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Chapters

Prologue
Friendship was never magic
Applebuck syndrome
Dragonshy
Recoil and regrets
Heartache
Change of fate
Epilogue

Prologue

Have you ever wondered how when you do something, how much of a meaning it truly has? A simple task, done or not, could produce two very different timelines? One might be for better or for worse. A single decision could leave you successful and wealthy, or starving on the streets. That is what my hobby is. Changing the lives of others. I have practiced an ancient spell that allows me to change a certain moment in a pony’s life to leave them in despair. Well, I used to anyways. I have decided to abandon this treacherous magic after my last conjuration.

I came in contact with a special pony, a pony whose very existence has saved Equestria many times. Without her, this land would be nothing more than a place of evil and despair. As I sit rotting in this dungeon cell, let me spin you a horrid tale. A story of how one life could mean the protection of many others. I will tell you when I personally dealt with this pony. But for the rest of her story, I will cast a spell to project the memory. So now, let me tell you the tale of young Pinkamena Pie.

For many years I have used this dark magic to bring pain and suffering to ponies. I still remember one of my latest subjects and how I made his life miserable. I cannot quite remember his name, but he was a true success in Equestria. His business rivaled that of Filthy Rich himself. He was about to have a major increase of profit that would put poor Filthy in shame.

Seeing how successful he was left me beside myself. I decided to see how his life would be without his fortune. I allowed him into my dwelling to give him a 'reading' of his future. I told him that in order for this to work, he would have to tell me of a time in his life where he received his wealth. It was a simple business transaction. He could invest into one product or the other. The one he invested in gave him his profit. The other went under. I simply made him choose the other product so he would lose his money. One thing led to another and now he is nothing but a groundskeeper for the princess.

While I do wish it could be worse, it still is nice to see one’s life taken away and replaced with a less desirable one. While I sat and admired my past work, it was time to relish that sweet sensation once again. Through the opening of my simple dwelling came a bright pink mare. She was skipping merrily while humming a happy tune. It disgusts me to see others filled with joy. What else to do then take away thus joy? I quickly put on a cheap smile and welcomed her into my domain.

"Welcome, dear visitor. Welcome to the place of ancient wonders!" I do hate giving this ridiculous introduction, but it puts ponies into good moods. It allows for their guard to be lowered so my spell would work easier.

"Hey there, I'm Pinkie Pie!" The enthusiastic pony exclaimed. "You sure do have a lot of fancy knick-nacks here!" She picked up an old crystal gem and started to make faces at it. She was obviously amused of its reflection.

"Yes, I do like to collect these small relics. It is a hobby of mine." I commented, looking for the book that held my special spell.

"That does sound like a fun hobby. I like hobbies too. Some of my hobbies are singing and dancing and making cupcakes and singing and throwing parties and playing with my friends and singing-" she continued to list off her random activities of interest while I pulled out the dusty scroll containing the altering spell.

"-and taking care of my pet alligator gummy and dancing and giving gifts and making ponies smile and pulling pranks-" how is she still going? She had not made any attempt at regaining her breath. "-and looking over the cakes' kids and making new friends and-" her chattering was cut of by a small crash. I looked up to see that she had dropped the crystal gem and it was now shattered across the floor.

"Opps." She said with an innocent smile. "I can fix that. I just need some tape and a bottle of pickles." I had only talked to her for a minute and she had already begun to annoy me. It was time for the spell.

"Oh, there is no need for that now. I have something to show you." I said as I tried to hide my anger.

"Really? What is it? Is it super-super cool?" She asked as she hopped toward my table.

"Of course it is. All I need you to do is tell me about yourself." As much as I didn't want her to go rambling off again, this information was needed for the spell. "Do you have any important friends that you, uh, 'hang out' with?"

"Well, there is my friend Rainbow Dash, the coolest and fastest pegasus pony in all of Equestria! There's Applejack, a very hard worker and really dependable friend. Fluttershy is fun to be around even if she doesn't like to be noticed. Oh, oh, and Rarity is a fabulous pony with an eye for fashion!" Dear Celestia, this is almost unbearable to listen to. I don't know how long I can keep this up.

"And there's also my bestest friend Twilight! She is the most super-duper-fantasmiristic unicorn ever!" Wait, did she just say she knows Twilight Sparkle?

"Young child, did I hear correctly that you know Twilight Sparkle PERSONALLY?" I asked with bewilderment.

"Yes indeedy, she is the bestest friend a pony could ask for! We go on tons of fun adventures and stuff." She was bouncing with excitement as she talked about her friend. It seems as though her friendship with Twilight is very important to her.

"So, may I ask you a question?" I asked as I lit up my horn to begin the alteration spell.

"Sure, go for it!" She said with an enthusiastic smile.

"When exactly did you meet Twilight?" I asked as a soft glow appeared behind her.

"It was a couple of years ago during the Summer Sun Celebration. I welcomed her to Ponyville with a big party!" She was clapping her hooves at the fond memory of her past. Just what I need to perform the spell.

"And how exactly did you come to be familiar with Ponyville?" I asked as the entity of magic slowly finished manifesting behind her.

"Well, it was after I left my family's rock farm to live somewhere else. I didn't really know where I was going. I just hopped in a carriage and decided to live where it took me." I was nearly there. I just needed one more bit of information.

"So you must have got off in Ponyville. Did you have any kind of choice of where you were to go?" My spell was almost in motion. I just needed this one last bit of information.

"Well," she said in thought. "There was this one point where the carriage stopped at a fork in the road. The driver asked me if I wanted to turn left to Ponyville, or right to Fillydelphia. I was about to turn right until a small feeling in my heart told me to turn left. So I turned left and lived in Ponyville." A simple decision. Left or right. Just the simplicity of it was exciting.

