me?"

Rarity: "Hm...camouflage...yes, that would look nice!"

Peter: "I mean, if it's not any trouble, of course! I don't want to overwrite a lot of hard work, just to get my trunks the way I want them..."

Rarity: "Oh, it's not a problem at all, dearie! Just change back into your sweatpants and sweater, and I'll have it done in no time at all!"

Peter: "Okay...just...turn around? Please?"

Rarity: "Of course."

Spike: "Here...it...is..."

T.S.: "Are you okay, Spike? Why are you panting?"

Spike: "The almanac...was all the way...down in the...fourth basement...of the bag..."

T.S.: "Oh, my! Isn't the fourth floor the one with the giant statue in it?"

Spike: "Yeah....and the even more giant staircase..."

T.S.: "Well, good thing it wasn't on the sixth basement..."

Spike: "How big is your bag!?"

T.S.: "Uh...about...ten basements..."

Spike: "But you don't even have that many books!"

T.S.: "Turns out that that bag, was the one we lived in when I almost failed my finals that one time..."

Spike: "Hah! I remember that! You thought Celestia would banish you, and you made the suitcase into a bunker!"

T.S.: "Yeah...and she wasn't angry..."

Spike: "Are you kidding me? She was so impressed that she gave you a solid hundred on your finals! That's a bit better than 'not angry'!"

T.S.: "Yeah...anyway, let's see that book..."

Spike: "Okay, here you go..."

A.J.: "Pinkie's not doin' anything that Ah know about."

F.S.: "Okay, then...Hey, wait a second, where did she get that soldering pen from..."

A.J.: "...Let's not question it."

F.S.: "Good idea..."

P.P.: "Hmm...well, Peter seemed to be good at designing things...maybe I'll ask him for help..."

P.P.: "Yeah, that's a good idea, Pinkie..."

P.P.: "Maybe I shouldn't solder this, and instead just use a quick disconnect? Hm..."

P.P.: "It seems as though a quick disconnect would probably be the best way to go with this."

P.P.: "Now, where did I put that crimping kit..."

P.P.: "I think it's under the ratchet set, but above the vice grip..."

P.P.: "Nope! It's above the vice grip, and next to the ratchet set!"

P.P.: "Let's get to work!"

Rarity: "I'll work on it. If you wouldn't mind, could you maybe...go talk to Twilight Sparkle? I believe she has calmed down by now..."

Peter: "Okay...thanks again, Rarity."

Rarity: "No, thank you! Without you, I...I wouldn't be doing this right now."

Peter: "...Yeah..."

They both stayed silent for a few moments.

Peter: "...Well, I think I'll go see Twilight now..."

Rarity: "Okay. Just...do try and get back on her good side, will you?"

Peter: "Oh, definitely."

T.S.: "Hi, Peter."

Peter: "Hi. Sorry about...cutting you short before."

T.S.: "Oh, it's fine. I'm working on something right now, actually. Maybe you could help me."

Peter: "'K. Hey, Spike. You okay? You look like you just ran a marathon."

Spike: "...I was in Twilight's luggage. I had to go all the way down to the sixth basement..."

Peter: "...What?"

T.S.: "I...I hid in that bag once, when I almost failed my first finals..."

Peter: "Yeah...I know that feeling..."

T.S.: "You do?"

Peter: "Yeah. When I got a 68 on about ten tests in a row...I kind of just wanted to hide in a bunker."

T.S.: "Huh..."

Peter: "Well, what do you need help with, Twilight?"

T.S.: "I need to find out what language these words are in..."

Peter: "'Gylden Glør'? Well, back on Earth, that's Norske for 'Golden Embers'."

T.S.: "...How do you know that?"

Peter: "I speak Norwegian...after I watched the movie, 'The Thing', by John Carpenter, I decided to learn how to speak Norwegian. I only know how to say a few sentences in Norske, though. I mostly know Spanish. Well, that, and English, which I'm speaking now. Duh."

T.S.: "Well...wait. You're not speaking English!"

Peter: "...Estoy no hablando Ingles?"

T.S.: "...Uh, sure. You're speaking Equestrian."

Peter: "...Oh. What's that?"

T.S.: "You should know, you're speaking it!"

Peter: "Oooohhhhhhh..."

T.S.: "What?"

Peter: "English and Equestrian are the same thing."

T.S.: "How?"

Peter: "Fuck, I don't know."

T.S.: "Didn't Applejack tell you to watch your mouth, Peter?"

Peter: "...Sorry. I'm used to being able to curse when I'm with friends...y'know, at Robotics? The...'F' word is light compared to some of the things me and my friends say. Yeah, we're not exactly...great people."

T.S.: "Yes, you are. You saved Rarity's life, and you helped Rainbow Dash recover from her dreams."

Peter: "Wait, how do you know about that?"

T.S.: "She told me about the dreams. And when I told Fluttershy, when you were both in the hospital, she said that you two had each other, and that you could help her overcome her dreams."

Peter: "Well, let's hope that I did."

T.S.: "Hm...well, I'm going to look up words from...'Norske'. Could you maybe...give me few?"

Peter: "Sure."

T.S.: "Okay...let's see here..."

P.P.: "Wow, this is hard work."

P.P.: "But it's fun! Although, I must admit, wiring it up so that the fridge powers itself is kind of difficult..."

P.P.: "Yeah, but when I route the power source back to itself, it self charges! Watch! I'll use my volt meter on the battery terminals..."

P.P.: "Yeah, I'm right! The voltage of the battery is going up!"

P.P.: "Woohoo! Now, let's get this routed up to the lights..."

P.P.: "Maybe I should wait until everypony's asleep...or until I have Peter to help me."

P.P.: "Nah, I can just use the step stool that I have...right...here."

P.P.: "Huh...so that was between the ratchet set and the lights, right?"

P.P.: "Exactly! So that I can get the step stool, and then use the ratchets on the light!"

P.P.: "Let's do this!"

F.S.: "Uh...I think Pinkie's setting up a light..."

A.J.: "Why? It's not like we can actually have a party in here or somethin'..."

F.S.: "I guess we'll just have to wait and see, huh?"

A.J.: "Yeah..."

F.S.: "Applejack, I think you should get some sleep. You got up early today. If, of course, you want to..."

A.J.: "You know, that's a good idea, Fluttershy...Ah mean, Ah've been getting up really early recently...Ah haven't had much sleep...Ah think Ah'll do what Rainbow Dash is doin'."

F.S.: "So will I."

A.J.: "Wait, where do we sleep, besides the hammocks?"

F.S.: "...Good question."

A.J.: "What's that?"

F.S.: "I don't know...oh, don't pull at it, please...or, just do, if you really want to..."

T.S.: "Okay, give me another word..."

Peter: "Døden?"

T.S.: "Which means..."

Peter: "Death."

T.S.: "Uh...okay..."

Peter: "Find anything?"

T.S.: "...Yes! I found a language that has that word! And, thankfully, it's one language this time!"

Peter: "Aw, sweet!"

T.S.: "Okay, so, according to this, it's...the Language of the Elders. Huh..."

Peter: "That's weird..."

T.S.: "Yeah...but, whatever."

Peter: "Yeah...well, is there anything else you want to talk about?"

T.S.: "Hmm....well, nothing's popping into mind..."

Peter: "...How are your studies under Celestia going?"

T.S.: "Fine. I just need to find out more about the Seventh Element of Harmony...and the Truth..."

Peter: "The Truth?"

T.S.: "Yes. I went to Zecora, and she told me that the story of Gylden Glør is not the full...Truth. But, the legend seems so...full. Gylden Glør must have given Celestia some information directly to write it..."

Peter: "Well, I think it's incredibly vague..."

T.S.: "True, it is...like, Gyldens' origins and whatnot..."

Peter: "Yeah...huh..."

T.S.: "But, thing is, it's written by Celestia, and it says at the end that one should not look for the spirit of Gylden Glør..."

Peter: "Well, that was before you. You can probably handle speaking to his spirit...I mean, you had the vision about him, right?"

T.S.: "Mhm...I just need to find the Truth..."

Peter: "Well, I'll help you when we return to Ponyville."

T.S.: "Really?"

Peter: "Yeah, definitely!"

T.S.: "Thanks, Peter!"

Peter: "...Wow. Your eyes are..."

T.S.: "...What?"

Peter: "Bloodshot as holy hell. Twilight, how much sleep did you get last night?"

T.S.: "...uh...not much..."

Peter: "How about an estimate?"

T.S.: "An hour..."

Peter: "Go to sleep. I'm going to go talk with...hell, I don't know, whoever wants to talk to me, I guess."

However, Pinkie Pie obviously wanted to talk to Peter, as her pink hooves quickly wrapped around him and pulled him towards a part of the car that was obscured by a giant curtain.

F.S.: "Well, this is very nice!"

A.J.: "Ah agree! Ah like how the bed is stored in the wall...maybe that's in mah...section, too?"

F.S.: "Huh...let's go see. It'd be a shame if everypony didn't have a bed..."

A.J.: "Yeah...Ah wonder what Pinkie's planning..."

F.S.: "Well, Peter's obviously more than willing to help her..."

A.J.: "Hah! Yeah! Poor Peter...pulled over there by Pinkie..."

F.S.: "Well, besides that, he's smiling from ear to ear."

A.J.: "...D'you...maybe think that he...likes Pinkie?"

F.S.: "No. He's just a bit silly like Pinkie, but it doesn't show unless he's around somepony else silly."

A.J.: "...If y'all say so..."

F.S.: "I do."

Applejack gave the yellow Pegasus a transient glance of surprise, the sudden assertiveness catching her off guard. She quickly smiled and looked ahead, deciding to focus on finding the bed in her section of the car.

Peter: "Uh, Pinkie? What's all this for?"

P.P.: "It's my new work area...don't tell anypony, though."

Peter: "Why are we whispering?"

P.P.: "Because it's a surprise!"

Peter: "True, true. Well, do you need any help or anything?"

P.P.: "Yeah, I read a few chapters earlier that you were in a robotics team."

Peter: "Uh...what?"

P.P.: "I mean, Twilight told me that you were in a robotics team."

Peter: "...O...Okay..."

P.P.: "And that you had experience with crimps and stuff."

Peter: "Yeah, I do. Why? Oh, snap, are you...crimping the wires in the fridge to power a party pad?"

P.P.: "Exactly! How'd you know?"

Peter: "There's a ratchet set out, a crimping set is next to the fridge, your volt meter is still on top of the fridge, and you have a step stool with bolts on it."

P.P.: "Wow! You're really observant!"

Peter: "Yeah. It comes with reading Sherlock Holmes for hours on end."

P.P.: "Who?"

Peter: "He's a super detective."

P.P.: "Oh! Okay, I've got it! Anyway, here's what we have to do..."

A.J.: "Ah don't see anythin'..."

F.S.: "Keep looking...maybe it's something in the floor?"

A.J.: "Hmm...."

F.S.: "Oh, here it is!"

A.J.: "Huh...how in the hay did Ah miss that?"

F.S.: "It was very...discrete. It was small. But it looks like a nice bed."

A.J.: "I'll see about that..."

F.S.: "Careful...please..."

A.J.: "It's definitely comfortable!"

F.S.: "That's good. Well, get some sleep, Applejack. I'm going to talk to Peter. Or, try to, at least..."

A.J.: "...Hm....wake me up when we're havin' lunch...Ah'll see you later, Fluttershy...good luck..."

Fluttershy smiled as her friend fell into the confines of sleep, having not slept the night past.

She walked away, raising an eyebrow at the two friends huddled around the refrigerator, donning a curious face as she approached the two party enthusiasts.

P.P.: "Yep! That's perfect!"

Peter: "For being so...well, for lack of a better word, random, your equipment is so...organized."

P.P.: "Well, of course! You can't have a party if you can't make a party!"

F.S.: "What are you guys doing?"

Peter: "Oh, just making sure that the drinks don't go bad."

F.S.: "...I...I kind of doubt that...no offense..."

P.P.: "None taken! We're just looking at the fridge!"

F.S.: "...Okay...well, I'm going to be in my...section. I...if you're not busy, could you come by for a...few questions? If you don't mind..."

Peter: "Not at all. I'd love to."

The yellow Pegasus walked away, and both Pinkie and Peter sighed in relief, looking at each other with mischievous smiles.

Peter: "Let's get technical."

P.P.: "Yeah!"

They tinkered with the fridge, hooking it up so that it would run through five circuits: four re-charging the refrigerator's internal battery, and one huge, 50-gauge wire leading off to what would be the lights on the roof.

Peter: "Are you sure this is...legal?"

P.P.: "Nope!"

Peter: "...Uh...then shouldn't we...not be doing it?"

P.P.: "Yep!"

Peter: "...Well...hey, you know what? Screw the law! Brohoof!"

P.P.: "Brohoof!"

The two laughed as fist and hoof met, smiling at each other.

P.P.: "You're pretty cool, Peter."

Peter: "So are you, Pinkie."

The two smiled, both of them finally having found someone who thought like them.

Peter: "Well...that should do it..."

P.P.: "Yep! I don't know how, but every time we re-link the battery to itself, it gets more power!"

Peter: "Seems legit."

P.P.: "Yeah, I know, right!"

Peter: "Wow...I can't wait to see how this works..."

P.P.: "Well, I can take care of the rest from here..."

Peter: "Are you sure you don't want me to help you with the bolts, and the light, and the zippity zoppity, and the zobbity zoopity?"

P.P.: "Nope, I can zippity zop and zobbity zoop just fine!"

Peter: "Well, do you need help with the light and bolts, then?"

P.P.: "Nope. All I have to do is this!"

She stood on her head, and held the light right side up. Suddenly, she was on the ceiling, already bolting the light into place. Thankfully, the curtain was closed, and nopony saw Peter's look of amazement, or the light's unwieldy frame.

Peter: "How..."

P.P.: "Easy! I put a grappling hook in my tail, and then had a small motor put suction cups on my hooves!"

Peter: "...Me gusta."

P.P.: "What's that face?"

Peter: "The 'Me gusta' face. Don't ask me what it's from, because I don't know."

P.P.: "Huh. It's hilarious, though!"

Peter: "Yeah, I know, right!"

P.P.: "I think we're done here, in all honesty."

Peter: "So, what now?"

P.P.: "Well...Fluttershy said she wanted to talk to you, right?"

Peter: "Mhm...I should probably get on that..."

P.P.: "So how about you go talk to her, while I finish up wiring the lights? And thanks for the help, Peter!"

Peter: "Any time, Pinkie."

Fluttershy

The yellow Pegasus sighed in satisfaction as she lay down on her small bed, the bed firm, yet giving slightly as her body pressed down on top of it, her stress seeping into the mattress.

She blinked, sighing as she remembered what had transpired in the hospital.

I really must ask him...I have no other choice but to...

Fluttershy sighed once more, wings plastered to her sides.

But what if he gets mad at me...

"You wanted to talk to me, Fluttershy?"

The yellow Pegasus nodded as Peter sat down next to her, putting an arm around the distraught pony.

"What's the matter, Fluttershy?"

She looked up at her name, steeling her nerves.

"Peter, I...I wanted to...apologize for...what I did in the hospital..."

Peter, much to Fluttershy's surprise, smiled, and pulled her closer, rubbing up and down on her shoulder.

He's...not mad at me?

"Fluttershy, I forgive you. It looked wrong, I know, and I can understand you getting angry at me. It's all water under the bridge now."

The Pegasus smiled, hugging Peter, but quickly disentangled herself, believing that she should give a reason for her actions.

"It's just...I was scared that...you would..."

Peter raised an eyebrow as she whispered.

Just say it, Fluttershy...

"I would what?"

"You would..."

"What?"

"I was afraid that you would hurt Rainbow Dash!"

The Pegasus immediately held a hoof to her mouth, afraid that she had screamed it. Of course, it was just a small statement.

"...Why?"

She gulped, her shut eyes hidden beneath her shaking pink mane.

"Because you...you found something in her...an old Rainbow Dash...one that I've been trying to find for...over a decade now. And you found that old Rainbow Dash, the Rainbow Dash that...depends heavily on what her friends think of her...for her own self-confidence...in less than three days. She...she obviously sees something...special in you...and I was worried that...you might hurt her...if you ever...turned your back on her..."

Fluttershy cringed as Peter reached towards her, rather quickly, but calmed as he took hold of her hooves, holding either in his hands, staring into Fluttershy's eyes, and she into his.

"Fluttershy, listen to me. I would never, ever, turn my back on Rainbow Dash. She is one of the best friends I could ever ask for, and I would never turn my back on her. We were so...close, in that hospital. And not intimately, but rather because we...saw each other as we really are. I saw how unsure she was, how her confidence is really just a shell that she filled. I saw how..."

He cut himself short, and Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, confused as a strange look filled his eyes.

"...She depends on me. And you, and all of her friends. And I would never, ever turn my back on her. You have my word."

Fluttershy smiled, and sat up straight, victorious.

"Well, Peter, this has been a marvelous session."

"Session?"

She nodded, and put a hoof on his shoulder, looking deep into his eyes.

"I think you should get some sleep. You were thrust into this world so suddenly, and so many things have happened, that you really must get some sleep."

Peter

He nodded, suddenly aware of how tired he was...

"And you should talk to Rainbow Dash later. Ask her how she is, after the hospital and everything."

Peter nodded once more, a sudden urge to ask Rainbow Dash a single question filling him. After, of course, he got some sleep...

"And you should talk to Applejack later, as she may seem very collected and calm, but inside, she's confused and hurt about what she did to you."

Peter nodded for a third time, already planning to ask the orange work pony about certain things later...

"Also, lower the volume on your iPod...if you don't mind. And...tell us what the Desert Eagle is later, okay?"

Peter nodded a fourth and fifth time, planning to do many things after he slept.

"Well, sweet dreams, Peter."

He nodded, subconsciously repeating Fluttershy's commands, the two eyes of persuasion burning in his mind.

"...Wake me up when we're going to eat lunch, okay?"

The yellow Pegasus nodded, even as Peter walked towards the center of the train, where three hammocks swayed, one of them occupied by a lightly snoring cyan Pegasus, a rainbow mane and tail spilling over the edges, the other quickly occupied by Peter, his headphones already over his ears, the volume set to a very low point.

Sleep quickly grasped at his mind, pulling him into the roiling depths of dreams, showing him things he didn't know, and wouldn't remember.

Note from the Author

Hey! How did you guys like this chapter? Expect a lot more like it. At least...

One hundred.

Yes.

I changed it.

One hundred chapters.

To.

Finish.

Vacation.

Mother.

Of.

God.

...

There goes my work ethic in school.

Going...going...who am I kidding, it's been gone!

Oh, and on e hundred chapters for vacation = at least 200 (including vacation) to get halfway through the plot.

Fuck my life, what have I gotten myself into!?

Psst...a little side note...

Send in more custom ponies!

An Elder

Celestia looked at Philomeena, her pet phoenix, suddenly reminded of a...certain pony she had to contact.

She sighed, remembering how closely this certain pony had watched Gylden Glør, thousands upon thousands of years ago...

Fugl Føniks...I need you...

Her horn glowed, and she melded the words into a spell, calling forth one of the only living Elders, the Language of the Elders calling him forth...

The pony appeared in a blast of fire, born anew, just like his namesake, his name echoing as Celestia uttered the words.

"Fugl Føniks, do you understand why I have summoned you?"

The pony stretched his white wings, and sent an experimental burst of energy through his horn, his blood red hooves in stark contrast to his white body, a black band separating the red cloven, a likewise pattern seen in his sword-like hair.

"Yes, My Princess. And not only I, but Mørk Blusse and Hvit Brann do as well."

Celestia nodded, remembering the two personalities that the pony could call upon, and even meld.

"Well, I believe we should call you by your Equestrian name for now."

"Would it not be better if I keep my Ancient name, the name of power, through which the world functions?"

Celestia shook her head, her gaseous mane trailing behind her.

"For what you must do, Fugl Føniks, it is best that you adopt your Equestrian name."

"Tell me, O Righteous Princess of the Sun, what is my Equestrian name?"

"You need only look behind you, and you shall find your namesake."

Fugl Føniks turned around, and came face to face with Philomeena, the phoenix priming itself, its feathers of flame glowing with a vibrant life.

"...My Equestrian name is...Phoenix?"

Celestia nodded, her gaseous mane whispering, its secrets forever hidden.

"Yes. And you, Phoenix...as one of the only surviving Elders, you must watch over the Six Elements of Harmony, Spike, and Peter Roose."

Phoenix nodded, his sword-like hair whispering in consent.

"I remember when he arrived. The other Elders urged for action. However, Hvit Brann and I disagreed."

"Ah, and your personalities...you must know their Equestrian names. They are Dark Haze, and White Fire."

Phoenix looked straight at Celestia, his eyes suddenly burning with a fire, the embers white and interested, emulating the fireball cutie mark on the alicorns' flank.

"I see that you forgot about Gylden Glør, Princess. Why's that? Are you so old that you're having lapses in your memory already?"

Celestia rolled her eyes, remembering the personality that now controlled Phoenix all too well.

"No. He was not an Elder. When he died, he gave up everything. Luna and I forgot all about him, and the only pony in the world who remembered him was the Dreamer. Now, Phoenix, if you would not mind, please, remove either your wings, your horn, or both."

"W...what?"

"You heard me. In this day and age, there are only two alicorns. It would cause chaos in my realm if a third rose."

"I'll disband myself of the horn, then. The wings, I shall keep."

"Good. Now, if I may continue undisturbed, White Fire..."

"I'll keep them both down, Princess..."

"Thank you. Now, I need you to follow the train the eight of them are on, and ensure that their minds, bodies, and souls remain unharmed by Discord."

"Ah, Discord...unfortunately, Metall Kant kept me abiding to the 'Laws' of the Elders. I couldn't go down there and bust up his statue..."

"Phoenix, you need to practice keeping your personalities down. You haven't been a pony for about ten thousand years now, and Dark Haze is too rash for this. You must re-learn how to control your personalities."

"Yes, my Princess..."

"Good. Now, go, Phoenix, and protect the Elements of Harmony, Spike, and Peter Roose with all of your might. If needs must, I permit you to meld Dark Haze and White Fire."

"Thank you, my Princess..."

"And one more thing before you go."

Phoenix rolled his shoulders, putting his wings down, even as his horn fully disappeared, magical core and all.

"Yes, my Princess?"

"I congratulate you on watching the culture of Equestria so closely, as you have not been using the Royal Canterlot Voice."

"Well, I kind of had to. Comes with the job of being an ancient being presiding over all of Equestria. I kind of have to follow the times."

Celestia rolled her eyes.

"Just go, White Fire."

"Y-Yes, my Princess."

Phoenix walked over to the window, preparing himself, when Celestia whispered something into his ear. He blinked, surprised, but nodded nonetheless.

He took off, his horn finally fully gone, his cutie mark hot with excited energy, his wings flapping faster and faster, getting used to his old body, ready to take on anypony, and anything, that stood in his way.

I will not let Discord win this one...never shall that evil, disgusting being ever taint this world once more...

Note from the Author

I've introduced one OC, and I'm still accepting new ones.

So, if you have one you want to see in this story, just give a short description below.

Oh, and the pony's name. Duh.

I'll try to include all ponies.

And, even if it seems as though it's really thick with OC's, send one in, and I'll just fit him/her into a new setting. However, there are certain points when I'll have to reject certain OC's, and if it comes to that, I apologize sincerely. But, like I said, I will try to include all ponies.

Ahem...

INCLUDE ALL THE CUSTOM PONIES!

A Master of Dreams

Celestia watched Phoenix take off, now assured that a powerful Elder protected her eight subjects in this world.

Her horn pulsed with energy, the words she had spoken now summoning a second Elder, one that could protect her subjects in the Realm of Dreams.

A black hole opened in the world, leading into the strange Realm, and the Elder she had wanted stepped out, black body and white mane and tail emulating his Yin-Yang cutie mark. A strange mist surrounded him, giving him the appearance of being a ghost, his horn already glowing with power. No wings were to be found, as he had no use for them.

"Drøm Mester. I must ask you to-"

"Celestia. It's been too long, my old friend."

She smiled as the unicorns' clear, solid voice rang out, the sound in stark contrast to his seemingly aged body and drooping eyes, seeming to be half asleep.

"Yes, it has, Drøm. I suppose you already know of Luna's revival? From Nightmare Moon?"

"Ah, yes. I reveled at the sight of the young Princess, once again in her former glory. And so did Sølv Brann, who happened to be visiting. Now, I'm assuming that you've summoned so as to ask me a favor, have you not?"

Celestia smiled, remembering the antics of Sølv Brann, back before Nightmare Moon...

"Yes, Drøm Mester. First, you must use your Equestrian name for now: Dream Master."

"Alright then."

"Now, I need you to do a few things, okay? I need you to bring Sølv Brann into the Realm of Dreams with you, and protect the minds of my eight subjects, all aboard a mobile hotel to Manehattan, from Discord. He's been pulling himself into the Realm of Dreams, slowly but surely, and I believe he has a plan."

Dream Master frowned slightly, dismayed.

"Would it not be best to bring Metall Krant or...or...Fugl Føniks?"

"That is why you're meeting Fugl Føniks in the Realm of Dreams. He'll be sleeping in the locomotive of the mobile hotel, so I want you to meet him there. And, no matter what, do not let Discord into the dreams of anypony, okay? I want them all to sleep soundly on this trip."

The black pony nodded, understanding what had to be done.

"My Princess, would it not be wiser to have Phoenix here, with us?"

Celestia shook her head, vocalizing the movement.

"No. If it comes to it, he'll have to protect the eight of them in the Realm of Reality. I would rather not see it come to that, but he's just as strong in the Realm of Reality as he is in the Realm of Dreams. He's basically our lifeline for if you..."

"Fail?"

"Yes."

Dream Master sighed, looking up at Celestia.

"You do know the implications of this?"

"Refresh my memory, please."

The black pony sat looking at Celestia with a stern, unfaltering gaze, inherent of the Elders.

"If we get too close to their dreams, we could end up jeopardizing everything. That...humans'...Soul Gem fragments...we'll have to secure them both in the Realm of Dreams, and Reality, once he throws them away. But if we get too close to them before that...he'd find us, and he would be dragged into the Realm of Dreams, and he would be open to attack from Discord."

Celestia nodded, knowing all too well that the Elder was reflecting on the companion they had lost, before the rise of Gylden Glør, when they had tried to attack Discord in the most indirect way possible...

"You can't blame yourself for that, Dream Master. Dag Drøm knew what she was getting herself into. She couldn't handle it, just like you said..."

The old unicorn sighed, the mare still weighing heavily upon his mind after thousands of years...

"Yes...I know. It's in the past now..."

Celestia nodded.

"Now, Dream Master, you must go, and remember to tell Sølv Brann that his Equestrian name is Silver Fire. Oh, and tell Metall Krant that Sølv has been royally pardoned."

The aged pony nodded, blinking for what seemed  to be five minutes. When he opened his eyes, the portal to the Realm of Dreams lay behind him.

"Oh, and Dream Master..."

"Hm?"

"The Dreamer sends her regards."

The Dream Master smiled, his heart warmed at the mention of the grey Pegasus.

"Tell my student that I am very, very proud of her, and that I send my regards, and my regrets."

Celestia nodded, even as the old black pony backed off into the darkness, his white mane and tail disappearing last.

She sighed, and returned to her throne, sitting upon the golden ornamental throne, leaving the audience chamber behind her.

Ditzy Doo walked up to her, a sad look in her eye, her Eye burning with a hidden intensity.

"Celestia...Discord has taken somepony under his control."

Celestia looked up with surprise, not expecting it to happen so quickly.

"Who?"

Ditzy Doo looked up, a sad, sad look in her eye, and said the pony's name.

Note from the Author

Mini contest time!

Try to guess who Discord took!

If anyone guesses right, I'll post my outline for the next chapter, albeit censored in certain areas to keep the plot a mystery.

But I won't tell you who guessed it right, or who Discord took.

If nobody guesses right, I'll just publish the entire chapter when I'm done with it.

Also, I was extremely tired when I wrote this. Sorry if it isn't that...good. I just wanted to get my idea down really fast, despite almost passing out at my computer...

Well, expect an outline sometime soon.

Edit on Reward for Correct Guess

Actually, you know what, forget the outline!!

I'm not going to give you an outline for a chapter, but rather...

I'll give you a shit load of chapters!

For (almost) all of the Elders I've listed so far, I'm going to give you a chapter for each of them!

Ahem...

CHARACTERIZE ALL OF THE ELDERS!!!

A Note from Discord

Hello, reader. I suppose you're enjoying listening to this fool babble on? Yes, I believe you are. Huh.

Well, I just called up to see how you're doing. Maybe ask you if you want some glass with chocolate milk in it. Well, that, and also tell you that I'm going to...interfere a bit, with my new pawn.

Ah, my pawn is wondrous. So powerful, and so envious...perfect for my plans, really. Shame that I can't use Rainbow Dash, though. A Sonic Rainboom could kill those damn Elements of Harmony...

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to try to screw up their vacation and make a...facas. Yes, a facas. That is, if that bumbling idiot Peter Roose doesn't interfere with my interference...

Oh, my, I've been going on quite long, haven't I? I think I'll let you have your...author, back now. Just remember: one day, I might just get tired of being a...spirit.

And, one more thing...since I'm a polite Draconequus, I'm going to give you a few hints as to who I took over:

She, is not part of the Mane 6.

She has a reason to hate all of them.

She's not exactly...polite.

Oh, and one more thing...

I've almost gotten one of those foolish...'Elders' on my side. I'd rather have Nightmare Moon, but he'll have to do...

Anyway, I'll leave you be now. Have a wonderful day, my friend!

Author

Hey! So, I'm going to give you a few hints on who the pony is that Discord took...over...

Da fuq?

Uhm...

Okay...

Publish?...Nyeah?

....

Hi.

Uh...

Send in OC's...

Uhm...

And maybe the Ghostbusters...

And an AK-47...

And a Pinkie Pie...

...............

........................................

.......................................................

I'm scared...

Meanwhile...

A ticking interrupted the silence, heralding the arrival of a tall, black earth pony. The click sounded again as he walked, reverberating each time his dragons' claw of mercury hit the black, cinder block floor of the Hall of the Elders, the mercury shining with the magic that worked within it, the image of a sword and a pen exchanging blows adorning his flank.

"Drøm Mester. I trust there is a good reason for this?"

The unicorn in question turned, making direct contact with his fellow Elder.

"Yes. Celestia has called for me and Sølv Brann to descend into the Realm of Dreams, and to retrieve Fugl Føniks."

Metall Kant raised a silver eyebrow, the sliver of hair making up for the lack of a mane.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Discord is fighting through the Realm of Dreams, and eight of Celestia's subjects hold the keys to his escape."

Metall Kant walked forward, his claw clicking upon the tile as he passed Drøm Mester.

"I know all this already. Why do you think I had him enchant the train? What I want to know is...why does Celestia order a royal amnesty for Sølv Brann?"

"Because if he can't fight, and we encounter Discord in the Realm of Dreams, we're all dead. Besides Fugl Føniks, Sølv is our most able fighter."

Metall Kant stopped, thinking. "Fine, then. I grant a royal amnesty to Sølv Brann, as well as the full return of his belongings."

"I also must bring to your attention that...he is remembering."

The earth pony stopped, blinking in surprise. He turned to face the unicorn, black wisps of dreams still clinging onto his black body.

"It is true, Metall Kant."

Metall turned to look at the other Elder currently occupying the room, the unicorns' white horn emulating her white body, the blue star on her flank stretching as she walked.

"Ah, Magi Stjerne...I assume that you are here in place of Deajer?"

The unicorn bowed her head, her light blue mane falling over her neck as she did so.

"Yes, Metall Kant. He is still recovering after the enchantments he placed upon the train."

Drøm Mester sighed. "If he is still recovering, I fail to see the need of us three...surely his spells can hold back Discord, no?"

"Yes, Drøm. However, if Discord gains enough power, he can smash right through them. That is why we are needed."

Drøm Mester turned in surprise to see Sølv Brann, his silver coat rendering the flaming silver sword on his flank almost invisible, his red mane emulating the flames of his cutie mark.

"Sølv Brann...how do you know that?"

The unicorn stood besides Drøm Mester, smiling cockily.

"Come on, you old colt. You mean to tell me that your forgot what happened that day? Deajer's spells were totally wiped out by Discord! Only Gylden Glør could ever hold back the draconequus, remember?"

The four of them bowed their heads at the mention of the zebra, paying homage to the hero despite him not being an Elder himself. Metall Kant smiled thinly, remembering the night he and Gylden Glør had met...

He shook himself, going back to the matter at hand.

"Drøm Mester...you said that he is starting to remember?"

"Yes, Metall Kant."

"And he is still in the Manehattan hospital?"

"Yes."

"Good. I want you to keep a close eye on him while the Celestia's subjects are in Manehattan. I don't want anything to go...awry."

Everypony nodded in consent.

"Sølv Brann, get your things. We must depart, immediately."

Metall shot Drøm Mester a dubious glance. "Why so rushed, my friend?"

"Discord has taken a pony. While I believe she won't encounter them for quite a while now, we must still depart now, in case the draconequus decides to...speed things up."

Metall Krant nodded. "Go, Sølv Brann, get our swords. We must practice before you sleep in the Chamber."

"What? In the Realm of Dreams, you-"

"Drøm Mester, I know all too well about the Realm of Dreams. But I also know that if you are not practiced in body, you are not practiced in mind. Magi, stay here. We'll need you to dull our blades."

The unicorn nodded, and Drøm Mester rolled his eyes, grumbling as he exited through the portal he had just opened.

Ten minutes later...

Sølv Brann walked into the Hall, two scabbards on his back.

"Metall, here is your sword..."

The Elder expertly strapped the belt and scabbard around his waste as Sølv unbuckled it from his, ensuring that his own sword stayed in place.

"Magi, if you would."

Metall Krant stood on his hind hooves, taking up his experts' fencing stance. Flexing his mercury claw, he reached for his scabbard, and pulled his sword out, the blade playing the song of metal on metal as he pulled it out. The red sword shimmered as Magi Stjerne enchanted it with a protection charm, ensuring that the most it could do was give a bruise.

Unsure on his hind hooves, Sølv Brann plunged his hoof into the cavity of his sword. As soon as his hoof hit the button in the cup, the four metal clamps dislodged from the sheathe it sat in, and magically attached themselves to his wrist, making the white blade an extension of his arm, the light Soul Metal feeling like liquid as it passed through the air, shining as Magi Stjerne enchanted it as well.

For the next thirty minutes, they fought, expert swordspony against expert swordspony, neither losing nor gaining ground. They finally separated, not out of weariness, (as Elders don't tire quickly,) but due to Drøm Mester returning and berating them both.

"Come now, we need to go! Sølv, go sleep in the Chamber! Now! Metall, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but in all honesty, it's overstepping its boundaries now. Yes, Sølv, you can sleep in the second Chamber..."

"Sweet!"

"You've lived here for over one hundred thousand years, and already you've forgotten that the second Chamber is exclusively yours?"

"Well, there were once fifty of us, and there were still only twenty Chambers. I'm used to the old days."

Drøm Mester simply grunted, returning to the Realm of Dreams to fetch Sølv Brann and rendezvous with Fugl Føniks, leaving Metall Kant and Magi Stjerne alone in the Hall of the Elders.

Metall unbuckled his sheathe, and leaned it on his chair. He stood next to it, looking around the room, Sølv Brann's words still echoing in his ears as he spoke, to nopony in particular.

"There were once fifty of us...ten Leaders, and forty Elders...and now...only four Leaders remain...Deajer den Trollmann, Drøm Mester, Mørk Natt...and me. And the once forty strong Elders...now only a few remain alive...and of the few who remain alive...few remain sane..."

He simply stared ahead, Magi Stjerne standing to side, respecting her superior.

"In the war, Discord murdered us...Dag Drøm was the first, and...he was last. When he died...we lost hope...and then, Gylden Glør came...we shunned him from his birth...for twenty years, we advised all ponies to shun him...and yet, Ditzy Doo did not..."

Magi Stjerne bowed her head, paying homage to the hero whom they had shunned.

"And, after twenty years of shunning him...he left....and we...we rejoiced his departure..."

He gulped, shaking his head.

"And then he returned, the Armor of Brann Bolte on his back, the Wings of Vind Rullator upon his body...and he fought for us...the Elders who pushed for his demise...and the entire time we shunned him, only Fugl Føniks recognized who he was..."

Magi Stjerne blinked, remembering how she had berated the Elder for believing that the zebra could amount to anything...

"And then........he died for us....."

He sat, head bowed in respect for the zebra hero, whom Metall Kant himself had tried to execute...

"He made the Elements of Harmony in his death...and bestowed them upon Celestia and Luna...to save the Pegasus he loved, to save us Elders, and to save everypony..."

Metall Kant opened his eyes, staring at the cinder block floor.

"He died for the ponies that tried to kill him..."

He stood, his mercury claw clicking on the ground as he looked ahead, a new determination surging through his veins.

"And we shall fight to our last breath to defend everypony alive..."

He turned, walking back to his chambers, speaking the final words of his vow in his study, picking up his books with his dragon claw, careful not to tear the binding as he returned them to his shelves, Jett Stjerne standing in the middle of the chaos, a black and red streak still visible in his wake, an envelope held securely under his dusky, red wing.

Note from the Author

Yes, keep sending in OC's.

What? You expected more?

Preview (The Train, Day 1)

Spike: "Ohhhh, no! I've had enough of going into giant things today! Twilight's bag was enough!"

P.P.: "Aww, come on, Spike, it'll be easy!"

Spike: "No. I won't do it."

P.P.: "Please?"

Spike: "No."

P.P.: "Pretty please?"

Spike: "No, Pinkie!"

P.P.: "Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease....PLLLEEEEAAAASSSEE?"

Spike: "...Ugh..........Fine."

P.P.: "Yay!"

Spike: "What do I do?"

P.P.: "Just hop on in, find the tube, push it in, and whamo! Just...make sure to avoid the pirhannas, okay?"

Spike: "...What?"

P.P.: "Find it yet?"

Spike: "No, but I'll keep looking...uh, Pinkie? Would you mind me asking...how your mane is so big?"

P.P.: "Silly! It's all puffed up like a balloon, right? I assumed that, since air is big, my mane could expand to an infinite size! And, bang! It did!"

Spike: "Huh...weird."

P.P.: "No! It's brilliant! Oh, and by the way, watch out for the Eastern side of the pneumatics area..."

Spike: "Why?"

P.P.: "The bridge's supports snapped there..."

Spike: "BRIDGE?"

P.P.: "Yeah..."

F.S.: "Uh, Pinkie Pie? Are you okay?"

P.P.: "Yeah, hold on...Spike, take a right at the pool."

F.S.: "...Uh, Pinkie?"

P.P.: "Fluttershy, can we talk later?"

F.S.: "What are you doing? And who are you talking to?"

P.P.: "Spike, just, hold on for a sec..."

Spike: "Hold on!? There's a carnivorous plant chasing me!!"

P.P.: "Just throw a fish at him!"

F.S.: "...Did I just hear...Spike's voice?"

P.P.: "Yes. Now, go away for a bit. I need to do something."

F.S.: "Uh...okay then...good luck, I guess..."

P.P.: "Spike, watch out! The bridge is collapsing there!"

Spike: "Pinkie, I really don't care about that now!!! There's a giant plant chasing me!!"

Plant guy: "GRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! I WANT TO EAT YOU!"

Spike: "I KNOW! JUST, SHUT UP FOR A SECOND!"

Plant guy: "BUT I WANT TO EAT YOU!"

Spike: "Pinkie, get me out of here!"

P.P.: "Wait! I've got it!"

Plant guy: "Awww...why you no let me eat you?"

P.P.: "You, young plant, are grounded!"

Plant guy: "But why?"

Spike: "Grounded? What? Pinkie, this is a plant that doesn't speak proper Equestrian! Not a child!"

P.P.: "You're grounded!"

Spike: "Hey, I can see the pump!"

P.P.: "Now, get back in the greenhouse, and Spike, push the tube back in, please."

Spike: "Okay...I've got-WHOAH! Pinkie, what's happening?"

P.P.: "I told you that my mane is full of air. I'm holding my breath so that you're pushed out!"

Spike: "Ah...ah....Oh, Celestia..."

Note From the Author

Trust me, there's SOOO much more to this chapter than this...this is one of the better parts of it (so far).

At current time, I have it up to 9k words. I haven't been able to edit it, as I'm grounded (FFFFFFFFFFFFFFfUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-)

Anyway, enjoy! BTW SEND IN OC'S! But do it in the group called, 'Chronicle of Choices Stuff'

New Group for OC Submissions!

Join this group!

Submit any OC ideas you get on the thread, 'OC Submissions'.

I'll make a thread for a list of OC's soon, which only I will post on, so as to limit confusion.

Mid-Day (The Train, Day 1)

Peter opened his eyes, refreshed after the half hour nap.

He sat up and stretched, anxious to begin a new day, with relaxation and-

"Oh, Peter, you're awake!"

He smiled, smiling back at the cyan Pegasus.

"I can see you're happy to see me, Rainbow Dash."

"Well, you did kinda leave me hanging..."

"Oh? And how's that?"

"We were talking about astronomy, and you just walked off!"

"No, Rarity pulled me over. There's a difference.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Need I remind you that you're the one who took a nap?"

"You just woke up from one!"

Peter chuckled silently to himself, already enjoying the day.

Suddenly, he remembered Fluttershy's demands, and was about to ask Rainbow Dash how she felt, after the hospital and whatnot, when he decided against it.

She  probably wants to get it out of her mind for now...hey, maybe I can actually get to know her a bit better...

"Touche. Anyway...what do you want to talk about, Rainbow?"

Everypony

T.S.: "No...no...no..."

F.S.: "Uh, Twilight? Can we-"

T.S.: "Just a bit busy, Fluttershy..."

F.S.: "Uh...okay then..."

T.S.: "No...no...no....ugh...none of these books have anything on these 'Elders'! Obviously, if it's the 'Language of the Elders', then there must have been 'Elders!'"

R.D.: "Well, I kinda want to talk about...uh...."

Peter: "Yeah?"

R.D.: "Can we talk about...astronomy?"

Peter: "Sure! Wait, hold on, before we do, I have one...uh...odd, question..."

R.D.: "Go on, ask away!"

Rarity: "Come on, Applejack, tell me! Do you think that Peter will like these trunks?"

A.J.: "Yes, Rarity! Ah think they'll be fine!"

Rarity: "Just...fine? Not...great?"

A.J.: "Yes, Rarity, it'll be great! Ah think he'll love it, alright?"

P.P.: "Thanks, Spike! I can't tell you how much this means to me!"

Spike: "Uh...how much what means to you, Pink'?"

P.P.: "Helping me bake! There's no oven on the train, so I thought that you could help me heat the cake up..."

Spike: "Where's the cake?"

P.P.: "I'm making it now!"

Peter: "Well, you know how a bird prunes itself?"

R.D.: "...Yeah..."

Peter: "Well...do Pegasi...have to prune themselves?

R.D.: "Well...uh...."

Peter: "What?"

R.D.: "Well, you see...us Pegasi...we do prune ourselves, but we have tools for it now..."

Peter: "Really? What kinds of tools?"

R.D.: "Tools that we use with our mouths...to push the feathers around..."

Peter: "How do they work?"

R.D.: "It's basically a beak extension, as in it just pulls up our feathers..."

Peter: "Huh...sounds interesting. Could I maybe...see it?"

R.D.: "Yeah, I'll...Oh, shoot!"

F.S.: "Twilight, I'm just saying that-"

T.S.: "Look, Fluttershy, it's not that I don't want to talk to you ponies right now...it's just that...I really, really want to know this one thing...and, when I find something about them, I'll stop, okay?"

F.S.: "...Pinkie Promise."

T.S.: "Cross my heart and hope to shove a cupcake in my eye..."

F.S.: "Good."

Rarity.: "Alright? You think it will be...alright? What if he doesn't like it?"

A.J.: "He'll like it, trust me. Ah have a feelin' that he's goin' to love it, Rarity."

Rarity: "Honest?"

A.J.: "Of course."

Rarity: "...Alright then...oh, my!"

A.J.: "Uh...Rarity?"

Rarity: "I almost forgot..."

Spike: "Uh, Pinkie Pie...where did you get that pan? And that bag of flour? And that icing? And...everything?"

P.P.: "All from up in here, Spike! Wait, hold on...Ugh! Not again!"

Spike: "What?"

P.P.: "The pneumatic tubing for the icing pump came loose again! Now the compressor's going to get backed up..."

Spike: "Well, what now?"

P.P.: "Well, you have claws...maybe you could go in my mane and...sort it out?"

Peter: "What?"

R.D.: "I forgot my pruner at home!"

Peter: "Oh...sorry. Well, how are you going to prune yourself?"

R.D.: "The old fashion way...it's pretty annoying, though, seeing as how I have a mouth, and not a beak..."

Peter: "Well, at least it can be done, right?"

R.D.: "Yeah, I know but it'll be annoying...but, whatever."

Peter: "Mhm...so, you said that you wanted to talk about astronomy?"

R.D.: "Yeah...you think I'm a total egghead, don't you?"

Spike: "Ohhhh, no! I've had enough of going into giant things today! Twilight's bag was enough!"

P.P.: "Aww, come on, Spike, it'll be easy!"

Spike: "No. I won't do it."

P.P.: "Please?"

Spike: "No."

P.P.: "Pretty please?"

Spike: "No, Pinkie!"

P.P.: "Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease....PLLLEEEEAAAASSSEE?"

Spike: "...Ugh..........Fine."

P.P.: "Yay!"

Spike: "What do I do?"

P.P.: "Just hop on in, find the tube, push it in, and whamo! Just...make sure to avoid the pirhannas, okay?"

Spike: "...What?"

A.J.: "What'd you forget?"

Rarity: "My tail!"

A.J.: "...Uh, sugarcube, are you sure y'all feelin' alright?"

Rarity: "Why, yes, Applejack, I'm feeling quite fine. I just forgot about the spell I had cast on my tail...that makes it glow like this!"

A.J.: "Huh...y'know, Ah meant t' ask you why yer tail's glowin' like that. So, you cast a spell on it?"

Rarity: "That's what I said, Applejack. Twilight lent me a spell, and now...my tail is simply gorgeous!"

A.J.: "Ah do have to admit, it's...different."

F.S.: "Find anything yet?"

T.S.: "No."

F.S.: "Isn't there a spell you can use...you know, to search through the words of a book?"

T.S.: "Yes, but not of every book I own. I would pass out before I found the word 'Elder'."

F.S.: "Oh, my...."

T.S.: "Mhm...so, for now, we've got to keep looking."

F.S.: "Okay, then..."

Peter: "No, I don't."

R.D.: "Yes, you do! Stop lying...I'm a total egghead!"

Peter: "No, you're not. You had to study this stuff, you said so yourself. You never said anything about researching it."

R.D.: "But that's just it! I did research it!"

Peter: "Well, you're still not an egghead. You're just...an athletic pony, with a tendency to like a certain subject."

R.D.: "I stayed up for hours on end reading about black holes!"

Peter: "Yeah, which means you did it at night. I stayed inside almost...every day in the summer, just to watch Professor Michio Kaku explain everything from quarks to black holes!"

R.D.: "You know a professor? And he knows about black holes? What, what are quarks?"

Peter: "Uh...no, I don't know a professor. I watched him through something like the internet, only it's called 'Television'. I spent so much time watching the Science Channel..."

R.D.: "Huh...well, what do you know about black holes?"

P.P.: "Find it yet?"

Spike: "No, but I'll keep looking...uh, Pinkie? Would you mind me asking...how your mane is so big?"

P.P.: "Silly! It's all puffed up like a balloon, right? I assumed that, since air is big, my mane could expand to an infinite size! And, bang! It did!"

Spike: "Huh...weird."

P.P.: "No! It's brilliant! Oh, and by the way, watch out for the Eastern side of the pneumatics area..."

Spike: "Why?"

P.P.: "The bridge's supports snapped there..."

Spike: "BRIDGE?"

P.P.: "Yeah..."

T.S.: "Uh, Fluttershy, where are you going?"

F.S.: "Look at Pinkie Pie..."

P.P.: "Yep! Installed it myself!"

T.S.: "Uh...who's she talking to?"

F.S.: "Exactly."

T.S.: "Just...hurry on back, okay?"

Rarity: "Different? What do you mean by...different?"

A.J.: "Ah mean, it's...not what Ah expect to see in somepony's tail."

Rarity: "Do you mean that it's...entrancing? Marvelous? Extravagent?"

A.J.: "That, and more!"

Rarity: "Good...good...for a second there, I was afraid you didn't like it..."

A.J.: "Oh, trust me, sugarcube, Ah like it. It's very...befittin' of you."

Rarity: "How?"

A.J.: "It's always changin', and its colors seem to be...you."

Rarity: "Oh, my, Applejack, you must know me so well! The book stated that, only those who know the caster to the fullest extent can comprehend the colors. They represent my mood, and my reactions!"

A.J.: "Gosh, that seems...awful revealin' to your inner self."

Rarity: "But it can also help one see how close their friends are!"

A.J.: "Ah reckon yer right."

Peter: "Well, I know that they result from the death of a star."

R.D.: "Yeah, I know that already."

Peter: "...Okay then. Do you know what an event horizon is?"

R.D.: "...No."

Peter: "It's the point at which no matter, energy, or light can return. Nothing, and I mean nothing, exists at the Event Horizon. Well, almost nothing. It's kind of like the tipping edge for matter."

R.D.: "Huh...so, wait, black holes destroy matter?"

Peter: "As far as we can tell, yeah. Thing is, when an object is fully sucked into a black hole, it's pushed down through the tube it makes, which is almost a rift in the fabric of time and space, and when it falls over the Event Horizon, it's compounded into such a small space that it's basically non-existent."

R.D.: "Fabric of time and space?"

Peter: "It's a visualization, really. Objects bend the fabric, and other objects are pulled into it, kind of like a funnel. A black hole basically pulls the fabric to its stretching point in one spot."

R.D.: "Ohhh...huh."

Peter: "Yep."

R.D.: "So, wait...how big is a black hole, exactly?"

Peter: "It's not."

R.D.: "What?"

Peter: "It's infinitesimal."

R.D.: "Really?"

Peter: "Well, most are...except for a few."

R.D.: "How big can a black hole be?"

Peter: "Take the sun..."

R.D.: "The size of the sun?"

Peter: "...Take the sun, and multiply its size by about...one hundred billion."

R.D.: "Whoah....that's...huge...."

Peter: "Yep. And guess where that black hole lies?"

R.D.: "Where?"

Peter: "In the center of a galaxy."

F.S.: "Uh, Pinkie Pie? Are you okay?"

P.P.: "Yeah, hold on...Spike, take a right at the pool."

F.S.: "...Uh, Pinkie?"

P.P.: "Fluttershy, can we talk later?"

F.S.: "What are you doing? And who are you talking to?"

P.P.: "Spike, just, hold on for a sec..."

Spike: "Hold on!? There's a carnivorous plant chasing me!!"

P.P.: "Just throw a fish at him!"

F.S.: "...Did I just hear...Spike's voice?"

P.P.: "Yes. Now, go away for a bit. I need to do something."

F.S.: "Uh...okay then...good luck, I guess..."

T.S.: "Did you talk to her?"

F.S.: "Yes...I heard Spike, and something about a plant chasing him..."

T.S.: "...You know...I think we're better off not questioning this for now."

F.S.: "Good idea...let's just...find out who, or what, the Elders are..."

T.S.: "Good idea..."

Rarity: "Anyway...I think we should make you something to wear, Applejack."

A.J.: "Uh, Ah'm just fine, Rarity."

Rarity: "No, you're not! We're going to be taking some...mystery cruise, and you simply must have something to wear!"

A.J.: "...Fine."

Rarity: "Oh, my, I'll get right to work!"

A.J.: "Rarity, y'all sure? Ah don't want you overworkin' yerself on vacation."

Rarity: "Oh, no, it's fine!"

R.D.: "So, wait...in the center of a galaxy, there's a giant black hole!?"

Peter: "Yep. Their technical name is: 'Super Massive Black Hole.' Thing is, once every few...millennium, they start up and suck everything in. Eventually, the gas around it heats up and causes the gas to retract from the Event Horizon. Eventually, it starts up again, and sucks up anything in its path."

R.D.: "That's...pretty awesome! But scary at the same time...like, what if we were still in a galaxy?"

Peter: "We'd be to far away. If we were anywhere near the Event Horizon, time would stop."

R.D.: "...What?"

Peter: "Yeah. Well, we'd be going so fast that we would have appeared to have stopped. Once something goes into the Event Horizon, that's it. Not even light itself can escape from a black hole. So, when an object gets close enough, it seems to have stopped, because the light just stops emitting at that point."

R.D.: "Wow...that's pretty awesome..."

P.P.: "Spike, watch out! The bridge is collapsing there!"

Spike: "Pinkie, I really don't care about that now!!! There's a giant plant chasing me!!"

Plant guy: "GRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! I WANT TO EAT YOU!"

Spike: "I KNOW! JUST, SHUT UP FOR A SECOND!"

Plant guy: "BUT I WANT TO EAT YOU!"

Spike: "Pinkie, get me out of here!"

P.P.: "Wait! I've got it!"

Plant guy: "Awww...why you no let me eat you?"

P.P.: "You, young plant, are grounded!"

Plant guy: "But why?"

Spike: "Grounded? What? Pinkie, this is a plant that doesn't speak proper Equestrian! Not a child!"

P.P.: "You're grounded!"

Spike: "Hey, I can see the pump!"

P.P.: "Now, get back in the greenhouse, and Spike, push the tube back in, please."

Spike: "Okay...I've got-WHOAH! Pinkie, what's happening?"

P.P.: "I told you that my mane is full of air. I'm holding my breath so that you're pushed out!"

Spike: "Ah...ah....Oh, Celestia..."

F.S.: "Did...Spike just come out of Pinkie's mane?"

T.S.: "...Don't question it."

F.S.: "Oh, hey, what's this book?"

R.D.: "Ugh...I just woke up, and all of this talk about black holes is really wearing me out..."

Peter: "Yeah, me too..."

R.D.: "Geez, I can't believe I forgot my Pruner...now, my wings are going to feel all...weird, until I get a chance to manually prune myself, in private..."

Peter: "If you want...I can help you prune."

R.D.: "Uh...maybe not..."

Peter: "Why not?"

R.D.: "A Pegasus' wings are very...uh...sensitive."

Peter: "Uh...oh. OOOOHHHH....Ho, mai. I...won't go anywhere near them, I promise."

R.D.: "Well...fine, you can help me prune."

Peter: "But...Rainbow Dash, you said that wings are...sensitive...I don't know if I feel comfortable with touching them..."

R.D.: "...Really? You have a sick mind, Peter. What I meant, is that they're easily hurt."

Peter: "....Oooooooooooohhhhhhhhh...okay."

R.D.: "Just...be careful, okay?"

Peter: "How do I do it?"

R.D.: "Just...pull the top feathers up so that they're actually...on top."

Peter: "Okay...stop me if it hurts, okay?"

R.D.: "Alright..."

T.S.: "It's all in that Language..."

F.S.: "Hm...well, at least you've found the book, right? Will you stop now?"

T.S.: "Are you kidding? I need to translate it!"

F.S.: "...Oh."

P.P.: "Thanks, Spike! Just...let me...aha! Alright, be ready with that fire..."

Spike: "Alright..."

P.P.: "Hmm...just a bit of this..."

Spike: "Pinkie...do you mind if I sleep for a bit?"

P.P.: "Nope! I can wait to actually bake the cake."

Spike: "Alright...g'night."

P.P.: "Hurry on back when you wake up!"

Spike: "Alright...but, don't expect me to wake up for a while...I did just get chased by a plant..."

P.P.: "Speaking of which...no dessert tonight."

Spike: "Yeah...see you later, Pink'."

R.D.: "Hmm...that feels good..."

Peter: "Well, I'm pretty good with my hands."

R.D.: "Wow...you should be a professional Pruner yourself, Peter..."

Peter: "Oh? Well, then, should I be charging you for this?"

R.D.: "Ha ha, very funny..."

Peter: "Y'know what, it's on the house."

R.D.: "Hah...I might just fall asleep...it just feels so...good..."

Peter: "Well, then, maybe we should do this more often."

R.D.: "Definitely..."

A.J.: "Well, Ah think it looks great."

Rarity: "Really? Are you sure it's not too tight there?"

A.J.: "No, really, it's perfect."

Rarity: "Truly?"

A.J.: "Honestly."

Rarity: "Oh, thank you! I think it looks marvelous!"

A.J.: "So do Ah."

T.S.: "Oh, hey, Spike."

Spike: "I'm going to have a bit of a lie down...I just got chased by a giant plant across a collapsing bridge..."

F.S.: "Uh, if you don't mind me asking, when, exactly, did this happen? Not that I doubt it, or anything..."

Spike: "In Pinkie's mane, just now."

T.S.: "...Y'know what, I'm not going to question it."

Spike: "Yeah, you're probably better off doing that..."

F.S.: "Well, sweet dreams, Spike."

Spike: "Thanks, Fluttershy..."

T.S.: "Now, then, where's that book of translations..."

F.S.: "You mean the Almanac of Languages?"

T.S.: "Yes! Now, let's see here..."

Peter: "What?"

R.D.: "What?"

Peter: "That noise that you just made-did I hurt you?"

R.D.: "Uh, no. It's fine, just...keep going..."

Peter: "Uh...okay then."

R.D.: "Hah!"

Peter: "Rainbow Dash...are you...ticklish?"

R.D.: "Uh...no."

Peter: "..."

R.D.: "HaHAAA! Stop, stop, it tickles!"

Peter: "So you are ticklish!"

R.D.: "Yeah, but just...HA! A bit..."

Peter: "You kidding? I'm barely even touching you!"

P.P.: "Hm...maybe I should do it like that...but wouldn't that cause..."

P.P.: "Nope! According to the Cupcake Constant, when Icing is introduced into the system, the concentrations shift in equal proportions!"

P.P.: "Right...right..."

P.P.: "Oh, no, the sprinkles!"

P.P.: "Sprinkles...you've served valiantly..."

P.P.: "Come on, pull yourself together. This is baking. There are bound to be casualties. You've just got to...look past them, okay?"

P.P.: "Sprinkles...I'll ensure that you receive a Medal of Honor."

P.P.: "Two, Medals of Honor."

P.P.: "Alright, now back to the cake..."

T.S.: "Hmm..."

F.S.: "Well, now that you know that the Elders are real, I think you should stop..."

T.S.: "What? I need to translate the entire book!"

F.S.: "Uh...please don't."

T.S.: "Why not?"

F.S.: "Because...you're on vacation."

T.S.: "And I spend vacation as I chose."

F.S.: "Twilight, I really think you should stop...and pick it up back in Ponyville..."

T.S.: "No, Fluttershy. I want to get it done, now."

R.D.: "Stop! Stop! I give...up! Hahaahaaa!"

Peter: "Ah-ah-aaahhh! What's the magic word?"

R.D.: "Stop! Stop...!"

Peter: "You didn't say the magic word!"

F.S.: "Twilight, I really think you should stop..."

T.S.: "No, I really shouldn't."

F.S.: "...Please?"

T.S.: "No! I want to do this now!"

F.S.: "Twilight, please stop..."

T.S.: "Shut up and let me do this!"

F.S.: "You know what...no. I won't shut up. Give me the book."

T.S.: "WHAT!?"

F.S.: "You heard me."

Peter: "Say the magic word!"

R.D.: "I don't know...your stinkin'...magic...word!"

Peter: "Yes you do..."

R.D.: "No...I...don't..."

Peter: "Fine, then, I'll tell you. It's ---"

T.S.: "No, no, no, no, no, no no no no nononono NO!"

F.S.: "Please, calm down, Twilight..."

T.S.: "I'M NOT GIVING YOU THE BOOK!"

F.S.: "Twilight, you're-"

T.S.: "I'M NOT GIVING YOU THE BOOK! I WANT TO STUDY THE ELDERS! IT'S MY VACATION, I'LL DO WHAT I WANT!"

F.S.: "Twilight, you're doing it again..."

The lavender unicorn stopped, mid-shout, her mane flopping wildly as she shook herself.

T.S.: "Oh, my...I'm...I'm so sorry, Fluttershy..."

F.S.: "It's...okay...just, give me the book..."

Twilight simply nodded, walking over to her cushion in the mini-library, blushing as everypony stared at her, Fluttershy even more so as she picked up the book and placed it in her own compartment.

After a few moments, all of their collective attention was pulled towards the black box on the wall as it crackled to life, the sound of a pony's voice coming in through the speaker.

Speaker: "We will now be making our second stop, this time at an eating area. This also marks our transition onto the Trans-Equestrian Railway."

T.S.: "Oh, my Celestia!"

Peter: "What? What's the Trans-Equestrian Railway?"

R.D.: "Oh, my, gosh! I've wanted to ride this since I was a foal!"

F.S.: "Oh, I can't wait to see what we'll see..."

Peter: "...What's the Trans-Equestrian Railway?"

Rarity: "Oh, my, the different places we'll see...and the beautiful gems we'll encounter..."

Peter: "What's the Trans-Equestrian Railway?"

P.P.: "WOOHOO!!! PAAAAARRRTTAY!"

Peter: "What's the Trans-Equestrian Railway?"

A.J.: "Oh, mah, Ah wonder if we'll make a stop in Appleloosa..."

Peter: "What's the Trans-Equestrian Railway!?"

R.D.: "Whoa, calm yourself, no need to shout..."

Peter: "Sorry, but none of you were answering..."

T.S.: "Ahem...The Trans-Equestrian Railway spans almost all of Equestria. It makes stops in all of the most popular vacation spots, and eventually ends up...wherever it's going. Thing is, it normally costs upwards of one hundred million bits to ride it. But, seeing as how we're all Celestia's special guests, it's free!"

Peter: "...So, it's kind of like the Trans-Siberian Railway..."

R.D.: "Which is?"

Peter: "It travels all across Siberia and makes stops in memorable places."

R.D.: "Ah."

A.J.: "Wait, hold on...did you say upwards of one hundred million bits?"

T.S.: "Yeah! Insane, right?"

Peter: "Wait, hold on...how many bits do you need to buy a...candy bar?"

T.S.: "Uh...about one, one and a half..."

Peter: "Oh, okay...it's almost the same as U.S. currency, then...one hundred million bucks..."

A.J.: "Peter! Watch yer language, and why would y'all go spendin' your money on...y'know..."

Peter: "...What?"

R.D.: "You said 'one hundred million bucks'."

Peter: "And? A buck is dollar bill!"

Rarity: "No offense, but the women in your society, obviously, er...sell themselves rather cheep, do they not?"

Peter: "...What?"

R.D.: "...Peter, you said 'one million fucks'."

Peter: "What!? No I didn't!"

A.J.: "Uh, yes, you did!"

Peter: "No! I said one hundred million bucks! A 'buck', is slang for one dollar! Like, y'know, I bought the pizza for twenty bucks!"

R.D.: "...Your money is weird."

Peter: "...A buck on Earth, is not a buck here. A buck on Earth is slang for one dollar. One dollar, is a piece of paper,  that represents one unit of currency. A 'buck' on Earth, is a piece of paper."

T.S.: "Oh, so it's just the terminology..."

Peter: "Yeah..."

R.D.: "Oh, good..."

P.P.: "Geez...for a second there, I thought you were a pervert!"

Peter: "Uh...well, I'm not. Huzzah."

P.P.: "Huzzah!"

Peter held onto the hammock, keeping himself from falling over the edge as it hissed to a stop, momentum still carrying him forward.

When the train had come to a full stop, Peter smiled at everypony in the car.

Peter: "Let's go have some lunch!"

He descended from his hammock, smiling as he proceeded to pull on his shoes, and replace his turtleneck and chain with his white suit.

4 Hours Later...

Peter climbed up the stairs, his stomach in a state of content silence.

However, his lips were screaming in salty agony, as were Pinkie's and Rainbow Dash's.

The three of them grabbed a bottle of soda each, and immediately started to drink them in front of the refrigerator, lips parched from the pizza pie they had ended up sharing.

Peter: "That pizza was good...but dayum, was it salty!"

P.P.: "And saucy!"

R.D.: "Ah...I love soda so much..."

Peter: "...I can see that..."

F.S.: "Uh, Twilight, I was thinking during lunch, and..."

T.S.: "Yes, Fluttershy?"

F.S.: "Can we talk for a bit?"

T.S.: "Okay, sure."

F.S.: "Just, sit down here..."

T.S.: "Okay...well? What did you want to talk about?"

P.P.: "Well, see you, guys, I have to...do something. Spike!"

Spike: "I'll be right there, Pinkie!"

R.D.: "Uh, see 'ya..."

Peter: "Talk to you later, Pinkie."

Rarity: "Uh, Rainbow Dash, I hate to pull you away from your...refreshment, but could you come over here please?"

R.D.: "Uh, sure, Rarity. Talk to you later, Peter!"

Peter: "'K."

R.D.: "Well, what did you want to talk about?"

Rarity: "I'm making clothes for everypony! And I wanted to know what you want!"

R.D.: "Oh, boy, not again...you know that I suck at fashion, Rarity!"

Rarity: "No, you don't! You just don't try hard enough! Everypony has a skill in fashion! We can all excel at brilliance!"

R.D.: "...Ugh..."

A.J.: "Uh, Peter?"

Peter: "Hm?"

A.J.: "Ah was thinkin', y'know, over lunch, and...well...could'ya come over here fer a sec? Ah wanna talk t' you...in private."

Peter: "Uh, sure, I don't see why not..."

A.J.: "Thanks..."

Peter: "So, what did you want to talk about?"

A.J.: "Back in the hospital...when Ah smacked you....Ah...Ah'm mighty sorry, Peter..."

Peter: "It's okay, Applejack. I forgive you."

A.J.: "But...how?"

Peter: "It looked...wrong. I can't blame you for trying to protect a friend, even if that friend didn't need help."

A.J.: "Ah...Ah guess yer right...thanks, Peter. Yer a...yer a good friend."

Peter: "Don't mention it...so, I heard that you live on an apple orchard."

F.S.: "Before, when you...freaked out, over the book...are you feeling any better now?"

T.S.: "Yes, but I'm just...a bit stressed out. I mean, I just need to learn stuff! How can I do that without reading?"

F.S.: "Well, you can learn through experiences..."

T.S.: "Yes, I know that...but when will I ever meet one of those...'Elders'?"

F.S.: "I don't know. But I do know, that it's better to experience life and learn from that, than to learn from reading alone."

T.S.: "Mm...I guess you're right..."

F.S.: "Well, I have an idea...how about you give up studying for now?"

T.S.: "What do you mean?"

F.S.: "What I mean is, instead of reading, how about you talk with everypony, and just let go? And, you know what, I bet that Peter would be more than happy to explain stuff about him to you..."

T.S.: "Mm...but I have to read, Fluttershy. I'll never get any sleep if I don't."

F.S.: "Then read for pleasure, at night. But, please, just...keep reading to a minimum, okay?"

T.S.: "...Okay, Fluttershy. I'll...try."

R.D.: "I don't know, Rarity. Whatever you think would look best."

Rarity: "Oh, come now, Rainbow Dash! You simply must have an opinion! It's so...unlike you not to!"

R.D.: "And? So what if I don't have an opinion on clothing? I want to look...cool, okay?"

Rarity: "...Cool?"

R.D.: "Yes, cool."

Rarity: "Well, what's your definition of...cool?"

R.D.: "Whatever you think looks cool. If I've learned anything from the Gala dresses, it's that I know what cool looks like, but sometimes, cool and clothing don't really mix."

Rarity: "Hm...I guess you're right...You don't want to look like you're dressed up for Nightmare Night..."

R.D.: "Exactly! I want to look laid back!"

Rarity: "Maybe something...simple?"

R.D.: "Simple? Like what?"

Rarity: "Uh...hold on...I'll just draw something up for you..."

A.J.: "That's me! It's actually called Sweet Apple Acres."

Peter: "Huh...well, I'm willing to bet that you have the greatest apples in all of Equestria."

A.J.: "Aw, shucks..."

Peter: "What? It's probably true."

A.J.: "Yeah, except for one thing...recently, the plants have been dyin'...Ah just don't know how to get water to them that fast..."

Peter: "Maybe...use an irrigation system?"

A.J.: "An irrigation system..."

Peter: "Yeah. Just...make a bunch of piping, connect it to a hose, and shoot water through it. If you plan it out right, you can get the water to go through the piping, and then circulate around over and over again, until it all comes out. You'd have to manage it in the winter, to make sure that it doesn't freeze over, but overall, you could just keep the main piping under the ground, and then just have some spouts stick out of the ground...Then again, I've been told that Sweet Apple Acres is massive, so it would have to be planned out before hand, so that you can strategically place pipes so that you can selectively complete certain parts of the orchard, and then link them together..."

A.J.: "...Uh, wow."

P.P.: "Be ready with that fire, Spike."

Spike: "Are you kidding? I just ate a bowl of sapphires! I can breathe fire for as long as you want!"

P.P.: "Great! Just, not yet...I need to finish putting the icing in the batter...and the chocolate chips..."

Spike: "Uh, okay, I'll just hang out until you're done..."

P.P.: "There! Bombs away!"

Spike: "Alright..."

P.P.: "Wait, stop!"

Spike: "Agh! Geez, Pinkie, do you have any idea how annoying it is to stop fire?"

P.P.: "No. Anyway, we need to fire-proof the counter first! Hold on, I have the retardant in my tail somewhere..."

Spike: "...I'm not even going to bother asking how you got it in there."

F.S.: "There! Don't you feel better, now that you're not going to study during the entire vacation?"

T.S.: "Yeah, I guess..."

F.S.: "And you'll actually talk to everypony, and Peter?"

T.S.: "Definitely...I still have to find out what a Desert Eagle is..."

F.S.: "Oh, my, you should probably ask him that today...ever since this morning, it's been one of the only things on my mind..."

T.S.: "Mhm...Well, when should I ask him about it?"

F.S.: "Well, he's talking to Applejack, so, maybe as soon as he's done, we can---"

Peter: "What?"

A.J.: "You...you just did something me and Big Mac have been tryin' to do for years..."

Peter: "Uh...what?"

A.J.: "Have the smallest semblance of an idea as to getting water everywhere in the farm..."

Peter: "Really? It's so simple back on Earth...I mean, America's been doing it for at least...a hundred or so years now, and irrigation now consists of simply...hooking up a giant compressor to a reserve, and then the reserve to a system of pipes. It's all rather...easy."

A.J.: "Wow...well, am Ah happy to---"

R.D.: "Wow! That looks...cool!"

Rarity: "Really?"

R.D.: "Definitely! It looks so cool!"

Rarity: "But it's so...simple! I thought you liked...showy, and...in-your-face."

R.D.: "Yeah, and that's only one kind of cool. The dress you just drew...it's the kind of cool that just says, 'yo'. Just the...laid back, calm look, y'know?"

Rarity: "Hm...makes sense..."

R.D.: "Of course it does! I'm a PhD. in cool!"

Rarity: "And I'm a PhD. in amazing!"

R.D.: "I wonder what Peter's a PhD. in?"

Rarity: "And Pinkie Pie..."

R.D.: "Probably in random."

Rarity: "Oh, yes, a PhD. in random would suit her perfectly..."

R.D.: "Wait, there's actually a PhD. in random?"

Rarity: "...You're kidding, right?"

R.D.: "What? You said it so seriously..."

Rarity: "I mean, honestly, why would there---"

Everypony simply stared at the dragon and pony in the kitchen area, the only sound present being the crackling of embers as Spike baked the cake. About one second later, everypony was crowded around the two of them, curious as to what was going on.

P.P.: "NO! IT'S A SURPRISE!"

Peter: "Ahhh! Don't kill me..."

P.P.: "I'm not going to kill you!"

Peter: "...It's a joke."

P.P.: "Ohhh...hahhhahahaha!"

Peter: "...Yeah."

T.S.: "Pinkie, why would you have Spike breath fire on the counter?"

P.P.: "I put flame retardant on it!"

A.J.: "...Good, Ah guess..."

R.D.: "Psst...Rarity..."

Rarity: "Yes, Rainbow Dash?"

R.D.: "Definitely a PhD. in random..."

Rarity: "Oh, yes..."

F.S.: "Well, since Pinkie's not going to tell us what she was doing..."

P.P.: "IT'S A SURPRISE!"

Peter: "Ahhh! Jesus Christ..."

R.D.: "Get used to it, Peter."

Peter: "Yeah, wish me luck..."

F.S.: "Uh, as I was saying...since Pinkie's not telling us what she was doing...Peter, would you mind...explaining a Desert Eagle to us? We're very eager to hear about it..."

Peter: "Uh, okay, I guess..."

T.S.: "Oh, my...Spike, can you write this down for me?"

Spike: "Will do!"

Peter: "Well...first off, it's not an actual eagle."

T.S.: "What is it then?"

Peter: "It's a gun."

R.D.: "What's a gun?"

Peter: ".......Oh, boy..."

T.S.: "What?"

Peter: "This isn't exactly...easy, to explain...but I'll try my best, I guess..."

T.S.: "Perfect!"

Peter: "Hold on, it has to load..."

R.D.: "'Load'?"

Peter: "It's an application, and a slow one at that...ugh, come on!"

Rarity: "Have some patience! It's been less than a minute!"

Peter: "...Sorry. Okay, here we go...this, is a Desert Eagle."

R.D.: "Whoah...it looks awesome..."

T.S.: "It looks...interesting. What does it do?"

Peter: "Well, I'll tell you how it works...you load the 'clip' on the bottom, you see? A 'clip', holds 'ammunition', which consists of 'bullets'. A 'bullet' is a metal casing filled with gunpowder, and the tip is an iron...well, tip. A spring in the bottom pushes the bullets into the chamber, which you pull back to load it, or 'cock' it-"

R.D.: "HAHAAHAHAAAA! 'COCK', IT?"

Peter: "...Wow, Rainbow Dash. You're...mature."

R.D.: "...Sorry..."

Peter: "Anyway, after you...load it, the bullet rests in the chamber. When you pull the 'trigger', this thing right there, the 'hammer', which is right there, is sent forward, and it smacks a little cylinder in the case, which sets off the gunpowder, which sends the iron tip of the bullet flying upwards of 100 miles per hour. Being a rather modern gun, the top part is pulled back automatically, and the case is ejected and replaced with an unused, tipped bullet."

T.S.: "...Wow. You seem to know a lot about guns...but...what are they used for?"

Peter: "Uh...well..."

T.S.: "I mean, I don't see the point of firing a bit of iron that fast..."

Peter: "Well, it's where the iron goes that counts..."

T.S.: "Where does it go? And why so fast?"

Peter: "...It goes so fast so that it can...penetrate bone, and kill the person you're aiming the gun at."

Everypony: "WHAT!?"

R.D.: "So, you were trying to...to...kill, me?"

Peter: "No!"

R.D.: "You just said it yourself! It's used to kill!"

Peter: "Yeah, they are! But this one isn't real!"

A.J.: "Isn't real? Now, how in tarnation is that supposed t' make us feel any better?"

Peter: "Because it doesn't exist! The bullet doesn't exist, and it won't kill anypony! Look, I'll show you..."

T.S.: "Peter, no!!"

Peter: "See? I'm fine! It's digital! This one is just light and noise! It's all recorded on the microchip inside!"

T.S.: "Oh, so it's like a mini robot?"

Peter: "Yes...Rainbow Dash, are you okay? Why are you crying?"

R.D.: "It's just...when you said...they were used to kill...I kind of...freaked out...and thought that you...hated me..."

Peter: "I don't hate you...you're my best friend!"

R.D.: "...Good!"

F.S.: "Psst...Twilight..."

T.S.: "Yeah?"

F.S.: "That's the old Rainbow Dash I was talking about. Somehow, Peter punches right through that shell of confidence..."

T.S.: "...Maybe we should ask him how?"

F.S.: "Yes, maybe we-"

P.P.: "OhmygoshI'msohappythatyouweren'tactuallytryingtokillRainbowDash! ButthatgunissocoollikehowitworksmaybeIcouldmakeonethatfirescandy!! Awww, andnowyou'rehuggingbecauseshethoughthatyouhatedherandwantedtokillher!"

Peter: "...My mind equals blown."

R.D.: "Hah..."

Peter: "You okay, 'Dash?"

R.D.: "Yeah, I'm feeling better now..."

Rarity: "Uh, if I may interrupt...Twilight, you just said it's like a mini robot...what do you mean, exactly?"

T.S.: "Oh, Peter can tell you."

Peter: "Alright, I'll pass my iPod around...it has pictures of a robot on it...it's called the Black Hole, and we finished it about two days before the end of build season this year..."

R.D.: "Whoa...and all of those wires..."

P.P.: "Yep! I knew it! On a robotics team! I didn't read it wrong! Y'know, reading a story you're in can be ssoooooo difficult sometimes! Isn't that right, guys? HELLO!?"

Peter: "...Okay...Uh...yeah...whatever you say, Pinkie Pie."

T.S.: "Wait, who are you talking to, Pinkie?"

P.P.: "Deajer, Metal, and Phoenix!"

F.S.: "Twilight, don't question it. She's just a bit...out there."

T.S.: "...Fine."

Peter: "Aaaannnyyywwwaaayyy...yeah, it's basically like all of that, only it's about...1/100th of the size, really. Like, this entire thing encompasses enough to store about...five hundred songs, and a movie."

T.S.: "On that small thing? But, music is on vinyl disks, and movies are on giant reels..."

Peter: "Not back on Earth. We've digitalized recordings now. They take up no space, except for the hard drive it's on. We created microchips to store data, and the biggest I've heard of is a 10-Terabyte hard drive. Now, that may sound like nothing, but a long song takes up about...I'd say, 10 Megabytes, which is roughly...10 million bytes. Now, that might sound large, but a 10-Terabyte hard drive, is about...10 trillion bytes of free space. Which means that you can fit, at most...one million songs on a 10-Terabyte hard drive."

T.S.: "...Whoa...Spike, write down that humans are obviously more technologically advanced than us..."

R.D.: "So, wait...how much space is there on your iPod?"

Peter: "It is...eight gigabytes, which means that it can fit eight hundred songs on it, without anything else."

T.S.: "Wow...when you told me that it stores and plays music, I thought you mean maybe...one, or two. Not...eight hundred..."

Peter: "Yep. Human technology is pretty insane."

T.S.: "Well, what else is there?"

R.D.: "Is it something cool?"

Peter: "Well, there's a gun that shoots one hundred rounds...per second."

T.S.: "What? How!?"

Peter: "I actually have no clue. But I do know, that it's a Gatling Gun."

R.D.: "That kills things."

Peter: "Okay, forget killing for now...just point it up, and fire randomly, at nothing in particular. It's freaking awesome. Just, guns are awesome...when, of course, they're not being used to kill..."

R.D.: "No doubt..."

T.S.: "Well, is there anything else that stand out in human technology?"

Peter: "...I think all of you should sit down."

R.D.: "Why?"

Peter: "You'll see..."

Once everypony was seated, including Spike, Peter smiled.

Peter: "We've been to the moon, and back."

Everypony jumped up in disbelief.

R.D.: "To the...moon!?"

Rarity: "But that's...impossible!"

P.P.: "OhmygoshIbetyoucandoawesomepartiesonthemoon!"

F.S.: "Oh, my...how?"

Spike: "Yeah, whatever. I'll believe it when I see it."

A.J.: "Oh, mah...the moon..."

T.S.: "But that means that somepony was banished..."

Peter: "Nope. We made a rocket ship, got inside it, went through the atmosphere, landed on the moon, planted a flag, and then came back, using a shuttle. There was a nation-wide party when Neil Armstrong walked back into the NASA headquarters. And now, we send astronauts to the moon like it's nothing. Until, of course, one crashed and killed one thousand people in Nebraska...kind of a failure..."

R.D.: "What happened?"

Peter: "When it crashed, the fuel used to propel the shuttle ignited itself, and it ended up in a huge fireball of death."

R.D.: "Whoa...well, what was the moon like!?"

Peter: "I've never been on it. But, from what I've seen in research, it has low gravity, and no oxygen...and Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the Moon."

R.D.: "Whoa...that's so...awesome!!"

Peter: "Yeah, I know, right? We're trying to get some people on Mars, which is a totally different planet!"

R.D.: "How close are you? Well, the people doing it, anyway..."

Peter: "So close, like, within at least...ten or twenty years of it! And it may seem like a long time, but trust me, it's short in the scale of things..."

R.D.: "Whoa...I wish I was there when it happened...what did Neil Armstrong say about it?"

Peter: "Well, he said one of the most famous quotes of mankind..."

R.D.: "What?"

Peter: "When he first stepped onto the moon, he said: 'One small step for man...one huge leap for mankind'."

R.D.: "Oooooohhhhhhh, I got shivers down my spine when you said that..."

Peter: "Me, too..."

R.D.: "Ugh...My wing feels so weird...the feathers are all...blegh."

Peter: "I'm guessing that's a cue for me to finish pruning you?"

R.D.: "Shhh!"

F.S.: "Rainbow Dash, did you forget your pruner?"

R.D.: "...yes..."

F.S.: "And you've been forcing Peter to prune you?"

Peter: "I don't mind. Anything to help a friend."

F.S.: "...Well, as long as you don't mind it. Go ahead, you two. Just, Peter, when you're done, can we...talk?"

Peter: "Sure...can you help me up, Rainbow Dash?"

R.D.: "Sure! Now, prune!"

Peter: "Yes, master..."

R.D.: "Haaaaa....."

Peter: "I can see that you like it."

R.D.: "More than you'll ever know...just, don't tickle me again, okay?"

Peter: "I promise."

R.D.: "Good..."

T.S.: "Well, I'm going to go read for a bit...not study, Fluttershy, just read a small book..."

F.S.: "...Fine. It's still our first day of vacation, you can have that much, I guess..."

T.S.: "Thanks..."

A.J.: "Ah'm going t' relax for a bit..."

P.P.: "Spike...thanks for helping me!"

Spike: "Okay...I'm feeling pretty tired...I'm going to take a nap..."

P.P.: "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but...me, too."

Spike: "Okay...good luck sleeping..."

P.P.: "Thanks..."

F.S.: "Hey, Twilight, can I borrow a book?"

T.S.: "Sure, they're all in my bag...just take a look."

F.S.: "Okay..."

Rarity: "Well, forgive me if I appear rude, but I simply must relax..."

About an hour later, Spike was asleep, Pinkie Pie was making secret plans, occasionally adjusting the cake in her mane, Fluttershy and Twilight were both reading, Applejack was sleeping, and Rarity was fretting over her designs.

As for Rainbow Dash, she had fallen asleep as Peter pruned her, his hands acting as soporifics, the feeling of her feathers being corrected and carressed calming her to no end. About twenty minutes after she had fallen asleep, Peter had kept pruning her, enjoying making her feel calm. Eventually, the sound of silence and pages turning acted as a soporific for him, and he now lay next to Rainbow Dash, closing his eyes, his weariness and the silence sucking the energy out of him as he fell asleep, instinctively placing his arm around Rainbow Dash as he did so.

3 Hour Later...

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, her senses slowly coming out of the numbing calm of sleep. She looked to her right, contemplating the human, in whose arms she had slept yet again...

He cared...he cares, so much...he helped me, he listened to me, and he cared about me...so much...but...do I care about him...just as much? I mean...I helped him, too, after Fluttershy gave him the Stare, and I guess I cared, and do care, but...he cared from the beginning...

She gulped, the nervous action heard by none but herself, remembering what Peter had said in the hospital for the second time that day...

He said that he loves me...and even though I know that he meant it as...the love for a sibling...when he called me beautiful, before that...I know that he wasn't seeing me, but was seeing...me, as in, who I am...and I was more open about my dreams with him than any of my friends...but...I barely even knew him...

She looked at Peter, remembering her earlier conversation with Applejack and Pinkie Pie...

But...why? Maybe they're right, and I do have a crush on him? But if I do, wouldn't I know it?

Just then, Peter woke up, his green eyes immediately finding Rainbow Dawn's red eyes, a smile meeting the cyan Pegasus' look of confusion and thought.

"Good morning, Rainbow Dash."

"Hmm hmm..."

He frowned, and Rainbow Dash's heart skipped a beat.

"You okay, Dash?"

She merely blinked, still deep in thought, wondering why Peter's concern had made her stomach churn...

"Did you have another nightmare?"

She shook her head 'no', still thinking about why she could tell Peter anything, but not Applejack...

"Well, what is it?"

She gulped, and forced out a small sentence.

"I was just thinking..."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Rainbow Dash pushed herself up against Peter, smiling as the obviously somewhat bewildered human pulled his arm tighter around her.

"I can talk to you about anything, Peter...can't I?"

"Uh...definitely."

She put her head on his shoulder, her confusion replaced by acceptance.

"Well, before, Applejack asked me what we were talking about...y'know, in the hospital? But...I couldn't tell her. My best friend...but I can tell you anything..."

"Well...we were both kinda freaking out, right? Especially you...no offense, of course..."

Rainbow Dash smiled, pushing herself even closer to Peter.

"Well, yeah...I guess that having a mental breakdown can kinda make somepony say anything, huh?"

She smiled as Peter lightly chuckled, his bandaged palm rubbing her shoulder as they closed their eyes, simply enjoying being with each other.

"Yeah, I guess it can..."

"Yep..."

Come on, Rainbow Dash...at least ask him if he meant it when he said 'beautiful...'

"I meant what I said."

"What?"

Her heart started beating madly, and she knew that his response would determine her choices, both big and small...

"When I said that it was beautiful...I meant it. And the beautiful thing wasn't the giant shaft of light...it was how you looked in it...I could see all of you. Your flaws, your perfections...it was simply...beautiful. You're beautiful, Rainbow Dash...or rather, who you truly are, is beautiful."

The Pegasus nodded, smiling and pressing herself closer to him,

"Peter...thank you..."

She closed her eyes once more, pressing herself up to Peter, preparing herself for her mid-mid-day nap.

Peter

He gulped as Rainbow Dash tried to fall asleep, rubbing up against him and smiling.

God, I hope she doesn't like me as anything more than a friend...that would be...complicated...

He kept rubbing her shoulder, and adjusted his arm as she turned onto her side, moving even closer to Peter in the process, making his stomach churn.

This is...different....In Twilight's house, and in the hospital, we slept like this to keep the dreams out of her head...and now, she just sleeps in my arms, like we're a...a...

He sighed, remembering what Doctor Whooves had said to him in the hospital...

Do whatever you want with the Soul Gems. Just, for now, keep them close. And do yourself a favor, keep your feelings to yourself. If you give your heart away, we'll have bigger problems than Weeping Angels. Oh, and...try to keep pop-culture references to a minimum. Just...for your own sake.

Peter looked down at Rainbow Dash, and felt a pang of fear.

I feel...something, for her. I don't want to put her in danger, but...what if that...something, becomes something...more? I'll have to...keep it down...

He gulped, looking down at the cyan Pegasus, his thoughts colluding in a dark thundercloud of anxiety, a knot forming in his stomach as the blue lids opened to reveal those red, huge eyes...

"I slept too long...there's no way that I'm falling back to sleep..."

"Mm...me neither..."

The two simply lay there for a few moments, Peter feeling slightly awkward.

"Do you mind if we...stay like this for a while?"

He smiled, and pulled her closer than she already was, looking up at the ceiling.

"Not at all."

He closed his eyes, smiling as she enveloped him with a wing, feeling truly at home in her embrace, the Doctor's words far from his mind.

Note from the Author

HI! I FINALLY FINISHED IT! YEAH!

I'm sorry that it's not over 10k words, but I decided it would be best to end on that scene, and then carry it on in the third part of the first day. Expect the rest of the days to be in single chapters, as they're fairly simple.

As always, keep telling me what you think, and keep sending in those OC's.

And, GAH! BEING GROUNDED IS-

Remarkably easy to work around, in all honesty. :P.

A Project

"That's all for today, class! Have a wonderful weekend, and let's all wish Rarity the best while she's on vacation!"

"Yes, Miss Cheerilee."

Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes as she wished Rarity the best.

Ohh...I'll make her pay back for that later...

Scootaloo winked at Sweetie Belle, the white unicorn looking up in anxiety.

"Come on, Sweetie Belle! She'll be fine!"

"And remember your assignments for tomorrow!"

The class released a collective groan.

"But I already have my cutie mark, Miss Cheerilee!"

The magenta earth pony turned, donning a smile despite the outburst.

"Yes, Silver Spoon. But it never hurts to try something new, does it?"

The grey earth pony huffed, crossing her hooves in her chair. Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle all giggled slightly, to which Miss Cheerilee had not objection. It was good to see the white unicorn actually laugh, even if it was at somepony else.

"Well, have a wonderful day, everypony!"

She opened the door, and everypony filed out, until the teacher pony called out.

"Uh, Scootaloo? Sweetie Belle? Apple Bloom? If you would please stay after class..."

"Ohhhh, you're in trouble!"

Scootaloo turned, ire in her iris.

"Shut up, Snails!"

The brown unicorn shrunk back, before joining up with Snips, visibly frightened by the Pegasus' outburst.

"You wanted to see us, Miss Cheerilee?"

"Yes, Apple Bloom, I did. Seeing as how all three of you are staying at Sweet Apple Acres, and also as how you are currently experiencing...difficulties, I expect only one collective project from the three of you."

The three friends perked up, smiling at each other.

"So, we're not in trouble?"

Their teacher smiled.

"No, Scootaloo. But, do know this: I expect your project to be the best one out of all of them!"

She smiled as the Cutie Mark Crusaders hugged her, giving her a warm feeling, albeit while flustering her.

"You can count on us, Miss Cheerilee! Ah'll keep them on track!"

The four of them smiled and said their good-byes, the tree house the only thing on their minds.

Back at the Cutie Mark Crusader's Tree house...

"Sweetie Belle, do you have any ideas?"

"Huh? For what?"

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom shared a glance, obviously worried for their friend.

"You okay, Sweetie Belle?"

She looked up at Scootaloo, a tear in her eye.

"Yeah, it's just...I'm worried about Rarity. I...I just hope that she'll be alright..."

The Pegasus and earth pony both put a hoof on either of her shoulders, smiling at her, comforting her.

"Aww, come on, Sweetie Belle! She'll be fine! Applejack said so, didn't she? And besides, she has Peter t' keep her safe!"

Sweetie Belle smiled at Apple Bloom, remembering the...odd, creature that had saved her sister's life.

"Yeah, I guess you're right..."

"Hey, guys? You do know that we're running out of time, right?"

The three of them looked at the sunset, and hurriedly began passing around ideas, trying hard to make something that would 'wow' their hard-working teacher.

"Well, it has to do something, right?"

The Pegasus and Earth Pony nodded, looking up at Sweetie Belle.

"Well, what if we make...a play? With props, singers, and actors?"

Apple Bloom smiled, following the idea.

"I can make some props!"

Sweetie Belle followed suit, thinking for both herself and Scootaloo.

"Scootaloo can ride her scooter, and I can sing about how she goes over the toughest obstacles!"

At that point, Scootaloo stood, a smile wide on her face.

"How about...we make an obstacle course?"

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked at her, eyes raised.

"Apple Bloom can make a really difficult obstacle course, which I'll shred, and Sweetie Belle can sing something about obstacles and awesome Pegasi!"

The three of them shared collective glances, and finally came to a consensus, simultaneously shouting otu in their tree house.

"We'll make a musical obstacle course!"

That night, Sweet Apple Acres sang a song of hacksaws, drills, wood screws, and obstacles.

At the same time, the air was thick with sawdust and the smell of paint and sweat, as well as the sound of a scooter, testing, and overcoming, every obstacle set in its path.

In the Morning...

The three Cutie Mark Crusaders smiled at each other, their hooves, heads, and throats hurting from the work.

"Ah think we did pretty darn good, everypony..just...how do we show Miss Cherilee?"

Scootaloo smiled.

"Leave that to me. I'll get it done."

They all smiled, remembering how many times Scootaloo had gotten 'something done' that night, obliterating each obstacle that faced them, always coming up with a new way to either shred the course, or finish part of the course.

"Gee, Scootaloo, at this rate, your cutie mark will be a smashed obstacle! You just plow right through everything in your way!"

The Pegasus blushed, smiling at her two friends, realizing how easy it was for her to overcome obstacles, both real, and mental.

"Yeah, I guess so, huh..."

They all walked back to the farm house, keeping a careful eye on each others' flanks, watching closely for a cutie mark.

Unfortunately, that night was not their cutie mark night.

Note from the Author

Hi there! I bet you're wondering why I'm including the Cutie Mark Crusaders in this story...

Because I want to get everything in this story!

BTW Comment, rate, send in OC's on the group thread (the link was said twice already, if you haven't joined by now...just do it.)

Oh, and if you give me a thumbs down on this story, please, tell me why.

If you gave me a thumbs down because this story just so happens to not be your 'cup of tea', in terms of the genre, don't give me thumbs down because of that. Give me a thumbs down for poor grammar, uninteresting plot, etc., and then explain that. Just, don't give me a thumbs down because you don't like HiE stories. Please. Thing is, I don't mind thumbs downs, just don't give me one because of a bias against this kind of story. And, if the thumbs down isn't because of that, please, explain it. Thank you.

The Corruption of the Great

Trixie walked on, shifting her course towards Ponyville, the death of Twilight Sparkle the only thing she wanted, and had to, focus on right now.

As she walked, the same images she had seen for the past five days played in her mind, teasing her with their false promises...

If you're squeamish, don't read this. Scroll down to the next part if you are.

Trixie left Ponyville, head hung low, everypony laughing at her as she walked, calling her 'Trixie the Liar', 'Trixie the False and Weak', and so many harsh names from her childhood...

She remembered her own father, berating her for not being able to do a simple spell, her own mother hanging her head in disappointment...

And now, two years after being exiled from Ponyville, Trixie walked back in, power surging through her horn, power enough to obscure the sun.

Which she did.

She blinked, and Ponyville started to burn, her power overcoming the power of the Elements of Harmony, the rainbow of which now washed over her, harmlessly, turning into a black and white strip of nothing.

Now, she was alone with Twilight Sparkle, the lavender unicorn strapped onto the wall, her stomach all-too-accesible to Trixie's horn, which now opened her stomach, ushering forth a moan of pain and despair from the unicorn as Trixie kept her alive, able to feel pain, yet unable to die.

She withdrew her horn, and reached into the hole with a hoof, widening the gap, tickling the intestines as they slithered out, pulling them like taffy...

She slowly pulled out the long, slimy organ, her body shuddering with pleasure as that damned unicorn screamed, and moaned, and begged for forgiveness.

"Oh, Twilight Sparkle...how long I have yearned to hear you say, 'sorry'..."

The blue unicorn yanked at the intestines, begetting another cry of pain, slimy organ slithering around her hooves as she unwound it, making a long, neat loop.

"And you have no idea...how much more I have yearned to hear you cry in pain..."

Angling her horn, she cut through the intestines, keeping the lavender unicorn alive and conscious with her magic, smiling greedily as the blood poured onto her face, licking her lips of the sticky, red liquid, finally severing the intestines from the unicorn's body, leaving a large gap in the meat.

"Looks like you've got too much meat on your bones..."

She impaled the stomach, and pulled it out, dropping it on the floor with the intestines, and dipped her head into the hole in her body, cutting out bits of meat, dropping the meat on the floor, careful not to eat it.

"I'd prefer to keep my appetite for the rest of you, Twilight..."

"Please...stop..."

Trixie smiled, and cut out a rather large chunk of meat, expanding the pool of blood that now overflowed the lavender unicorn's pelvic cavity, the blood streaking down her legs like a fine wine.

Trixie reached in with a hoof and started rubbing the now-exposed spine, careful not to bend it too much.

"Does that feel good, Twilight? Does that feel...sensual?"

"No...it hurts...please stop..."

"No."

Trixie pushed her entire head into the hole she had created, careful to impale the meat next to Twilight's back with her horn, not the actual back.

"Oh, Twilight, you have no idea how good this feels..."

She pulled her horn out, taking meat with it.

"To see you suffer as I have suffered..."

She pulled the meat off of her horn and gave it a tentative lick, then shrugged and ate it whole, the hot blood sliding down her throat like wine.

"Now, time to unlock that chest, Twilight..."

She magically widened the hole in Twilight's abdomen, only stopping when the rib cage was fully exposed. Sliding her hoof under the ribs, the tickled Twilight's left lung, before tearing out half of her rib cage, the sternum barely holding on to the other half.

She smiled and did the same with the right side of the rib cage, leaving the more vital organs fully exposed, the meat slowly sliding down to fill the gap she had created.

First, she magically moved the lungs and diaphragm, keeping them working outside of Twilight's body.

"I want to keep hearing those tantalizing screams, Twilight..."

As if on cue, the unicorn shrieked in pain, her nerve endings splitting in her chest.

"Let's see if your heart is as strong as your magic..."

Trixie took the meat out of Twilight's chest, revealing the red organ.

"Oh...it's like a big candy, isn't it?"

She grabbed it gently, and sent Twilight into shrieks of pain and agony as she licked it, rubbing it in a sensual way, causing Twilight even more pain as the organ was fondled.

"Oh, your heart is so big...I wonder if I can fit the whole thing in my mouth..."

Trixie slowly started sucking on the organ, licking the blood off of the throbbing mass of muscles and tissue, squeezing it as she slowly pushed it all into her mouth, moaning in pleasure as she did so, the feeling of the heart quickening and slowing in her mouth quickly exciting her.

She simply had to have it. She tore the heart out of the cavity, and shoved the entire thing in her mouth, blood spattering everywhere as she did so, choking on it slightly as she forced it down with her hoof, the large veins and arteries flailing as she pushed it deeper, deeper, deeper...

And then, it was gone, chewed to bits by her teeth, and now slowly sliding down her esophagus, not beating at all, unlike Twilight's lungs.

Trixie poked Twilight's spinal cord, sending the dying unicorn into a spasm.

"Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle."

She kicked the spinal cord, ending all life in the pony, rendering her horn useless, and even more so as Trixie snapped it off, licking and eating the liquid, magical core that leaked out, absorbing Twilight's power, growing ever stronger...

You can read this part if you're squeamish.

Trixie kept walking, replaying the scene in her mind over and over again, smiling each time.

I will kill Twilight Sparkle, and her friends...however, I must first become stronger...by consuming the magical core of a unicorn's horn...and I believe I know a certain foal who won't put up a fight...she's too...weak.

She continued on to Ponyville, the white unicorn heavy on her mind.

A small nudge pushed on the back of her mind.

I won't kill a foal.

Yes, you will.

No. I won't.

The dreams played again, and the nudge died out, the voice laughing maniacally.

Discord

Discord laughed as he played with Trixie's mind, subduing whatever bit of pony decency there was.

She won't kill a foal...bah! When she kills that foal, there will be oh so much chaos...and then, I will break free from this prison of stone...

His disembodied spirit descended back to his prison, watching as his fingers wiggled, his ear twitched.

It's coming along rather nicely, I'd say...

Note from the Author

Are you beginning to see a pattern here?

BTW I'm going to make my full list of OC's and upload it on my group. IDK when, but I will. I'll start compiling it later on today.

Oh, and I've also planned out the order of the next...37 chapters. I haven't planned out their contents, but at least I have a rough sketch of then next few chapters.

Old Arrivals

Metall Kant looked at the small group of Elders, the lack of certain ponies very distinct.

"Is this all that is left?"

The silky black unicorn in front spoke first.

"We lost almost everypony. The five of us are lucky to have made it out alive."

Metall Kant staggered backwards, not wanting to believe his ears.

"Thiss was truly a fool's errand...who has survived?"

"I, Crimson Daggry, Brenning Kuring, Jett Stjerne, and Jord Rullator."

Metall Kant nodded, mourning the fifteen Elders theyvhad lost in the ancient crypts.

"I trust that you buried them?"

Gammel Hjerte nodded, his horn creating an odd aura.

"Of course. Unfortunately, I had to Blink while burying Sverd Danser. There were too many Skygger."

Metall Kant sighed. "How bad was the damage?"

The Elder of Time grunted.

"Bad. I'll tell all of you the full story later, at a Council Meeting. Now, where is Fugl Føniks? His instruction saved my life."

Metall Kant raised an eyebrow.

"He is not here. He is protecting the Elements of Harmony. All...seven."

The five arrivals simply nodded.

"We knew."

Metall Kant nodded in return, and walked over to the large disk in the center of the Hall.

"It appears as though Drøm Mester and Sølv Brann have pulled Fugl Fønks into the Realm of Dreams."

"Good. Let Discord struggle past them. For now, let us hold the Meeting, hm?"

Metall Kant shookbhis head.

"Deajer is still recovering. He cast a spell that wove between the Realm of Reality, and the Realm of Dreams."

"Then why did you send Fugl Føniks and the others?"

"Discord has not taken control of you. I know how powerful he truly is. Only Gylden Glør could ever hold him back. The most we can do is delay the inevitable."

He let the statement hang in the air, and walked back into his study, dismissing the five Elders behind him, wanting to do nothing more than drown his sorrows in reflection.

We lost good ponies today...ponies who haamve been with us from the beginning...

He sighed, looking down at the list of names.

I hope that the Elders of the New Age are willing to join us...

Note from the Author

Yo! Hi! Btw yes, I did say the New Age. Which means:

Moar OC's, please.

Baggage

Celestia sighed. Not only did she have to deal with her kingdom's instability, she also had to deal with the other things that Peter Roose had arrived in Equestria with...

She set aside the bag, and looked at the map of Equestria, happy that the Griffon eunuch was back on his way to his homeland.

I thought he would never stop talking about his little 'birds'...he has enough spies over there, why can't he just keep his beak out of Equestria?

Celestia sighed and looked over to Luna, who seemed unfazed by the eunuch's presence.

Makes sense...she wasn't here during the thousand years in which I disbanded eunuchs in Equestria...

"Luna, you do know that eunuchs are now illegal in Equestria, right?"

The blue alicorn looked up at her sister in surprise.

"For what reason, mine sister? Methinks that they possess an uncanny skill for sniffing out lies, and digging up truths!"

The white alicorn rolled her eyes, the old Equestrian still worming its way into her speech patterns.

"Because it is cruel, and unnecessary, and risky. Binding a colt to work by removing their colthood...it's oppression. You weren't here, but we had three too many eunuch rebellions over the past thousand years.  And now the Griffons refuse to disband their eunuch spies..."

She sighed, looking at the divided map of Equestria.

"We need to be in unity. How can we be in unity, when my delegates keep me from uniting with the Griffons, because they disagree with us? Discord's tried to kill somepony, Luna. He's not playing nice this time. Just like in the first Discordian War, his main goal is to divide us, and destroy us. With a eunuch and his spies running about...it will be too easy."

Luna sighed heavily, staring at the ground.

"'Tia...if Discord rises again, and he is as bloodthirsty as he was in the Discordian War...how will we stop him?"

Celestia looked down at Luna, sympathizing with her fear.

"Luna...we have the Elements of Harmony. This time, we can finally destroy him."

"But what if...what if he wins over the New Age Elders?"

Celestia blinked, thinking of the two New Age Elders that currently lived on the Canterlot Mountain, oblivious as to their roles, and what they would one day become...

She shook her head. She had to finish cataloging, and magically scanning, Peter's possessions, which was a very simple task compared to unlocking the New Age Elders' capabilities, let alone uniting all of Equestria.

"Luna, we've already turned three of them to our side. One of them knows what she is, and is waiting for Lys i Mørket to awaken."

The alicorrn looked up at the mention of the Elder's name, and watched Celestia move around objects and poke them with her horn, trying hard to keep her head straight as the Princess of all of Equestria, yet not of the surrounding provinces.

"Lys i Mørket? I don't remember meeting an Elder named Lys i Mørket..."

"That's because it is not an Elder. It is the essence of the Elders, and is what makes, and strengthens, Elders. It is a power that Gylden Glør harnessed, and yet rejected as his own. That is why he never became an Elder. Currently, Metall Kant has had a team of Elders trying to open the ancient crypts that hold the Lys i Mørket for the past one hundred years. Unfortunately, Discord has infected those sacred grounds, and beings of darkness that normally reside within the Realm of Death now roam in that place. You and I have both seen the beings of the Realm of Dreams. The beings of the Realm of Death are much worse. And the only Elder who can travel to and from the Realm of Death disappeared at the same time that the crypts were infected. It is believed that Discord corrupted him, and that Begynnelsen og Slutten now lies in the heart of those crypts, forever turned into a hideous beast. Only the Lys i Mørket can save him now."

Luna shook her head, shocked by the sudden burst of information, and by the revelation that Begynnelsen og Slutten had been corrupted.

"When did this happen?"

"About five hundred years ago."

"If Discord was able to corrupt the crypts when he was first imprisoned...how much strength will he have now, when he escapes for the second time?"

Celestia shook her head, the gaseous mane whispering in the silence.

"We cannot know. But I can assure you, that it was not Discord's strength alone that caused that infection in the crypts. The Elements of Harmony were at their weakest then, ever since I had ensnared Nightmare Moon in the...well, Moon. Without the second wielder of the Elements of Harmony, his mind was freed, even though his body was not."

Luna took a deep breath, composing herself, just as Celestia finished scanning the final object in Peter's bag.

"Finally...that was quite a chore."

"Why didn't you give him those things in the first place, 'Tia?"

"Because...they're rather large, much larger than that strange iPod, and much more potent than a book full of...strange, jokes."

Luna nodded, staring at the strange, black rectangle.

"Well, what is it, then?"

"It's called a...'Kindle Fire'. It's not an obelisk, so it does not contain any flame spells, but it is certainly strange...much like the iPod, it contains much more than it seems to, although not through magic..."

Suddenly, a letter materialized in front of her, and she read it aloud, anxious to hear from her faithful student, and also to get her mind off of that pesky eunuch...

"'Dear Princess Celestia,

My friends and I would like to thank you for the gracious gift of a free ride on the Trans-Equestrian Railway. Thank you so much, Princess! Also, I've learned some things about humans. First off, they are much more technologically advanced than us. Secondly, they have things called 'guns'. They use them to kill other humans. I'm going to ask him more about it, as in why it is needed. Thirdly, their culture is very variable, as they had different types of music at different times, and their music has a very wide range of genres.

And, I am happy to say that I have learned something about friendship this week! It is that...a shell of confidence can be filled, and it can describe them. However, there is a somepony hiding in that shell that is completely different, and the only way to break through that shell, is by not trying at all.

Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle.'"

Celestia smiled as she lay the letter aside, placing it along with all of the other letters from her faithful student.

She stood and turned, exchanging 'good-bye's with Luna as she proceeded into her chambers, a mound of paperwork and a grey Pegasus awaiting her arrival.

A Ritual (The Train, Day 1)

Everypony crowded in the center of the train, with the exclusion of Peter and Rainbow Dash, who were currently sleeping on the hammock, a cyan wing covering Peter as they napped, and Spike as well, who was currently napping in his small basket. The five friends talked in hushed voices, Twilight asking the most prominent question.

"How should we wake them up?"

"Uh, Twilight-"

"I mean, should we just tell them that dinner's ready, and ignore the fact that they're sleeping together? Again?"

"Twilight, please-"

"Ah think we should just ask them about it. Y'know, just wake them up and have that be the first thing we ask 'em?"

"Applejack, I'm not exactly sure they would appreciate us being so upfront about it."

"Alright, Twi', it's your call. Rarity, have you got an idea?"

"Well, Applejack, I do. I think we should just go with what Twilight said: we should wake them up and ignore it.”

“Everypony, listen to me.”

They all looked at Fluttershy, shocked by her sudden assertiveness.

“I don’t think any of you understand what’s going on here.”

Twilight chuckled lightly.

“Uh, I think we do. Rainbow Dash is best friends with Peter. We should just-”

“No, Twilight. Not best friends. She feels like she’s more than that, but whether Peter does or not is a different story.”

Everypony exchanged glances, immediately questioning Fluttershy as to what she meant.

“It’s Pegasus culture. The wing hug is one of the most intimate gestures ever performed in Pegasus history. It marks the beginning of a…relationship. And, maybe Rainbow Dash doesn’t mean it like that, I don’t know either way. But, if she does, then the two of them must not eat until tomorrow, but instead, spend time together, asleep or awake. Basically, we need to wake them up, and then leave them alone. If Rainbow Dash comes down for dinner, then we know that she’s just friends with him.”

Everypony looked up at the hammock, confusion coursing through them.

“But…that makes no sense! No food for the rest of the day?”

“None. It’s a mark of devotion. I’ll wake them up, and see if she comes down.”

Fluttershy

Fluttershy bit her lower lip as she ascended, her suspicions proved correct.

Oh, my...are they...?

"Wake up, sleepyheads..."

She gently nudged the both of them in turn, repeating her call to the conscious world.

"It's time to wake up, you two!"

Peter was the first to stir, grunting as he opened his eyes.

"Oh...hey, Fluttershy..."

Fluttershy cast a look at Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow Dash...it's time to wake up, sleepyhead..."

Peter shook his head slightly, and removed his arm from around Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy gulped as the sleeping Pegasus' tightened around Peter, the wing hug pulling herself closer to him.

"I've got this, Fluttershy..."

"Alright...just, when you wake her up, come down for dinner, okay?"

"Will do."

The yellow Pegasus backed off slightly, watching as Peter turned onto his side, struggling under the wing. When he was facing the cyan Pegasus, he placed a hand on he shoulder and shook her lightly, whispering something into her ear. After about a half a minute, Rainbow Dash finally opened her eyes, and Fluttershy descended, patiently awaiting their descents.

Rainbow Dash

She opened her eyes to see Peter smirking, wide awake after the rejuvenating nap.

"Well, good morning, 'Dash. Took you long enough to wake up."

She blinked, staring at Peter, emotions and thoughts thundering through her head.

Keep him here...show him how much you care...

No, don't...he might take it wrong...

How could he possibly take it wrong? He said that you can tell him anything. Just tell him how you feel.

No, I can't...what if he doesn't feel the same way?

Why do I feel for him in the first place? Is it because of how much he cared in the hospital, or is it because of how he saved me from the dreams...what is it?

No...it's because I can tell him anything...because he listened to me in the hospital, and I feel as though I can truly be myself with him...

She drew him tighter in the embrace, a knot forming in her stomach as he raised an eyebrow, obviously concerned.

"Rainbow Dash...are you okay?"

The Pegasus drew all the courage she could muster, and said this:

"Yes…just….don’t leave…please…”

She closed her eyes tight, embarrassed at her inability to tell Peter why he shouldn’t leave.

I’m…scared…

“Then…How am I supposed to eat?”

“Just…please…don’t…stay here with me…until tomorrow morning…just, skip dinner and desert…I will too…just, please, stay here…”

“What? That’s ridiculous! I’m going to eat, whether you want me to or not!”

A single tear came to Rainbow Dash’s eye, but she held it back, just as she held Peter back, tightening her embrace on him.

Oh, Celestia…why can’t I tell him?

“Peter, just…stay here, please...”

“Why?”

She opened her eyes, and a few tears came forth, the lids no longer holding them back.

“I…I can’t tell you…just…please, stay here, please, don’t leave me, Peter…”

Peter stopped struggling, and looked Rainbow Dash directly in the eyes, wiping away the tears as they fell. He put a hand on the side of her face, and the Pegasus started crying, the idea that Peter had almost rejected her, and a raw fear coursing through her.

“Rainbow Dash…you can tell me anything. Anything.”

She gulped, but didn’t close her eyes, trying to show him what she wanted to say through her eyes.

Peter…I want to be with you…forever…I feel at home with you, I feel…happy, with you…

She tried to say it, but all that came out was a whimper and a tear. She just couldn’t tell him.

Peter put both of his arms around her and held her close, bringing her into a sitting position as he sat upright. She hooked her other wing around him, and pulled him back down.

There’s no way that you’re getting away from me…I want you, Peter…

“Rainbow Dash...why are you keeping me here?”

She choked on the words.

Because I like you as much, much more than a friend…and I want you to be mine…

“You can tell me, Rainbow Dash.”

She finally found a way to tell him, albeit in a roundabout way.

“Because then…it wouldn’t be complete…”

However, that brought more questions.

“What wouldn’t be complete? What are we doing?”

She closed her eyes again, and pressed herself even closer to Peter, both of her wings helping her do so.

“I’ll…I’ll tell you in the morning…just, please, don’t…don’t leave me…”

She heard peter sigh, but then felt him hold her closer, rubbing her back.

“Alright, Rainbow Dash…I’ll stay with you. And I’ll always stay with you.”

She felt the knot in her stomach explode, as well as a bubble of joy in her heart. She sniffed, and rubbed her head on Peter’s shoulder, her bottom hooves almost touching his feet.

But…he’s a human…and I’m a pony…this is…odd…

She smiled to herself, remembering Pinkie Pie’s words.

It doesn’t matter…feelings are feelings…just like Spike likes Rarity…I can like Peter…

“Thank you, Peter…this means…so much to me…”

“Any time, Rainbow Dash…”

She grinned.

“So, while we’re together like this, is there anything you want to talk about, Rainbow Dash?”

Thank you, Fluttershy…

Fluttershy

The yellow Pegasus ate in silence, dreading the moment that Peter finally broke free of Rainbow Dash’s grip…

Rainbow Dash wants you to be her stallionfriend, Peter…please, stay with her…

She sighed, realizing how ridiculous it was.

They’ve known each other for less than a week…and already, Rainbow Dash is…trying to be with him…this may end up going horribly wrong…

She gulped, realizing how much was truly at stake here.

“Oh, look! Peter’s stopped trying to get out!”

The exclamation came as a hushed whisper from Twilight, who was pointing a hoof up at the hammock.

“Oh, my…this is truly wondrous! I truly hope that it works out alright…”

Fluttershy choked on her words, her sentence echoing in her mind.

Me, too, Rarity…me, too…

“Pinkie Pie, Ah thought you said that Rainbow Dash wasn’t lyin’ before?”

“Maybe she didn’t know yet. Or maybe…it’s more than just a crush.”

Everypony exchanged a hurried glance at the sudden idea.

“Oh, mah…what if it is more than a crush?”

“I doubt it is, Applejack. Rainbow Dash is more level-headed than that.”

“Twilight, we’re dealing with the old Rainbow Dash here. Not the Rainbow Dash we know.”

Everypony grunted, Fluttershy having just explained who the old Rainbow Dash was.

They continued to stare up at the hammock, Pinkie Pie rummaging around in her mane.

“Hey, everypony…if Peter stays with her until morning, I’ll throw a surprise party a minute after midnight!”

Fluttershy blinked.

“Oh, my, Pinkie, that’s…a wonderful idea!”

Pinkie smiled, and stalked away into a corner, where she re-arranged the cake she and Spike had made.

“But, you’ll have to do it more than once…this ritual carries on for two days…”

“Alright! More partying!”

She continued re-arranging the cake, a huge smile spreading over her face.

“I, for one, think this is just blegh!”

“Spike, shut up.”

“Whoa, Twilight, harsh.”

Rainbow Dash and Peter

“Really?”

“Yep. I love running.”

“Well, I have a feeling that we’re going to get along just fine!”

“Given that I don’t pass out in the first mile.”

“Heh…”

“Are you sure that you’re okay?”

She smiled.

Always there for me…

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“…Alright. Anyway, what about you? What do you do in your spare time, besides nap and fly?”

“Well, I…that’s about it.”

“What? You’ve got to do more than that. I mean, you’re awesome! You should be able to do anything!”

Her heart skipped a beat.

He thinks I’m awesome…

“Heheh…thanks…well, there is one thing that I do. I’m…a black belt in martial arts.”

“Really? That’s…awesome!”

“You really think so?”

“Hell yeah!”

She nuzzled his shoulder lightly.

“Thanks…”

She shivered as he lightly preened her, loving every second of it.

“Peter…I think I’m ready to tell you what the…‘ritual’, is…”

Peter kept pruning her, a knot forming in his stomach.

“It’s to…start a relationship…”

Peter pulled back slightly, a look of incredulity contorting his features.

“What?”

“It’s to start a relationship, Peter…I want to…be with you…”

Peter blinked, and frowned.

“Rainbow Dash, look, I appreciate it, but…I don’t think either of us are quite ready for this…”

Rainbow Dash looked up at him, feeling as though a spike had been driven through her heart.

“But…but…”

“And whether you know it or not, I doubt that you mean it. You’re just…grateful, for what happened in the hospital.”

“Peter…”

“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash…I’m going to have to say no…”

The cyan Pegasus removed her wings from his sides, and started crying hysterically, tears streaming unbidden down her face.

“But….But…I’m READY, Peter! I want to be with you!”

Peter suddenly felt something new, something accompanying the feelings he already had for Rainbow Dash…

“Never talk to me again!”

Peter

Time slowed down. Rainbow Dash turned, her rainbow tail slapping Peter in the face.

And then, his heart picked up speed, his arm thrust forwards, and his hand clamped shut on the tail, the same one that had just smacked him in the face.

And, as time resumed its normal pace, Peter grabbed Rainbow Dash around the torso, and hugged her harder than he had ever hugged anyone before.

“Rainbow Dash…I’m sorry…I wasn’t thinking…”

He pulled away, just enough to raise his hands to the sides of her face, wiping away the tears that fell.

“I’m ready. Let’s…let’s complete the ritual, Rainbow Dash.”

Her wings immediately spanned out and consumed him, the tears continuing to flow, even as he hugged her harder and harder, about one hundred million things thundering through his head.

What have I gotten myself into…

How did this happen? We’ve known each other for less than a week…

This must be more than a crush, but it’s definitely less than…love.

But then…what is it?

And why do we feel it for each other?

Wait…

Why am I questioning this?

This is…amazing!

I’m going to be in a relationship with Rainbow Dash…

I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Forget the Doctor.

I can defend her.

And I will defend her.

…

What have I gotten myself into!?

All questions ceased as Rainbow Dash fell unconscious in his arms, her tears still flowing.

“It’s okay, Rainbow Dash…it’s okay…we’re going to be the greatest couple ever…just you watch…”

She rubbed up against him, and Peter rubbed up against her, loving every second of it as he preened her, holding her head in the crook of his neck.

I’ve gotten myself into something wondrous…

Everypony

Everypony, except for Spike, stared up at the hammock, eagerly awaiting the results.

“Wait…what’s he doing?”

Fluttershy watched even more attentively, dreading that Peter was rejecting her.

She was right.

“No…he can’t be…”

“He is. He’s going to hurt Dashie. I’m going to hurt him.”

“Pinkie, calm down. We can’t let ‘im hear us.”

“Wait…watch…”

“Ah guess he had a change in heart?”

“Maybe he didn’t realize it about himself?”

“Perhaps…I don’t know.”

“Wait, Fluttershy…if the ritual is interrupted, is it ended?”

“No. It goes on.”

“Good…”

Everypony watched on in silence, Pinkie Pie eagerly awaiting her chance to launch the surprise cannon.

Peter and Rainbow Dash

“You almost rejected me, Peter…”

“And I’ll never make that mistake again…”

It had been about two hours since his ridiculous blunder, and he had no intentions of breaking the ritual.

“Peter…we have to do this every night for the next week…y’know, going without dinner, and sharing a wing hug? If we don’t, we won’t be a true couple…”

“I’d do this every night, even if we didn’t have to…”

Rainbow Dash nuzzled him again, and Peter kept preening her.

“Peter…when I said that a Pegasus’ wings are very sensitive…I also meant that…when they’re touched by another pony, or by any living thing…it’s a very intimate connection.”

“How intimate?”

“The most intimate in Pegasus history.”

“Really?”

“Yeah…”

Peter kissed her on the forehead, smiling.

“Well…I love it.”

“So do I…”

They stayed silent for a small amount of time, Peter repeatedly kissing her on the forehead, the both of them simply enjoying each other’s presence.

Finally, after about an hour, Rainbow Dash spoke once more, her voice small.

“Say what you said in the hospital…”

“What?”

“All of it…”

Peter smiled, and kissed her on the forehead again.

“You’re beautiful, Rainbow Dash. And I’ll never leave you.”

He gulped. He couldn’t bring himself to say ‘I love you’. Not yet.

We’re only dating…I don’t love her to the point of full love, but I…I still love her…ugh, I don’t know…this is difficult…

“Good…”

She nuzzled up against him, and Peter up hugged her closer.

“Rainbow Dash…this is…”

He swallowed, the word not coming to him.

“Scary?”

“Exactly.”

She nodded.

“I know what you mean…I mean, this is happening so…so, fast…we’ve known each other for less than a week…and already, we’re a couple…or almost a couple…”

Peter kissed her on the forehead.

“But it’s also amazing, Rainbow Dash…it’s amazing, and it’s wonderful…and in all honesty…I just can’t wait until the ritual is over…”

Rainbow Dash pulled back, feeling somewhat insulted.

“Why? I thought you were...enjoying this…”

“I don’t mean it like that…I mean, I can’t wait until we’re officially a couple…y’know, in Pegasus culture.”

Rainbow Dash pulled herself closer to him, and nuzzled his shoulder again.

“Good…”

“But at the same time, I don’t want the ritual to ever end…because it’s just so amazing…”

“We don’t have to stop doing this…”

Peter nodded.

“True, true…”

They stayed in the same position for about three hours, and then fell asleep.

However, at a minute after midnight, they were awoken by the loudest bang they had ever heard in their entire lives.

Congratulations (The Train, Day 2)

Pinkie Pie adjusted her surprise cannon, checking the ratio of black powder to candy over and over again.

Alright…it seems fine…

She laughed in giddy excitement, looking up at the hammock, and then back at her Pinkie Watch.

Oh…It’s almost time…they’re halfway to being a couple…this is so EXCITING!

She tinkered with the surprise cannon a bit more, and then back to her watch, hearing Rarity and Fluttershy talk in excited, albeit hushed, tones.

“This is so wonderful! I’m so happy that Rainbow Dash found that special somepony!”

“Yes, so am I…you have no idea how close a wing hug is, Rarity…this is one of the most amazing things in Pegasus history…”

“Oh, no doubt!”

Pinkie Pie looked back to her watch. It was 12:00:51”10.

Almost time…

12:01:00”00

In a split second, she donned a camouflage hat, and initiated the tactical partying.

“FIRE!”

The cannon exploded in a cloud of wrappers, the black powder not escaping the cannon due to her special treatment: having Twilight magically block it.

She bounced excitedly as everypony woke up, including Peter and Rainbow Dash.

Peter and Rainbow Dash

“Whoa!”

The two of them sat up, not breaking the embrace they were in.

“Good morning, love birds!”

They turned to see Pinkie Pie, bouncing about eight feet straight up in the air, a huge grin spreading over her face. Peter and Rainbow Dash blushed, but smiled as well, pulling each other closer in the embrace, Rainbow Dash rubbing up against him, eyes closed.

“The ‘congratulations on almost being a new couple party’ has officially begun! Come on down for the paaaaarrrrtay!”

Peter chuckled, eyebrow raised as he watched Pinkie Pie bounce around them, upside down, sideways, and diagonally.

“We’ll be right down, okay? And may I add, this is the best surprise party ever.”

Pinkie Pie smiled, and stopped bouncing, eagerly awaiting their presence at the table.

“Why is it the best surprise party ever, Peter?”

Peter kissed her on the forehead, giddiness coursing through him, the wing hug making him feel warm and happy.

“Because it’s my first party with you, Rainbow Dash.”

She giggled lightly, and kissed Peter on the cheek, the both of them blushing madly.

After a few more moments of simply enjoying each other’s presence, Rainbow Dash helped Peter down, and sat down at the table, beckoning for Peter to sit next to her. Smiling, he obliged, immediately putting an arm around her and pulling her tight. At the same time, her wing returned to its spot around his waist, pulling him tight as well.

“Well, I think it’s time that you two send a letter to the Princess!”

Peter and Rainbow Dash exchanged a glance, and happily accepted the quills that were presented to them, eager to write down their feelings.

Twilight magically placed a piece of paper in front of them, and they wrote down their own parts of the letter, Peter’s handwriting a thick, solid lettering, Rainbow Dash’s lettering a thin scrawl. When they finished writing the letter, they read it over, smiling and blushing as they read each other’s sentences. It went like this:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Even though I’ve only been here for less than a week, Rainbow Dash and I are now in a relationship! I’ve never been so happy in my life, and I want her to be as happy as can be. It’s exciting, but scary at the same time, as it happened in such a short time. But, more than anything, it’s amazing, and I’m loving every second of it!

Even though Peter’s been here for less than a week, I’ve gone heads over hooves for him. He’s always there for me, and I feel at home with him. We’ve just completed the first day of the wing hug ritual, and the both of us can’t wait for it to end, but at the same time, neither of us wants it to ever end. It’s an amazing feeling, to finally be in a relationship with somepony. And it’s scary, but not scary enough to keep me away from Peter.

Sincerely,

Peter and Rainbow Dash

They looked into each other’s eyes, the both of them smiling and blushing. At that exact moment, a flash filled their fields of view, and they smiled even wider, waiting for the polaroid to finish developing.

They looked up to see everypony smiling at them, and Pinkie Pie furiously shaking a photograph, the camera sitting next to her on a shelf.

“Come on, come on…!”

Just then, the image must have finished developing, as Pinkie Pie bounced onto the table and shoved it in their faces. Peter and Rainbow Dash blushed, seeing how they held each other, and how they looked into each other’s eyes. Peter kissed Rainbow Dash on the forehead again, a huge grin parting his lips.

“I’ll send this to Celestia so that she can see how happy you two are! Don’t worry, she’ll send it back. She’s nice like that!”

Peter and Rainbow Dash nodded, watching Pinkie Pie place the picture in the parchment, and then bring it over to Spike, who was crossing his arms.

“This is so sappy, you guys…and Rainbow Dash, since when were you ever so sappy?”

She rubbed up against Peter, ushering a small groan from Spike.

“Ever since last night, Spike.”

Peter smiled, and kissed Rainbow Dash on the forehead once again, barely containing his emotions as they sat in front of everypony.

They looked up as Spike sent the letter, watching the wisp of smoke leave the train altogether, going off to Canterlot.

Peter and Rainbow Dash smiled, and Rainbow Dash rested her head on Peter’s shoulder, tired from the early wake up call.

“You two can’t go back to sleep yet! We have the cake to eat!”

Peter raised his eyebrows, and Rainbow Dash hers.

“Uh, Pinkie? Isn’t it a bit…early, to be eating cake?”

“Nope! I eat cake at this time every day!”

Peter chuckled lightly.

“Well, that explains it.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled as well, resting her head on Peter's shoulder.

"Hey, Pinkie Pie...can we have the cake after the complete ritual?"

Pinkie Pie looked up in confusion.

"Why?"

"Because, even though we're acting like a couple...and we basically are a couple..."

She rubbed up against Peter as she spoke, and Peter rubbed up against her.

"We're not...officially, a couple...y'know, in Pegasus culture..."

Pinkie Pie let out a healthy grunt.

"Fine. But can we at least have a small party now?"

Peter looked at Rainbow Dash, knowing just how tired she was.

"Well? What do you say, Rainbow Dash? We can go back to sleep, if you want..."

The cyan Pegasus smiled, and kissed Peter on the cheek.

"I would like that."

Peter smiled as well, kissing Rainbow Dash on the forehead, butterflies beating at the walls of his stomach.

"Wait! At least let us give you congratulations!"

Peter and Rainbow Dash looked over to Twilight, and back to each other. They both nodded.

"Okay, fine."

Twilight walked up to them, a large smile stretching her lips.

"Congratulations, you two! I hope that you both have a wonderful relationship!"

Peter and Rainbow Dash replied with their own 'thank you's, and Twilight walked over to Spike, watching the dragon intently.

Next, Rarity walked over with a small box.

"Congratulations, Peter, Rainbow Dash! I think that you two are simply adorable together! Here. I made something for the both of you."

Peter and Rainbow Dash gratefully accepted the present, and opened it, to reveal two pieces of magnificent clothing: one, a dress for Rainbow Dash, the other, a new, cyan suit for Peter.

"Thanks, Rarity! This is amazing!"

The elegant unicorn smiled, and walked off to her section of the train, letting Applejack walk forth, a small jug in hoof.

"Ah want to congratulate the both of you. Ah think you two will work out mighty fine. And here, Ah was savin' this for Manehattan, but Ah want y'all to have it. It's one of the best jugs of cider we made this year."

Peter and Rainbow Dash both said 'thank you', and Applejack was about to walk off, when she came back and hugged Rainbow Dash.

"Congrats, 'Dash."

Next, Fluttershy walked up, a timid smile playing across her features.

"Peter...Rainbow Dash...I think…no, I know that the two of you will be the greatest couple ever. The both of you just…bring out the best in each other.”

The both of them thanked Fluttershy, and looked at each other, knowing all too well that what the yellow Pegasus said was totally correct.

Lastly, Pinkie Pie walked up to the couple, bouncing on her hooves.

“You two are just so cute together! It’s adorable! I just want to eat you all up! Om nom nom nom nom!”

Peter and Rainbow Dash chuckled lightly, the pink pony’s eyes sparkling.

“Dashie, I bet you’re the happiest Pegasus ever, huh!”

She nodded.

“Happiest ever.”

She rubbed up against Peter, closing her eyes, wanting nothing more than to feel Peter’s loving embrace once more…

“Come on, ‘Dash.”

She gladly helped him up into the hammock, and immediately wrapped him in her wings, smiling as he whispered into her ear.

“G’night, Dashie.”

She giggled lightly, the pet name that normally annoyed her so much giving her a warm, fuzzy feeling.

“You know…I hate when Pinkie Pie calls me that…but I never had the heart to tell her…but when you call me Dashie…it feels…right.”

Peter smiled, and kissed her on the forehead.

“Well, then…sweet dreams, Dashie.”

She giggled, and nuzzled his shoulder, enjoying the feeling of his arms wrapped around her more than anything else in the whole world, her wings giving her a charge of emotional pleasure as they pulled Peter tighter in the feathery embrace.

As soon as Rainbow Dash was asleep, Peter kissed her on the forehead, and rested his chin on her shoulder. He quickly fell asleep as well, having no idea what was in store for him that day.

Note from the Author

Hi! I just felt obliged to write this chapter, in all honesty. I mean, I would’ve left a loose end if I didn’t include the whole party at a minute after midnight thing! And I hate doing that!

By the way, if you see a shitload of update notifications from my story today, it’s probably not new chapters left and right. I’m having a grammar overthrow today, in which I actually proofread my damn chapters.

A Challenge (The Train, Day 2)

"C'mon, 'Dash. Let's go have some breakfast."

Rainbow Dash's eyes opened in a flash, the word 'breakfast' setting a chain reaction in motion.

"NO!"

Peter turned in surprise, eyebrows raised.

"What?"

Rainbow Dash shut her eyes, silently cursing herself for being so forgetful.

Peter hugged her, and pressed his lips to her forehead, stroking her mane as she shivered in apparent fear.

"Are you okay? You're shaking like a leaf!"

She looked up into his eyes, her beautiful, red eyes shimmering with fear.

"Peter...there's something I forgot to tell you...about the ritual."

Peter raised an eyebrow, things already clicking into place.

"Lemme guess-no breakfast, either?"

Rainbow Dash shook her head, silently asking Celestia to give Peter the strength to carry through with it...

"We have to fast on the first day...which is, of course, today..."

Peter's jaw dropped, and Rainbow Dash felt her body shudder in fear.

What if he says no? What if he rejects me, like he almost did last night?

Peter blinked, a single thought making itself present in his mind.

I want to be with her...and nothing will ever get in my way.

"Dashie...I'll do it. I'll do it for you. For us."

Rainbow Dash felt a surge of joy, and she practically tackled Peter, wrapping her wings around him and smiling, kissing him on both cheeks over and over again.

"Peter, you're the best! I love you!"

Peter smiled, knowing full well that the love she felt for him was simply the love shared between a new couple. However, at the same time, he knew that he felt the same love, and that it was undeniably strong.

"I love you too, Dashie...and I would do anything for you...Just...can you maybe explain to me...what, exactly, is the reason for this...ritual?"

"It's meant to be a mark of devotion, and the reason behind the fasting is that, a long time ago, before ponies came to Equestria, the Pegasi were periodically starving. What would happen is that, in order to survive winters, Pegasi couples would wrap each other in their wings. The emotional pleasure they gained helped them endure each winter. And now, Pegasi follow that as an example for couples today: we should be able to endure a lack of food, with only each others' company as sustenance for our minds. But, thing is, you're not a Pegasus, which means that...you can't feel the same thing that I feel...y'know, when I put my wings around you. I was afraid that you would say no, because you don't know what it feels like, and wouldn't have that feeling to strengthen yourself..."

Peter smiled, and wrapped his arms around the cyan Pegasus.

"I would never say no, Dashie. I love you too much."

The cyan Pegasus giggled, and, using her wings, rolled Peter onto his back.

After fidgeting around, she found a comfortable way to lay on his torso, wings wrapped around him, and head in the crook of his neck, rubbing up against him, her heart bursting with love.

"Peter...you're the best..."

Peter kissed her on the forehead, already lightly preening her.

Rainbow Dash kissed him on the cheek again, smiling a huge smile.

"Say it again, Peter..."

Peter looked down at her, eyebrow raised.

"Say what again?"

"That you love me..."

Peter placed his hand on the side of her face, knowing now that what he felt for her was truly love, albeit in its infancy.

"I love you, Dashie."

She grinned, and kissed him on the cheek.

"I love you too, Peter."

They lay in the same position for the next hour, the sound of everypony's breakfast being consumed the only one accompanying their heartbeats, which they heard clearly as they lay with each other. At the sound of a burp, Peter looked up, but back to Rainbow Dash, ignoring the outside world.

He looked down at Rainbow Dash, the Pegasus smiling as she rubbed her head on his neck, blushing madly.

Peter sniffed at the air, eggs teasing his nose.

This is going to be difficult...

He looked down at Rainbow Dash, a new found energy surging through him. He pressed his lips to her forehead, smiling in determination as he whispered into her ear.

"Dashie...you know what I say to the fasting?"

"What?"

He removed his lips from her forehead, and pressed them, instead, onto her lips, both of their hearts exploding with love and joy during the two seconds that the kiss lasted, each second feeling like an eternity of never-ending happiness.

"Challenge accepted."

As he pulled back, he looked into her eyes to see the utmost love and happiness, and he knew then, at that very instant...

That he loved her more than he had loved anyone before.

Just then, the world was darkened as screens came down around their hammock, barely obscuring their vision, both of them fully aware of the box, photograph, and letter that now sat besides them.

"I love you, Dashie."

He pressed his lips to hers once more, both of their lips parting only a centimeter each, neither of them yet ready to go the full way.

"I love you too, Peter..."

Note from the Author

I'm sorry. I just had to.

BTW I'm going to be uploading mostly vacation chapters for the next few weeks (I'm allowed to upload chapters on the weekend, as my mother and I have come to an agreement on my 'grounding'.)

I just want to get a way from the main plot for a bit. Just...flush out the characters, their relationships, and how they grow as friends/a couple.

Also, my new story is up.

It's called 'Discord, PhD.'.

Kindling Fires (The Train, Day 2)

Fluttershy

The yellow Pegasus silently ate her eggs, sitting between Twilight and Rarity.

"So, Fluttershy...you said that they need to fast for the whole day?"

The Pegasus nodded, and Rarity shook her head.

"I truly hope that they can pull it off...it would be a shame if they couldn't..."

Fluttershy looked down at her food, her appetite suddenly gone as she thought of what would become of her two friends if they couldn't go through with the fasting...

Suddenly, a burp interrupted the breakfast, and a parcel landed with a thump on the table. Twilight eagerly opened it, placing the picture of Peter and Rainbow Dash aside for the two of them, as well as the congratulations letter, only reading the description of the present.

"'This is Peter's 'Kindle Fire'. I searched it, and found that it contains no spells, and is definitely not an obelisk of any kind. I send it as a sign of my approval of their coupling, and as a wish that they may have many happy years together.'"

Fluttershy smiled at the letter, knowing full well that any coupling approved by the Princess herself was destined to be wonderful.

"Well, Celestia approves...and she sent one of Peter's possessions as a gift. I think I'll let him open the present..."

Magically holding the present, Twilight placed it on the hammock next to Peter and Rainbow Dash, as well as the photograph and letter.

Everypony looked up at the hammock, and quickly looked away, not wanting to watch the couple kiss and possibly invade their privacy. Fluttershy raised her eyes to Twilight, the question plain on her face. The lavender unicorn nodded, and immediately searched for the latches surrounding the hammock, pulling down the screens that surrounded it when she did.

"Ah can't believe it...but, at the same time...it's just..."

"Beautiful."

Applejack nodded to Rarity, and Fluttershy smiled, knowing all too well that Peter and Rainbow Dash were grateful for the privacy.

Peter and Rainbow Dash (P. Dash)

Peter and Rainbow Dash simply stared at each other, blushing and grinning, their words hanging heavy in the air, pressing down on them with an atmosphere of love and giddiness.

"Peter...we just..."

He nodded. He couldn't believe that they had just kissed, either.

"Yep...we did."

He smiled, and she smiled as well, sniffling as tears of happiness rolled down her cheeks, and her heart exploded in joy.

She shoved her head into the crook of his neck, and Peter pressed his lips to her forehead, love exploding in his heart.

"Peter...I love you-" *sniff* "-and I was afraid that you...didn't feel the same way..."

He chuckled in giddiness, his own tears of happiness finding their ways out.

"I do, Dashie. And I always will."

Peter gulped, smiling as salty tears fell onto his lips.

"Dashie, I love you...I love you, and I want to be with you...forever..."

He hooked a finger under her chin, raising her face up to his.

She blushed, sniffling as she felt a new wave of love and joy wash over her.

"Well? Kiss me!"

He obliged, pressing his lips onto hers once more, their lips interlocking as he did so, love and joy exploding from both of their hearts, the kiss passing its boundaries of seconds, into a full minute.

When they parted, they looked into each others' eyes once more. There was no need for words. They both felt it. But they said it anyway, just for the sake of saying it, and for the sake of hearing it.

"I love you, Rainbow Dash."

"I love you, Peter Roose."

They smiled, and closed their eyes, laying back for the next half an hour, simply enjoying each others' presence as they relaxed. After a while, Rainbow Dash cast a look at the letter, photograph, and box, curious as to the contents.

"Let's read the letter, Peter."

He nodded, and reached for the piece of parchment, light from outside of the screens still leaking in.

"Read it to me..."

Peter smiled as Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, and rested her head on his chest. She smiled in turn as he whispered into her ear, each word dripping with his love for her.

"'Dear Peter and Rainbow Dash,

Congratulations! I am very proud of the both of you. I hope that you two have a wonderful relationship, and that it lasts for an eternity, and even longer! I am sorry that I cannot spare too many words, as I have some unfinished business that I must attend to. In case you're wondering, this is Peter's 'Kindle Fire'. I searched it, and found that it contains no spells, and is definitely not an obelisk of any kind. I send it as a sign of my approval of your coupling, and as a wish that you may have many happy years together.

Sincerely, Princess Celestia.'"

"Kindle Fire?"

Peter smiled wide, and kissed Rainbow Dash on the forehead.

"Yep...Oh, man...I can't wait to show you the movies I have on it..."

Rainbow Dash looked up at him, a strange glint in her eye.

"Peter, can the movie wait until...after the fasting?"

"Why's that?"

Rainbow Dash rested her head on his chest, looking up at him with red eyes full of love.

"I just want to relax, Peter...I want to savor the moment..."

Peter smiled, and put down the box, forgetting the Kindle Fire in her eyes.

"Fine by me..."

He raised his lips to hers once more, their lips opening just a little more each time they kissed, savoring each second of the moment.

Rainbow Dash stretched to reach his ear, and whispered words saturated with love and giddiness.

"I love you, Peter..."

She took the initiative this time, pressing her lips to his, kissing him for a minute straight. When she pulled back, she smiled at him, and closed her eyes, listening to Peter's heartbeat as she rested her head on his chest, falling asleep within minutes as Peter preened her.

Spike

"Spike, why can't you just be happy for Rainbow Dash and Peter?"

The baby dragon crossed his arms and looked away from the lavender unicorn, not wanting to tell her the real reason as to why he faked disgust.

"I...I am, it's just...so sappy."

Twilight sat down in front of him, staring at her best friend.

"Then why didn't you congratulate them?"

The baby dragon just blinked, but didn't turn.

"Because...because..."

She leaned forward.

"Yes? What is it?"

Suddenly, he exploded in a cascade of tears, shocking Twilight with how quickly he had broken down.

"Spike? Are you alright?"

The baby dragon looked up at Twilight, and cast a glance over at Rarity, a feeling of depression casting a dark cloud over his heart.

"It's just...I'm jealous, alright? Because...I know that Rarity and I can never be like them...y'know, together..."

Twilight hugged the baby dragon, comforting him as he cried, saying the same thing over and over again.

"I can't ever be with her...and now, Peter is with Rainbow Dash...I'm just jealous that he can be with her, but I can't be with Rarity...ever..."

Twilight patted him on the back with a hoof, and whispered into his ear, acting like the mother he never had...

"Spike, you deserve to be with her...you can be with her, you've just never tried...if you want, I can talk to her later...ask her if she likes you..."

Spike sniffed, and pulled himself off of Twilight.

"You would-" *sniff* "-do that for me?"

Twilight smiled.

"Of course I would. You're my best friend!"

Spike hugged her, feeling that he was the happiest dragon in the world.

"Thanks, Twilight...you're the greatest friend a dragon could ask for..."

They stayed in the same position, Twilight holding him, giving him emotional support.

Fluttershy

"So...what do you ponies think of their relationship?"

Fluttershy sat between Rarity and Pinkie Pie, and Applejack between Rarity and Pinkie Pie as well, forming a small circle of friends.

"Ah think it's perfect. Ah mean, she looks so happy with 'im."

Pinkie Pie nodded.

"Yep! Dashie herself said that she's the happiest Pegasus, ever!"

"And they're just so adorable together! The way they held each other, the way they looked into each others' eyes...and how lovingly Peter kissed her...in all honesty, it makes me rather jealous!"

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow at the elegant white unicorn.

"Jealous, Rarity?"

The unicorn raised a hoof to her forehead, eyes closed as she falsely swooned, and truly expressed her feelings.

"I would love to hold somepony like that...to be in a relationship, in which the two of us love each other...I mean, it's just beautiful...if only Prince Blueblood hadn't turned out to be a complete ruffian..."

Fluttershy nodded, remembering how rude the Princess' elegant cousin had been...

"Well, Prince Blueblood doesn't deserve you, Rarity. Maybe you should find somepony who is devoted to you, and is always there for you..."

Immediately, Fluttershy thought of Spike, and by the momentary glance that Rarity threw at the baby dragon, she knew that the elegant unicorn had, as well.

"Rarity, can I talk to you? In private?"

The unicorn nodded to Fluttershy, and followed her to a secluded part of the train, away from Pinkie Pie and Applejack, who continued to talk of how amazing the new relationship was.

Once they were seated across from each other, Fluttershy looked at Spike, who was currently crying in Twilight's arms. She looked back to Rarity, to see the elegant white unicorn biting her lower lip, visibly fighting the urge to run over and comfort the baby dragon...

"Rarity...you should tell him."

The unicorn looked at her with eyes full of distress, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"But...how, Fluttershy? I know that he likes me, I know it, but..."

Fluttershy hushed the unicorn, placing a supportive hoof on her shoulder.

"Just go over there, right now, and switch places with Twilight, and hold him tight."

Rarity and Spike

Rarity looked up, right into Fluttershy's blue eyes, finding comfort in the cool, complacent irises.

I need to let him know...my not telling him is tearing us both apart...

She sniffed, and stood, nodding to Fluttershy. Together, they walked up to Spike and Twilight, Fluttershy whispering something to the both of them.

Twilight smiled at Rarity, a small tear streaming down her lavender face. She mouthed a 'thank you,' and explained to Spike that she had to do something, and that she would be right back.

"Just...keep your eyes closed, okay, Spike?"

The baby dragon reluctantly let go of his best friend, but obediently kept his eyes closed. Twilight stood back, and looked up to Rarity. She nodded, and moved out of the way.

Come now, Rarity...this is your time to shine...

She moved in front of Spike, and took a deep breath, making sure to keep it silent.

You can do this...

She tentatively walked closer to Spike, her heart beating a million times per second. Slowly wrapping her arms around him, she rested her hooves on his head, and pulled him close, letting him cry on her.

Spike...I'm so sorry that I didn't do this before...

She whispered into Spikes' ear.

"You can open your eyes now, Spike..."

The baby dragon's heart skipped a beat, and all else was eliminated from the world, all but that voice...

He slowly opened his eyes, to see Rarity smiling a watery smile at him, her lower lip quivering as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"R-Rarity?"

The unicorn nodded, and leaned forward, whispering into his ear.

"Spike...I'm sorry...that I didn't tell you this earlier..."

She kissed him on the forehead, and what felt like a jolt of electricity shot through his body, turning his limbs to rubber.

"Rarity...you...you like me?"

She nodded, rubbing her cheek against his, Pinkie Pie and Applejack stopping cold in their conversations as they watched the two hold each other.

"Spike...you're always there for me...you always help me, and when the Diamond Dogs captured me, according to Twilight, you were the first to try and save me..."

Spike sniffed, self-doubt coursing through him.

"But, Rarity...I...I couldn't...I'm not strong, and I can't protect you..."

Rarity pulled back slightly, and looked into his eyes, the both of them blushing madly.

"Spike...I don't care if you're strong or not..."

She touched foreheads with him, anticipation coursing through her veins.

"I just care about the fact that you care about me...just as much as I care about you."

It had almost been two years...and now, Rarity had finally said it. She had finally told Spike how he felt for him, after two years of the crush culminating into something...greater.

Closing her eyes, she pressed her lips to Spike's, the kiss lasting about two seconds, but seeming to span an eternity.

"Rarity..."

"Shhh..."

Rarity pressed her lips onto his once more, her passion and love growing for the baby dragon.

"I love you, Spike..."

Spike returned the kiss, and they sat there, lips touching, for a few moments, before they broke the connection and looked around to see everypony, with the exception of Peter and Rainbow Dash, crowded around them, smiling and sniffling.

"Wow, Rarity...Ah guess that love can even see past a giant age difference..."

She looked up towards Applejack, shrinking slightly in her look of incredulity.

"Wait, let me explain something, everypony..."

Everypony looked towards Twilight, just as the baby dragon fell asleep in Rarity's arms.

"I knew that the two of them had feelings for each other, and I knew that they would tell each other one day, and that they would kiss. So, I did some research. It turns out, that a dragon, when it experiences love, greed, or hate, will change his, or her, own body to accommodate for new needs. For example, Spike, when he wakes up, will be almost the same size as Peter, and he will also be more mature. This happens due to an overload of love to his nervous system, which just happened as Rarity kissed him. And now, all we have to do...is wait."

Everypony looked towards Spike, who was sucking his thumb in Rarity's arms. Rarity raised her eyebrows, a sudden realization coursing through her.

"But...I love him as he is! I don't want him to...to change because of me!"

Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder.

"Rarity, he can't stop it. But, let me tell you something: He won't change much. He'll still act like the same old Spike, but he'll be able to handle certain things in a more mature manner. Also, he'll be able to stay up later, and-"

She threw a warning look at Pinkie Pie, but said it all the same.

"He'll also be able to handle wine, and other such beverages."

Pinkie Pie stood up straight, her eyes bugging out.

"Whoa...so, now, we can all have a giant wine party!!"

Twilight nodded, and apparently remembered something.

"Oh, my! That means that we can find out what the drinks were! You know, the drinks that the pony on the intercom said were taboo because he's a baby dragon?"

Everypony shared glances, and Rarity raised an eyebrow, shocked by the lavender unicorn's willingness to drink something that was taboo.

"Uh, Twilight? Are you sure?"

"Yes! I'll be able to document the chemicals, and even record its effects on the human, pony, and dragon body! Hold on, let me send a letter to Princess Celestia..."

Rarity gently disentangled Spike, and stood, donning a defiant look.

"No. I shall send the letter. Rather, Spike and I shall send the letter, together."

Twilight blinked, and blushed, obviously realizing the full gravity of what she had said.

"Oh, right...you two are the new couple...well, the second new couple, along with Rainbow Dash and Peter..."

Pinkie Pie jumped up, eyes bugging out.

"Oh! Oh! I just realized!"

"Uh, what did you just realize, sugarcube?"

"Peter and Dashie need to know about Rarity and Spike! Hold on, let me just get the surprise cannon ready..."

Rarity smiled, the thought of being in a couple with Spike finally hitting her with its full emotional impact.

After more than a year...I'm finally going to be with him...

She kissed Spike on the cheek, blushing as she watched the baby dragon sleep. Everypony smiled and dissipated, Rarity carrying Spike over to her section of the train, setting him down on her bed, making sure to give him enough room when she laid down, especially for his growth spurt.

She closed her eyes, her heart bursting with love and joy. She kissed the sleeping dragon one last time, wondering if Rainbow Dash had the same feeling just then...

P. Dash

Peter's stomach rumbled in the silence, and Rainbow Dash looked up at her stallionfriend, a questioning spark in her eyes.

Peter looked down to Rainbow Dash, knowing full well what the look on her face meant.

"Yes, Dashie, I'm hungry. But, you know what?"

He pressed his lips to hers once more, the connection soothing his stomach.

"I don't care. I'm going to be with you, even if I end up getting sick from a lack of food."

Rainbow Dash smiled, eyes closed, the kiss still tingling on her lips.

"And why are you doing this, Peter?"

The question was asked with a teasing tone of voice. She just wanted to hear him say it again...

Unsurprisingly, he delivered more than she had asked for, pressing his lips to hers as he spoke.

"Because I love you, Dashie...and nothing will ever stand between you and I, trust me..."

Rainbow Dash smiled, eyes still closed, blushing as she whispered into Peter's ear.

"Then give me a real kiss, Peter..."

Peter smiled, and obliged, opening his mouth all the way, just as she opened hers, pressing into each other, their tongues plastered in place, and their lips interlocking as they kissed again and again, periodically separating and smiling, before going back in for more, ignoring the pain that slowly crept into their lips at the end of the half hour, wanting nothing more than to keep kissing for the rest of eternity...

After the first twenty minutes, they had blocked out the rest of the world, focusing only on each other, and the love that was bursting in their hearts, and the joy that was solidifying in their throats...

And then, the screens around them shot back into their places with a click, and a cannon went off, covering them in wrappers. They didn't notice any of it, but, instead, kept kissing, unaware that everypony was staring up at them, simply unable to take their eyes off of the truly beautiful scene...

Finally, they opened their eyes, and parted, smiling wide despite the pain that had culminated after forty five minutes straight of kissing.

Peter stared deep into Rainbow Dash's beautiful, red eyes, and spoke the truth once more.

"I love you, Dashie..."

Rainbow Dash stared back into Peter's strong, green eyes, and spoke the truth once more.

"I love you, Peter..."

They were about to kiss again, when a certain orange work pony interrupted them with a rather loud 'ahem'.

Note from the Author

I'm sorry, I can't contain the pun.

This must be a freight train...

As there's a whole lot of shipping going on!!

The Elements of Harmony

"So...you say that I should help this relationship culminate?"

Celestia read over the letter once more, happiness bursting in her chest.

"I will gladly do so, Ditzy Doo, but...why, exactly, do you condone this?"

The grey Pegasus raised an eyebrow, looking Celestia right in the eye.

"Princess Celestia, have you forgotten about the Elements of Harmony?"

It was Celestia's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"No. Magic, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty. Why would I have forgotten about them?"

Ditzy Doo sighed, looking down to the ground.

"Yes, Celestia, you have."

Celestia sighed, looking at Ditzy Doo with an air of impatience. After a few moments, she tapped the ground with an ornamental golden hoof shoe.

"Ditzy Doo. I demand you to explain yourself. Why would you say that I have forgotten about the Elements of Harmony?"

The grey Pegasus looked up at her, the Eye of Dreams whizzing through words and history, the Realm of Dreams forever hidden to Celestia's narrow gaze.

"Love. Happiness. Sadness. Determination. Every feeling, every emotion. The thousand-strong Elements of Harmony, that are intrinsic to everypony, and to every emotion. Once somepony has felt them all, they can  harness them. One must harness them, in order to truly awaken the One Thousandth Element of Harmony."

Celestia blinked, and chuckled lightly.

"One thousandth, Ditzy Doo?"

"Yes. It is the strongest, and the most elusive. And it begins with the Element of Love, which has now chosen for of your subjects. Yes, four, I know the letter says two, but it is four. However, two of them are deep-set, familiar Elements of Love. However, two of them...are spontaneous, beautiful, true Elements of Love. One of them will become the One Thousandth Element, Princess Celestia. And, to do so, they must fully experience the Element of Love: the Nine Hundred and Ninety Ninth Element of Harmony. When they do so, they will experience every single emotion that there is to experience. And then, all of those emotions, and the Element of Love, will culminate into the One Thousandth Element of Harmony."

Celestia blinked, flustered.

"Well...I believe that certain arrangements must be made, then."

She jotted down something on a form, which she impaled on her horn and made an OCD (Official Canterlot Document.)

"There..."

Ditzy Doo raised an eyebrow, curious as to the changes made.

"What did you do, Princess?"

"I shortened their time on the train from fourteen days, to seven, and the time in Manehatten from seven, to fourteen...if we truly need the Seventh-excuse me, One Thousandth-Element of Harmony to fight Discord, then I want them to experience the Element of Love in Manehattan, not on a train."

She bolted upright, a sudden thought coming to her as she made a second OCD.

"What was that?"

Celestia smiled, and explained what she had just done. Ditzy Doo smiled as well.

"I believe that the Element of Love will flourish, Celestia...and besides, they would have to ride a train there to board the cruise, anyway, correct?"

Celestia nodded, wishing her subjects the best, but sighed, a question weighing heavy on her mind.

"Ditzy Doo, why don't I remember the one thousand Elements of Harmony, and only the Seven?"

"Because...Drøm Mester and I took the memories from you..."

Reflections

Gammel Hjerte walked into his old chambers, looking at, yet not into, the Mirror of Time. In it, he saw himself:

His black, shining coat, reflecting the cold, dark void of space.

His free-flowing mane and tail, shaped more like fire, free from the Strings of Time, as he was dislodged from its hold.

His blue, icy eyes, rarely Blinking, yet always blinking.

And his lopsided horn, sprouting from the side of his head, and curving like the horn of a goat, glowing with a strange power as he held himself down in the moment.

He blinked, and then Blinked, now looking into the Mirror of Time.

In it, he saw himself:

His black, shining coat, blurry as Time shivered on the transient, void-like material, enabling him to come dislodged, yet keeping the rest of the world in that moment.

His fire-like tail and mane, both of them finally calming, staying in a frozen state, the Strings of Time no longer vibrating against them, unsuccessfully attempting to hold him down.

His black, black eyes, all color sapped from them as he staid Time, not allowing any light to escape from the black holes in his forehead.

And finally, his two, goat-like horns, stretching out from the sides of his head, ending in golden tips, Time accumulating on their tips, one of them finally visible as Time began to hold it in place, or, rather, as it began to hold its place in Time, and Time in its place.

He Blinked, and looked at the Mirror of Time, his flame-like mane and tail billowing madly as the Strings of Time whizzed past them, his coat shining as Time created a cone around him, light returning to his eyes, and his left horn returning to its state of transience, unable to withstand the tempting beckon of the strange mistress of Time.

The Elder of Time sighed, thinking back to when he had buried Sverd Danser in the crypts...

The Skygger closed in from all sides, their grotesque forms originating from the even more grotesque form, its mutilated body not anywhere near resembling the Elder it had once been...

Gammel cradled the silver unicorn in his hooves, his fellow Elder giving his last gasps, the Skygger raising their swords of Soul Metal, ready to attack...

The Elder focused all of his mental energy, and Blinked. The world stood still, his body shimmering as the Strings of Time passed him by...

With a grunt of effort, Gammel Hjerte tore his dying friend out of the Strings of Time, making a rift in the world that followed the dislodged pony.

He placed the Elder into the burial sconce, knowing full well that the body would never truly decompose, but be a husk of the once-grand Elder, life not flowing through its empty skin...

He closed the sconce, and fled from the Skygger, Blinking once more as he jumped over the wall of earth that Jord Rullator had created. The slabs of stone shot upwards, and the sound of shouts and torture told them that the Skygger had been crushed.

Gammel Hjerte looked back at the scant party of Elders. This was the last death he would force his fellow Elders to endure...

Gammel Hjerte looked back at the Mirror of Time, reciting the words he had heard from the Lys i Mørket, the day it had chosen him as an Elder...

"With the passage of Time comes Death, and with Death comes the passage of Time."

Crimson Daggry

The white Pegasus stared at the wall, a defiant look in his eyes, his black and red mane much shorter than his likely colored tail. He sighed, remembering his close call with Death...

It was difficult, surviving down in those crypts, with only the seven of them, walls of granite closing them off from the Skygger that prowled in the eternal night of the ruins.

Crimson Daggry looked up into his fellow Elder's, and sister's, eyes, a fear overcoming him as the wide gash in his side sapped more of his energy, his blood seeping onto the ground.

"Døende...I love you..."

Døende Daggry held her brother closely, and Crimson Daggry cried into her shoulder, wishing that he could have spent more time with her, back with their mother, before the Lys i Mørket had chosen them both as Elders...

"I want you to know, that I'll always be with you, my sister..."

"Don't talk like that...you're not dying...you can't be..."

Crimson shuddered, life leaving him.

"I love you..."

"No..."

"Good-bye, my sister..."

He closed his eyes, and the darkness took him. That is, until he heard a familiar voice.

"Come on, yah pussy! I'm not lettin' you die! You saved my life, mate!"

Crimson Daggry gasped, the Fire of Healing being poured back into him. He looked at Døende, and hugged her, holding her tight as the two siblings cried in each others' arms.

"Thank you, Brenning Kuling..."

The red Earth pony stood, his mane flowing like fire.

"Any time, mate!"

Crimson Daggry looked down at the floor, depression filling him, remembering his sister's meeting with death...

It was total chaos. After eight years of being locked up in their stronghold, the Skygger had finally broken through the granite walls, and were forcing them to retreat. Crimson Daggry stood his ground, the six Elders behind him, especially his sister.

"Crimson, come on!"

"No! Go on without me! I'll hold them off!"

"No! I'm not leaving without you!"

"Yeah! Come on, mate! I didn' save yer life for nuttin'!"

Crimson focused, and drew his blade, the mechanism emulating the one that Sølv Brann had on his.

"Have at you!"

He sliced at the first Skygger, his black blade shining in the darkness, lopping off a grotesque limb, and then a head. He killed five Skygger, before he heard a shout, and felt a tug.

"I won't let you die, brother!"

A shield came up between him and his sister, stopping him from saving her life, as she let the Skygger tear at her body, blood spattering on the ground as their blades parted through her skin. She turned, pressing her body up against the corporeal shield.

"Go..."

And with that, all life left her, and Crimson Daggry felt himself being tugged yet again. He closed his eyes, and cried, not wanting to believe that his sister was dead...

What seemed to be an eternity later, he opened his eyes to see only four Elders.

He sighed, and recited the words that the Lys i Mørket had spoken to him and his sister, all those centuries ago...

"For every dawn has its Crimson awakening, and its Dying moments."

Brenning Kuling

Brenning Kuling uneasily expanded and retracted his wings, feeling uncomfortable in his chambers after one hundred years...

He closed his eyes, remembering the first Skygger they had encountered...

They were walking, surely, towards the twentieth flight of stairs.

"This is a cake walk! What's Discord got on us, huh?"

Brening Kuling rolled his shoulders, smiling with a cocky air.

However, all that cockiness disappeared as the figure walked up the stairs, white bandages covering its black, mutilated body. Everypony stood still, paralyzed as they felt its mind slip into theirs, and a strange buzzing noise filled their ears. The monster came closer, and, as it neared, its image was burned into Brenning's mind.

It neared, and everypony watched in horror as its blades lengthened, the Soul Metal gleaming with hidden purpose.

The Skygger walked up to Skog Vakt first. The unicorn looked around, searching for some kind of plant that he could use to strangle the beast...

It was too late. The blades passed through skin, organs, and meat, bits of vital organs clinging to the red blades as they passed all the way through.

The sight of blood and death snapped Brenning back to reality. He tensed his wings, focusing all of his energy...

And set fire to the appendages, and commanded the breeze to carry the flames, as the fires became great tongues and snakes, engulfing the monster, charring both the body of Skog Vakt and the Skygger.

After a few moments, the fires calmed, both the Elder and the Skygger slaughtered.

"What...in the bloody hay...was that thing!?"

Gammel Hjerte turned to Brenning.

"I have no bucking clue."

They looked down at the dead Elder. They all circled around, and mourned him. Gammel Hjerte opened one of the nearby sconces, but Brenning attempted to start up the Flames of Healing.

"No. It's too late. You can't heal a wound made by Soul Metal...and you know that."

Brenning shivered, grateful that the wound dealt to Crimson Daggry had been inflicted by a stone hurtled at them by the Skygger's place of origins...

Brenning didn't remember the words that Lys i Mørket had spoken to him. But rather, he remembered the name...

Jett Stjerne

Jett Stjerne flew through the membrane once more, the hole magically sealing back up as he turned.

As he passed through it, he remembered what it had felt like to pass through the skin-like membrane that had been left behind by the horrific being in the center of the crypts...

He shuddered as he remembered what it looked like...

He passed through the membrane, the Skygger shrieking as he did so, frustrated at their lack of prey...

He shuddered once more, trying hard to forget all of the things that had gone wrong in those damn crypts...

I thought we stood a chance...we obviously didn't...

He sighed, and recited the words Lys i Mørket had spoken to him...

"For the Stars need a Jet to guide them."

Jord Rullator

Jord Rullator sat on his stone and iron chair, staring down at the floor, reflecting upon what they had seen in the center of the ancient crypts...

They had faced many Skygger, and lost two Elders on their ways down to the center of the crypts.

"This is a fools' errand! We shouldn't be here!"

"Silence, Jett! Do you want to bring more Skygger here? Besides, we've spent ninety years just trying to get to these damnable crypts! The portal only opens once per century, and stays open for two decades. Would you truly go back now?"

The red Pegasus grunted, and they continued on, the center of the crypts visible before them.

"I'll open the crypts. Prepare yourselves, everypony. We don't know if Lys i Mørket is unguarded by Discord or not..."

Jord Rullator gritted his teeth, a horrible feeling accumulating in his gut. The earth...it was being tainted, just beyond those doors...

He looked up, fear in his eyes as the door opened.

"WAIT!"

It was too late.

The Darkness poured out of the ancient, cylindrical door, and countless Skygger leaked out, murdering three, four, five...ten, Elders, bringing their death count to twelve.

Jett Stjerne flew past the dark brown Earth pony, and then back past him, creating a shield around him as he dipped his sword-like tail into the Earth, feeling for faults...

He found them. Just before the Skygger had a chance to pierce its blade of Soul Gem deep into Crimson Daggry's heart, he slammed up a wall of granite, destroying two hundred Skygger, their bodies squirming as the darkness was squeezed out of them.

And then, they heard a scream.

"Help! Help! Oh, sweet Celestia, HE-"

The seven Elders cringed, looking between one another.

"Lys i Mørket...he's..."

Brenning Kuling nodded to Sverd Danser. Back when the silver unicorn didn't have a hole in his heart...

Jord Rullator passed out, the shock of the revelation and the physical exertion of raising the wall of granite taking their tolls.

The Light...

The Light had been lost in the Darkness.

He shuddered, remembering what the horrid thing had looked like...

Jord Rullator stood, taking a deep breath as he recited the words that the Lys i Mørket had spoken to him, on the day he had been chosen as an Elder...

"For the Earth is tread upon, and it must have one who treads back."

He looked to the ground, remembering who the scream had come from...

His sister, Vind Rullator.

My sister...I am sorry...

"And the Wing is passed through, and it must have one who keeps it steady."

Discord

Discord roared in anger.

Damn you, Deajer! Damn you to the Skygger!

He smiled as he remembered his creation.

At least I killed some Elders...oh, I love when a plan comes together...

He smiled, remembering his other creation.

Trixie the 'Great and Powerful' is almost to Ponyville...Bah! Once she kills that filly, I'll dispose of her...but, damn it, I still can't get into Peter's mind...or Loyalty's...Deajer saw to that...It's a wonder he's not dead.

Discord shook his head in disgust.

No matter...I'll just call an old friend...

He smiled.

Atonal...you and I have some catching up to do...

Note from the Author

Why can't I hold all these genres!?

It's dark, it's a romance, it's human, it's tragic (at times), it's a lot of stuff!

And, yet...

I've chosen the maximum amount of genres...

But now, it's also a crossover with Amnesia (slightly)!

Gah!

Fimfic, y u no raise genre limit!?

Parents (The Train, Day 2)

Peter and Rainbow Dash blushed, staring back at the ponies beneath them.

"Ah trust that kissin' is the most that y'all are doin'?"

"Applejack! That's so rude! You shouldn't have interrupted them!"

"Sorry, Twi', but Ah thought they would like to hear the news?"

"Wait, what news?"

Pinkie Pie jumped up in the air, shouting the answer to Peter's question.

"Spike and Rarity are dating now, too!"

Rainbow Dash smiled wide, still lying on Peter's chest, wings wrapped around him.

"Really? That's awesome!"

Peter smiled as well.

"Where are they?"

"Asleep. Spike's going to go through a huge growth spurt, and when he wakes up, he's going to be as tall as you, Peter."

"Aw, sweet! That is bad, ass!"

"Bad ass?"

"Awesome. I mean, seriously, how often do you get to be friends with a giant dragon?"

"I guess you're right."

"You know, you're pretty bad ass yourself, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash smiled at him, and Peter fought hard not to kiss her once more.

Not now...not when everypony is watching...it would be inappropriate...

"Well, I'll let you two have some...privacy."

Twilight threw a glance at Applejack, the orange work pony grunting as the screens were magically lowered once more.

"Ah'm sorry, Twi'! Ah'm jus'...worried. Ah mean, Ah'm happy for R.D., and Ah know that he's real nice and all, but can y'all blame me for bein' suspicious? Ah mean...they've known each other for less than a week!"

Fluttershy cut across, not letting the lavender unicorn answer.

"Listen to me, Applejack...I'm worried, too. But don't you dare try to split them up, ever. Rainbow Dash has never been so...open, or happy. I know that she's always happy, but that's just a show. Don't you remember what I said to you all before?"

Applejack sighed, and Twilight backed off slightly, knowing all to well that Fluttershy would stop at nothing to keep the new couple together...

"Yes, Fluttershy, I remember...that confidence is a shell, and she's really very insecure, and the fact that she's so open with Peter, and even told him about the dreams, show that they're practically made for each other..."

Applejack sighed, not knowing anything about the dreams past the fact that they were 'terrible.'

"Ah wish y'all would tell me what her dreams were..."

"We don't know, Applejack. She only told Peter about them, in depth."

Twilight nodded, agreeing with Fluttershy from behind a book on dragon growth spurts, Pinkie Pie pouring over her shoulder without the unicorn even knowing.

Applejack sighed, and was about to walk back to her compartment, when the train screeched to a halt.

"What in the hay?"

The intercom crackled to life, even as Rainbow Dash fell asleep, silent thoughts making a thunderstorm in Peter's mind, blocking off the outside world...

What the fuck am I doing...I just kissed a horse...

She may have emotions, and be human in mind, but she...she's not!

But...I love her...

She's amazing, nice, caring, awesome, beautiful, and she's just...she's just her.

...

I just kissed a horse!

I mean, ponies and humans just don't go hand in hand...

he looked down at the sleeping Pegasus, love bursting from his heart and obliterating road blocks as she rubbed up against his body, smiling as she breathed gently in her sleep.

But they do go hoof in hand...

He traced the curves of her face with a hand, his body covered with a cold sweat as he traced the large curve of her muzzle.

She's a horse...she's a pony, correction...But...

He moved his hand to her wing, preening her slowly and carefully.

Do I love her enough to truly see past that?

He took a healthy sigh from the crisp air.

I kissed her before...of course I do!

But...I kissed her in the moment...

Because I love her...

Still preening the Pegasus' wing, he wrapped his other arm around her, the cyan Pegasus smiling as the touch woke her up.

"I can't sleep...I'm too excited..."

"About what?"

"Spike and Rarity...and you and I."

"I am too...but, what's up between Spike and Rarity?"

"Well, Spike's been in love with Rarity for about two years, and Rarity has obviously been as well. It's so awesome that they're finally together!"

Peter smiled, but then put a hand to his head, grimacing as his head spun, swimming in hunger.

"Ugh...I am ridiculously hungry right now..."

He immediately bit his tongue, regretting saying it, closing his eyes tighter.

"Sorry..."

"Sorry? For what?"

"For complaining. I shouldn't complain, I'm going to be with you at the end of the week! I can withstand one day of fasting for that, and even more..."

Rainbow Dash sighed, and Peter removed his hands from his head and placed them on the sides of her face.

"You okay, 'Dash?"

"I...I need to get something off of my chest..."

"What?"

"We're going to be together tomorrow...like, in Pegasus culture."

Peter cocked his head, confused.

"You said that the ritual would last a whole week...why did you lie?"

She blushed lightly and looked away.

"Well, you see, my dad always told me that...when I found somepony I wanted to be my stallionfriend...well, he wanted me to push him, which obviously means you, to the limit..."

She gulped, all those years without him rushing back to meet her.

"It...it was his dying wish..."

Peter turned her head until his eyes were looking directly into hers. He felt a burst of love for the cyan Pegasus.

I definitely love her enough to see past anything.

"Then let's make your father proud."

Rainbow Dash smiled, and Peter felt another burst of love as he wiped away the single tear of mourning.

"R...really!?"

Peter smiled back, caressing the curves of her face, ignoring the muzzle as he kissed the cyan Pegasus. He came off of her lips just enough to whisper to her.

"Of course..."

They parted all the way, and Rainbow Dash practically launched herself into the crock of his shoulder, speaking into his shirt.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me, Peter! I love you!"

I think I should tell him...this is the first time I've ever told anypony about my parents...but...I want him to know...

"I love you, Rainbow Dash. I don't care how long I go without dinner. I love you, and I want to make you as happy as possible, and if your father had a dying wish, I'll do all I can do to help you make him proud..."

She smiled wide as he put a hand on the back of her head, holding her close. She moved her mouth to next to Peter's ear, and started to explain something that she hadn't explained to anypony, ever.

"You see...my dad, he died when I was too young to see him in the hospital...let alone remember him...so, I never heard his dying wish, until my mother told me...on her deathbed..."

She sniffed, all those years of pain coming back to mentally hit her, only to flood out of her mouth and into Peter's ear.

"Thing is, my mother was always busy...and...when I was getting bullied in Flight School...I had nopony to turn to...or to talk to about it...so, after I did the Sonic Rainboom, I decided that I was too good for the jerks there, so I dropped out, if only to escape the pain..."

She started crying in earnest, as Peter stroked her mane, whispering comfort into her ear.

"That's it...just let it all go...you can tell me, Dashie...just let it all out..."

"And then...after I dropped out...my mother...started drinking..."

She sobbed, remembering how disheveled her mother had been, and how disappointed the old Pegasus had been...

"It...it got so bad, that she couldn't go to work anymore, she was so hungover...so, about a week before she was finally fired, I got a job as a weather Pegasus...I would bring my salary to my mother, so that she could afford more wine...I wanted to help her, but she forced me to...She said that she was my mother, and that I had to do as she said...but...one day...when I came with a bag of bits...she was really, really drunk...and she...she threw a bottle at me..."

She unwrapped her left wing from underneath him, and brought the tip up for his inspection.

"See that...that little scar?"

Her voice cracked as she spoke, tears and sobs coming too fast for her to accomodate for.

"She...she gave that to me! The bottle, it opened the tip of my wing, and...and..."

She sobbed loud and hard, putting her wing back around Peter, pressing her head into his shoulder as she cried harder and harder.

"Oh, Celestia...just...I wanted to help her..."

"Just let it all go, Dashie...it's going to be alright..."

"I...I dropped the bits, and fled to my uncle...thing is, my uncle...he...he used to own the Rainbow Factory, before he sold it to Celestia for a retirement home...he...he let me live there...and...two days after he took me in...he visited my mother..."

Rainbow Dash sobbed hard, her chest hurting with all the crying.

"Just let it all out, Dashie..."

"He...he found her on the floor...fifty wine bottles, emptied...she was almost dead..."

Peter wiped his eyes lightly, as he was now crying as well.

And I thought that I had a tough life...I never appreciated how amazing my life is...mom, dad, I'm sorry...

"She...she was admitted to the hospital, and diagnosed with alcohol poisoning, which...which there's no cure for, unfortuantely...I visited her that night, and she said something to me that I'll never forget..."

She sobbed, crying hard on Peter's shoulder, in contrast to the happy Pegasus she had been not twenty minutes before that...

"She said...'Rainbow Dash...I'm sorry...and your father...had a dying wish...he wants you to...do the mare and stallionfriend ritual...for a full week...when you finally find that special somepony...you're brilliant, and I haven't been a good mother...and...I love you...'and then, she closed her eyes, and she...she...she..."

Peter kissed her on the forehead, his own tears mixing with hers.

"It's okay...you don't have to say it, Dashie..."

"No, I do...she died..."

On the word 'died', all of her tears poured out, and she sobbed into Peter's shoulder, grateful that the screens around the hammock blocked out not only vision, but hearing as well...

Peter held her tight, tighter than he had ever held her before, pressing her head onto his shoulder, rubbing her back as he did so.

"Rainbow Dash...if your parents could talk to you right now...they would tell you how proud they are of you...you're an amazing Pegasus, Rainbow Dash...your parents would be so proud..."

Rainbow Dash didn't respond, and Peter didn't expect her to. Normally, when people fall asleep, they're not good at talking back to you.

"I love you, Dashie..."

He closed his eyes, knowing now that he had been a fool to ever doubt his love for her...

His breathing calmed as he fell asleep, hunger gnawing at his stomach, love filling the gaps.

Note from the Author

I wrote this for one reason, and one reason only...

For MOAR characterization.

Not padding.

I never pad.

Kinda.

The Realm of Dreams

Fugl Føniks sent back another blast of fire, engulfing twenty of the thousands of Skygger. Drøm Mester, by his side, his eyes closed, reached for his magic desperately, trying to break through the Skygger's mental block. Sølv Brann slayed fifty Skygger where they stood, his blade of Soul Metal aflame as it flew through the air, singing its song of death.

"Drøm, get us the buck out of here!"

"I'm trying! He's...he's too strong!"

The Realm of Dreams grew steadily darker, and finally consumed Drøm Mester, pulling him into the Void as he released the last of his magic, sending Sølv Brann and Fugl Føniks back to the Realm of Reality.

27 Days Earlier...

Fugl Føniks boarded the train as it stopped, entering the locomotive. He nodded at the pony conducting the train, and lie down on the mattress. Instantly, he descended into sleep, and Drøm Mester pulled at his mind, and into the Realm of Dreams.

The Realm of Dreams

Drøm Mester nodded at their new alicorn counterpart, Sølv Brann clopping the white pony on the back. Fugl Føniks took a step forward in the Realm, and observed his surroundings: they were in a large Temple, the arches' pristine Dram Stone glistening with hidden Thoughts.

"We all know why we're really here. Keep your minds ready."

Fugl Føniks nodded, his sword like mane making a whisper that echoed in the truly endless Halls of Thought and Memory, words inscribed upon the floor shimmering as the sound reached them, their meaning forever open to the eyes of the Elders.

"Here, in the Temple of Mind, lies all the Thought and Memory of the Universe."

Fugl Føniks shivered in the darkness, as Lys i Mørket no longer filled these halls with light.

"The Skygger are thick here. We must find them, kill them, and finish our job. If Lys i Mørket comes, run. He's...well, he's no longer Lys i Mørket. He's just...Mørket."

Fugl Føniks nodded once more, knowing full well that the 100-year search had failed. He pushed it ut of his mind, and let Mørk Blusse take him.

"Let's go."

They embarked, the forbidding Halls of Memory welcoming them eagerly.

Change

In case you're wondering why I didn't call this Change (The Train, Day 2)...just read on.

A.J.: "But we need t' tell 'em!"

F.S.: "Yes, but what if they're...kissing again?"

A.J.: "Then we'll wait for 'em to finish!"

P.P.: "Ugh! I can't believe this!"

T.S.: "Come on, Pinkie, it's not that bad-"

P.P.: "Yes, it is! Only seven days on the party train?"

T.S.: "Party train? Love train is more like it..."

P.P.: "Good one! I've got to write that down...hold on...just...ugh! I can't reach the keyboard! Just...move your hands! Fine, type it in for me!"

Note to self: 'Party Train? Love train is more like it...' is a good joke.

P.P.: "There..."

T.S.: "Uh...what was that?"

F.S.: "No. We can't!"

A.J.: "If anything, we just close the screens!"

F.S.: "...Fine...If you really want to..."

A.J.: "Ah do!"

F.S.: "Alright...I'll open them..."

P.P.: "I took a mental note!"

T.S.: "Why did you say 'mental' with emphasis?"

P.P.: "Whoops! Typo! Lemme fix that...nope, no can do!"

T.S.: "Pinkie Pie, what are you talking about!?"

P.P.: "I'm sorry, what?"

Peter: "Just remember the good things, Rainbow Dash. Don't forget the ad, but don't dwell on them either...try to remember all the fun you had with your parents, and how much they cared for you..."

R.D.: "But...I can't remember anything of my father..."

Peter: "You have his dying wish. Because he made that dying wish, you know that he loved you, and loves you."

R.D.: "But...he's dead!"

Peter (whispering): "Fluttershy, a little privacy, please?"

F.S. (whispering): "Oh, my...of course..."

A.J.: "Uh...sere they kissin' again?"

F.S.: "...Yes..."

A.J.: "Alright, then...we'll check back in on 'em later."

T.S.: "Pinkie, start making sense!"

P.P.: "What, and be like that drag Pinkamena in 'Discord, PhD.'?"

T.S.: "What!?"

P.P.: "Wow. Subtle way to advertise your other story."

Well, I do what I can...

T.S.: "Okay, forget it! Discord has a PhD., and I'm perfectly sane !"

P.P.: "Uh, Twilight? Are you...okay?"

T.S.: "Pinkie yes why!"

P.P.: "Uh...okay..."

Peter: "Humans believe that, after someone dies, their soul moves on to Heaven, or some equivalent, depending on their faith. Except for Atheists. Anyway, in Heaven, you can watch over your loved ones. and, I'm sure that your mother and father are smiling down at you right now. If they could talk to you, they would tell you how proud they are..."

R.D.: "P...proud? But...I dropped out of Flight School! My mom was so...disappointed...and no doubt, my dad would be too..."

Peter: "No, he wouldn't. You are a wonderful young mare, and believe me when I say that your parents will always love you, and will be proud of you, no matter what you do."

F.S.: "Anyway...now that we only have seven days on the train...what do you want to do in Manehattan?"

A.J. :"Oh, definitely go to a buckin' contest...Besides Big Mac, Ah'm the best bucker in Equestria!"

F.S.: "Teeheehee..."

A.J.: "Uh, what's so funny, Fluttershy?"

F.S.: "Oh, nothing...it's just...you're not very...modest when it comes to...bucking, are you?"

A.J.: "Ugh, Fluttershy...you know Ah didn't mean it like that! Ah'm still surprised that, out of all of us, you have the dirtiest mind...."

F.S.: "Why's that, Applejack?"

A.J.: "Well, yer' so...quiet."

F.S.: "And?"

A.J.: "Well...never mind..."

T.S.: "Book want to read my?"

P.P.: "Uh...what book?"

T.S.: "Growth dragon it spurts on is."

P.P.: "Uh, no thanks..."

T.S.: "Why pouring shoulder before over then my?"

P.P.: "Okay, I've had it. I'm out. I've had it. I'm done. I'm out."

Oh. You're out?

Yep. I'm out. Just press ctrl+z, would you?

Gladly.

P.P.: "I'm in."

T.S.: "On what?"

P.P.: "Oh, nothing!"

T.S.: "...Uh...okay, then..."

R.D.: "Thanks, Peter..."

Peter: "You're welcome..."

R.D.: "Hey, if we end up getting really drunk in Manehattan, and I do something...stupid...you'll still love me, right?"

Peter: "No matter what. I love you, Dashie, and that's not about to change."

R.D.: "You didn't hesitate at all..."

Peter: "Why would I? I love you, and I'll always love you, and that's the honest and full truth."

R.D.: "It's just...I...I can't handle people being disappointed in me...I mean, I drove my mom to alcoholism, because I dropped out of school..."

Peter: "Don't say that. Don't ever say that. You could never drive your parents to alcoholism. You mother loved you more than anything, and still loves you, up in Heaven."

R.D.: "But...then why didn't she come home from work? Ever!? Even after my dad died..."

Peter: "She was probably doing it for the money. Without your father, it must've been so difficult to send you to Flight School."

R.D.: "...I...I never thought of that..."

Peter: "Now, you said something about getting bullied in Flight School...do you wanna talk about it?"

R.D.: "Well...I've gotten over it...ever since I won the Young Best Flier competition last year, I've been feeling a lot better about myself..."

Peter: "You won the Young Best Flier competition? I have no idea what it is, but it sounds big."

R.D.: "It's all of the best fliers from around Equestria, and Celestia watches over it...and the winner gets to spend the day with the Wonderbolts..."

Peter: "Yet again, your parents would be so proud of you."

R.D.: "Thanks..."

Peter: "I'm proud of you, too."

R.D.: "Thanks, Peter...I want you to know that...you're the first one I ever told about my parents...I told everypony that my uncle was my father, and that my mother was always busy...I just...I just love you, Peter..."

Peter: "I love you too, Dashie..."

R.D.: "Let's...let's relax for a bit, okay? I just...I just need to think for a bit...about everything you said..."

Peter: "Alright. Let's."

T.S.: "Oh, look! Apparently, Spike will become an amazing dragon, as growth spurts brought about by love bring out the best of dragons!"

P.P.: "Cool! Well...I've got to...do something. Bye!"

T.S.: "Uh...okay then..."

A.J.: "So, Fluttershy, what're y'all goin' to do?"

F.S.: "I'm going to try to set up a double date between Rarity, Spike, Peter, and Rainbow Dash."

A.J.: "Oh, mah...that's a great idea, Fluttershy."

F.S.: "Thanks..."

A.J.: "Ah just can't wait t' get to Manehattan..."

F.S.: "Wait a second...if we're a day away from Manehattan...won't we arrive there...tomorrow?"

A.J.: "Uh...yeah...hold on...Twilight?"

T.S.: "Yes?"

A.J: "Fluttershy just broguht up a good point...if we're a day away from Manehattan, and we're startin' back because of the construction, won't we arrive...tomorrow?"

T.S.: "...Maybe...maybe we're passing Manehattan and looping back around?"

F.S.: "Or...maybe we're not going to Manehattan?"

Meanwhile...

The two Pegasi stared at each other, bewildered, ignoring the crying filly.

"So, wait...we're going on a paid vacation...to the Las Haygas Tower de Celestia...courtesy of Princess Celestia herself!?"

Sonic Tragedy nodded, simply staring at the signature, and the note that it was simply a random pick from a hat.

"This...this sucks!"

"Why?"

"Because Rainbow Dash was going to be in Manehattan! But now, we're going to miss her, because we'll be on a train for the next five days, and then in Las Haygas for the next two weeks! I'm missing the chance of a lifetime! I mean, I doubt she remembers me...I only went to Flight School for a year before...yeah..."

Wave Rider nodded, not wanting to remind her friend of her abusive father.

"We don't know if we're going yet, Sonic. I mean, Sea Breeze is too young..."

"You didn't read the whole letter. They're going to make special arrangements for Sea Breeze to stay with Celestia."

Wave Rider stopped cold, the cup she was touching suddenly covered in frost. She quickly pulled back her...strange powers. She sighed, looking at her hoof with a detached air...

Two years ago, she had met Sonic Tragedy, after just being handed a small foal by somepony named 'Burning Breeze'. The two of them started talking, and eventually let slip both of their powers:

While Wave Rider couldn't walk on clouds, despite being a Pegasus, she could walk on waves, and even freeze the water she stood on. And Sonic Tragedy, using her rather oddly shaped wings, could make a sonic blast that sent ponies flying, and shattered glass. They quickly banded together, and were living next door to each other. They frequently used their powers to manipulate the waves, and make a great day for surfing.

"Wait...how can this be a 'pick out of a hat'? I mean, they know Sea Breeze is here..."

"She's Celestia! She knows everything!"

Sonic Tragedy's ear twitched slightly, the missing bit from the right ear leaving it sensitive to the air's gentle touch.

"I guess you're right...I think we should check it out first, in all honesty...it all seems...too perfect..."

Sonic Tragedy nodded, and picked up the letter, flipping it over.

"It says here that Celestia's own guards will arrive here to take us to the train! We need to get packed, and fast! I'll meet you back here in two hours, okay?"

"Alright, Sonic. And, don't worry, we'll always have another chance to see Rainbow Dash."

The Pegasus nodded sadly, but left all the same, nevertheless eager to depart for Las Haygas.

Back on the Train

Peter: "So...we're going to be on this train...for five more days, instead of...I'm not good at snap ma-twelve?"

T.S.: "Uh, what?"

Peter: "No, I'm tired, and...buwelbapop."

R.D.: "Peter? Are you...okay?"

Peter: "Yeah, I think I just need to have a...lie down...y'know...light headed...no food for a..."

R.D.: "...I think he just passed out."

P.P.: "Oh, boy! He must be so tired!"

R.D.: "Yeah, no kidding. Then again, he did almost fall asleep before you guys opened the screens, so, yeah..."

F.S.: "Aww..."

R.D.: "...Uh...if you guys don't mind me saying so, it's just a bit weird to have all of you watching Peter sleep...and me, too..."

T.S.: "Oh, right, sorry...c'mon, girls, let's give them some privacy..."

A.J.: "No funny business."

R.D.: "I know. I don't do funny business, and neither does Peter."

A.J.: "Alright. Ah'm trustin' y'all."

R.D.: "Good."

The screens came down, and Rainbow Dash kissed the sleeping human on the cheek, smiling up at him as she descended into sleep.

"Good night, Peter..."

Manehattan

An hour after she had left, Sonic Tragedy walked back into Wave Rider's house, struggling under the luggage.

"Hey, let me help you with that."

"Thanks, Wave..."

"No problem, Sonic."

They sat on each of their bags, re-reading the letter.

"Hey, wait...it says here that a guard will arrive tomorrow!"

Wave Rider smiled at Sonic Tragedy, knowing full well what her friend was about to do.

"You know what? Stay the night. You went through all the trouble of lugging your luggage over here. I'll set up the futon for you, okay?"

The Pegasus nodded, grinning as she did.

"Thanks!"

That night, neither of them slept, but, rather, listened to the wave, Wave Rider wondering why everything seemed to happen to them...

First that Burning Breeze colt gives me his baby sister, and now, we're going on paid vacation? Courtesy of Celestia?

She sighed, and deigned to deal with it in the morning, as the moon was now waning its waxy light.

Spike

Spike shifted in his sleep, questioning himself.

If Rarity is hurt...how can I defend her?

I can be there for her...I can hold her...

But I'm only a baby dragon! I can't hold her!

I will. No matter how small I am, I will.

But what if she's attacked?

I have fire.

But what if fire won't work?

I can try.

But I want to do more than just try...

How can I fight for her...as a baby?

I can...

Breathe fire.

Not good enough.

I can bite.

Baby teeth.

I can kick and punch.

Baby legs. Baby feet. Baby arms. Baby claws.

How can I fight for her...with the tools of a child?

In ancient dragon culture, a testament of love was to defend one's mate. A mate was chosen at childhood, and a day of questions would ensue. The longer the young dragon took to find the answer, the less likely he was to have the dragon he chose as a mate. Luckily for Spike, the answer came after eight hours, around midnight, about two hours after Peter had passed out (unbeknownst to him.)

I can change...I can forge the tools of a child...into the weapons of a dragon, and hone the mind of a child into the sharp, precise mind of a dragon...

His eyes opened, and he howled in ecstasy as his limbs stretched instantaneously, his bones, veins, and skin multiplied in size, his torso changed, his body re-arranged.

His flat, round tongue licked at his pearly white teeth, the fangs retracted. They hissed as they came out to form a menacing smile. He brought them back in, and examined his claws-elegant, purple claws, with sharp ends that could be gentle, or covered with the blood of those who dared to hurt Rarity. He sat up, his scales whispering as he met the eyes of blue concern. He smiled, and placed a digit under Rarity's chin, careful not to graze her neck with a claw.

"I can defend you now, Rarity..."

"Spike...you're..."

He waited for her to complete her statement, as the first thing that he thought, he ensured stayed a thought.

Deadly.

"You've changed...are you still the same dragon? You know...in there?"

She placed a hoof to his heart, and then to his temple. His heart melted.

I'm not deadly...I'm able to defend, and to keep safe...

"Yes. I think...Rarity, I honestly don't know...all I know is that I can defend you now, and keep you safe..."

And that that, doesn't matter.

"And I can hold you tight, and kiss you, and hug you, and love you as a pony would love you."

Rarity smiled, and kissed Spike on a rough, scaly cheek.

"You haven't changed...not at all...at least, in there..."

She kissed him a gain, and cozied up to him, rubbing her coat against his magnificent scales. Spike wrapped his arm around her, and closed his eyes, ignoring the six other pairs of eyes staring at him in awe.

Note from the Author

In reference to Drøm Mester...

DTD.

Also, guess where I'm sending the mane 6, and company, to now!

The Skygger (The Realm of Dreams Part 2)

The Skygger (The Realm of Dreams Part 2)

“Would you mind explaining why the Skygger are here, Drøm Mester?”

The unicorn shifted his weight, the change in color on his coat hardly making a difference in the darkened Realm of Dreams.

After a moment, he spoke, his voice resonating off of the cold, glowing walls.

“The question is not why, but how…”

Fugl Føniks raised an eyebrow as his Leader tapped the Dream Stone under his hooves, the campfire sputtering as the darkness choked it. Sølv Brann nudged Fugl Føniks, and the white alicorn kindled the fire with a small ember, patiently awaiting his Leader’s response.

However, Hvit Brann was not, as a white ember filled the Elder’s eye, the Darkness unable to choke the passionate flame of his mind.

“Drøm Mester, what do you mean, ‘how’?”

The Leader tapped at the stone once more.

“Look down.”

Fugl Føniks did as he was told, and raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t see anything…”

“Ah, yes…you don’t possess the Eye of Dreams…I apologize, the last pony that accompanied me here was Dag Drøm…”

Fugl Føniks nodded, knowing how hard his Leader had taken the death of the mystical mare.

“Well, I’ll tell you what I mean…see how the stone shifts slightly? This is Dream Stone. It is filled with the Thoughts of many ponies. Each one of these Stones is filled with Thought. Every time there’s an extremely negative Thought, the stone is worn away a small amount. The cracks between them let in the Realm of Darkness that weaves its way between these walls, and therefore let in the mind of Mørket.

“When the wielder of the Seventh Element of Harmony entered the world, certain Memories were torn from his mind, and were stored here, in the Realm of Dreams. The Memories were so dark, and so tortured, that they managed to wear down the stones to stubs in certain areas of the Temple of Thought. And now, we need to make sure that the Skygger don’t break down the Door to Darkness in this Realm. If the Realm of Darkness leaked into here, I’m afraid we would all be dead.

“And while the wielder’s Love may keep him safe, and the Skygger at bay while he repairs the gaps in his memory, the Soul Gems prove to be a rather daunting obstacle. Until he discards of the Fragments, he can’t be fully mended.”

Fugl Føniks nodded.

“Well, that explains how the Skygger are here, in the Realm of Dreams…but...that doesn’t answer my other question…I didn’t really ask it properly, so, here’s my real question:

“Why is Lys i Mørket letting in Skygger? Why is he making Skygger?”

Drøm Mester sighed, and shifted his weight once more.

“Lys i Mørket is dead, Fugl. Yes, he’s alive, but, for all intents and purposes, he’s dead. He still lives on as Mørket, and through the Skygger. But Discord…Discord must have somehow corrupted him, and crushed the Light inside of him…and now, Mørket is Discord’s greatest ally.”

Fugl Føniks gulped.

“Discord’s ally? But…it was Lys i Mørket who helped me guide Gylden Glør! Lys i Mørket helped us imprison Discord!”

Drøm Mester looked into Fugl Fønik’s eyes, and told him something best left forgotten, but safer for all of them kept in their memories.

“And so did Metall Kant. Have you already forgotten how Discord drove Metall to try to kill Gylden? Metall Kant, the most sharp-minded Leader and Elder, was controlled by Discord. Lys i Mørket was weakened by the battle, he had to sleep in the crypts for ten thousand years, in an extremely open state. When Nightmare Moon caused Eternal Night, Discord had a clear opportunity, and he seized it.

“And, just like thousands of years ago, it will be wars and internal struggles that damn this world. The world is on the brink of war. The griffons are preparing an armada to strike out at the Pegasi capital, and only one griffon, a New Age Elder, mind you, has the sense to try and stop it all.

“All of this chaos, all of this disunity, it’s all boiled down to this. The Skygger are here because Equestria is dying, and Lys i Mørket is letting them in because he has no choice.

“We lost fifteen Elders trying to free him from Discord’s grasp, and one hundred years to boot. Now, we must hope that, without the aid of being Chosen, the New Age Elders will willingly donate their powers and service to us.

“The Skygger are here…because Equestria is dying.

“And Lys i Mørket is letting them in because it’s the only way to save it.”

Fugl Føniks blinked, the pieces of the puzzle clicking into place.

“He’s trying to get the Skygger out of the Realm of Darkness…and into here…so that we can hunt them.”

Drøm Mester nodded, just as a mangled scream sounded out in the darkness, chilling the three Elders to the bone.

“Prepare yourselves, boys…Skygger are coming.”

Fugl Føniks did just that, as he engulfed the first Skygger in flames, the fire giving off no light in the darkened Realm. The Skygger instantly vaporized.

“But wait…how can this save the Realm of Reality?”

“Each one of them is a Thought…”

Drøm Mester Manipulated the Realm of Dreams, and destroyed the Skygger with a burst of energy. The drain on his energy was notable, as Sølv Brann had to protect him from the next Skygger as he recovered.

“And with the death of that Thought…”

Five Skygger came around the bend, and Sølv Brann lit his Soul Metal blade afire, burning and splitting the beasts asunder, instantly turned to smoke that seemed to disappear.

The halls went quiet, the Skygger slain in that small area.

“The Choices that they present…can never be made…”

Note from the Author

Hey!

I’m going to outline a few things for y’all…

I’m mainly writing vacation chapters because ideas for them come to me much more quickly than ideas for actual plot movement.

Also, I’m still on character development, after 55 chapters…so…yeah…

Archives

O.C.D. # 1s2-2s2-2p6-3s2-3p6-4s2

A. Seahoof Wetmane ___________________ Cruise Line _____ Captain

a. Credentials:

i. __________ one hundred and twenty seven hours of nautical voyaging

ii. ________ one hundred thousand hours _____________________ courier

B. Professor Litmus _______________________ Cruise Line ______________ Specialist

a. Credentials:

i. Has discovered/created _________________ chemical formulae

ii. Reaction of ___________ with _____________ in ___________

iii. ____________, the fruits of his research on _______ ,won ________ war

C. Vector ________________ Cruise Line _________ Navigation

a. Credentials:

i. Successfully guided five hundred and twenty ships to their destinations in _______, ____________, and ______________, and even ________________, most alongside Seahoof Wetmane

ii. Circumnavigated the world in search of___________, and ________ said _____________

iii. __________________ personal navigator

D. Breeze Song ________ Cruise Line ______ Cosmologist

a. Credentials:

i. ________  aboard five hundred ships __________ predicting storms, _________________ Seahoof Wetmane and Vector

E. Naturalist __________ Cruise Liner ___________________ Medic

a. Credentials:

i. __________________ grow plants _________________

ii. Can combat sea sickness quite easily

iii. __________ cure _____ disease

F. Wave Crest _______ Cruise Liner __________ lifeguard

a. Credentials:

i. Has saved ______ lives in __________ during ________

ii. Swims ___________ with a ____________

G. Vinyl Scratch [a.k.a. DJ P0n3) __________ Cruise Liner ________ DJ

a. Credentials:

i. Won __________________ times in a row

ii. _________ with _______ and cause __________

O.C.D. # 1s2-2s2-2p6-3s2-3p5-4s2-3d2

A. Debauchery-Agony patient # ____________ in cell #____________ to be __________

a. Just do it. They’re dangerous.

b. Do not overdose.

O.C.D. # ‘Addams’

A. Naturalist is to create ____________ from __________________

a. _________ is no longer a _________ due to _______. He can now ingest _______ without bodily harm.

b. __________ informed ______________

O.C.D. # ‘Migrate’

A. Locust Swarm _______________ Biome of ___________ Curator

a. Credentials:

i. Prevented ______________ parasprites

ii. Has been ______ of _________________, __________________________________, _____, and _______________________________________.

O.C.D. # ___________________

A. Sea Breeze ______________________________________

a. Until ____________________________________________

b. During _____________________________ she was ____________________________________

c. Is ___________________ and______________ to___________________________

d. __________________________________________________________________________________________________. ___________.

Note from the Author

Hey, Gylden here! I managed to filch these from Celestia’s archives…she’s busy setting up a meeting with Griffon delegates…

Unfortunately, scanning the papers didn’t work to remove the blocks…turns out she copied them over and put giant lines in the place of words…

And on the back of the paper, was this:

Darnit! She's done it again...Trollestia, you crafty bastard!

Unexpected Arrival

Trixie smiled at Ponyville. She was so far away, yet so close, so close she could smell the death of that foal...

And now, my first step towards killing Twilight Sparkle...

She took a step forward...

But then fell forward, a searing pain coursing through her skull. A bump was already rising where the wooden club had smashed into the back of her head, and she was quickly losing consciousness.

However, she was conscious enough to hear three raspy, hushed voices.

"Good find...boss might just let us have a jewel or two..."

"Yeah...a few diamonds to our names..."

"Hey...maybe if she's able enough, boss might let us...use, her..."

"Shut it. We're in it for the jewels, nottin' more. We ain't gonna bone no dirty pony."

"You two mightn't, but I will."

"Shut it, you dirty rat!"

"Shut it, the both of you! We're takin' this little pony back to boss, and we're gonna get our pay."

"But-"

"We'll decide if we bone her or not there, you bloody idjit."

"...Fine."

"Now, let's get back to boss...she's gonna have our heads for bein' out so late..."

Trixie felt herself being lifted, and carried through the night, the wind blowing past her free-flowing mane, her hat long forgotten behind her.

She lost consciousness as the air tore at her face, her head pounding with pain as she gratefully accepted the black out.

Later...

Trixie opened her eyes, gasping for breath. She was on her back, and her head was pounding.

Where...Am...I...

She struggled to her hooves, falling five times in the process, still woozy and nauseous from the merciless clubbing to the back of the head.

She observed her surroundings.

She was in a giant cave, filled with gems and jewels, light streaking in from the cave's mouth high, high above her...

Trixie looked farther into the cave, and saw a small, blue unicorn, as well as another cave mouth, and a few pieces of furniture. In fact, the other side was identical to her side. She ran for the pile of jewels, and the blue unicorn across from her did the same.

She smacked right into the air, falling down on the gold pile, her face and head hurting as she looked up to see a smudge.

She tapped at the air with a hoof, thoroughly confused in her dazed state, her mind working slowly to piece together the pieces...

And finally, she realized why the two sides were symmetrical, and why the blue unicorn across from her performed the same exact actions...

The back of the cave was one giant, ornamental mirror, gold lining its glass edges.

Trixie walked backwards, right into the chest of something hard, and metal.

She turned and screamed, hiding from the automaton.

"Wh....wh....who are you!?"

The automaton turned, its body shaped like that of a spherical cone, ending in a flat bottom and treads.

"I am Shiny."

"And I, am Mirrormare."

Trixie stared at the reflection, her head throbbing as she tried to understand how in the hay a pony was in the reflective surface of the automaton.

"My servants said they captured you, and hurt you quite badly. Is that so?"

"S...servants?"

"Those ruffian Diamond Dogs."

Trixie nodded, deciding to agree with the odd reflection.

"H...how did you get in that mirror? And...why can't I see you in front of me?"

The silver unicorn smiled, releasing a small *hmph* in satisfaction.

"Ah, yes...Trixie, the Great and Powerful...Discord told me all about you."

Trixie blinked, the name ringing a bell.

"Discord..."

"Yes. The one who...taught you how to kill Twilight Sparkle? Oh, yes...I know him quite well."

The mare in the mirror...walked out of the mirror, and appeared in the large mirror that spanned the back wall of the cave. She raised her lip in disgust, seeing the smudge that Trixie had made on the glass.

"Hey, uh...Spot! Get over here and clean this smudge!"

A Diamond Dog appeared, eying Trixie as he walked past her, his scruffy chin giving him a rather terrifying appearance as he winked at her.

"Yes, Mirrormare..."

"And make it spotless!"

The Diamond Dog nodded in obedience, occasionally looking back at Trixie.

"So...is she a good find, Mare of the Mirror?"

"Yes, Spot...in fact, she's a perfect find..."

Trixie shook her head, struggling hard to return to her assertive self.

"What do you mean, a 'perfect find'!?"

"Oh, my, I didn't finish explaining, did I? Oh, that's quite good, Spot...now go."

"Yes, Mirrormare..."

'Mirrormare' walked over to the reflection of the bed, moving the sheets with her magic. To Trixie's shock, the bed in the real world moved as well. The silvery unicorn sat on the bed, and placed a pillow on it for Trixie to join her. The blue unicorn hesitantly accepted the offer, cringing as she felt the bed creak with the reflected unicorn's shifts in weight.

"You see, I fell in love with a dragon long, long ago...and obviously, dragons live much longer than ponies...

"Well, you see, I asked Celestia to immortalize me in my faithful automaton, Shiny. This way, I could live forever, and be with my love forever...

"Well, Celestia declined, saying it was 'against the natural laws'. So, I went on a journey.

"After two years, I finally found Discord, and had him immortalize me in Shiny, after he helped me create fifteen mirrors across the world. Those fifteen mirrors I can travel to at any moment, for they are enchanted to reach into the Mirror World.

"Being a living being within the mirror world itself, I can alter objects in the mirror. However, if a mirror is scratched, or smudged...I'm afraid I can't alter anything in the mirror. I'm part of the mirror, and I exist in this world, and can influence yours.

"Well, back to the main point of it...as soon as I was immortalized within Shiny, that brute of a dragon buried me and my lovely automaton in his stash. After eight hundred years, I had had it.

"With the aid of Discord, who can freely control the Mirror World, I killed my 'love'. And, in return for the two deeds, I am forever loyal to Discord, who is my new love, for he helped me, and so, I shall help him.

"And, due to my loyalty with Discord, you are a wonderful find, my dear."

Trixie raised an eyebrow at the mirror, looking into Mirrormare's eyes in the pristine mirror.

"But...why am I a perfect find?"

Mirrormare smiled, and walked up to the front of the mirror, taking up the majority of it.

"Because, my dear...together, we can kill the Elements of Harmony, and we can crush all of Equestria. I can have my revenge on Celestia for her refusal, and you your revenge on Twilight Sparkle."

"But...how?"

Mirrormare smiled, and called in the Diamond Dogs.

"These three Diamond Dogs - Fido, Rover, and Spot - are my faithful servants. Of course, they're only in it for the jewels, but it's enough to have a viable connection to the Diamond Dogs' parliamentary system."

She smiled, a dark shadow casting over her face.

"Together, my dear Trixie...we can crush all of Equestria...with the Diamond Dogs by our side.

"We can go to war."

Note from the Author

I found a piece of paper last night...

I think it has to do with the O.C.D.'s I filched from Celestia's desk...

It says:

'Samuel Addams'...

I wonder where that fits in...

Arranging the Pieces

Discord prepared to kill the three Diamond Dogs.

Damn these beasts...

He felt his conscious slipping away as he built up the energy to take their energy, and revive Trixie.

How else can I-

He stemmed the magic, and his energy returned to him, his amorphous form rippling as it was rejuvenated.

Where are they taking her...?

Discord looked to the West, where the Diamond Dog hideout was. He looked to the North, where the cave of one of his...friends, lie.

No...it can't be...after murdering him, she still attends to his trove?

Discord put a finger into the ear of the Diamond Dog in front, tasting the Thought as he removed it.

Mirrormare...my, oh, my...my pawns seem to be arranging themselves quite nicely...

He grinned in satisfaction, the Thought revealing that he now had everything he needed.

A pity...I was looking forwards to manipulating Mirrormare to kill Trixie...no matter...

He took off towards the dragon's cave, a crazy smile spreading over his invisible form.

While trapped in the Mirror World, I may as well speak to its only inhabitant...

He stepped into Mirrormare's large mirror, standing behind her as she hoofed the gold piles, grinning at the shiny artifacts.

She turned, and stopped dead in her tracks, staring up at Discord.

"D...Discord...you returned to see me, my love..."

"Yes, yes..."

She embraced him, and he, begrudgingly, embraced her.

Anything to cause some Chaos...

"It is wonderful to see you again, Mirrormare. Now, if I am not mistaken, your Diamond Dog accomplices have been finding able miners, hm?"

She nodded, smiling wistfully, her gold-tinged, platinum mane and tail bobbing as she did so, her silver coat rippling.

"Yes, Discord! Why? Have they failed me?"

"No. In fact, they've captured a new pawn of mine."

Mirrormare tilted her head, a loving glint in her eyes. Discord held back a retch of disgust.

Filthy, stupid tool...

"Oh? And who is that?"

"Trixie the 'Great and Powerful.'"

Discord allowed himself to laugh heartily.

"She can't even make a fire! And she calls herself...Great and Powerful!!"

He laughed boisterously, the old, fun-loving, Chaos-causing Discord breaking through.

Discord quickly snapped back to his feet, mentally and physically.

No time for laughs. No time for fun. Celestia has entrapped me twice...it is time I teach that alicorn some manners. How dare she raise her horn to me!?

He cleared his throat, and continued.

"Anyway, I think I've found a way for you to get your revenge on Celestia. But first, there are some things you must know about this new pawn of mine..."

"Okay, my love..."

Shut up, you uniwhore.

"Just as you want revenge on Celestia, Trixie wants revenge on Twilight Sparkle for ridiculing her in front of all of Ponyville. I've convinced her into thinking that, in order to kill Twilight, she must kill a foal and consume the magical core of that foal's horn. And then, I would dispose of Trixie. Simple as that. Enough Chaos to break me from my bonds.

"However, your Diamond Dogs have raised an...interesting, opportunity for the three of us.

"You see, I attempted to kill Rarity not long ago, but a new arrival in this Universe, Peter Roose, stopped me, and ruined my plans. I want revenge on him. You want revenge on Celestia. And Trixie wants revenge on the six Elements of Harmony.

"Have Trixie join you. And, with her by your side, lead the Diamond Dogs into war against Equestria. When their leader decides to go to war, it will allow for a massive outbreak of Skygger in the Realm of Dreams. The Door to Darkness will break down there, and I can bring the Skygger into this world, and join forces with you."

Mirrormare smiled, a dark shadow coming across her face, even as Trixie the 'Great and Powerful' was placed on the floor. The Diamond Dogs scurried in fear of Discord, staring up at him in the mirror.

"Sounds good, Discord...I shall hide in Shiny for now."

"Good. I am sorry, Mirrormare, but I must depart. Farewell. Oh, and..."

He smiled at her.

"Do not fail me. It wouldn't bode well for any of us."

With that, he departed.

Hmph...such a simple mind...I planted a seed in the topsoil of her mind, and already, it has taken root. She may be a filthy pony, but I can withstand her...'love' long enough to keep her as a pawn.

He smiled, knowing all too well that Mirrormare would succeed.

And now....I wait, for the wars to begin, and for Atonal to wake up...

Out of boredom, he dipped into the cave once more, taking care not to step into the mirror as the Diamond Dogs conversed with Mirrormare.

"Ah, yes, your pay. I shall decide at the end of the day. Oh, and do me a favor...leave her here."

"Why?"

"Because I say so!"

Discord chuckled.

Oh, my...she seems to be better at this than I thought...this will be easy...

Moving On (The Train, Day 3)

Spike and Rarity looked around at their five friends. Rainbow Dash sighed, looking up at the passed-out human in the hammock.

"I think I pushed him too hard....I mean, he's not a Pegasus..."

Twilight released a small *hmph*.

"It's a shame he passed out before I could ask him about the drink we asked Celestia for..."

Rainbow Dash looked between Rarity and Spike, the baby-rather, adolescent-dragon's nostrils still smoking lightly from the letter he had sent.

"I love you, Spike..."

"I love you too, Rarity..."

Rainbow Dash smiled, wishing that she was with Peter...

"Uh, guys? I think I should go check on Peter..."

"Go right on ahead, Rainbow Dash. Spike and I are pretty tired...and thank you for the congratulations once again, Rainbow Dash..."

The cyan Pegasus smiled.

"Anytime, Rarity!"

She flew up to the hammock, concerned for her stallionfriend's health, leaving Spike and Rarity with four friends.

"Contests again, you two. I...I really can't put how happy I am for you into words, Spike. I mean, you're like a son to me...and I'm so happy that you're finally together with Rarity...and Rarity, I'm so happy that you finally told Spike how you feel..."

"As am I, Twilight. Spike and I...we are simply meant to be!"

She pressed herself up against Spike, and Spike held her closer, the both of them closing their eyes.

"Oh! I just had an idea!"

Pinkie Pie bolted away, confusing everypony present as she came back.

"BythewaycongratsI'msohapyforyoutwobye!!"

With that, the pink party pony left.

"Uh...okay, then..."

"Rarity...I want to tell you how proud I am of you...for finally telling Spike about how you feel..."

Rarity smiled as Fluttershy spoke. She was sso tired, and felt.at hims in Spike's now large arms, the embrace they shared acting as a soporific for the both of them.

"Thank you...Fluttershy, dear...I...I simply must return to sleep..."

"Before you do, Ah wanna say something..."

Rarity sighed, nevertheless whispering consent into Spike's ear, who relayed it to the orange work pony.

"Ah...Ah'm not good with feelings, but Ah know how long the two of y'all have been in....love with each other. Ah'm so happy for y'all both, but Ah'm even happier that Spike changed...because a baby dragon and a grown unicorn datin' is probably frowned on in Manehattan...Well, Ah'm too tired to say anything...let's just go to sleep..."

"Okay. Come on, Spike..."

Spike raised an eyebrow at his friend, the unicorn who had raised him.

I hope I don't hurt her...

"Twilight, I...I'm going to sleep with Rarity...in her bed...not doing anything, but just sleeping with her...I...I have to move on..."

Twilight turned, and Fluttershy backed off slightly.

"Oh...oh...right...sorry...it's just...I'm used to you being a baby dragon...I...I understand...you're not a baby dragon anymore, and you need to move on..."

She whispered the next line, her heart broken as she finally told the truth of how she felt about him.

"Just like every child must move on....so must my son..."

She turned, fleeing for her bed. She immediately buried her head in her pillow, stifling the sound of tears.

He's not like a son to me....he is a son to me...

She sniffed, wanting to hear his snoring at the foot of her bed once more.

He is my son...but...I must let go...he's grown up...

But I don't want to let him go...

But I have no choice...

I raised him, I am his mother in every sense but genes! I am his mother, and he is my son. Is it so bad...that I want to keep him to myself?

But I have to let him go...

Rarity would understand. She loves him, but I love him more. He's my son, she doesn't know him like I do....

She opened her eyes, deciding to walk right up to Rarity, and tell her off for stealing her son.

However, what she saw stopped her.

There, in the place of Spike in his basket, was a mattress, namely Rarity's mattress, right at the foot of Twilight's bed. In it, Spike held Rarity as they slept, breathing lightly.

Twilight sat up, smiling as tears of happiness replaced those of maternal grief.

She understands...and Spike thinks of me as a mother...they both understand, and Rarity understands how I love him as a son, not anything more...

She rolled off the bed, and walked over to Spike and Rarity. She kissed Spike on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Spike...."

She turned to walk away, when a single whisper stopped her cold.

"Goodnight....mom...."

Twilight raised a hoof to her mouth, and returned to her bed, the two simple words bringing forth thousands of tears of joy as she drifted off into sleep, smiling as she thanked Celestia for all that was.

He...he called me 'mom'...

    Sleep took her, and she had never slept so well before in her life.

Seven Hours Later...

P.P.: "Come on, everypony! Wake up! We have to get food now!!"

Rarity: "Mmh? What?"

Spike: "Oh, sweet! Food!"

Rarity: "Uh...good morning?"

Spike: "Good morning, Rarity..."

Rarity: "Thank you."

P.P.: "Come on, Twilight! Wake up!"

T.S.: "Nh?"

P.P.: "Wake up! We've got to-oh. Sorry. I'll leave you alone for a bit..."

T.S.: "No, it's fine..."

P.P.: "Oh! Okay then! Well, we've got to order our breakfast, so come to the center so that we can write it down!"

T.S.: "Wait...why don't you just ask around and write it yourself?"

P.P.: "Oh, yeah!"

T.S.: "...Just some hay..."

P.P.: "Okie dokie lokie!"

T.S.: "Where'd you get...forget it."

P.P.: "Spike!"

Spike: "Wha!?"

P.P.: "What do you want for breakfast?"

Spike: "...Sapphires."

P.P.: "Okay! And Rarity?"

Rarity: "Some hay."

P.P.: "Okie dokie lokie!"

P.P.: "Fluttershy!!!"

F.S.: "Ah! Please, Pinkie, not so loud..."

P.P.: "Sorry...what do you want for breakfast?"

F.S.: "Some hay..."

P.P.: "Okie dokie lokie."

P.P.: "Applejack!"

A.J.: "Hay."

P.P.: "Okie Dokie Lokie!"

P.P.: "Rainbow Dash!!"

R.D.: "Ah!!! Wha-Pinkie, how are you standing on the ceiling?"

P.P.: "Suction cups, silly!"

R.D.: "Shh! Peter passed out, remember? He needs to get his sleep!"

P.P.: "Oh...sorry..."

R.D.: "What do you want?"

P.P.: "What do you want for breakfast?"

R.D.: "Eggs. I'll try to wake Peter up, only long enough for him to order."

P.P.: "I thought you said he needed his sleep."

R.D.: "Yeah, well...whatever."

R.D.: "Hey, Peter? Wake up..."

R.D.: "Peter? Come on, it's time to wake up..."

R.D.: "Peter? Wake up!"

Peter: "Huh? What?"

R.D.: "Good. You're awake. Now, what do you-"

Peter: "Ahh...my head...my stomach..."

R.D.: "Uh, Peter? Are you okay?"

Peter: "I think I'm gonna be sick..."

R.D.: "What!? Pinkie, get a paper bag, quick!"

P.P.: "Way ahead of you!"

Peter: "Thanks..."

R.D.: "Just breathe..."

Peter: "Bloody hard to..."

R.D.: "Uh, what's with the accent?"

Peter: "Whenever I get stressed out...or really excited...I put an accent on...oh, God, I wish I had a loo..."

R.D.: "Uh...well, whatever. Just, breathe...that's it..."

Peter: "Ahh...ahh..."

R.D.: "That's it...just let it all out, Peter..."

Peter: "Ugh...I hate throwing up...Oh, God, what the fuck are we going to do with the bag?"

P.P.: "I've got that! I have an incinerator in my mane! Just let me-"

R.D.: "Uh, Pinkie? What's with the face?"

P.P.: "I...I missed the incinerator."

P.P.: "Uh, Plant Guy?"

Plant Guy: "Yes?"

P.P.: "There's a...a treat for you in the bailey."

Plant Guy: "Ohhh! I like!"

P.P.: "Y...yeah..."

Peter: "...Sorry..."

R.D.: "Why are you sorry?"

Peter: "I threw up because of the fasting...I couldn't handle it..."

R.D.: "Uh, technically, I screwed up..."

Peter: "I'm sorry, what?"

R.D.: "Yeah, we were supposed to have a feast at a minute past midnight..."

Peter: "Well, that was out of your hooves...there are only so many places to get food right now, y'know?"

R.D.: "Yeah..."

P.P.: "Well, what do you want for breakfast, Peter?"

Peter: "Eggs. A lot of them. And some water. I haven't drank in a day, I'm thirsty as all hell."

P.P.: "Okie dokie lokie! Oh, and some mouthwash..."

Peter: "Good idea..."

P.P.: "Good luck!"

Peter: "...Thanks?"

R.D.: "Do you feel better now, Peter?"

Peter: "Y...yeah..."

R.D.: "Good."

Peter: "I hate throwing up...especially on an empty stomach..."

R.D.: "Wait, your stomach is empty! How could you throw up!?"

Peter: "It's just acid in there. Nothing else. Without any food to digest, the acid just builds up, and eventually, it gets too acidic. The body needs to get that out, or else it could spike the pH of my blood. If that goes a bit too high or too low...I would die."

R.D.: "Oh, yikes."

Peter: "Yeah...yikes..."

Spike: "Ugh, I think Peter just cubed it!"

Rarity: "...Ew."

Spike: "Yeah, no kidding..."

T.S.: "What happened?"

Rarity: "We believe that Peter just threw up."

T.S.: "Oh, gross!"

F.S.: "Oh, my...did Peter just?"

P.P.: "Yep."

F.S.: "...I hope he's alright..."

P.P.: "Don't worry. Dashie's got him."

A.J.: "Is Peter alright?"

P.P.: "Don't worry, Dashie's got him."

A.J.: "Okay."

Peter: "Wow...if I threw up after one day of fasting, I could never have survived the bullshit Aaron Ralston pushed through..."

R.D.: "Who?"

Peter: "He was trapped in Blue John Canyon for one hundred and twenty seven hours. He ended up cutting his own arm off to escape."

R.D.: "Whoa!!"

Peter: "Yep. I have the movie of it, if you want to see it."

R.D.: "Uh...no thanks. I'm pretty squeamish. All of the blood, even though it's black and white, just grosses me out..."

Peter: "Black and white? What the hell are you talking about? It's in full color!"

R.D.: "No."

Peter: "Yep. Humans made colored film. And it's not film on my Kindle, it's just...digital data stuff."

R.D.: "You're talking really weird, Peter. I think you should lie down."

Peter: "...Good idea...I am feeling pretty..."

R.D.: "Aaaaaaand, he's out again...Hey, Twilight?"

T.S.: "Yeah?"

R.D.: "Could you come take a look at Peter? I'm worried about him."

T.S.: "Uh...okay...just, gimme a few minutes, okay?"

Spike: " What do you want to talk about, Twilight?"

    T.S.: "What you said last night...it meant a lot to me. Thank you..."

    Spike: "Twilight, you're a mother to me. You're my mother."

    T.S.: "Th...thank you, Spike..."

    Spike: "...I want to thank you...for raising me. For everything. I'm going to miss...us, too. I wish I could still be your baby, and you my mommy. But...I...I have to move on now...for Rarity..."

    Spike hugged her closer, crying on her shoulder as mother and son were meant to do.

    Spike: "I...I'm scared, Twilight...it's just...I don't want to be an adult dragon...I want to stay a baby, and have you to be my mom..."

    T.S.: "I want that too, but...we both have to move on..."

    Rarity: "Are you two quite alright?"

    Spike: "Y...yeah...we just...needed to talk..."

    Rarity smiled, but turned in shock as Rainbow Dash shouted from above them.

    R.D.: "Twilight, help!!"

Party Rock and Party Not

Peter emptied his stomach into the paper bag once more, and Rainbow Dash immediately put a wing around his shoulder.

"Twilight, why couldn't he breath before?"

"He had to throw up, but he was trying to hold it back. And he couldn't ask for a bag, because then it would've come out."

Rainbow Dash nodded, not feeling the least bit queasy.

"Hey, Dash..."

Peter paused, ejecting bile into the bag once more, sounds he'd never heard himself make before escaping from his lips.

"I thought you said you were squeamish..."

Rainbow Dash smiled, rubbing Peter's back as he spat into the bag, the bile clearing away as the magically enchanted bag emptied its contents into...who knows where.

"I am, but only with a lot of blood and gore. I can handle a little, and I can handle barfing, but I cannot handle somepony cutting his own arm off."

Peter smiled, rubbing his stomach, the vomiting finally done after twenty long, painful minutes...

"Ugh...I feel a bit better now..."

Twilight gave him the bag, and Peter held it rather reluctantly.

"Keep it. In case you need it again."

Peter nodded, hoping that he wouldn't...

"Oh, and, by the way?"

"Yeah?"

"You should be happy that you don't have to fast for two days."

Peter raised an eyebrow, and so did Rainbow Dash, the cyan Pegasus asking the obvious question.

"Why's that?"

"Uh...well..."

Rainbow Dash moved closer to her.

"Tell me."

"I don't want to worry you..."

Rainbow Dash moved even closer.

"By not telling me, you're making me even more worried! Tell me!"

"He...he could've died..."

Rainbow Dash pulled back, and immediately embraced Peter, holding him for all it was worth.

"Oh, my gosh, Peter...you could've died...If we had to fast today..."

Peter gulped, holding Rainbow Dash just as tightly as she held him.

"Jesus...I thought that the acid in my stomach would kill me after three days...Well, good thing we don't have to fast, huh?"

The intercom relayed some disturbing news just then, interrupting their conversation.

"We must stop for a short time. We will continue in about three hours. We are very sorry for the inconvenience."

Peter groaned.

"Three hours for breakfast!? Ugh...I need a way to pass the time..."

He immediately reached for the Kindle, about to open the box, when Rainbow Dash pushed it away gently with a hoof, looking Peter in the eyes, love evident in the red orbs.

"Peter...you don't need that...you have me..."

Peter smiled, but didn't kiss her. His mouth tasted like shit to him, the bile still somewhat present in his saliva. He spit into the bag, grateful that a rather large gob of the vile bile was gone.

"I know, but...can we watch a movie together?"

Rainbow Dash smiled, whispering in a teasing tone of voice.

"Are you asking me out on a date, Peter?"

Peter smiled back.

"Definitely."

Rainbow Dash giggled and kissed him on the cheek.

"Well, I have to say yes. You're my stallionfriend, after all..."

Peter smiled, and reached for the box, the cardboard sending a shiver down his spine as his palm slid across it. He opened it, and pulled out the sleek, black Kindle. He popped up his knees, and rested it on them, without much success, as the Kindle Fire immediately flopped downwards.

"Shit...I wish there was a...hold on..."

He squinted, a small button catching his attention.

"Since when was that there?"

He pressed it, and a flap instantly came down from the ceiling, indents for bowls and glasses painted with a lighter resin.

"Well...that's..."

"Awesome."

Rainbow Dash nodded, agreeing with the declaration.

"It is pretty awesome..."

Peter bent the flap on the Kindle cover to make a triangle, and used that to prop the Kindle up on the wooden table, which conveniently stopped at their waste, which made it comfortable for them to look down at the screen.

"Alright...let's see what movies I have..."

Peter turned on the Kindle and clicked on 'Videos'. There were three movies there.

He immediately clicked on of a car, and three super drunk guys.

"What's that thing?"

"A car."

"And who are those...humans?"

"I know that that guy is Ralf Galfifinakis. I don't know who the hell the others are."

"Weird name..."

"For a weirder guy."

Rainbow Dash looked up at him, smiling.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Play the movie, Peter..."

She cozied up next to him, resting her head on her shoulder as the magic of technology played before her.

Everypony

P.P.: "Okay, now just...make sure it stays in the right place..."

Plant Guy: "Yes, Pinkie Pie."

P.P.: "And that it stays in the canal..."

Plant Guy: "I saw to that..."

P.P.: "Good. Now, then, does it look like the Desert Eagle we saw?"

P.G.: "Yes. Almost exactly. Candy Balls are ready."

P.P.: "Okay...is it ready to fire?"

P.G.: "Ready."

P.P.: "Woohoo!! My Party Eagle is now ready for use!"

P.G.: "Why it so big?"

P.P.: "Because, I want to shoot such a giant candy ball!"

P.G.: "Good thing your tail so big."

P.P.: "Oh, yes, it is rather convenient, isn't it?"

P.G.: "Yes, Pinkie Pie."

F.S.: "Well, you did raise him from birth..."

T.S.: "Yes, I did...and he called me 'mom'..."

F.S.: "Well, you have to let go, Twilight."

T.S.: "But I can't! We both just acknowledged each other as family, as mother and son! I can't just...let him go!"

F.S.: "...I know. But trust me, you do. Rarity is in love with him. She'll take good care of him."

T.S.: "But not as well as I did! He is my son! How can you expect me to let go when he grew up in less than a day!?"

F.S.: "Look, I know it's going to be difficult, but-"

T.S.: "Difficult? Difficult!? That doesn't even begin to describe it!"

F.S.: "Listen to me. You have to let go. All mothers do."

T.S.: "Yes, but...we never did anything that a mother and son do...I never took him to the park when he was a baby dragon, I always had him helping me in my library...now, if we go to the Canterlot park, it will be as friends, not as family...I just...I just don't want to lose him..."

F.S.: "Shh...it's okay..."

Rarity: "I mean, he's Twilight's son..."

A.J.: "Well, Ah always thought of them as more of...brother and sister, y'know?"

Rarity: "But...she hatched him...she is his mother..."

A.J.: "Well, Ah guess yer' right..."

Rarity: "But, it's so...so...odd. I'm dating my friends' son!"

A.J.: "Jus'...jus' try to see past that. Ah just hope that Twilight can..."

Rarity: "What...whatever do you mean, Applejack?"

A.J.: "She's bound to feel protective of him. Like y'all said, he's her son. She's going to feel mighty protective of that dragon."

Rarity: "Hm...I will do everything in my power to ensure his safety, well-being, and happiness."

Fluttershy looked over at Spike, the adolescent dragon still sleeping. She had an idea...

P.P.: "Well? How is it?"

P.G.: "It good. It fire air."

P.P.: "Alright...we'll just have to test it tonight...oh, I'm scared..."

P.G.: "Do not be. Will work. Trust me."

P.P.: "Okay, Plant Guy...I will..."

P.G.: "Good."

F.S.: "Spike? We need to talk."

Spike: "Mmf? Wha?"

T.S.: "Wake up, Spike..."

Spike: "Morning, Twilight..."

T.S.: "Good morning, Spike."

Spike: "So...what do you guys want to talk about?"

T.S.: "Spike, I feel as though we haven't done enough...you know...as a family. As mother and son."

Spike: "Well...what do you mean?"

T.S.: "Like...go to the movies, or walk in the park, or...stuff like that."

Spike: "Well...we both have to move on, don't we?"

T.S.: "Yes, but...I feel like I've been a bad mother...because I never did any of that with you..."

Spike: "What!? No! You're an awesome mom, Twilight! You're the best mother I could ever ask for, and nopony can ever replace you!"

T.S.: "Not even Rarity?"

Spike: "She's not my mother. You're my mother, Twilight."

T.S.: "Thank you, Spike..."

Spike: "No problem, Twilight."

F.S.: "Well...I can see that you two aren't exactly going to...let go."

T.S.: "It'll be hard..."

F.S.: "You know what then? I'm going to help you two find mother-son activities in Manehattan."

Spike and T.S.: "Really!?"

F.S.: "Yep. Rarity will understand, I'm sure of it."

T.S.: "This is amazing! Thanks, Fluttershy!"

Rarity: "What if Twilight thinks I can't protect Spike?"

A.J.: "He don't need protectin' no more. He's a grown dragon. Well, a teen dragon."

Rarity: "Yes, but..."

A.J.: "No. Buts."

Rarity: "...Fine. But...Applejack, I have a question for you."

A.J.: "Shoot."

Rarity: "When have we ever seen...Twilight and Spike...do something together as mother and son?"

A.J.: "...Good question."

Rarity: "I was thinking, and I've decided that...perhaps...we should let them do some mother-son activities in Manehattan?"

A.J.: "Perhaps..."

Rarity: "Maybe we should...help them find activities?"

Just then, a shout interrupted everypony. It was, by far, the strangest shout any of them had ever heard in their lives.

"HOW IN THE HAY DID A TIGER GET IN THE BATHROOM!!!???"

Everypony stopped and stared at the hammock, the laughing couple making it sway madly.

P.P.: "A tiger in the bathroom? What is this madness?"

Peter: "I'm sorry, I just have to pause it, Dashie...

Peter: "Madness? This...is...THE HANGOVER!!"

F.S.: "Oh, my...do you really have to be so loud?"

Peter: "Sorry..."

R.D.: "Come on, Peter, keep the movie going!"

Peter: "Gladly."

R.D.: "Oh, my, gosh, that's so insane!"

A.J.: "...Anyway. As you were sayin'?"

Rarity: "Yes. As I was saying, I believe we should-"

R.D.: "WHAT!? HOW DID THEY GET A BABY!?"

A.J.: "What in the hay?"

T.S.: "Ugh! We're never going to get anything done if she keeps shouting like that!"

F.S.: "Yes, I agree..."

T.S.: "I'll go pull down the-"

P.P.: "No! I want to hear what's going on! Pull closed the screen in your compartment!"

T.S.: "...Fine."

P.P.: "Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!"

T.S.: "...Yeah, whatever."

Twilight magically pulled closed the screen in her library compartment, the fine membrane whispering as it slid in its mahogany track.

T.S.: "Well...where were we..."

Later...

R.D.: "That was insane..."

Peter: "Yeah, I know, right?"

R.D.: "No, I mean, just...insane! I mean, that Mike Tyson guy, he's definitely insane...but Alan is so like Pinkie Pie!"

Peter: "I agree. I mean, he put ecstacy in their drinks, I mean, who the fuck does that?"

R.D.: "Alan."

Peter: "Well, did you like it?"

R.D.: "Are you kidding? That movie was awesome!"

Peter: "Dayum, it is..."

R.D.: "What's your favorite part?"

Peter: "Right after you suck these little Chinese nuts! Phhhpchyaaaaa! How that sound? So long, gay boys!!"

R.D.: "My name is Ciao. Lesley, Ciao."

Peter: "Did you die?"

R.D.: "Wait, what? He never said that in the movie..."

Peter: "In this Hangover."

Rainbow Dash stared at him, mouth agape.

R.D.: "You mean...there's more than one!?"

Peter: "Yep. It's called, 'The Hangover, Part 2'. They more or less try to emulate the first movie, and while it is funny, it's not nearly as good as this one. I mean, just...they lost a person! How the fuck do you lose a person!?"

R.D.: "Yeah, I know, right?"

Peter: "This is just the best movie ever...well, in its genre, at least."

R.D.: "I've gotta hoof it to yah, you're right on that one!"

Peter: "Damn straight I am! Brohoof!"

R.D.: "Oh, Celestia...I mean, Alan just says the weirdest things! Like, 'are the sunglasses okay', after hitting the baby in the head!"

Peter: "Oh, Jesus...I mean, just..."

R.D.: "Just...wow."

Peter: "Exactly. Now, then, for the best part..."

R.D.: "Wait...there's more?"

Peter: "Yep. I paused it. They show the pictures!"

R.D.: "Oh, my, gosh, I have got to see this!"

Peter: "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmplay!"

The pictures of all the crazy shit the group had done flashed on the screen. Rainbow Dash laughed in amazement, and laughed even harder when Mr. Ciao came on screen, pointing in amazement at how the night had unfolded. As soon as the images were over, she lay back, staring up at the ceiling.

R.D.: "Wow...that was...just..."

Peter: "Wow."

Intercom: "We are now moving on to the food center. We apologize for the wait, but there was a certain drink that wasn't done fermenting yet. We hope you enjoy."

Peter sighed in relief.

Peter: "Oh, thank you, God...I'm starving...quite literally..."

R.D.: "Mmf...we can finally get you some food...how do you feel?"

Peter's heart melted as he heard the concern in her voice. He placed the Kindle aside, and turned onto his side, caressing the curves of his face, laying it on the large curve of her muzzle.

Peter: "I feel just fine. I'm just hungry."

R.D.: "I...I'm sorry...I mean...you could've died because of me..."

Peter: "Not because of you. Never because of you."

R.D.: "Yes, because of me."

Peter: "No. For you."

R.D.: "What's the difference?"

Peter: "In one, you're guilty. In the other one...you're not."

R.D.: "I...I don't know...Peter, do you forgive me?"

Peter: "I forgive you. And I would kiss you right now, if it weren't for the bile I currently have in my mouth."

R.D.: "Yeah...in all honesty, I'd rather you not kiss me right now..."

Peter: "Good idea."

R.D.: "Hehehe..."

Peter: "Well, let's get some food, shall-"

Rainbow Dash held him back as he looked down at the floor, about to jump down and jostle his stomach like mad.

R.D.: "Peter, you're eating your food up here."

Peter: "But-"

R.D.: "No. No buts, you're eating it up here."

She pulled him back on the hammock, so as to prevent him from falling, and leaned into his back, laying her hooves over his shoulders.

R.D.: "I'm not letting you out of my sight. I'm worried about you."

Peter smiled, and preened her left wing, love bursting forth for the cyan Pegasus.

Peter: "Don't be. As long as I have you, I'll always be alright."

She smiled, and rested her chin on his shoulder, rubbing her face up on the side of his.

R.D.: "That's so sappy, Peter..."

Peter quickly poked her ticklish spot, bringing forth a small tremor and a laugh.

Peter: "Please, I know you're thinking the same thing."

Rainbow Dash giggled. She was thinking the same thing.

Peter helped me with my dreams, and my parents, and my...everything. As long as I have him, I'm always going to be alright...

Peter: "I love you, Dashie."

Rainbow Dash nuzzled his neck lightly, ignoring the lack of a coat on his pale, flat skin.

R.D.: "I love you too, Peter."

Manehattan

Wave Rider shook Sonic Tragedy awake, her best friend grunting as the summer sun shone through the windows.

"Wake up, sleepyhead. We've got to get going."

Sonic Tragedy raised an eyebrow at her friend, incredulous.

"You said that you doubted it was real..."

"Our new friend helped me see otherwise."

"What 'new friend'?"

Sonic Tragedy rolled onto her chest, her mane wild as she shook her head, trying to clear her mind, the cool air stinging the gap in her ear.

A scar that will never heal...

She opened her eyes, gasping as her eye lids revealed to her the 'new friend'.

A grand stallion stood before her, chest plate of gold gleaming in the harsh summer sun, his white coat and wings accentuating the glare that temporary blinded the rather-less-grand Pegasus with morning mane.

"Uh...hello, sir..."

"Good day, madame. I trust you two are packed?"

"Yes, sir, Sonic Tragedy and I are ready to go to Las Haygas!"

"Good. Sea Breeze will be placed in our chariot and taken to Celestia."

"Oh, thank you, sir...just...make sure she's okay, alright?"

The grand Pegasus nodded at Wave Rider, the blue Pegasus' ferocity forcing him to take a small step back. Sonic Tragedy chuckled, knowing full well that even the most well-trained guard couldn't withstand Wave Rider's outburst of maternal protectiveness for the foal.

I wonder why that colt...oh, what was his name...ah, Burning Breeze...gave Sea Breeze to Wave Rider in the first place? She wasn't very responsible back then...

In all honesty, Wave Rider hadn't been. Her house had been a mess, and all she did was go out and shred the waves. However, all of that changed when Sea Breeze had entered her life.

Her first reaction was to run to her closest friend, Sonic Tragedy. The only other pony she knew who shared the same hindrance, and gift: strange, inexplicable powers.

Once Wave Rider had found Sonic Tragedy, they had decided it was time to change how Wave Rider lived.

So, she got a job as a lifeguard. Being able to walk on water (but not clouds), it was exceedingly easy for her to make enough bits for her and her new family member.

After that, she had brought a house, rather than the shanty apartment she had been living in. Luckily for her, she managed to purchase the house right next door to Sonic Tragedy. Together, the two of them watched after Sea Breeze, Sonic Tragedy occasionally visiting and staying over night when Wave Rider had to go shopping, or do an overnight as a lifeguard.

And now, after all of their hard work, and struggles to change Wave Rider's life style, they were going to Las Haygas, to stay in the Tower de Celestia there, courtesy of Celestia.

It's almost like she knew...and she's rewarding us...

She pushed the idea out, concentrating on her walking, the hot summer sun beating down on her as she walked next to Wave Rider, their luggage carried by two fine stallions.

"Oh, I can't wait..."

Wave Rider's voice faltered as she threw a glance back to the chariot, where Sea Breeze lie.

"I hope she'll be alright..."

Sonic Tragedy laid a hoof on her best friend's shoulder.

"She'll be fine. Stop worrying so much, okay? The guard said that he would contact us through a...friend, in Las Haygas. We'll just have to wait to hear from them."

Wave Rider nodded, the two of them thanking the Pegasi stallions as they put down the friends' luggage, walking off to join the grand stallion that led the chariot. Within minutes, they were off, Wave Rider and Sonic Tragedy watching the golden chariot gleam in the golden sun as it departed, already sitting on their luggage in the cool shade of the train station.

Sighing, Wave Rider rolled her shoulders.

"And now...we wait."

The Train

Peter eagerly eyed the eggs as they were levitated through the window, licking his lips, his stomach growling as the enticing smell tickled his nose.

"Oh, man...I'm starving..."

Rainbow Dash nodded, staring into the distance. Peter put an arm around her, rubbing her shoulder.

"Come on, 'Dash. I'm not going to die."

He felt a pang in his heart as the full gravity of the situation hit him.

I could've DIED today...and I'm treating it like a joke...

He gratefully accepted the mouthwash from Twilight's magical grip, swishing it in his mouth and spitting it into the paper bag, the contents once again removed to...who knows where.

When he was done getting the bile out of his mouth, he kissed Rainbow Dash on the forehead, holding her close to him.

"Peter...I could've starved you to death..."

He pulled back, only enough to look deep into her eyes.

"Rainbow Dash, don't blame yourself. Don't ever blame yourself. I love you, okay? I'm never going to leave you."

Rainbow Dash smiled, and kissed him on the lips.

"Thank you, Peter...I needed to hear that..."

Peter returned the kiss when she finished talking, caressing her face with a hooked finger as he pulled back, his heart exploding with love.

"We all do from time to time."

Rainbow Dash smiled, looking down at Twilight with ire as she interrupted their moment.

T.S.: "Peter! The drink that Celestia found in your mind just arrived! Since Spike isn't a baby dragon anymore, I figured...why not find out what it is? So, what is it?"

Peter: "...I dunno. Maybe if I tasted it..."

T.S.: "I think we should wait until after breakfast. Come on down!"

R.D.: "Uh-uh. No. He's staying up here. I've got to make sure he's okay. He is not leaving my sight."

T.S.: "Uh...okay then. I'll send your food up to you. I see you two have already found the table..."

Peter: "Yeah. And we used it to watch a movie."

R.D.: "An awesome movie!"

Peter: "I agree. Oh, sweet! So many eggs!"

T.S.: "Yep. I made sure to-"

R.D.: "Wow. That's a lot of eggs. And a lot of water."

Peter: "Time. To. Nom."

T.S.: "Uh...okay then, talk to you-"

R.D.: "Peter, don't eat them all at once. I'm afraid that you'd get sick if you do."

Peter: "Ugh! I was planning on shoving them all down my throat at the same exact time! God diggity dangit!"

R.D.: "Come on, be serious."

Peter: "Okay. Sorry. I'll be sure to eat them slowly."

R.D.: "Good. And if your stomach starts hurting, I have the bag right here, in case you need it."

Peter: "Thanks, 'Dash."

R.D.: "Here's the water."

Peter: "Thanks."

R.D.: "Now, let's eat!"

Peter: "Great idea, Dash!"

Peter ate on in silence, occasionally stopping whenever Rainbow Dash told him to, trusting her judgement entirely. When he was halfway done, he lay down his fork, and took three huge gulps of water, sighing in satisfaction as he leaned back.

"Ugh...It has never felt so good to eat before..."

"Yeah..."

"And while the fasting may have been a pain in the ass...I don't regret it one bit."

Rainbow Dash looked up, love bursting through his heart as Peter said the exact words she had need to hear.

"Really?"

"Not at all. It's part of your culture, and I love you. I would do anything to be with you, or to make you happy."

"Just by being with me, you make me happy, Peter."

Peter chuckled lightly.

"Now who's the sappy one?"

Rainbow Dash punched him on the shoulder, lightly, chuckling as Peter held his shoulder, speaking in a rather odd accent that made his voice go super high.

Peter: "Oh, please don't hurt me, madame...I do not like being hurt...I am a total pussy..."

Rainbow Dash finally calmed down, and wrapped a wing around Peter, wanting to calm down for a-

"Oh, good! You two are done! I'll get one of the drinks!"

Rainbow Dash grunted heartily.

Manehattan

"Hey, Wave Rider?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you think everypony would react to our powers...y'know...in Las Haygas?"

Wave Rider looked up. She hadn't thought of that.

"I...I don't know."

Sonic Tragedy sighed.

"If I accidentally Sonic Disaster in Las Haygas? And what if you accidentally Freeze Walk?"

Wave Rider chuckled, Sonic Tragedy's names for their powers amusing her to no end.

"We'll just have to make sure that you keep those wings of yours tucked in, and I keep my powers in check."

Sonic Tragedy nodded, shuffling her wings a small amount.

"I can take them out. I just can't...flap. It makes a Sonic Disaster. It would break all of the glass in the Tower de Celestia..."

Just then, they heard the sound of a train, cutting their conversation short.

The Train

T.S.: "Well? What is it?"

Peter: "Holy shit, this is beer."

R.D.: "Beer?"

F.S.: "Uh, everypony..."

Peter: "Yeah, Fluttershy?"

F.S.: "We...we're at Manehattan..."

Peter: "What? I was looking forward to-whoa. We're coming in a little hot, aren't we? Is that actually the station?"

T.S.: "It should be..."

R.D.: "What if this train has super brakes?"

Peter: "That'd be epic."

F.S.: "Wait...we're...we're not stopping..."

Peter: "Uh...okay...bye, Manehattan..."

P.P.: "Hah! You said bye to a place!"

Peter: "...Yes, Pinkie Pie, I did. What, you don't do that every-"

Intercom: "As you might have noticed, we're not going to Manehattan."

Peter: "Yeah, no shit."

R.D.: "Hehehe..."

Intercom: "Rather, we are going to the Tower de Celestia...in Las Haygas. Enjoy, everypony!"

Peter: "Las Haygas? Sounds like Las Vegas..."

R.D.: "Isn't that where The Hangover happened?"

T.S.: "Oh, my Celestia! Las Haygas!? the center of gambling in all of Equestria!?"

P.P.: "And partying!"

Peter: "And The Hangover. And black Doug."

R.D.: "Ha! I remember that..."

Peter: "Right after you suck on these little Asian nuts! Phhhhpychyaaaa! How dat sound? So long, gay boys!!!"

R.D.: "Fwahahahaha! You imitate that accent so perfectly!"

A.J.: "Uh...what the buck?"

Peter: "The Hangover. Best movie ever."

R.D.: "Hay yeah, it is! Thing is, these guys, they go to Las Haygas, okay? And they get really drunk. They do lots of crazy shit, and they wake up in a hotel room. Really long story short, there's a Tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet, a chicken in the hotel room, an...'Asian' guy in the trunk, and they lost their friend Doug on the roof. The whole movie is them trying to find out what happened, and find Doug. Well, they find a camera at the end, and they did some crazy shit..."

P.P.: "Like as crazy as I do?"

Peter: "They stole a person, one guy got married, and they lost someone."

R.D.: "It's just insane!"

Peter: "Yep."

T.S.: "...Okay. Well, what did they get drunk on?"

Peter: "Jägermeister, and Ruffies."

T.S.: "Well, we'll make sure not to get those. Anyway, what's beer?"

Peter: "This specific brew is Samuel Addams. My dad knew the owner of the brewery, and I got to see the production, as well as the list of ingredients. Apparently, it was locked away in my mind somehow. Anyway, beer has a lower alcohol percentage than wine, but it can get you drunk way faster than wine can, because all of that percentage, albeit a small one, hits you at once, because...I think it's the hops that make it ferment faster...or something like that. I don't fully remember, but I obviously do."

T.S.: "Well, it sounds interesting."

P.P.: "Oh! Oh! I know! We should have a huge party!"

Rarity: "Right after breakfast?"

P.P.: "Okay, maybe later, at noon. I'll serve up the cake first, and then we'll have some beer!"

Peter: "Awwwwwwwwwwwwww, yyyyyyyyyyyeeaaaaaah!"

Spike: "Uh, Twilight? Is it okay that I drink alcohol?"

T.S.: "Of course, Spike. You're a...a grown up dragon now, after all. I've got to let you have some fun, right?"

Spike: "Thanks!"

Peter: "I can't wait 'till noon. It's going to be-"

Later, at noon...

Peter: "-awesome! Whoa, what the hell? The sky's changed..."

P.P.: "It's noon now!"

P.P. (whispering): "Thanks, author!"

No problem. I was too lazy to write everything in between, anyway...

P.P.: "Alright! Let's have this party! First, the cake!"

She pulled, out of her mane, a large cake, the rainbow icing pristine in its wrapping. Placing it down on the table, she reached into her mane and pulled out a large knife and a stack of plates. She cut up the cake into eight slices, all of them equal in size, and placed the eight slices on each plate, passing them around to each of her friends.

P.P.: "Now, eat up! I can't wait until we have that beer!"

P.P. (whispering): "Hint, hint."

After the cake...

R.D.: "That cake was good!"

Peter: "Yep! Thanks, Pinkie!"

P.P.: "Oh, no problem."

T.S.: "Well, while you guys drink, I'm going to study how it affects you, if you don't mind."

P.P.: "Come on, Twilight! You've got to party!"

A.J.: "Aw, come on, sugarcube."

T.S.: "No. I'm not letting Fluttershy spend the night alone. She said she won't drink anything, and you know that she'll stick by it."

Rarity: "Oh, fine. Come, Spike, let's have some of that beer!"

Spike: "But...I thought you hated getting drunk!"

Rarity: "Yes, but I can see past it to spend a fun night with you!"

Peter: "What are we waiting for? Let's get this party started!"

Obviously on cue, the speakers Peter was now holding burst to life, and a fresh beat rang out.

Sorry for party rocking!

Beer was passed around, and Twilight pulled Fluttershy aside, picking up a pen and pad as she kept her friend company.

By the end of the night, Twilight's notebook was full.

One hour, sixty beers later...

Twilight watched in amazement. Peter was dancing, Pinkie Pie was absolutely insane, Rainbow Dash was flying upside down, Applejack was downing beer after beer, Rarity was dancing with reckless abandon, and Spike was attempting to duplicate Peter's intricate steps, failing time and time again, only to get back up, taking another sip of his beer.

Twilight cringed as she watched Spike, worried that he would somehow hurt himself.

And then, Rainbow Dash crashed into Peter while trying to pick him up.

A scribble was jotted down on the paper held before Twilight.

Impairment of judgment...

While on the floor, Peter and Rainbow Dash had a small fight, shouting in a slurred language that nopony could understand, the both of them angered by such a trivial manner.

Causes irrigation...

Suddenly, the two of them engaged in a deep kiss, their fight forgotten as the music continued to thrum in the air.

Also causes sudden mood swings...

Twilight sighed, now knowing that she was in for a looooong night...

Manehattan...

Wave Rider watched, infuriated, as the train simply sped past them.

"What in the hay!?"

Sonic Tragedy walked over, working hard to keep her wings from spreading wide.

"Maybe it was the wrong train?"

Wave Rider sighed, calming herself down as she walked back to her luggage, having just ran up to the edge of the station to shout obscenities at the train as it passed them.

"Sorry about that..."

Sonic Tragedy smiled, sitting down on her luggage, next to Wave Rider. She thought for a moment, fishing for a topic.

"So, what are you going to do in Las Haygas?"

Wave Rider looked around, and then covered herself in ice particles, effectively cooling herself in the hot summers' sun.

"Maybe just...relax. A break from saving lives, you know? Maybe get a few bottles of wine in there...hit the beach...make some bits at the tables...you know, Haygas things. What about you?"

Sonic Tragedy nodded, and answered the question herself.

"I'm going to hit the beach, too. Definitely hit a few bottles of wine. And maybe I'll join you on the tables. I definitely can't get a wing massage...I'd destroy the entire sauna..."

Wave Rider nodded.

"Well, if you can't get one, I won't get one."

Sonic Tragedy smiled in appreciation.

"Thanks...you're a great friend, Wave Rider...you're my best friend..."

They hugged for a moment, before returning to their luggage. Sonic Tragedy looked around, appreciating the marble floor and columns, as well as the marble ceiling. Everything seemed to be marble in this station...

She rolled her shoulders, shifting her wait as she relaxed, waiting for the train to arrive...

The Train

Twilight turned around, having just had a conversation with-

Her jaw hit the floor at what she saw. Fluttershy gasped, and turned her head, embarrassed.

There before her, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were in each others' arms, all sense and logic forlorn as they locked muzzles. A split second later, they disconnected, not blushing at all, their senses totally numbed as their inebriation took full effect. A furious scribble, heard only by Twilight as the music overwrote it, denoted the writing of a small note.

Beer = total loss of common sense. Never drink it.

Ever.

She looked back up, watching as Spike and Rarity went into Rarity's compartment. Worried, Twilight got up and followed them, and was horrified at what she saw.

BEER MAKES RARITY DO DRUNKEN DESIGNING. NEVER LET HER DESIGN WHILE INEBRIATED AGAIN.

The hideous designs, scrawled across the wall and floor, would normally be enough to make the elegant white unicorn vomit in disgust. However, in her odd state, she couldn't make heads nor tails of what she saw. Rather clumsily, she bumped into Spike, and the two instantly started kissing. Twilight backed out quickly, blushing.

A few moments later, a bang was heard from Rarity's compartment, and Rarity walked out, Spike not with her, his head visible in the pile of clothes, his beer bottle rolling around by his mouth, which was currently struggling to reach it, the dragon apparently having forgotten that he had arms and claws.

Don't let anypony consume beer ever again.

Get rid of it.

ALL of it.

She shook her head, deciding that this was, by far, the craziest party ever. Well, besides that one time, at the Grand Galloping Gala...

Her horn glowing, she pulled closed the screen in the entrance to her library compartment in the train, blocking herself and Fluttershy from the madness outside.

Manehattan

A gentle breeze blew by, the air casually rolling across the two Pegasi's coats, cooling and calming them as a train finally arrived, slowing to as top in front of them.

"Finally..."

They admired the exterior of the train, and then proceeded to enter, closing the mahogany door behind them.

Placing down their luggage, and dragging them over to their respective beds, they lay down, wanting to do nothing more than sleep for a little while...

Note from the Author

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyup.

I'm sorry, I just had to.

But guess what?

Now, that allows me to set up a hilarious situation I'd come up with before.

What is it?

You'll just have to wait and see!

Why did I italicize see?

BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IT.

NOW GROVEL.

GROVEL!!!!!

Confusion and Rarity (The Train, Day 4)

Peter finally awoke, sending Rainbow Dash into giddy hysterics.

"Thank Celestia you're okay, Peter!!"

Peter sat up, holding his forehead in his palm, his bandage rough against his head.

"Ugh...okay is an exaggeration...I'm hungover as shit..."

Rainbow Dash chuckled, and threw her wings around him, pulling him back down onto the hammock.

"I was afraid you'd go into a coma. Twilight said there was a chance of you going into one."

Peter smiled, and curled up in the embrace, moving as close to Rainbow Dash as physically possible, her heartbeat making him feel safe and happy as he pressed his forehead into her chest, closing his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her. He moved his legs until he could lie on his side comfortably, without the cyan Pegasus' hooves constantly chafing his knees.

"Well, good thing I didn't, huh?"

Rainbow Dash chuckled, and held him tighter, love pouring out through her heart to him.

"Ugh...my head..."

She kissed Peter on the forehead, smiling.

"Stop complaining so much, Peter. You're gonna be alright."

Peter smiled, and nuzzled his marefriend, loving every moment of their embrace.

"Oh, by the way, we lost Rarity last night."

Peter chuckled, amazed at how calmly she had said it.

"That's it? Like, 'oops! We lost a living being last night!'"

Rainbow Dash joined in on the chuckling.

And then, Peter's head started to clear up.

"Oh, shit. We lost Rarity!?"

"Yeah. We're looking for her everywhere."

Peter pushed himself off of Rainbow Dash slightly, and shimmied upwards until his face was level with hers.

"Let me help you guys."

Rainbow Dash pulled him tighter, his heartbeat and her heartbeat dancing together.

"Peter, you've never drunk alcohol before, right?"

"Yeah, and?"

"You need time to recover. This is your first hangover. It's a horrible idea to spend it searching for somepony."

"Mmph...I guess you're right..."

His eyes started to close. His head hurt so much, and he was so tired...

"I'm going to sleep for a bit, Rainbow Dash...my head just hurts so much, and I'm so tired..."

Rainbow Dash nodded, pulling him closer to himself, looking him directly in the eyes.

"Good night, Peter..."

He smiled, and gave her a tired, sloppy kiss.

"I love you, Dashie..."

The cyan Pegasus smiled, letting him rest his head in the crook of his neck, their roles from the day past reversed.

"I love you too, Peter."

Rainbow Dash smiled, wanting nothing more than to stay like this for the rest of her life as Peter fell back to sleep, his mind awash with pain and love.

Later...

This time, when Peter woke up, he was painfully aware of the profound absence of Rainbow Dash. Also, there was a slight tingling that he couldn't quite place his finger on. However, there was a ferocious pounding in his head, that he could definitely put his entire hand on.

He stretched, rubbing his eye with a hoof-

Wait a second...hold on...wait...hold on...wait...hold on a second...wait...wait...wait a second...wait...hold on...what?

He struggled to determine what had happened, his mind still fuzzy and not exactly working properly.

I...I have a hoof...

He looked down, to see that his clothes were nowhere to be found, but rather, a red coat glistened in the morning sun, the sunroof letting in the streaks of morning.

I'm a pony...

He sat up, his legs bending at angles that seemed awkward to him, yet felt fine to his body.

What the fuck...

He stretched, the muscles in his wings feeling refreshed and-

I have wings. I'm a Pegasus.

Finally, his mind began to clear, allowing him to muddle it with panic and excitement, which begot pain.

I'm a Pegasus! Sweet! Wait...how did I become a Pegasus? Am I dead? Is this like 'Living the Dream'? What the fuck...

"Good Morning, Peter."

He wheeled around to see Rainbow Dash, obviously struggling to hold back laughter.

"Morning, Rainbow Dash. Would you mind explaining to me...why I'm a pony?"

The cyan Pegasus couldn't hold it anymore. She burst into tears and laughter, laying on her back in the hammock, making it sway. Peter swayed with it, still unsteady on the new appendages.

"Uh...that's my fault."

He looked down to see a sheepish Twilight, an amazed Fluttershy, a confused Spike, a bouncing Pinkie Pie, and a thoughtful Applejack.

"What do you mean, Twilight?"

The lavender unicorn blushed, looking away from Peter's incredulous gaze.

"I...I was trying to find Rarity, as we somehow lost her last night...and...I used a 'pony finding' spell, right? Well, turns out it wasn't a pony finding spell, it was a 'pony transforming' spell. So, I accidentally...turned you into a pony."

Peter rubbed his eyes with his hooves, holding back a bout of laughter.

"Uh...okay...is this permanent?"

"No. It lasts for six hours."

Peter nodded, relieved that he wouldn't be stuck as a pony forever.

Ponies may be awesome, but I spent fifteen years as a human...kinda used to dem fingers...

He looked over at Rainbow Dash as she moved next to him, his new body bringing them to equal heights.

"I think you look pretty cool, Peter."

Peter smiled, trying (and failing) to put his wing around Rainbow Dash. All he managed to do was brush her shoulder lightly, before bringing it back into place.

"Peter, do you want to see what you look like?"

Peter looked down at Twilight, thinking.

"Yeah, sure, why not."

A mirror was magically levitated towards him, and he gazed into it, dubious as he examined his body.

"What in the hell..."

He looked at his wings, amazed that they were extended, as he hadn't even noticed the feathered appendages moving at all.

"I look mad weird..."

Rainbow Dash entered the mirror, expertly wrapping her wing around him, making him rather jealous.

"I think you look awesome, Peter."

He smiled, and kissed the cyan Pegasus rather clumsily, as he was not used to having to work around a muzzle.

"Now, come on, let's get your wings working."

He smiled at her, nervousness coursing through him as he sat up, Rainbow Dash coaching him on how to properly extend his wings. The screens surrounding the hammock immediately came down, the mirror returned to its place.

Two hours later...

"Come on, just try it again. You can do it."

Peter frowned in frustration, his wings furling back into place.

For the past hour and a half, (the two of them had spent the first half hour perfecting their kissing,) Rainbow Dash had been giving him instructions on how to extend his wings. She threw him instructions, such as, 'let it come naturally', or, 'just concentrate and do it, it's just like using your hands.' Time and time again, all he had managed to do was extend his wings an inch, or smack Rainbow Dash with them, who was seated directly behind him, whispering confidence and determination into his ear, occasionally rubbing the joints of his wings to help limber them up.

Peter took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, feeling for the muscles in his wings. He focused on the appendages, listening to the information they sent his mind, feeling how the muscles moved in minute ways, feeling how he could control them...

He nodded, and attempted to extend his wings once more. They slowly rose from his body, agonizingly slow, until they passed an inch.

"Come on, come on, you can do it..."

They slowly picked up speed, and reached two inches off of his body.

"Yes, you can do it, Peter, that's it. You're doing great."

Three inches.

"Great Peter, great!"

Four inches...

"You're almost there! Just keep going, Peter, just keep-"

Rainbow Dash.

"Ow!"

Peter quickly retracted his wings, and turned to inspect Rainbow Dash, despite the pain in his right wing, which felt as though it was on fire.

"Are you okay, Dashie?"

She nodded, rubbing the spot where Peter had hit her with a hoof.

"Yeah, but you need to learn more control, Peter. We only have four hours left."

Peter nodded, rolling the joints of his wings.

"Ugh...they hurt like hell..."

Rainbow Dash placed a hoof on his shoulder.

"Lie down for a bit. Take a break, you've deserved it."

Peter smiled, and lay down on his side, at the same time that Rainbow Dash did, her wings already wrapped around him. She kissed him, relieved that they could at least do that much...

"I see you've gotten kissing down to a 't', though, Peter."

Peter smiled, and swallowed as he kissed her again. He was going to try something he hadn't tried before...

Slowly, unsteadily, his tongue extended, reaching for Rainbow Dash's mouth, and, thus, her tongue. He edged forward, centimeter by centimeter, when...

He found Rainbow Dash's tongue, which had been unsteadily extending at the same time as his tongue. As soon as their tongues touched, the two pulled back, looking into each others' eyes, longing for that connection once more.

Together, they sat up, words lost as they immediately met lips once more, not moving as their tongues unsteadily reached for each other, searching for their companions in the darkness.

When their tongues met once more, they didn't pull back. Rather, they had their tongues dance dances of love and passion, using their lips to bring their mouths closer together, both of their eyes closed.

Peter's mind was awash with ecstasy, love, and so many things. He lathered Rainbow Dash's tongue with his saliva, loving every second of the wet, sloppy kiss, driving his tongue the farthest it could go in her mouth, knowing full well what would be happening 'down there' if he had been a human in that moment...

Rainbow Dash's mind was awash with ecstasy, the emotional input from her wings, and the feeling of Peter's tongue on hers giving her bursts of love. She swirled her tongue around Peter's, knowing full well that the kiss would help him extend his wings.

And then, it happened. His mind was so filled with love, that he could easily control the wings, a new drive filling him as his wings shot out and enveloped her, the sensitive appendages sending him physical and emotional jolts of love and ecstasy, if not pleasure. He pressed himself to her, as close as he could possibly get, wrapping his hind legs around her for good measure.

They continued kissing, even as they fell onto their sides, their tongues dancing almost as frantically as their hearts, which they could feel beating like crazy through each others' chests.

Finally, they parted, staring into each others' eyes and blushing madly.

"Peter...your wings..."

Peter smiled, grateful that he wasn't a human in that split second, for two reasons. One, his hind legs were wrapped around her, two, the sensations that his wings gave him were amazing.

She smiled, going back in for more, the half hour straight of kissing sending her mind into a crazed state.

"Let's do that again..."

Peter smiled, and they passed the next half hour kissing.

At the end of the half hour, Peter felt a strange tingling sensation, and he was suddenly aware of fur touching something, something very sensitive.

Shit...how the fuck...

Rainbow Dash pulled back, seemingly appalled.

"Peter, we were just kissing. You should know better than to take that thing out!"

Peter blushed, and immediately tried to cover the unseemly addition to his body with his hooves, forgetting about his wings momentarily.

"S...s...sorry...I...I don't know how to...put it away..."

Rainbow Dash sighed, looking down at the hammock. The normally open-meshed material was now a solid fabric, and nopony could see or hear anything within the screens.

She sighed, and looked Peter in the eyes.

"Well, I guess I need to teach you how to use that, too."

She winked at Peter, and he blushed in response.

And then, Peter said the most romantic line anypony had ever said in the history of Equestria.

"Let's do this."

Meanwhile...

"Rarity!? Rarity!? RARITY!?"

Fluttershy winced, and Twilight simply took a deep breath, shouting the white unicorn's name again and again.

"Twilight, shut up!!"

Twilight wheeled around, about to shout down Pinkie Pie, when she noticed something very...odd.

"Really? Somepony fell in my mane?"

She seemed to be waiting for a response, and then spoke again.

"Thanks, Plant Guy!"

"Uh...sugarcube? What in the hay was all that about?"

"Isn't it obvious? Rarity is trapped in the jungle in my mane!"

Everypony simply stopped, and stared at the pink pony.

"She fell in my mane last night, and now she's stuck in the jungle! It used to be a small condominium, for a tiger and a bear, but eventually, the barrier between that and the jungle fell. Now there are a bunch of Stallion Eaters, Jungle Bats, and Hornets constantly causing havoc in there!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow, but decided to go along with it.

"So, now Rarity is in danger of being killed by a Stallion Eaters?"

Pinkie Pie nodded, and reached a hoof into her mane. Everypony looked to each other, rolling their eyes at Pinkie Pie's antics.

That is, until she pulled out a map.

"The building near the tip is the pneumatics block. Just south of that is the Greenhouse, where Plant Guy lives. Just near there is the incinerator, which the bailey runs past, and then there's a plaza. Connected to the plaza is the Storage room, and the Play Pen, for when Plant Guy gets bored. And then, there's the Jungle. It looks mild on that map, but, trust me, it's a whole other story. The pit is actually the center of a giant Stallion Eater. Unfortunately, Rarity is stuck in there."

Twilight blinked, and shoved her head into the tip of Pinkie Pie's mane. To her amazement, she saw everything that Pinkie Pie had described.

Right beneath her, was a large block, where pistons pumped furiously.

Farther on, was a greenhouse, its glass walls nothing like the walls in the map.

After that, all she could see was the healthy glow of the incinerator.

She pulled her head out, and moved to the back of Pinkie Pie's mane, the pink pony simply raising an eyebrow.

When she poked her head in, she immediately pulled it back out, as she had poked her head out into a small clearing. Where a Stallion Eater immediately snapped at her.

She backed away quickly, furiously panting, screaming in fear as the Stallion Eater barely poked out of Pinkie Pie's mane.

"Ahhh!! Everypony, get over here!"

Applejack stood in shock, staring at the head of the plant. It snapped at her, and she jumped backwards, ready to kick it into next Never.

Spike released a small jet of flame, enough to threaten the senseless plant, enraged that it had dared to hurt his Rarity.

Fluttershy shrank as far back as possible.

Pinkie Pie stood completely still, not wanting to move something in the jungle and give the Stallion Eater a chance to get out and eat up one of her friends.

"Ah...Ah...Ah'm confused. So, this is all real, and Rarity is stuck in there?"

Twilight nodded furiously.

"As soon as Peter is back to human form, we need to get in there..."

Applejack raised an eyebrow.

"Why when Peter's back to human form?"

"Because, he's no use in pony form. Also, Rainbow Dash is teaching him how to use his wings, so, yeah."

Applejack grabbed Twilight's shoulders and wheeled her towards herself.

"We can't leave Rarity in there. I'm going in, whether you want me to or not."

"If you guys are going in, go in from the tip!"

Just as Pinkie Pie spoke, the Stallion Eater thrust out a bit more, straining on its vine, getting closer and closer to its target.

Twilight had had enough. She magically grabbed the Stallion Eater, and froze it, immediately shattering the ice with a burst of pure will.

"There...now, Pinkie, what were you saying?"

"Thank you, Twilight...anyway, as I was saying, you guys should go in through the tip. I'll have Plant Guy meet you there, and then all of you can go down to Storage and stock up on supplies. I think that some of the supplies would be best for Peter, as there are one or two machetes in there..."

Twilight nodded, and looked back to everypony.

"Fluttershy, you stay here, so that when Peter and Rainbow Dash come down from the hammock, you can tell them where to go. We'll tell...'Plant Guy' to wait for Peter. Applejack, Spike, come with me. We're going in."

Applejack and Spike nodded, and the three of them instantly jumped into the tip of Pinkie Pie's mane without a moment's hesitation.

To Be Continued...

Note from the Author

Don't ask me where I got the idea from.

I don't know.

Plants (The Train, Day 4)

"That was so awesome..."

Peter smiled, his eyes closed as he listened to Rainbow Dash's gentle breathing.

And, as Peter lay there on the hammock, his right wing and foreleg around Rainbow Dash, the left equivalent of the latter resting on his chest, a horrible realization hit him. His eyes shot open, and he directed his gaze towards Rainbow Dash.

"Shit, 'Dash, what if you get pregnant?"

The cyan Pegasus smiled, and looked up at him, sincerity gleaming in her eyes.

"Then you and I would raise the foal, as mommy and daddy, husband...and wife."

He blushed, and smiled at her, knowing full well that if she became heavy with child, he would have no choice but to marry her. Then again, he wouldn't hesitate at all. In all honesty...deep down, he kind of hoped that she would get pregnant.

"But...what if it comes out as a human-pony mutant?"

"I'm pretty sure you're a pony right now, Peter. Maybe not forever, but until Twilight's spell wears off, you are."

Peter nodded.

"Yeah, I guess you're right...I mean, in order to turn into a pony, every strand of DNA in my body would have to change at the same time, which probably includes the Deoxyriboneucleic Acid in my sperm..."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, ya' egghead..."

They shared a small laugh, which did nothing to calm the tempest in Peter's mind.

"But...back on Earth, I'm still fifteen. What if I turn out to be a bad father? Or a bad husband?"

Rainbow Dash giggled, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Peter, you'd be a great father. And, you'd be a wonderful husband. Don't you remember what you said in the hospital? Loyalty isn't based on your actions, but how you act. You questioning yourself...it shows that you'd be an amazing father, and husband."

Peter smiled, and kissed her back, his mind quickly falling into a state of sleep.

"I love you, Rainbow Dash..."

"I love you too, Peter..."

Peter fell asleep, but Rainbow Dash stayed awake, staring at the sunroof, petrified of the future, and of how quickly everything was taking its course.

I want to marry him...but I've known him for less than a month...I mean, he obviously feels the same way, but...this is just so weird...for the first time, I think I'm in over my head here...

She looked over to Peter, and sighed. In two hours, he would return to his human form.

What we just did...it was amazing. It wasn't like what Gilda told me about...it was amazing, and it was love. But...what if I can't bring myself to do it when he's a human? Would he be...disappointed?

She shook her head, and gulped, uneasily closing her eyes.

I guess...I'll just have to wait, and see...

Meanwhile...

Rarity's eyes opened slowly.

Oh, my...where am I?

She looked around. She could hardly make out anything in the darkness. However, she did feel something holding her. She nestled in the grip, smiling.

Ah...it must be Spike...

She opened her eyes, and looked around for the dragon. When she couldn't find him, she decided to magically enlighten her surroundings, and thus herself, ignoring the slight throbbing as the beer took its toll.

At least I didn't have too much last night...

She smiled, chuckling as the orb of light sputtered into life.

Or...perhaps I did...

She looked down at the 'vine' holding her, which now moved slightly, bringing her closer to a horrible stench.

Oh, I must be seeing things...

She looked around at her dark surroundings. Many vines sprouted out around her, all of them going in random directions, coming out of a strange, bud-shaped plant.

Hah...is that a giant mouth? Oh, Rarity, you do have the strangest dreams...

And then, the pain kicked in, as the vine squeezed her tighter, slowly bringing her closer to the strange object in the center.

Oh...I'm not dreaming...how did I get here?

She looked around, the orb of light at the tip of her horn showing her how horrid her surroundings were.

Oh, my, how squalid! There's dirt everywhere, it's practically a jungle! And...oh my...

The vine that was holding her began to solidify, becoming incredibly cold, before ultimately shattering. She fell to the ground, which was not too far, and stood, eying the dirt with a hateful passion.

"Ugh...dirt...now my hooves will have dirt in them for weeks..."

She looked around, searching for a way out. However, she heard a small snapping noise that gave her halt.

Turning, Rarity came face to face with...

A Stallion Eater.

Twilight walked between Spike and Applejack, feeling dwarfed in the giant pneumatics block.

"This way. The greenhouse is over there."

Twilight looked up at Spike, confused.

"But...how do you know that?"

"I was in here before....I know my way around here, if only a little bit..."

Twilight nodded, remembering the time she had seen Spike pop out of Pinkie Pie's mane...

"This is so weird...that we're in her mane..."

Just then, a bloodcurdling scream cut through the silence. The three looked between each other, and ran forward...

Right into the chest of a giant Stallion Eater.

"Oh, my Celestia! That thing is huge!"

Spike frowned in confusion, watching as Twilight charged up her horn.

"This Stallion Eater is going down!"

Suddenly, Spike noticed something. Jumping between Twilight and the Stallion Eater, he spoke.

"Twilight, wait! Don't hurt him!"

Strangely enough, the Stallion Eater shrank back slightly, its voice coming out clear and crisp.

"Don't hurt me, me Plant Guy. Me good Stallion Eater. Me help."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, and observed the strange being.

First off, it wasn't exactly a Stallion Eater. Rather, it was more like a giant, plant version of Peter, albeit without feet, arms, or eyes. In place of feet, were roots, and in place of arms, were leaves. Its head was red, with white polka-dots, and orange leaves spanning the rim of the oval. In the center of the head, was a large mouth.

"Well...Plant Guy...would you mind staying here? Two friends of ours are going to come in after us, and they're going to need your help, seeing as how they don't have a map. Then again, this map isn't very helpful..."

The large plant nodded its head, and Spike raised a claw to a leaf, and shook it.

"Hey, Plant Guy! It's me, Spike! I'm not sure if you remember me, but you chased me through the pneumatics area."

The...'Plant Guy' smiled, and patted the dragon on the back.

"Me sorry. Friends?"

Spike smiled in return.

"Friends. Now, just wait here, okay? Uh...you can sense things, right?"

The plant nodded.

"Yes. Sense things in air, with leaves. Living beings make good gas, make me live."

Spike nodded.

"Okay. Thanks, Plant Guy! We'll see you soon!"

The plant smiled, and stood aside, allowing the three friends to continue on towards the greenhouse, Twilight and Applejack simply staring at Spike as they moved on towards the greenhouse, which seemed to be incredibly far away.

As they walked, the brick walls keeping the hair of Pinkie Pie's mane out of their paths, while dimming their surroundings, Applejack broke the silence.

"So...Twilight...last night...did we do anything...odd?"

Twilight's eyes opened wide, and she immediately remembered the moment when Applejack and Pinkie Pie had locked muzzles...

"Uhhh, nooo..."

Applejack raised an eyebrow towards the lavender unicorn.

"Y'know yer' a bad liar, right?"

Twilight smiled, unable to resist the truth.

"Yes, yes..."

"So...did Ah do anything weird?"

Twilight gulped, and decided to tell her.

"Well...you...kphd...mph...mie..."

"Ah'm sorry, what?"

"You kphd...mphie...mie..."

"Ah 'kphd mphie mie'? Twilight, what're you sayin'?"

"You kissed Pinkie Pie!"

Applejack stopped in her tracks, staring ahead, her body totally rigid. Her eyelids creased upwards, her expression that of incredulity.

"Ah...Ah what?"

Twilight stopped and turned, sighing as she faced her friend. Spike stopped and leaned against the wall, breathing a small amount of fire in impatience.

"You were really drunk, and it only lasted for a split second, okay?"

Applejack closed her eyes, and looked to the ground, shaking her head.

"Well...as long as that's all Ah did..."

"It's all I saw."

"Okay...well...let's just...never talk of this again, y'hear?"

Twilight nodded, and Spike interrupted.

"Listen, I understand that this is all very pressing to you, Applejack, but we need to get a move on. Rarity is stuck in the center of that jungle, with a giant Stallion Eater about to...eat'er."

The three of them sighed. Even as an adolescent dragon, in a pressing situation, he couldn't resist the puns.

"Sorry. Anyway, let's go."

Applejack and Twilight nodded, and they pressed forth, the greenhouse's glass walls finally coming into view.

"Well, let's just go through this without a problem, okay?"

Applejack and Spike nodded, and they walked on for about fifteen more minutes, before finally arriving at the entrance. They walked in, still amazed that this much...stuff, fit into Pinkie Pie's mane.

They walked on the walkway (you don't say), which made slight ripples in the green, algae infested waters. A few lily pads sat upon the surface, their green leaves almost as large as Twilight in certain cases, or as small as the dragonflies that manifested around them.

Twilight took a deep breath, the warm interior of the greenhouse acting almost like a sauna...

"Come on, don't dawdle. We've got to save Rarity."

Twilight nodded, suddenly realizing that both she and Applejack had stopped in their tracks.

And then, something rose out of the water, unheard by either of them as they walked on, the metal stairs echoing with the falling of their hooves as they walked onto the higher platform, careful to avoid touching the strange flowers that grew on the vines wrapping around the railings.

Unheard by the three of them, the lily pad rose steadily higher up out of the water, liquid dripping into the murky water below.

And then, Spike turned around, and stood completely still.

"Spike? Are you-"

Applejack and Twilight followed his gaze, turning. They screamed, the monster advancing closer. Its head was the lily pad, the two buds its eyes, the sharp, razor blades on the leaves making its entire head a mouth. Its body was simply many dangling roots, which seemed to move of their own accord in the murky waters of the greenhouse.

"Run!"

Twilight, Applejack, and Spike turned and fled, Twilight not wanting to waste time and magic on the beast.

That is, until a second one snatched Spike up in its mouth, forming a perfectly closed bud as it angled its head upwards.

"Spike!!"

Twilight gathered her energy, ready to destroy the plants, when...

A gash appeared in the side of the plant. Purple claws raked at the inside, white fangs gnawed at the fabrics, rendering small and large holes in the bud.

Spike jumped out, his heart ablaze with fury. He sent the blaze from his heart to his mouth, sending fire at the plant that had dared to eat him, a dragon! How dare a plant eat a dragon!

He turned, gritting his teeth as the plant fell into the water, dead.

Spike landed on the walkway, and turned to face the second plant, his eyes ablaze with fury. He launched forward, diving into the mouth of the plant as he scorched it with fire, descending into the murky waters below as he tore, bit, kicked at the mouth of the plant, air bubbles escaping from his own mouth.

Above, Twilight and Applejack smiled at each other.

"Three...two...one..."

They expected Spike to burst out. And he did.

Albeit, with fifty vines holding him as he tried desperately to escape their hold.

"Help!"

He sent fire back at his constraints. They were too wet to be burned, and they redoubled their efforts to pull him into the water.

"Shit! Twilight, help!!"

He raked at the vines, but he missed, the strands too thin to accurately snap them, and when he did hit them, they were too wet and pliant for him to actually snap them.

More vines whipped around his wrists and ankles, and slowly began to pull him in four different directions, agonizingly painfully, and slowly.

"Aghhh!!!"

Just then, the vines grew cold, and shattered, just as the Stallion Eater had.

"Oh, buck..."

Spike fell into the water, and surfaced quickly, panting as he pulled himself out onto the metal floor of the greenhouse. After a moment's respite, he climbed up to Twilight and Applejack, immediately sitting down in front of them.

"What...was that!?"

Twilight shook her head.

"I honestly don't know..."

Applejack, Spike and Twilight exchanged glances. Applejack stated the painfully obvious. Spike would have done so, if he wasn't still catching his breath.

"So, wait...if y'all don't know what in the hay that was, then...what else could possibly be in Pinkie Pie's...mane?"

Twilight nodded, horror-stricken, thinking of Rarity and what could be attacking her at the moment...

"Let's go..."

Spike raised a claw as the two of them galloped along, panting as he  fell onto his chest in a meager manner when he attempted to stand and run with them.

"I'll...I'll be right with you...just...just, give me a second...okay...?"

Once More, Meanwhile...

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, refreshed by her sleep.

And then, she looked down.

"Uh...I see you're back to being a human again, Peter."

The human stirred, and immediately covered himself with his hands.

"Oh, shit..."

Rainbow Dash sighed.

"Look, Peter, I don't know if I can bring myself to do it with you, y'know, when you're a human..."

Peter nodded, relieved that he was no longer a pony.

"I understand perfectly. But, for now, could you go get my clothes?"

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.

"Why can't you just put it away, and we lay down and forget that you took it out again?"

Peter took a deep breath, and exhaled.

"Uh...'Dash...there's something you need to know...about humans..."

She raised an eyebrow, curious as to what he had to say.

"We...we can't put our...dicks away..."

He immediately hung his head in shame.

Wow. Smooth. Almost as smooth as a skeleton's ass.

"Uh..."

Peter simply nodded.

"So, every time we've hugged, kissed, or just lay down together, you've been...'ready'? And...even when you're just sitting by yourself, you're...'ready'?"

Peter shook his head furiously.

"No, no...just because it's there doesn't mean I'm going to use it. When it get stiff, that's when I'm...'ready'."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.

"Stiff? What is it now?"

"Flaccid. When I'm aroused, it get stiff and grows bigger, in something called an 'erection.'"

He sighed.

I'm doing fucking sex-ed...

Rainbow Dash blushed brighter.

"So...so...every time we've slept together, that thing has been there?"

"Yeah...but not to be used, just...to be there. It's weird, I know, but it's not like I'm constantly thinking through my...head."

He smiled at the pun.

"Uh...where else would you think?"

"The tip of it is called the 'head'."

"Ohhh...weird. Anyway, I'll get your clothes. I'm guessing that, since your clothes are on, it's not like we're actually doing anything, right?"

Peter nodded, and Rainbow Dash kissed him on the cheek.

"Well, whatever. If you can't put it away, you can't put it away. I'll get your clothes, be right back..."

And with that, she descended from the hammock, making sure not to allow the screens to fly back into place. She returned quickly, his clothes in her forelegs. Peter took them from her, smiling at the cyan Pegasus as she landed next to him.

"Thanks, Rainbow Dash..."

For understanding...

He quickly pulled on his underwear, then his undershirt, and then the rest of his damn clothes.

"Uh, by the way, Fluttershy needs to talk to us."

"Okay..."

They descended, and Fluttershy immediately packed them full with information.

"Twilight, Spike, and Applejack went into Pinkie's mane to save Rarity. She fell into a jungle, in the center of a giant Stallion Eater. They need you two in there. 'Plant Guy' will meet you there. Now, get going, you two!"

Rainbow Dash and Peter exchanged glances, and decided that Fluttershy wasn't simply pulling their legs. They walked over to Pinkie Pie, and she bent down, holding the tip of her mane up for them to enter through.

Peter elbowed Rainbow Dash.

"I'll meet you in there!"

He jumped in, and his entire body disappeared, shocking Rainbow Dash to no end.

"Wha...how..."

"Just get in, Dashie!"

Rainbow Dash cringed as Pinkie Pie used the nickname, but took to the air all the same, flying directly into the pink, unruly mane, following Peter into the odd world it contained.

Note from the Author

And so, our adventure begins.

It will be a tale of daring conquest, horrifying enemies, and...

Ah, who am I kidding?

It's going to be hilarious.

BTW, Plant Guy FTW. I don't know why, but you guys seem to love him.

Oh, by the way...

I dropped a screw in the mayonnaise.

Have fun!

Going to the Jungle (The Train, Day 4)

Scene 1 - Questions of the Past, Present, and Future

As Peter and Rainbow Dash walked along, the sounds of their sneakers and cloven against the metal floor echoing throughout the hallways of the pneumatics block, a question gnawed at the cyan Pegasus' heart. After a few moments, she sent it from pulling at the strings of her heart, to pulling at her vocal chords.

"Peter, before, when you were a pony, and we had...sex, did you...did you enjoy it?"

Peter raised an eyebrow at the strange question, not breaking stride as he answered.

"Of course I did. It was amazing, Rainbow Dash."

She sighed, and Peter blinked, confused.

"But...thing is, I can't bring myself to do it with you, y'know, as a human..."

Peter nodded.

"I understand. Trust me, that feeling is mutual."

Rainbow Dash nodded. A question still burned, however, and she stopped walking, looking down at the cold, uncaring floor as she sat, vocalizing her worries.

"But...are you disappointed? I mean, would you ever...break up with me because of that?"

Peter stopped as well, and knelt on one knee, looking deep into Rainbow Dash's eyes as he placed his hand on her cheek.

"Never. I'm not disappointed, and I wouldn't break up with you because we can't have sex. I love you, and nothing will ever change that."

He kissed her reassuringly, on the lips. When the kiss ended, he hugged her, holding the cyan Pegasus close to his heart.

"Thanks, Peter...I needed to hear that..."

After a few moments, Peter pulled her off of himself, only enough to look into her eyes. She nodded, and together, they stood, and walked on, Rarity heavy on the cyan Pegasus' mind in the absence of her worries and doubts.

As they walked, Rainbow Dash smiled, imagining what raising a foal with Peter would be like...

After a few moments of wandering, aimlessly, through the maze-like building, they stopped to rest. Rainbow Dash asked a third question, blushing lightly as she did so.

"Hey, Peter...if I get pregnant...could you imagine what it would be like to raise a foal together?"

Peter scratched his chin, nodding and smiling wistfully.

"Yeah, I can. Definitely. You, me, a child...I can imagine that."

In truth, he had, and he allowed his mind to wander, re-living the day dream once more.

Peter and Rainbow Dash were walking in the park, side by side, smiling as Peter pushed a stroller. Inside the stroller, a small Pegasus' inquisitive, curious eyes peered out, smiling in the Spring breeze.

His train of thought was cut short by a loud thud. Peter and Rainbow Dash exchanged a glance, and immediately faced the direction from which it came, ready to defend themselves against anything.

Scene 2 - Filth

"How dare you, you ruffian! Un...vine, me this instant!"

Rarity clocked the Stallion Eater on the head, or mouth, or whatever. It shrunk back slightly, and snapped at its prey once more, tightening its hold on the white unicorn.

"Oh! How rude!"

Her horn glowed.

"You need to learn some manners!"

A blade of clean, fresh air cut through the vine. She fell two inches onto the ground, huffing as the Stallion Eater died, its lifeline cut.

After that...incident, with the Diamond Dogs, she had taken it upon herself to learn a bit of self-defense. The first form of magic she had chosen, was that of Air Blades.

'Air is just so pure, and clean! It's not dirty at all,' had been her reasoning. Now, she wasn't so sure.

"Ugh...now you made me go and get my coat all dirty, and disgusting..."

She turned, and saw five Stallion Eaters approaching her. Rage contorted her face as their filthy, filthy mouths and vines approached her.

"Back off, you filthy plants!"

She sliced through the air with her Air Blade, cutting all five of their vines. She turned, walking off with a hmph!, cutting down countless vines as she proceeded into the dark of the jungle, shuddering as clouds of dirt flew up around her.

"Squalid...absolutely squalid..."

Scene 3 - Catching Up

"Holy crap, that's Petey Piranha!"

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, intrigued and confused.

"Petey Piranha?"

"A giant Piranha Plant. Just...stand still, okay?"

"Uh...okay..."

The plant walked closer to the two of them, eventually stopping a few inches from their air-making forms. Much to their surprise, it spoke.

"Me, Plant Guy. Spike, friend. Follow?"

Peter and Rainbow Dash sighed in relief.

"Oh...so you're Plant Guy...do you mind if I call you Petey Piranha?"

"Why call me that?"

"Because...it's a nickname."

The plant moved its head up and down, in what Peter assumed to be a nod.

"Good name. Follow?"

It beckoned with its leaves, pointing to an obvious exit that Peter and Rainbow Dash had somehow missed.

"Oh...found it, 'Dash!"

Rainbow Dash smiled, and flapped her wings enough to punch Peter in the shoulder, albeit lightly.

"Sure, why not? It's all in the heart of adventure, right? That is, if you're not chicken!"

Peter smiled, and winked.

"I ain't no chicken, Dash!"

"Sure. Whatever you say."

"Fine! I'll race you to that building! No wings!"

"You're on!"

Plant Guy stood to the side, watching as they raced to his home, the greenhouse. He ran after them, the surroundings blurring as his giant strides covered the large distance in a matter of moments.

Just before Rainbow Dash entered the building - Peter was far back - Plant Guy stopped her with a leaf. With the other, he pointed at the panting human.

Her face riddled with concern, Rainbow Dash raced back towards Peter, waiting for him to recuperate.

"You okay, Peter?"

"Yeah...I'm fine...I just don't have...a lot...of stamina..."

Peter coughed a few times, still heavily panting. After a few moments, he stood erect, his breathing finally calming. He nodded.

"Let's go. But...can we not run this time?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, smiling as they walked up to Plant Guy.

"So, Petey Piranha, what's in there?"

"It greenhouse. Live in it. Careful, bullies inside."

Rainbow Dash and Peter exchanged a look.

"Petey, do they bully you?"

"No. Bully air-makers, like you two."

Peter nodded, not making heads nor tails of what kind of 'bullies' could be in the greenhouse...

"Well, let's go."

As soon as they entered, they received a blast of humidity.

Peter rolled his shoulders in the humidity, and Rainbow Dash her wings. Plant Guy looked around nervously, then relaxed, explaining who the 'bullies' where.

"Big lily pads, cousins. Have teeth, eat air-makes. Don't know why. Anyway, they asleep, I think."

Peter raised an eyebrow, but followed Plant Guy up the stairs, Rainbow Dash by his side.

As they exited the greenhouse, Peter could see a healthy glow, which he assumed was the incinerator. Plant Guy affirmed his suspicions.

"That incinerator. Dangerous. Don't go in or near."

"Thanks, Petey."

They continued, eventually walking into a garden-styled plaza, with a large fountain in the center, and trees against all four, stone walls. The dirt ground was covered in grass and flowers, giving it a pleasant aroma.

"Huh...this is nice...Oh, look, Peter! There's Spike!"

Scene 4 - Supplies

Twilight and Applejack sat, watching Spike pace back and forth, obviously anxious.

"Come on, it's pointless to wait for them! We need to get going!"

Twilight sighed, reluctant to give her son more independence...

Stop it. You need to let go, Twilight...

"Spike, you're a grown dragon now. You can go ahead if you want."

Spike stopped, and nodded.

"You know what...I will. I'll meet you guys in there."

Just as Spike was about to walk off, a shout echoed in the plaza, louder than the sound of water in the fountain.

"Spike!"

He turned, and Peter and Rainbow Dash ran up to him, Plant Guy stepping into the fountain behind them.

"Hey...where are..."

"We're over here. Peter, come in here, Pinkie wants us to give you something."

Peter looked up, smiling at Twilight and Applejack.

"This...this is so fuckin' weird, man..."

He beckoned for Rainbow Dash to follow him, and walked into the stone building, its wooden doors open, the lavender unicorn and orange work pony leading them deep into the building.

They passed crates, vases, shelves, and, strangely enough, spheres. They finally arrived at a desk-like case, dust covering the glass lid, obscuring its contents from view.

Peter and Rainbow Dash exchanged a glance. Together, they walked up to the case, its mahogany walls not betraying anything. Using his sleeve, Peter wiped the dust away, and gasped.

Under the glass, lay a blade, its leather-bound, oaken grip leading into a steel, flattened cross-guard, which lead into a blade, the steel curving to form the shape of a machete.

Peter tenderly reached for the clasps, and flipped them open. He opened the case, taking the machete out of its indented resting place.

"Wha...how..."

'Don't ask. Just take it. Stallion Eaters are tough, you'll need it to kill them."

Peter nodded, and Rainbow Dash admired the steel as it quivered in the human's nervous grip.

"I...I've never used a machete before...I mean, I'm pretty good at swordplay, but that was with a wooden toy sword..."

He gulped, the leather making his hands clammy with perspiration.

"Peter, you can do it."

He looked over to Rainbow Dash, who had retreated about two yards away. He smiled, and nodded.

"I hope."

Just then, a stuffed, pony training dummy appeared in front of him. He raised an eyebrow to Twilight, who merely nodded.

Using his strong trapezius to send his arm, Peter thrust the blade forward, tearing a seam all the way through the pony's neck. The seam was immediately repaired. Grinning, he sliced at it once more, but was knocked on his back as the dummy tackled him, glowing in Twilight's magical aura.

Peter stood, grimacing as he approached the dummy once more. He calmed his mind, observing the dummy, waiting...

As it lunged again, Peter side stepped and spun, slicing a gash in the back of the fake pony's neck. It closed, and lunged at him again.

This time, Peter spun to the left, then to the right, lopping the dummy's head as he did so, releasing a grunt of effort.

Peter smiled as he remembered a particular fighting style. Adopting an open stance, he held them machete by his side, ready to slice in any direction with the curved blade. The perfect stance for a Keyblade, and thus, the...'perfect', stance for a machete (not).

The dummy, now repaired, lunged at him once more. Immediately abandoning his stance, he pivoted on his right foot, then lunged at the dummy himself, tearing a gash in its side. He pressed his hand against the side of the dummy, pushing it off of the blade.

With a pop, the dummy disappeared, and Twilight's voice rang out.

"Good. I think you're pretty much ready..."

Peter nodded, panting as Rainbow Dash walked up to him, positively beaming.

"That was awesome, Peter! Where'd you learn that!?"

Peter smiled, still panting.

"Thanks, and I have no idea...let's...let's go..."

Rainbow Dash nodded, walking beside Peter as they followed Twilight and Applejack back outside, where an impatient Spike sighed. Plant Guy still stood in the fountain, seemingly asleep.

"C'mon. Rarity needs us, guys!"

Peter nodded, and stepped onto the wooden platform, staring into the dark depths of the forest, his machete in a ready position.

Note from the Author

Muffins.

That is all.

Surprises (The Train, Day 4)

Peter took another step on the wooden platform, then another, cautiously approaching the mouth of the jungle.

"Rainbow Dash, can you see anything?"

Silence.

"Rainbow Dash?"

He turned, wondering.what had become of the cyan Pegasus, when he noticed that he was alone, save for Spike. Rainbow Dash stood on the other end of the walkway, Twilight and Applejack glaring at her.

"Oh, shit..."

He started the walk back, and Spike merely grunted, walking into the jungle by himself, a small flare from his nostril lighting the way.

"I'm going to find Rarity. See you in a bit."

Peter simply nodded, and quickened his pace, fretting as to what could possibly be wrong.

As soon as he arrived, Applejack stepped up to him, scrutinizing her friend.

"So...you had sex with Rainbow Dash."

Peter blushed. He felt mortified, and helooked to Rainbow Dash, the question pure on his face.

"I...I'm sorry, Peter...I just couldn't resist...bragging about it..."

Peter sighed, and stepped around the orange work pony, moving over to the Pegasus' side. Kneeling on one knee, he put an arm around her, holding her close.

"It's okay, Rainbow Dash....I forgive you..."

She looked up, and smiled.

"Thank you..."

He smiled back. However, when he looked up, Applejack and Twilight didn't smile back.

"Peter, do you have any idea what this means?"

Peter nodded, defiantly staring back at the lilac unicorn.

"Yes. She might get pregnant. And I believe that I'm ready for that."

Twilight sighed, and sat. After a few moments of silence, she spoke.

"Peter, do you know when and why mares have sex?"

Peter shrugged.

"Because they want to, I guess..."

Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but do you know when and why mares want to have sex?"

Peter shrugged once more.

"I dunno...'cus they just do?"

Twilight grunted.

"No, Peter, not just ''cus they do'."

Peter rolled his eyes, grunting in return.

"Stop beating around the bush, Twilight! What are you talking about!?"

Twilight looked up with a sneer, and shouted the answer.

"Mares only want to have sex when they're in heat, Peter!"

Peter blinked. He had heard the phrase before, but couldn't quite place his finger on it.

"Which means?"

"Which means, mares only want to have sex when they're fertile. We all know that Rainbow Dash has been in heat for the past week, which worried us when we saw her sleeping with you in the hospital!"

Peters' jaw dropped.

"So, wait...Rainbow Dash is...pregnant?"

Twilight nodded, and Peter remembered his obligations and promises.

I know that I would have no choice but to marry her if she gets pregnant...but now that she is...

"Yes. I'm afraid that it's inevitable, as even one...time, can cause a pregnancy."

Peter looked into Rainbow Dash's eyes in amazement, and pressed a hand to her belly. Nothing was there, but, at the same time, everything was there, under the palm of his hand.

"Rainbow Dash..."

Twilight cleared her throat.

"As I see it, you have two choices. You can either abort the baby, or put it up for adoption when it's born. Which one will it be?"

Peter stared at the cyan Pegasus' belly, at where a child, no, his child, was forming.

I love her.

And, I love this child, I love our child...

Could I really do it?

Could I actually marry her, and stay true to her, and supply for her and the baby?

...

Should I?

Would I be right, to marry her?

What do I do...

What...do...I...do...

God, please, help me, I love Rainbow Dash, and we're having a child together, and-

And we're having a child...

together.

Just like Rainbow Dash said...

As mommy and daddy, husband...

And wife.

...

I don't know if this is the right thing.

Wait...

I do.

It's my child, I should be there for it.

And, as the woman...or pony...as the one I love, I want to be with Rainbow Dash forever.

And I should be there for her, because I love her, and love this child...

But...

We've been dating for less than a week...

We haven't even completed what her dad wanted us to do...

Ugh...

This is just all so scary...

No...

It's not.

It's wonderful.

This is my child.

This is the pony, the mare, the woman, the one I love.

And this is my choice.

Peter looked up at the lilac unicorn, and smiled.

"You're wrong. There's a third choice."

Twilight shook her head with a grunt.

"No, there isn't! What else could you possibly do!?"

Peter took a deep breath. "This."

Peter turned to his right, and picked a small, violet flower, which he presented to Rainbow Dash, placing it in her unruly rainbow mane, the stem resting in the curve of her ear.

He smiled at Rainbow Dash, and, with butterflies beating at the walls of his stomach, he asked a question that would undoubtedly change his life forever.

"Rainbow Dash...will you marry me?"

Twilight and Applejack gasped, and looked at each other, shock plain on their faces.

Rainbow Dash simply smiled, and threw her forelegs around Peter, without a word. She didn't have any.

She didn't need any.

Applejack gasped once more, and pointed towards the dark maw of the jungle with a trembling hoof.

Twilight followed her hoof, and almost fainted.

For there, practically sprinting towards them, was a purple dragon. In his arms, the dragon was cradling a white unicorn, her coat covered in red, glistening blood.

Note from the Author

Before you say anything, here's a bit of something for you to think about.

Put yourself in Peter's shoes.

If you were in love with someone/pony, and that person/pony was bearing your child, and your love for her was unquestionable, what would you do?

Leave a comment with your answer.

Actions and Decisions (The Train, Day 4)

Spike tore at the vines that hung from the trees, his heart racing as thoughts of Rarity thundered through his head.

She might be dead...

He shook his head. She couldn't be dead. She just couldn't.

He tore viciously at another vine, rage building up within him.

Endangered by a bucking plant...I'll tear it to shreds before it hurts her...

He tore at another vine, catching the limb of a tree as he did so. It splintered, and he smiled, proud of the destruction.

He tore at another branch, taking that down as well.

And another.

And another.

Leaving wanton destruction in his path, Spike searched for a Stallion Eater. Something he could kill...

And then, he found something alive, and breathing.

Unfortunately, it wasn't what he wanted to kill, which he found soon enough, his claws tearing at the creature's white hide.

He fell to his knees, looking down at the bloody mess.

What...what have I done!?

Spike stared at his reflection in the murky water of the greenhouse. A single, clear tear, cloudy with actions that could not be undone, disturbed its surface as it fell.

"What have I done..." he whispered, more to himself than to the lavender unicorn beside him.

"Spike, Rarity's going to be fine, okay?"

Spike tore his gaze from the monster in the water, and directed it to the unicorn who had been his mother for all those years...

"Twilight, what if she rejects me for what I did? I mean...I almost killed her, Twilight. I almost killed her. How does somepony look past that?"

Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder, trying her best to comfort him.

"Listen, you were angry, and-"

She recoiled in fear as Spike turned, a crazed passion burning in his eye.

"I was more than angry, Twilight. I wanted to kill something, to destroy...everything. Look at me!"

Twilight nodded. She was looking, and what she saw was a scared, baby dragon, trapped in the body of an adolescent.

"I've become a monster! I am a monster, Twilight! I almost killed Rarity, and who knows if I'll hurt somepony else!?"

He sighed, and returned to his position of leaning on the railing, staring down at the murky depths. Another tear fell, disturbing the waters of contemplation.

"I think everypony would be better off if I just...died..."

Twilight's heart picked up momentum. It wasn't just the fact that he said it, (which was a rather large part of it,) but the tone that he had said it with. It sounded truly forlorn.

Twilight decided she had to do something, something motherly.

She smacked him, right across the face with a hoof, the both of them crying as Spike shrunk back, hurt more emotionally than physically.

"Don't ever say that, Spike! Don't ever say that! Nopony would be better off with you dead, do you hear me? Don't you ever dare say that!"

Spike sniffed, and took a stunted step backwards.

"But...it's true, Twilight! It's true! All I would do is hurt somepony else, or even worse, kill somepony else!"

Twilight shook her head.

"That is not true, and you know it."

"No, it is! I would just hurt somepony else! I mean, did you see how scared Rainbow Dash was of me?"

"Not of you. Of Rarity's condition, and of something huge."

"What?"

"Peter proposed to her. That, and she's pregnant. Well, kinda. She was in heat when she had sex, roughly about...two, three hours ago..."

"What!? But...they've only been dating for a few days!"

"That's why I told them to think it over before they made any big decisions. But, that's besides the point. Spike, you would not be better off dead. Your inner dragon just came out a bit, that's all."

Spike sighed, and scratched the back of his head.

"...Okay...I'm sorry, Twilight...but...how will I tell Rarity?"

Twilight placed a supportive hoof on his shoulder, then pulled him into a hug.

"I don't know. But I know that she'll forgive you."

Spike sniffed, and, after a few moments, pulled himself off of Twilight.

"I want to check on Rarity..."

Twilight nodded, and the two of them continued towards the pneumatics block, where Pinkie Pie had told them to go to leave her mane.

A few moments later, they arrived in the pneumatics block, and were quickly expelled by a sudden gust of wind. As soon as Spike was back on his feet in the real world, he quickly went over to the bed on which Rarity slept, her wounds healed by Twilight back in the odd world of Pinkie Pie's mane. He traced the curves of her face, while deciding something crucial.

I'm never going to go into Pinkie Pie's mane again.

He turned, and looked up at the closed-off hammock. He smiled, only able to imagine what the two lovebirds were doing up there...

Meanwhile...

Peter and Rainbow Dash lay on their backs, thinking hard before they spoke. Peter's hand rested on Rainbow Dash's belly, the other holding her hoof. The flower he had given her was still in the curve of her ear.

Peter sighed, hoping that Spike and Twilight had came back okay...

As soon as they had left Pinkie Pie's mane, the last thing they had seen was Spike running off, towards the greenhouse, and Twilight following him, as Rainbow Dash, Peter, Applejack, and an unconscious Rarity were pushed out of the pink party pony's mane. Peter smiled, wondering how Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie would react to the proposal, seeing as how the five conscious marauders of Pinkie Pie's mane had agreed not to tell neither Fluttershy nor Pinkie of the proposal, at least until they had made up their minds about it.

Which they were doing now. Using Twilight's advice, they searched for every conceivable reason to be married.

Peter's thought process proceeded as follows:

Well, first is moral obligation...I totally broke my self-promise to never have premarital sex, so I kind of need to redeem myself...

And not only that, but this is my child...my little pony...

Wait...

It's not just my child...

It's our child...

We're both going to raise this child, and we're both going to be parents, and we're both going to raise this child...

But wait, is that all I'm marrying her for?

Am I only marrying her for this child?

If so, we might as well just live together and raise the child, and see where life takes us from there...

But, I love her...

And I love this child, even though it isn't even a fetus yet, it's still a zygote...

Well, I think it's still a zygote...hell, I don't know, the cells have sixty four chromosomes by now...

Wait, what? Why am I...fuck it. Anyway...

I mean...

Just laying with her like this...

Holding her hoof...

I feel...complete. I feel like, if I just did this for the rest of my life, I couldn't be happier.

...

Okay, let's think of why I am morally inclined to marry Rainbow Dash...

This is our child, and I can't leave her like this.

We had premarital sex, and that's just not right.

But...

I'm only fifteen...I mean, I'm twenty something here...

Oh, wait, if Rainbow Dash is twenty two, then, back on Earth, she's fifteen as well. Okay, then. Our marriage would be morally sound...at least to me...

Now, then, as to why I want to marry her...

I love her. I want to be with her forever. I never want to leave her side. I love this child. I love her. I love us. I love our family. I want to be there for her, and I want to be there with her at all times. I want this, what we're doing now, to last forever. And if that means marriage, then I would gladly marry her.

If that means marriage...

Then I will gladly marry her.

At the same time, Rainbow Dash was riding a somewhat similar train of thought:

I love him, and he helped me...

He was open to what I had to say, and he let me cry on his shoulder...

He loves me so much, and I love him just as much, if not more...

I can be the old me with him, the me that Fluttershy thought was gone...

And, when I had those...horrible dreams, he helped me. He was there for me, and with me.

And now, because of him, those dreams are gone. Because he stayed there for me, more than anypony else ever had...he was there for me...

I love him. And I want to be with him, like this, forever.

Plus, we have a foal together...we can be in a family together, and...

And we can be together.

With a foal.

With our foal.

And marriage will allow us to do that.

Marriage will let me be with him.

Rainbow Dash sighed as she reached a conclusion. She opened her eyes, and nudged Peter with a hoof.

"Peter, you done?"

"Yeah."

"What...what are you going to do, Peter?"

Peter patted her belly, squeezing her hoof with his hand. He kissed her on the cheek, smiling wide.

"I love you, and I love our child. I'm going to ask you again:

"Rainbow Dash...will you marry me?"

Rainbow Dash smiled, and kissed Peter's cheek in return.

"Yes."

Peter smiled, and rolled onto his side, drawing her into a loving, passionate kiss.

As they parted, Peter asked a question.

"Are you sure you can do this, though? I mean...you'll probably have to give up the Wonderbolts..."

Rainbow Dash felt as though a spike had been driven though her hearts. She hadn't thought of that...

I mean, I'm the only Pegasus to ever do a Sonic Rainboom...how could I possibly give that up?

She thought of both of her fantasies. Either flying with the Wonderbolts, happy and free...

Or tied down to a foal, having to care for it, having to pander to its needs...

But, at the same time, loving the foal as her own, with Peter, and all of her friends to help...

She nodded, smiling as she said, "Yes. I'm ready to give that up. I never thought that I would be ready to give that up...I mean, the idea of a family...before this, I used to think as a family as something that would tie me down...but now...that I'm going to have one, with you and this foal," she placed her hoof on the hand rubbing her belly, "I see it totally differently. Because now, the idea of having a family is just so...so...awesome!"

Peter smiled, and voiced his single concern.

"It is, isn't it? But...I just can't help but marvel at just how...how...how fast this is all happening..."

Rainbow Dash smiled.

"Well, whad'd'ya expect? I'm the fastest in all of Equestria, and one day, the Wonderbolts will ask me to join them!"

Peter raised an eyebrow, and Rainbow Dash looked down at her belly, smiling wistfully.

"Or rather, our foal..."

Peter smiled, still unable to believe that-

"Holy shit."

"What, Peter?"

"This is all happening...before breakfast."

Rainbow Dash smiled, chuckling as she realized how hungry she was...

"So, we had sex, realized that I'll-sorry, we'll-have a baby, and decided to get married...all before we had any bucking breakfast. Wow."

Peter shook his head, chuckling as well.

"Best day ever? Definitely."

Rainbow Dash sighed, and looked back down at her belly, wondering what it would look like with a baby stretching its walls.

"Well, let's get some breakfast..."

Rainbow Dash nodded.

"And, we'll tell everypony about our decision over breakfast, okay?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, and Peter tugged at the screen, kissing his fiance on the cheek as the vinyl shot back into place with a satisfying flap.

They descended, smiling as the train conveniently stopped for breakfast at the same moment that they had left the hammock.

A Few Minutes Later...

Peter smiled as the aroma of pancakes reached his nose. This was just one more thing to add to the list that was making the day amazing...

Besides, of course, Rarity being hurt...

He looked around at the ponies at the table, begetting odd looks as he smiled in the midst of the pain that Rarity and Spike were currently enduring, the screen pulled across their compartment as Spike sat by her side.

"Peter, I...I don't mean to be rude, but...what's with the happy face? And you too, Rainbow Dash. Rarity was horribly wounded, I don't see how the two of you could be so happy..."

Peter put an arm around Rainbow Dash, and cleared his throat.

"Everypony," he began, placing a hand on Rainbow Dash's flat belly, "we have some news."

Note from the Author

Yo.

Yeah, this chapter kinda sucked. Sorry.

I just thought I needed to show how both of them justified the marriage.

Anyway, I'm gonna shift a bit away from Peter and Rainbow Dash...

But don't expect to see much of the Elders for a while.

They're doing just fine.

However, somepony else ain't.

Parents Part 2

Celestia grunted in agitation.

"Just...what!? That is the most ridiculous premise I've ever heard for the griffons to go to  war with us! 'Because we're angry'? Griffons are just a bunch of savages! Present company excluded, as you're actually trying to prevent a war..."

Feather Heart nodded. In all honesty, she agreed with Celestia on all accounts.

"Yes, Princess. They are truly savages. And you know that that's true, especially since I was raised by a bloody dragon..."

Princess Celestia nodded. She'd heard it before.

"Yes, yes. You and Opal Heart, the two sound voices of reason in seas of insanity. The only morally sound Diamond Dog, as well as the only morally sound griffon, were both raised by a dragon. How ironic."

She looked over to the diamond dog, sighing with hope.

"Now, Opal Heart, what news do you have?"

The Diamond Dog walked up to her, presenting the letter with a cautious air.

"I'm afraid that it's very similar news, my Princess..."

Princess Celestia sighed.

At least I have two spies to tell me everything...Feather Heart is at least more loyal than that disgusting eunuch...and Opal Heart...he's the only Diamond Dog I can trust.

"On what premises?"

The Diamond Dog took a deep breath and began.

"It's not definite. The choice is being considered. All I know is that there was a blue unicorn, and an automaton speaking to Lycarieous Lupae."

Celestia raised an eyebrow.

"Automaton?"

"Yes. I vaguely saw a unicorn reflected in it, even though there wasn't any other unicorn in the room."

Celestia ground her teeth in fury.

"Silverglass...how in the hay did she find a way to do it..."

Opal Heart backed up a bit, raising an eyebrow.

"Do what?"

"Ensnare her own soul in her reflection, so as to live forever with her dragon 'love'. I tried to explain to her that the dragon wouldn't care, but...no. She simply wouldn't listen."

Celestia turned, returning to her golden, plush chair.

"Great...now, we have one twisted, most likely bent on revenge unicorn trying to convince Lycarieous Lupae to go to war with us...and, we have an unknown unicorn trying to further that goal..."

Opal Heart cleared his throat, and Celestia looked up, nodding for him to speak.

"Uh, not unknown, your Highness. I caught her name before I left. I believe her name was...Trixie. Yes, Trixie the 'Great and Powerful.'"

Celestia winced.

Discord...he must have sent her into insanity, after Twilight beat her...she was once one of my most loyal subjects, and now, she aims to kill my nation?

Celestia sighed, and looked up at the two loyal subjects.

"Go. Find out more of these wars. I want to have regular updates, from the both of you."

"Yes, Princess Celestia," they simultaneously muttered as they left, as silent as the word they carried.

Celestia stood, and left the room as well, searching for Ditzy Doo...

Who turned out to be searching for her, as goddess and Dreamer collided in the doorway, the Dreamer falling back on her rump.

"Ow..."

"Oh. My apologies, Ditzy Doo. I needed to see you..."

"And I you. But, you first, as royalty has higher standards."

Celestia nodded, and took a deep breath.

"My father is back to his old tricks again..."

Note from the Author

Y'all weren't expecting that, were you?

BTW I wrote this in five minutes, tops. I'm sorry that it sucks.

Immunity

"Oh, my! That's amazing! I'm so happy for you two!"

Rainbow Dash smiled, looking down at her belly, chuckling as Pinkie Pie exploded in a fit of happiness.

"This is amazing! Oh my gosh, I can't wait to throw a party for you two!"

Peter chuckled, ignoring the odd feeling in his stomach.

"Neither can I. I can't wait to see what kind of party you'd throw."

He winced in pain. It felt as though someone had dumped a grenade in his stomach...

"Uh, Peter? Are you okay?"

Peter smiled, rubbing his stomach in an attempt to relieve the pain.

"Yeah, I'm fi-"

Just then, he fell into a coughing fit, his esophagus convulsing as bile and food were forced out of his stomach.

He clamped his mouth shut in an attempt to retain the horrid solution. However, another cough wracked his body, and he barely managed to turn away from the table as he emptied his stomach on the mahogany floor.

Swaying slightly, Peter held a hand to his head, his doubled vision sending his mind debilitating input.

The world spun, and he blacked out, sweating profusely and panting.

Meanwhile

Celestia nodded, and Ditzy Doo simply shook her head once more.

"This...this is...ugh! I wish I could warn Drøm Mester..."

Celestia nodded once more. She knew that if war was truly declared, innumerable Skygger would flood into the Realm of Dreams once more...

"Speaking of, the team successfully took down fifty Skygger recently. At least they can hold back the tides of war. However, all levies fall..."

Celestia nodded, cycling through how to prevent war...

"For the griffons, we could declare diplomatic immunity from the Diamond Dogs...if we gave them that right, the possibility of them joining us against the Diamond Dogs would increase drastically, as it would show that we have no real qualms with them...however, for the Diamond Dogs...Lycarieous Lupae is a vicious hound, and if Discord has won Trixie and Silmare over, I'm afraid that war is inevitable in this case..."

Ditzy Doo sighed.

"The inevitability is evident, I must admit. However, the griffons would look for a repayment..."

Celestia nodded. Land was something that she could easily grant. However, certain things weren't as easy...

"Also, we have the Elements to worry about...if this war becomes reality, I'm afraid that-"

She was cut off as a wisp of smoke entered the room, glowing with power. It stopped in front of Celestia, and materialized into a scroll, with rather hurried writing scrawled on its surface.

Celestia read it aloud, her mind both there and elsewhere as the issues at hoof weighed heavily on her mind.

"'Dear Princess Celestia,

"'I have amazing news, and horrible news.

"'The amazing news is that, after I accidentally turned Peter into a pony for six hours, he impregnated Rainbow Dash. They're getting married!

"'However, there is rather horrible, and more important, news.

"'First off, is that last night, after the beer, we lost Rarity, in Pinkie Pie's mane.

"'We got her out, but she was badly hurt. She is stable now, but in very bad condition.

"'Also, something I hadn't anticipated occurred.

"'Peter is not immune to pony diseases. He's come down with a severe case of Pegasus Flu, which I assume he got from Rainbow Dash.

"'Anyway, he's vomiting, passing out, and his temperature has sky rocketed.

"'I don't want to worry Rainbow Dash, but, if we don't get him to a doctor within the next two days...

"He may not make it.

"'I have to go. He just threw up again, and I need to stabilize his blood pH, before he goes into cardiac arrest.

"'Sincerely,'" the text grew almost illegible at this point, showing evident rush. However, Celestia did not need to decipher the writing to know what it said.

"Twilight Sparkle..."

She looked up to Ditzy Doo, whose grey face had adopted a pale shade.

"Celestia, if he dies...everything is lost. He needs to get to a doctor, now."

"Yes, but how!?"

Celestia wracked her mind for a solution. And then, she found it.

She furiously scribbled a few words on a piece of parchment, and sent the letter, too preoccupied to personally visit the pony it was intended for...

Letters

         Twilight shook her head in disbelief. Celestia's letter was simply...horrid.

Peter coughed from the bed, and Rainbow Dash snored lightly by his side.

It had been about nine hours since Peter had fallen ill. And now...

Twilight shook her head, repeating the words in disbelief.

Meanwhile...

Gammel Hjerte shook his head, incredulous.

"As the Elder of Time and Death, this is a simple task, but...the memories that Peter expelled from him when he entered the world...they, too, prowl amongst the Gates..."

Metall Kant simply nodded.

"Well, Celestia wants you to do it. Get it done."

With that, the master swordspony stalked off, pondering what Celestia hoped to achieve...

Celestia

Ditzy Doo chuckled lightly.

"Truly, this is a marvelous idea...so simple, yet...so elegant..."

Celestia nodded, pouring over her countless points of research and data, evaluating every possible resonance of war.

"I just hope that your protege does not take it wrong..."

A nod, and the sound of paper turning, new data making even more possibilities.

"I shall take my leave now, Celestia. I know how difficult this is."

Celestia didn't say anything, but felt eternally grateful. As soon as the oaken door closed behind the yellow tail, Celestia looked at her pen with a feeling of horror.

What if it doesn't work? What if Gammel Hjerte can't...no, don't be ridiculous. It will work. However, if Twilight will ever forgive me is a different story...

She shuddered as she remembered the five words she had sent to Twilight Sparkle...

Let nature run its course.

Ice (The Train Day 5)

      Rainbow Dash removed the moist towel from Peter's forehead, and pressed a hoof to the bare skin. He was burning up.

Replacing the towel, she turned to Fluttershy. "Is there a way to break this fever, Fluttershy?"

The yellow Pegasus sighed.

"I'm afraid that, since I know nothing of the human body, I can't really help him. The most I can do is...give him an ice bath, to help lower his body temperature."

Peter coughed, his ears stinging as his throat was chafed once more. He tried to talk, but his migraine reduced his words to a wheeze. He could feel it coming for him, and soon.

"We're going to help you get better, Peter. You just have to be strong, for me, and for our foal."

Fluttershy smiled sadly as Rainbow Dash lay a hoof on Peter's hand, and she walked towards the other side of the train, the letter from Celestia weighing heavy on her mind.

She trotted up to Twilight, and sighed.

"I'm afraid that, without a doctor, it's just as you said. He'll be dead by tomorrow, the latest. The most we can do is try to delay it..."

The two of them shook their heads, equally shocked by Celestia's decision to 'let nature run its course'.

"Anyway, we need to give him an ice bath, if only to lower his fever..."

Twilight nodded, and glanced at Pinkie Pie, who was seated to her left.

"Any chance you have a tub in that mane?"

Pinkie Pie didn't say anything, but, rather, pulled a metal basin out of her pink mane, as well as a bag of ice.

"Thank you."

Pinkie merely nodded, whilst repeating what she had said many times that day.

"Celestia will pay for this. For not sending us straight to the doctor..."

Fluttershy nodded. She, too, longed to expose this injustice to the world...

To the lavender unicorn's right, Applejack wiped her snout with a hoof.

"Ah barely even knew 'im..."

Fluttershy looked at her, shocked. "You say that as if he's already dead, Applejack."

"Well, he's as good as, ain't he? Ah mean, Celestia has essentially condemned him to death!"

Fluttershy shuddered, the truth of the words, and the cold of the now-ice filled metal tub stinging her.

After a few moments of pushing the tub, in vain, Twilight walked over to help. After a few moments, they had pushed the tub up to Peter's bedside.

Her magical glow ensnaring him, Twilight undressed the human, ignoring the unseemly organ as she placed him in the ice bath.

"It's cold...it's cold...so cold..."

Rainbow Dash sniffed, careful to keep her tears out of the ice bath.

"Just...just, hang in there, okay, Peter?"

He nodded. He could feel his grip loosening...

The cold shocked his nervous system once more, and he took a shuddering breath. It felt as though time was slowing down...

Everything went black, and his body slumped over in the bath.

"Wh...what happened!? Is he okay!?"

Twilight immediately pulled him out of the bath. She pressed her horn to his chest. She immediately straightened, speaking more to Fluttershy than Rainbow Dash. "He's gone into cardiac arrest. He needs CPR, now!"

Fluttershy nodded. Normally, she would cower if a friend was in cardiac arrest. However, being the only certified pony there, she immediately snapped into business mode.

The customary Ring of Death formed around her, and she began the recuperative process immediately.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten...

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten...

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten..."

She winced as she felt a rib break. And another.

Applejack watched in wonder as Fluttershy displayed how able she was, especially at applying force.

Pinching Peter's nose with a hoof, she angled his head back, and pressed her mouth to his, giving him two breaths. Rainbow Dash winced, but said nothing.

She went back to his chest.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten..."

Rainbow Dash sobbed, in relief. Fluttershy had managed to stabilize Peter, but he had immediately blacked out soon afterwards. Twilight and Fluttershy were currently huddled together at the far end of the train, having a small argument, occasionally glancing back at Peter and Rainbow Dash.

She sighed, the stress getting to her. She expelled it in the form of a shout.

"Would you two just tell me what the buck is wrong with him!?"

Twilight and Fluttershy exchanged a glance, and sighed. The lavender unicorn placed a hoof on the Pegasus' shoulder, and approached Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow Dash, he's slipped into a coma, and, well...it's just a guess as to how long he has left."

Rainbow Dash sniffed, and placed a hoof on Peter's hand.

"Can I...can I have some privacy?"

Twilight nodded, and closed the membrane of the compartment, wiping away tears.

Choices

Peter fell through the darkness.

Through the cracks.

He felt himself falling, through everything he ever was, everything he wasn't.

He opened his eyes, yet they remained closed, the darkness choking his vision.

In front of him, gleaming in the darkness, was a large, black gate.

Peter gulped. He felt detached...

"You."

He turned to see a pony, his two curling horns giving him the appearance of a goat and a unicorn combined.

Peter spoke, but nothing came out. Nothing would ever come out of that mouth again.

Walking forward on the white stone, the darkness swirling around them, the odd pony frowned, looking him in the eyes.

"You have two choices.

"You can walk through those gates, the Gates of Death..."

Peter looked to his right, at the strange gates.

"And move on.

"Or...you can walk away, on that path, and partake in trials...trials that will show you...if it is your time, or not."

Peter turned, to look at the path. It lead on into the distance, eventually fading into nothingness.

"If you can walk that path without fail, you can leave the Realm of Death.

"Horrible monsters will follow you as you walk the path.

"And if you can overcome their power, you can return to life."

Peter nodded. He would return to life. To Rainbow Dash. To his unborn child.

He turned, and walked towards the path, trying to say 'thank you' as he did so.

"Don't bother thanking me.

"Thank the one who made this place."

Peter raised an eyebrow. He had no idea who made this place...

He shook his head, and took a step on the path. As he did so, everything behind him disappeared. The gates, the large, white stone, and the strange pony.

And, before him, spanned a large, black hall, its windows shut against the darkness, the darkness inside speaking of death and life.

He took a deep breath of nothing, and took his first step.

The door slammed behind him.

A loud roar filled the hall.

Note from the Author

Yep.

He ain't dead.

Gammel Hjerte just sent him on the right path...

See how I linked back to that 'Relaxing Journey' part? In the hospital?

The Return, Part 1

Peter started hyperventilating, staring at the horrible, disfigured monster that approached him in the hall.

He backed up, fear filling his heart.

He had to get out.

Forget Rainbow Dash, this thing was horrible. He had to get away.

He had to get away from that fucking thing. He had to get back to those Gates...

Shouting a cry of nothing, Peter backed up towards the doors.

He bolted towards the door, simply terrified of the thing advancing towards him.

As he reached it, he remembered something.

I'm dead.

And I'm trying to get back to Rainbow Dash...

To our baby.

I'm trying to return to my life.

I'm having a baby.

Fuck this pussy.

He turned, determination filling him.

Fuck this thing.

He scowled at it.

Fuck this thing. He was getting back to Rainbow Dash.

He stepped forward, and it vanished.

He raised an eyebrow, incredulous.

Really? Just...really?

This thing horrified him, and all that happened was it dissipated when he took a step-

He looked down.

At the red blade.

And at the organs that were clinging to him.

The blade retracted, and he fell over, dead once more.

The last thing he saw...

Was the life that he could have had with Rainbow Dash.

The End of Death

        Gammel Hjerte weakly sliced at the Skygger.

He received yet another gash, this time on his hind left leg.

He fell to his knee, panting.

He had no choice.

He Blinked.

He stood, and limped through the Skygger, the Strings of Time shocking him as he moved past them.

He could feel his grip on his magic fading.

He was almost to the door...

When time resumed.

The blade pierced his stomach, driven all the way through by the Skygger.

He coughed up bile and blood, shaking as his final throes wracked his body.

The sword was removed from his stomach, as well as bits of tissue that still clung to its sticky surface.

He keeled over, the Skygger retreating towards the door, behind which Peter had fled.

The world faded.

The Elder of Death...

Died.

Peter

Peter limped onwards, his sprained ankle making it difficult to avoid the swipes from the monster...

Just then, the dark world was awash with light.

The beast froze, and light enveloped Peter.

He took a deep breath of fresh air.

Or, as fresh as fresh gets in a train compartment filled with sawdust.

Note from the Author

Yeah, Gammel ain't coming back.

Souls

Twilight lay on her side, quivering in her compartment.

So...you wanna have a three way?

She shook her head in denial.

No. Peter is dead. He can't ask you to have a three way.

"Uh...sugarcube? Are you...alright?"

"Why...yes, Applejack! I'm quite fine!"

"Uh...y'sure?"

"Yes, fine quite I'm!"

Applejack took a step back. "Oh, geeze...there she goes with that crazy grammar thing again...Ah think Peter's...passin', is gettin' to her." She gulped, Fluttershy sniffing as more tears were brought forth.

"I can't imagine what Rainbow Dash is going through right now..."

P. Dash

Rainbow Dash, now sitting on Peter's chest, (his pants now back around his waste,) punched the latter on the shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for!?"

"You just asked Twilight if she wanted to have a three way!"

"And? Ow! Would you stop that!?"

"Peter, she thought you were dead!"

"...Go on..." He wasn't giving her another reason to hit him.

"And she saw you having sex with me. That must've been a bit jarring, don't you think?

Peter nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right...Ow! What was that for!?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "I dunno. It's just fun to hit you. Anyway, you just asked her if she wanted to have a three way. This goes against everything she knows. Now, she'll be freaking out, and we'll have to explain your un-death to her..."

"Okay...anyway, can you stop hitting me?"

Rainbow Dash raised a hoof to her chin, and seemed to be thinking hard.

"OW! I'm taking that as a no..."

Rainbow Dash grunted. "Come on, I'm not even hitting you that hard! Hay, you came back from the dead!"

"Yeah, but I'm still a total pussy..."

Rainbow Dash chuckled lightly, but her laughter was cut short by a sudden question.

"Hey, speaking of which...how did you come back from the dead?"

Peter smiled. "Well, let's just say that I kicked some ass!

"Kicked the ass of a Suitor from Amnesia: Justine...

"Killed a few Grunts from Amnesia: The Dark Descent...

"And totally dodged a fucking Darkside!"

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Suitor? Grunt? Darkside? You do know that I have no bucking clue what any of that is, right?"

Peter shrugged, and put a hand on the back of Rainbow Dash's head. "Well, it doesn't matter. As long as I'm back with you, and not dead...y'know...anything is better than death...besides being away from you..."

Peter felt his heart explode with love again, and Rainbow Dash smiled. "Geeze, Peter...you're being awful sappy..."

Smiling, Peter pulled Rainbow Dash down onto his chest, and his mouth and her muzzle instantly locked in a long, passionate kiss.

As soon as they parted, Peter held her close to his heart, and said something that felt more true in that one moment, than it ever had before.

"I love you, Dashie. I love you more than I can ever say. I got the chance to come back, to you, to our child, or foal, our family. I got a chance to come back to our family. And I will never leave you again, so long as I live."

He kissed her again, and she him, both of them then realizing how truly deep their love went...

"Peter..." Rainbow Dash began, once they had parted once more. "I love you just as much...if not more..."

After several moments, the both of them pulled back, aware of a responsibility they both had, to Twilight, and to their friends.

Fluttershy

Fluttershy shuddered at the thought. "Oh, my...it must be terrible for her..."

Applejack bowed her head, but looked up as Twilight began to ramble.

"No, Twilight, he's dead...he can't ask you if you want a three way..."

Fluttershy and Applejack exchanged a glance.

"Uh...Twilight? I...I think that you and I need to have a little talk..."

The lavender unicorn simply twitched an ear.

Fluttershy walked towards her, an anxious feeling filling her stomach.

"Twilight...what's wrong?"

The lilac unicorn jumped up, causing Fluttershy to shrink back with a small squeak.

Hyperventilating, Twilight pulled the membrane on the compartment shut. She turned, her chest heaving, and ran up to Fluttershy, throwing her hooves up in hysteria. " I went to check on Rainbow Dash, and Peter had his finger in her vagina!!"

"Umm...I'm sorry...what?"

"And then, he asked me if I wanted to have a three way!" Twilight started pacing, and Fluttershy winced in shock and confusion.

"Wait...Peter's alive, and he had his finger...where?"

"But he's dead! He shouldn't be able to ask me questions!"

"He had his finger...where!?"

Twilight stopped carrying on as Fluttershy hunched over, her face becoming slightly green in complexion.

"Uh, Fluttershy? Are you...?"

Just then, the Pegasus retched, now hyperventilating as well.

"Ugh! That's...that's disgusting!"

Twilight rushed over, and started patting her friend on the back with a hoof, the both of them voicing their opinions.

"I know, right!? But what's worse is that he asked me if I wanted to have a three-way!"

"Wh...What!? Eugh!"

"I know! Just the mere idea of touching either of them like that is repulsive!"

Fluttershy took a deep breath, clearing her mind. "Okay...we need to tell everypony else that Peter's alive...scratch the whole..." She burped, still dazed by the news. "Vagina and finger thing...and the...three...way..."

Fluttershy swooned, and her vision went slightly hazy. "I...I think I need a...a lie down..."

She passed out, and Twilight immediately grabbed her with magic, putting her down on the bed as she cleaned the bile off of the floor, her nose scrunched up as the smell reached her nose.

Pinkie Pie

Pinkamena Diane Pie sobbed into her pillow once more.

Oh, Celestia...he was my friend...why...

She hit a hoof on the mattress, screaming into the feathered pillow with wordless shouts.

Why!?

She sat up, her heart ablaze as she stared at the membrane in front of Peter's compartment.

Pushing herself up to all four hooves, she watched as the membrane was pulled open by a cyan wing. She walked over, ready to comfort Rainbow Dash, when suddenly...

Applejack

The orange work pony lowered her head in submission.

Ah guess he really is gone...

She looked up, examining how her stetson hat sat perched upon the hook. So sturdy, yet so fragile, just like-

"Zombie! Kill it! KILL IT WITH FIRE!"

Applejack stood, immediately throwing her hat on. Running out of her compartment, she saw something odd, yet wonderful.

Pinkie Pie, her inflated mane and tail flying about crazily, was on top of Peter, struggling to hold him down as they had a verbal debate.

"I am not a zombie!"

"Yeah, that's what they all say! Zombie!"

"I'm not!"

Rainbow Dash came over, and tugged Pinkie Pie off of the human.

"Rainbow Dash, let me go! That zombie's gonna eat our brains!"

"He's not a zombie! He beat death!"

Applejack trotted over, eying the panting human with an air of incredulity.

"Wait...what?"

Peter stood, dusting his sweatpants off. Clearing his throat, he began to speak.

"First off, hi! How are you? Yeah, I'm back from the dead. Just got tackled by Pinkie Pie. Obviously very happy to see me."

The pink pony chuckled lightly, then looked down at the ground, which came up to meet her as Rainbow Dash let her down, gently. "Oh...I guess you're not a zombie...zombies aren't really great comedians..."

Peter raised an eyebrow, and smiled. "Yah don't say! Anyway...yeah. I'm back from the dead."

Applejack shook her head, confused. "But...how?"

Grabbing his crotch, (effectively causing Applejack to wince in utter horror,) he shouted in victory.

"I made death suck deez nuts! Yipe-ki-yay, mothah fuckahs!!"

Applejack took a step back, and Pinkie Pie started laughing in earnest, while Rainbow Dash simply smiled at Peter.

"Pffffffffffffffffffffffft hahahahahahaha!"

Applejack, Peter, and Rainbow Dash all raised an eyebrow at what Pinkie Pie had said. They were used to laughter, but not somepony actually pronouncing each individual 'ha'...

Finally calming down, Pinkie Pie taclked Peter once more, this time in a hug.

"Thisissoamazingthatyou'rebacktolifewherre'sTwilightFluttershyandSpikeIhavetotellthem!"

"Uh...wat?"

"Yep!"

Peter raised an eyebrow, once more, as Pinkie Pie jumped off of him, and practically flew towards the membrane leading to Twilight's compartment.

"Uh...what just happened?" Rainbow Dash asked, totally baffled as to what Pinkie Pie had been saying.

Peter smiled at Rainbow Dash. "The world will never know," he said, ushering light laughter from the two mares standing with him.

Applejack smiled as Peter stood. "Well, Ah don't wanna seem unhappy to see you again, now, do Ah?"

She drew Peter into a strong hug, expressing the true happiness that now flowed out of her as she realized how amazing this all was: her friend had come back from the dead.

Stooping down to her height to give her a less awkward hug, Peter smiled, patting Applejack on the back.

After a few moments, he gently pulled her off of himself, and stood, ready to-

"Hoobity booppity zippity zop!"

The strange exclamation surprised even Peter, who had shouted it, but not as much as the lavender unicorn that had tackled him to the ground.

"You're not dead, for real! Great!"

Peter raised a hand to pat her on the back, but she immediately terminated the embrace, glaring at him with scorn.

"Did you wash that hand!?"

"Uh...no?"

"Then don't touch me!"

"Uh...why?"

Pinkie Pie popped into view, smiling wide. "Because you were dead, silly! You have those dead body germs all over your hands!"

Twilight shook her head, eying Peter's left hand with distaste, not noticing that her mane had slapped him in the face twice.

"No! He had his fingers in Rainbow Dash's vagina!"

Everypony went silent, and simply stared at Peter and Rainbow Dash, all of them sharing a lively blush as the words settled.

Five minutes later, at therapy...

Peter rolled his shoulders as he lay on the therapeutic chair, (which Pinkie Pie had oh-so-conveniently pulled out of her mane,) and looked over at Rainbow Dash, who was on a second therapeutic chair, the red, velvet cushion in stark contrast to her cyan coat and rainbow mane.

Twilight cleared her throat, sitting between Peter and Rainbow Dash, everypony else watching on anxiously. "So, Peter...would you mind explaining why you had your finger in Rainbow Dash's vagina?"

Peter pinched the bridge of his nose, blushing madly. He sighed as he attempted to explain the inexplicable.

"Well, humans...pleasure, each other like that. Humans do it to themselves, as well. Women will put their fingers in their...vaginas...to please themselves. Well, not all women. Some. It's very unladylike, and most women have high self-esteem, and wouldn't dare to even think of doing that."

Twilight nodded, and turned to Rainbow Dash. "Now, why did you allow him to carry on? And how did it feel? Strange, odd, disturbing..."

"Bucking, amazing! I'm being serious. I mean, I had my first orgasm, just as you walked in!"

Applejack released an audible gasp, and Twilight blushed, slightly-wait, no, VERY-taken aback.

"O...Oh. Uh...just...just a bit too much information..."

Rainbow Dash shrugged, and chuckled, her shell of cockiness going just a bit too far. "Yeah, yeah. I bet you're just jealous!"

Twilight was about to defend herself against the claim, when Peter somehow managed to make things worse.

"Awwww, shit! She just called you jelly!"

Pinkie Pie stood, enraged. "Jelly is a hard-working pony, Peter! He tests the pH of Granny Smith's giant jelly jars," she explained, ending on a rather chipper note.

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Okay, we're gettin' nowhere. I think we should just end this."

Twilight released a small exclamation of agitation. "But we just started! I need to know more about the human culture!"

"Yes, but Ah doubt that either of 'em appreciate you snoopin' around in their sex lives. Ain't that right, you two?"

Peter and  Rainbow Dash nodded, blushing furiously.

"Exactly. Now, let's just...put this behind us."

Twilight nodded, and walked away, which begot a hefty sigh and a rolling of the eyes from both Peter and Rainbow Dash.

"There she goes again..." Rainbow Dash complained, not knowing what Twilight was actually doing.

What Twilight was doing was, A., waking up Fluttershy, and B., explaining to said Pegasus what she had learned, and that Peter wasn't actually dead.

Peter

Peter sighed once more as Twilight disappeared from view. He stood, rolling his shoulders, relieved that-

His vision doubled as his head collided with the mahogany floor. Fluttershy rubbed her cheek against him, forcing the air out of him in a debilitating hug. "You're alive! Oh, thank Celestia!"

Peter chuckled lightly, and painfully, smiling down at the yellow Pegasus.

So fucking adorable...

He ruffled her mane, and slowly attempted to extricate himself from the hug. He finally gave up, and managed to squeeze out a sentence, just as a new pain sent distress signals to his brain. "Fluttershy...you're...crushing...my..."

Fluttershy stood, blushing as she smiled sheepishly. "Oh, sorry..."

Peter's eyes began to water, and his hands flew to his crotch as he entered a fetal position, his voice reduced to a hoarse whisper. "My balls..."

Fluttershy blinked in surprise, realizing that her leg had been pressing into Peter's crotch. However, what surprised her more, was that his...genitalia, had been present for her to hurt. "Uh...Peter...why do you have them out in the first place?"

Twilight's eyes shot open wide, and she grunted, already preparing the therapeutic chairs for a second use.

Once again, at therapy...

Twilight cleared her throat, and began once more. "So, Peter, why did you have your genitalia out?"

"Humans can't put it away. Happy?"

"So...you're always...'ready'?

Peter sighed. "No, when I get an erection, I'm 'ready', and right now, I'm 'flaccid'..." He explained, his words stretched as his voice adopted a drawl similar to that of a child being scored by their mother.

Twilight blinked, and blushed. Everypony but Rainbow Dash took a large step back, staring at his crotch in utter horror and disgust. Peter rolled his eyes, desperately searching for a subject he could change the conversation to.

His stomach supplied it, as it ravenously roared, crying out for nutrients to enter the system, and matter to leave the system. He clutched his midsection, suddenly feeling rather sick, and confused.

Jesus...I thought that when someone dies, all the matter in their body is forced out...then again, I didn't exactly die all the way, my body was still functioning a small amount...I think...fuck it, I need to go to the bathroom!!!

"Ugh...I need to  go to the bathroom...and eat...really, really badly..."

Twilight blinked as Peter's stomach rumbled once more.

Bathroom? We were always told to go to the bathroom in the pit stops...is there even a bathroom on this train!? Is that why we had to go in the pit stops all the time!? What a huge design flaw!

Peter moaned in discomfort, and Rainbow Dash winced in sympathy.

"I think that there's a bathroom somewhere on this train, Peter...I'll look for it. Just...hold on, okay?"

Rainbow Dash zipped off, searching every square inch of the train in about ten seconds, flat. Finally, she found a door to a compartment that, apparently, hadn't been noticed by anypony prior to her examination. She tore open the door, and there, gleaming in all of its holiness, was a white, ceramic toilet.

She rushed out, and picked up Peter, (much to his surprise,) bringing him over to the toilet. She closed the door, and walked over to Twilight, who was now holding a quill and a piece of paper.

"Eggs, please. For the both of us."

Twilight nodded, and wrote down the order, using the mindset she normally used to deal with Pinkie's antics to deal with the antics of Rainbow Dash and Peter.

Ten Minutes Later...

Fluttershy helped Peter, who had, rather woozily, just stumbled out of the bathroom, over to the food, where Rainbow Dash was already awaiting his arrival. She gave Rainbow Dash a rather scornful look, then moved over to her own food, watching Peter cautiously.

"Finally...some food!" He started eating, and Rainbow Dash frowned at her food, obviously disappointed with something. Fluttershy had to use all of her self control not to shout at the cyan Pegasus for being selfish. Peter had just come back from the dead, and all Rainbow Dash cared about was whether she liked the way the eggs had been made...

"Hey, Peter?"

He looked up at the cyan Pegasus, swallowing some eggs before he spoke. "What? You okay, 'Dash? You want something else to eat?" Fluttershy smiled. At least he truly cared for the other in the relationship...

"No, it's fine...just...sorry for not helping you over to the food...I should've helped you, when you almost fell coming out of the bathroom..." Fluttershy smiled, but everypony else donned a surprised expression. Rainbow Dash wasn't normally so...considerate. Then again, this was her husband-to-be, and he did just come back from the dead...

Peter smiled, as he was now used to this other side of Rainbow Dash coming out for him. The side that needed a hug, and that needed to feel accepted when she messed up, which was something that made him love the athletic pony so much more...

He hugged the cyan Pegasus, smiling wide as he did so. "It's fine. As long as I get to eat with you...and I'm not dead." Fluttersy released a small 'aw', and so did everypony else, even Spike, (who had torn himself away from Rarity long enough to learn about Peter's antics and not being dead anymore.) Rainbow Dash pulled back, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You're so sappy, Peter!"

No matter how hard she tried to keep up her 'cool' composure, she couldn't resist smiling lovingly as Peter hooked his left arm around her shoulder, pulling her close and rubbing her shoulder. She let her head rest against his broad shoulder, and closed her eyes, smiling wistfully, and happily.

Peter wiped his right hand on the napkin, (as he had somehow managed to get some egg on it despite using a fork,) and placed the now-clean hand on her belly, wanting nothing more than to curl up with the pony he loved, and sleep...

But then, he noticed how...strange his palm felt as he pressed it up against Rainbow Dash's belly. Where he used to feel the bandage sag in, was a sudden resistance. He looked up to Twilight, and voiced his realization.

"Hey, Twilight? My palm feels kinda weird. Could you maybe...take a look at it for me?"

The lavender unicorn smiled, and nodded, immediately examining the bandage on the now-outstretched hand.

"Well, the bandage appears to be fine...do you mind if I...remove it?"

Peter shrugged. "Go ahead."

The bandage was peeled off with magic, which yielded little to no resistance, and everypony gasped at what it had been covering.

Where a small hole had once been, flat, superfluous skin now completed the palm. Peter grinned, and removed the bandage from his other hand, this time without Twilight's magic. He was greeted with yet another perfect palm.

"Oh, sweet! I guess Zecora really knows how to fix stuff up, huh?"

Rainbow Dash smiled wide, and rubbed her cheek against Peter's shoulder. "Well, it's nice to see that your palm is back to normal...and you're not dead."

Peter smiled, but his attention was diverted from the happy coincidence as Twilight cleared her throat. "If you don't mind, I would like to magically examine your hands. Just to make sure that nothing went wrong."

Peter nodded, and extended both of his hands across the table, careful to keep his sleeves out of the food. Twilight pressed her glowing horn to each palm in turn, then pulled back, a small frown contorting her features. Peter gulped, slightly nervous as to what was wrong with his palms.

"What's the matter, Twilight?"

The lavender unicorn shook her head slightly, still frowning. "I...I found something...odd. Your palms are fine, but...I need to research something. I'll get back to you in a bit."

Peter gulped, and looked over at Rainbow Dash, who simply shrugged and put a hoof on his shoulder. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Peter..."

Fluttershy cleared her throat, and relayed a new realization.. "I just noticed that you seem to have been totally healed. I...I gave you CPR, and broke a few of your ribs..."

Rainbow Dash frowned. "What? Fluttershy, shouldn't you have stopped?"

Peter put a now-healed hand on the cyan Pegasus' back, marveling at how different it felt without that linen barrier...

"No, she shouldn't have. When you break ribs, you know you're doing it right. Trust me, I'm certified in CPR. Or, at least, back on earth. I'd probably be arrested here..."

Fluttershy nodded in agreement, and spoke once more, this time rather assertively. "Peter, you've been through a lot today, and you, too, Rainbow Dash. How about you two go sleep in the hammock, for a bit? It's only noon, so you two can take a small nap for now. We'll call you down when Twilight finishes her research."

Peter smiled,and nodded to Fluttershy. "Good idea. Rainbow Dash, could you...?"

Smiling, the cyan Pegasus in question grabbed him by the armpits, and floated up to the hammock, immediately pulling the screens around the fabric closed as he lie there, contently waiting for his fiance.

P. Dash

Rainbow Dash lay down next to Peter, and put her wings around him, the human curling up into a ball in the warm embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to himself, and, effectively, himself closer to her, her heartbeat thudding through to his chest as he nuzzled up against her shoulder.

"So, Peter...what do you plan to do in Las Haygas..."

Peter smiled, and closed his eyes, his earlier giddiness now replaced with a content tiredness.

"I dunno...go to the beach, relax...maybe we can go to the pool together...you do know that we can't drink any alcohol, right? Because that would hurt the baby..."

Rainbow Dash nodded, and closed her eyes as well.

"Well, then...while we're setting down ground rules...here are a few for you.

"No checking out anypony. No matter what. Got it?"

Peter simply nodded, too tired to engage in a full conversation.

"And do not talk to any Pegasi that seem to be flaunting their wings. All they want is sex, and lots of it."

Peter chuckled. "So, they're like hookers?"

"No. They're just sluts."

"Same thing, only one gets paid and one doesn't."

"Yeah, I guess you're right...anyway...

"This is the biggest rule. No. Dying. I know you may feel tempted to at times, but don't. I want to have you alive when we get married."

Peter chuckled lightly, but agreed to it nonetheless, nuzzling Rainbow Dash's neck as he spoke. "Don't worry, Dashie...I'm not going anywhere..."

Rainbow Dash smiled, and rested her chin on his forehead, closing her eyes for a small nap...

Twilight

"What did you see in his hand, Twilight?"

The lavender unicorn looked back at Fluttershy. She sighed, still unsure what to make of the odd discovery...

"I found small granules of the Soul Gem in his hand. It seems as though his nervous system has integrated them into its own wiring...which, in all senses, should make them conduits for power, but only when an insane amount of emotion is pumped through them...but, I can't find anything to back that up!"

Fluttershy blinked, tilting her head slightly in thought. "Well, you have to apologize to Celestia, right? Why don't you ask her in your letter?"

Twilight nodded. It made sense, to ask Celestia in a letter. That way, she could raise her suspicions with the wise deity. Peter said he can't do magic, which is one of the reasons as to why he couldn't be the wielder of the Seventh Element of Harmony. What if this means that he is? He was Loyal enough to crush that soul gem, and now, if he has enough emotion blasting through him, he can do Magic. I simply must bring this up with Princess Celestia!

Twilight bit her lower lip. She didn't want to worry Fluttershy with the idea that they were possibly readying a weapon for Celestia, but neither did she want to keep her friend in the dark. She steeled her nerves, and explained to Fluttershy what had occurred, preparing herself to show the yellow Pegasus her memories.

P. Dash

"Hey, Peter?" Rainbow Dash asked cautiously. She remembered how opposed Peter had been to the idea, but she still wanted to know.

"Yeah, Dashie?"

"Remember when Twilight said you might be the Seventh Element of Harmony, or at least its wielder?"

Peter sighed. He had no desire to pursue the topic any further than the question, but he decided to humor the cyan Pegasus' question with an answer.

"Yeah, I remember. I truly doubt that I am. Even if I am Honest, Kind, Generous, Loyal, and able to Laugh things off...none of which could ever be used to describe me...I still can't do Magic. And I never will be able to do Magic."

Rainbow Dash laid a hoof on his chest, looking deep into his eyes. "Peter, you're every one of those things. You're Kind, Generous, Honest, and most definitely Loyal. More Loyal than me."

Peter shook his head, remembering the show based on this world...or rather, that just so happened to emulate this world. "Rainbow Dash, I'm not Honest. If I were, you'd know something that nopony else can ever know. A true secret, one that I will forever protect."

Rainbow Dash nuzzled him on the neck, feeling slightly hurt. "Peter, you can tell me anything. Trust me. I love you. I would never give away one of your secrets..."

Peter sighed, thinking hard. She deserves to know...she's going to be my wife, for Christ's sake...

But I can't let her know the full truth...that could send her spiraling into insanity.

So, he spun the following tale:

When Peter had woken up, on Equestria, all he remembered past his last memory on earth was a voice. This voice had spoken of Six Elements of Harmony, and something called 'Discord'.

Rainbow Dash gasped. "So, you knew all about the Elements of Harmony? And Discord? Why didn't you tell us!?"

Peter shrugged. "Ianno. I guess I was just afraid, what with previously being shoved in a cage..."

Rainbow Dash put on a really, really bad poker face. Peter raised an eyebrow, and she broke the futile effort within a few seconds.

"Hehehehe...sorry 'bout that. I kinda freaked out, since you were muttering to yourself, right after you had burned a giant hole in the Everfree Forest, and I kinda...uh..." She gulped. "Kicked you into the cage. I thought you were the creature that would destroy Ponyville, like in my dreams...and I had to stop you. Celestia was going to shove you in and sentence you to immediate death, but she wanted you awake for it, though, so I accidentally bought you some time, during which Fluttershy argued with Celestia. So, in the end, I guess I saved your life..."

Peter smiled, and ruffled her rainbow mane. "You don't have to say sorry. If anything, I should be saying thank you, for saving my life." He smiled, knowing just how cheesy his next line was going to be...

"I guess you're really the best thing that ever happened to me. In every way possible. You saved my life, and now, I'm going to have a family with you...the most amazing Pegasus to ever bless Equestria with her presence."

Rainbow Dash smiled, giggling lightly as she nuzzled his shoulder. "Wow, Peter...that was, by far, the sappiest thing you've ever said..."

She stopped nuzzling his shoulder, and kissed him on the cheek. "But is also the nicest, and the most accurate. Because you're the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, Peter. You saved me from those dreams, and I can trust you with anything. And I love you. I love you, and I can't wait to have a family with you."

Peter felt a pang of regret as he cuddled up with her (which he just then realized was odd: he never thought that a pony like Rainbow Dash would enjoy taking it slow and cuddling...then again, this Rainbow Dash was the sensitive, loving Rainbow Dash, not the brash, uncaring generalization the show pinned her down as and DEAR GOD THIS IS A LONGASS PARENTHESES EXCERPT).

He wanted to tell her. He wanted to let her know what the strange, goat-pony-thing had said...that the Grunt that had stabbed him was sent by Discord. But, alas, he could not bring himself to end this care-free, loving state of mind.

Ignorance...truly is bliss.

He sighed, both a heavy conscience and a tired feeling weighing down on his mind...

Twilight

Fluttershy held a hoof up to Twilight's glowing horn, effectively doubling the lavender unicorn's vision, as well as sending her into a debilitating headache. "Wait, Twilight. This sounds kind of important. Don't you think we should let Applejack and Pinkie Pie know? You know, since you told everypony else about it..."

Twilight nodded, still somewhat dizzied by the hoof-to-horn connection. After a few moments, she nodded to Fluttershy, who was continually apologizing for the horn-tapping.

Together, they walked up to the orange work pony and pink party pony, who were currently having a light conversation as they watched Spike, who was on his knees next to Rarity, never leaving the white unicorn's side.

"Hey, you two. I have something to tell you, something I should've told you a while ago."

Pinkie Pie pepped up, obviously excited. "Oh, I love secrets!"

Twilight shook her head. "This isn't a secret. It's important that you two know. I'll show you all what I showed Peter, Spike, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash."

She showed them the vision and the memories, and shuddered as only she heard the words that Ditzy Doo had shared with her...

You will know who the Wielder is...

When his memories try to kill him and those around him.

When the show of memories had finished, the pink party pony shook her head in confusion.

"And you're saying that the Seventh Element of Harmony is...Peter?"

Twilight nodded, but shook her head after a moment's thought. "Yes, but I can't be sure. I believe he is, but I don't know whether he is or not. However, I fully believe that he is its wielder."

Applejack blinked, confused. "But, wait...why would we need a Seventh Element of Harmony now? Equestria is at peace, ain't it?"

Twilight sighed. "I'm going to ask Celestia about it. Also, I found Soul Gem granules that were assimilated into he nervous system in his palm. They should allow him to do amazing feats of magic, but only when a surge of emotion blasts through his body with the power of a freight train. This means whenever he's unbelievably angry, happy, or in love, he could possibly do magic without even knowing it."

Applejack and Pinkie Pie exchanged a glance. After a moment, they looked back to Twilight, obviously worried.

"Uh...are you two-"

Twilight gasped, immediately realizing why they were so worried.

"He might do magic and hurt Rainbow Dash!"

A sudden glow, coming from the small luggage that Rarity had loaned Peter, distracted them. Throwing each other nervous glances, they slowly approached the bag, staring at the glow emitting from its slightly opened zipper. They opened it, rather cautiously, and gasped at what the contents had in store.

P. Dash

Peter woke up after five minutes. He couldn't sleep, as he had the cyan Pegasus next to him on the mind. He looked over at her, and she opened her eyes after a moment, not saying anything as they silently examined each others eyes.

After several loving moments of simply gazing into each others' eyes, Rainbow Dash broke the silence.

"Peter, we should get married in Las Haygas."

Peter smiled. "Great idea...but where? And how much would it cost? I have no bits whatsoever, remember?"

The cyan Pegasus blinked, looking away from his eyes, and down at her wings as she continued to speak.

"We can get married in the Tower de Celestia, which I believe is free for courtesy guests..."

Peter smiled. "How do you know that? Did you ask Twilight for a place to get married?"

She gulped, now openly blushing. "N...no. My...my parents got married in the same Tower de Celestia that we're staying at..."

Peter's smile faded as he remembered the light Pegasus' dark childhood. His brain sent bursts of emotion through his body, telling every single organ that it was experiencing major bursts of love.

Peter lay his (strangely) tingling palm on Rainbow Dash's cheek, and stroked the curves of her face with his fingers. "Rainbow Dash..."

The cyan Pegasus gulped. "I'm sorry, it was a stupid idea..."

Peter kissed her, his heart hammering as a new wave of emotion surged through him, his palms tingling and itching like crazy.

"It was a brilliant idea. We should get married there, and your parents will look down from heaven and be so proud of you...because you're an amazing Pegasus, and you deserve everything and anything that you could ever possibly want."

He kissed her again, and a huge burst of love washed over his mind, breaking the barriers of his nervous system as the particles in his hand were pushed to their holding limit of emotional output.

Suddenly, he felt a burst of...something, in his hands.

His palms burning, Peter tore his hand off of Rainbow Dash's face, staring at the glowing palm. He lifted the other, and gaped at it. Rainbow Dash joined him in the gaping, and, together, they watched the light show make two images: on his left hand, an enigmatic image, which neither of them could define. On his right, was a lightning bolt: the same as Rainbow Dash's cutie mark, which also (strangely enough) had a faint glow to it. Around the tiny lightning bolt were five clusters of light, which had no definite shape whatsoever.

Suddenly, the light show stopped, and Peter and Rainbow Dash looked at each other, shocked.

"What the fuck just happened..."

The cyan Pegasus shook her head, not knowing what to make of the light show. Besides one thing.

"That was awesome...Peter, I think you just did magic..."

Just then, the screens were pulled open by a magical aura, and six Soul Gem fragments were presented to him, all held within the same, purple, magical aura.

One of them was shaped like a lightning bolt.

Drøm Mester

As everypony was going about their rather...odd, days, Rarity was having a horrible nightmare.

Drøm Mester peered into the black substance on the wall. It had started as a mere thought bubble, but had transformed into a true nightmare. Dipping his horn into the substance, he watched as the nightmare unfolded.

Everything was dark and black. Nothing truly was anymore.

Rarity was bound by chains from the ceiling...wait...what ceiling?

The chains clinked from their invisible origins, high above Rarity in this dark place.

Footsteps...Not hoofsteps...

Rarity looked up, silently hoping that her new friend had come to relieve her of this torture...

It wasn't him. Or rather, it was him, but he had changed...

This 'Peter' was completely blacked out. The only part of him that wasn't black, were his yellow, gleaming eyes.

It spoke, sending chills down the white unicorn's spine. "Rarity."

That single word sent her into hysterics. She tried to shout out to him, but to no avail.

She glanced at his hand, in which a small, black object was grasped.

It looked suspiciously like the 'Desert Eagle' Peter had shown everypony.

He moved it, and seemed to be concentrating on the two small panels in the back.

"Goodbye."

The muzzle of the gun exploded in light.

And all the darkness went dark.

Drøm Mester gritted his teeth, pumping more and more energy into the dream that had congealed along the walls.

It has already begun...the memories of the 29 year old Peter Roose...if soul and memory meet...

He stopped thinking about it, and, instead, focused on vanquishing the nightmare before him. A growl met his ears, and the Skygger was met with the Soul Metal blade of Sølv Brann. Drøm Mester pumped more energy into the hemorrhage on the wall.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, and about twenty Skygger, the nightmare burst like a balloon, filled with Light and Hope.

Panting, Drøm Mester reeled back, barely keeping his balance as his hind legs shook.

Finally, he lost his balance, and the three marauders were ejected from the Realm of Dreams, as Drøm Mester could no longer hold up the spell required to keep other ponies in the Realm of Dreams with him, and one could not sleep in the Realm of Dreams.

"Ah. You're back."

He swiveled his head, and saw Metall Kant peering down at him, a distant, sad glint in his fellow Leader's eyes.

"Who did we lose this time, Metall?"

"Gammel Hjerte. The Elder of Death. The Elder of Time is still happily...half-alive. However, the soul pushed Gammel Hjerte through a Rift. According to the Pool, said soul is currently making his way up to the Temple, to take the Blade as his own."

Drøm Mester winced. If Gammel Hjerte had been pushed through a Rift, he wouldn't be himself by the time he escaped its clutches. And, if that damned soul got to the Sword...

"How can we stop him?"

"We can't. And I won't be sending anypony on a wild goose hunt for the doors to the Realm of Death in the Realm of Dreams."

Drøm Mester nodded, and turned to Sølv Brann. Nodding to the silver pony, he walked back so as to address the both of them.

"I am afraid that now, all we can do is delay the inevitable. We shall descend into the Realm of Dreams each day, and attempt to halt the memories' progress. As for the war, we shall slay all Skygger we see. However, as I said, at this point, all we can do is delay the inevitable."

Suddenly, Drøm Mester twitched. His horn glowed, and his eyes went vacant. Metall Kant and Sølv Brann watched on with growing interest.

When he returned, Drøm Mester smiled at what he had seen.

"Alas...not all hope is lost."

Celestia

Celestia watched with growing anticipation as Ditzy Doo's Eye of Dreams glowed at an intensity greater than it ever had before. The entire throne room was awash with the golden light.

Finally, the grey Pegasus returned, and smiled.

"Celestia...it's beginning...with Loyalty..."

Celestia smiled. She knew it would be Loyalty. Undoubtedly, her subjects would have noticed the change in the Soul Gem fragments by now.

However, there was more in store for the regal deity.

"Also, he has been Tied to Loyalty."

Celestia blinked, confused.

"I don't understand. 'Tied', to Loyalty?"

"Yes. Their souls are connected: they are now connected by a bond stronger than marriage."

Celestia blinked once more, this time in astonishment.

They continued to converse for some time.

However, what they spoke of, is not meant for us to know of.

Peter

The blacked out soul pushed open the door to the inner chambers. Finally...after navigating this maze of a building, he had found it.

There, in the center, lay a blade of black Death Metal, which bearer an uncanny resemblance to an Ebony Sword.

Grinning in success, he stepped forward.

However, as he reached the pillar of dark light, within which the blade gleamed, he felt a sudden thud in his very being.

Like it or not, he was still bound to his own soul: the soul of the fifteen year old that had replaced him. And now, he could feel through that bond, the Tie to another being.

He dismissed it. Sooner or later, they would all be his, and he could remove his fifteen year old murderer from the world...

He grasped the hilt of the sword, and yanked it from its spot in the pillar of light.

The intricate engravings and designs were immediately absorbed in a black substance that flowed from Peter's very being. It slowly crept up the length of the blade, absorbing the curves and delicate intricacies that lined its length. As the black substance fully enveloped the blade, the pillar of light flickered, and finally, died. The Realm of Death's last light had been extinguished, and yet, it thrummed with the light of a thousand souls.

When the substance retracted, the blade, to the naked eye, appeared unchanged.

However, to the eye of a dark soul, it was completely different: its purpose was changed, and so was its name.

A booming voice echoed through the halls, the soul's master quite pleased with the turn of events.

Discord

Discord grinned at his greatest success.

"Good, you have corrupted the Blade of Death. From now on, it shall go by the name...the Sword of Souls. With this in your hand, I shall truly gain control of Equestria within mere days of war...

"I can sense your confusion. What nags at your mind, my worthy accomplice?"

The soul sneered at the darkness, and slapped the flat of the blade against the palm of his hand. "How the fuck is this sword different from any other? Besides looking nice, how will this help us conquer Equestria?"

Discord resisted the urge to kill it then and there. He still needed the soul, like it or not. "Listen carefully, boy.

"That blade is no ordinary blade. That blade reflects your very soul. Seeing as how you are a soul, this blade reflects you.

"And, when all of your being is directed towards killing a being...no matter how strong, or insignificant...

"You shall destroy that being's soul. Completely. No remnants of body nor soul shall remain. This is the only sword that can both kill, and end.

"In addition to destroying souls, you now control souls. With the Sword of Souls in your grasp, you can direct Skygger, and any other soul you wish. So long as you have first destroyed their body."

Peter grunted, and gave the sword an experimental slice. The sound of it whistling through the air played music to Discord's ear, as it was perfectly oriented to the soul's body and overall being, and was perfectly oriented to how Discord would set it to use...

"Hmph. Well, then...that changes the odds quite a bit."

He snapped his fingers, and snatched the materialized scabbard from the air. Turning on his heel, Peter walked out of the hall, and Discord simply smiled, pleased with the forwardness of his new pawn...

Spike

"Come on, Rarity, wake up...I'm sorry, please, wake up..."

Spike had been sitting there for the past hour. He wasn't leaving her side, not for anything...

She was still in a coma, as Spike had split her liver and intestines when he had attacked her in Pinkie Pie's mane. And while Twilight could heal that, she couldn't wake somepony up from a coma.

The white unicorn awoke, panting, shocking Spike, as well as everypony else on the train into immediate action.

Note from the Author

NO, I DID NOT MEAN ANYTHING RACIST BY HOW I DESCRIBED THE EVIL PETER.

By the way, speaking of the evil Peter...

What should I call him?

I had a few ideas: Anti-Peter, (much like Anti-Sora,) Peter's Soul, Soul Peter, Old Peter, and Retep (Peter backwards).

So, vote on which one you want me to use when I refer to him from now on...

Or submit your own name for Evil-Peter! Cunt Whore and Analaids...

Are viable options.

Also, do you like mad-libs?

Well, I mad-libbed an excerpt from one of my own chapters for you guys, on my SOTP Collection. So, have fun with that! (Be warned, each blank is a letter, and it goes from A to Z. And it's about ten or twelve sentences long...)

Death, The Traveler

"The Other Side" Chapter 14- Death, The Traveler

Gammel Hjerte, the Elder of death... had died. He died in the realm of death, to stop a death that had already happened. Needless to say, reality itself struggled to hold itself together. A rift in time and space itself opened up, a tear in the very stuff of existence. Gammel Hjerte was pushed through this by a human named Peter... or at least he thought it was Peter. He fell into the rift, screaming as reality buckled and twisted around him, the rift threatening to destroy his sanity completely...

It did. It changed him. His body and mind mutated, deformed, turning into something they had not been. Peter's touch, his human hand... it had somehow been touched by the rift energy, a strange surge of power coursing through the Elder. His flesh and blood peeled away, burning up in a flash of unnatural energy. All that was left was bone the white and black fire that surged across Gammel Hjerte like a living thing. His bones twisted and cracked, splitting and reforming into a new form, something more fitting of the Elder of death.

Gammel Hjerte screamed; an ear-splitting, soul-rending cry of anguish and turmoil. His eyes shone with ghostly white light as he felt another rift opening before him. He screamed again, his body no longer what it had once been; it was much more horrifying than he had previously been before.

His front hooves had cracked and splintered, reforming into what could only be skeletal hands. Each finger was tipped with a blade-like claw, sharp enough to rend meat from bone with terrible ease. His spine straightened, twisting upwards to bring him into a bipedal stance. He felt his front shoulders widen and spread, letting his newly formed arms move more effectively. Spars of bone erupted from his back, spreading outwards into a pair of skeletal wings covered in black and white flames. His skull sprouted new fangs and teeth, like those of a predator. His tailbone lengthened, growing into a six-foot length of jagged bone. At the tip of the tail was a skeletal blade like that of a scythe, which glowed with a malign light.

Gammel Hjerte exploded out of the other rift into the nighttime sky. With a torrent of fire and energy, he sped downwards to the earth with the sound of his hellish screams filling his ears. He saw mountains, hundreds of them stretched out below him, all covered in snow and ice. The Elder of death shot towards the unforgiving ground with enough speed to tear a pegasus to pieces. He was wreathed in a cloud of ethereal fire which trailed behind him like the tail of a comet. This sight would have driven a lesser being to utter madness.

With a terrible explosion, Gammel Hjerte slammed into the ground. Pieces of burning soil and rock. A thick pillar of black smoke poured out of the crater where the Elder had landed. The sound of his landing echoed across the mountains, the noise bouncing off each peak to carry it to its fellows. Everything went silent after the echoes ceased.

The Elder of Death did not die again, as was evident by the skeletal hand that now clawed at the side of the crater. Another hand followed it, along with the rest of Gammel Hjerte's nightmarish form. He stood up, staring up at the quickly closing rift thousands of feet above.

"YOU WILL PAY. YOU WILL PAY FOR ABANDONING ME. ALL OF YOU WILL DIE; THE ELDERS... LUNA... CELESTIA... PETER... I WILL KILL YOU ALL. I WILL KILL YOU ALL, DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

Gammel Hjerte's mind and body were forever changed, along with his heart and soul. He was no longer fighting to save a world, but to destroy it.

"DEATH COMES FOR YOU."

Note from the Author

This is not my material! This is from The Other Side, by Chuckles the Werewolf! This is our first crossover chapter!

I suggest you read his story. It's fucking amazing.

Music

The grey pony took another spoonful of cereal, and picked up the Canterlot Newspaper.

Nothing on music...ugh...such a drab city at times...

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Octavia waited for the unicorn who shared the small house with her to answer, as her room was closest to the door.

And waited.

And waited.

The door sounded with a knock once more, and Octavia sighed, setting aside her newspaper and cereal with an air of irritation.

Entering the white unicorn's room, she found her fast asleep in her bed, her neon-blue hair wildly splayed across her pillow, her tinted glasses haphazardly dropped on the night table.

Closing her eyes in agitation, she turned and answered the door.

She was met with with a Canterlot Royal Guard. Panicking, Octavia did the first thing she could think of.

Blame somepony for something nopony did.

"What did Vinyl Scratch do this time, sir?"

The Guard raised an eyebrow, but simply removed an envelope from within the folds of his wing, ignoring the question altogether. "Telegram for Ms. Scratch."

The Guard placed it on the floor in front of Octavia and, with that, he was gone, his golden armor gleaming in the summer's sun.

Confused, the grey pony orally picked up the envelope, and turned, gently closing the door with a hoof. Trotting through the white-wash entrance of her house, she walked right into Vinyl Scratch's room.

Placing the envelope down next to the tinted goggles, she prodded at the white unicorn. Vinyl snorted in her sleep, rather unperturbed by the nudge.

Grunting, Octavia shook the sleeping unicorn. She remained asleep, her snoring somehow louder than it had been the other night...

Finally, Octavia gave up, and left the room. Walking through the dining room, (eying her newspaper and cereal wistfully,) she opened the door to her armory. Browsing the multiple installments to her variety of instruments, she finally found the one she could use.

Trotting back through the dining room, her trumpet safely grasped within her teeth, she entered Vinyl Scratch's room once more.

With a practiced ease, she rose to two legs, (emulating what Lyra had taught her,) and transferred the trumpet from her mouth, to her hooves.

After wetting her lips, she raised the trumpet to her mouth, arranged the buttons and her lips to play a high D flat, and blew into it, her lips buzzing lightly as she sent air throughout the instrument.

Vinyl Scratch

Vinyl Scratch had been having a nice dream. A dream where she was playing in Las Haygas, courtesy of Celestia herself.

But then, the world was blasted apart by a horrible sound: a C sharp from a trumpet, played by a horrible, grey monster, a monster who hated dubstep, techno, and everything on vinyl disks.

"No, I will not sacrifice my DJ platform to the instruments!"

She opened her eyes to see a grey giant. A giant that sought to destroy all things dubbed.

It spoke, its voice strangely...normal. "Are you going to get up, or what?"

Vinyl Scratch blinked, and looked around at her surroundings.

She was on the floor of her room, her blankets spread out beneath her. Octavia stood above her, trumpet in hoof.

Blushing, Vinyl Scratch stood, rubbing her red eyes with a hoof.

"Octy, I told you not to wake me up with your instruments!"

Frowning, her 'friend' placed her trumpet down on the night table. "And I told you not to call me that anymore, Vinyl. Now, come in for some breakfast, after you read that telegram and brush your hair."

Walking out with her trumpet on her back, Octavia left with a final flick of the tail. With a small 'humph', Vinyl Scratch threw on her tinted goggles, and magically unwrapped the letter. It read as such:

Dear Vinyl Scratch,

As an esteemed DJ of Canterlot, I cordially invite you to perform in Las Haygas, and a special cruise ship, in two day's time.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia.

Vinyl Scratch squealed in giddiness. Her dream come true...to be a DJ in Las Haygas. She could see it now...

A giant, neon sign, the words 'DJ-P0N3 glowing in the darkness of the club...

An amazing DJ stand, arranged by the one, the only, Vinyl Scratch, with the stallion of her dreams, Tech, watching on in admiration...

She and Tech would go back to Vinyl Scratch's private dressing room, (which would be virtually useless,) after the show, and...

"Aaaahhhhhh!" Vinyl Scratch winced as another C sharp was blasted through her small room.

"Breakfast. Now." Octavia walked out, trumpet once more on her back, ready for another use if need be.

Grumbling, Vinyl Scratch magically rolled up the letter, and walked through the door, the hallway, and up to the dining room table. She sat in front of the bowl, ignoring Octavia's glare of distaste as she examined the white unicorn's unruly mane.

After having a few spoonfuls of the bland cereal, Vinyl Scratch opened the letter, and presented it to Octavia.

The grey pony gasped, and Vinyl Scratch simply puffed her chest out, proud of her accomplishment.

"This is...this is amazing, Vinyl! Congratulations! Although..." Vinyl let her stature return to its usual slumped-over position as she sighed. "I still can't get over how anypony would think of music on a vinyl disk  as real music. It's all prerecorded, there's no feel to it..."

Vinyl Scratch slammed her hooves on the table, causing Octavia to shrink back slightly. "Maybe, if you ever went to one of my gigs, you would see that there is a feel to it! With the right equalization, you can get the feel that a real instrument has: the vibrations you can feel from a violin, or a trumpet, only goosed up and louder! And, that is the reason as to why I'm the greatest DJ in all of Canterlot! Because I know how to emulate that feeling, and I know exactly how each and every instrument feels!"

Octavia drew back, obviously slightly surprised. "But...how? How do you know what each instrument sounds and feels?"

Enraged, Vinyl Scratch shouted the answer, which she thought was rather obvious. "Because I went to every one of your damn concerts! Every, single, one! And I learned how each and every instrument feels and sounds, so when there's a mix of instruments in a song, I can bring all of that together to make it sound its best! To make it sound as close to you as possible, because you're an amazing musician!"

Now, it was Octavia's turn to blush. "You...you really think so?"

Vinyl Scratch crossed her forelegs on her chest. "Yeah. And?"

Octavia smiled, and Vinyl Scratch couldn't resist smiling back. It was such a rare sight, to see the grey earth pony genuinely smile... "Thank you, Vinyl. That means so much to me..."

Vinyl Scratch smiled back. "Hey, it's your playing that got me here in the first place. If anything, I should be thanking you, Octy."

She shook her head, remembering what had started the conversation in the first place. "Anyway, my music sounds truly amazing. Because I can feel the music, and I can get it to emulate..." Vinyl Scratch gulped. "Yours."

The white unicorn suddenly realized something. All her music was, was just a copy of real music.

"Ugh, you're right, Octavia. My music just copies yours, and while your music is amazing, that makes my music totally lame. Because it's just a copy of somepony else's music, or at least how it sounds."

Octavia, still smiling, reached across the table with a hoof. Patting her friends' hoof with her own, the grey mare spoke comforting words.

"Vinyl, it's very flattering that you base your music off of mine. And, if you can truly get it to emulate how live music sounds, then you really are the greatest DJ in the world."

Vinyl Scratch looked up, and smiled back at her grey friend, before asking a more important question.

"So...you're not angry? That I used your music? And that I basically ripped off how you sound to make my music sound good?"

Octavia stood up, and walked around the table, enveloping Vinyl Scratch in a hug.

"Not at all, Vinyl." She kissed the white unicorn on the cheek, not realizing, at first, what she was doing.

Immediately, they both donned giant frowns, and stood bolt upright, Vinyl Scratch glaring at Octavia's lips, and Octavia at Vinyl Scratch's cheek.

"You...You just..."

Octavia blushed. "S...Sorry. I forgot myself for a moment...I meant to just hug you, but you were just so sad, I forgot myself..."

Vinyl Scratch shook her head in disbelief. "No...You didn't forget yourself. It makes sense now. This is why my opinion on your music meant so much to you, but the fact that Celestia asked you to play at the Gala didn't mean shit to you!"

Vinyl Scratch gulped. "You...you have a crush on me..."

She took another few steps back, and Octavia merely closed her eyes, letting her head droop towards the ground. After a few moments, Vinyl Scratch decided that it would be best to at least hug her friend. Just a hug...that wouldn't be weird. Right?

Just as she took a step towards the grey mare, Octavia shouted something that gave Vinyl Scratch pause. "Well, what about you!? Before we even bought this house, after I blew all of the salary from the Gala on new instruments to add to my collection, you helped me buy more! And then, after that gig where you got enough bits to buy this house, you bought it and asked me if I wanted to move in with you! I don't even have to pay rent here, and you bought the bucking thing! Obviously, you have a crush on me, too!"

Vinyl Scratch stopped, and sighed. "No, Octavia. I've...I've been using you."

Octavia shrank back a small amount, but Vinyl Scratch continued on.

She deserves to know the full truth.

"When I first heard you play, I knew that I could learn how instruments truly sound from you, because you were so amazing at playing the strings. So, I bought you more instruments, so I could hear you play them, and then make more money off of that." She heard Octavia sniff, but she pressed on, steeling her nerves. "And then, I bought this house with the money I made off of you. I felt bad for just using you like that, so I asked you to move in. And now, we're friends, and my music is amazing because it sounds like yours. Overall, it worked out better for the both of us."

Octavia shrank back, and said something that gave Vinyl Scratch yet another pause. "I...I thought you liked me...I thought you genuinely liked me...you were the first person, after my sister, Pinkamena Diane Pie, left to become a party pony, in that little town Ponyville...

"After she abandoned me there, on that drab, devoid-of-music rock farm...she hasn't even sent me a letter since that day. Not even a single letter...she even ignored me at the Grand Galloping Gala...the only time she spoke to me, she told me to play a song for her...she never even said 'hello'...I felt as though nopony cared for me at that point...

"But then, you...you came along, and you seemed to care for me so much...and I...I thought that you actually cared for me. It...it changed me. Having the only pony who ever cared for me being a mare, I...it changed me. It made me fall for you, because you helped me get out of depression...

"But you didn't care. You never cared..."

Octavia sniffed, and a few tears rolled down her grey face, her eyelids covering up those pretty, purple eyes that Vinyl Scratch had become accustomed to seeing every morning she woke up...

Just then, something stirred within Vinyl Scratch, as she looked upon the mare, whose heart she had toyed with, and whose sexuality she had altered, simply by profiting off of her, and making it seem like she cared. Something she had felt for the earth pony before, but never in this magnitude...

Undying, endless, care...concern...a need to see her happy...a certain drive, a drive to make this pony feel the happiest she could feel.

Vinyl Scratch shook her head, realizing just how much the grey pony had changed her...

First off, Vinyl Scratch had profited off of her.

And then, Vinyl Scratch had learned a sense of moral from her. She came to realize that it was wrong to capitalize on her like this, and realized that she ought to pay her back.

And finally, over the past year or so, as they had been living together, something had culminated in Vinyl Scratch's money-bound heart, something that she had a name for, only now, when she saw how sad and...destroyed, Octavia was.

Love.

She had fallen in love with Octavia, without even knowing it.

Vinyl Scratch felt a burst of panic. But...I'm not a fillyfooler! I have a crush on Tech!

A small voice in the back of her head, a voice that sounded old and wizened, yet smooth and strong, refuted her..

No. You have an obsession with his work. Every night, you dream that you two go back into your dressing room, and he signs your electrical equipment. You're obsessed with his work, and you want to meet him.

However, how many dreams have you had where Octavia finally attends one of your gigs? How many dreams have you had where Octavia and you go back into your dressing room after the gig, she tells you it was amazing, and, next thing you know, you two are kissing. No rhyme or reason to it, just her praising you, then kissing you.

You are in love with her. Don't fight it. You know it's true.

The voice died away, and Vinyl Scratch opened her eyes, to see that Octavia was no longer there. However, she could still hear her, sobbing heavily from her room upstairs.

Vinyl Scratch did a quick soul search, and found a feeling of acceptance.

Steeling her nerves, she walked the walk she had taken so many times before, to make sure that Octavia was comfortable in the new house...

She walked away from her own room, and walked up the stairs to the left, each tear stain she saw adding more and more to her resolution. She finally arrived at the landing, and climbed the final step, taking a left towards the bedroom door, which was currently ajar.

Vinyl Scratch took a deep breath.

Octavia

I thought she cared about me...Unlike Pinkamena, who just left me, and never looked back...I thought she actually cared for me...She made me into a fillyfooler...I...I hate her...

Just then, she felt a familiar weight on the bed next to her. The same weight that had been there every time she'd been sick, every time she'd been down, every time she'd been hungover (which wasn't very often, mind you)...that weight had been there...

"Listen, Octy..."

She sat up, furious with herself, and with the white unicorn, glaring into Vinyl Scratch's red, uncovered eyes.

"No! I will not listen! You played with me, Vinyl Scratch! You used me!"

If only tears hadn't been blurring Octavia's vision, she would have seen the tears in Vinyl Scratch's eyes.

"Wait, Octy...please..."

"No! I hate you!"

She heard a sharp intake of air, but saw nothing as she clamped her eyes shut, waiting for Vinyl Scratch to simply leave, and break her fractured heart...

However, nothing of the manner would happen that night.

Because, unbeknownst to either of them, Drøm Mester, Sølv Brann, and Fugl Føniks had all seen to that, after they had killed a massive influx of Skygger, and the dark Choices they represented, in the Realm of Dreams.

"Please, don't say that..." She heard Vinyl Scratch whisper. Octavia replied in a venomous, hateful whisper of her own.

"Why not? Can't stand capitalizing off of someone who hates you?"

Octavia heard Vinyl Scratch sniff, and felt a tear roll onto her shoulder. She refused to open her eyes, however. She simply refused.

A second whisper came. "No, Octy..." A few seconds after, Octavia felt Vinyl Scratch adjust her weight. Suddenly, without warning, Octavia was flipped onto her back, with a small cry of shock, and Vinyl Scratch lay on top of her, their hind legs intertwining as Vinyl Scratch leaned over to whisper into the grey mare's ear one last time.

"It's because I love you..."

As soon as the whisper left her lips, Vinyl Scratch thrust her mouth onto Octavia's, her tongue shooting into the latter's mouth, the both of their tongues swirling around each other, their heartbeats accentuated, doubling in strength as they felt each others' through their chests.

Octavia returned the kiss with double the strength, all of her loneliness and love pouring out through the passionate kiss to the white unicorn on top of her, whose tongue was continually thrusting into Octavia's mouth. In turn, Octavia's tongue was grappling for Vinyl Scratch's tongue, each of them swirling their tongues around each others'. Octavia didn't want the kiss to ever, ever end. This was the happiest moment of her life...

However, it eventually ended, as Vinyl Scratch pulled away. Octavia wrapped her forelegs around the white unicorn, her mouth more sore from the half hour kiss than from constant trumpet practice.

"I love you, Vinyl Scratch..."

She was about to thrust her mouth back onto Vinyl Scratch's, when a gentle hoof stopped her.

"Octavia...let's make music..."

The whisper sent chills down Octavia's spine, as well as the hoof that now rubbed her neck, slowly and sensually.

"The music of love..."

The second whisper sent even more chills down Octavia's spine. She nodded, ecstasy flowing through her veins.

Celestia

Celestia smiled as Ditzy Doo's Eye of Dreams stopped glowing.

Turning to the simply terrified Canterlot Royal Guard, who gave it away in his expressionless face, she nodded.

"I believe we need you to see if we have a response from our special guest."

The Guard blinked, and Celestia sighed.

They can kill, but they can't think.

"Vinyl Scratch."

The Guard nodded, and backed out, already extending his wings to take flight.

Celestia sighed, an turned back to Ditzy Doo. "Anyway...as you were saying?"

Ditzy Doo nodded. "It seems as though the Skygger that Drøm Mester, Sølv Brann, and Fugl Føniks have been stopping the Choices of more than just leaders and soldiers."

Celestia nodded. "Good. Just as we hoped."

She sighed, and returned to her throne.

"Even musicians can find love..."

Ditzy Doo smiled sadly, and left, not wanting to invade on the deity's reflections.

Vinyl Scratch

Vinyl Scratch lay on Octavia's bed, her foreleg around the latter's shoulder. Octavia breathed lightly, resting her head on Vinyl's shoulder.

A knock sounded at the door, and Vinyl Scratch stood, careful not to disturb the sleeping earth pony.

"I love you, Octavia..." She whispered, before departing the room, walking down the stairs, past the (definitely curdled) bowls of milk and cereal, past her own bedroom, and up to the front door.

She opened it to find a grand stallion, bearing the golden armor of a Royal Canterlot Guard.

"I'm here for Ms. Scratch's response."

Vinyl Scratch smiled, knowing full well what the response was for. "Tell Celestia that she needs to make arrangements for two. My marefriend and I would like to attend Las Haygas together."

After years of withstanding the oddest odds, and a cyan Pegasus flapping her tongue about like a helicopter, the guard wasn't prepared for that.

Vinyl Scratch smiled in victory as she elicited a response from the guard.

He raised an eyebrow, and frowned slightly.

"Er...yes. Right away, ma'm."

And with that, the guard left.

Only to return about ten minutes later, as the castle was a five minute fly from Vinyl Scratch's house.

"It shall be done, ma'm. We will return within a half an hour to bring you to the train."

Vinyl Scratch nodded, and returned to bed, feeling dead tired.

When she trotted back into the room, Octavia was sitting up on her bed, her eyes closed.

As soon as Vinyl Scratch sat next to the grey mare, the latter threw her forelegs around the former.

"I love you, Vinyl Scratch..."

Vinyl Scratch smiled. "I love you too. Now, how would you like to go on a date?"

Octavia pushed herself off of Vinyl, only enough to look into the latter's eyes. "I would love that. Do you have a place in mind?"

Vinyl Scratch looked up into the corner of her eyes, making it seem as though she was thinking hard.

"How about..." She nodded to herself. "Las Haygas?"

Octavia smiled wide, and pulled the white unicorn tighter in the embrace, the latter surprised with Octavia's strength.

"Yes! I love you, Vinyl Scratch!"

Vinyl Scratch smiled, and nuzzled Octavia's neck.

A few moments later, a knock sounded at the door. Vinyl Scratch smiled.

"And that would be our personal escort to the train."

Note from the Author

In case you're wondering, I didn't make this chapter for the sake of shipping.

I made it for the sake of filler.

And also for the sake of showing how Drøm Mester and blahbitty blah are all succeeding at their job in the Realm of Dreams.

Which means that if they're doing a kick-ass job right now, how the fuck did 'The Realm of Dreams Part 1' happen?

Hell, I don't know. I'm only the author.

...

I'm being serious. I made the timespan that long because I have no idea what happened between Day 1 and Day idkfuckitsomenumberhere.

Oh, by the way, I have a plan for the Las Haygas and cruise scenes.

They will be formatted so that it'll be split up by scenes, and then by point of view in each scene.

So, basically, it'll be different content in each scene. (Don't worry, I will do smooth transitions for each one.)

So, yeah...

By the way, sorry that this chapter is so endlessly cliche'd and...well...don't read it. Cliches are evil.

Wait, you already read it? And that's why you're reading the authors' note!?

OH, GODDANGIT!!!

In the words of Toby Turner...

Instabilities

Scene 1: The Breaking Point of Metal

Metall Kant frowned at the darkness of his eyelids.

Love means nothing anymore. Nothing. It's worthless, it's pointless, and it should be stopped...They don't need Cadence's love, they have enough on their own as it is...

And besides...Now that Vind Rullator is dead...What is love to the world? Love means nothing, it won't save your loved ones, it will only hurt those who love...

"Uh, mister? Are...Are you okay?"

Metall Kant opened his eyes to see Cadence, the Princess of Love. He smiled pleasantly, despite the maelstrom in his mind. "Yes, I'm quite alright, Princess," he nonchalantly stated, trotting towards the large, heart-shaped bed in the center of the room. A chest plate with a star family crest lay upon the plush furnishing.

"The heirloom of a lover, no doubt?" Metall Kant asked as he turned it over for inspection with his enchanted claw. Two letters-undoubtedly initials-were inscribed onto the back. "S.A....Hmph. Shining Armor, of the Royal Guard?"

Love. They're in love. How fickle...

With a burst of magic, the chest plate had been levitated, and moved into a discrete corner of the room. "That doesn't concern you," Cadence muttered, her face flushing red as she looked away.

"Oh, of course," Metall growled, staring Cadence in the eye, "what is the business of a princess to a god?"

Cadence blinked in surprise, and took another look at Metall Kant. "Your hoof is a claw. Who did you pay to do that?"

He waved said claw dismissively. "Enchanted by none other than Vida, the mother of Celestia and Luna when I was chosen as the Elder. In fact, as a Leader of the Elders."

Cadence cocked her head in confusion. "Elders? And how did you get here, anyway? You're not a unicorn!"

"But I am a god. Now, you are the goddess of love. Meamore Cadence, the Princess of Love..." Metall imitated a swoon as he spoke, openly insulting the princess before him. "And what has love brought me? Pain."

"I'm very sorry to here that," Cadence said softly. "Now, who are the Elders?"

"Ask Celestia. She'll tell you."

"Ah-huh. Well, is that all?"

"No, no, my personal story is not the point of my presence," Metall said, poetically weaving each word into the next. "Rather, I'm here to request you stop pumping love into the couple Peter and Rainbow Dash."

Cadence chuckled lightly. "Please. Celestia herself ordered me to do so. I'm not exactly sure as to why, as I've been kept in the dark, but..."

Metall smiled, and stood on his hind hooves. With a flash, his blade had appeared in his mercury claw.

"Either you stop pumping love into them," he whispered venomously, "or I end love forever."

Shining Armor

Shining Armor walked, humming, into the break room.

"Sir," a guard said to the white stallion.

"Yes, today is a fine day," the white stallion responded, leaving his guard baffled and confused.

"Ah, Shining Armor, glad to see you so...Chipper."

Shining Armor turned to the Princess, and bowed. "Ah, Princess Celestia. May your light shine forever."

Celestia raised an eyebrow, and nodded. "Yes, of course. I am not yet ready for today's practice, Shining Armor. Could you maybe...Come back in an hour or so?"

The Captain of the Royal Guard looked up in confusion, and saw a cross-eyed grey Pegasus, right by the edge of Celestia's marble throne. He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing of it.

These were surely strange times.

"While you're on break," Celestia added to the stationary Captain with a smirk, "you may as well retrieve your chest plate from Cadence's chambers, lovercolt."

Shining Armor flushed red, and was about to refute the claim, when he remembered he was dealing with a Princess. "Ah, yes. Of course, my Princess..."

The alicorn giggled lightly, and the grey mare simply smiled in...Success? Anyway, Shining Armor backed out of the room, and hastily made his way back to Cadence's chamber, making sure that nopony saw his blush.

When he arrived at his lover's chambers, he gasped at the sight before him.

"Cadence!" He shouted, his horn glowing as he stepped towards the black pony, whose silvery claw gleamed in the light of Cadence's failed spells.

"No!" The Princess cried. "Stay back, my love!"

Shining didn't listen. Instead, he charged right for the pony holding the blade to his lover's heart, and was sent back by some unknown force, and went crashing into the wall.

"Stay out of this, fool," the pony growled, a hint of insanity creeping into his voice. "Now, Cadence, will you do as I say?"

Shining Armor watched on, helplessly, as the black earth pony pressed on his blade, and drew a small drop of blood from Cadence's hide.

I need to get Celestia...

Shining Armor stood, and nodded to Cadence, who gulped, and began to stall the pony before her.

Somehow undetected by the black earth pony, Shining Armor slipped out, and ran for the throne room at top throttle, ignoring cries of dissent from blustered ponies.

A few seconds later, he burst through the doors to Celestia's throne, interrupting a meeting between the Princess, the cross-eyed Pegasus, a Diamond Dog, and a Griffin.

"Shining Armor!" Celestia cried. "What is the meaning of this !?"

Shining raised a hoof, panting.

"Oh, Celestia, if you're busy, we can, ah...Return," the Diamond Dog whispered.

"Celestia...Quickly...Cadence...Danger..."

Celestia blinked in surprise, and looked to the grey Pegasus. After a small nod, Celestia took off without another word.

Cadence

She was helpless under the "Elder's" power. She could only breathe, blink and speak.

"Well? I grow tired of your silence."

Cadence cried out in pain as the blade pierced a small amount deeper, brushing up against her outermost rib. "Please...Stop...I'll...I'll stop...I won't pump love into them anymore, but please, stop..."

With a triumphant smile, the "Elder" slowly removed his blade, and released Cadence. She fell to the ground, panting and crying, holding a hoof to the small incision in her chest. "You're a monster," she spat in disgust.

"Only because you made me that way."

He began to glow, when Celestia burst in, followed by Shining Armor. The Princess' ethereal mane immediately stiffening as she caught sight of the black pony.

A split second later, he was gone.

"No..." Celestia whispered, barely audibly. "Why would he turn against us..."

Cadence stood, feeling relief as Shining Armor mended the wound in her chest. "Are you okay!?" He shouted, helping her onto her hooves.

With a shake of the head, Cadence smiled into Shining Armor's eyes. "Yes, my love, I'm fine..."

She looked to Celestia, to see that her face was fixed in a thoughtful frown.

"Celestia?"

The white alicorn simply stared at them. "What did he want?"

"He wanted me to stop pumping love into that couple."

Celestia's frown deepened. "You have the day off, Shining Armor. And, Cadence..."

Cadence's chest tightened, and fear gripped her.

"I suggest you do what he says. He's more powerful than Luna and I combined."

Cadence nodded, and immediately cut off her small link to the couple in the train, with a small amount of relief. It was one thing to instill love in a fighting couple nearby, but another thing to maintain constant love between a superfluous couple miles away.

"I must depart," Celestia muttered. "I will see you two tomorrow. If I return."

Cadence reached out a hoof, but before she could object, Celestia was gone.

"What in the hay is going on?" She muttered, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I...I don't know," Shining Armor admitted, nuzzling Cadence lightly on the neck.

The two of them sighed, and Cadence waved a hoof in the direction of Luna's quarters.

"We should go tell Luna," she muttered, holding onto Shining armor for balance. While the wound was almost nothing, the power used on her had drained almost all of her energy. It was almost as if her love was being replaced with utter pain...

Celestia

Celestia frowned at the Elder before her. He appeared to be ignoring her.

"Look at me, Metall."

Metall Kant looked up to her, and she could tell that he had been crying, if only lightly. Her heart softened, but she turned it to stone.

"You attacked a Princess. Undoubtedly, all of Canterlot will be hunting you down now."

"I apologize, Celestia. Now, if you will excuse me, I have-"

"No, I will not excuse you."

Metall Kant looked up at her, surprise etched across his face. "Oh?"

Celestia sat down in front of his desk, and furled her wings onto her sides. "Metall, what's wrong? Why are you acting so strangely? One moment, you're threatening to murder a Princess, the next, you're crying?"

The Elder sighed. "I never wanted this...Any of it. I can't fee love anymore."

"Yes, you can. Vind Rullator-"

"Is dead. She died in the Temple of Origins, along with half the Elders."

Celestia frowned. She was slightly taken aback that she hadn't been informed directly, but she put it off for a later date.

"Metall, you can't keep dwelling on that."

Metall Kant slammed his enchanted claw on his desk. "Damnit, Celestia, just let me do my job!"

"No. I won't. Not when you're tearing yourself apart like this. You need to take a break, Metall. After the loss of your loved one, you need to take a break."

"What do you think I've been doing!?" He shouted, obviously enraged. "I've been sitting here doing nothing! All it's brought me is pain, as I can't get her out of my damn head! And I can't find another pony, because she'll just die like the rest of them!"

"What about one of the New Age Elders?"

"No! She was the only pony I could ever love!"

Celestia's heart softened, and she felt the utmost pity as the Elder let his head collapse into his forelegs, sobbing as memories wracked him.

Within a few moments, he was back up, not a single quiver present in his voice to suggest he had been crying.

"Anyway, I think I should get back to work..."

Celestia gulped, and decided to let loose a secret she had kept for thousands of years.

"But, Metall..." She whispered. "What about...Me?"

Metall looked at her in surprise. "You?"

"Yes, Metall. I...I love you. I should have told you sooner..."

She saw something soften in Metall's eyes, but she didn't see any love. "Well...That's...Unfortunate. I am sorry to say that I can no longer feel any love."

Celestia nodded, working hard to keep her composure. "I understand..." She looked away. "It's just...For years, I've known how you felt for Vind Rullator, and for eons, I've been in love with you...But I...I just...I couldn't deal with the fact that it wasn't me that you loved...I thought that love had abandoned me..."

Her heart skipped a beat as Metall Kant placed a hoof on Celestia's, his only forehoof. "It hasn't. You can still find somepony. I, however...I cannot."

Celestia looked into Metall Kant's eyes, and gulped. "At least...Come stay with me...For a night..."

Metall withdrew his hoof. "I thought you had abandoned the old ways, Celestia."

"Some old habits can be hard to shrug..."

Metall chuckled lightly, and nodded. "You've got that right..."

They stayed there, silent, for several moments, before Celestia interrupted the silence's busy conversation.

"I'm sorry, just...If you ever do this again..."

She turned her heart to steel, blocking out all emotion.

"I will kill you."

Metall Kant looked up at her in shock, and his fragile emotions gave way. "I'd like to see you try," he growled, clenching his mercury claw into a fist.

"I won't be alone."

Metall Kant gritted his teeth, and pointed at Celestia with a shaking claw. "You get the buck out of here, you coward. You're lucky I don't run you through right now, and put an end to your sorry existence!"

Celestia sighed, and stood. "Metall, I'm sorry. Sorry that you're already dead..."

Metall drew his blade, and leaned towards Celestia. "Is that a threat?"

"No," Celestia responded. "It was mourning. The Metall I fell in love with, and the Metall my mother chose as a Leader, is dead. He's been replaced with a monster."

Metall drew back slightly, and Celestia stood. "I shall depart now. I trust that you'll do the right thing."

Metall Kant looked down at his blade. "You shouldn't..."

"But I do. Because I love you."

Metall visibly recoiled. He waved a hoof at Celestia, and she turned, waiting for the sound of his blade being sheathed.

It never came.

Rather, it clattered onto the floor.

"Metall?" She asked, turning.

The black pony stared at his hoof and claw. "Who am I...What have I become?" He blathered to himself in the Language, and Celestia had to hold her hooves to her ears. The sounds of each syllable, each consenant, echoed and resonated endlessly in the Hall of the Elders.

"Metall, please, stop! Remember that you have somepony who loves you! Remember me!!"

Celestia dove over the desk at Metal, and brought him crashing down onto the stone floor. She kissed him, on the muzzle, unable to believe what she was doing. "Metall, be strong! For me!"

Metall opened his eyes, and all Celestia saw was darkness.

"Metall is too weak to withhold me, Celestia."

Celestia frowned, and stared right into the darkness.

"Mørket! Why have you turned against us? Why are you no longer Lys i Mørket!?"

"Because Discord has shown me the way to enlightenment, my dear," Mørket drawled on in Metall's voice. "He has shown me what I am: a tool."

"You were my mother's most trusted ally, and her personal squire, before Discord sealed her away!"

"And before you sealed me away."

"You were thrown into the Temple of Origins by Discord!" Celestia shouted into the darkness. "Not us!"

"Ah, yes, but my minions set me free, not you."

"Because we couldn't!"

"Oh? Why not?"

"Time is different in the Realm of Dreams, you know that!"

"We have strayed off subject. Metall is too weak to resist my power, his emotions are too confused. So, kill him."

Celestia recoiled, but kept pinning Metall down. "No!"

"Kill him, and be rid of me!"

"Why have you turned against us!?"

"Because if I can awaken Vida, I can corrupt her, and have my vengeance!"

Contorting Metall's face into a smirk, Mørket angeled Metall's face closer to Celestia's face. "Kill me. You know you want to. Kill me for inhabiting the pony you love. Go on, kill me!" Mørket had Metall's body thrash around, causing minor brusing and a few small scrapes. "Get rid of me! Exterminate me!"

Celestia closed her eyes. "I know that there's a light somewhere in there...The Metall I once knew...The Metall I love..."

When she opened her eyes, the sneer hadn't lessened. "Mørket, if you leave his body, I promise that I will help you get revenge on Vida and Discord."

Metall's face contorted in shock. "Vida? Why do you wish ill upon Vida?"

"She helped my father gain control. She helped him cast Luna and I down, her own daughters. Only when he betrayed her did she help us. And even then, she attempted to bring us down, so that she could rule Equestria by herself."

Metall Kant snorted. "What would be in it for me?"

"Killing the one who took your body."

Mørket chuckled. "No. I won't gain revenge on her, or Discord. However, seeing as how I'm getting nowhere, I think it's high time I find a new host."

And, with that, Mørket had left Metall's body.

"C...Celestia? What're you..."

Celestia didn't let him finish. She kissed him. "Oh, Metall, I was so scared that Mørket would hurt you..."

"What? What happened?"

Celestia relayed what had happened. Only, she did so slowly and carefully, stressing small details so that she could keep whispering into Metall's ear, and be close to him...

"And then, he left your body, and you woke up," Celestia said after about ten minutes. Metall nodded, and pushed at the alicorn's foreleg. "Uh, Celestia? Would you mind..."

Celestia nuzzled Metall on the neck. "Equestria can wait for five more minutes..."

Metall gulped, and Celestia revelled in the old Metall. Of course, she knew this would only be for a small amount of time, but it was still worth it.

"I love you, Metall."

"My love is dead..."

Celestia felt a pang in her heart. "So you have room for a new one!"

Metall took a deep breath, obviously composing himself. "What if somepony finds out?"

Celestia smiled at him, and let herself lay totally flat on his body. "They'll have to deal with it. I am a Princess, after all."

Metall shook his head. "In Equestria's current state, I don't think we could afford for things like this..." He whispered, still pushing lightly at Celestia's foreleg. "Could you please?"

Celestia blushed, and stood, slowly. As soon as there was enough room, Metall slid out from underneath her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "But...After eons of being alone, to hold somepony tight and kiss them felt...Amazing."

Metall Kant nodded. "I understand. I felt the same way with Vind..." He sighed, and scratched the back of his head with his claw. "That was incredibly unprofessional..."

Celestia nodded, blushing as Metall placed a hoof on her foreleg. "But thank you. For getting Mørket out of me. I know that I'll break down again, and when I do, I will probably be more violent. If I do, please..."

Celestia smiled down at Metall, but the smile quickly died.

"Kill me."

"No," Celestia responded, shaking her head violently. "I won't. I love you too much..."

"And that love will hurt you, Celestia. And Equestria needs you." Metall removed his hoof from her side, and Celestia suddenly felt...Alone. Without being able to hold Metall tight again, it was all so...Lonely.

"Please, Metall, just...Stay with me for one night. Not for sex, but just so that I can be with you..."

Metall frowned. "All of Canterlot will be hunting for me. I can't..."

"Then at least let me stay with you!"

Metall recoiled, and looked away, blushing. "Celestia, I'm flattered, but no."

"Please, Metall...Please..."

Metall Kant sighed, and looked back into Celestia's eyes. He must have seen the pain in her eyes, as well as the tears forming in them, as he slowly began to change his mind.

"But...What if somepony finds us?"

"I am a Princess. No, actually, I'm a Queen. For me, they will make an exception."

Metall raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say you're a Queen?"

"Because I rule Equestria now, not my mother. And there are a Prince and a Princess back in Canterlot, and they'll find somepony one day. In fact, Cadence has found her somepony. Just as Luna and I have found our someponies..."

"Luna?"

"Gammel."

Metall smiled. "Ah. Of course." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Well, you have a lot of work to do, my Queen..."

Celestia's eyes began to moisten. "Yes, of...Of course..."

She lowered her head, and was about to turn to leave, when Metall placed his hoof on her cheek.

"Please, Celestia, do not cry," he whispered as he brought her face up to his. "I don't enjoy seeing you hurt..."

Celestia smiled, and attempted to kiss the black swordspony. She was stopped, however, by his mercury claw.

"And do not kiss me, either. You're like a little sister to me. I watched over you for Vida, when she attempted to infiltrate Discord's kingdom as his Queen. She could never forgive herself for what she did..."

Celestia smiled, and hugged Metall instead. "I love you, Metall. Can't you at least give me a chance? A single date?"

Metall withdrew. "Celestia, you know that we don't have time for this."

Celestia sighed. "Okay. I will be in Canterlot. If you have another breakdown, come to me, immediately."

Metall nodded, and, with a flash, Celestia was in Canterlot castle.

Scene 2: State

"My sister, why do you look so downcast?"

Luna was standing in front of the Diamond Dog and Griffin Heart's, and Ditzy was there as well. Celestia sat down at the small counsel, and regained her composure.

"Now," she began, "where were we?"

"I believe that Lycarieous Lupae has a pony hostage. He's releasing her for some reason, or at least I believe he is. According to my sources, he's, ah, had her way with her many times."

Celestia recoiled, and snarled in disgust. "That's an act of war..."

Her mind wandered to the idea of Metall, standing by her as she received the news of a pony being a sex slave...

"What will we do?" Luna asked, who was also snarling in disgust.

"We shall let him release her. But, I will send a diplomat to converse the matter with him. Namely, I will go, and bring a small team with me to ensure my safety."

Opal Heart nodded, and so did Feather Heart. However, Luna and Ditzy stood in defiance.

"That's insane, sister! You can't endanger your own life, you're a princess!"

"I am a Queen, and so are you. We must act it, and take responsibility. I will go to the Diamond Dog capital in Cania. And, if the captive has already been released, I will see to it that Lycarieous Lupae is punished. I shall remove more land from Cania, and give it to the Changelings."

"Why the Changelings, my Princ-Queen?" Diamond Heart asked, frowning slightly.

"We are going to go to war with the Diamond Dogs. It is inevitable. And if we want to beat them without Peter's technology, we must have allies. I want the Changelings. Crysalis will be granted full reign over her region, and we shall track down the Prince and send him to her. Vida knows, she's wanted her son executed for his treason for years..."

Luna shook her head. "But, sister, if you go to the Diamond Dog capital, who will you choose to bring?"

"Elders. I will bring Deajer den Trollmann, Gammel Hjerte, and..." She smiled. "And Metall Kant. He's breaking down, and recently attacked Cadence. It will give me a way to ensure not only his stability, but also to keep ponies safe."

"Can I come, sister? I dread what would happen if you go..."

Celestia shook her head. "No, Luna. You must stay, and rule in my absence."

"My Queen," a familiar voice said. "If you so wish, I could continue my duties as the Hoof."

Celestia turned, and stared at the pony that had just entered. He was a green unicorn, with a dark blue mane that was almost flat and extremely short, and a tail of the same color that was just as short. On his flank was a scroll and quill, complete with an inkwell.

"Hello, Order," Celestia sighed. "Yes, you can take up your position as Hoof, now that I have accepted my role as Queen. And Luna may accompany me..."

With a triumphant smile, Luna stood.

"However, Opal Heart must remain here. His safety would be at risk if he were to return to Cania."

Opal Heart nodded, and Feather Heart gave Celestia a pointed glance. "What about me?"

"You will return to Phesiopia, and inform your Queen that we wish to ally with them in this coming war. Their diplomatic immunity shall remain untouched."

Feather Heart nodded, and Opal Heart grabbed her talons. "Fly safe, sister."

The griffin gently pecked the Diamond Dog on the forehead. "Of course, brother."

She took off, and Opal simply sighed.

"My Queen, you had best get the Elders now," Ditzy Doo finally said, her Eye of Dreams still glowing after her obvious search for the pony captive.

"Why?" Celestia demanded.

"I can't find their captive."

Scene 3: BriberyTrixie

Trixie smiled as she licked at Lycarieous Lupae's jewel. He smiled back at her, and she moved to kiss him.

"You're a bloody good whore," he growled.

"I know," she whispered in return, before returning between his legs.

"You may just convince me to send me as my spy..."

Trixie smiled, and used her magic to stimulate him, just as Mirror Mare had taught her...

"Oh, yes, may just convince me..."

Trixie climbed on top of him, and did more convincing.

"Oh, very close to convincing me..."

Within a few minutes, Trixie was taking yet another risk of pregnancy.

"Ahh...My children would be strong within you, my Queen..."

Trixie raised an eyebrow, but remained smiling. "Whatever happened to 'whore'?"

Lycarieous Lupae pressed a giant paw to her face in a loving fashion. It sent chills down Trixie's spine.

"After years of searching for a suitable mate, I may have found mine," he whispered, before pulling her off of himself and holding her close to his heart, allowing her to curl up into a ball. "And I believe I love you, Trixie."

The blue unicorn smiled as he kissed her. "You act like a monster, yet all you want is love...You're no monster, my love."

The hideous dog frowned. "I am no monster. But Celestia has made me into one..."

Trixie kissed him on the cheek. "Oh, I know. Just as Twilight Sparkle has made me a monster..."

Lycarieous raised an eyebrow at his Queen-to-be. "My love, what do you mean? You're no monster."

Trixie sighed. "Yes, but...I almost killed a foal, to gain more power so that I could kill her..."

He frowned. "Well, I guess that puts us on the same level, dear. If killing a pony pup meant I could gain more power, I would gladly do it..."

Trixie nuzzled his stark white coat, taking care not to tap his powerful, long fangs with her horn.

"I'll gladly be your spy, my love," she whispered into his ear. "If you will be my King tonight."

Lycarieous Lupae smiled down at her, and feigned ignorance. "I'm already your King. You're the Queen of these mongrels, and I'm the King of these dogs."

Trixie smiled, and seductively closed her eyes a fraction of the way. "Ah, yes, you are my King. And I'll be your Queen and spy, if tonight, you will be the King of my wet cunt."

The King of the Diamond Dogs smirked, and kissed Trixie passionately, his tongue dancing around hers in the darkness. "Of course, my Queen."

Just then, Mirror Mare, along with her three Diamond Dog servants, burst into the room.

Lycarieous Lupae gently placed Trixie on the bed by his side, and stood, his member left unattended to and dangling for all the dogs and ponies present to see.

"What is the meaning of this!?" He barked, glowering at the shiny automaton.

"Why, I just wanted to ensure that my King was enjoying his gift," Mirror Mare said, poetically weaving her words in a careful fashion from Shiny's chest.

"Yes, and she will be my Queen," he responded, frowning into the reflection that wasn't there.

"Oh, that's marvelous! In fact, that's just perfect!" Mirror Mare shouted, swooning within the reflective surface of the stationary robot.

"Yes, yes it is," Lycarieous Lupae growled. He, however, didn't understand the full meaning of the unicorn's words.

She means that it's perfect for her, as she can gain more power in the bureaucracy, Trixie thought to herself. She smiled at Mirror Mare, who smiled back.

"I assume that, as her steward, I will be at the next council meeting, hm?" Mirror Mare delicately asked, turning her voice into that of a helpless ditz yearning for the chance to be on a royal council.

"You already have enough power," the war wolf growled in response. "Why would I give you more?"

"Because I give you that foolish dragons' gems. If I'm not on the next council meeting, let's just say that your next payment to Celestia may be a little...Late."

Lycarieous Lupae snarled, and Trixie listened carefully, intrigued as to what Mirror Mare meant by 'payment'.

"I have Diamond Dogs scouring the land for gems every day. If you were to stop supplying, I could easily pay off the debt, albeit in a longer amount of time."

What debt? Trixie mentally questioned. She decided to ask him what their collective debt was later.

"Oh, what a pity. It's just...I have this rather large cache of gems, worth millions of bits..." She used her magic to make Shiny lean forward, and she made no attempt of hiding her words. "And, if I were to, say, be on the next council," she continued, making it very clear as to what she wanted, "then they would be all yours!"

Lycarieous Lupae's snarl faltered, and Trixie blinked in astonishment.

Bribery...He would never cede to that, would he?

Lycarieous Lupae searched for an answer, and, after a few minutes of wordless noises, he finally found it.

"Fine. You can be on the next council. Just...Keep your bonin' mouth shut about this," he grumbled, shaking his head in obvious self-disappointment.

With a victorious smile, Mirror Mare clapped her hooves, and the four intruders turned and left the room, the giant, bronze door slamming shut behind with with a thunderous boom.

Sighing, Lycarieous Lupae returned to the bed, and absent-mindedly stroked Trixie's mane gently.

"Why are we in debt?" She asked after a few minutes.

"During the Great War, about one thousand years ago, it was the Diamond Dogs, the Griffons, and the Changelings, against the Dragons, and eventually the ponies, who entered the war on the Dragon's side when I killed one of the only patriarchs..."

Scene 4: The PastLycarieous Lupae

Lycarieous Lupae grasped at the next rock in the mountainside, and pulled himself up without any effort.

He looked below at his progress. Blood was spreading across the snow, where he had killed countless dragon children. He smirked, and returned his attention to climbing, squinting to see past the torrents of snow that buffeted his vision.

As he neared a ledge, a giant claw closed around his body, and tore him off of the frozen mountainside.

"You," the dragon he had come to kill growled, his red scales glistening as snow buffeted his body, "you dare to climb my mountain!? And kill my children!? I will be your end!"

Lycarieous Lupae struggled against the claw, and managed to unsheathe blade. "Like hell you will!" He growled in return as he drove the blade deep into Terra Ignia's claw.

With a roar of pain, Terra Ignia released Lycarieous Lupae in a vault, and sent him crashing into the wall of his cave. Lycarieous instantly fell into the pile of gold and jewels, and was buried by the artifacts.

"I will melt you and all the gold in this damn cave, you hear me!?"

Lycarieous Lupae didn't hesitate. He burst out of the trove, and unsheathed his second blade from his hip.

With a grunt of effort, he dodged the flames, and darted for Terra Ignia's leg. It came out to meet him, and sent him sprawling onto the cave floor, dangerously close to the enlarging pool of molten gold.

"Damn you! You made me destroy my treasures!" The dragon roared, swatting at his foe.

Lycarieous Lupae raised his sword to block the giant claw that came towards him. With a few sparks from the collision, the claw had been averted, and slammed into the ground, splitting one of the talons and bringing forth a spout of blood.

"Damn you, mongrel!" The red dragon roared as it breathed fire at his foe.

Lycarieous Lupae rolled away, and ended up on his feet, just as a giant claw slammed into his back, sending him flying into the opposite wall.

Terra Ignia breathed fire on the damaged Diamond Dog, engulfing him in flames.

With a roar of defiance, Lycarieous Lupae rolled off of the rock that he had been crushed onto, and out of the cave, onto the snowy plateau that raised high above the mountain.

With a roar, Terra followed Lycarieous Lupae, and, before the war hound could react, grabbed him with his good claw, holding on tight, cracking bones and splitting scars.

"I will kill you!" Lycarieous Lupae cried as he fought against the grip.

"No, you fool, I will kill you," the dragon growled as he flapped, grunting in obvious pain.

With a roar, (and a groan of dissent,) Lycarieous Lupae bit down on the dragon's claw, hard. His jagged, bloody teeth managed to find purchase in a joint where the scales were thin, while breaking a few of the war hounds' teeth as they sunk into the exposed flesh.

With a cry of pain, Terra Ignia decided it was better to let the damn thing fall to its death.

However, as he let go, he didn't foresee Lycarieous Lupae using his claw as a springboard to his other, blood-soaked claw, grasping onto the blade that had been embedded in his scales as purchase.

With a mighty swing, Lycarieous Lupae launched himself up onto Terra Ignia's back, blade now in hand. He ran the length of the dragon's back, up to its head, just before the dragon began to do a barrel roll.

"You fool! You have settled your own death!" The dragon cried as he plummeted towards the ground, determined to crush the bug on his head...

"Oh, no, I have not," Lycarieous Lupae growled. With a roar, he drove his blade deep into the dragon's eye, and turned, viciously hacking away at the organ.

"Agh! Mercy, I beg of you, I surrender!" The dragon moaned, Lycarieous Lupae holding onto one of Terra's horns with his legs to ensure his safety.

"Shut up," Lycarieous Lupae snarled, before withdrawing the blade from his foe's eye, letting a spout of blood come forth.

"Now we will both die! I can't see where I'm flying!"

Lycarieous Lupae smiled a cruel, twisted grin. "That's where you're wrong."

He let go with his legs, and swung onto the red dragon's neck, holding on with his legs. With a roar of victory, he plunged the blade into the crook of the dragon's neck. Blood showered the war hound, from both the dragon's neck and mouth as he withdrew the blade, and tossed the hilt away. The blade remained embedded in the dragon's neck, jagged where it had snapped.

"Only you die," he growled as the dragon's wings stopped beating, and it flopped onto its back. With expert agility, Lycarieous ran up the belly of the beast, using the scales as purchase, and looked at the ground below. His timing would need to be perfect...

As he neared the tail, it began to angle downwards, towards the ground. With expert precision, he jumped off of the tip, and rolled onto the ground, just before the dragon crashed into the mountainside.

As the dragon fell, a jagged stone punctured his belly, and through the pouch that held his liquid fire. Needless to say, it reacted quite violently, and the high-pressure, flammable liquid was expelled from the dragon's body in an explosion, tearing the mountain into two.

Lycarieous Lupae simply stood in place,waiting for his portion of the mountain to be angled correctly. When it was, he jumped down, and onto the soft snow about two miles below. With a roll, he ended up on his back, panting from over exertion and pain as the mountain crumbled onto itself behind him. Dust showered him, but he paid it no mind.

Blood seeped into the snow around him, and he quickly assessed his wounds. He had ten cuts on his legs, a gash on his torso, a seeping wound on his head, and half of his bones were broken.

A new record.

With a grunt, he stood, and somehow managed to limp over to the white Princess that had materialized before him.

"You killed a Patriarch," she stated, calmly and dryly.

"Of course," he responded, waving his paw as if it were nothing. "So, what? Will you warm my bed, the bed of a great warrior?"

The Princess snarled. "I would not warm thy bed even if a blade was held up to mine throat, fiend."

Lycarieous Lupae waved his paw again. "Spare me the pleasantries. What do you want?"

"Your head on a platter."

Lycarieous Lupae frowned at Celestia. "That's an act of war, you dumb bitch."

"Killing the Patriarch we had a treaty with is also an act of war, you mongrel," Celestia growled in response, stomping a hoof into the snow. The blanket of soft crystals somewhat diminished the effect.

"Well, then, shall it be war?" He asked, smirking.

"Yes. I have already declared war, and I have already won."

A small team of Elders rose from the snow, and immediately melted the everything from Lycarieous Lupae but his bones. He took a step back, astounded at his transformation, and at how sudden it was. He tried to speak, but all that came out was dust, and the click of bones.

"If you want your body back," Celestia grumbled, "you will surrender to me, and cede half your land to Equestria."

He wanted to strike out at her, but he knew he was too weak in this skeletal form. So, he nodded, and his body immediately re-materialized.

"If you ever turn against me, I will remove your body and curse you to forever roam the land as a walking skeleton," she added, before she and the Elders departed in a flash of light.

Scene 5: PlansTrixie

Lycarieous Lupae was about to finish recounting his enthralling tale, when Mirror Mare burst in, gleaming from Shiny's exterior.

"What," Lycarieous moaned. Trixie pouted as he turned away from her.

"I must speak with my Queen," she dryly stated. "It is urgent. And I must speak with her alone."

Lycarieous raised an eyebrow. "Why should I do that?"

"I can tell Celestia your plans to send Trixie as a spy."

Lycarieous pressed a paw to his face with a sigh. "Who told you about that?"

"You did."

He sighed, and nodded, standing as he lovingly stroked Trixie's mane.

"I will return, my love, when I can," he whispered before leaving the room, carefully closing the giant doors behind him with a strong, practiced arm.

Trixie sighed, and looked around at the room. It was, much like the rest of the underground city, carved right into the stone in a spiraling fashion, with strange lights dotting the wall that hummed with hidden energy. The ceiling, about a mile upwards, had intricate designs on it, and on it was inscribed the names of various leaders. One of them, Lycarieous Lupae, was glowing, to designate that he was now the King of the Diamond Dogs.

"Trixie, you have done very well," Mirror Mare whispered, sitting on the reflection of the bed, next to Trixie.

"Thank you, Mirror," she mumbled, only half listening to the rest of what the reflection stared. Most of the blue unicorn's attention was centered around the giant door, and the warhound behind it.

Why do I love him?

Is it because Mirror Mare forced me to?

Or do I really love him?

First off, he's a monster in bed, and second off, he's no monster at heart...

Do I love his cock more than I love him?

Or do I really love him?

"Are you even listening to me?" Mirror Mare whined, snapping Trixie back into the world.

"Uh, ah...What?"

With a sigh, the reflection started up her lecture again.

"You need to make sure that everything goes without a hitch, and act as if you really love him," she whispered. "If you don't, we may never be able to exact revenge on Celestia..."

Trixie frowned. "What do you mean, on Celestia? I don't have any qualms with Celestia, only with Twilight Sparkle!"

"But I do. Now, you must buck him like wild tonight, my dear, and lie that you love him..."

Trixie's frown deepened, and her eyebrows creased to form a second frown. "But I do love him. I love him like I've loved nopony else..."

The reflection smiled. "Well, that's nice to hear. Just as I love Discord...

"Did you know that for the past two days, all I've been doing is sucking Discord's cock?"

Trixie immediately recoiled in shock. "Why would you tell me that?"

"To set an example. He says that he loves me, and I suck his cock harder. You must suck Lupae's cock like I suck Discord's, do you hear me?"

Trixie nodded, and Mirror Mare made a motion that somehow told her automaton to turn and leave the room.

Discord

Discord lay out on the pile of gold, waiting for the pony who loved him to return...

Oh, she may be a filthy pony, but her tongue and cunt are so worth it...

He sighed, wishing he could be back in the real world.

Really, that drab old statue is taking rather too long to disintegrate...How is it that after burning two villages down, I still cannot recover my body?

He shook his head, and extended his mind towards Mirror Mare's and Trixie's.

My two pawns... He thought to himself, careful not to let either of them hear him. I am losing one of them...

Trixie was beginning to question what Discord had told her to do, and he didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit.

However, Lycarieous Lupae, on the other hand, opened a new venue for chaos.

If I can manipulate his love for her, and have him send her to Twilight...Possibly...Yes, that could work, if I can just send her to that Realm...

He sighed, and decided that his attention was needed elsewhere.

With a rather silent explosion, he was immediately in the Realm of Death, watching his most powerful pawn destroy what Gammel Hjerte had created. The large mansion, with lights all around it, had been turned into a palace of absolute darkness.

"Hello, Discord," Roose said as he tainted yet another bit of the mansion. "How goes your struggle?"

With a sigh, Discord pointed at the Sword of Souls, which was strapped to his General's waste.

"Have you been using it?"

"Yes, I have, Discord. And I plan to use it much more."

The draconnequus nodded, and turned to leave. "Well, everything here seems under control...I shall be on my way."

Scene 6: ShadowsRoose

Roose smiled as Discord left.

That simple fool. He didn't even bother to check what I was doing, besides tainting this beautiful mansion...I could have been conspiring against him...Then again, that would be totally retarded, he could kill me with a snap of his fingers.

He stopped to admire a golden mantlepiece, and frowned as it, too, was enveloped in darkness.

Just like back home...Nothing exists, everything is dead...

He squeezed his eyes shut as images of his family, burning and screaming, flashed by his vision.

"Why, God!?" He cried after a short moment. It had all finally gotten the better of him.

"Why, why am I cursed to have these memories of pain, while he lives on in happiness, with a new family!?" He punched at the wall, tears streaming down his face as he tried to remember what life was like before the war...

"Why!? Why can't I have my memories of my family, before they were fucking murdered!?"

He drew his Sword of Souls, and sliced at the mantlepiece he had been observing in blind rage.

"WHY?!" He continuously cried as he slashed at everything in his reach.

What he couldn't say in words, shot through his mind like bullets.

Why am I cursed to relive these nightmares?

Why am I cursed to see only the face of my mother as she burns, as she burns in that fucking fire!?

His voice cracking, and his throat chafed by the pure power of his roar, he bellowed a final "WHY!?" As he shouted, he grabbed a blackened urn, and catapulted it through the window, just before collapsing to his knees, covering his face with his palms as he sobbed, the shards of glass playing a song that was not unfamiliar to him as he was rained in particles of pure pain.

"Why..." He sobbed to himself, an all-too-familiar face flashing by his vision.

Why did you let me die, Peter? The woman asked, standing right on the ledge of the window, staring down at Peter as he crawled towards the apparition, shards of glass piercing his skin.

"No, honey, I didn't want you to," Peter sobbed, his face contorting in pain as a shard of glass pierced his arm. "I didn't want you to, I swear! There was nothing I could do..."

The woman shook her head slowly, and walked backwards, closer to her death.

"No, honey, please, I love you, please, don't jump, I love you, Jane, please..."

Jane simply frowned. If you love me, why did you let me die? Why did you let that man stab me?

Roose held his hands to his temples, writhing in pain as the words sliced through his mind. "There was nothing I could do!" He spat out, tears and blood mixing. "I couldn't do anything, I had to get away, I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..."

I thought you loved me. You asked me to marry you.

Roose held out a hand towards the apparition, and crawled forward just a little bit more. "Honey, please, I'm sorry..."

The apparition closed her eyes, and let herself fall backwards.

"NO!" Roose screamed, unable to think of any other words as he stood, his wounds healed by his dark powers. He tried to fling himself out the window, but all he met was just that: A window. He looked around, confused, to find that the shards of glass had somehow been rearranged into the shape of a window.

Roose beat his fist against it, and didn't even make a scratch. He drew the Sword of Souls, and sliced at it, but nothing happened.

He thought it was a dream.

But it wasn't.

The pain was still there.

In his mind.

In his body.

In his very soul.

His black, dark soul.

And, as his Despair was replaced with Anger, his soul simply darkened a little bit more.

"I swear, Peter," he growled to himself, "I will break you."

Note from the Author

Huh? Hah?

How's THAT for character development/foreshadowing/a bunch of weird shit?

First off, Chuckles the Werewolf, you're welcome.

Second, Metall Kant, you're super duper welcome.

Third, Jagun, you're extra EXTRA welcome for making your OC a total fucking badass.

Fourth, me, you're welcome for not doing your AP Global Essay.

Oh, wait, I did do it.

Huzzah!

The Train, Day 5

Scene 1: Souls

Peter turned over the lightning-bolt shaped Soul Gem fragment in his hand. It was so perfectly shaped, and glowed so ferociously...

"You see, I've done extensive research on Soul Gems. Turns out, that our Harmony Necklaces, and my big crown thingy, are made out of Soul Gems. Or, rather, the emblems on them are Soul Gems."

Peter released a small 'humph'. "Well, that's interesting..."

Twilight nodded. "Yes. And, that lightning bolt is the same exact emblem on Rainbow Dash's Harmony Necklace. It represents Loyalty."

Peter sighed, and rolled his eyes. "Not this again...You know that I can't be the Seventh Element of Harmony, Twilight! I just can't!"

Twilight rolled her eyes as well. "Peter, listen to me! Because part of your soul is in that Soul Gem, your attributes determine its shape! Because you're Loyal, it adapted to fit your soul! Just like the Soul Gem in Rainbow Dash's Harmony Necklace became a lightning bolt, the Soul Gem fragment that holds a part of you became the same lightning bolt! You have the Element of Loyalty in your soul, Peter! And this shows it!"

Peter gritted his teeth in anger. "Listen, Twilight-"

"No, you listen!" Peter shrank back slightly, scared by the sudden outburst. "I've had enough of you belittling yourself, and I'm pretty sure Rainbow Dash has, too."

The Pegasus in question nodded. "Peter, you're every one of the things that the Elements of Harmony stand for. Maybe you just don't know it, but you are. You're the most Loyal pony I've ever met! And don't say you're a human, and you're the only human I've ever met. You're just like a pony, only you look just a tiny bit different."

Peter chuckled lightly. "Yeah, a tiny bit."

He sighed, and scratched his chin with his empty hand. "You know what...maybe I am the Seventh Element of Harmony..."

Just then, a sharp cry cut through the air.

"No, what have you done!? Now, that ruffian Peter knows I'm awake, and he'll try to kill me again...oh, no, protect me, Spikey!" The voice came out as warped by panic and fear. A whimper soon followed, and the groan of springs as Spike cradled Rarity in his arms.

Peter felt a thud in his stomach as he processed the words.

"Why would Rarity think I want to kill her...?" Peter whispered, not wanting to alert the unicorn of his presence and possibly send her into even more panic.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, confused. "Let's go ask her," she whispered back.

Twilight immediately shook her head. "Are you crazy? Did you hear her!? She was in hysteria, she'd probably go crazy if she was forced to talk about it. I think we should leave it up to Spike for now, and go back later."

Rainbow Dash sighed, looking over at the now-closed membrane that lead to Rarity's compartment.

"But...but..."

Peter put an arm around the cyan Pegasus, holding her close as she rolled her shoulders in evident agitation. "Twilight's right, Rainbow Dash..."

The cyan Pegasus looked up with an air of incredulity. "But...but..."

Peter rubbed her shoulder. "She probably just had a nightmare.  And who's better for her than the, er, dragon, she loves right now?"

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Yeah...I guess you're right..."

Peter smiled, and patted the cyan Pegasus on the shoulder. "Attagirl."

Rainbow Dash chuckled, and Peter smiled. To see her happy...that was worth dying all over again. Well, unless he couldn't come back to her, because in that case, (in Peter's words,) fuck that shit.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, her rainbow mane just as confused as her. "I've gotta wonder, though...what kind of nightmare did she have?"

"I see you two like hanging!" Twilight suddenly called out from below.

Peter raised an eyebrow, and looked down at Twilight. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Wow, Twilight, that was bad," Rainbow Dash grunted.

"I'm missing something here," Peter stated. "What's bad?"

"It was a pun, duh," Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. "We like 'hanging'? We left her 'hanging' on the conversation? We're 'hanging' in a hammock?"

Twilight smiled from below, and Peter face-palmed. "Oh, Jesus fucking Christ on a unicycle...That was bad..."

Twilight's smile faltered, and, with a frown, she teleported in front of Peter and Rainbow Dash.

"Well," she said with a huff, "nevermind that now. Now, what happened before?"

Peter rubbed at his eyes, trying to diminish the sun streaks that the teleportation had created in his eyes. "Well," he began, "my palms glowed, and-"

"What!?" Twilight exclaimed, shocking Peter out of speech. "Then I was right! The Soul Gem granules in your hands allow you to do magic!" She cried in delight, clapping her hooves together like a little filly.

"Yeah, but...That's not all that happened," Peter continued. "On my right hand, these...Granules, somehow arranged themselves into a lightning bolt, while the granules in my left hand just kinda...Floated randomly."

Twilights' clapping stopped, and she gestured for him to outstretch his palms. "Try to get them to glow again," she commanded.

With a nod, Peter pushed everything he had into his hands, flexing his muscles and squeezing his eyes as he focused on his hands, only.

All he managed to do was look and sound constipated, and lose concentration as a small squeak escaped his posterior.

"Ugh, yuck!" Twilight exclaimed, holding up a hoof to block the smell. Rainbow Dash fell onto her side in laughter, and Peter blushed.

"Shut up, you," he mumbled, backhanding her on the side. Rainbow Dash playfully swatted at him with her tail.

"That was real magical, Peter!" She shouted, hitting the seat of his pants with her tail. "Or gasical! Get it? Gasical?" She rolled onto her chest, and tried her best to regain her breath. Peter hunched forward, blushing and pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're a child, Rainbow Dash," he mumbled.

After a few minutes of both Peter and Twilight simply staring at the cyan Pegasus, she finally calmed down, and, with a sigh, nodded to Twilight. "You were saying?"

"Right," Twilight continued. "Well, as I was saying, you must've had a huge amount of emotional input. What I don't wonder, though, is why they didn't activate when you and Rainbow Dash first kissed...I would think that that would be extremely emotionally charged..."

"Well, I was wearing bandages," Peter pointed out. "Also, my palms weren't fully healed, so maybe they weren't part of me yet? I mean, I'm just assuming by the whole 'emotion' thing that they're part of my nervous system...And, to be totally honest, I don't know how to feel about that..."

Rainbow Dash slapped him on the back, and he rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Pete! It's awesome! You can do magic!"

Peter sighed. "Yeah, okay. But let's say I get really pissed off. Instead of making a pretty light show, what if I burn something down, or hurt somepony?"

Rainbow Dash frowned, and looked away, slightly embarrassed. "Well, I...I hadn't thought of that..." She admitted in a low whisper. She didn't want Twilight to hear that she had screwed up...

"Of course you didn't," Peter sighed. "You need to start thinking more, Rainbow Dash. If you're going to be a mother, you really do."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever," she replied as she looked back to Twilight.

"Yes, you do, Rainbow Dash."

"I said okay!"

"No, you said 'whatever'. That is not okay."

"Uh...Guys?" Twilight asked sheepishly. "Can we...Please?"

Peter nodded. "Sorry, Twilight. Okay, so, you were saying?"

"Well," she said, gulping as Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "The fact that your hand glowed, and made a lightning bolt, means that you're truly Loyal, Peter."

Peter nodded. "Okay, we've already come to this conclusion. Also, Rainbow Dash's cutie mark glowed, does that-"

"WHAT!?" Twilight exploded, grabbing Peter by the shoulders. "Why didn't you tell me in the first place, you bucking idiot!?"

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash snapped at Twilight. "Watch how you're talking to him!"

Twilight rolled her eyes as she returned to her position on the hammock, and Peter smiled at Rainbow Dash. "Thanks," he whispered, holding up his fist for a brohoof. Rainbow Dash gladly met his fist with her hoof.

"Well, let's go to my library," Twilight sighed. "Come on."

Peter and Rainbow Dash exchanged a glance, and looked back to Twilight. "Twilight," Peter said carefully. "We're hundreds of miles away from your library."

"No, the library in my luggage," she stated, matter-of-factly. "Come on, I'll show you."

Peter squeezed his eyes shut as the world gave way beneath him, and winced as it came back extra strong, the teleportation spell leaving his vision blocked by annoying sun streaks. "I hate that..." He muttered as he stood, rubbing his sore seat where it had made abrupt connection with the ground.

"Come on, let's go," Twilight said as she dipped into the luggage, and disappeared.

Rainbow Dash was about to enter, when she sighed, and pulled the membrane of the mini library shut. "Peter, can I talk to you?"

Peter nodded, slightly confused.

With a gulp, she looked away, and blurted out a hurried sentence. "I'm sorry, I was just being stupid in the hammock, do you forgive me?"

Peter smiled, and hugged his wife-to-be. "Of course I do, Dashie. I love you, and we all act stupid sometimes."

Rainbow Dash smiled, and kissed Peter on the cheek. "Thank you, honey," she whispered. It took her a few moments to deal with the fact that she had just used the word "honey" in reference to another pony, or human. "I love you."

Peter smiled. "I love you, too. I there anything else you want to talk about, while we're here?"

Rainbow Dash thought about it, and shook her head. "No, nothing. So, shall we?"

After a small nod, and a short kiss, Rainbow Dash took a few steps into the luggage, and disappeared completely.

Peter took a deep breath, and followed the cyan Pegasus' rainbow tail through the purple luggage. Holding on to the zippers lining the entrance, Peter slowly lowered himself onto the first step, incredulous.

Rainbow Dash shuddered, as she had just remembered the other dreams she had had, of ponies in a tunnel, and in a city...where the world didn't work like this one. She couldn't believe that she had forgotten about them. Perhaps in the midst of getting a stallionfriend, pregnant, and engaged, her mind had gotten wrapped up.

"Hey, Peter?" She said, from in front of Peter. The human, still amazed, hurried down a few steps to catch up with her, his heart skipping a beat as he stumbled, and almost tripped.

"What?" He asked, cracking his knuckles in nervous tension, due to his almost-fall.

"I forgot about some...other, dreams I had. On the same day that you arrived."

Peter raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what were they? Wait, do you want to talk about this in private? Should we go back up into the compartment, so that Twilight won't hear us?"

The cyan Pegasus shook her head. "No, Twilight knows all about these dreams..."

Peter looked ahead, at the lavender unicorn already descending the second flight of stairs...in her luggage. Peter rolled her shoulders.

"Well, go ahead, 'Dash."

The cyan Pegasus smiled. "Well, I had a dream that wasn't my own. In it, there were a bunch of dead ponies, in a tunnel full of water. And then, there were also a bunch of burning ponies, in a blown-up building."

Peter's mind connected to the Soul Gems, and he stopped walking, staring ahead as he saw horrible images.

He turned, and stared in awe, fear, and disbelief as yet another thermite-packed warhead smashed into Wallstreet, destroying his family's emaciated bodies even further, and he-

The visions were interrupted, as his real vision registered the image in front of him: Rainbow Dash was looking at him, concerned. The idea of her, and their child, totally obliterated the darker images from his mind. He shuddered, the feeling of death and sorrow leaving his mind, slowly.

Rainbow Dash waved a hoof in front of his face. "You okay?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah...I think I just made contact with those Soul Gem fragments again...but it was weaker this time. I don't feel what I felt last time. Well, at least, not as much...The idea of you...and our child...it  pulled me back to reality..."

Rainbow Dash blushed lightly, and kissed him on the cheek. "Glad I could help..."

Peter ruffled her mane, smiling. "You're awesome, Rainbow Dash."

"So are you..." She whispered, pressing her head into the crook of Peter's neck.

The sudden sound of a throat being cleared distracted them. "C'mon, lovebirds!" The lavender unicorn's voice voice echoed out.

Both Peter and Rainbow Dash blushed, and continued down the stairs, Twilight waiting halfway across the stone and granite entrance hall, the large statue of Celestia gleaming in the light made by the miniature sun.

In her luggage.

"So, what were you saying about those dreams, Rainbow Dash?"

The cyan Pegasus smiled, grateful for Peter being so Kind... "Well, it felt like what happens here...would never happen there. Like this, and magic, and Pinkie Pie having an infinity mane...all of it felt so different..."

Peter knelt as they finally reached the landing, their final steps on the stone stairway still echoing. He put an arm around her, and kissed her on the forehead, holding her close to his heart as he spoke. "Well, don't let it get to you. You're stronger than that. And we both know it."

Rainbow Dash smiled, and rubbed her head under his chin. Peter smiled, her coarse, yet soft, hair warming his neck.

"Thanks, Peter..."

Suddenly, Twilight teleported right in front of them, and Peter reeled back in surprise, effectively tripping over Rainbow Dash's tail.

"Ow!" They both shouted in uniiosn, as Peter stepped on Rainbow Dash's tail, and hit the ground, his head thudding on the stone steps behind him...in Twilight's luggage.

Peter sat up, rubbing the new bump on his head. "Damnit, Twilight...sorry, 'Dash."

Before Rainbow Dash could answer, Twilight began to talk.

"Listen, you two. We need to find out what this means, and fast. Because when somepony's cutie mark glows, it means that they were changed, by something, somehow. I know this because everypony knows, for a fact, that a cutie mark defines a pony. It is them, essentially. And when one glows, that means that it's begun to resemble more than it did originally. And it will change. Not the entire image, maybe just a small bit of it. Maybe a cloud will thicken, or soften, or something will seem more defined.

"And, if we don't hurry, the changes may be too subtle to discern. So, come on, you two!"

Evidently impatient, she teleported all three of them down by five stories. Peter held his head as his vision doubled, the teleportation making him feel rather woozy.

"Ugh...I hate teleporting...last time we did it, I was knocked out, remember?"

Rainbow Dash smiled sheepishly. "Hehehehehehe...yeah...anyway, let's find this book, shall we?"

Peter nodded. Twilight walked off with a huff, still rather impatient, searching for how to properly examine a cutie mark...

Peter took two steps forwards, but immediately ducked as a book flew over his head. "What the fuck, Twilight?" He shouted, ducking as yet another book flew over head.

"Sorry! I just wanted to get these books out of the way. I already tore apart the past three floors, so how about you two make your way downstairs?" Twilight responded, only her flank and tail visible as she looked deeper and deeper into the bookshelves.

In her luggage.

"Uh...okay...I guess..." Peter stammered, wondering exactly how big this place was...

"C'mon, Dash. Let's go."

The cyan Pegasus nodded, dodging a book of her own.

"Be sure to go down at least five stories, as I'll probably tear them up pretty easily." Twilight called out, balancing on a ladder. Peter simply nodded, and started to walk towards the stairwell he could see...about ten yards away...in Twilight's luggage...

When they reached the stairwell, Peter decided to break the silence that had accumulated during their small walk.

"So, Rainbow Dash, while we're in a library, which just so happens to be in Twilight's luggage," he smiled, facepalming, "what kinds of books do you read?"

Please note: this takes place before Read it and Weep, and right after The Return of Harmony.

Rainbow Dash chuckled lightly. "I don't read much. I mean, I read a lot of books on astronomy, but besides that, I mostly leave it to the eggheads. Like Twilight."

Peter raised an eyebrow, incredulous. "You kiddin' me? You don't read? I mean, come on, reading is awesome! When the book is well written, of course. And when it has a solid plot."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "I knew you were a bit nerdy, but not a total egghead!"

Peter shrugged, which ended up looking rather awkward as he walked down the steps. "Well, certain books are awesome. Like 'A Game of Thrones'. I swear, the sex and death in that book is insane."

Rainbow Dash pulled her head back in surprise. "Sex and death? What?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah. There are sex scenes, gruesome death scenes, and epic Tyrion Lannister scenes. I swear, Tyrion is badass. Besides Daenerys, Jon Snow, and Eddard Stark," he said, but cut himself short as he stopped walking, and shook a fist at the air. "Damn you, Joffery!!! Anyway, besides dem three badasses, Tyrion's my favorite character."

Rainbow Dash blinked in pleasant surprise. "Huh. I guess I'll have to give that a try. Y'know, if you think something is awesome, it probably is."

Peter nodded. "Yeah, I have a pretty good sense of awesome. Like, I think you're awesome. And I'm totally right!"

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Flank kisser..."

Peter chuckled, rubbing his arms as he realized how cold it was in the luggage...and he was wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants. That probably didn't really help, did it?

"Wow, it's cold in here...holy crap, it is cold in here!" He shouted, shivering.

Rainbow Dash frowned. "Here, lemmie take care of that!"

She stepped behind Peter, and jumped onto his back, lining his arms with her forelegs.

Peter grunted as the cyan Pegasus landed on his back. "Rainbow Dash...I'm really weak...I can't hold you up on my back..." He gritted his teeth, struggling to walk as Rainbow Dash lay on his shoulders, desperately trying to avoid calling her 'heavy'. He knew what would come out of that.

"Oh, sorry!" She exclaimed, immediately spreading her wings and flapping lightly. The light flapping didn't raise her up, but it did lighten her burden on Peter. "I guess I've been putting on a little weight, having not flown in a while..."

Relieved that she had become substantially lighter, Peter shook her head. "No, you haven't. I'm only 112 pounds, and can't really support anything..."

Rainbow Dash guffawed from over his shoulder, her fur lightly ticking Peter's scalp as the descent down the stairs jostled the both of them.

"A hundred and twelve!? That's amazing! You could be a model with that weight! I weigh two hundred!"

Peter didn't say anything, but, rather, listened to her, enjoying the sound of her voice. "I'm just getting fat, aren't I?"

Peter immediately interrupted. "No, you're not. You have more muscle mass than anything else. You're not fat, you're super buff!"

Rainbow Dash looked at him in surprise. "Super buff? Really? 'Buff'?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "Okay, then, strong."

Rainbow Dash kissed him on the cheek, rubbing his arms with her forelegs, warming him. "Thanks, Peter..." She nuzzled his neck, her wings still flapping lightly, whispering in the bright interior of the luggage as she lay on his shoulders.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash, I just had an idea..."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"See all these tables around us?"

The cyan Pegasus looked around. In all honesty, she hadn't noticed the mahogany tables. "Yeah..."

Peter motioned for her to get down, off of his back. When she did, she took in her surroundings.

Despite being in luggage, the room was enormous. The floor consisted of tiles of black, shining granite, and there were mahogany chairs and tables everywhere. Lining the walls were rustic-looking, brown oaken bookcases, which were almost packed with books. A large, fake sun gave the room light from above, but not warmth. Strangely enough, those light sources never expelled warmth, despite being suns...

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at the tables. they were all neatly assembled, as if ready to have hundreds of ponies studying the pages of books. They were all equivalents in height and length, and their surfaces were totally flat, and glossy.

"Hardcore parquor!" Peter shouted. He immediately turned, and jumped onto a table, swiping his legs around as he got off.

Now at the second table, he rolled over it, and then under the next table.

Grabbing a chair, he turned around on the floor, pulled himself up onto the seat, and, with one foot on the back rest, and one on the indented seat, he dove onto the next table, turning his body at the last second so as to land on his side. As soon as he did, he rolled off the table top, and used his momentum to slide on the marble floor, and under the next table.

As he slid, he cracked his knuckles. When he slowed to a stop at the next table, he grabbed the edge, and pulled himself up and over, rolling off of the surface. When his sneakers made contact with the granite floor, he popped up onto his feet.

Smiling back at Rainbow Dash, who was watching on with growing admiration and determination, he puffed out his chest, and cried: "Beat that!"

She did.

Front flipping over the first table, she turned in the air and landed on her back hooves, her back facing Peter. She immediately did a backflip onto the table, and jumped backwards, doing a roundhouse kick to spin herself.

Now on the nest table, she did a side flip onto the next, and simply glided over the table top, landing next to Peter.

"Beat that!" She shouted triumphantly.

Peter held up his fist, and she met him halfway in a brohoof.

"That was friggin' awesome, Rainbow Dash!"

The cyan Pegasus smiled wide.

Just then, Twilight teleported right in front of them, a book in her teeth.

Spitting it out on the table, the lavender unicorn cleared her throat.

"I found a good book on cutie marks."

Peter pulled a chair back, and gestured for Rainbow Dash to sit.

"No, thanks," she said, smiling. "I'll just stand."

Peter nodded, and sat down on the chair, Rainbow Dash standing beside him. With a small exclamation of surprise, she was pulled onto his lap.

"Peter, what're you doing?" The Pegasus asked. However, she immediately realized something: his sweatpants were super comfortable. And so was his chest. In fact, he was like a big, living, breathing, eating, cushion. Okay, he wasn't a cushion, but you get the idea.

"Well, I felt bad for just letting you stand there, so I decided to make you sit."

Rainbow Dash smiled, and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, Peter..."

Across from them, Twilight madly flipped through the pages searching for something, anything about glowing cutie marks. After five minutes of flipping through the page, (and Peter and Rainbow Dash (rather awkwardly) making out across from her,) she released an exclamation of agitation, slamming the green and red book closed.

"I give up! I cant find a single thing about glowing cutie marks!!"

She looked across the table to see that Peter and Rainbow Dash had, thankfully, stopped kissing, long enough for Peter to say: "Why don't you check the Table of Contents, instead of flipping through the pages like a crazy little pony?"

Twilight blushed, and, rather sheepishly, flipped the book open to the Table of Contents, muttering "I'm not little..." Scanning the list, blushing even deeper as Rainbow Dash chuckled at her expense, she found a section titled 'Odd Happenings with Soul Gems'. Immediately flipping to page 12700, she scanned the chapter for information.

"Aha!" She exclaimed, and began to read the short passage aloud. "'When a Soul Gem and a cutie mark glow in unison, the Soul Gem and the pony who bears the cutie mark has been 'Tied''-that's with a capital T-'to the pony who has magically affected the Soul Gem. For more information on 'Tying', read 'Souls and their Paths', by Starswirl the Bearded.' Huh...well, I don't own any books by Starswirl the Bearded, so I'm afraid I'll have to ask Celestia in the-"

She sat bolt upright, shocking both Peter and Rainbow Dash.

"Apology letter!!"

Rainbow Dash gasped. "Oh, shit! I forgot all about the letter I sent Celestia!"

Peter raised an eyebrow, asking, "What letter?"

Rainbow Dash blushed. "I...I kinda cursed Celestia out...y'know, for letting you die?"

Peter burst out laughing, and Rainbow Dash jumped off of his lap.

"What's so funny?" The cyan Pegasus asked, blushing a deeper shade of red.

Peter, trying desperately to catch his breath, spoke through bouts of laughter. "You...you cursed out a god!? Now that takes some balls!"

Rainbow Dash released a small shout of irritation. "Peter, that's not funny! I might get in serious trouble for this! Also, you were dead. I don't think death is very funny."

Peter sighed, holding back a chuckle. "You're right, 'Dash...I'm sorry..."

Rainbow Dash smiled in victory. "You'd better be. Now, come on. Let's go back up."

"What the buck did you two do!?"

Peter and Rainbow Dash turned, startled. They immediately noticed what had brought the exclamation about: during their hardcore parkour, they had rearranged the tables. What had once been an orderly grid of mahogany tables, was now a square with a large gash in the middle, of knocked over chairs, and tables kicked askew.

"Hardcore parkour," Peter explained.

"What?"

"I'll show you," he said, about to do the hardcore parkour once more.

"Uh, no, that won't be necessary..." The lavender unicorn said softly.

Peter nodded, and started to walk to the stairwell.

"Uh, Peter? You don't wanna go up those stairs..."

Peter turned, and raised an eyebrow. "What d'you-"

"Watch out!" Rainbow Dash shouted, pointing behind him.

"Huh?" Peter turned and saw...

"BOOKALANCHE!!! Rainbow Dash, Peter, follow me!"

Peter and Rainbow Dash turned, chasing the lavender unicorn through the tables. For the two ponies, it was no problem, but for the human, it was rather difficult.

"Fuck!" Peter shouted, tripping over a table leg.

"Peter, no!!"

Peter stood, and pulled himself up onto the table he had tripped over, just as the bookalanche caught up to him. Preparing to jump to the next table, he shouted in a rather strange voice.

"The floor iz lava!"

He jumped to the next table, just as the table he had been on prior gave way to the sea of books.

He turned to jump to the next table, but was left balancing, his arms moving in a pinwheel motion as he fought to keep his balance. The next table had been overturned by a rather large book, the smug face on its cover mocking Peter.

"Oh, shit..."

He turned, and saw even more books flying at him, when...

Rainbow Dash scooped him up, Twilight in one foreleg, Peter the other.

"Hold on tight, you guys!" She shouted, flying right at the bookalanche.

Peter, clinging onto Rainbow Dash for dear life, got a thrilling feeling in his stomach as the cyan Pegasus flew through giant swells of books. He screamed, not in fear, but in thrill.

"Wooooooooooooooo! Yeah, hyeh, hyeaaaahhhhh!!"

Rainbow Dash smiled. At least one of the two earth-bound beings in her forelegs was enjoying himself...

Maneuvering her wings in familiar motions, she did a barrel roll between two large swells of books. The bookalanche seemed to be never-ending...

She flew through the stairwell, managing to dodge all the books that were falling at her.

"OH MY GOD I'M GOING TO DIE!!!" Peter shouted, frowning, his heart beating too fast for his mind to keep up.

"I'm going to try to teleport us outta here!"

Peter shot her a furious glance. "Why didn't you do that the first fucking time!?"

Her horn glowing, she responded. "I was scared! I can't do complicated magic when I'm scared!"

Peter rolled his eyes, but pulled his foot up with a yelp of fear as a swell came dangerously close to his sneaker.

"Hold on tight, here we go...!" The lavender unicorn shouted, just as the world exploded in light.

Scene 2: Forgiving and Forgetting

Peter collapsed on the mahogany floor, his knees turned to jelly by the flight.

Rainbow Dash immediately trotted over, supporting the human with a strong, light wing.

"You okay, Peter?" She asked, concerned. Behind her, Twilight was recuperating as well, albeit faster.

Letting the wing support almost all of his weight, Peter started to talk, haltingly.

"That...was..."

"Terrifying?" Twilight suggested, now mostly recuperated.

Peter shook his head, trying (and failing) to support his own weight as he spoke again.

"No, that was fucking AWESOME!! He shouted, falling back onto Rainbow Dash's wing as he fist bumped the air, offsetting his weight balance as he did so.

Rainbow Dash put on a giant grin. "Really? You liked to fly?"

Peter nodded. "Fuck yeah!"

Twilight rolled her eyes, and flipped open the clasp on the membrane.

And then...

"Jesus Christ, not again..." Peter moaned as he was tackled, yet again. He had lost count of how many times he'd been tackled, in all honesty.

"Sorry," Rarity said lightly, getting up off of Peter. The latter blinked, and gave the elegant unicorn a hug in return, remembering what she had shouted before, from the confines of Spike's compartment.

Peter broke the embrace, smiling at Rarity as he stood. He immediately lost his balance, and had to lean on Rainbow Dash's wing yet again.

"It's great to see you again, Rarity," he said, smiling down at her. "How're you feeling?"

The unicorn took a deep breath. "Well, I had a nightmare where you killed me...and that's why I shouted that before. But trust me, Spike helped he get over it. I know you would never hurt me." She finished in a tone of respect and honesty, and Peter nodded in return.

"Yep. I would never hurt a friend. Ever."

Rarity nodded, and immediately drew him into a second hug. "I heard from Fluttershy that you died...from the Pegasus Flu...but that you came back, for Rainbow Dash."

Peter nodded. "Yep. I beat the hell out of Death."

Rarity piled out of the hug, smiling. "Well, I say that coming back from the dead for a loved one is a great sign of being a true gentlestallion. Now, then, Pinkie Pie said she wanted to talk to you about something..."

Peter nodded, and woozily balanced himself on his feet, taking a shaky step towards the door.

Within moments, he was walking normally once more. As soon as he exited the compartment, Pinkie Pie exploded.

"Surprise party time!!!" She shouted, oblivious to the world around her as she bounced around like a Mexican Jumping Bean.

"Uh...thanks?"

Pinkie Pie nodded, still bouncing around. "Irealizedthatwedidn'tthrowapartyforyoucomingbacktolife! So, this is a Anti-Death Party!!"

Peter burst out in laughter, and grabbed the pink pony as soon as she landed next to him, pulling her into a hug. "Thanks, Pinkie. Rainbow Dash, get out here!" He shouted, turning as he let her down.

Rainbow Dash walked out of the compartment, along with Rarity and Twilight, immediately gasping.

Confetti was everywhere. Banners of multiple colors spanned the length of the ceiling, and balloons were everywhere as well. On the table lie a bowl of punch, and a bowl of candy, as well as three bottles of soda.

"Wow, Pinkie! You went all out on this, didn't you?"

The pink pony shook her head. "Nope! All out is when I use the Desert Eagle in my tail to spread candy everywhere!"

Peter raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, what? Why not just use the party pad we made?"

"We broke it, y'know, that night that we got really drunk. I incinerated the glass shards. Nopony was hurt, don't worry."

Peter shook his head in confusion. "How'd you get a fucking gun in your tail?"

"I had Plant Guy help me make it! It's in my tails' dry dock."

Peter facepalmed. "What? Just...whaaaaaaaaat? You have a fucking dry dock in your tail?"

The party pony nodded, and turned her tail to aim at the ceiling.

"Fire!!!!" She shouted. Just then, her pink tail shot out a shower of candy, the immense amount of it immediately tearing the one of the three hammocks to shreds.

"Oh, shit, fuck, waffles!" Peter shouted as candy and fabric rained down from the heavens, the other ponie's shouts of dissent joining his own. Applejack merely stared on, oblivious in her own world.

Making his voice go super deep, he sang. "Chocolate Rain, crashin' silently through yer veins!"

Pinkie Pie turned around, eyes closed as she let the majority of the unwrapped candy land back in her mouth, standing on her hind hooves as she basked in the shower.

Descending to four legs, Pinkie Pie licked her lips. "Mmmmmm! Yummy!"

By the side, Spike sighed, Applejack staring him down. "But shouldn't it wait until after the party?" He asked, rather pleadingly.

Applejack shook her head. "No. Y'all gotta do it now."

Spike sighed again, and cleared his throat.

"Pinkie Pie...can the party wait until tomorrow? There's something I need to tell Rarity..."

The pink party pony nodded. "Alright! I understand! You go ahead and tell her. I'll just plan out the next party..."

She walked away with a sigh, Peter and Rainbow Dash scratching the backs of their heads.

"Uh...okay, then..." Peter muttered, watching as Twilight and Applejack engaged in conversation, Fluttershy, concerned for her friend's sanity, pulled Pinkie over to the side, and Rarity followed Spike into his compartment.

"So, Rainbow Dash...wanna take a look at that book I told you about?"

"Sure, why not?" She responded, smiling.

Together, they retrieved Peter's Kindle from his luggage, and went up to the hammock.

After a few minutes of Peter getting it set up, Rainbow Dash stared at the touch screen, incredulous.

"Peter," she said, laying on her chest in front of the Kindle, "I have no idea how to use this."

Peter chuckled lightly, his Book of Memes in his hand. "What? Oh, right. Just...slide to the left on the screen. Try using your nose."

Rainbow Dash nodded, and looked down at the screen, at the page she had already read. She swiped to the left, guiltily admitting to herself that she was intrigued as to what was going to happen to Will, Fared, and Royce.

A few pages in, she gasped, and Peter lowered his own book to smile victoriously.

"Enjoying it?" He asked, the cyan Pegasus turning to face him.

"I told you that I'm squeamish, Peter!" She shouted, incredulous.

Peter frowned. "Well, it's a book. It's not like it's a movie or anything, it's not nearly as gruesome."

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Yeah, but...oh, well. What was that thing, anyway?"

Peter smiled even wider. "No spoilers, Dashie. You've got to read it to understand them. Unfortunately, I only have the first five books of the series on there, and they're not explained, at least, not in depth, by the last of the five."

Rainbow Dash nodded, returning to the book. After a few more pages, she drew back. "Peter, this is awesome! Thank you so much for showing this to me!"

Peter smiled. "No problem! I'm sure Twilight would love to know that you enjoy reading so much."

The cyan Pegasus nodded, immediately returning to the Kindle.

For the next few hours,Peter laid back, relaxing as Rainbow Dash continued to read, roped into the literature despite herself.

Meanwhile...Spike and Rarity

Spike sighed, closing the membrane behind him. Rarity kay a hoof on his shoulder, and he turned, sadly looking down at his beloved unicorn...

"Sit," he said, gesturing for the unicorn to get on the bed. He followed her, putting an arm around her, fear coursing through him as he closed his eyes, thinking.

"Spike, are you okay? You're shaking like a leaf!"

The dragon sighed, and looked down at Rarity. "I love you, Rarity..."

The unicorn smiled, and rubbed up against him, under his arm. "I love you, too..."

Spike kissed her on the forehead, right above the horn. "I need to tell you something...about how you were injured in Pinkie's mane..."

The elegant pony winced. "I know what happened. A Stallion Eater got me from behind...but you saved me..."

Spike sighed. He wanted it to be true, but unfortunately...

"No, Rarity. I did it to you."

The white unicorn raised a hoof to her mouth, hoping that he was joking. However, the resignation in his body language, the truth in his voice...it made her believe it.

"But...but...why!?" She squealed.

"I was angry, that something, especially a bucking plant, was going to hurt you. I wanted to kill something, and, unfortunately, you were the first living thing I found...I just acted on the moment..." He began to sob, his heart heavy as hehe came to terms with himself. "I'm sorry, I'm a monster...I let my true self show...I should be dead, I don't deserve you..."

Rarity surprised him by kissing him, right on the lips.

"Never say that," she whispered, now sobbing as well. "Please...never say that. I love you, Spike. You were so honest with me...I love you. You told me, and you're crying...I know that you love me, and would never want hurt me. I love you, Spike..."

She said the last part as a whisper, throwing her forelegs arouns him as they both sobbed. Spike lay back on the bed, still kissing Rarity, his heart bursting with love.

"I'm so sorry, Rarity..." he sobbed. The elegant white unicorn kissed him again.

"I forgive you. And we'll just move past this. I love you, and I know that you would never hurt me. I love you Spike. And you don't deserve to die, please, never say that again.."

Spike sobbed, and hugged her tighter, his tears mixing with hers.

Eventually, Rarity fell asleep, her body still too shocked from Spike's slicing of her body.

Scene 3: Lunch

Rainbow Dash yawned in the silence. Peter snored lightly behind her, having fallen asleep about an hour before.

Using her muzzle to turn the electronic page, Rainbow Dash started to close her eyes, calmed and tired from the reading.

"This book is amazing..." she whispered to herself, just a bit too loudly.

"Rainbow Dash, are you reading?"

Rainbow Dash stifled a yelp, the lavender unicorn's voice shocking her back to the real world. She looked down at Twilight from the hammock, blushing sheepishly.

"Uh, yeah. It's a book Peter showed me, on his Kindle thingy. It's called Game of Thrones. It's got a lot of cool stuff in it, and a lot of death in it, too. Really bloody scenes."

The lavender unicorn chuckled lightly. "I thought you would like books like that..."

Rainbow Dash frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you're athletic, and I thought you would like books about violence."

Rainbow Dash pouted, insulted. "There's more than that in this book! There's a bunch of planning, and talking, and really cool ideas! Like this midget, named Tyrion, and he's awesome. Like, he plans stuff out, and plays angles, and he always pays his debts!(

Now awake, Peter chuckled. "Ah, yes...a Lannister always pays his debts..."

Rainbow Dash grinned. "Yep!"

Twilight smiled. "Well, come on down when you want to order lunch..."

Peter and Rainbow Dash exchanged a glance, Peter's elbows shaking lightly as he supported his upper weight on them, his legs splayed out in front of him. Peter sat up, and so did Rainbow Dash.

"Well," he said, tracing the curves of her face with a hooked finger, lovingly. "Shall we?"

Rainbow Dash smiled, and leaned in for a kiss. Peter met her halfway, their mouths interlocking in a 'good morning,' Peter having just woken up. She smiled as they parted, nodding.

"Let's."

They descended, Rarity and Spike already down below at the table, the paper in the center filled with orders.

Fluttershy, Later...

Fluttershy sighed at her food. She didn't know why, but-

"You okay, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, shocking Fluttershy out of her reverie.

Smiling, Fluttershy nodded, and started to eat away at her food. At the same time, something was eating away at her, deep inside...

Why did she feel like this? Why was it, whenever Peter smiled, she felt a burst of happiness? Perhaps she...?

She shook her head, returning to her food, politely eating up each bit of raviolli as she thought.

Peter kissed Rainbow Dash on the forehead, smiling as she nuzzled him. Fluttershy felt a burst of...of...

Why am I so jealous?

She felt a burst of panic, and she almost choked on the pasts in her mouth. Coughing furiously, the pasta finally flew out of her esophagus, and onto the plate in front of her.

Everypony went silent, simply staring at the yellow Pegasus in shock. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, and Fluttershy simply blushed. Within a few minutes, conversation had started up yet again. Except for one pony.

"...Hey, Fluttershy, are you okay?" She looked up at Peter, and felt a butterfly beat at her stomach. She nodded, blushing an even deeper shade of red as she averted her gaze.

"You sure? You're acting really weird..."

Fluttershy gulped, and dared to look up at him. She smiled sheepishly as their eyes met, the care and concern evident in her friend's eyes. "I...I'm fine..."

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Don't mind her. It's just Fluttershy being Fluttershy..."

The yellow Pegasus wanted to shout out her feelings. She wanted to tell everypony why she was so afraid to look into Peter's eyes...

She felt a sudden surge of urgency. She wanted Peter and Rainbow Dash to stay together, but she had to tell the latter. She was getting married to Peter, and she deserved to know.

"Rainbow Dash...can I...can I talk to you for a second? Alone?"

She looked back, her pink mane obscuring her view of the world, except for Rainbow Dash's now concerned expression.

"Uh, sure, Fluttershy."

Rainbow Dash stood, smiling at Peter, who smiled back at her. Fluttershy blushed, feeling rather disappointed with herself for being.jealous.

Fluttershy stood as well, aware of everypony watching her with concerned expressions. Especially Peter...

Walking away from the lunch she had abandoned on the table, Fluttershy felt even more butterflies beating at her stomach. She had no idea how to tell Rainbow Dash, no that she thought about it...

But it was too late, as the world went dark as Rainbow Dash pulled the membrane closed behind herself and Fluttershy, the yellow Pegasus' compartment so open, yet so concealed...

"Well, whaddaya wanna talk about, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy gulped, and sat down on her bed, beckoning for Rainbow Dash to do the same.

"Are you okay, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked as she sat, throwing a hoof around Fluttershy's neck.

The timid Pegasus sighed. "...No."

Fluttershy plopped down onto her chest, scared that her friend would reject her for what she had to say.

"What's the matter?"

Taking a deep breath, Fluttershy tried to explain. "I...I think I...I..."

Rainbow Dash rubbed her shoulder, now laying down as well. "C'mon, Fluttershy. If there's one thing Peter's taught me, it's how to be truly Loyal. Now, why are you down?"

Fluttershy gulped. She closed her eyes, and whispered. "I'm not down...I'm scared..."

"Of what!? There's nothing here that could hurt you! Now, come on. What's the matter?"

Fluttershy gulped. "I think I have a crush on Peter..."

Rainbow Dash withdrew her hoof. "Well, you stay away from him, okay? He's mine, Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy sighed, and Rainbow Dash put a hoof on her side, making the timid Pegasus tremble like a leaf. "But you're still my friend."

Fluttershy stopped trembling, and the butterflies in her stomach stopped as well. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash..."

Rainbow Dash, nodded, and walked over to the membrane. "Well, let's go," she said softly, before clicking it open.

"I was joking, you crazy bitch!" Peter shouted from behind her.

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped, and she slowly turned around to see Peter, smashed into the table.

"What...What the buck just happened?" The cyan Pegasus immediately asked.

Scene 4: Weirdest Day EverPeter, Five Minutes Earlier...

Peter leaned back on the cushion, and sighed, fishing around for a subject.

With a smile, he found one, and blurted out a question.

"So, Twilight, what's the weirdest thing that's ever happened to you?" He asked. He immediately blushed, remembering a certain...Act, she had walked in on.

"When you asked me to have a three way," Twilight responded without even blinking.

Peter leaned forward, lowered his voice, and said in a smooth tone, "the offah's still on, babeah." As soon as the words escaped Peter's lips, Twilight sat bolt upright, and her eyes began to glow.

Peter began to panic, as he was raised about two feet in the air, above the table, and...

Slammed right back onto it, ponies taking a few astounded steps back as he experienced some major whiplash, his body splitting the table down the center.

"NO, I DON'T WANT A BUCKING THREE WAY!!" Twilight roared.

"I was joking, you crazy bitch!"

Peter tried to sit up, but his vision doubled, and the shouts of furious ponies, locked in a heated verbal debate, turned into the water sound of a drum being beat as the pain in his back closed out all else. His eyes closed, and the darkness of unconsciousness enveloped him.

P. Dash

“Mmf?”

The words beat against his ear drums, and his pain-hazed mind heard only a watery thrum.

“Mmfer?”

The words-no, word-started to have some clarity. Peter opened his eyes, barely. However, the slits of the bright, gleaming sun he could see through the slits forced him to return his vision to the red darkness of his eyelids.

“Peter?”

He thought he heard his name. It sounded watery, and he couldn’t tell whether it was his name, or a simple word.

“Peter?”

Finally, the watery haze his mind was submerged in receded, and the words came through, clear, yet as a whisper. He opened his eyes, and the glare of the sun didn’t seem so bright anymore.

“Peter? Are you okay?”

It was the concern. The concern in the soft, adorable voice that gave him the will to look away from the yellow being in the heavens, to the yellow being that belonged in the heavens.

Fluttershy blinked, and smiled, and Peter smiled in return.

A smile that turned into a grimace of pain as he tried to get up.

“Oh, please, don’t try to get up…” Fluttershy whispered. “Your back, it needs time to rest…”

Peter looked beyond her, her image blurred out as he focused on farther objects.

Rainbow Dash and Twilight were sitting across from each other on the firm, yet comfortable, cushions that surrounded the, now destroyed, wooden table. Rainbow Dash was scowling, while all Peter could see of Twilight was the tip of her horn, and her mane, which lay down across her back, as she looked to the ground in evident shame.

Across the table, Spike held a furious Rarity in his strong, purple arms. Despite the obvious strain to hold the white unicorn down, Peter knew that Spike held her gently. Peter winced as Rarity’s shrieks reached him.

“So un-ladlylike, Twilight! Unclaw me, Spike, I must remonstrate her!”

Fluttershy smiled at Peter’s evident pain, and walked over to the sound-blocking membrane, pulling it shut. Where Fluttershy had been, Peter could now see Pinkie Pie and Applejack, the former bouncing in anticipation, the latter simply staring into space, a blank expression revealing nothing.

Just as Fluttershy pulled the membrane closed, Peter made eye contact with Pinkie Pie.

And then, her eyes were so close that they almost made physical contact.

“Peter! You’re awake!!”

He held up hands to his hears, wincing as the noise pierced his pain-riddled mind, and Fluttershy immediately rushed over, her pink mane covering her left eye, her words covered by Pinkie Pie’s shouts.

“Everypony, Peter’s awake!”

Peter almost strangled Pinkie Pie.

Damn it, stop fucking shouting!!!

However, he couldn’t bring himself to say that. Oh, he could say that to Pinkie Pie, easily. However, he just couldn’t say anything.

Twilight was the first to block Peter’s vision.

“I’m so sorry, Peter!”

Peter winced as Pinkie Pie continued to ramble on in the background, her words transformed into noises as his mind struggled to comprehend what was going on.

Twilight lay a hoof on Peter’s chest, the former close to tears.

“Peter, please, say something…I’m so sorry…I just freaked out, I’m so sorry…”

Peter nodded, and finally found his voice.

“Warn me next time…”

Twilight chuckled lightly, and Rainbow Dash gently lay a hoof on her shoulder. She immediately filled Peter’s vision, and, unlike Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Twilight, her sudden entrance into his field of view didn’t cause him pain in his disrupt vision.

“How’re you feeling, Peter?” Rainbow Dash asked, smiling at her fiancé.

Peter took a deep breath, and forced out a few words. “It hurts like hell, Rainbow Dash…”

And, truly, it did. He couldn’t look anywhere, and all he could feel was pain. It was almost as though he had been slammed into a wooden table…

Oh, right. He had been slammed into a wooden table…

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Suck it up,” she said, jokingly.

Peter smiled back, remembering that night in the hospital as he lay there, unable to move his back without agonizing pain…

Peter lay a hand on Rainbow Dash’s cheek, and the cyan Pegasus smiled, remembering that night in the hospital…

The night in the hospital, when the shaft of light had enveloped Peter and Rainbow Dash in its mysterious glow. It had broken them down, and, by the play of colors across their features, it had enlightened them as to each other’s personalities. It taught them everything about each other.

For Peter, he had learned that Rainbow Dash’s confidence was a shell, and it held back a beautiful interior. Much like the cover of a book, it did not accurately depict the image painted by the words, or, in this case, the various parts of Rainbow Dash’s personality.

In the picture painted by the light, Peter saw Rainbow Dash’s aspirations, her goals, her likes, dislikes, and fears.

However, there was something that he never expected from the confident, athletic pony.

A fear that she would disappoint her friends, unless she kept up her shell of constant athleticism, and confidence.

A fear that, even if they weren’t disappointed by her lack of athleticism and confidence for at least one day, they wouldn’t love the pony underneath the shell like they loved the pony on the surface.

Those two things combined to create the shell of confidence she donned every day. If it weren’t for that, she would gladly sit in her room all day and mope.

Because, above all else, she wanted somepony to care.

Rainbow Dash wanted somepony to ask her how she felt. While she was unendingly Loyal to her friends, as it went along with her shell of confidence, she was tired of being the one who had to ask others how they felt. She was tired of being the one who had to solve their problems. For once, she wanted somepony to ask her how she felt, and she would gladly mope in her room and wait for that pony…

If it weren’t for her fear of disappointing her friends, or her fear that they wouldn’t love her confidence-lacking, love-seeking inner self.

And, knowing what he knew at that moment, it all made sense.

She felt as though she had disappointed her mother, and drove her to the bottle, as when she didn’t go to Flight School, and didn’t excel as a flyer, her mother had ceased to love her (or so it had seemed). So, that, along with her previous bullying in school, had culminated into a shell of confidence, which had already been present. It had already been there, yet it was fortified by her mother’s death, and by how the cyan Pegasus’ mother had scarred her, physically, emotionally, and psychologically.

And at that moment, Peter felt a drive to show Rainbow Dash that she was cared for, and loved. He felt a drive to let her know that there were people who loved her for who she was, not for what she did.

So, when he said “I love you,” his mind snapping back to the train compartment, and the present, he meant each of the three words, as he wasn’t just talking about Rainbow Dash, but Rainbow Dash, as in, who she was.

And, when Rainbow Dash smiled and responded with an “I love you” of her own, she meant it.

She meant that she loved what she had seen that night, and loved everything about Peter, and loved how he cared for her, but loved him all the same.

By the light, Rainbow Dash had seen an unprecedented sense of caring for everypony considered a friend in Peter’s heart. And, while that care made her feel special and wanted, it made her feel like just somepony he happened to be comforting, as he would do this for anypony.

However, as the light shifted from green to blue, so did the light in Peter’s heart.

The care for everypony considered a friend remained.

However, a stronger, much more ferocious care for Rainbow Dash had risen.

It made her feel wanted, loved, safe…

It made her feel like she could be Rainbow Dash.

The Rainbow Dash she had hidden under the shell of confidence, which the cyan Pegasus had been fully aware of.

And it made her feel, above all, like somepony cared for her.

And that made her feel safe, safe enough to drop her shell of confidence.

Besides feeling safe, it also made her feel love. That night, when she saw how much Peter cared for her, Rainbow Dash had fallen in love, especially since Peter barely knew her, and yet cared for her unendingly.

Or rather, Peter knew her better than she knew herself, because Rainbow Dash knew that Peter had seen what she had swept away, under the shell of confidence.

However, that wasn’t all of it. It was everything about Peter that she loved.

His own lack of self-confidence, and yet only when talking to strangers. With friends, he could be himself.

His aspirations, interests, everything about him, and things that definitely made him a total egghead.

However, she loved that about him. That he was an egghead, yet not robotic like Twilight.

Also, he wasn’t athletic, but…

Peter would do anything to make Rainbow Dash happy.

And do anything to help her to see that everypony loved her.

So, when Rainbow Dash had responded to Peter’s “I love you,” she meant it sincerely, and with all of her heart.

Peter smiled, and Rainbow Dash let him drag her cyan body onto the bed and hold her protectively, his care and love filling her fear of disappointment and lack of love from her friends. Even the small “awww” emitted by Pinkie Pie couldn’t break her out of it.

“Applejack? Are you…okay?”

Peter didn’t lift his gaze from Rainbow Dash, but opened his ear to the surroundings, the haze enveloping his mind finally gone as Rainbow Dash kissed him on the cheek.

“Wh…What?” Applejack’s voice rang out.

“You’ve been standing there since lunch,” Twilight said.

“What? Ain’t a pony allowed to think fer a bit?”

Twilight sighed. “But even when Peter was smashed into the table, you didn’t do anything…”

“Peter was smashed into the table? When? How did Ah not see that?”

“Exactly! You’ve been standing there for at least an hour now, just staring off into space!” Twilight shouted, obviously somewhat aggravated.

“Ah’m sorry, Ah guess Ah’m just…y’know…”

A small silence followed Applejack’s beautifully descriptive, stammered sentence.

“No, I don’t know,” Twilight said, breaking the silence. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Rainbow Dash winced. Twilight cared about what Applejack was dealing with…

Stop that. She cared about you at Fluttershy’s house, when you were freaking out after those dreams… She thought to herself, feeling somewhat guilty. The cyan Pegasus smiled as Peter held her tighter, and shuddered as Peter began to preen her.

Peter took a deep breath, deciding that being bedridden wasn’t that bad…

“Ah’m just worried for everypony back home. Ah mean, what about Apple Bloom? And Big Macintosh? An’ Granny Smith? Will they be okay without me? Ah’m just a bit homesick, Ah guess…Ah dunno.”

A sigh. Then the sound of a whisper, and hoofsteps. Then the sound of a membrane being pulled shut, and an odd murmur spreading around the ponies by Peter’s bed.

Fluttershy

The yellow Pegasus nodded off Pinkie Pie. “Yes, Pinkie, we all have the same suspicions…”

“What suspicions?”

The yellow Pegasus looked down at Rainbow Dash. “Why are you guys so freaked out by that? Twilight just wants to help Applejack.”

Fluttershy couldn’t think of a simple way to put it, especially since Rarity and Spike had arrived, (finally,) and the white unicorn was keeping up her no-swearing policy, especially after what she had just witnessed.

“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy whispered, “Peter wanted to help you, too. And look where you two are now.”

Realization dawned, and spread across Rainbow Dash’s face.

“So…you think that Twilight has a crush on Applejack?”

Rarity pouted. “So blatant!”

Fluttershy ignored the shout. “Yes, Rainbow Dash.”

Pinkie Pie shook with anticipation, and Fluttershy had to lay a hoof on her side to keep her from kicking Peter in the face. “Oh my gosh, that’s so cute!”

“But so weird!”

Peter frowned at Rainbow Dash. “How is that weird, Rainbow Dash?”

“They’re both mares!”

Rarity was about to start a furious attack on her, when Peter managed to keep the peace.

“So is our relationship. I’m a human; hell, I’m not even from this planet, nor this universe! I’m an alien, Rainbow Dash. And you know what?”

The cyan Pegasus pulled back, and Fluttershy could see that she was hurt.

“It doesn’t matter. I still love you. And I’ll never stop loving you, even though I’m a human and you’re a pony.

“So, what’s weird about a mare liking a mare?”

The cyan Pegasus smiled, Peter’s declaration of love making up for his earlier statement (at least in Fluttershy’s eyes, as Rarity was positively fuming).

Fluttershy took a deep breath, and walked away.

“Fluttershy, where are you going?”

The yellow Pegasus looked back at Spike, and smiled.

“I’m going to check on Twilight and Applejack.”

She cautiously pulled back the membrane in front of the compartment…

And immediately snapped it shut, and rushed back to sit in the corner of her room, where her bed once was before they moved it to the center to act as a medical bed for Peter.

Pinkie Pie knelt, concern etched across her face. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I…I think they might like each other…”

Everypony giggled lightly.

However, they wouldn’t giggle if they had seen what Fluttershy had seen.

I…I didn’t even know horns could be used like that…

Nor did I think that either of them would have that kind of reckless abandon…

She wrapped her wings around herself, and pushed herself further back into the corner.

“Fluttershy,” Pinkie Pie said, as Spike and Rarity and Peter and Rainbow Dash were too wrapped up in each other to notice, “are you okay?”

Fluttershy nodded, but suddenly burst out what she had seen.

P. Dash

“Don’t worry, we’ll see them.”

“But what if they leave, Peter?”

“Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolts are celebrities. They eat attention up! Besides, you won the Young Flyer’s Competition, didn’t you? I’m pretty sure they’ll stick around once word gets out that you’re gonna be there.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Yeah, but…I did something that they didn’t really like, y’know, when I got to spend a day with them…”

Peter raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“I pranked them, publically. I just couldn’t help myself, y’know? It was hushed up, of course, because they don’t like being made fools of…”

Peter couldn’t help it. He burst out in laughter.

“You kidding me? You pranked fucking celebrities, publically!?”

Rainbow Dash blushed. “Y…yeah…”

Peter slapped her on the shoulder, and Rainbow Dash pulled back with a small yelp, as her shoulder was still somewhat sore from holding up both Peter and Twilight, when they escaped from the bookalanche…

“Peter…why would you hit me? Are you trying to ‘punish’ me or some crap like that?”

Peter shook his head. “No, of course not! I was just patting you on the shoulder!”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “That was more than a pat, Peter.”

“It was a slap, then. I’m sorry if it hurt,” he said, rubbing her where his hand had made contact.

Rainbow Dash smiled, and nuzzled Peter’s neck. “It’s okay…I know you wouldn’t hurt me…”

Peter smiled, and, in front of everypony, placed his hand on her flank, and squeezed. (Thankfully, nopony was watching.)

Rainbow Dash looked around, smiling. “Do that again,” she whispered, smiling mischievously.

He did, and this time, he started to massage it gently.

And then, he remembered that there were four ponies right near them, and he pulled his hand back.

“Why’d you stop?” Rainbow Dash whispered.

“Because we’re in public, Rainbow Dash. It’s not polite, and it’s kinda…bad, to do when there are people-er, ponies-around.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Peter, you’re such a drag!”

She brought her eyes back to his, and smiled. “But I still-”

“Twilight and Applejack were making out!!”

All conversation ceased.

“I…I’m sorry, what?” Pinkie Pie said, taking a few steps back.

“Twilight had her tongue down Applejack’s throat, Pinkie!”

Peter burst out in laughter. “Wow! Holy shit!”

Rainbow Dash joined him. “Fluttershy, since when were you so dirty?”

Fluttershy blushed. “I’m sorry, it’s just…I saw them so close together, and…”

Peter pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fluttershy, remember in the hospital, how you guys thought Rainbow Dash and I were having sex?”

He couldn’t see past his tightly shut eyelids, but Peter would have bet that Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, and Spike were all blushing.

Wait, does Spike even know about that? Ah, fuck it…

“Y…Yes, and I’m sorry for that, Peter.”

“Well, we don’t want that to happen again, do we?”

Fluttershy sighed. “No, we don’t.”

Rainbow Dash giggled lightly, stifling it in Peter’s shirt. “Oh, man...I have an idea. Let’s accuse them of making out, and see what their reactions are!”

Peter ran a hand through his hair. “Here’s an idea, let’s not do that. That’s a horrible idea, Rainbow Dash.”

The cyan Pegasus let out a small *humph*. “Thanks for your consideration…”

Peter smiled, yet gagged immediately, as he realized what was in his hair.

“Oh, God! I haven’t showered in about a week!”

He pulled his hand back from his hair, and could tell that his hair had stayed in the same position that his hand had pushed it into.

“I feel like a fucking Greaser…”

Rainbow Dash shook her head, smiling. “What?”

Peter shrugged. “Long story. Well, not really, but…ah, screw it.”

The cyan Pegasus smiled. “I think you should rest a bit, Peter...go on to sleep…”

Peter smiled, and kissed Rainbow Dash on the forehead. “Sure thing…”

Rainbow Dash smiled down at him, lovingly stroking the flat contours of his face with a wing as Peter closed his eyes.

As Peter relaxed, he started to absent mindedly hum a song he was all too familiar with, the lyrics that Tobuscus had put with the notes flashing through his mind.

Ian McShane shoots some fireballs sitting on a boat. Geoffrey Rush needs some lotion, or maybe some aloe?

Rainbow Dash chuckled as Peter hummed on, the fingers of his left hand bouncing to the tempo of the song in his head.

I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand him, despite knowing everything about him… She smiled, and kissed Peter on the forehead. I prefer it like that…this way I can learn more about him as we go along…

“Hey, could somepony get me my Kindle, and my headphones?”

Rainbow Dash was off in a flash, Peter’s groggy question her first priority. When she returned, his iPod dangled from the end of the headphones’ wire, and his Kindle rested on her back.

“Thanks, ‘Dash…” Peter mumbled, his tired tongue tripping over the words.

“Go on to sleep, Peter. I’ll just be talking to everypony, okay?”

Peter nodded, and checked his iPod.

Shit…it’s dead. How the fuck am I supposed to charge this…?

He shrugged, and put it on the bed beside him, and plugged the headphones into his Kindle. Peter immediately checked the power on his headphones, and was happy to see that they were not dead.

Pulling the headphones over his head, Peter waited for it to load, went into ‘Music’, ‘Artists’, ‘Rage Against the Machine’, and put ‘Bulls on Parade’ on constant loop.

By the tenth time the song was playing, Peter had fallen asleep.

Rainbow Dash

“Peter’s right, you know.”

Fluttershy sighed. “I know, Rainbow Dash…”

The yellow Pegasus traced the knots in the wood of the small night table. Across from her, Rainbow Dash reclined on the firm, yet comfortable, cushion, leaning her back against the fake tree that was part of the wall, letting her head rest in the shade of the fake, yet believable, overhang of leaves.

“You can’t just jump to conclusions,” Rainbow Dash said. “First off, Twilight’s too smart to just…jump right into a relationship.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her shoulders, looking over at Peter, knowing all too well that Fluttershy would use that as a springboard.

“Well, what about you and Peter? You two barely even know each other, and you’re getting married.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. Here we go…

“We know each other better than we know ourselves, Fluttershy.”

“How is that possible, though?”

“Do you remember that night, when that giant shaft of light was in the sky?”

The small nod from Fluttershy was enough for Rainbow Dash. “When we saw it, we could see each other in a new…well, light.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, and Rainbow Dash continued. “Quite literally, actually. We saw…who we are. We saw everything about each other.”

Fluttershy smiled, but Rainbow Dash knew what she was thinking.

She probably realized that that means that Peter could never have feelings for anypony else.

“What’s his favorite color, then?”

“I don’t know,” Rainbow Dash said with a sigh. “And we didn’t see things like that. We saw…our personalities. He saw everything about me…” She paused, smiling as she remembered when Peter had called her ‘beautiful’. “He said I was beautiful…and I saw everything about him.

“We know each other better than we know ourselves, Fluttershy. For example, I know that he cares for everypony, but there’s a special place in his heart for me, and only me.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Okay, then…I guess there’s really no hope for me, is there?”

Rainbow Dash smiled, and reached across the small table with a hoof, patting her best friend on the shoulder. “Not romantically, but you two can still be best friends, okay?”

The yellow Pegasus sighed, and looked down in evident shame. “I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash…You two are so happy together. I shouldn’t be thinking of myself…I want him to be happy, and I want you to be happy. I mean, he bust right through your shell of confidence…”

Rainbow Dash smiled, and nodded. “Yep, he did. I bet you didn’t think I knew I had one, right?”

Fluttershy giggled, but then shook her head in…Rainbow Dash couldn’t place her hoof on it. Lost hope? Depression? Anger? In what the Pegasus said next, it all seemed to rise into one mixture of emotions. “But...where will I find my special somepony, Rainbow Dash?”

“Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash whispered, placing her hooves on either of the timid Pegasus’ shoulders, staring deep into her blue eyes, “you’re an amazing mare. You’ll find somepony, trust me, you will.”

Something caught Rainbow Dash’s eye. She looked up, and saw Pinkie Pie, staring at Fluttershy like the timid Pegasus was a nugget of gold…

Rainbow Dash simply smiled. “I think Pinkie wants to talk to you, Fluttershy…”

Fluttershy turned around, and made eye contact with the pink party pony. As soon as she did, Pinkie Pie looked away, and walked back into her party-themed compartment.

“I…I don’t understand…”

Rainbow Dash smiled knowingly. “You will, Fluttershy,” she said. “You will. Just go talk to her, alright?”

Fluttershy nodded, and, shakily, stood and walked over to the party-themed compartment.

As soon as she entered it, a pink hoof quickly pulled the membrane shut.

Pinkie Pie

“Hi, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy turned, and smiled at Pinkie. “Hey, Pinkie. Are you okay?”

Pinkie Pie sighed. Normally, she would greet a friend with an explosion of words.

However, for Fluttershy, all she could muster up was a ‘hi’, or a ‘how are you?’.

“Fluttershy, I…” Pinkie Pie looked away, down at the pink rug on the floor. She couldn’t say it to the Pegasus’ face. “No, Fluttershy,” she admitted with a sigh, sitting down, “I’m not.”

Fluttershy frowned, and sat down next to Pinkie Pie, placing a hoof on her shoulder. Pinkie closed her eyes, enjoying how close they were…

Stop that. You like colts. You…like…colts…

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Pinkie nodded, but didn’t answer right away. Fluttershy simply patted her on the shoulder repeatedly, waiting patiently for her words.

“Fluttershy, I-” Pinkie couldn’t force the words out. They were caught in her throat, like a sticky substance caught in an airway.

Fluttershy, I think I have a crush on you. Simple. Simple words. Why can’t I say them?

“Fluttershy, I…I…” She stammered, unable to get the words out.

“It’s okay, Pinkie…you can take as long as you want…I’m here for you…”

At that, Pinkie broke down. She leaned on Fluttershy, sobbing as Fluttershy hugged her, the yellow hooves holding her in place in the world, keeping her calm…

“Fluttershy, I…I think I…” Pinkie said, gasps and sobs interrupting her speech. “I think I have a….a crush on…”

Fluttershy shushed her. “It’s okay, I have a crush on Peter, too, if it makes you feel any better…”

Pinkie felt crushed, by the crush. Fluttershy has a crush on Peter…

“No, Fluttershy,” Pinkie sobbed, “it doesn’t. I don’t have a crush on Peter…”

Suddenly, amidst the dark feeling in her heart, Pinkie found the words she wanted to use.

“I…I have a crush on…on…” the words were in her throat, pushing their way up, silently yet thunderously.

After several long moments of silence, they fell out of her mouth like water from a bottle.

“I have a crush on you, Fluttershy…”

Pinkie shut her eyes even tighter, the lids hurting with how much pressure she applied to keep them scrunched up and closed. She heard Fluttershy gasp, and felt her remove her hooves from around the party pony.

“Pinkie, I…I…” Fluttershy stammered, blushing in shock. “I…I’m flattered…”

Pinkie knew what she meant. She could feel it, through every crack in her broken heart.

“Fluttershy, I love you,” Pinkie exploded, sobbing, flattened out on the ground. “I love you, because you’re Kind, and you’re calm, and you’re quiet, and you’re my exact opposite, and you help me to…to slow down, and to…to…to be calm, and only around you can I do that!”

Pinkie winced as she heard Fluttershy take a few steps back.

“Fluttershy, I love you, and I always have, ever since we first met…you’re cute, beautiful even, and you’re smart, you’re so amazing with animals, I mean…I mean…”

“Pinkie, I…I…” Fluttershy stammered out, her small voice almost completely drowned out by Pinkie’s sobs.

“I’m sorry…” She finally managed out, quickly darting out of the compartment.

Pinkie held in her gasp of woe and misery until the membrane had been completely closed once more. She was broken. Gone. Her heart…it was gone. She had told Fluttershy that she loved her, and all the Pegasus had done was say “I’m sorry”.

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy…” Pinkie whispered, sobbing and gasping as she crawled onto her bed, “that I’m not as good as Peter…”

Pinkie hugged her knees, and started rocking back and forth until she fell into an uneasy, pillow-soaking sleep.

Fluttershy

The yellow Pegasus bolted for her compartment, ignoring the strange looks from Spike and Rarity (now in their compartment) along the way.

“Fluttershy, slow down!”

The yellow Pegasus didn’t, and bowled right into Twilight on the way, landing on her back, her head throbbing in pain.

“Y’all okay?” She heard Applejack ask, obviously much improved from her state of anxiety now that she and Twilight had…‘spoken’.

Fluttershy stood, and so did Twilight, the both of them slightly shaky. “Y…Yeah. By the way, I saw you two kissing.” Fluttershy almost kicked herself.

Geez, I really need to learn how to operate under pressure…

Twilight and Applejack exchanged a glance of utter confusion, and Fluttershy immediately felt ashamed.

I really need to listen to Peter more...

“Fluttershy, we weren’t…makin’ out. Ah think that bump got t’ yer’ noggin.”

Rainbow Dash walked over, chuckling. “So, I see you used my idea anyway, huh, Fluttershy?”

Twilight immediately plowed them with questions. “What idea? And why did you think we were making out, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy looked up, and hastily explained the current situation.

“Rainbow Dash wanted to blatantly confront you two about it, and I saw you two right in front of each other, and your faces were so close, I just assumed that you were kissing.”

Twilight and Applejack exchanged a glance, and started to chuckle. “Fluttershy, Ah knew you had a dirty mind, but…this is goin’ just a bit too far, dontch’ya think?”

Fluttershy blushed, and looked down to the ground, chuckling a small bit herself.

“Yeah, I guess…sorry, you two…”

“Well, if you two weren’t kissing, then what were you doing?”

If only Fluttershy wasn’t so timid, she would have slapped Rainbow Dash then and there.

It’s their private business, Rainbow Dash… she thought to herself, somewhat glad that she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud. She had a bit of private business she meant to share with Rainbow Dash herself.

“Well, Ah was worried about everypony back home,” Applejack explained. “Ah was just constantly thinkin’ about them, and worryin’ besides. You saw the apple trees, R.D. They were dyin’, and Ah’m worried that, if they start dyin’ again, Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom won’t have a Pegasus around t’ help them. Ah’m also worried about Winona, and if them three Cutie Mark Crusaders are gonna get int’ trouble...Ah know that you and Rarity have been goin’ through the same thing, Rainbow Dash, seeing as how Scootaloo and you are so close…”

Fluttershy looked up, and saw Rainbow Dash nod, proudly.

Huh…they are pretty close, aren’t they…they could be like mother and daughter…

“And, well, it all just got t’ me…and I started to cry when Ah spoke about it, and Twilight hugged me...” Applejack looked down, ashamed to admit that she had shed a single tear. Fluttershy smiled as Rainbow Dash placed a hoof on her side.

“There’s nothing wrong with crying, Applejack.”

Fluttershy had heard what she needed to hear. That Twilight and Applejack hadn’t been kissing.

Good…but what about Pinkie? Why does she like me so much? I mean, she always kind of struck me as a fillyfooler, but why me? She knows full well that I’m not attracted to mares…I guess she just needed to get it off of her chest…

Fluttershy turned, leaving everypony to their own conversations as she walked through the branch archway leading to her compartment, sitting down on the somewhat spongy root that served as a cushion, which was placed in front of the small, fake stump that served as a night table.

Maybe I shouldn’t have just said ‘I’m sorry’...Pinkie Pie poured her heart out to me, and now, I just broke it, into millions of pieces...I’m the worst friend ever…

Fluttershy looked down at the table, and started to trace the same knot in the wood that she had been tracing before.

“Hey, Fluttershy, what’s the matter?”

Fluttershy looked up with a small yelp of surprise. She hadn’t even seen Rainbow Dash walk into the compartment, let alone sit across from her.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash, you surprised me…”

The blue Pegasus simply smiled, and Fluttershy looked back down at the night table, ignoring the chatter coming from the library compartment next to her garden compartment.

“Rainbow Dash, Pinkie told me that she has a crush on me...”

“I knew it!”

Fluttershy looked back up, surprised. “What do you mean, you knew it?”

“I saw her looking at you, when you asked where you would find your special somepony.”

Fluttershy nodded, and looked back down towards the table. “But she’s not my special somepony...I’m not attracted to mares, Rainbow Dash. At all.”

“Yeah, but you could at least give it a try. For her.”

“That’s just it!” Fluttershy shouted, standing and leaning forward in exasperation, her face almost right up against Rainbow Dash’s. “She told me that she loves me! And all I said was ‘I’m sorry’, Rainbow Dash!”

Fluttershy returned to her seat, staring down at the night table. “I’m the worst friend ever...”

Rainbow Dash immediately walked around the table, and sat next to the yellow Pegasus, wrapping a foreleg around her.

“Fluttershy, I’m going to tell you something that Peter told me: being a good friend isn’t based on your actions, it’s based on how you act.”

Fluttershy started to cry. “That doesn’t help, Rainbow Dash...I’m sorry...I just...I just let things scare me, and get in the way of my friendships...and when Pinkie told me that, I was scared. I don’t love her, I don’t even like her as anything more than a friend...and I should have said more than ‘I’m sorry’, but I didn’t, because I let my fears take top priority over my friends...”

Fluttershy leaned against Rainbow Dash, now crying in earnest.

Rainbow Dash is like a sister to me...

Perhaps...I should tell her...

Is now the right time?

“Fluttershy, that was an action. It’s how you act that determines whether you’re a good friend or not. Hey, think of it like the Elements of Harmony:

“If you’re Loyal, Honest, Kind, and Generous to your friends, and you always share Laughter with them, then you’re a good friend. You’re all of that with us, Fluttershy...You’re a great friend.”

Fluttershy sighed. “Well, I haven’t been Honest with you, Rainbow Dash...”

Fluttershy cringed. Why did I say that!?

Rainbow Dash rubbed her shoulder. “Sure you have, Fluttershy. You told me about your crush on Peter!”

The yellow Pegasus shook her head. “Rainbow Dash, that was only one thing. There’s something that I’ve known for a long time. My mother told it to me, and I should have told you earlier...”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Your mother? What has she got to do with this?”

“She was never married.”

The cyan Pegasus patted her on the back. “Okay. A lot of mothers haven’t been married.”

“But my father was. And he cheated on his wife.”

“Okay. I’m listening.”

“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy whispered, butterflies threatening to tear her stomach to shreds, “I’m your half-sister...”

P. Dash

Rainbow Dash pulled back, horrified and enraged.

“W…What!?”

“Rainbow Dash, please, don’t be mad...”

The cyan Pegasus rushed to get the sound-blocking membrane closed.

I don’t want to blow Spikes’ super sensitive ears out...

“You’re lying!” She shouted, in a voice almost as loud as the Royal Canterlot Voice, as soon as she had closed the membrane all the way.

Fluttershy pulled back into the corner. Rainbow Dash felt unending hate for the yellow Pegasus at that moment.

“You’re lying, you Pegaslut!”

Fluttershy started to sob even harder. “Rainbow Dash, please, don’t call me that...calm down, please...”

Rainbow Dash had begun to sob as well. “My father would never cheat on my mother, you lying cunt!!”

Fluttershy had her face in her hooves, and was sobbing unendingly.

“Rainbow Dash, please-”

“No! Don’t you dare ‘please’ me!”

“What’s all the shouting about?”

Rainbow Dash swore under her breath. Peter, stay out of this...

“Fluttershy? Rainbow Dash, what’s going on?”

Rainbow Dash turned on Peter, rage and fear coursing through her, enough to block out how Peter drew back from her in his own fear. “Fluttershy lied to me! Told me that...she’s my half-sister! That my father cheated on my mother, bucked some slut, and that that slut is Fluttershy’s mother!”

“She is not a slut!”

Peter drew back, and sat down on the bed. This isn’t my fight...they need to settle this one on their own.

“Yes, she is! She seduced a married stallion!”

“So, you believe that you’re my half-sister now?”

“Yes! I believe that she seduced my father, and had her way with him!”

“She did not! They met at a party, and they both got drunk, and I was born!”

Rainbow Dash shook her head in rage. “My father was always too busy to see me.”

“But he was never too busy to see me…he was with me almost every day...”

Peter ran a hand through his hair. He was seriously considering putting on his headphones, and blocking out the fight altogether...

That is, until Rainbow Dash hit Fluttershy, hard, in the chest.

“Rainbow Dash, stop!” He shouted, immediately grabbing her before she could damage Fluttershy any more.

“Let go of me! I’m gonna kill that lying Pegaslut!”

Peter held Rainbow Dash close to his heart, just as Fluttershy stood, her fear gone and replaced with spite. Peter’s heart filled with dread.

Oh, shit...Fluttershy’s going to try to hurt her...

“Rainbow Dash, I’m sorry if our father visited me more than he stayed with you. His brother owned the Rainbow Factory a while ago, which I know you know. He would always tell me that he was given a pension by his brother, which was true. Our father got his brother to cheat the system, and give him enough money to supply for you and your mother, while living with me and my mother. That is, until my mother found out he was married.”

Rainbow Dash was shaking in Peter’s arms, whispering to herself that it wasn’t true, that her father loved her.

Peter looked up from Rainbow Dash, into Fluttershy’s eyes, and started pleading. “Fluttershy, please, don’t. Her childhood was scarring enough, please, don’t make it worse.”

Fluttershy shook her head, tears streaking down her face. “No! She told me to be Honest, so I’m being Honest! Our father visited Rainbow Dash! He lived with me! And then, when my mother found out he was married, she poisoned him! My mother poisoned him! She murdered him, and covered it up as food poisoning!

“Then, you know what else happened? A few years later, she found his wife, and told her. All I knew at that point, was that my father had been married, and had a foal with his wife, and with my mother. Apparently, my father’s wife drank herself to the grave!”

That was all Rainbow Dash could take. She stopped quivering, and looked at Fluttershy.

“Then it’s your fault. All these years, I thought that it was my dropping out of Flight School that made my mother drink herself to the grave...”

Rainbow Dash tried to stand, but couldn’t. Instead, she remained on Peter’s lap, staring at Fluttershy, ignoring his pleadings to “not make it any worse”.

“And it was your fault that my father died. The reason as to why my life was so horrible...it was because of you.”

Fluttershy pulled back, fresh tears in her eyes as Rainbow Dash said something that broke the both of them.

“I hate you, Fluttershy. Because of you, my life was horrible. Because of you, my family died...”

Peter watched as Fluttershy collapsed, a waterfall of tears cascading from her blue, watery eyes, and as Rainbow Dash collapsed as well, her own waterfall of tears joining Fluttershy’s.

Rainbow Dash immediately felt regret for what she had said, and Peter helped pile on regret.

“Rainbow Dash, the both of you are victims,” he whispered. “If you should hate anyone, it should be your father. He cheated on your mother, drunk or not. Fluttershy and you are victims of this. Don’t make it any worse than it is. You say that your entire family died. But you still have her. She experienced just as much pain, if not more. Can you imagine how much guilt she must have felt, when she found out that her father had a wife and a foal? When she found out that she had practically been stealing him from you?”

Rainbow Dash nodded, and pulled herself off of Peter’s lap. She knew that her legs couldn’t support her.

“Here, let me help you, Rainbow Dash,” Peter said. Rainbow Dash waved him off.

“No,” she replied. “I need to do this on my own...”

As she dragged herself across the floor, she noticed how much pain Fluttershy was in. Not only physically, from when Rainbow Dash had hit her, but emotionally, from when Rainbow Dash had blamed her – Fluttershy, her best friend – for ruining her life.

As soon as Rainbow Dash reached the yellow Pegasus, she placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“Don’t touch me!” Fluttershy spat. Rainbow Dash ignored it, and dragged herself, and Fluttershy into a hug.

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash whispered through sobs. “I’m so sorry...it’s not your fault, it’s my father’s. You’re just a victim of this...”

Peter started to cry, gently. He could feel all of Rainbow Dash’s pain.

“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy sobbed, “I’m sorry, too...”

Rainbow Dash smiled, and said something that immediately gave them the strength to look each other in the eye.

“Fluttershy, I...I accept you as my half-sister.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled, inwardly, at how oddly she had phrased it.

Fluttershy didn’t chuckle, at all. Rather, she managed to sit upright, and so did Rainbow Dash. They immediately hugged; their first real hug as sisters.

“I love you, Rainbow Dash. I always have...as a sister, of course. And I’ve always known this, and I’ve always been too afraid to tell you...”

Rainbow Dash smiled, and kissed her newly realized sister on the cheek. “I love you too, Fluttershy.”

Peter smiled, and joined the hug. “I guess we’re all gonna be family now, huh?”

Fluttershy chuckled. “Yeah, I guess...”

Peter smiled, and ruffled his (soon to be) half-sister-in-law’s pink mane.

“When you two are ready, let’s go tell everypony, okay?”

Rainbow Dash smiled, and kissed him on the cheek, but immediately pulled back, smiling.

“Peter, are you crying?”

“Yes, Rainbow Dash. I am.”

Rainbow Dash smiled, and nuzzled him on the neck. “Cool.”

Peter smiled, but Fluttershy frowned. “What am I going to do about Pinkie Pie?”

Peter pulled back from the hug, raising an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“She told me that she loves me, and all I said was, ‘I’m sorry’, because I’m not attracted to mares. I think she went to sleep...”

Peter nodded. “I’ll try talking to her, later. For now, let’s just let her sleep.”

Fluttershy nodded, and the three of them stood, wiping tears away with arms and legs.

Later…

Peter pulled back the sound proof membrane, and Rainbow Dash put an arm around Fluttershy.

“Are you ready, Fluttershy? You sure you don’t want that free kick?”

Fluttershy smiled, her chest still hurting a bit from when Rainbow Dash had hit her. “No, Rainbow Dash, it’s fine. I could go for another hug, though...”

The cyan Pegasus smiled, and instantly drew Fluttershy into a hug. “We’re gunna have to hang out a lot, Fluttershy...” Rainbow Dash commented, glad that she and Fluttershy were friends again.

Fluttershy smiled. “Yep, we are...”

Peter smiled as well. “You guys wanna stay here, and I’ll get everypony?”

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash smiled at each other, Rainbow Dash protectively holding Fluttershy against her heart, trying desperately to make up for her outbursts, and not being there for Fluttershy with her insane mother.

Rainbow Dash nodded, not wanting to let go of Fluttershy as she remembered what the yellow Pegasus had told her.

I still can’t believe that her mother would try to kill all of Fluttershy’s pets...I had it way better off, even when my mother turned to alcoholism...

Rainbow Dash kissed Fluttershy on the forehead. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy...”

The yellow Pegasus smiled, and nuzzled Rainbow Dash’s cyan chest. “It’s okay, Rainbow Dash. We’re sisters now, and we both know it...”

Rainbow Dash smiled, stroking Fluttershy’s mane. “No, Fluttershy,” she whispered. “We’ve always been sisters...and with Celestia as my witness, I swear that I’ll make up for every year I haven’t been there for you, every time your mother’s had a fit and I haven’t been there to hold you...”

Fluttershy giggled in ecstasy, rubbing her cheek against Rainbow Dash.

“Uh, Ah don’t get it. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are huggin’? What’s so special about that?”

Rainbow Dash looked up to see Peter, with everypony (but Pinkie Pie) behind him.

“It’s not because they’re hugging,” Peter said, “it’s why they’re hugging.” He nodded to Rainbow Dash as he spoke, leaning against the synthetic bark of the arched entry.

“Everypony,” Rainbow Dash said, swallowing back tears, “Fluttershy and I are sisters.”

Everypony there gasped, and looked between each other.

“But, how?” Applejack asked, obviously rather envious that they had their sisters with them.

“My dad...he cheated on my mom, with Fluttershy’s mom. Fluttershy’s mom was a bit...out there, and when she found out that my dad was married, and had a foal – meaning me – she poisoned him, and blamed it on food poisoning.

“When my mother found out about it, she turned to alcoholism. And, because my dad cheated, we’ve both suffered...” Rainbow Dash kissed her little sister on the forehead. “What’s really bad about it, is that he cheated on my mom two years after I was born...”

So, Fluttershy’s twenty... Peter mused, smiling at Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

“Oh, Peter! I see that your back is better!” Twilight shouted, as Peter had shocked her with the declaration of “important news, follow me everypony.”

The human simply looked at Twilight. “Ya don’t say?”

Twilight pouted. “I was just trying to – Rarity?”

Peter looked around Twilight, to see that Rarity was sobbing in Spike’s arms.

“This is…so…so beautiful! The reuniting of sisters after years…this is amazing!”

Rainbow Dash smiled.

“Alright, Ah’m goin’ in for a group hug!”

The smile broadened, as everypony gathered around the hugging sisters, and wrapped their arms/forelegs around the pair, each of them smiling as wide as possible.

Peter was the first to back out, as he had just seen, out of the corner of his eye, a pink tail dart back into the frosting-coated archway, and slip behind the glazed membrane.

“I have to go talk to Pinkie Pie,” Peter said, matter-of-factly, so as to not raise suspicions. “Be right back...”

With a nod to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, Peter walked through the large oval that made up the train, finally taking note of how it was shaped.

In the center of the oval was an oval table, with eight cushions surrounding it. Of course, the table was in splinters.

Facing the table in the center, were seven large archways, each with their own spectacular and unique design. Between two of the archways was a large space, in which the door frame was bolted in. Directly across from the large door, a large window spanned the wall, with a couch right underneath it. Above the table, were three hammocks, (one of them torn to shreds by Pinkie’s earlier…tailsplosion,) and a large sunroof.

Peter stopped for a second, and looked at each of the archways in turn.

Fluttershy’s compartment had two fake, oak trees, whose branches formed a synthetic bark archway. Her compartment was curved, and to the left of the door.

To the left of the bark archway, was a mahogany archway, which looked like the entry to a rustic library, which was obviously Twilight’s compartment.

To the left, once more, was an archway with elegant, round, purple columns, sprouting from a white base, leading up to an elegant white archway, which Peter immediately decided was Rarity’s compartment, which was also curved, and stopped at the large window.

Only three compartments were on the left side, (when facing the door,) and Twilight’s was (predictably) the largest, as it held a small library inside of it. To the left, four compartments spanned the wall.

The first, left from the window, had a tree archway as well, only these trees bore the bark of apple trees, not oak. The leaves bore four plastic apples, each a different color. Peter decided that it was Applejacks’, as he had been in it before, and knew that it was a curved compartment as well.

To the left of it, were two columns made of simple wood, and a simple wooden archway. Peter guessed that it was his compartment, even though he had never been in it.

Once more, to the left, were two pillars that resembled cloud, with a cloud archway. Peter knew, without even studying it, that it was Rainbow Dash’s.

Finally, to the right of the door, and the left of Rainbow Dash’s compartment, stood Pinkie Pie’s compartment, the archway and columns covered in frosting. The membrane was pulled shut, and it seemed to be made of chocolate.

Peter carefully pulled back the membrane, only so much, and slipped inside. The kitchen was devoid of a stove, and a Pinkie Pie, so Peter assumed she was back in bed.

He tip-toed over to the bed, to find Pinkie Pie sobbing, on her side, her mane and tail totally flat. Peter sat on the edge of the bed, and waited patiently for the distressed pink pony to address him.

After several moments, silent except for Pinkie Pie’s sobs, the pink pony spoke up, in a small voice.

“I told her that I love her, Peter...and she just said ‘I’m sorry’...”

Peter lay a hand on her side. “Come on, sit up.” Pinkie Pie sat up, and gratefully accepted the hug. “Fluttershy feels horrible about that, you know,” he whispered, rubbing her back as he spoke. “She feels like she’s a horrible friend.”

Pinkie Pie dug into Peter with her hooves, but Peter didn’t mind. Anything to help a friend.

“Peter, I told her that I love her. She didn’t even give me a chance...”

Peter rubbed Pinkie Pie’s back, and took a deep breath.

“Pinkie,” he started, “sometimes, your heart will get broken. And when it does, you just have to push on, and find somepony else.”

Pinkie Pie pushed him off of herself, ire in her irises. “Peter, you think this is a joke? That I can just push past this? I love her. I can’t let go of that love, and I’ve always known it. I’ve loved her for two years now, Peter, two years. It’s not like I had a random crush and told her, no, I’ve been in love with her for two years, okay!?”

Peter released her from the hug, and ran a hand through his hair. He took a deep breath, before putting all of his Brooklyn ‘no-nonsense’ mask into what he said next.

“Well,” he said, “What do you want me to tell you? That loving her for two years will make her love you back? That telling her this will make it hurt less? Pinkie Pie, you have to move on. You will find somepony new, hell, that somepony might be on this very train!”

Pinkie only cried harder. “But who!?”

Just then, Twilight walked into the compartment, lighting the darkness with her horn. When Peter saw her nod, Peter patted Pinkie on the back, and stood. Twilight immediately took over, wrapping a blanket around the pink party pony.

She’s obviously much better at this than I am...

Peter slipped out of the membrane, and Twilight started to slowly comfort Pinkie Pie.

Twilight

Twilight simply sat by the pink pony, and held her close to her side, waiting for the tears to slow. When the tears had finally slowed, (but not stopped,) Twilight took a deep breath.

“Fluttershy told me what happened,” she said, softly.

Pinkie Pie nodded, whimpering as Twilight held her.

“It’s just...I guess I’m scared, because...because, I don’t know why I like her...I mean, I know why, just not...why!”

Twilight nodded. “I understand, Pinkie. You know what you like, or even love, about her, but you don’t know why you like mares,” Twilight softly stated. She gulped, and picked her next words with care.

“But you have to let her go, Pinkie. You will find somepony special, somepony new. We’re going to be in Las Haygas, and you could-”

Pinkie Pie sat up, and turned her back on Twilight. “No. I can’t. Only Fluttershy...I love her, Twilight.”

She sighed, and ran a hoof through her flat hair. “I don’t expect you to understand...”

Twilight shook her head. “I understand. I love Spike, as my son, and he-”

“That’s different. That love...is normal. This love, though,” she spat out, raising her hooves to her face, “this love is weird. It’s different. It doesn’t make any sense! I can never be with her, ever! Never, ever, ever! And I know she doesn’t like mares! I can never be with her, and I can never kiss her on the forehead without it being weird, without it being some sign of love!”

The pink party pony started sobbing, and, just as Twilight reached a hoof towards her, Pinkie Pie regressed deeper into her depression. “Just, leave me alone. I just need time to think...”

Twilight nodded, whispering a small “okay”.

“Call me if you need anything,” she called over her back, slipping between the sugar-coated column and the chocolate membrane.

She looked around the room. Spike and Rarity were making out in Rarity’s compartment, Peter and-

Twilight’s eyes contracted to slits.

What.

The lavender unicorn fought hard not to break the moment.

She has her tongue down my son’s throat...

Twilight forced back a twitch. It wouldn’t do to have a mental breakdown, not with Pinkie Pie in this state...

She forced her gaze away from Spike and Rarity, to Peter, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, who were all sitting together in Fluttershy’s compartment. Twilight walked over, and sighed.

“Pinkie Pie’s not doing too good...Fluttershy, I think you should talk to her.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, Twilight. I refuse to.”

Twilight shook her head as well. “Come on, Fluttershy, there’s no reason to be afraid...”

The yellow Pegasus sat straight up on the bed. “I’m not afraid,” she said, with a small air of authority. “I simply do not want to talk to her.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “But how else will she get better?”

“By moving on. She needs to understand that I am not into mares.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Then tell her that, Fluttershy!”

“No. I don’t want to give her the impression that I might turn around, because then I’d just break her heart more...”

Peter sighed from beside Fluttershy. “Well, shit...”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “What now, Peter?”

“This vacation just got a whole lot more awkward.”

Twilight blinked. Oh, Celestia...

The awkward moments, where Pinkie and Fluttershy might just enjoy themselves...

“Buck!” The lavender unicorn shouted, stalking off to her compartment.

“Uh, excuse me? I was just making a joke!”

Twilight shook her head, and shot Peter a glance of ire. “Peter, I’m going to have to sit through the awkward now. Thanks a lot.”

Peter frowned at her. “Well, we’ve all got to sit through it, so fuck you!”

Twilight shut her eyes tight.

“Ow!”

She smiled, and walked into her compartment.

You tell him, A.J…

“Okay, I’ll admit...that was a bit uncalled for...”

Applejack nodded with a small *hmph*.

“But did you really have to hit me? It hurt like shit...”

Applejack smiled down at Peter, who was rubbing his head, feeling a bump already forming. Rainbow Dash finally lost her grip, and let out a small snicker.

“And what are you laughing at?”

The cyan Pegasus gave a final chuckle, and rested her head on Peter’s shoulder. “Oh, nothing...”

Peter smiled, and put an arm around her. “Yeah, sure...”

Just then, Rarity and Spike appeared. “You two, out. Shoo!”

Peter and Rainbow Dash exchanged a glance, then looked back to Spike and Rarity, the latter of whom was attempting to wave them away.

“Uh...why?”

“We need to talk, and you two can’t be in here! I am sorry, but you will have to move!”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, and sandwiched Peter’s hand in between her hooves. “Well, come on, Peter...let’s go check out my compartment, huh?”

Peter shrugged. “Fine by me...”

As Peter and Rainbow Dash walked away, Rarity sat on the bed, and Spike pulled the sound proof membrane closed.

“Now, as all of us know, Peter proposed to Rainbow Dash earlier this week!” She announced, looking around at the ponies before her. Suddenly, the absence of Twilight became apparent to her. “Uh, Applejack,” she said, “would you be a dear and go get Twilight Sparkle for me?”

The orange work pony nodded, and left.

“Well, I cannot give my speech without all present and accounting for! We shall wait until Twilight’s arrival!”

At that moment, Applejack slipped back into the compartment, Twilight in tow.

“Sit down, Twilight,” Rarity commanded, sitting up tall, back in command. Just as she should. “As we all know, Peter proposed to Rainbow Dash earlier this week,” she said, with an air of self-assumed importance. “Now, we must buy the both of them some gifts! Ideas, please? Anypony? Ideas?”

Applejack tentatively raised a hoof, but Rarity ignored it.

“Well, I had an idea,” the elegant unicorn announced, Applejack putting her hoof back down with a *humph*. “First off, we should buy foal material for the both of them! A cradle, diapers, everything they need to take care of their bundle of joy!”

Rarity closed her eyes, and basked in the light of her idea. “Yes, and extravagant dresses – which I shall provide – and a rather large piece of real estate, right off the Las Haygas beachfront!”

“Uh, Rarity?” Twilight said. However, the words fell on deaf ears.

“And a bouquet of flowers, no, a whole orchard! And signed Wonderbolt images, furniture for the house I shall buy them...”

“Rarity, let’s not buy the beachfront real estate...”

The music in Rarity’s mind stopped. “I’m sorry, what did you say, Twilight?”

The lavender unicorn sighed. “We shouldn’t get them real estate. And we shouldn’t get them any things for foal, that can wait for the Foal Shower.”

Rarity crossed her arms with a small *humph*. “Well, then, what should we get them?”

“A dowry,” Fluttershy suggested. “I mean, she is my sister...I can chip in for that...”

Rarity shook her head. “Oh, don’t be silly, dear. Rainbow Dash lives in a mansion in the clouds! I believe that’s enough.”

“Yeah, but Peter ain’t a Pegasus,” Applejack pointed out, rather helpfully. “He can’t stand on the clouds. He wouldn’t be able t’ live wit’ Rainbow Dash.”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Fine, then. Any bright ideas, cowmare?”

Applejack frowned. “As a matter of fact, yes, y’ stuck up...

“Anyway, Ah think we should get them a house. A nice house, down on the ground in Ponyville. That could be the dowry.”

Rarity gasped. “And we can decorate the house, and put beautiful furniture in it, and make sure their foal can have a wonderful life!”

Applejack rolled her eyes, yet smiled nonetheless. “Yeah, mah thoughts exactly!”

Fluttershy chipped in. “Uh...excuse me? How would we afford a house?”

Just then, Spike finally spoke up. “Twilight’s the personal protégé of Princess Celestia. I’m pretty sure we can work something out.”

Twilight let loose a small sound of irritation. “Spike, I thought I taught you better than to use ponies and your connections with them!”

The dragon shrugged. “What? It’s just a wedding gift!”

Twilight sighed. “I guess...I dunno. I think we should, perhaps, wait to be in Ponyville before we buy anything.”

Applejack nodded. “Yep. Then, we can go house huntin’!”

Rarity nodded, and raised a hoof to her chin in thought. “Hmmm...but what can we get them, as a wedding gift...”

“A wedding?”

Rarity, Twilight, Applejack, and Spike all simply stared at Fluttershy.

“No shit, Fluttershy,” Spike muttered, under his breath.

“Uh, Fluttershy, dear,” Rarity said, waving a hoof in front of the yellow Pegasus’ face. “They’re already getting married, remember?”

“Yes, but we can make it a beautiful wedding. Perhaps...a giant cake? Like, a really giant cake?”

Rarity smiled with delight. “Ah, Fluttershy you’re a genius! Pinkie Pie! Pinkie Pie?”

The compartment fell silent, and Rarity blushed. “Oh...right...”

All of them let out a large sigh. “Ah just hope she can get back to her normal self...Or, as Peter said...”

“This is going to be one awkward vacation,” Twilight muttered, finishing Applejack’s sentence.

“Well, Ah need mah sleep,” Applejack said, stretching and yawning as she did so. “If any of y’all have an idea for a weddin’ gift, don’t wake me. Just tell me in the morn’, ‘k? G’night, everypony!”

And with that, Applejack left.

“I need my sleep too, so...if you guys could just...yeah...”

Rarity smiled at Fluttershy, and climbed down from her bed. “Go right ahead.”

“By the way, I just had an idea for a wedding gift...if that’s okay with you...” Fluttershy whispered. Rarity nodded, and pressed her ear up to Fluttershy’s mouth, so as to catch the whispers.

“Synthetic clouds. For her home in Cloudsdale. Without them, Peter would just fall right through the clouds...”

Rarity nodded, and departed. “Come, Twilight. Fluttershy must have her sleep, and doubtless you must, too. Come, Spike.”

Spike nodded, and Twilight went to her compartment as well, leaving Fluttershy in the dark, with her comfortable bed, and Peter’s iPod, Kindle, and headphones, which she simply put on her night table, before climbing into bed.

Within a few minutes, Fluttershy was curling up on her bed, sound asleep, a single word resonating through her mind.

Sisters...

P. Dash

Peter stroked Rainbow Dash’s mane, running his fingers through the rainbow fibers, the cloud membrane blocking out the sound, and light, of the rest of the train.

“I love you, Rainbow Dash...” he whispered into her ear, wrapping an arm around her.

Rainbow Dash smiled, and kissed Peter, straight on the lips. “I love you, too, Peter.”

Peter smiled, and pressed himself as close to Rainbow Dash as possible, her wings tightening around him.

“Another day of the ritual,” he whispered. “And to think, I was dead, and now, we’re doing the ritual again...it truly is a blessing”

Rainbow Dash chuckled, and adjusted her weight on the bed. “Peter, have I ever told you what I really think of you? Like, what I saw in the hospital?”

Peter smiled. “That it’s different, but in a good way?”

“But there’s more than that...”

Peter cocked his head in curiosity. “Do tell.”

“I think you’re amazing, Peter. And, quite honestly...you’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. You love me for who I am, which is something I never thought anypony would do...”

Peter smiled, and cupped her muzzle in his palm. “And I think you’re beautiful, Rainbow Dash. In every sense of the word...”

Rainbow Dash chuckled, and rubbed her cheek against the soft pillow, made of cloud.

“So, how do you like the bed, Peter?”

“I have no idea how I’m staying on top of it, but it’s awesome, nonetheless.”

Rainbow Dash giggled, and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m glad you like it...I think it’s a synthetic cloud, by the way. They’re very common nowadays. I’m thinking of getting some for my house, up in Cloudsdale, so that you can live in it with me, and the foal, if it’s not a Pegasus. But they’re really expensive...”

Peter shrugged, and was about to answer when Twilight burst into the compartment, immediately thrusting a paper, quill, and oil reserve into Rainbow Dash’s face, poking her in the eye with the feather in the process.

“Ow!”

“Sorry. We need to write the apology letter. And ask for a new table.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, a hoof pressed to her eye as she took the quill, and wrote out her part of the letter.

“Your turn, Twilight.”

“Okay, thanks, bye!”

And with that, Twilight left, scribbling stuff down on the paper.

As soon as the membrane closed, Peter burst out laughing.

“What in the hell was that!?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged, the pain in her eye receding. “Just Twilight being Twilight...well, I’m pretty tired, Peter. Let’s go to sleep...”

Peter nodded, and Rainbow Dash returned her wings to their rightful spots-around Peter’s body. They curled up together, Peter preening her wing as they lie there.

Within a half hour, the both of them had fallen asleep.

Twilight

The lavender unicorn wearily reviewed the letter.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m sorry for cursing you out, please don’t smite me.

Sincerely, Rainbow Dash.

P.S. (from Twilight):

I am sorry for refuting you as my mentor, but I was lost in the moment.

On another note, can you lend me a book titled "Souls and Their Paths", by Starswirl the Bearded? It's strictly as a reference book.

Also, we need a new table. Don’t question it, this day has been...Weird.

Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight shook her head, and scratched out the “(from Twilight)” bit. Redundancy was one of her pet peeves, of course.

When she was pleased with the letter, she walked over to Rarity’s compartment, pushing aside the fancy, velvet membrane.

“Spike, send this, please.”

“Sure thing, Twilight...”

Twilight blinked in surprise. “Oh! You’re awake!”

“Yeah, but Rarity isn’t, so keep it down, okay? I don’t need to sleep that much anymore. I’m barely ever tired,” he explained, his arm snaking through Rarity’s forelegs, his claw resting on her muzzle. Twilight nodded, and gave him the letter, and left with a groggy “good night,” smiling as the trail of smoke left the train.

As soon as she was back in her compartment, Twilight pulled the membrane shut, collapsed on her bed, and passed out.

It had been a long, long, longlonglonglonglonglong day.

Note from the Author

A LONG FUCKING DAY.

I’m serious, this took forever to write.

But I still love you guyz.

As friends.

I think.

Maybe as rivals.

Or maybe even as...

FRIVALS.

BTW originally it was Twi x A.J., but I scrapped that. I don’t like the idea of it.

Also, do you see now why I had to make the previous vacation styles script chapters? It's just too damn confusing!

A Mistake (The Train, Day 6)

Peter woke up with a salty tear stinging his eye.

He was on his back in the cloud compartment of the train, with Rainbow Dash’s wings wrapped around him. The cyan Pegasus was sleeping on top of him, her heartbeat thrumming against his chest.

He wanted to break free, and run away.

Escape from this world of colorful ponies, and run back to his mother. He had thought of being in Equestria and falling in love with the cyan Pegasus as a blessing.

However, he now saw it has a curse.

I can never see my mother, I can never see my father, I can never see my sister, I can never play Skyrim or Minecraft or any of the things that make up my life. I want to leave this place far behind, and find my home again...

I want my mommy.

The final sentence was the completion of his regression. He wanted his mother to hold him, his father to be there for him, his sister to laugh with him, and he wanted to-oddly enough-feel the sweet scratch of his pen on paper as he took down notes, and transferred equations from the board to his notebook.

I thought I had accepted this place as my home...

He gently stroked Rainbow Dash, and tucked a loose strand of green hair behind her ear.

But now I see that it’s just a cheap substitute for my reality...

At this, a raging battle began in his mind.

He debated whether this world was real or not; if he had a life to go back to; if he could accept a handful of ponies (and a dragon) as his new family...

And if he really loved Rainbow Dash enough to move past his old life.

I don’t want to leave her alone with this foal...I can’t...

At that, he remained resolute. He wouldn’t let the cyan mare give birth to and raise his baby alone, without him to be there to help her. He couldn’t.

But, am I only doing this for the baby?

He sighed, and looked down at Rainbow Dash. He immediately felt his heart skip a beat as she shifted her weight, breathing gently in her sleep. Her eyes fluttered behind her lids , and she was smiling in her sleep. Peter smiled, too. He felt love course through his veins, and knew he wasn’t doing this just for the baby (albeit, the baby was a big part of it). He was marrying the cyan Pegasus because he loved her, and his mind rapidly outlined every reason why.

First off, she’s awesome. She can do a Sonic Rainboom, and is all around an amazing flyer.

She’s athletic, and will have a good time without going crazy.

But, she’s insecure despite her outlying confidence, and I want to be the one she can be herself with.

And that night in the hospital...Well...I don’t really need to say anything more about it, do I?

He took a deep, shuddering breath, and wiped away the tears that had silently accumulated, and streaked down his face.

As his chest heaved with the stuttering inhalation, and resulting exhalation, Rainbow Dash started to stir. With a small groan, her eyes fluttered open.

“Peter?” She mumbled, catching sight of the glistening tears he had tried to wipe away. “Are you okay, honey?” She asked, genuinely concerned as she lay a hoof on his chest.

“Yeah, I’m...I’m fine,” Peter lied.

Rainbow Dash pulled herself up close to Peter’s face, and frowned into his eyes. “No, you’re not. I can see your tears, and your eyes are still puffy. What’s wrong? And don’t lie. We’re getting married, we need to be able to trust each other.”

“I was having a bout of nostalgia,” Peter admitted with a sigh. “Just thinking of home...”

“This is your home, Peter,” she said softly, moving up to his shoulder to rub her forehead against his cheek. “This is your home. Here, with me.”

Peter smiled. “I know. But my parents, my sisters, my video games, everything...They’re not here, they’re on Earth.”

Rainbow dash frowned. “You still have the memories. And we an talk about them...”

Peter smiled. “Yeah. I would like that...”

Rainbow Dash snuggled up close to him. “Whenever you’re ready,” she whispered.

Peter smiled, and slowly started to tell her anything and everything he found worth mentioning. Within a few moments, his small trickle of words had opened into a deluge of paragraphs, while Rainbow Dash smiled and absorbed all she could.

“And then, Junior High School,” Peter continued with a sigh. He had been talking for at least three or four hours straight, and nopony had intruded as of yet. It was probably too early in the morning. “I was bullied for my first two years there. I was called a ‘faggot’, which is basically ‘gay’, which means that I like other men; (which I don’t,) and the head bully humped me on the arm, just to get a laugh out of his asshole friends...”

Rainbow Dash frowned, and cricked her neck. “I’d beat him to a pulp if I ever met him,” she growled. Peter nodded, and recounted how he only had the semblance of a friend in a sixth grader when he was in seventh grade. He explained how, after telling his mother about being bullied by a specific kid (the head bully), said kid had been expelled. And for various reasons, such as beating up a sixth grader.

“And then, eighth grade,” Peter sighed. “Even though he was gone, it was still just...Too awkward to make any friends. At least, in my grade. I started going to my LEGO Club, and made a few...Acquaintances there. I couldn’t wait for Freshman year, where I could be on the Xaverian Robotics team...Oh, by the way, I went to Genesis, which is just a fuckin’ hallway in Xaverian,” Peter remembered to mention. He finished up his eighth grade experience, ((which was much less eventful than sixth and seventh grade,) and jumped into High School.

“I made some real friends,” Peter said with a smile. “Robotics kids, and even some band kids. I was still pretty awkward, and constantly played fuckin’ Maplestory. I hated most of my friends, because I was a frigging dick that year. However, come Sophomore, I finally got some fucking social skills. I started hanging out a lot, I made, like, twenty fuckin’ friends, I played Skyrim non-stop, it was great.

“And then, I took my AP Tests-AP Chem, and AP Global. We were having an end-of-year celebration in the robotics team...

“When I woke up, in the Everfree Forest.”

Peter sighed, and massaged his mouth. “My lips hut from talking so much,” he chuckled. Rainbow Dash smiled. “Let me help,” she said softly, pressing her lips to his in a gentle, quick kiss.

Peter smiled as they parted. “Thanks,” he whispered, before he held her close and kissed her on the forehead. “I feel a lot better now, that I talked about it all...”

The cyan Pegasus smiled, and snuggled up to him. “No prob’, Pete. I hate seeing you sad...”

Peter smiled. “Same here, sweetheart.”

They remained silent for a few minutes, and simply held each other in peace. After several moments, Rainbow Dash asked a question out of a growing curiosity.

“What’s Skyrim? You mentioned it, but you never explained it...”

“Only one of the best games ever,” Peter hastily explained. Rainbow Dash smiled. “Tell me about it,” she demanded.

“Well, you can play as several different species. My favorite is Argonian. They can breathe underwater and heal themselves with Hitskin. Oh, and it’s actually called ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’. I’ve never played any of the other Elder Scrolls.

“Anyway, you play as a Dovahkiin, or Dragonborn. You basically go around, and use magic, melee weapons, and bows and arrows to kill shit. Mostly zombies called Draugr, the Forsworn, Bandits, and Dragons. You can take their souls, and use them to unlock Shouts. It’s overall an amazing game, and I wish I could show it to you on my Kindle. But I think it’s in Fluttershy’s compartment...”

Rainbow Dash held a hoof up to her mouth as the words “kill shit” escaped Peter’s mouth. “Peter, you kill things!? That’s horrible!” She cried as Peter finished. He shrugged. “They’re not real,” he explained. “They’re digital models with coding to make them act like real life. They have artificial intelligence, and aren’t really...Real.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “Peter, even if they’re not real, you’re killing them. It’s wrong, and I want you to stop it.”

Peter shrugged again. “As if I could. I don’t have my computer, nor electricity, so I really can’t play Skyrim, to be totally honest...”

“We have electricity,” she protested, letting the game slide for the moment. “in fact, I got to go into the bowels of the Weather Factory once. We’re much more advanced than you’d think.”

Peter raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Yeah, but I’m not allowed to tell anypony...”

Peter pouted. “Aw, c’mon, you can trust me!”

Rainbow dash smiled. “Yeah, but I can’t tell you.”

“Or else you’d have to kill me?”

“What?”

“James Bond,” Peter explained. “It’s one of my favorite movies...”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, and frowned at Peter. “Is there anything you enjoy that doesn’t involve killing something?”

Peter immediately nodded. “Yeah. Kayaking, playing Saxophone, watching the Yogscast...”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Alright, kayaking and saxophone I know. But what’s the...‘Yogscast’?”

Peter smiled. “I can sing one of their songs, if you like,” he offered.

“Sure, why not?”

Peter cleared his throat, and then began to sing.

“Milkman...Milkman...I say, milkman...

“’And there’s milk, to, be, de-liv-ered...

“Milkman! There’s no need to feel down, I say milkman! Get your feet off the ground, I say milkman!

“’Cus you’re in a new town, and there’s milk, to, be, de-liv-evered...

“Glug, glug, glug, glug, glug...

“It’s fun to del-iv~er, M, I, L, K...It’s great to deliver, M, I, L, K-hay...

“I say milkman...

“’Cus you’re in a new town, and there’s milk, to, be, de-liv-ered!”

He repeated the verses twice, and smiled down at Rainbow Dash.

“Well?”

Rainbow Dash chuckled lightly. “You’re crazy,” she stated.

“Well, don’t just sit there! Sing with me!”

Rainbow Dash laughed boisterously, and bobbed along with Peter as they sang.

Just then, with a click, the sound-proof membrane was opened.

“Alright, you two, time to – What the buck?”

Peter and Rainbow stopped singing, and turned to face the lavender unicorn.

“What were you two doing?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, nothing,” Peter replied with a smile.

Twilight rolled her eyes, and turned to Rainbow Dash. “What were you doing?”

“Singing,” Rainbow Dash said, pulling herself out of Peter’s arms with a blush. Peter raised an eyebrow, but decided to ask her about it later.

“What were you singing?” Twilight egged on.

“A song, duh!” peter immediately cut across, shrugging as he spoke. Rainbow Dash giggled lightly, but the giggle quickly turned into a growl of defense as Twilight pounced on Peter, winding him as her hoof made connection with his chest.

“SHUT THE BUCK UP!” She roared into Peter’s ears.

Peter raised his hands in surrender, his heart hammering his fear, his stomach churning and hurting where Twilight had jumped on him. “Sorry, sorry! Please, don’t hurt me!”

Twilight growled at Peter, all of her pent-up stress flowing out of her horn. Rainbow Dash grunted as she was held in place with magic, an inch away from taking the lavender unicorn down to the ground.

“Do you have any idea how annoying you are!?” She roared. “you’re sarcastic, you’re mean, and you’re so Celestia-damned...Annoying!”

Peter nodded furiously. “Yes, I’m sorry, please, get off of me, please, I’m sorry!”

“And, on top of that, Pinkie’s all depressed! I’m constantly having to check up on her, to make she isn’t killing herself! She’s already tried, twice! And you’re not exactly helping, by singing and being a sarcastic asshole! Do you have any idea how stressful this is for me!?”

Peter frowned, anger now coursing through his veins at an alarming rate, and he roared back, not thinking about what he said. “What the fuck do you mean, I haven’t been helping? I’ve done more than you have!”

“No, you have not!”

“I helped Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash come to terms about being sisters,” Peter shouted, counting each point off on his fingers, “I helped Pinkie return to sanity back in Ponyville, I tried to help her before, I helped Rainbow Dash get rid of her nightmares, and, before any of that, I saved Rarity’s fucking life!

“And, I’ve been torn from my life, and thrust into a world where I feel like I’m constantly playing a game on a blank board, whose rules are hidden from my eyes! I’m supposed to be the Seventh Element of Fucking Harmony, and I’m marrying a fucking horse!” Rainbow Dash’s eyes went wide as he pointed at her, but he continued on, rage forcing words he would never mean out of his throat. “All of this bullshit is happening to me, after being torn from my life and being thrust into this...This...This cheap substitute for reality!!

“So, please, do not fucking talk to me about stress, you cunt!”

Twilight slapped him across the face with a hoof in uncontrolled anger, and he, without thinking at all, punched her in the face.

She recoiled in pain, and held her muzzle with her hooves, astounded. Peter immediately held his hands to his mouth, and grasped her face on either side.

"Shit, I'm sorry, are you okay!?"

With a flash of light, Twilight's nose stopped bleeding, and a small crack sounded out. She frowned down at Peter, ire in her eyes. "How dare you hit me?"

"Yeah, Peter!" Rainbow Dash echoed, now free from the lavender unicorns' momentary outburst of magic. "How dare you hit my friend!?"

Peter raised an eyebrow at the both of them. "Need I remind you that she threw me onto a fucking table?" He asked, raising a hand towards Twilight. "I think what I did is pretty excusable in comparison to her throwing my back out!"

Twilight's frown faltered, and she nodded. "You're right...I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so...Angry at you all the time. I forgive you, alright?"

Peter nodded. "Alright."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "No, it's not alright!" She shouted. "You hit her, one of my best friends! That's nowhere near alright!!"

Peter raised an eyebrow at the cyan mare. "What are you talking about? She forgave me! Didn't you, Twilight?"

They both looked to her, and she nodded, smiling sheepishly as she climbed off of the bed. "Uh, yeah...Well, I think I'd, uh, better get going," she said, edging towards the membrane of the compartment. "You two...Play nice!" She turned, and ran through the membrane without another word.

Rainbow Dash turned back to Peter, and continued the debate. "You have some serious anger management issues," she said, hastily, as the membrane started to close excrutiatingly slowly.

"Me? She threw me onto a table!"

"This isn't about her! It's about you, Peter!"

Peter sighed, and looked away. After a second, he looked back, and nodded. "Yeah. I do, you're right...Can you help me?"

Just then, the membrane finally closed with a click. Rainbow Dash pressed a hoof to Peter's lips, and looked straight into his eyes. Peter could see that she was hurt.

"What did you mean? By 'marrying a fucking horse'? And 'a cheap substitute for reality'?" She immediately asked in a gentle voice, moving closer to Peter as she spoke, concern and pain palpable in her eyes.

"Well," Peter began, "I was freaking out. I say a lot of stuff I don't mean when I freak out..."

"It meant something," Rainbow Dash insisted. "What did you mean? You meant something when you said it, even if you didn't really mean it. What were you trying to say?"

"I meant that I couldn't believed that I had stooped down to the level of marrying a fucking pony," Peter sighed, spitting the word "pony" out like a rather unpleasant bit of food. Rainbow Dash immediately pulled back, and the hurt in her eyes made Peter's heart throb with guilt.

"Well, if you really feel as though you have to stoop down to marry me," Rainbow Dash declared, her voice quivering as her lower lip trembled slightly, "then maybe...We shouldn't get married!"

Peter felt as though he had been punched in the gut, and he reached for the cyan mare immediately. She, however, pulled back with a frown. "Rainbow Dash, please, don't say that!"

"Is this what you meant, Peter?" She demanded, her voice quivering like crazy. "Is this what you meant? That I'm a cheap substitute for a human wife, and that I'm worse less than dirt to you!?"

"No, Rainbow Dash, it's not what I meant at all!" Peter cried, reaching for her again. She pulled back again, and Peter felt as though he had been stabbed in the heart. "I love you, with all my heart, and I want to marry you because nothing could ever replace you!" Rainbow Dash turned away from him with a snort. "Please, Dashie, I would do anything to marry you..."

At that, Rainbow Dash's ear pricked up, and she turned, her eyebrow raised. "Anything?" She asked slyly, wanting to exact revenge for what he had said.

"Anything," Peter confirmed.

"Good," Rainbow Dash said, allowing him to hug her. She returned the hug just as strongly, and smiled mischievously. "Because I have just the thing for you to do."

As he heard what he was to do, Peter's body was covered in a cold sweat.

Note from the Author

So, do you guys want to guess what she makes him do?

Chuckles, you don't get a guess, because you know already.

Everypony else, though, you do.

Living Love

Peter sighed. "Do I really have to do this, Rainbow Dash?" He asked, unable to believe what was going on.

"Hey, if you want to marry me," Rainbow Dash teased, "then you'll do it."

Peter nodded. "I want to marry you, more than anything, but...Really?"

Rainbow Dash chuckled lightly. "Yep. Go get 'em, tiger!"

Peter sighed, and stood up, off of the bed, his fully erect member bobbing slightly. "I'm only doing this for you," Peter reminded the cyan Pegasus.

Rainbow Dash released a snort of laughter, and rolled back onto her bed. "Wait, wait, waitwaitwait, hold on," she gasped, "lemmie just do a few things first..."

Peter took a few steps back, and sat down on the bed. "First," Rainbow Dash whispered, "let me just give you a good-luck lick!" With a wink, she bent down, and licked his member from bottom to top, as many times as it took to get it all lathered up. By the end of it, Peter was grasping the edge of the bed in pleasure.

"And now," Rainbow Dash announced, wiping her mouth on her foreleg, "let me just prepare things for you! And keep stroking it, I don't want you to go flaccid on me! And walk out when I say so, okay?"

Peter nodded, and did as he was told as Rainbow Dash left the compartment, leaving the membrane wide open behind her. He pressed his back up against the wall, so that he would remain hidden to the ponies, and steeled his nerves.

Okay...This will be the singular most embarrassing thing you've ever done in your entire life...But it will be for Rainbow Dash, and for your child. Your being plural, as in you and Rainbow Dash's child. I doubt that that was correct grammar...

Peter debated the proper use of possessive pronouns and nouns in his head for a bit, keeping an ear open for Rainbow Dash's call. Finally, after a few minutes, he heard:

"Hey, Peter! I'm getting hungry, come out here and help me order breakfast!"

With a deep breath, Peter pushed himself off of the wall. "Here we go," he muttered to himself, as he walked out of the compartment, completely naked, his full erection bobbing in the early morning sunlight.

The reaction was immediate.

"Peter, whoa, wait, what!?" Twilight screamed, standing as she wheeled back, staring at Peter's erect member.

"Oh my Celestia, put that away! Your parents must be ashamed of you right now!" Rarity cried, hiding her eyes with a white hoof.

"I'm bigger," Peter could hear Spike mumble. That earned an immediate hit on the shoulder from Rarity.

"Ugh, that's disgusting!" Pinkamena cried out, her straight hair flowing around her.

"Peter, what the buck!?" Fluttershy exploded, joining Twilight as she realized what was going on.

At this point, Rainbow Dash burst out in laughter, pointing at Peter with a hoof.

"Hoo, wee, is it gettin' hot in here?" Applejack shouted jokingly, nudging Rainbow Dash on the side. "Good one, Rainbow! Okay, go on an' get dressed, Peter."

Peter, who had been blushing a deep red during this entire fiasco, blushed an even deeper red (if that were even possible). "Oh, no," Rainbow Dash cried out. "He's not done yet! No, nonono, say it, Peter! Say it!"

Peter shut his eyes tight, and gulped. "Rainbow Dash, as your personal slave, I will attend to all of your needs, and not wear any clothes for the rest of the day, in return for your hoof in marriage."

Rainbow Dash burst out in laughter again, and Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack all immediately exploded on Rainbow Dash.

"That's horrible! You can't have him do that for marriage!" Rarity cried.

"This is really bad, Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy said. "Said" is correct here, as her shout had the volume of a pony's speaking voice.

"That's disgusting, Rainbow Dash! Now, we're stuck staring at his dick all day!" Twilight shouted out.

"What, and we can't share him?" Applejack demanded. Everypony, even Rarity and Spike, simply turned towards her and released a small "The buck?" The orange work pony shrugged. "What? It couldn't hurt t' try!"

Rainbow Dash shook her head in denial. "Hey, by the way, Pinkie, why's your hair all flat?" She immediately asked, curiosity taking the better of her. Peter used the small lapse in attention to clasp his hands over his crotch.

"Oh, after somepony rejected me," Pinkamena Diane Pie muttered, glaring at Fluttershy as she spoke,"I got a tiny bit down."

"Dick move, Fluttershy," Peter immediately burst out. Rainbow Dash squealed in laughter, and so did Applejack. Rarity, Spike, Twilight, and Fluttershy all stared at him in utter amazement.

"Sorry," he muttered, blushing. "I couldn't resist."

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash clapped her hooves together, and Peter immediately snapped his attention to her.

Like a trained dog, he inwardly scolded himself as Rainbow Dash chuckled her commands.

"Slave, I demand that you retrieve me a refreshment!" She announced, clapping her hooves for effect. "Chop, chop!"

Peter nodded, and hurried off towards the refrigerator. When he returned, he had a bottle of apple cider in one hand, and a glass in the other. "Rainbow, your refreshment?" He said politely, gulping as everypony stared at his member.

"Ah, thank you," Rainbow Dash said. As she accepted the drink, she found that her heart wasn't fully in it. She frowned into her glass, and Peter knelt down beside her. "You okay, Dashie?" He immediately asked, frowning as well.

"I'm humiliating you like this," Rainbow Dash said softly, "and you're still asking me if I'm okay?"

"Well, of course," Peter said in return,"I love you, and no matter how much you make fun of me or humiliate me, I'll still care for you."

"Awwwww," the ponies at the table sighed.

"Why, that is so romantic, Peter!" Rarity cried.

Rainbow Dash simply sniffed. "Wow..." She muttered to herself.

"Are you okay, Rainbow Dash?" Peter whispered, rubbing her back in concern,  not caring that his member was being scrutinized by Applejack.

"I...I need to talk to you," she immediately whispered. She got up, and walked away, feeling horrible for what she had done. Peter nodded, and followed her.

Closing the membrane behind him, Peter took a seat on the bed by Rainbow Dash's side.

"Put some clothes on," Rainbow Dash instructed. "You'll catch a cold."

Peter did as he was told without question, and wrapped an arm around Rainbow Dash. "What's with the change in heart, Rainbow? One second, you're trying to humiliate me, the next, you're acting like you're about to break down and-"

A few tears dropped down Rainbow Dash's face, and Peter let his last word slip out.

"-Cry..."

He held her close, and kissed her on the forehead. "Come on, Rainbow Dash, it's okay, I'm here, sweetheart," he whispered to her. "It's alright..."

"No, it's not alright!" Rainbow Dash spat. "You're so devoted to me, and at the drop of a hat, I turned on you!"

Peter frowned, and drew her closer to himself. "Rainbow Dash, I kind of deserved it. I basically called you nothing..."

"And you recognized it!" Rainbow Dash hissed. "You recognized it, and you wanted to make up for it! I don't deserve you, Peter!"

Peter shook his head in denial. "No, Rainbow Dash. You do. I don't deserve you. You're smart, cute, funny, courageous, strong, fast, amazing, awesome, cool, every other adjective that implies something being amazingly awesometastic, and you're beautiful and sexy besides."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "No, Peter, you were so devoted to me, you are so devoted to me, that even when I tried to make a fool out of you, you still cared for me..."

"Well, you would do the same..."

"No, I wouldn't," she immediately responded. "I would've grumbled and griped."

Peter held Rainbow Dash tight against his side. "Stop saying stuff like that," he commanded. "And let me be your naked slave for today..."

Rainbow Dash looked at him in surprise. "What?"

"I said, let me be your naked slave for the day," Peter repeated, smiling down at her. "Just don't whip me or anything, okay?"

Rainbow Dash giggled lightly, and nodded. "Okay, it's a deal. And you keep your pants on, so that you're not humiliated...It felt horrible, to see you blushing like that..."

Peter nodded. "See? You do deserve me, Dashie. You're just as concerned for me as I am for you. And, by God, that sounded horribly narcissistic."

Rainbow Dash smiled up at him, and he kissed her on the forehead. "By the way, I expected you to make me streak past them," he whispered after a few seconds. Rainbow Dash smiled. "You still can, if you really want to," she replied. The both of them shared a small bit of laughter, before the cyan Pegasus nudged Peter on the side with a hoof. "Go on, get dressed. And we'll go outside, and you can make up for what you said in a different way."

Peter smiled at her. "Oh? And what way would that be?"

"Please, keep me from getting too sappy in front of everypony," she requested. "I would hate it if they that I was a softy..."

Peter frowned down at her. "Rainbow, you're expected to be sappy. We're getting married, and we literally just met! If you're not sappy, they'll think something's wrong!"

Rainbow Dash sighed, evidently in relief. "Right. Well, in that case...Hold me close, Peter."

Peter smiled, and placed his palm on the side of her face. "I always will."

She smiled back, and they automatically moved towards each other for a kiss.

Rainbow Dash's muzzle made connection with Peter's eye with a small thud.

"Ow," Peter laughed as he pulled back. "I see you like I. Get it? I? You know, instead of me?"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with a smile. "Yeah, I get it. I think I screwed up a bit on that one, but no biggie, right?"

Peter nodded with a shrug. "No biggie."

Rainbow Dash nodded, and kissed him on the cheek. "Now, get dressed, and we'll go back outside, okay?"

Peter nodded. "Alright, Rainbow Dash. Oh, and by the way, I just have to say, that you act like much more of a lovey dovey girl than you do a badass."

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "And?"

Peter picked up his pile of clothes off of the floor with a smile. "And that's one of the many things I love about you."

With a giggle, Rainbow Dash smacked him on his bare posterior. "You kiss up!" Peter laughed as well, and quickly pulled all of his clothes on.

"You know," Rainbow Dash said with a small smile as Peter pulled his shirt over his head, "if you wanted to have sex with me when you were naked, you could've just asked."

Peter raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "And you would've said yes?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "No, probably not. I would say yes to a good snuggle session, though," she pointed out, winking at Peter with a smile. "I love snuggling with you. Mainly because I love you."

Peter laughed lightly. "Now look who's the kiss up!"

Rainbow Dash giggled, and drew Peter into a hug. "C'mon, let's go back outside, before everypony thinks that we're having sex..."

Peter nodded, and walked towards the membrane. Rainbow Dash, however, hesitated for a moment.

"What's wrong?" He immediately asked as she nervously approached the membrane.

"I don't want them to think I'm a big softy," she sighed. "I'm supposed to be the cool, hip, awesome Rainbow Dash! Not a mare who's all lovey dovey with her coltfriend..."

"And soon to be husband," Peter pointed out. "Remember: they're your friends. You can be yourself in front of them, Rainbow Dash. Especially since we're getting married. We're kind of expected to be mushy with each other, so let's take that to our advantage and be mushy. Because I can tell that you enjoy it, despite having your mind set on being a rock hard badass. You do enjoy being mushy, right?"

Rainbow Dash smiled a sappy smile, and threw her forelegs around Peter. "You have no idea, Peter..."

Peter nodded, and kissed her on the cheek. "Well, then, let's go out there and show them what it means to be mushy." Rainbow Dash smiled, and drew away from Peter, so that they could walk out the door. "Yes. Let's."

The duo opened the membrane, and walked over to the wicker table as everypony watched on in a small amount of surprise. They took a deep breath as the scent of pine filled their nostrils, as a window had just been finally cracked open, and they could hear the wind whirling past the window, and the wheels clattering on the track, and smell the world outside their train. It made everything feel so...Fresh.

"Ya big softy," Applejack immediately commented as Peter sat, and Rainbow Dash prepared to snuggle up to him. "You couldn't keep 'im at it, could you, Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash sat down with a sigh, and, taking Peter's advice to heart, moved from the cushion, to Peter's lap, wrapping her wings around him and rubbing her cheek against his chest. "No, Applejack," she replied, "I couldn't. I couldn't bear seeing my future husband being so embarrassed, at my hooves. I love him, and if you want to call me a softy for finding the pony-sorry, human-that I want to spend the rest of my life with, then go right ahead."

Peter smiled, and kissed her on the forehead. She curled her legs inwards, and leaned against his body even more. Applejack's lips curved in a small smile, and her eyebrows edged upwards.

"Good," the work pony said softly. "It's good t' see that you've finally matured, Rainbow."

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, and shot a questioning glance at her friend. "What do you mean, Applejack?"

"I can answer that," a high pitched voice said, gently, and without any of its normal pep. Pinkamena Diane Pie walked over to the table, and took a seat by Twilight, where she threw a venomous glance at Fluttershy. "First off, good morning," she stated, before continuing with her answer. "And what she meant is that just last week, if we asked you if you would feel bad for humiliating somepony you loved after they said something mean to you, you would've said no, not at all. But, now that you know what that love feels like," she explained, drawing out the word "love" while shooting a pointed and hateful glance at Fluttershy, "you feel horrible for humiliating him after he said something mean to you, and you feel as though you want to protect him from stuff like that. Just like I want to protect Fluttershy."

As she finished speaking, the mood in the room became much more somber. Fluttershy squeaked, and shoved her head under the table.

"Pinkie," Peter said in a steady tone of voice, "Fluttershy may have fucked up, but that doesn't give you the right to torture her."

Pinkamena Diane Pie jumped onto the table, and stared down at Peter, who shrunk back in shock and fear. "May have fucked up!? And, for the record, use the word 'buck', it's the right word in Equestria. Anyway, she may have bucked up!? She did! I told her that I love her, and she just said that she was sorry!"

Peter frowned. "You should have gone more slowly. You scared the shit out of her, Pinkie. I mean, she had just revealed to Rainbow Dash that she was her sister, for fuck's sake! She was under enough stress as it was, and for you to just go and shout at her that you love her? That's ridiculous! I mean, how the fuck did you expect her to react?" He gulped as a new ire grew in her eyes, directed at Peter. I'm fucked.

"I expected her to be Kind about it. You know, her Element of Harmony? I expected her to give me a chance!"

Peter shrank back, hand raised in surrender. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I guess she should've given you a chance. Can we please stop talking about it? I mean, especially since Fluttershy can hear everything we're saying, you're making her feel worse about it every second..."

Pinkamena climbed off of the table with a smirk. "Good," she spat, before snatching the paper away from Twilight. "Give me that!" She quickly read the menu, and shouted out her orders. "Eggs, hay sandwich, ravioli."

Twilight nodded, and recorded the food order with a shaky quill. "W-What do you guys want?" She asked, her voice trembling as she passed the menu over to Peter and Rainbow Dash.

Peter accepted the menu, and held it up for both him and Rainbow Dash to view. Within a few seconds, they had made up their mind on their (now) shared meals.

"Eggs and grilled cheese for the both of us."

Twilight nodded, and scribbled down the order, while seeming as though she was trying to hold back tears.

"Damnit, Pinkie!" She finally shouted out as she cast down the paper and quill onto the table. "It's not Fluttershy's fault! I'm sick and tired of everything going wrong on this vacation, especially for me! I can't find anything on the Elders, my own son has grown up before I even got a chance to be his bucking mother, and now, I have to listen to you and Peter fighting!" Peter looked down with a blush, and Rainbow Dash looked away, as well. "It's just not fair!"

"It's not fair?" Fluttershy whispered. "It's not fair? Pinkie's in love with me! Do you have any idea how scary that is? To have your best friend be in love with you!?"

"You rejected me!" Pinkamena shouted out, tears brimming over her eyes as her flat mane tossed around. "You rejected me when I told you!"

"Twilight, we can still do mother son things," Spike said, joining the fray. "Right, Rarity?" "Definitely," the white unicorn added in.

"Thanks, you guys," Twilight said with a small smile.

"Well, I'm sorry that you just...Came out to me so abruptly!"

"Oh, so now it's my fault!?"

"Yes, it always has been your fault! For falling in love with me!"

"So, it's my fault that I'm a fillyfooler!?"

"No, it's your fault for choosing me!"

"Choosing you!?"

"Okay, everypony, calm down," Peter cut across, pinching the bridge of his nose as a headache accumulated.

"I didn't choose you!" Pinkamena shouted out. "It's your fault! If you didn't want this to happen, you never should have saved my life!!"

The room went deathly silent. Everything seemed to fade out of existence, except for the last few words of Pinkamena's shout. She looked around, her flat mane rippling as she shuddered in agony.

"Yes," she sighed, "she saved my life..."

A few minutes passed, and finally, Pinkamena looked up, and began to explain.

"She saved me from...Myself.

"She stopped me from committing suicide."

Everypony gasped. It was the last thing they had expected.

"But...Why were you even considerin' it, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, frowning in confusion.

Pinkamena sighed, and put her hooves up on the wicker table. "I'll tell you...

"It started with a letter, and me in the Everfree Forest, about seven years ago...

"I had been traveling for a good five years after I left the rock farm. I never really stopped to sleep, I just kept on going. When I did, it was huddled up by a campfire.

"I never got a chance to send a letter home, I just kept bouncing on and partying at random towns and villages. I always left once the sun set, and always forgot to send a letter home when I was near the post office.

"But then, I came to Ponyville. It was already dark when I arrived, so I sent a letter home.

"I partied the next day, and when I received the letter, it was from my brother. He told me that our...Our parents were dead, and that our other siblings had moved on. He told me to never return to the rock farm, because I wasn't even there for our parent's funeral...

"So, I went out to the Everfree Forest, and tried to kill myself."

"That seems a bit, Ah dunno, drastic," Applejack cut across, frowning in confusion.

"Yeah, well," Pinkamena sighed, "I hadn't seen my family in years. And I was feeling so homesick...Imagine how you would feel if you found out that everything you had back at home was gone?"

Applejack nodded, and let Pinkamena carry on with her tale. "Anyway, Fluttershy pulled me out of the lake I had tried to drown myself in. She saved my life, and she nursed me back to full health in her cottage. She was the only one who wasn't at that party, because she had to tend to her animal friends in the Everfree. Thank Celestia for that.

"Anyway, she helped me out, and let me dump my story onto her, and listened so intently...She was so kind, and so nice, and so...Helpful. I fell for her that day, when she pulled me out of the lake, and helped me out of my depression. She was my first friend in Ponyville, and I designed my life based on her: I made friends with everypony, because only constant partying and happiness could fill in the gap where my family had been...

"Well, I didn't fall for her that day. That was a bit of an exaggeration. I fell for her...Well, I don't know when I fell for her. All I remember is when I found out.

"It was the first time I saw her cry. When I saw her crying, it was then that I knew that I wanted to protect her from everything and anything, and that I would only slow down for her. As in, I would calm down, and stop being so insanely hyper...

"So, that's how I fell in love with Fluttershy. And, after she saved my life and helped me from then on, I was under the impression that she had fallen in love with me, as well."

The tale ended with Pinkamena's voice taking a sharp turn upwards in pitch, and ending in a small, hoarse whisper. She looked down with a gulp, and started to cry silently. "And then, she rejected me. And I realized...That I really am alone."

Twilight immediately hugged the pink pony. "You're not alone, Pinkamena. You have us. We're all your friends!"

"Friends aren't good enough!" She shouted. "I need somepony who loves me! And I loved Fluttershy, but she rejected me!"

Peter frowned at Fluttershy. "You helped her with her family, you helped her with her depression, yet you refused to give her a chance?" He muttered.

"Please, Peter, don't get involved," Twilight sighed from across the table. "This isn't your fight."

"He's right," Rainbow Dash whispered. "Fluttershy, you should've given her a chance."

"Exactly!" Pinkamena cried out triumphantly.

"And you shouldn't have been so direct about it!" Fluttershy reprimanded the pink pony.

"Well, you both fucked up!" Peter shouted. "It's no reason to fight! Pinkamena, she rejected you, and she was wrong to not give you a chance. But you came out of the closet to her. Having a friend of the same gender...Become interested in you is pretty scary. Trust me, I know from past experience, there was a guy who told me he liked me, and I rejected him because I'm not gay. But we were still friends, because he came out slowly, instead of just running up to me and telling me that he loved me. He got over me, and I haven't heard from him since fifth grade, when he came out of the closet to me. But you just jumped out at Fluttershy and told her that you love her! You're both at fault, so I suggest that you carry on as friends, and remember that there will always be somepony out there for you."

Pinkamena sighed. "Yes, but there's nopony who really cares for me in the same way that I care for Fluttershy.

"No, Pinkamena, there's not," Peter responded, much to the shock of the ponies present. "At least, not now. Because you haven't gone out there, and you haven't made them care for you. The pony who you want to spend the rest of your life with isn't going to fall into your lap. You have to go out and find him-uh, I mean, her."

"But that happened for you and Rainbow Dash, and Spike and Rarity!" Pinkamena complained. "Spike and Rarity found each other, and you fell into our world, and practically right into Rainbow Dash's lap, Peter!"

Peter sighed. "Yes, and those are extremely rare cases. And my case still has me confused as to why or how. And, who knows, maybe your special somepony will fall into your lap. There's no way to be sure."

Twilight hugged Pinkamena even tighter. "He's right, you know. I've researched the topic very broadly, and have found that love is something you find when you go out into the world, and meet new ponies. Maybe we'll find somepony in Las Haygas!"

Fluttershy perked up with a small smile. "Pinkamena, I'm sorry," she said slowly and carefully. "And I want to make it up to you, as a friend. Will you let me help you find your special somepony?"

Pinkamena smiled, and a few curls cropped up in her mane and tail. "Yes," she replied. "Yes, I will, Fluttershy. Thank you."

"And me," Twilight said.

"And me," Applejack chipped in.

"And us," Spike and Rarity both added in.

"And we will, too!" Rainbow Dash added in. She nudged Peter on the side, who was scratching his chin. "I dunno," he said in a comical voice, "I'll have to check my schedule. You know, I just have so many jobs to do, seeing as how I've definitely lived here all my life..." Rainbow Dash hit him where she had nudged him, right in the shoulder, and he grimaced in pain. "Of course, I'll help," he shouted in exasperation. "I mean, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't?"

Pinkamena giggled lightly, and opened her forelegs wide. "Aww, c'mere, everypony!"

Everypony descended on her in a giant group hug, and Fluttershy felt her conscience clear.

"You're all my very best friends!" She cried out, smiling wide. As her forelegs became a complete circle around her friends, her mane exploded in a cloud of confetti and happiness, and

As the group hug abated, Twilight cleared her throat.

"Alright, so, we ready to order our breakfast?"

"Yeppy yep yeppers!" Pinkie Pie cried out. "But we're not at the stop yet, silly!"

"Yes, you are," an annoyed waiter said from the opened door. "And I'm not being paid by the hour, so hurry up."

Twilight hovered the sheet of orders over to the waiter, and Pinkie Pie laughed gently. "Wow, Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, and twisted to see Pinkie Pie from her perch on Peter's lap. "What?"

"I never knew you were such a softy!"

Rainbow Dash blanched, and shook a hoof in the air at the pink pony. "Aw, shut up!"

"Okie dokie lokie!"

Everypony, except for Peter, laughed as Rainbow Dash blushed, and buried her face in Peter's shirt.

"See?" She whispered. "They're laughing at me, and calling me a softy. I knew this would happen..."

Peter kissed her on the forehead. "Ignore it," he whispered back. "They're just poking a tiny bit of fun at you."

"Yeah, but...I can't ignore it. It's insulting!"

"Just a moment ago, you were fine with telling Applejack that you were mushy with me because you love me," Peter pointed out. "What changed?"

"Nothing, Peter. I still love you."

"Then tell Pinkie Pie that. Wait, on second thought, don't."

"Why not?"

"It would seem like you're mocking her. It's better that you said 'shut up', actually..."

Rainbow Dash blinked in confusion, and then released a small "oh" of enlightenment. "I see what you mean..."

Peter nodded, and Rainbow Dash smiled. "Anyway, I'm glad that we can do this during the day, too. You know, snuggle? Even when we're eating..."

Peter nodded, and kissed her on the forehead. "Love is a beautiful thing, Rainbow Dash..."

Dead Love

Roose sat huddled in the corner, amongst the ruins of the beautiful tapestry he had torn to shreds, and closed his eyes. He was forced to relive his memory of his night of graduation by the growling being before him.

Lights. So many lights. Lights flashing as cameras went off, lights flashing as he accepted his diploma from the President of his University.

Lights flashing as he hung back, and nodded to the President, waiting for his opportunity.

Lights flashing as his girlfriend walked up to accept her diploma. She shot a look of confusion to him, as if to ask him what he was playing at.

Before she was allowed to walk off, Peter grasped her hand.

"Jane," he whispered to her, going to a knee on stage, on national television, "will you marry me?"

She held a hand up to her mouth, and smiled as Peter pulled a black box out of his graduation robes, and opened it to present a beautiful diamond ring.

"Yes," she replied, and Peter's heart nearly exploded. They hugged, and kissed, and walked off stage, hand in hand.

Later that night, they lay out on a hill in their campus, their hands locked together, their engagement rings sparkling almost as brightly as the stars, which burned only half as passionately as their hearts.

"I love you, Jane," Peter whispered.

"I love you, too, Peter," Jane responded.

They kissed, and another flash of light light up the sky as Peter's sister appeared from the bushes.

"Gotcha, lovebirds!" She shouted.

"Amanda!" Peter whined, smiling despite himself as his sister waved the camera around.

"I'm putting these up on facebook!" She taunted as she ran away, into the night.

"For a twenty eight year old, she's..."

"Childish?" Peter suggested, finishing Jane's sentence.

"Yes," Jane replied. "Childish."

They laughed, for no reason whatsoever. Then they kissed, for no reason whatsoever.

Roose smiled to himself, the memory comforting him in the dark hallway. He could practically feel his wife's arm wrapping around him, just like it did every day that she had been alive...

His mind was cut off from his happy thoughts, and brought to the next memory, closer to the beast's goal.

"Happy engagement, lovebirds!" Peter and Jane's friends shouted out as they popped up from behind the chairs in the apartment that the couple now shared.

"Hello," Peter stated in a matter-of-fact manner. "Nice to see you all so early!"

The group of people shared a small amount of laughter. And then, it was right to the party.

Peter woke up, totally naked, with Jane in his bed, and a condom stuck on his thumb. Jane woke up at the same time, and, seeing the condom on his thumb, stammered out the obvious question.

"Did we have unprotected sex?" She asked with a small giggle.

"I...I think so," Peter responded, pulling the protection off of his thumb with a small snap. "Well, I guess we'll be parents, huh?"

Jane smiled, and wrapped an arm around him, their bare bodies were drawn closer together by their embrace. "I'd have no problem with that..."

Peter smiled, and kissed her, gently, before wrapping his arms around her and snuggling with her.

Roose sobbed in his small corner, his small shuddering gasps of air doing nothing to ease the pain in his heart as he thought of what his younger self felt for this pony.

"That love was for Jane..." He moaned. "That love was for Jane, you bastard!" Before he could do anything about it, he was launched into another painfully beautiful memory.

The ring slipped down over Jane's finger. It seemed to be a perfect fit. It was almost as if it belonged there.

The ring also slipped down over Peter's finger, and he stared into Jane's eyes with nothing but love as the priest rattled on.

"I do," Jane suddenly said, drawing Peter from her eyes. He started to listen, and nodded.

"I do," he said in return.

"Then you may kiss the bride," was all he heard.

His lips met hers, and everything went black. They stood there, frozen in time, as their surroundings reformed around them.

They were now standing above a glass panel that overlooked a coral reef, lit up by the small lights on the wooden deck as they kissed, the water playing patterns of beauty across their faces.

When they parted, Jane smiled, and Peter fell in love all over again. Every small bit of her face was accentuated by the moons' gentle caress of light, and she was absolutely beautiful.

"Best honeymoon ever," Jane whispered, her hand resting on the bump that had been the only thing separating them on their wedding day. "I hope our baby enjoys it, too..."

Peter smiled, and reached down to rub the large bulge of pregnancy. "I'm sure she's loving it."

They rocked each other back and forth, both of them too scared to actually dance, lest they hurt the fetus in Jane's womb. As the night carried on, they grew drunk with love. The bottle of wine remained untouched in its small ice tub.

Roose was rocking back and forth in his small corner.

"No more, please," he moaned, as the horrible..."Skygger" grunted, the caravan wheel around its neck bringing forth memories and Agony. "Please, leave me alone! And leave him alone! That love was for Jane, but he found a new person to give it to! Please, he deserves to have a better life than I did!"

Roose heard Discord sigh from the center of the hallway.

"Until you vow vengeance on him once more, I'm afraid my friend Agony here will have to stay," he whispered venomously. "Now, break him."

Roose whimpered pitifully as his mind was thrust into his memories once more.

The operating room.

It was the most beautiful thing Peter had ever seen.

Not the operating room, but what was occurring behind the curtains that had been drawn over the door.

"Come on, honey, you can do this!" He shouted, pressing the already soaked sponge to her forehead. "Come on, just push!"

"I will kill you, Peter Roose!" She shouted, grabbing his shirt in agony and anger.

"You're doing great, honey," Peter whispered, stroking the side of her face with his hand. "You're almost there."

Jane swallowed, and nodded, screaming as she pushed harder and harder.

And then...

Crying.

"Congratulations," he heard. The words were muffled, almost as if he were in a dream. "The two of you are parents."

He smiled down at the crying baby that was now in Jane's arms.

"Hey there," Jane cooed to her. "Hiya!"

"Hey there, little buddy," Peter cooed as well. "It's great to finally see you!"

Peter and Jane smiled at each other, and then back at their newborn child.

"No, please!" Roose shouted, clawing at his face. "No, please, no more! I can't take it!"

"Do you swear to kill him and the Elements of Harmony?" Discord rumbled.

"He deserves another chance! Just let him have it!"

Discord sighed, and sat back down. "Show it to him."

Roose screamed as he was thrust into his most hated memories.

His daughter. Dead.

It was the last thing he wanted to hear.

And what made it worse was that there couldn't even be a burial.

The building that the bomb had hit had buried her body.

Peter held Jane's hand tight as both of them cried tears that no parent should ever have to cry. Peter held her tight, and tried to comfort her, but found that he needed comforting as well.

He looked up at the sky, and asked God where he was. Asked God what he was doing, asked God why he had let this happen.

The world went black, and rematerialized in one of the new Migration Centers-A means to leave New York City, and travel all the way to Atlanta, where the CDC eagerly awaited new patients.

Peter and Jane both wished they could have their little Emma with them.

And, as Peter and Jane boarded the train, a madman ran up, and grabbed Jane.

"If the poor can't go," he roared, even as Peter struggled to retrieve Jane from his grasp, "then she ain't going, either!"

Peter looked back at the train. The last train. If he stayed here, he would die.

"Let her go!" He shouted, tugging at Jane, and kicking the man in his arm. He refused to let go, and pulled out a knife. "She's goin' straight to hell!" He shouted, and Peter looked into Jane's eyes.

"Go, Peter," she said through tears, "please. Go."

"I'm sorry," Peter sobbed as he let Jane's hand go, and fell back onto the train. The door immediately slid shut in front of him, and the sound of the world was drowned out by his misery.

"NO!" He shouted, slamming his fist against the window as he saw the blade come back up, red and glistening. "LET ME OUT, I CAN SAVE HER!! LET ME BACK OUT, THIS WAS A STUPID MISTAKE, LET ME OUT!!!"

"No..." Roose moaned.

"LET...ME...OUT!" He cried again, slamming his palm against the glass. He sunk to his knees, and everybody made room for him, and simply averted their gaze as the city rolled by, and the train rattled on.

This time, he looked up, into the cold ceiling.

"Let me out," he begged his God.

Something snapped in that moment.

"Let me out," Roose chuckled to himself. "Oh, he let me out, alright. Let me out. Removed my childhood. Gave it to a copy of me. And let him out. Let my inner child out!"

He looked to the cold, black ceiling of utter darkness in rage. "Where's my peace!?

"Where in the fuck is my Jane!?

"Why does he have Rainbow Dash, when all I have is memories!?"

He roared in rage, and drew his Sword of Souls. With a massive swing, he lopped the Skygger's head off, and kicked it through the window.

"I will kill that fucking child!" He roared. "He stole my heaven! HE STOLE ALL I WOULD HAVE EVER HAD LEFT!!"

"Good, good!" Discord commented as he clapped. "All I don't like is the murder of my subjects. No worries, though. I can revive that one.

"Anyway, now that you want revenge, how about you focus on cracking open that Cistern, hmm? And when you've done all of this, and when you've killed the Elements of Harmony and your...Past self, I will give you your retribution."

Roose turned, and looked deep into Discord's eyes.

"Yes, my Lord," he grumbled, before turning on his heel, and walking away, a frown bending his features as he felt unending rage take over his body.

With each step he took, his goals became clear to him.

He would kill Peter Roose...

But not before he caused him some pain first, through the pony he loved.

And, in order to do so, he had to get rid of a certain...Stepping stone.

"Love," he mused aloud as he sheathed the Sword of Souls, "will die."

Mind Games

Metall Kant sat in his chair, flicking at the feather of his quill with a glowing claw. He could still feel Mørket deep inside of him, growing, festering, like a wound deep in his soul...It scared him, and he knew that it would inevitably come forth once more.

However, that was not the only thing rotting deep inside of him. His jealousy bolstered the power of Mørket with its tendrils of greed and hate, as he wondered continuously why his love had been torn away from him...While a child who had come to this world out of his own selfish need for escape found new love. After years of defending Equestria and serving Vita-and her daughters-why would the world tear his love away from him? Why was he cursed by time?

And why was love the way to the Seventh Element of Harmony? How would love solve anything? All it had brought him was pain and misery, and this new darkness deep inside of him, that grew like a weed and clung to all he came in contact with, like a poisonous virus, jumping from one host to another...

"Maybe," he muttered to himself in delirium, "Maybe...Maybe it's time we put that love to the test..."

"But will there be enough time?" He asked his quill.

"Yes, yes, there's time before I must depart with Celestia to speak with Lycarieous Lupae, yes..." He explained to his quill.

With a small smirk, he closed his eyes, and reached his mind out for the source of the disruption in the world, where a boy's conscience had been split unevenly, and then cleaned on one side, with the debris being shoved into six receptacles of mind and soul...

With a sigh of victory, Metall Kant plunged his mind deep into the mess of confusion, and started the same test that he had endured at his time of  being Chosen...

Peter

Peter smiled as a joke was made, and watched as everyone cracked up in laughter. He felt...Detached, almost like he wasn't really part of the scene before him...

"Hey, I don't feel so good..." Peter mumbled. Everyone at the table stopped laughing, and threw him quizzical glances from around the table.

"Uh, Peter?" Rainbow Dash asked softly. "What the buck did you just say?"

Everyone murmured in agreement, and Peter tried to make the tricky sounds that just seemed to elude his tongue once more.

"Do you feel alright, Peter?" Rainbow Dash asked with a raised eyebrow. Peter shook his head, and Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with a sigh. "If you die again, I'm going to bucking kill you..."

Peter winced as the world went fuzzy. He held a hand up to his forehead, and suddenly, the weight of his hand became too much for his neck to support as he fell back onto the floor, and the world went dark around him.

Peter opened his eyes to darkness. He blinked a few times, but couldn't see anything past the darkness. He lay on his back for a few moments, and simply blinked, unable to register what was going on.

Finally, he became aware that he was on his back. In this case, it means that he realized that he was laying on something solid. With a gulp, he pressed his palm to the...Ground, and pushed himself up.

After a few failed attempts, Peter struggled to his feet, and looked around. A single light glowed in the distance, and he decided to walk towards it.

As he walked, he became aware of a sound, and a sensation. He couldn't place it, but it was different from his feet hitting the ground. It sounded like...

"Rain," he muttered. "It's raining..." He stopped walking, and held out his hand as he let a drop of rain hit his palm. "Shit, it's raining!" He cried out, and he ran forward, towards the light.

And towards the wooden door of the manor before him.

He barreled through the door, and collapsed, panting, to the ground. His soaked clothes created a small puddle, and, with a sigh, he pushed himself up.

The door slammed behind him, and a towel was thrown into his arms.

"I see you haven't been totally incapacitated," a voice muttered. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed..."

Peter took a shuddering step forward, and looked to the chair by the fire. He held the towel in his arms, his mind not registering what was happening.

"You're supposed to dry yourself with that, you know," the voice said helpfully. Peter nodded, and quickly dried himself off, before walking up to the chair, and cautiously edging around it.

"My name is Metall Kant," the pony in the chair stated matter-of-factually "You're dreaming. It's required for me to tell you that, unfortunately, as this trial was made by my superior, and I can't change the rules..."

Peter shook his head in a confused way, and rubbed his neck with the towel. "I'm sorry, what? I'm dreaming? And what trial? Your superior? Who are you?"

"I am an Elder. While this may seem somewhat...Underwhelming to you, I assure you I'm a being of ultimate power."

"Uh-huh," Peter responded with a raised eyebrow. "Well, what trial am I going through? Are you going to ask me questions? Am I going to be thrown into the fire?"

Metall Kant chuckled, and waved away Peter's raised hand. "No, no, no, nothing of the sort. Instead, you must go down into the basement of this manor, and kill all the beasts there."

Peter smiled incredulously. "What is this, Maplestory? World of Warcraft? A fucking quest in an, in an...RPG?"

Metall Kant shook his head. "If you fail, you will die in your dream...And out of it. You are in the Realm of Trials, a place within the Realm of Dreams that can only be accessed by the Leaders...Only Drom Mester can fully access the Realm of Dreams...But that isn't of your concern. So, go, and use your abilities as a dreamer to defeat the beasts. If you were being Chosen as an Elder, the weapon you choose now would be your weapon as an Elder. But, it will just be one of the many weapons you may one day wield, as the master of the Element of Harmony, and the Seventh Element of Harmony..."

Peter sighed. "Okay, whatever. I'll go kill the fuckers." With that, he went to find the basement, chuckling to himself.

Weird-ass dream...Well, I've never had a real lucid dream before, where I can control it, so I might as well go through with this, killing all those things...How did I fall asleep anyway? Ah, screw it, I won't think of it...Ah, here's the basement."

He pushed open the weathered wooden door, and walked down the stairs.

"You must create your Dream Weapon now, boy." Metall Kant's voice rang out. "And remember: You can never see Rainbow Dash again if you don't succeed here."

Peter's heart almost stopped. While it was a dream, and it was definitely a lucid dream, the idea of it coming between him and the cyan Pegasus-and their child-enraged him.

Just as he decided upon what weapon he would use, the same kind of beast he had seen in his short death appeared. With a roar of rage, he drew the newly created blades from their holding spots on his back.

As the Blades of Exile sang through the air, he marveled at how the blood sprayed from the beast seemed to create a bubble around the blades.

With a spin, he lopped the beasts' head off, and drew the chains, and blades, back to his hands.

He slammed the Blades down onto the next one, and mutilated it more than it already had been, splitting it directly in half. Next, he sent the right blade singing through the air to to cleave another beast's head off, and once more to kill another.

"This is too easy," he muttered. "It's obviously a dream, it's so easy," he continued, as he effortlessly killed more and more beasts.

About twenty minutes later, he placed the blades back on his back, and turned to walk up the stairs.

The world vaporized around him, as he was thrust into a world of rocks and hills, and his Blades of Exile disappeared.

"Good. You can manipulate your dreams. Now, let's do the next step...When you can't control your dream, and you must adapt to the world...You have one sword, one shield, both of your choice. Begin."

With a flash of light, a silver shield emblazoned with a Triforce, and the Master Sword materialized in front of him.

"Freakin' awesome," he whispered as he grasped them. More beasts appeared around him, and he effortlessly slaughtered them.

"It's all a dream," he muttered to himself. "How is it a trial if it's just a dream?"

Suddenly, he was plunged into darkness. The sword and shield became unbearably heavy in his arms, and a circle of beasts approached him. He struggled to raise them off of the ground, but he couldn't. He got the sword up a tiny bit, but only by about a half a foot. The beasts slowly approached him, and he made a snap decision to lose the shield.

As the shield clattered to the floor, he grasped the sword with both hands, and swung it in a wide arc. He missed the first beast by a few inches, yet sliced the second beast's face open. Blood spurt out of the wound, and the beast collapsed to the ground. With a roar of effort, he sliced at the next beast, and cut its torso horizontally. He felt his strength quickly leave him, and sliced in desperation. Only three beasts left, and he missed his target, and his lack of muscles and stamina caught up to him as the blade went flying out of his hand, and clattered to the hard earth a few feet away.

Panting and sputtering, Peter stumbled towards the Master Sword, trying to put some distance between him and the beasts. However, as he did, one raked his leg, and he fell to the ground with a cry of pain.

"Help!" He cried out immediately. He felt blood flowing from his wound, and felt claws scrape at his back. Hot tears streamed down his face as he furiously clawed his way forward, trying to escape, trying to live...

"I win," a dark, horrifying voice rumbled. As horrible laughter echoed through the world, Peter clawed forward even more frantically, sobbing and hyperventilating as he tried to escape not only his death, but the voice that echoed behind him.

However, as a bright light enveloped his body, he didn't have to escape anymore.

Innocence

Peter sat up with a sharp intake of cold air, singing his throat as it filled his lungs.

"Peter! You're okay!" He heard, the voice seeming distant and warped.

"Where's Twilight," he immediately asked, questions burning through his mind. "Twilight? Why would you want to see Twilight, I'M you're fiancee..."

"I have a few important questions," he responded to the far-off voice as he stood, determination surging through his veins, filling every bit of his body with pins and needles of energy.

"Whoa, you shouldn't be moving around! You just passed out, Peter!"

"The answers I crave are more important  than my personal well-being," Peter mumbled, already releasing the clasp on the cloud-like membrane, allowing it to retract into the wall with a zip.

Twilight

Everypony turned at the sound of the membrane retracting, and stood as Peter walked out of Rainbow Dash's compartment.

"Oh, thank goodness," Applejack sighed. Oddly enough, her relief seemed to fall on deaf ears, as Peter kept walking towards the lavender unicorn at the head of the table.

"Oh, my, are you okay, darling?" Rarity asked. That question remained unanswered.

"Peter? Are you feeling okay? Do you want something to eat?" Fluttershy nervously asked. She shrank back with a blush as Peter continued to slowly advance towards Twilight, who had, at this point, donned a rather concerned expression.

"Uh, Peter? Are you okay?" The lavender unicorn finally asked. Her face of concern turned to one of absolute surprise as Peter momentarily stooped down to grab her hoof, and drag her towards the library in the train.

"We need to talk," he growled as he dragged Twilight along.

"Um...Okay?" She nervously sputtered, glancing back at the other ponies for anything insightful.

"About what, huh?" The question, asked by none other than Rainbow Dash, in a rather heated fashion, snapped Twilight's attention back to what was ahead of her.

"I'll tell you later, honey," Peter promised. "But it's something that I don't fully understand, but I'm pretty sure Twilight will."

Rainbow Dash nodded, and allowed for their entrance into the library.

Once the membrane had been closed behind them, Peter sat on Twilight's bed with a sigh, letting go of her hoof as he did so.

"Well? What did you want to talk to me about?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"I didn't pass out," he muttered.

"Come again?" Twilight asked, unable to discern his words.

"I didn't pass out," he repeated, more clearly this time. "I was dragged into unconsciousness by a...a pony, by the name of Metall Kant...which I know is Norwegian for Metal Edge, which means that Metall Kant is an Elder..."

"You met an Elder!?" Twilight exclaimed.

"Yes," Peter immediately responded, "but what I have to tell you is more important...

"Firstly, he made me fight a shitload of...things, then I had to fight more but with my actual strength, but the sword and shield were too heavy for me, so I lost. He told me that if I lost, I would never see Rainbow Dash again, but that wasn't the case. He lied to test the strength of my love for her, and I asked him what the beast things were...they looked like humans, only horribly disfigured...he said that I wasn't the first human in Equestria. Would you happen to know anything about that?"

Twilight gulped, and shook her head. "No, I've never read anything about humans in Equestria...Maybe I'll send a letter to Celestia..."

"That would be best," Peter sighed. "I just don't understand why he wants me to train for fighting, he said that these things might be real one day, but I have no idea what the fuck is going on, he said we would meet in my dreams..."

Twilight shrugged. "I don't know. We should just wait for Celestia to tell us."

Peter nodded, and the two wordlessly exited the room.

"So, what were you talking about?" Rainbow Dash immediately asked.

"I'll tell you later," Peter promised.

"Peter, what happened to you? I was so worried!" Pinkie Pie shouted. "You were just like BLAH and you were unconscious!"

Peter shrugged. "Whatever. I'm pretty damn tired," he mumbled, genuinely exhausted from what had occurred in his dream. "Rainbow Dash, come with me, I'll tell you what happened..."

Rainbow Dash eagerly scooped up Peter and flew into their compartment, closing the membrane behind her.

10 Minutes Later...

"Wow," Rainbow Dash muttered. "Wanna have sex?"

"What?" Peter blurted out. "I tell you that I fought a shitload if demon things, and all you can think about is sex!?"

"What?" The Pegasus whined. "You went through a lot, you deserve some ass."

Peter sighed. "Can we just snuggle? I don't feel like sex, and all I really wanna do right now is be close to you..."

Rainbow Dash sighed, and, with a grunt of annoyance, wrapped her wings around Peter and pulled him down onto the bed. "Pussy," she muttered as Peter nuzzled her chest.

"Fuck you," Peter muttered.

"Why not?" Rainbow Dash responded.

"I'm tired."

"We're having sex tonight, I don't care what you say."

"Fine," Peter sighed.

"You are one weird guy."

"Yeah, no shit."

"Ah, you're already asleep. I don't have much time, as I must shortly depart with Celestia..."

"Can't I sleep in peace?" Peter sighed.

"There's something important I forgot to tell you. If you undertake this training, you must first sacrifice your innocence as a child, as well as any down time you have on this vacation. I can teach you techniques in your dreams, but you can't build your physical body in your dreams. You will have to exercise, and have your wife help you. Tell her anything, even the truth. But you must get stronger. You're too weak for my training. You must get stronger."

"Or what?"

"Or we are all doomed."

New Elders

Smiling broadly, Tech, a black Pegasus with neon green stripes, stepped down from the podium behind the large, glowing turntable.

The crowd behind him roared as he turned back, and, as a final bravado, allowed his power to surge through his body, and make himself glow a magnificent emerald, before turning to walk off stage.

"Ah, I'll never get tired of that," he chuckled to the pony that held the door open for him. "I could do that for another two hundred years, and I'd still get a bloody kick out of it..."

Smiling to himself, Tech walked into the small pod that waited behind the door, the cool metal immediately heating up as his power surged through it. With a jolt that he was rather used to at this point, the pod began to move up on its track, humming silently as he went from the concert hall - the only place anypony without official business was allowed - to his office.

As the doors slid open, Tech took a few relaxed steps onto the plush carpet, custom made from synthetic wool and polycarbonic fibers. As soon as his hooves made contact with the rug, a voice came from the walls themselves.

"Good evening, Sir. How was your concert?" The voice asked in a pleasant tone of voice.

"Wonderful," Tech responded, immediately taking a seat in one of his shapeless bubbles. The bubble molded to his shape, and cradled his body perfectly, allowing him to slouch back and relax...Again.

"May I interest you in a beverage?" The voice asked again.

"Ah, yes, that would be lovely," Tech responded with a smile, enjoying the feeling of being a king in his castle. "Perhaps some pomegranate lemonade? I've been craving it all morning..."

"Right away, sir."

Almost immediately, the floor next to Tech's bubble opened with a mechanical whir, and with a small hiss, a table was elevated to his side, a glass of pomegranate lemonade perched atop it.

"Your lemonade, sir."

"Thank you," Tech said with a smile as he used his wing to grasp the glass - an action he had perfected long ago.

"You have an urgent call coming in, sir," the voice immediately said.

"Oh, boy," Tech sighed heartily. "Probably just that damn pony in the asylum, needing more of my pills..."

"No, sir."

"Oh?" Tech sarcastically responded. "Then who, pray tell, is attempting to contact me?"

"Excuse me if I mispronounce his name, sir," the voice apologized in advance.

Immediately, time slowed down for Tech. It seemed like the split second between his computer servant apologizing, and then saying the pony's name was an eon long, for he knew that there was only one pony's name that his computer could mispronounce.

"A certain pony named...Metall Kant."

Tech jumped out of his bubble, allowing it to return to its normal state. His pomegranate lemonade was launched from his wing, and smashed against the wall.

"Oh, well, if you don't want to take the call," his computer said, obviously interpreting the smashed glass as a sign of annoyance, "you could've just said so."

"No!" Tech shouted, his wings extended as his muscles tensed and his power surged. "Put him on the main screen, now!"

"Of course, sir."

Tech swiveled around to view the large window that showed the whole of the Las Haygas skyline. Buildings half as tall as the Tower Tech was currently in spanned the horizon. One would think that ponies would try to compete with Tech's tower height-wise, but all ponies could see of it was the concert hall, as the tower itself was rendered invisible.

As Tech took a few nervous steps towards the windows, they flickered to life, and Metall Kant's black, hairless face was immediately put into view.

"Hello, Tech," Metall Kant said calmly.

"Metall!" Tech sputtered. "Why are you calling?"

Tech was near hyperventilation, remembering what Metall Kant had told him over a century ago...

It had been a black night, and Tech was running his first concert. Ponies all over Las Haygas had turned out to see his new technology: the turntable. Of course, it had been developed about two months beforehand, but he had spent those two months perfecting it, and testing it.

As Tech surveyed the crowd, he smiled nervously. He was getting a rush, and he could feel that same strange power he had discovered about ten years before seeping through his veins...

The black and green pony - who everyone believed was a Zebra - closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

He looked down at his turntable, and began, his stripes glowing as he pumped his power into the metallic musical station. The crowd released a gasp of excitement as his stripes began to expand, to envelope his entire body, the music enhanced with a technological beat. As the stripes fully enveloped his body, he reached his true form: A form covered with electronic essence, the essence that he had discovered within himself, and latched on to himself.

A millennium seemed to pass as Tech worked his electronic magic. He felt his body discharging power, and decided to end it with a final burst of electricity.

As the green essence of his electrical power burst out in a sea of green electricity, his body returned to its dark black state, his glowing, green stripes slowly settling down, he looked up to see none other than Princess Celestia.

Tech's eyes grew wide, and his legs began to tremble. His mouth grew dry, and he mumbled a "thank you" into the microphone - something that he felt he should do - and quickly bolted off stage, shuddering and taking deep breaths behind the curtain, his eyes wide, his chest heaving, wondering how long Celestia had been there for...

And then, she was beside him.

"That was amazing," Celestia whispered. "And there's somebody I'd like you to meet." The alicorn smiled at him, and Tech simply winced in fear. "Why do you fear me, Tech?" She whispered, frowning.

"I...I performed...In front of...The Princess..." He stuttered.

"Oh? And what's so wrong with that?" She asked, patiently waiting out his small breakdown.

"I, uh...That is, uhm...I, aaahhh...."

Celestia sighed, and sat down beside him, crossing her hooves in a very un-princess like manner. "Okay, listen. You've got to stallion-up," she grumbled. "I mean, seriously, why is it that every damn performer that sees me at their concert reacts like this? They freak out, they hyperventilate, what, do I have five heads or something?

Tech slowly calmed, as he was now more confused than mortified.

"But, you're the princess...It's kind of like if my parents were here. I would be freaking out..."

Celestia shrugged. "Yeah, I guess...But this isn't the point," she snapped, standing. "We need to go see someone."

Tech gulped, and took a deep breath. "Okay, let's go..."

He felt her hoof grasp his shoulder, and the world twist around him as he was dragged from the world.

He had been teleported before, by a friend of his to her house, so they could...'talk'. But it had never felt like this. He had never been turned inside out, rightside in, and sucked through a tube.

Finally, he took a shuddering gasp as he felt the blessing of solid ground underneath his hooves. He looked around, and saw several ponies, all staring at him.

"Tech," a black pony with a silver claw said. "We are the Elders."

Tech gulped, but stood his ground, intrigued.

"We have protected your world for eons," he continued. "From the darkness of Discord, and other such threats."

Tech frowned. "My world?"

"Yes, your world," Metall Kant responded. "We are not in the Realm of Reality. Rather, we are in the Hall of the Elders - a Realm separate from all others."

Tech nodded. "O...Okay..."

"It has been brought to our attention that you have...Stunning, powers."

Tech gulped. "Well, I can alter technology...And make electrical discharge..."

"And those stripes...You are not a Zebra, correct?"

"No, I...I got these stripes when I first released my power...I think they're made of electricity..."

Metall Kant nodded. "We want you to be part of a New Age of Elders."

Tech blinked in surprise. "What?"

"We will explain more in another time. Years from now. For now, you will be granted eternal life, so you may become a denizen like us. When it is time for you to take on the role of an Elder...We will call you."

Tech nodded. "Wait, how?" He immediately asked, nervous that this strange pony would teleport into a room full of spectators.

"Give Celestia the final form of your communication device. But remember these words, Tech:

"When we call you so you can take up your role...War will be on the horizon."

Back in the present time, and out of Tech's memory, Metall Kant smiled on the screen. "You should know why, Tech."

The black pony nodded. "The time has come, hasn't it?" Tech asked, praying that it was not so.

"Yes, Tech," Metall sighed gravely. "War is on the horizon."

Tech took a shuddering breath, and shut his eyes tight. "Well, what do you need me to do?"

"I need you here. In the Hall of the Elders."

Tech looked up in shock. "But I can't teleport! I'm not an alicorn!"

"You can't. But he can."

Tech instantly turned, to see a blue alicorn with black armor; leathery, blue wings; a blue horn, and icy blue hair that billowed like fire.

"Hey, Tech," the pony grumbled. "Nice to meet you. My name is Deajer den Trollmann."

Tech frowned in confusion. "When did you get here? And how come my computer didn't tell me you were here?"

"Well," 'Deajer' explained, "I've got no body heat."

Tech blinked in shock. "Uh...Okay."

"Anyway, let's go," he impatiently grumbled, his gravelly voice like sandpaper in Tech's ears. "We've got to get you to the Hall of the Elders, fast."

The King of Souls

The blackened soul smiled in victory.

Discord wasn't present. His ever-bearing aura did not weigh down on the malevolent spirit's mind, and he no longer had to fear questioning on what he was about to do.

He raised his sword - which had previously been the mark of the Elder of Death - to the black, swirling sky, and commanded it to bring him to its home.

With a smirk, the spirit was slowly teleported from the Realm of Death...

To a darkened, circular room.

Metall Kant

The black swordspony shuddered as he felt a dark aura settle across the Hall of Elders.

"Wait! Deajer, say there," he hurriedly spat into the large screen that spanned his office. "I feel a dark presence..."

Deajer blinked in surprise, and grimaced. "I'll be right there," he growled.

"No!" Metall Kant protested. "I can't risk it. Stay there with Tech and fill him in on the finer details, I'll go investigate. I can handle myself, I battled Discord in his stronger state and won."

Deajer sighed. "Fine. Go ahead. I'll stay here, like a trained rat."

Metall ignored his comment, and immediately ran out of the hidden room, forearm tensed to grasp his blade, which was firmly strapped to his hip.

"Show yourself, you coward," he muttered, looking from corner to corner. He took a few halting steps forward, and felt the presence grow closer. "Come on, come fight me, I dare you," he growled to the darkness.

Footsteps gave away the position of the dark spirit. Metall Kant twisted, and lunged out with his blade, only to have an all-too-familiar Sword of Souls stop it in its path.

"Hello," the dark Peter Roose grumbled, "Metall Kant."

Metall Kant jumped back, raising his sword in a ready stance.

"I'm not here to fight you," Peter Roose sighed. "I'm here to make a deal with you."

Metall frowned. "I don't make deals with the demons that kill my friends. I'm assuming that you've taken the role of the Elder of Death, after you murdered Gammel Hjerte?"

Roose smiled, and shook his head. "I didn't kill him," he muttered. "You know better than that. He's been sent into a parallel universe of this one."

Metall's frown spread into a grimace of hatred and anger. "And I will avenge his absence," he growled, "with your death."

Roose shook his head with a disapproving *tsk*. "Oh, Metall, you're so quick to jump to violence without even hearing my agreement."

"Then let's hear it," Metall sighed.

"I go into the Rift," Roose began, "and retrieve your Gammel Hjerte. He'll have been changed into a demon, but I can withstand that change, as I'm already a demon. And I can change him back."

"And what do you want in return?" Metall growled.

"I want your help to kill Discord," Roose said, his words spilling out of his mouth like a fine poison.

"Why?"

"I remember..." Roose muttered. "I remember each and every time he's put me under his control...Every time I've remembered that I came here to give myself a second chance, knowing the sacrifice...I remember each and every fucking time!" He began to shout, and a dark aura began to form around his body. "I remember each fucking time he's done that! Each fucking time I have to relive her death! It's fucking torture, and I want him dead!"

Metall took a halting step back, and Roose regained his composure. "I apologize, that was rude of me..." He whispered.

"Alright," Metall muttered. "You bring back Gammel Hjerte, and we help you kill Discord."

"No," Roose sighed. "Other way around. Discord has to be dead first, get it? Or else I can't go through the Rift without his interference."

"Fine, we kill Discord first," Metall Kant grunted. "What's the plan?"

"So eager," Roose chuckled. "Good. It won't be for a while. I'll come back when it's almost time to do it. Until then...Goodbye, Metall Kant."

With a vacuum of darkness, Roose returned to the Realm of Death, where Metall Kant believed he belonged.

Metall Kant sighed, and returned to his computer room, and looked down at Deajer.

"Come immediately," he grumbled, before shutting the computer down.

Note from the Author

Alright, so...

Yeah, new chapter...

Yes, Chuckles, you said to get rid of repeating words. Well, the solution to that is:

I'm lazy.

Also, I should be doing my work on 1776 right now, so I'm trying to detach myself from this right now so I can get back to it.

Dark Words

"But...You're not a child. How could you possibly lose your childhood?" Rainbow Dash asked, genuinely puzzled by what Peter had explained to her.

Peter rubbed at his eyes, his short nap having done almost nothing to recharge his batteries. His arms felt sore, as if he had actually struggled to wield a sword, as if that...'training' hadn't been just a dream. "Yeah, here I'm an adult. But on Earth, I'm only sixteen years old, about to become a Junior in High School..."

Rainbow Dash blinked,still confused. "Yeah, but...Your innocence? I don't get it. What does it mean? And why do you have to lose your...'childhood' and your innocence if you decide to help Equestria?"

Peter took a deep breath, and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, resting his elbows on his knees in deep thought. "Well...I'm innocent. I've never seen anyone die, I've never killed anyone, I've never experienced anything that would bereft me of my innocence. In all senses and purposes, I'm still a child at heart, because I haven't seen things that require maturity to handle. If I were to see someone die, or if I were to kill someone, the implications of it all...I think it would just drive me to maturity, and I would lose my innocence..." He sighed, a heavy weight in his heart. "And my innocence is the only thing I have left..."

Rainbow Dash creased her eyebrows in frustration. "What do you mean, the only thing you have left? You have me, everypony outside of this room, and our unborn foal!"

"It's all I have left of who I used to be," Peter shot back at the cyan mare as he turned to face her. "It's the only thing that I have that reminds me of who I was," he continued, "before I was torn from my world and shoved here."

Rainbow Dash frowned. "But...You can remember yourself, right? You have memories?"

"And what good are they?" Peter spat back, standing in frustration. "What good are they, if they can just be...Torn from my mind, and shoved into some fucking Soul Gems?" He leaned against the bed, staring Rainbow Dash right in the face. "What good are memories when they can't get my fucking family back? My father, my mother, my sister, my friends, my school, my future!"

"But you have a future, here, with me!" The Pegasus' wings shot out in aggravation as she struggled to understand.

"Yes, but it's not my future!" Peter roared, tears welling up along his eyes. "My future was to go through High School, and then through college! To get a job as a mechanical engineer, to have a wife and kids, and to finally die knowing that I had made a worthy contribution to the world!" Rainbow Dash's wings clasped tight to her sides, and she shrank back, shocked by Peter's sudden outburst. "My future was to be in a world of humans, not of fucking ponies!" He finally shouted, hurting the cyan Pegasus to the core. "And yes, I've accepted this as my new home, woop-de-fucking-doo! But I miss my real home, and this is just a fucking substitute! I miss my family, I miss my life, and if I could, I'd go back! But I know that I can't, so I go along with it, sticking it out here, holding onto what little I have left of myself: my immaturity, and my innocence. I act like who I was because I don't want to give it up. I'm willing to live here, but only so long as I can hold on to my old, my real, life, by just a tiny bit. I don't want to lose myself, Rainbow Dash." He paused to compose himself, as tears were streaming down his face. "I don't want to be a hero...I can't! I can't give up who I...who I was for a new world!" He looked up at Rainbow Dash, expecting to see understanding, sympathy, and forgiveness. What he saw rang in his mind like a bell. She was crying, but not out of sympathy, out of fear, and out of...something that Peter couldn't place. Instead of attempting to comfort her, he poured the last of his misgivings out in a final wave of sorrow and regret washing over his body, bathing him in scalding pain. "I just don't want to grow up...I don't...I don't want to have to be an adult, not when I'm only sixteen, not when I had so many years of life as a child left, when I could play video games with my friends, watch porn on the internet...I don't want to have to be responsible, I want to have parents to look after me. I don't want to have to take care of myself until I go away to college, but now, responsibility for a whole fucking world is being thrust upon my shoulders...If I take this responsibility, I'll lose my old life for good." After a deep breath, he added: "And I wouldn't give up my old life - or at least what's left of it - for anything...Not even for you."

Rainbow Dash sniffled a few times as Peter broke down, falling to his knees and resting his forehead on the mattress, muttering to himself in a high pitched voice. She felt hurt, a hurt that she had never felt before. "But...Why? Don't...Don't I matter to you?"

"Yes," Peter sighed, looking up at Rainbow Dash with sorrow in his eyes. "I love you, and you matter so much to me...But...This isn't real...This isn't my life, I've been torn from my life and given a new one, one that I'm not willing to accept yet...I've acted all nice about it, I've acted willing to give it all up, but when it gets down to it, I just can't...And I won't." He took a shuddering breath before continuing. "My past is too important to me. My family is too important to me. And yes, you're important to me, but...Who I was, and who I was going to be...It's part of me, and it's not going away anytime soon, not for anybody, and not even for the world I've come to accept as my home." A short pause spread before Peter uttered his darkest words.

"I'd rather see it all burn to the ground...Than sacrifice who I was to save it."

Aftermath

"Why the buck would you say that!?" The enraged mare shrieked as the pillow came down on Peter with yet another satisfying thud. As Rainbow Dash assaulted him, Peter continuously attempted to get a word in edgewise, and consecutive attempts to explain and apologize ended in yet another thud.

"Stop!" Peter finally shouted, having been pushed back against the wall by the onslaught of attacks. Rainbow Dash paused for a moment, pillow at the ready, as Peter tried to explain. "I say really stupid things when I get angry," he began, regret draped over his every word like a fine gossamer. "I never mean them. I'm sorry, and I really didn't mean that."

Rainbow Dash swallowed, her head pounding as a mad tempest raged within, whispering questions to her. "But how could you say...That?" She spat, her wings tensing, her hooves squeezing the pillow even tighter. "You're talking about my home, Peter. This is our home, and where our foal will grow up. You may not think much of it...But if you could save your home instead of watch it burn, would you? Even if it meant sacrificing yourself?"

Peter blinked, shocked at the question, its implications, and who it had come from. "I never knew you were a philosopher," Peter teased. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes in evident annoyance, but humored him all the same. "Spending a bunch of time with an egghead like you can do that," she muttered with a smirk. The smirk faded as she sighed, "And seeing all of Ponyville burn down, and my friends die, over and over again in those dreams...It's given me a lot to think about. I know I act like a kid sometimes, but I've been forced to maturity, as well."

Peter rolled his shoulders, feeling like an idiot. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I never gave much thought to how those dreams would've changed you...As in, how you think, and what you believe..."

She nodded, and quickly changed the subject. She felt it was best to leave those dark memories as just that: memories. "So? Would you?"

Peter looked her right in the eye, and nodded. "Yeah," he finally responded. "Yeah, I would probably try to save America. Even if it meant sacrificing what made me...Me. There would be too many innocent people at risk, and while America's government can go ahead and suck my cock, America is my country, and it's my home, and by God, if I can protect it, I will." Peter sighed, and flexed his arm, his muscles sore from that...so-called dream. "And besides," he continued, "I would actually be able to. I can use firearms, and while I don't have training, I know how to use guns. I could fire a pistol, I could fire a shotgun, and I could also fire a machine gun." Rainbow Dash's brow creased, as she now realized that the heart of Peter's reluctance wasn't just his past. "But I can't use the weapons that this world has to offer. I can't wield a sword; I'm too weak. And I honestly don't want to. I don't want to have to build myself up to wield a sword, I don't want to have to learn how to fight with one. I just want to have some technology from my world, because then I would actually be able to fight."

Rainbow Dash's jaw clenched, but Peter seemed not to notice. However, he did notice the pillow making contact with his face, and hard. He opened his mouth to protest, but Rainbow Dash immediately cut him off. "So, you're just too lazy? Is that it?" She spat at him through clenched teeth, rage surging through her. "You're too lazy to learn how to use a sword? Just because you have to do some actual work to save Equestria, you don't want to do it?"

Peter shook his head, but Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with a loud huff. "I'm not too lazy! I just want a gun, I can't use a sword! I know I can't use a gun, and I don't want to have to learn how to use a sword! Do you have any idea how much hard work that would be?" He cringed as he spoke, and sheepishly shrank back with a small frown. "That does sound kind of lazy, doesn't it..."

"Yeah, no bucking shit, asshole," Rainbow Dash muttered, looking away from him in disdain. When she looked back at him, she felt nothing but disappointment. "I'm marrying somepony who won't even go to the gym to help save Equestria," Rainbow Dash mused. She chuckled to herself, and dropped the pillow on the floor next to Peter. "Somepony who would lie about his reluctance, just to get out of the work." The pointed words jabbed at Peter, the disappointed venom coating each of the syllables flowing straight to his heart. "Do you even care about your innocence? Your past? And tell me the truth, or I swear, I will bite your dick off."

Peter swallowed, and looked up at Rainbow Dash, without so much as a single emotion visible in his eyes. "No," he responded. "I don't. My childhood ended long ago, and I've already grown up. And I don't care about innocence. No, I don't understand death and its implications, and nor do I comprehend what it truly means to take a life, and in that, I guess I am innocent. But I know that I could handle it. It's not a matter of me being a child." He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "It's just that I don't want to give up what I have now. I don't want to give up these care-free days on vacation, I don't want to give up sleeping with you at night."

"Bullshit," Rainbow Dash immediately spat at him. "I'm sick of you lying. You're just too lazy to be strong enough to wield a sword."

Peter closed his eyes, and sat, leaning his back against the wall. "I've always wanted to be a hero. I've always wanted to run in, sword in hand, and save the day. I've always wanted to be able to do something like that, I've always wanted to be the fighter." He scratched his head, hoping that Rainbow Dash would cut him some slack. "But it's always been in fantasy. Never reality. I enjoy a fantasy where I'm the hero, but I'm not ready to accept a reality like that.  A life like that. A life where I have to work to save the day, a life where I can't just run in and stop stuff from crumbling down around me. I want to save Equestria, I do...But I just don't want to...To leave my comfort zone, of being...Comfortable. I want to stay a person, someone who blends into the background, not somebody who saves the day. Yeah, I saved Rarity, but that was a...A special situation, in which I wasn't really in control, in which adrenaline took over. And I want to save Equestria...I just don't want to have to do the work involved."

"You've already lived as just a person," Rainbow Dash pointed out. "This is a new life. Make it different, don't model it on your old life. And you have to do the work, Peter. We all do."

"But why?" Peter spat back, staring her right in the face. "I've already done work, I've already done a shitload of work! I've studied, I've done laps for swimming, I've practiced my golf stroke, I've already done work! I've been torn from Earth and put here, so why should I keep working hard? Why shouldn't I just kick back and relax, because my life is basically over!"

"Because your life is over," Rainbow Dash sternly responded. "And because you've been given a chance to make something new, and interesting, and fun out of your new life. With me. And everypony in this train, you bucking dumbass. And because I need you, I need you to be the father of our filly, and it needs you to be its father as well."

The last bit struck a chord with Peter, and he sighed, feeling the anger and confusion slowly ebbing away. "I...I know," he responded after several long minutes, now looking right into her eyes. "And I'm sorry. I'm just not used to thinking for other people, or even about others..."

Rainbow Dash nodded, and placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Peter, neither am I. And I know, it's a big responsibility to just up and save the world. And it's even harder to let go of something. But I'll be with you the entire way."

Smiling, Peter hugged her with a deep breath of guilt. "I'm sorry," he muttered softly. "For being such a dick. I really am. Do you forgive me for what I said?"

"Buck no," she responded with a small snort of laughter. "But maybe you can make it up to me..." Peter smiled to himself, and asked, "Okay...How would I make it up to you?" Pulling herself back to look him in the eye with a flirtatious look, she whispered, "By making me feel good."

Peter smiled wide, and declared "I'm on it!" He immediately stood, and started looking around for his iPod, and for the videos of cats doing funny...things, on it.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked as he lifted the mattress, genuinely confused as she stood there, a desire for make-up sex shot down.

"Looking for my iPod," Peter muttered, not taking any attention away from his search.

"Okay, here's a crazy question...Why?" She shot back.

"So I can make you laugh," he responded, matter-of-factly. "I mean, I wanna make you happy."

Rainbow Dash blinked, and, with a sigh, pressed her hoof against her forehead. "You're a bucking dumbass, you know that?" Peter turned, surprised. "What? Why?"

Putting on a face that said "are-you-fucking-kidding-me?", Rainbow Dash leaped onto the bed with a single motion, and motioned, without any ceremony or flirting, towards her genitals.

"Oh," he stated, blankly. He blinked a few times, and it finally registered. "Oooohhhhhhhhh," he let out in one long breath, finally understanding the motion.

"Really?" She mocked him, falling back onto the bed as he climbed in next to her.

"Shut up," he muttered, blushing at his own complete failure.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, and, well...the rest is history.

Note from the Author

Hey, sorry. I say sorry because I kind of rushed the end there, because I really want to get to the next chapter and OUT OF THIS FUCKING TRAIN!!

Next chapter has Atonal. Ta-fucking-da.

Slumber

Please note, this takes place during the Discordian War, long before that fucking train became the Mobius Strip of this story. Note, I will be bombing that train in my dreams tonight, as it has caused me nothing but anxiety and fucking annoyance. Have a nice day.

A sole pony walked through the streets of Canterlot, ignoring the atmosphere of fear that had descended upon the mountain city like a rough blanket.

The image of a mangled double helix stretched as he walked, and several burlap bags jostled his sides, the syringes and supplies rattling around inside them.

Tonight's the night, he thought, a twisted, eager grin cracking the pony's stony face. The night it all changes.

The sound of his hooves hitting the cobblestone echoed throughout the city, eventually falling upon no ears but his own. The majority of ponies were huddled inside the castle, all safe and cozy, protected from the gossamer of fear and the darkness of Chaos.

As he approached the gates, three gaurdsponies glared at him.

"You shouldn't be out at night." The voice met the twisted pony's ears as the sound of fine gravel, tumbling into the abyss, the rough sound smoothed out by the decline of pebbles into the gaping hole below.

"It's always night now," the pony pointed out. "And besides, you know who I am. You know what my purpose is. Let me through."

The gravel gaurdspony snarled at him. "Yes, I know what you are. And if you go out there, maybe we'll finally be rid of you."

The pony closed his eyes with a small smirk. "Yes, yes...Now, will you let me through?"

"Yeah, now get the buck out, you bucking freak."

Helix rolled his eyes as the gates opened, amused yet irked by the guardspony's vulgarity.

"Always a pleasure," the Professor muttered, shifting his weight to keep the burlap sacks from tipping him over.

As he stepped out of the 'safety' of the Canterlot walls, the gate slammed shut behind him.

With a grin, he followed the path to his solace, his sanctuary, his solitude...

As he walked, a strange being slithered through the air, high above him, snaking its way through the dark clouds.

Professor Helix smiled. "Tonight most definitely is the night."

He quickly descended the mountain, already used to the turns and twists that the path had in store for him. He finally reached the base, and stepped into the Everfree Forest.

He walked on in silence, glancing at little bits of life now and then, remembering his experiments with each one of them.

Almost all of them had died. Some of them from vomiting their vital organs out, some from having their heart beat outside of their body.

All from a simple spark of magic directed at a petri dish, with two samples of blood congealing within it...

Professor Helix stopped as a small rodent ran past him. It seemed to be a raccoon.

A simple zap from his horn made it into one of his only successful experiments: a chinchilla. He smiled as it scampered away, its new artificial advantage bound to help it survive for years to come.

He memorized the animal's strand of information, and noticed that it was a male. He found a female and changed that, as well, using the specific alteration spell he had created from hours of hunching over rodent life information.

As the female chinchilla scampered away, ready to help produce more chinchillas, Professor Helix smiled darkly.

Soon, he would be granted advantages of change, as well. And he would conquer all...

As he walked on, his goal finally came into view: a cave. He walked in, placed his bags against the wall, and sat, facing the entrance, waiting, waiting...

"Only a fool of a pony would come into the Everfree Forest during this time."

Chills ran down Helix's spine, the smooth, poisonous voice dripping through his ears and saturating his mind in exhilaration. "And I am no fool," he responded calmly, watching the dark figure that slithered into the cave.

"Then why have you come, if you are not a fool?" the being inquired. "Nopony could ever best me in battle. If you have made a noble decision to fight, you should have made the wise decision to flee."

Helix's heart caught as two eyes emerged from the darkness, staring right into his. Not in fear, but in respect, and in pure adrenaline.

"I'm not here to fight you," Helix responded with a smirk. The eyes blinked, and pulled back slightly. A hot current of air ruffled Helix's fur as the being breathed, still staring at him through hard eyes.

"Then who are you here to fight?"

"Celestia," he stated dryly, his voice dripping with hate. "The one who marked me as an outcast, and yet had the 'grace' to keep me within the so-called 'safety' of the Canterlot walls. I wish to make her atone for her sins, and pay the price for ever shunning me. Surely, you understand, Discord."

Discord stared deeper into Helix's eyes. "What is your name, pony?"

"I am Professor Helix," he stated. "And I have brought with me the life-information of two beings: the manticore, and the serpent. I dare not to take the blood into myself without the power of Chaos to transform me and keep me alive."

A frown spread across the deity's visage. "So you are here to use me?" He growled, leering at the professor.

"No," Helix calmly explained. "I am here to profess my loyalty to you, in return for life as the most powerful mortal upon this planet. I will use my power against any that dare attempt to stop Chaos, the overbearing controller of us all, and the one force that should be prevalent in Equestria. Chaos is what keeps everything together, and what makes change. Harmony is what makes monotony, and oppression, and exiling of those who are superior to them. I wish to bring an end to this decadent society, and give a rise to Chaos, the true power."

Discord smiled. "You could be useful," he muttered, slithering around the pony in a silent fashion, his gaze seeing untold images. "You can merge the life of two beings, and make yourself into a hybrid, and one that could assist me greatly..." he muttered, stating what he had learned, weighing the future possibilities against the present repercussions. "And you have two burlap sacks with you...Why?"

"To make a laboratory here, so I may better myself and others for your service."

Discord nodded, and smiled coldly. "You will prove most useful...When the barriers begin to fall..."

Helix watched Discord's eyes intently as he fell into silence, staring off into the darkness of the cave. The Draconnequus seemed to have a mad intensity in his eyes, an intensity that Helix respected and idolized.

"So," Discord muttered, "you will serve me as loyally as possible?"

Helix nodded, excitement bubbling as he imagined his life with a prime advantage, serving Discord and-

He never got to ask what the serving would entail, as he fell into a deep coma, put on by Discord.

"But right now," the deity whispered. "I don't need you getting in the way."

After weaving a spell into the pony's body, Discord left, sealing the cave behind him, never to be found until the next Discordian War.

Mourning

        "Peter..."

The call came out as barely a croak, only loud enough for Peter to hear it.

"Peter..."

Peter took a stumbling step forward, and collapsed to his knees on the hardwood floor. He cradled the unicorns head in his lap, blood from her wound staining his hands and arms. He sputtered as his tears feel onto her face, joining her tears in the matted fur.

"Remember," she croaked, staring up into Peter's eyes, "and do what's right..."

Peter whimpered and gasped, stroking her mane. "I will," he sobbed. "I will..."

"Good," the unicorn whispered.

He rocked back and forth, staring into her eyes, ten ponies standing behind him, crowding the doorway. Three medics burst through, and pulled him away, rushing to the unicorns side. Peter looked back at the unicorn, and saw her smile sadly.

Twilight slowly closed her eyes, and Peter wailed in confusion and agony, turning away from the blood stained pony to fall into the wings of a weeping Rainbow Dash, surrounded by several other weeping ponies.

They were led out by medical ponies, and they all ended up crowding in a large room, separated from anyone else.

They cried in silence, remembering everything about Twilight, their friend and so much more.

They all looked to each other, and they all sobbed, unable to deal with reality.

"And to think...this vacation started with Twilight trying to beat me up...again," Peter sobbed. Everybody let out a small chuckle, a chuckle laden with tears, sadness, and immediate nostalgia as they remembered the first day all of them had joined up in Las Haygas...

Day 7 of the Train

Peters eyes flickered open, the morning light filtered by the cyan feathers on the wings that held him tight. He rubbed up against the cyan pegasus, warm and-

"Get up, sleepyheads!" A voice shouted, cutting through the morning haze like the peal of a fine knife. "We're almost at Las Haygas!"

Rainbow Dash and Peter both groaned, smiling at each other before Pinkie Pie started to jump on top of the two.

"Get...Up...You...Two!" She shouted between hops. Before she could land again, Rainbow Dash rolled out of the way, Peter in tow, letting out a shout of surprise as he tumbled off of the bed.

Pinkie Pie remained floating for a split second, and then slowly landed back on the bed, smiling at her two disgruntled friends.

"You could've just nudged us," Peter moaned, standing at the same time that the cyan Pegasus did.

"There wasn't enough time," the pink pony declared. "We're about to stop in Las Haygas!"

Peter and Rainbow Dash exchanged a glance, and hurried over to the window to see the upcoming destination. All they could see was a few tall buildings, and the glint of the sun reflecting off of the acres of glass and steel support beams.

"Wow," Rainbow Dash breathed. Peter didn't share the sentiment. He was rather unimpressed, as he came from a world full of this. In all honesty, he felt a bit of relief, seeing a city rather than another village or rolling hill...

"Just like home," he muttered with satisfaction. However, he did approve of Brooklyn more than the hardcore mother-fucking city, as he was disinclined to enjoy the bustling crowds and constant traffic. However, without crowds and a population in the billions, he was pretty sure that Las Haygas would have a profound lack of those things. However, curiosity drove him to ask...

"Are there prostitutes in Haygas?"

The two ponies pulled back, wearing shocked expressions and exchanging glances.

"Why do you ask?" The Pegasus asked, curiously.

"Oh, no reason," Peter responded. "Just curious...y'know, to see if it's really like Las Vegas, back on Earth...with the prostitution, the gambling, the drugs, the crime rate and robberies..."

"No offense, but Earth sounds like a shit-hole," Pinkie chimed in. Peter shot her a surprised glance, and laughed softly. "Yeah, some of it is...But in Soviet Russia, Earth call you shit-hole."

"I don't get it," Rainbow Dash said after a few moments of silence. Peter shrugged. "It's a joke."

"Yeah, and I don't get it. Duh," she whispered.

Peter nodded, and was about to explain the joke when a purple unicorn walked into the room.

In the somber room of mourning, Peter smiled sadly, remembering how happy and chipper Twilight had been...

"Hey guys," Twilight chirped. She magically placed a black slab on Peters' bed. "I took your Kindle and read the history book. It was pretty interesting, especially the bit about Egypt."

Peter nodded, and said, "in Soviet Russia, book read you."

Twilight stared at him blankly for a moment, and then smiled. "Oh, because Soviet Russia is the opposite of America, right?"

"Exactly," Peter replied. "See, Rainbow Dash? Somepony gets my jokes."

Rainbow Dash shot him a disgruntled glance. "Yeah, 'cus she's a total egghead."

"Hey, I'm an egghead, too," Peter protested.

"Thanks for sticking up for me," Twilight chuckled, "but you don't have to."

"Who the fuck said I was sticking up for you?" Peter asked with a smirk. "Calling you an egghead insulted me."

Twilight gave him a blank stare, and, with a flash of light, sent a ball of dense air careening into his stomach, winding him as he doubled over in pain.

"You crazy fucking asshole!" He shouted, breathing deeply as the lavender unicorn giggled lightly. "What's so funny?" He muttered.

"I'm sorry, it's just that seeing you in pain is kind of funny now..."

Peter rolled his eyes, and sat on the bed, rubbing his aching midsection. "Well, thanks. Now, can you just tell me if we need to do anything before we reach Las Haygas? Like, brush up on culture bullshit?"

Twilight frowned at Peter. "You have to be a pony again."

"What?" Peter sat bolt upright, shocked. "But why? I'm a hero, I saved Rarity's life!"

"And for that," a sweet, sing-song voice rang out, "I am eternally grateful. But you must be a pony, or you will be shunned by the community. Believe me, in Las Haygas, they are very, very quick to judge."

Peter rolled his eyes, and glanced at Twilight. "Go ahead, then," Peter sighed. "Do it. Make me a mother-fucking pony."

"Not yet," Twilight protested. "Not until we're near Las Haygs. We can't afford to lose any time from the spell."

Peter shrugged with a yawn. "Well then, I guess I'm just going to use my Kindle then."

"What for?" Rainbow Dash inquired.

"I'm going to watch 'Two Best Friends Play,'" he explained. "I have the videos saved on there..."

The ponies exchanged glances, and shrugged. Rainbow Dash let Peter have some alone time, so she could stretch and get ready to fly around Las Haygas and go into the legendary Cloud Casinos.

After what seemed to be ages to Rainbow Dash, Twilight finally made Peter into a pony once more, and she knew they were close. She loosely examined his body, and saw that he had a horn this time.

"Why does he have a horn?" She called from the ceiling, not really caring about the explanation whatsoever.

"Magic has different effects every time," Twilight explained. "So he could be an earth pony or a Pegasus or a unicorn. Only problem now is that he won't have control over the magic, so we'll have to keep a close eye on him."

"I feel...Funny," Peter complained. He immediately raised a hoof to his mouth, as his voice was considerably less masculine.

"Twilight...Did you transform Peter into a mare?" Rainbow Dash carefully inquired, straining not to burst out in laughter.

"I...I think so..." Twilight breathed, shocked by the sudden turn of events.

"Wait, Peter's not a colt?"

Peter turned to see Applejack, staring at him...or her...or, fuck I don't know, he's a dude with no dick...in shock and repulsion. "But how'd you get RD pregnant?"

"I made him into a mare by accident," Twilight explained.

Applejack's frown deepened. "So, you cut his cock off!?"

Everypony in the room stopped and stared at Applejack, even Fluttershy, who had just crawled out of her compartment.

"Not exactly a thing I like to hear when I get up in the morning," she grumbled. "Can't I get some bucking peace and quiet in the morning for once?"

Everypony's eyes began to trace Fluttershy in shock as she slowly walked over to the table, her hair in a mess, and her eyes drooping with exhaustion. Her head dropped down onto the table, and she let out a string of expletives, all more shocking than the last.

"Bucking shit cunts," she finally let out, "I didn't get any bucking sleep last night..." The...'timid' Pegasus looked up, and was suddenly shocked into wakefulness. Even Pinkie Pie stood completely motionless, mouth agape and ears perked.

"Oh," Fluttershy squeaked. "Goodmorning...girls...I, uh...must've forgotten....Uh......."

With a final squeak, she ran back into her bedroom, too fast for the eye to see.

Everypony stood in complete silence, until Peter said: "So, still shocked as shit that I'm a fucking cunty mare, Apple-fucking-jack?"

Applejack snickered lightly, and Spike carried Rarity to the couch by the window.

"What happened?" Twilight asked.

"She fainted," Spike replied.

"I bet I can make her faint again," Peter (or Petress?) said with a small smirk. Everypony shot him...her...it...shit, a glance, and dismissed it. They all knew how easily she could faint.

But Peter had something else in mind.

They all waited for Rarity to wake up, and when she did, Peter dragged Rainbow Dash over to the mare.

"What're you doing?" the cyan Pegasus asked.

"You'll see," she he it fucking shit fuck it die all genders replied.

"Hey, Rarity, Twilight changed me into a mare," Peter called out. The white unicorn looked up at him, and snickered lightly. "So, watch this."

With a flourish, she/he/fuck dragged Rainbow Dash into a long kiss. At first, she didn't fight, seeing as how they were engaged, but then she realized that he was a mare.

And that Rarity had just fainted.

Rainbow Dash yanked away from Peter, and fell on her butt, staring at Peter with rage as she stood up.

"The buck, Peter?" She shouted.

"Hey, we're getting married, right?" He asked with a smirk.

"Yah, but I'm not a marrying a mare!"

"Oh, so because I look like a mare, you don't want to marry me anymore?"

Rainbow Dash donned a face worthy of the caption of "da fuq?" "When did I say that!?" She demanded.

"I was joking," he stated matter-of-factly, "duh..."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and looked towards the large window on the walls, watching the train slowly hiss to a stop, and the station come into view. As the train came to a complete halt, the intercom crackled to life.

"We have arrived in Las Haygas. Take care to attend to your luggage and mind the gap when you exit. Enjoy your stay!"

Peter started towards the door, luggage already awkwardly placed on his back, when Twilight stood in his path. He looked around her, confused, and inquired as to why she stepped in front of him.

"Why hath thou interrupted mine path towards yonder city, young lady Sparkle?"

Twilight simply stared at him, and ignored the way he phrased the question. "You have to keep your emotions in check, or your magic could go crazy."

Peter nodded, and looked back to his friends. "Hey, where's Fluttershy?"

They all looked to the closed compartment, and let out a collective sigh. Applejack rolled her eyes as Rarity awoke with a small cringe, the image of two mares kissing and the timid Pegasus stringing together several curses causing her physical pain.

"Well, let's get her outta there..." Peter sighed, ready for an hour long struggle.

About twenty minutes later, Peter followed Applejack out of the room as Fluttershy was dragged out by her tail. The mortified Pegasus simply cowered on the ground, hiding in her wings. Rarity frowned and started to criticize her. "I can't believe that you would be so vulgar! I thought you were better than that, Fluttershy!"

Peter sighed and pushed Rarity out of the way. "Hey!" She shouted. "Has everypony forgotten their manners today!?"

Peter sat next to Fluttershy and lay a hoof on her shoulder. "Fluttershy, it's okay."

The yellow Pegasus looked up at Peter in confusion. She shrank back, as the mare was a complete stranger. Not only that, but she looked like a colt, what with her short hair.

"It's me, Peter," he explained. "Twilight accidentally made me into a mare...Long story, trust me. Anyway, it's okay that you curse sometimes. In fact, I thought it was kind of impressive..."

Fluttershy looked up, confused. "How so?"

"You have all that pent-up frustration and anger in you, but you manage to find places to store it and exert it so you don't offend your friends."

Fluttershy smiled, and nodded.

"And, we're all your friends. We respect you no matter what, okay?"

Fluttershy smiled, and stood, ready to face the day.

"Just try not to do that in public, okay?" Peter added with a smirk. Fluttershy blushed, and Peter patted her on the back. "Oh, come on. You've got a knock-up team of bucking shit cunts, y'know? We'll keep you out of trouble!"

Fluttershy giggled lightly, and nodded. Peter stood, and all the ponies in the room prepared to finally leave the train, and start their vacation in Las Haygas.

They would meet some strange ponies, and loose several things.

And by the end of it, life would never be the same for them, ever again.

Note from the Author

In case you're wondering, the way this chapter is organized is as follows:

Flashforward to the future, which leads to

Flashback to the past (or present, whichever you prefer) which is taking place on the final day on THAT FUCKING TRAIN

Btw surprise, I killed her.

Cracks in Foundation

The Princess herself had broken her character.

She had yelled at some of her most loyal subjects, and had even fought with her own personal protege.

All because of that one, insignificant being, who had escaped from a world of chaos and a World War.

Deep within the Canterlot Royal Garden, in a sepulchral clearing, there sat a single, strange statue, of a creature with strange limbs, vines already descending from the dark trees, mist obscuring the statues' foundation.

A small thud accompanied an even smaller pebble falling onto the ground the clearing, making contact with the hard topsoil through the layer of decaying leaves and moss, its sound heard by nothing, but felt by everything.

As the small, insignificant pebble rested atop the layer of decay and moss, the sea of mist stretched itself thin, its roiling waves of gas calming. The statue remained still, apparently not affected by the pebble.

However, if anypony had been watching that night, they could have sworn that the statue's eyes had moved as the pebble struck the ground, its immortalized, blind pupils directed to Ponyville.

Twilight Sparkle's Vision

The world grew dark. All was in chaos. Nothing was...

Twilight looked to Spike, and Spike to Twilight. They could barely make out each others' eyes in the light of the darkness.

Suddenly, the Six Elements of Harmony arranged themselves on the parchment that lie before them, changing and bending.

Magic bent and solidified into a cross guard, the bottom of the tiara the base for a grip, the top the beginning of the blade, its star symbol creating an elegant flourish for the blade.

Kindness bent in half, and the symbol flew off, to be welded onto the Magic cross guard. Kindness became the handle, its gold shining in the darkness.

Generosity expanded and flattened, becoming the first part of a blade, sliding into place behind Magic. The symbol flew off, also welded to the Magic cross guard.

Laughter likewise expanded and flattened, becoming the second part of a blade, welding itself to Generosity, the symbol flying off, also welded to the Magic cross guard.

Honesty expanded and flattened, and became the third part of a blade, welding itself to Laughter, its symbol welded to the Magic cross guard.

Loyalty expanded and flattened, coming to a honed tip, its symbol flying off to rest right beneath the symbol of Magic, becoming the second most prominent symbol on the Magic cross guard. Loyalty was welded to Honesty, the blade complete.

The Blade of Harmony floated before Twilight, shining with a hidden light, darkness consuming its glow, while reflecting it just as strongly, the six symbols of Harmony glistening upon the Magic cross guard, the Elements of Harmony glistening with their own light, each section of the sword distinctly separate, while not separate at all.

Twilight and Spike opened their eyes to the interior of the library.

"Spike...did you..."

The purple dragon bolted off and reappeared just as fast, quill and parchment clutched within his claws, nodding, a look of bewilderment upon his face.

The lavender unicorn cleared her throat.

"D...dear Princess Celestia..."

A Choice of Escape

Please note, this is my first fanfic ever, and I tried writing this on Microsoft Word first, which most of you know sucks, because now the italics and bold fonts are gone. So, if there are any parts that seem like they're in a ponies' mind but aren't italic, I probably just missed it. Also, I want you all to know one thing: this was a seat-of-the-pants written story. I didn't have a plan for it, and I like it better that way. Because unlike in a book, where I need to establish certain things, here, you already have a blank template of fillies, Celestia, colts, mares, etc. I leave most of it up to the reader to make up the surroundings and the characters that Peter Roose and Rainbow Dash don't manage to explain on their trips through their own psyches.

Twilight Sparkle looked up at the full moon, grateful for the light it gave her. Spike muttered something in his sleep, turning over in his small bed, grateful as well that Twilight didn’t need to use that light orb tonight to read. Maybe tonight he would get some sleep.

Poor Spike…he must be exhausted after running around for Rarity all day.

Deep down, Twilight knew that he wasn’t tired because of that. Spike could run around all day for Rarity and not need a break, even under Celestia’s boiling hot Summer sun.

Putting down her book, ‘Magical Flight – How a Unicorn Can Fly’, the lavender unicorn very dimly lit her horn to close the shades.

Hey, maybe now I can finally get some sleep after helping Fluttershy with that weird chinchilla thing that was ruining her house…

She sighed in satisfaction, her magical mattress forming to her body, synthesizing the feeling of sleeping on a cloud. Perhaps tonight, she would actually know what it felt like-to sleep on a cloud. She hadn’t slept so good the night before, so maybe her pre-sleep reading would help.

Note to self: don’t read the section on crashing before sleep again.

She shuddered, pushing the illustrations of unicorns’ horns split open down the middle out of her head, especially the one where the magical core was leaking all over the unicorns’ face.

She finally began to nod off after shifting around in her bed for about twenty minutes, her bedrooms’ interior flashing before her eyes as she rolled around on her magic mattress. She let out a small chuckle before falling asleep, as she had just named her magic mattress a ‘magess.’ (She still hadn’t read her book on making good puns.)

Oh, wow…if this is what Rainbow Dash feels when she sleeps, I’m surprised she ever…wakes…up…

Her thoughts drifted into the void of sleep, dragging her conscious along with them. She fell and spiraled into a restful sleep, dreams swimming before her closed eyes, their true meanings forever hidden.

At the same time that the lavender unicorn fell into her dreams, a rainbow-maned cyan Pegasus was in the corner of her house, trying to pull herself out of that dark realm of nightmares.

Burning…everything was burning…everypony, dead, and because she decided to leave them for a nap…Pinkie Pie’s hard work on Sugarcube Corner, with all coated candy and frosting galore, all for naught, as the insane…things burned it to the ground, Mr. and Mrs. Cake screaming inside. And all the while, Rainbow Dash slept through it, dreaming of the Wonderbolts, whose skulls now sat next to those of the Princess’. And When Rainbow Dash awoke to the chaos and the destruction, she merely shrugged, and went back to sleep, mumbling, ‘ain’t my problem,’ her friends burning in their own personal hell, screaming her name, saying how she had failed them…

The dreams had been haunting her all month, ever since she had failed her friends, ever since she had been Discords’ puppet, the one who broke the rules. Everypony else had forgotten about how they changed, they had laughed it off, they realized that all it did was make them stronger. And even Rainbow Dash had laughed it off, promising that she would never abandon them again. But, the mere idea that she had abandoned them for her wings pained her…it almost broke her.

No…I was Discords’ puppet, I was nothing but a pawn, I wasn’t in control, I was not in control, it wasn’t my fault, it was Discord…

Something changed in her, something deep down, a dark idea.

But…when you got stuck in that hurricane the other day, what did they do? They ran away. They ran away like cowards, too afraid to be loyal to the one who had shown them undying loyalty. Why should I be friends with them, why should I be loyal to them. I’ll show them…when Ponyville is attacked, they’ll be sorry.

She immediately hit herself, hard, in the face, her hoof and her jaw stinging. She went back to bed, crying off the horrifying images, trying to put her shame to rest.

She looked to the full moon, grateful for the light it gave her. A light…of hope, the light that showed that even in the darkest places, (such as the never ending void of space,) there was always hope. Rainbow Dash looked at the moon, a single tear of happiness sliding down her curved face. The moon was always there in the dark, to give her hope, the massive body reflecting the suns’ rays (Rainbow Dash didn’t let on, but she was obsessed with how the moon and sun had risen and set before Celestia and Luna were in power. It could be a thorn in her side sometimes, though, especially when she had to cover up one of Twilight’s PCR-pre Celestia’s reign-astronomy books going missing.)

She sighed in satisfaction, the cloud forming to her body. She could finally get some sleep, the angle of incidence that caused summer consuming her mind, the thoughts on astronomy pushing the dark dreams out.

That night, the Pegasus known for abandoning education for the freedom of flight had dreams about how the sun was once the center of the solar system.

Hard to believe that a burning object could suck other things up…and black holes, black holes…are…awesome…

Her thoughts spiraled into the black hole of sleep, tugging her along.

Two down, four to go, thought the Entity trying to breach into Equestria, the rapid steady thoughts of the six harmony ponies slowly dwindling into the chaotic tumble of sleep and dreams.

Rarity held her mouth, trying desperately not to scream.

She…had…done it. The impossible, the unthinkable:

She had made her tail more fabulous than it already was.

Twirling her now positively glowing tail around, Rarity admired its beauty. The thin stripes of fabulous shined on her tail, reflecting her emotions, her mood, her very thoughts. (Of course, in a very obscure way…couldn’t have other ponies seeing how she felt about them, now, could she?)

She giggled with delight, twirling her tail this way and that, entranced by her own beauty.

Oh, Twilight…however shall I thank you for teaching me this simply amazing spell?

The spell in question was one that would imbue an object with the caster’s personality: a spell that only a unicorn with an unquestionable sense of fashion, such as the marvelous Miss Rarity, could cast. It would show how they felt, and would also reflect their reactions to the outside world, and only those that truly knew them would be able to discern what the rapidly changing colors meant.

The marshmallow unicorn flopped onto her bed, simply in love with her tail and her undeniable brilliance.

She giggled, and whispered to herself, not in a form of insanity, but in a form of delight and excitement.

“Oh, my, I can simply hear the photo ponies in Canterlot now: ‘Oh, Miss Rarity, I am simply entranced by your tail. You simply must be on the cover of ‘Pony of the Month'!'"

She let out a high pitched giggle, laughing herself to sleep.

My, oh my, I’ll never sleep, my tail is just too-

She passed out, the spell finally taking its toll. What Twilight forgot to tell her is that it had the same effects as caffeine and energy drinks: a surge of success, and then a crash.

Rarity quickly crashed, the surge of success the largest the Soul had ever seen. (Each spell had its own Soul: not a real pony who had created it, but just a being that changed the world according to a pony’s command when it accessed the image of that Soul: the spell. Each spell already existed, the ponies just had to discover them.)

As Rarity fell to sleep, the Entity chuckled, thinking in its deep, but peaceful, voice.

Well, three down. Three more to go. By this rate I’ll be in Equestria by the time this damn thing powers up.

Fluttershy kissed the chinchilla on the nose. She had never seen anything cuter. Its small, rabbit-like ears, its fluffy, squirrel tail, its small rabbit feet, its tiny hamster arms, its long, thin whiskers, its long, hamster-like body (which most of the time was scrunched up into a little ball, giving it a more puff-ball look.)

Angel merely stared at her, his real rabbits’ feet patting on the wooden table, his carrot crunching in his mouth.

The pink-maned yellow pony popped her head out of her bedroom window, looking up at the moon.

Good thing it’s out tonight, or I think I’d be up all night making sure Devil doesn’t get away.

She looked over at Devil the Chinchilla, her small, sympathetic eyes meeting the even smaller, mischievous eyes. Fluttershy had never met such a mischievous animal – besides, of course, Angel.

She let out a chuckle as Devil threw his hay to the other side of the cage, only to cross the three-foot cage with a single leap. Fluttershy wasn’t shocked by its ability to jump, as it had shown it when it jumped straight up into Twilights’ trap – a full five feet! – where a raisin awaited the over-eager Devil.

Fluttershy had thought that Twilight had hurt it, as it hadn’t moved while the basket fell, covering her and the raisin. Fluttershy had opened it to find something she hadn’t expected-a profound lack of one chinchilla, and the presence of one raisin.

Twilight had merely laughed and used telekinetic magic to pull the chinchilla out of the basket - it had used its claws to cling on to the weaved interior of the straw prison.

Fluttershy let out a laugh, still remembering the havoc the cute little puffball had caused Twilight and Fluttershy. Fluttershy had stopped Twilight from using magic so many times, as the yellow Pegasus was afraid the magic would hurt the poor thing. (Little did Fluttershy know, the time before they had come up with the idea of a trap, Twilight had been trying to use the magic to throw Fluttershy at the rodent, frustrated by the constant pokes to her horn and the ‘angry’ pleads from Fluttershy to not use magic.)

Fluttershy got into her bed, using her wings to spread the sheets above and over her. Her hooves still tingled where the chinchillas’ tiny, but stiff, whiskers had tickled her, the constant motion sending Fluttershy into a fit of giggles.

She let go of a final laugh, but stopped short when she feared that it would be too loud, and that it would wake up Devil and Ang-

She sat upright, her wings tangling the bed sheets around her as the sprung out of bed to meet an angry rabbit.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Angel, I almost forgot about your milk!”

Her whispered apology was met with a smack to the top of the head with the butt of a carrot.

“Angel,” she rumbled slowly, recovering from the outburst of anger. The bunny quickly covered his eyes with his paws, scared to peep out at the Stare.

“Angel bunny, what did I tell you about hitting?”

Angel quaked in fear, the Stare practically burning through his paws. He removed them obediently, afraid to anger Fluttershy and force her to intensify her Stare even more. He looked into her eyes, and his body shook with fear. He slowly shook his head as if to say, no hitting. Got it.

Fluttershy smiled – something horrifying with the Stare full in his face.

“Go to bed, now. No milk tonight.”

Angel would have normally dropped his jaw and tried to mush her into giving him the milk, but Fluttershy wasn’t giving up, and Angel was frozen. He obediently walked over to his small bed, hiding underneath the covers. A few minutes later, he heard a scraping noise and a nudge, and a whispered, “good night, Angel bunny.” He gratefully drank his milk, his heart warmed by Fluttershys’ kindness.

Fluttershy nodded herself to sleep, her guilt at using the Stare on her closest friend lessened now that she had shown him some genuine kindness, and embraced the kindness of sleep.

The Entity merely smiled.

And my friends asked me why I want to go here…that is exactly why. Peace, love, and tolerance…something almost absent in this world.

Applejack stared at the moon, amazed at how it lit up her orchard at this time of night.

Well, mah trees sure do look fine. All nice and lit up like that…Bloomberg would have loved it.

She smiled at the thought of her apple tree, sitting in the apples in the Appleloosa orchard.

Ah sure hope them buffalo are enjoyin’ the fine apples Bloomberg has…must be the best apple pie in all of Appleloosa when they harvest mah apple tree…

She had told Rarity of her plan to go visit Bloomberg, to see how the tree was growing, see if it had maybe reached the legendary height that the tree ‘Jordan’ had once reached: a whopping two hundred feet. When Rarity heard the words ‘visit’ and ‘Bloomberg’ in the same sentence, she had fallen over laughing, pointing at the country pony, a fit of hysterics taking over her body.

“Visit…a…tree?!” Rarity had said between laughter, barely having enough time to breath. “My dear, why…would you….visit a…tree? It’s not a…person!” Rarity was starting to recover, and Applejack was slightly blushing. She couldn’t help herself.

“Fine, Rarity. Ah guess it was a stupid idea to visit a tree,” Applejack responded as she moved towards the door. Before she left, she looked back with a sly smile and quickly said, “Oh, and would’ya mind sayin’ hello to that absolute stud of a diamond Tom for me?” She ran out the door, laughter falling behind her as she fled from Rarity’s angry exclamations.

Applejack laughed softly, never taking her eyes off of the orchard, entranced by the beauty of the light hitting the lake that lay beyond the trees.

About a half an hour later, Applejack yawned, long and wide, and decided that she should probably hit the hay. Looking over at her bed, she was about to do a cannonball into it, but decided better of it, instead shimmying her way down through the sheets, into a tight embrace by the tucked-in sheets and covers, warmed by the sheets, happy that such things had been created.

High above Equestria, in the Dimensional Plane, the Entity began to breach.

Huh…power fluctuations are good…I just hope no one walks in to...this, or I would have to shut it down…I could never escape the pain here…Man, I could go for a McDonald’s-oh, five down, I see. Wait, speaking of McDonald’s…Oh, shit. How am I going to survive in Equestria? I need to eat meat, and every civilized being down there eats either vegetation or concentrated minerals, which only come in the form of gemstones, which would not only break my teeth but rip apart my esophagus and trachea when it goes down…well, at least they have apples and pizza…shit, I hope they accept the whole vegetarian aspect of fish not being meat. Well, time to creep another pony…

Pinkie Pie slept almost as soundly as…well…Pinkie Pie slept. Which was not exactly sound. It was more like a woodchuck trying to chuck stone. The two things just didn’t go together.

Pinkie stared into the mirror at the pink mare with a gravity-defying mane, her eyes barely slits, but somehow still able to see her reflection in the mirror opposite her four-poster canopied bed.

“All right…I’m watching you…You had better go to sleep, Pinkie…big day ahead of you…a lot of things to do…like a party for that new guy who’s coming.”

Her Pinkie Sense had started going crazy just before she went to sleep: a tail twitch, an ear flop, and a cutie shock (when the joint below her cutie mark clicked and sent a shock through her body.) She loved whenever someone new came into town, not only because of the fact that parties and new people were awesome, but also because the cutie shock sent her into an ecstatic state in which her mind went on party overdrive, making ideas for the party and constructing the scene until she had what she needed memorized.

“Alright…time…to sleep. Just like I practiced, every night of my life.”

Her small, high voice was too hushed for anyone else to hear her, as she had last been sent to some weird ponies in white coats when they heard to talking in her sleep like that.

I still can’t believe they thought I was crazy. I’m not crazy, I just think out loud a lot. Wait, am I thinking aloud now? Or am I just talking aloud in my head? Hey, brain, I’m watching you. Don’t try anything funny.

She poked at her head, her eyes crossed at the top of the giant white orbs, her tongue hanging out as if she was concentrating extremely hard, trying to see her forehead with a look not unlike one would use when looking at the suspect of a crime.

She poked her head with finality and a last whispered warning of, “Don’t try anything funny, brain. I know where you live,” and started snoring her high-pitched snore, letting out small whistles. She kept doing so for about a minute.

“That’s not helping you fall asleep,” she whispered to her brain, telling it off for trying to fake snore itself to sleep.

After five hours of tossing, turning, and threatening her mischievous, pink mind, she finally closed her eyes and fell asleep out of nowhere: one second she was about to do laps around her room to get tired, the next second she was knocked out.

The Entity was more alert than ever, ready to plunge deep into the depths of Equestria.

World War III had devastated the world. Not only was the economy shit, people were dying by the millions. Soldiers, mothers, children, countless missiles filled with explosives from TNT to Uranium-237 being plowed into cities. Genocides...something that I had never wanted to see outside of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Unsurprisingly to me, who actually thinks at times, unlike his numbskull colleagues, World War III had started quite differently. Much less...subtly. Instead of one man starting a lie, it was one nation spreading a truth. Rather, one organization spreading a covered-up truth.

You see, my name is Peter Roose. I wanted to be a mechanical engineer, but when I saw World War III on the horizon, I changed. I became a psychological...adventurer, let's say. I delve deep into the mind and I pick out the things that look interesting.

Well, I found something very interesting. And, luckily for me, it was right after the bombing that happened at the Battery Tunnel. Luckily for me, I could escape while the war was young...

Right, the war. Probably should explain that one...a few years back, roughly in 2014, one organization, Unnamed (easily confused with the anti-fraud association, Anonymous) released some images that broke an agreement made between America and Iraq in early 2012. In this agreement, it was decided that neither country should have missile bases in civilian areas. Not only because a power failure would result in the radioactive decay of a civilian district, but also because of the fact that many new terrorist bases were found underneath town halls, morgues, and even Catholic churches (the terrorists decided to use the opposite of the stereotypical Middle-East terrorism base, a clever move.) Overall, the world was in chaos. So, they made the bill I mentioned above. Five months later, Unnamed discovered that one of Obama's new secretaries of defense (he apparently bribed his way in) was aiming missiles right for Iraq from the center of New York City. Not really the best way to keep the peace.

So, he was assassinated by a close friend of mine (if I say his name he'll have to kill me) and the world went on normally.

Unfortunately, the Foreign Interactions guy 'forgot' to tell Iraq that we were no longer aiming missiles at them. Shit got real. The Foreign Interactions douche was beheaded by Obama himself (he went insane, seriously, after he found out that we could all die, he just snapped. They put Bush back in charge because...shit, I don't know. I don't want to start a political debate in a journal about shit that went down.)

Anyway, now New York City is in ruins, I'm in hiding in, ironically, the same CDC that was blown up in the second season of 'The Walking Dead', and I'm hell bent on escaping this world of pain. Getting to my imagination, the Plane of Imagination...I had discovered it during my college years.

I won't bore you with the 'Imagination Plane', but I will tell you that when it's accessed, I can leave. I'll destroy the portal with a timed explosive, as I don't want radiation leaking through to that world...

Anyway, I'm trying to breach into Equestria. There. Plain and simple. However, I need the Mane Six to be asleep, or their harmonious thoughts will block my device-the Entity.

The Entity reads the Dimensional Plane on which Equestria sits, and will tell me when all of the Six Harmony Ponies are asleep. And yes, I watch the ponies in their daily activities. Friendship is Magic was cancelled after Hasbro was torn to pieces by a nuclear bomb in an attempt to stop one of Americas' largest economic outposts. Luckily, they forgot about the weed company that is now set up. Yep, you heard me right. Legal weed, for those who just want to escape it all. Luckily, I can now do that without weed.

Anyway, I think it's about time I explain my awkward set up here...I'm locked in the CDC basement, just like that doctor in The Walking Dead (you know, it's really depressing to associate my position with that of a cop who has to deal with a bitchy blonde who can't get over the death of her sister...) and I'm building it out of computer parts. I was in my High Shcool robotics team, 806: Brooklyn Blacksmiths, which gives me an advantage with this electrical maze, but still, it's grueling work.

In the center of this room is a giant, circular platform with some rails. I made the portal there. Unfortunately, I can't stand it up. I have to be awkwardly perched on the edge of it, or else I'll fall into the Never Plane (the plane were your mind just doesn't give a shit about logic.)

Well, that's really all you need to know. I don't want you guys to know too much, you might just be military operatives...but, whatever, fuck it. The C-4 is already beeping, the Mane 6 are asleep, and I'm leaving this world of death and sorrow.

Peter Roose, Brony, age: 29, Family: died in the Grand Central Station event, Time of Log Off: 6:26 P.M. Date: 12/31/2026.

Oh, and one more thing. Everything here I said is useless, as the nuclear power plant in Japan is melting down.

And what I mean by that is the last one is melting down. They're all exploding simultaneously.

So, at midnight, on December 31st, 2026, the world is going to end with one huge bang...the bang of a giant nuclear explosion ten times that of the sun...times ten to the power of twenty three. That's in Mega Joules. One joule is enough to vaporize water. A mega joule is enough to vaporize me, a 112 pound Brony with extremely high metabolism. That amount of joules will take out earth and irradiate the moon, possibly even mars if it's in the right, actually wrong, place at the right/wrong time.

Well, I have to go. The C4 is setting off in five minutes. And you know what?

Finally. I hate it hear. The death that goes on around me...I'm the only person in the CDC who doesn't have radiation poisoning.

I'm the only one who went to Xaverian that made it out alive.

I am the luckiest man, and I am the unluckiest man.

Goodbye,

Peter Roose

And a post script: If anyone is somehow reading this...if somehow the CDC's terminal mainframe is still intact, and someone is reading this...I know that I must sound extremely anti-human right now. But listen to me: I forgive every person who has committed acts of warfare on the United States of America. I even forgive the Defense Secretary and the Foreign Interactions guy. I forgive them all. Because 'they know not what they do.' I call to you to forgive my people, if you are reading this far in the future. And I want you to promise yourself something: never give up. I've given up on the people here, and it's a horrible feeling, as if the whole world is against me. But never give up. People may suck sometimes, but just give them a chance...

List of OC's

This is a list of the OC's you guys should expect to see soon. (Some of them will be Elders, and those OC's will be introduced either soon, or much, much later in the plot.)

This is ever changing, so I can include new ponies all the time:

Professor Litmus

Fugl Føniks a.k.a. Phoenix

Jett Stjerne a.k.a. Jetstar

Metall Kant a.k.a. Metal Edge

Vector

Bio-Pony

Cool Bro

Vind Rullator a.k.a. Wind Walker

Naturalist

Deajer den Trollmann a.k.a. Deajer the Enchanter

Phantom Hurricane

Knuckle Joe

Chill Mists

Drøm Mester a.k.a. Dream Master

Sølv Brann a.k.a. Silver Fire

Mørk Natt a.k.a. Dark Night

Fakkel Spekter a.k.a. Flare Specter

Lys i Mørket a.k.a. Light in the Darkness (Okay, will be hinted at, and even seen, but not the real Lys i Mørket...you'll see...)

Jord Rullator a.k.a. Earth Walker

Magi Stjerne a.k.a. Magic Star

Brann Bolte a.k.a. Fire Bolt

Gammel Hjerte a.k.a. Old Heart

Wave Rider

Brenning Kuling a.k.a. Burning Breeze

Sjø Sue a.k.a. Sea Breeze

Skelo Tin

Silver Tin

Crimson Daggry a.k.a. Crimson Dawn

Atonal

And more are to come, if you keep sending them in. When you submit an OC, I'll post it up here.

The New Pawn

Trixie, the Great and Powerful, lay quivering on her bed, Scared and Weak.

No...I only want to humiliate her...

The poisonous chuckle filled her mind once more, inseminating her with thoughts and ideas...

Yes, you want to humiliate her...and see her head upon a spike. You want to taste her blood, you want to smell her fear, as well as the fear of her friends...

The blue unicorn shook her head violently, her eyes darting around her small caravan, her silver mane shaking in time with her body as she rocked herself back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...

And you especially want to see that human freak dead, as he disrespects you as Great and Powerful...

"No...no...get out of my head...."

You want to see her quiver in fear and pain, as you pull her apart, bit by bit...

"No...please...I don't want to kill anypony, I just want to humiliate her..."

You wish to kill her painfully...and slowly...

"No...no.........................no....."

Yes. She humiliated you, and exiled you from Ponyville...

"Yes.....she did....."

And now...you must exile her...from this life.

Trixie stood, her eyes bloodshot from the five sleepless days of torment.

"Yes...I do. I want to see her quiver..."

You want to see her die...

"No. I want to kill her."

Trixie grabbed her hat, flipping it onto her head, and looked ahead with a determined, insane glare.

"I will kill her."

Yes...but you are too weak now...simply wait...and I will give you power, that you can crumble mountains with...

"Yes...I will kill her, and flout her 'power' with my own."

Yes...now, rise, Trixie den Store og Mektige. Rise, and with your new name, kill Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Spike, and, most of all...Peter Roose.

The blue unicorn did as she was told, smiling a twisted, cruel smile.

A Letter

Jett Stjerne stood by as Metall Kant read the letter, his features indifferent.

The letter read as such:

Metall Kant,

We have failed. Lys will not awaken.

We return upon the morrow.

Gammel Hjerte.

Metall Kant threw the parchment down on his desk, and turned to face the Pegasus.

"When was this letter sent?"

"Yesterday. The crypts were more than confusing."

Metall Kant nodded, remembering the ancient burial ground all too well.

"Well, go rest. You deserve it."

The red Pegasus nodded and started for the door, head held high.

"Oh, and Jett?"

The Elder stopped halfway through the door, looking back over his shoulder.

"Yes?"

Metall Kant smiled. "Welcome home."

Jett Stjerne smiled back.

"After 100 years on this fool's errand, it's good to be home."

Metall Kant blinked, surprised by the sudden change of heart in the Pegasus: he was the Elder who had fought the hardest for the expedition to go on.

How much of a failure must this expedition have been?

He was about to find out, as the bell for the arrival of Elders tolled, signaling the arrival of what Metall Kant believed to be a group 20 Elders strong.

However, the truth can be a very harrowing thing.

The Beginning

        Celestia returned to her chambers, the grey Pegasus shrinking back slightly.

"P...princess?"

The regal alicorn looked down at her subject with, thankfully, subdued ire. About eight hours ago, Celestia had left in a flash, not even shouting at Ditzy Doo as she did so. She simply left, her destination being the Hall of the Elders.

And now, she had returned, subdued.

"Well, Drøm Mester wasn't there. However, Metall Kant was more than willing to explain why."

She stood directly above the Dreamer, thoughts joining her others in their stampedes.

"He told me it was so that I wouldn't hurt the new wielder. But I almost did. Because I thought he was a hostile being. If only I had known-"

"You would've taken him in as your own apprentice, trying to prematurely cultivate the Seventh Element of Harmony within him. And then, it would never truly form. He wouldn't have fallen in love so quickly. Because if one doesn't love, why would they Sacrifice?"

Celestia nodded. She remembered how only love had brought the Element of Sacrifice to surface in Gylden Glør all those years ago, namely the love between him and the Dreamer.

"I am sorry. I was going to order you beheaded...thankfully, I was able to keep my own head before..."

Ditzy Doo chuckled lightly, and Celestia narrowed her eyes.

"Still haven't forgiven you, though."

Ditzy Doo let the chuckle die.

"So, you're sure that you can restore that foal to her former state?"

"No. I hope I can, however."

Ditzy Doo nodded.

"Well, at least you're completing three tasks with one stone...cultivating love, restoring Sjø Sus, and helping the New Age Elders realize their purposes..."

Celestia nodded. She knew what she was doing.

"Now, then...somepony, or, rather, some gryffon visited while you were gone...said it was a pity that you were gone, as he was willing to help you weed out a few of the eunuch's spies."

"Please. Where could these spies possibly be that-"

"Everywhere. They're preparing for war."

Metall Kant

Metall Kant struck at the post once more, trying time and time again to split through it. His recent...'conversation' with Celestia had shown him something...

Equestria was on the brink of war, Discord was about to kill ponies for chaos....the two went hoof in hoof.

And now, the Elders needed to be as strong as possible.

Even those who had lost friends and siblings.

She was Crimson Daggry's sister...he shall mourn her...and I shall watch...pah...thousands of years, wasted...

He struck at the post once more, knowing full well that, by the end of the month, he would need every ounce of his strength...

And even more.

Privacy (The Train, Day 5)

"Do you remember that, Peter? When we decided to get married?"

Rainbow Dash sobbed by his bedside, cursing Celestia for not getting them to a hospital then, or sooner.

"What...what the buck!?"

She looked up at the ceiling, shouting with all of her force.

"Why, Celestia, why!? Why would you let this happen to me, to us!? Why would you let my foal go fatherless!? I fought Nightmare Moon for you!! I've laid down my life for you, twice! Buck you, Celestia! Buck you for you and your...your..."

She released a final, wordless cry, then thrust her face into the sheets, crying harder than she ever had before.

"He...he promised to raise the foal with me...he asked me to marry him...we were going to have a family together...and now, he's in a coma, about to die...why...just...why..."

She stood, fury coursing through her.

"Why!?"

She kicked at the wall, wanting to break right through it. She turned, and kicked at the bookcase, obliterating the wooden furniture, the satisfying crunching music to her ears.

I'll show her...I'll break everything that Celestia gave us...

She shouted in fury, kicking at the rest of the furniture, sure to leave Peter's bed untouched.

"Buck you, Celestia," she shouted, panting, sitting amongst the ruins of the room, tears falling unbidden to the floor.

She looked up to Peter, and shook her head.

"If only he were awake...he would comfort me..."

She walked over to him, and kissed him on the forehead. A momentary relief filled her as she felt that his fever had cooled a small amount.

She sighed, knowing that she was being ridiculous to doubt Fluttershy's ability to stabilize his organs...

She pressed her ear to his chest...

And listened.

And listened.

And listened.

However...

She heard nothing.

Panicking, she withdrew her head, and tore back the membrane, shouting as her friends stared in shock.

"Twilight! Fluttershy! Help!"

Said ponies exchanged a glance, and bolted for the room, ready to medically assist Peter.

Twilight

She rushed past Rainbow Dash, unable to ignore the destruction in the room.

"Rainbow Dash...what happened..."

The cyan Pegasus blushed.

"I...I got a bit mad...but that doesn't matter right now! Just check Peter!"

Twilight nodded, and pressed her glowing horn to Peter.

She gulped, and withdrew her head.

She turned to Rainbow Dash, her heart heavy with the words that she forced out of her throat.

"Rainbow Dash...he's...he's..."

"What!?"

Twilight looked away. She couldn't bear to say it to her face...

"He's gone."

The Return, Part 2

       Peter felt Dispair enter his heart.

The life he could have had with Rainbow Dash...

Gone. Never to be reality...

He was walking alongside Rainbow Dash, their child smiling in the gentle breeze.

And then, everything was burning.

The child in the stroller growled at Peter, an Rainbow Dash gurgled as life left her.

Nothing left

He should just give up...

He could never get back to Rainbow Dash.

He was dead.

He could never return to her...

No...

He could.

And he would.

The world came back into focus, and he saw the hilt of a blade thrust into his face.

"Take it. This wasn't supposed to happen. Discord sent these Skygger."

Peter grasped the hilt, peering down at his now-healed midsection.

He turned, an stabbed at the horrid monster.

It dissipated, and melted away.

Peter looked to the goat-pony-thing.

"Go! Run! I'll take care of them! Just get out of here!"

Peter nodded, and turned, fleeing for the exit.

When he reached it, another monster appeared in front of him.

He sliced at it. It dissipated.

He slammed his body against the door and ran through.

As he looked back, the final thing he saw was the goat-pony-thing, in the center of a ring of the monsters.

Peter gulped, turned, and ran.

However, something blocked his way.

His jaw dropped

How the fuck would he get around this thing?

It swiped at him with a massive arm, and he managed to get out of the way just in time.

Thinking fast, he embedded the blade into the beast's wrist. As it pulled it's arm back, he tore it out and jumped onto it's face.

He stabbed it in the eye.

The sword immediately vaporized, and a hand came up to swat him.

He looked down at the ground.

About seventeen feet below him.

He gulped...

And he jumped, the wind not present to make his clothes flap as he fell.

Together and Apart

Rainbow Dash bawled against Twilight's coat in the train.

"We were going to get married!! We were going to have a family..."

She sobbed, and pulled herself off of Twilight, stalking off towards the library.

"Twilight, where's your quill? And where's your paper?"

Twilight was flustered.

"Why?"

"I'm writing a letter to Celestia."

"Uh...I'm not sure you should..."

"Why in the hay not!?"

"Because, sugarcube, yer' all worked up!"

Rainbow Dash gaped at Applejack in surprise.

"You don't say!! My husband-to-be, and the father of my foal, just died because Celestia did nothing!"

"No, Rainbow Dash! I won't let you near my quill and parchment until you calm down!"

"Calm down!? How dare you!? Put me down, Twilight! Put me the buck down!!"

Twilight winced in emotional tumult, her magical aura surrounding Rainbow Dash.

"Twilight."

She nodded, concentrating on the magical hold. Fluttershy continued to talk, raising her voice slightly to drown out Pinkie Pie's insanely loud sobbing, and Rainbow Dash's shouting.

"Let her go..."

Twilight did. Not because she wanted to, but because she just couldn't do it anymore. Her emotions were bubbling over too much, and so were her tears.

Tears for Peter, that a friend of hers had died.

And tears for herself, because Celestia had abandoned her.

"Go ahead...but...let me write something in the post script..."

"Yeah, whatever."

Rainbow Dash immediately picked up the magically supplied quill, and wrote on the magically levitated paper.

After a few moments, consisting mainly of sobs and occasional scratching noises, as well as small curses here and there, the paper was passed over to Twilight, which read as such:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Buck you.

I'm at a loss for words.

You let him die.

My husband.

My foal's father.

After I fought Nightmare Moon and Discord for you...

This is how you repay me?

Buck you,

Rainbow Dash.

Twilight gulped, and added her own small post-script.

P.S. I refute you as my mentor. -Twilight Sparkle

She walked over to the membrane, behind which Spike and Rarity remained oblivious.

Spike stood, and grasped the scroll.

"What happened?"

"Peter's dead..."

Spike blinked. Twilight sobbed. Rainbow Dash roared in agony and rage. Applejack shook her head in disappointment, holding her hat to her chest with a hoof. Pinkie Pie cried even louder. Fluttershy closed her eyes.

And Peter stood, unseen, and unheard by anypony as he gently retracted the membrane covering his compartment in the train, shaking his head, amazed that the flu had actually left his body...

Peter

Peter winced as he heard Rainbow Dash scream at Celestia, for letting him die.

Oh, geez...I guess I really was dead...

He gulped, wanting noting more than to run over and embrace her...

Oh, man...how do I tell her?

He licked his lips.

Staying at the entrance to his compartment, he watched Rainbow Dash, keeping his body hidden behind the wall.

How do I tell her...

A wave of ecstasy crashed over him as he breathed fresh air. He was alive. He could return to Rainbow Dash, and to his unborn child.

Resisting the urge to dance, shout, and punch in victory, he pulled back behind the wall, hidden from sight completely.

He heard Rainbow Dash claim that she 'needed some privacy', despite just pouring her extensive vocabulary out right in front of anypony.

Peter hurried back into his bed, trying to make it seem as sublime as possible...

Wait...I could just claim that I woke up...

He opened his eyes, just as the sound of gentle clopping, and heavy sobbing, reached the entrance to his compartment.

Rainbow Dash walked in, not looking at him, and pulled over the membrane. Sobbing, her eyes closed, she sat next to Peter, tears streaming down her face.

"Peter...I thought I would be able to have a life with you...

"I thought I would be able to be a parent with you...

"I wanted to be one...

"For the first time, I was actually willing to take a step of commitment...

"And then, Celestia tore it away from me...

"She tore it all away..."

She placed her front hooves on the edge of his bed, and Peter resisted the urge to touch her. He would probably just give her a heart attack...

She pressed her face into his death bed, and sobbed harder and harder, tearing holes in Peter's heart as he watched her.

"Peter...I love you...and now, I can't tell you...I can, but...you won't hear me..."

Peter gulped. He abandoned caution as he whispered to her. "Yes, I will."

She looked up, shocked, her eyes flying open, to stare into his eyes.

"Peter...you...you're..."

Her words died. She threw her forelegs around Peter, and held him close.

"Peter! You're alive!!"

Peter smiled, and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her in a tight squeeze as they both cried in ecstasy and never-ending happiness.

"I love you Rainbow Dash. I came back for you, and for our foal. I wouldn't let something like death get in between us, now, would I?"

She giggled lightly, and kissed him all over his head: his cheeks, his forehead, his nose, and finally, on the lips, drawing him into a deep, passionate kiss, that seemed to last for eons.

When they parted, Peter pulled her back for more. He loved her, and he wanted her to know it.

"I love you, Rainbow Dash..."

He kissed her, over and over again, eventually pulling Rainbow Dash onto his chest as they kissed, their love finding new heights that they never had before.

Suddenly Rainbow Dash pulled back her head, remembering the explanation Peter had given her for his...member being out, as a human.

"Well, I see you're excited to see me, Peter!"

She smiled at him, and he smiled back. Before drawing her into another kiss, he whispered one thing.

"You have no idea, Dashie..."

Celestia

Celestia frowned down at the rather...disrespectful, letter.

"Oh, my...it seems as though they did take it the wrong way...but, then again, I expected this..."

Ditzy Doo smiled, and nodded. Celestia raised an eyebrow at the grey Pegasus. She seemed to be extra bubbly that evening...

"What is it, Ditzy Doo? Why are you so happy?"

She grinned, and Celestia simply stared.

"Gammel Hjerte is dead!"

Celestia blinked, then smiled, quoting a film that she had seen with Luna the other day.

"I love it when a plan comes together!"

Gammel Hjerte

The Elder of Death...

Was dead.

However, the Elder of Time...

Was not.

Gammel Hjerte nodded to Metall Kant, quite pleased with himself.

"So, you say that your Death counterpart is now behind the Gates of Death?"

"Yes, Metall."

The black pony sighed, relieved that he had not lost yet another accomplice...

"Good...when shall we retrieve your counterpart?"

Gammel Hjerte smiled.

"Oh, not for a while."

Metall Kant raised an eyebrow, and Gammel Hjerte grinned.

"We wouldn't want to interrupt his lovely conversation with our old...'friends', now, would we?"

Metall Kant blinked.

And smiled.

"No, we would not..."

Note from the Author

Who are their old friends?

Hell, idk, I'm still looking through my countless OC's for possibilities...

Behind Closed Doors, Part 1 (WARNING: MATURE CONTENT)

WARNING: MATURE CONTENT.

AND STUFF.

My first clop, so be gentle.

I don't want to be responsible for skinning you like the wonder boner.

Peter kissed the cyan Pegasus for all it was worth. He just couldn't stop...

"Rainbow Dash, I love you..."

Rainbow Dash smiled and kissed him again. When she pulled back, she lay down next to him, spreading her wings to encompass him. "I love you too, Peter."

Peter put a his right hand on her belly, which was still rather flat. "I'm never going to leave you...never again..."

Rainbow Dash smiled, still crying as Peter rubbed her back.

"Peter...I thought I would never see you again...I just...I was so, so scared..."

Peter kissed Rainbow Dash on the forehead, holding her tight against his body. "Rainbow Dash, stop crying...I'm here now...you have nothing to be afraid of..."

Rainbow Dash sobbed once more. "Peter...I love you....I'm so sorry, that I ever felt that I couldn't bring myself to do it with you as a human..."

Peter blinked. "W...What?"

"Peter, I love you. And now....I see that I took that for granted...I took you for granted...Peter, I want to do it with you. I love you so much, and I want to do it with you as you really are...not as a Pegasus. You're not a Pegasus, you're a human. I want you as you, Peter, and I can see that now..."

Peter's heart was bursting with love. He still couldn't get over his human-supremist mindset, but he wanted to do it with her, too...As he really was.

"I love you, Rainbow Dash...I want to do it with you, as I really am..." He lowered his left hand to her crotch, and traced the small slit with his finger. She blushed, holding Peter tighter with her wings. Hooking his finger, he gently opened the outer lips, ushering a small gasp from the cyan Pegasus. He pushed his index finger in, up to the middle, and started gently massaging her inner lips.

"Peter, yes...I love you, Peter..."

Peter kissed her as he continued, his finger growing slightly wet as he pushed it in and out, loving every time she panted or moaned...

"I love you, Peter..."

He smiled, and inserted a second finger, moving both his hand and his fingers, massaging her inner lips with his fingers, her clitoris with his palm.

"Oh, yes, Peter..." She moaned, squirming in pleasure as liquid started to come out of her lips. Panting, she held a hoof up to Peter's chest.

"Wait...enough with the fingers..." She moaned as Peter removed his fingers, slowly and carefully, causing her never-ending pleasure as he did so. "I'm ready...put it in..."

Peter smiled, and pulled his pants down to his knees, his erection springing up as the elastic waste band of his sweatpants were released from the enlarged head. After he wiped his hands on the bedsheets, he removed his shirt, wrapped his arms around Rainbow Dash, and poised himself just so. He whispered into Rainbow Dash's ear, the cyan Pegasus closing an eye in pleasure as the head of his erected penis barely rubbed her outer lips.

"I love you, Rainbow Dash..." He pushed upwards, spreading open her tight, inner lips to accept his throbbing head. His eyes rolled back into his head for a split second as he felt her warm, wet walls, but he kept going, pressing his veined shaft deeper into her, feeling every little fold of skin...

Finally, he was in past the head, and now on the bulk of his mass. The both of them panting, he slowly pushed himself in further, until he was all the way in.

Panting, Rainbow Dash stated the obvious. "This is...so different...from when we did it...in the hammock..."

Peter nodded, gently pulling his shaft out, but not all the way. When he felt his head reach her inner lips again, he pressed back in, slowly and gently, ushering a moan and a pant from both Peter and Rainbow Dash.

It was true. This was much more different...

The last time, in the hammock, it had been fast, sloppy, and naughty. If anypony had seen them, they would've sworn it wasn't either of their first times.

However, this time...it was full of emotion, and they were doing it because they could. Because they were able to, and they were so happy that Peter had come back to life...

"Peter...I love you..."

Peter tried to form words, but failed, as his flared hormones were causing him to thrust once more, but not quickly. He didn't want to go too fast and somehow hurt her, or the baby.

Peter and Rainbow Dash kept moaning for another five minutes, before Peter felt his climax approaching, and quickly.

"Rainbow Dash, I'm going to..." Peter and Rainbow Dash locked eyes, and the cyan Pegasus smiled.

"I know..." She kissed him, and held him tighter as he came. She wrapped her hooves around him, moaning as she felt his warm liquid spreading through her.

"Oh, yes..."

Peter panted as he pulled his, now flaccid, penis out. He looked into Rainbow Dash's eyes, and kissed her. As soon as they parted, the both of them savoring each others' tastes, Peter passed out, the physical exertion of sex, and the shock from coming back to life finally catching up to him.

Peter awoke, finally, with Rainbow Dash in his arms,, and his pants around his knees. he moved to pick them up, but accidentally disturbed Rainbow Dash, who hadn't been sleeping at all.

"Oh! You're finally awake!"

Peter nodded, and rolled onto his back, his pants still around his knees, the air chilling his bare chest. "Rainbow Dash...that was amazing..."

The cyan Pegasus nodded, and climbed on top of him, laying down on her back. Peter smiled, her fur rubbing up against his bare skin, making him feel warm and comforted.

She sighed, her hooves on his knees, her head on his shoulder. "I love you, Peter..."

Peter lay a hand on her belly. He could feel himself growing hard again, and quickly, the air chilling his erection as he whispered into her ear. "I love you too, Dashie..."

He reached down with his left hand, his right remaining on her belly, and gently parted her outer lips, ushering a gasp from Rainbow Dash.

"Oh, yes, Peter...do that again..."

He smiled, and immediately shoved his middle and ring fingers through her outer lips, massaging her vagina and inner lips much more quickly and sensually than he had before. He was determined to make her cum.

Rather quickly, the coat around her lips were covered with a slim wetness, and Peter kept going, the tip of his erection poking her teasingly as she squirmed in pleasure.

"Oh, yes Peter...I'm close...I'm going to..."

She shouted, liquids being expelled from her vagina as the walls convulsed in the most amazing orgasm she had ever had. In fact, the first orgasm she had ever had...

Peter kept going, determined to make her feel as wonderful as possible.

"Yes, Peter, yes! Keep going! Oh, yes!!"

"WHAT IN THE-"

Peter and Rainbow Dash looked up, mortified as Twilight stared at them, the sound-blocking membrane closed behind her.

"Oh...Peter...you're...alive..."

Peter quickly removed his hand from Rainbow Dash's crotch, blushing as Twilight looked down.

"And...active..."

Peter blushed even deeper, and covered his erection, silently cursing the day his mind had become so dirty.

"So...you wanna have a three way?"

If they had blinked, they would have missed Twilight running through the membrane.

Behind Closed Doors, Part 2 (NO MATURE CONTENT)

No mature content in this one.

Another Rift appeared. Dying in the Realm of Death...as the Elder of Death...

This may have unprecedented consequences...I can feel the other universe closing in...

Behind him, a horrible screech filled the darkness of the Realm of Death. The Gates of Death were slowly being bent, the presence of the Elder of Death behind its dark doors tearing the border between this world an another...

I need to find them. If we can win their collective allegiance, we can fight back the Skygger in the Realm of Darkness...

He walked on in the now-twisted world. A second Rift opened, and another screech sounded out.

This Realm is falling apart...what were we thinking...

Gammel Hjerte looked back at the Gates of Death. They were almost bent completely in half, and a large Rift was forming behind them.

Not much time...

He turned, and took another step forward on the barren landscape.

It collapsed beneath him, and he grabbed onto the sides of the hole. A giant Rift absorbed the pieces of reality. Another screech.

With a grunt, Gammel Hjerte pulled himself up.

And there, before him, holding out a hand...

Was Peter Roose, his twenty-nine years of life evident in how his soul shimmered.

"Thank you for the help, but no thank you. I need to talk to you.

"I need to know how you got here. I know that you shot out your memories of that...war. I know that your twenty-nine year old self is dead, obviously. But, I need those memories.

"I need to have those memories, and so does Celestia. We're going to war, and we need your technology, and to know how you got here. If we do, we can mend the Rifts, and find the memories in the Realm of Dreams."

The twenty-nine-year old Peter frowned. "I can't. I can't let that kind of destruction enter this world-"

"What!? We're going to war! You can't just-"

"Under Celestia."

Gammel Hjerte blinked. "W...What?"

The soul's eyes flashed red. Gammel looked over his shoulder, and saw Guile and Corruption.

"Wait...you don't have to do this!"

"All hail Discord."

The soul pushed him into the hole, and through the Rift. Gammel fell through, shouting a wordless cry as he was sent to another universe.

The twenty nine year old soul of Peter Roose stood, and smiled as Gammel Hjerte fully left that universe. With a horrible resonance, the Gates of Death exploded, shrapnel flying everywhere.

The soul walked forward, Guile, Corruption, and an army of Skygger in his wake. As they walked, the gap where the Gates of Death once were solidified, becoming a giant white door, leading right into the Realm of Dreams.

"Let's get to work..." The corrupt, now totally black, soul pointed forward, and the Skygger began assaulting the doors.

Discord smiled.

He was winning a war that hadn't even begun.

A Revelation

        Metall Kant frowned at Peter. "That was horrible," the pony growled. "How are you supposed to be the seventh element of harmony, when, without the power of the Dream Realm to aid you, you can barely even hold a real sword? Machetes do not count, they're lightweight."

Peter blinked, stunned by what had just occurred. "I thought you said I would die for real if I failed..."

"I lied," Metall Kant huffed, "in an attempt to motivate you. Obviously, Love isn't enough to defeat these demons that will soon plague this world..."

Peter blinked in shock. "Wait...These things exist? But...They have human bodies! I thought they were just made by this Realm of Trials to fuck with my head...How do they exist as humans? And why?"

Metall Kant sighed. "If you are destined to one day fight them...Then I believe you deserve to know." Donning a foreboding expression, Metall Kant cautiously let go of the most precious information he knew. "You are not the first human in Equestria."

Peter gasped and stumbled back into the chair behind him. "What? But...Where are the other humans?"

"I said last," Metall Kant said. "I never alluded to any currently...living...humans."

Peter  ran a hand through his hair. "Tell me more," he demanded.

"I cannot," Metall responded. "You must learn the rest on your own." A few moments of silence passed as Peter simply sat and took deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself and cope with what he had just been told.

"Well, are you ready to try again?" Metall Kant asked.

"No," Peter responded. "I can't even lift a sword, and I have a lot of shit to think about, and even more to ask Twilight...Just...Just send me back..."

Metall Kant sighed, and nodded. "Alright. While you're awake, be sure to have Rainbow Dash help you work out. You'll need it for the training I'm going to give you in your dreams."

With that, a fluffy, bright light accumulated beneath Peter, and he started to slowly drift back into the realm of consciousness.

Note from the Author

I wrote this on my new LG Spectrum, so I had to keep it a bit short for the sake of my sanity...Btw, expect a few longer waiting times between each chapter, as I have a shitload of work to do  this summer...I'm going into Junior year of highschool, and I'm going to be taking College classes.