"Okay, one last thing. Remember the day you left the farm. Remember the time you made your decision." She closed her eyes as she tried to remember that day. This was when I cast the spell upon her. I was allowed to see into her mind and witness that day.

"Now I need you to do something." I told her as I focused my magic into her sub conscious. I could feel as her mind was being altered to my command.

"Ignore the feeling that you have." I was almost done. I just needed to say two simple words.

"Turn right."

Friendship was never magic

It was time for the sun to rise and declare a new day, but the moon was still in the sky. The land that was supposed to be illuminated with the light of the sun was instead dark as the heart of the one who made it so. It was only a few minutes after the disaster found at the summer sun celebration. The ponies hoping to see Princess Celestia raise the sun were met with a dark being threatening to bask them with eternal night.

One lavender pony was determined to see this stopped. She quickly ran to her temporary home in hopes to find a way to stop this dark tyrant. She abruptly entered the library, unbeknownst to the four shadows that followed her. The mare carefully trotted up the stairs into her room. She slowly lifted the sleeping dragon from her back into his little bed. He swiftly sat up and started to mutter.

"We have to stop Nightmare-er ugh." He quickly fell back asleep into his bed. The lavender pony used her magic to cover him with his blanket.

"You've been up all night Spike." She said with sincerity. "You are a baby dragon after all." She swiftly galloped down the stairs and started to rummage through her mass quantity of books. Whatever she found that had no important information was carelessly thrown across the room.

"Elements, elements, elements. How am I supposed to stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?" She asked herself as her search quickened.

"And just what are the Elements of Harmony?!" Came a brash and arrogant rainbow pegasus. "And how did you know about Nightmare Moon? Are you a spy?" Her accusing glare was interrupted as an orange mare pulled her away from Twilight.

"Simmer down Sally, she ain't no spy." She said as she turned to Twilight. "But she sure knows what's goin' on, dontcha Twilight?" Twilight looked at her for a moment and noticed that surrounding her were the other ponies she had met through the day. She gave a small sigh.

"I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon. Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her." She looked up with a concerned face. "But I don't know what they are, where to find them. I don't even know what they do." She looked at the four ponies standing around her. "I would like it if you could help me find a book about them."

The four ponies agreed in unison then spread across the library in search for the book. After a few minutes of searching a soft voice of a yellow pegasus called out. "I-I think I found it. It's called 'The Elements of Harmony: a reference guide'." Twilight quickly walked to the yellow pegasus and looked over the book.

"Yes, this will do." She started to skim the pages in search of information. "Where did you find it?" She asked with interest.

"I-it was under 'E'." Responded the shy pegasus. Twilight looked at the book with amusement, thinking that after this is done she will have to reorganize the library to her liking. She found an entry in the book and read it aloud.

"There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known. Kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty and loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery." The five ponies looked at each other in confusion. "It is said that the last known locations of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. It is located in what is now known as the Everfree forest." The mention of the dark forest brought fear to the five ponies.

"D-do we really need t-to go into the forest?" Asked the nervous yellow Pegasus.

"If the elements are really there, then yes. I'm not telling you to come with me. I'm not asking either. I'd much rather do this on my own." Twilight said to the group of ponies around her. "But I would like for you to show me the way there."

It was a dark night in Fillydelphia. It seemed that the only thing that illuminated the town was the overcompensating amount of colorful strobe lights coming from a certain downtown apartment. The music was blasting and causing the apartment building to shake in its foundation. This loud anomaly was, of course, due to the latest party of Pinkie Pie.

She was celebrating the coming of the longest day of the year. Not really anything to throw a party for, but she takes any opportunity she can get. She was seven hours into her festivities when a loud knock came from the door. Obviously not loud enough as the music easily drowned it out. The knocking got louder and louder, but not quite loud enough to be heard. The knocking stopped and was replaced by the rattling of keys. A few seconds later a gruff, annoyed stallion walked into the room.

He walked up to the giant speakers and quickly unplugged them from the socket. He then turned off the strobe lights and turned on the apartments primary lighting.

"PINKAMENA PIE!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Pinkie backed away in surprise. He only uses her full name when he's angry. " It is three in the morning and I have over twenty complaints about loud music and distracting lights coming from this apartment complex." He stared angrily at Pinkie as she took off the lamp cover from her head.

"Most of these complaints aren't even coming from this building! Most of them are coming from the complexes on the other block! I told you that I give three strikes, and this little incident has given you a lot more than that!" Pinkie put on an innocent smile and tried to calm down the landlord.

"But its the Summer Sun Celebration today! Why wouldn't there be a reason to party?" She asked. This seemed to upset the landlord pony even more.

"First of all, the celebration isn't being held here! It's in Ponyville this year. And second, since we're not celebrating anything. A lot of us are trying to sleep!" He opened one of her kitchen drawers and pulled out the key to her apartment.

"I have given you enough chances. This time, I'm kicking you out!" Pinkie stared helplessly as he dangled the key in front of her. Tears started to form in her eyes. "And don't think that puppy dog routine will work either. It's not going to happen. You have til' tomorrow to move out." The landlord pony started to walk out the door with the key.

"But this was the only apartment left in Fillydelphia! Were else would I go?" Pinkie said, almost in tears. The landlord stopped and turned around with a half angry, half sincere answer.

"The closest town around here is Ponyville. I've heard that Ponyville is a tolerant town. Maybe you should go there." With that the stallion left the apartment, leaving Pinkie in a depressed slump.

This was the fifth place that she was kicked out of this month. Maybe it was time to find someplace new, start again. She did have a choice to move to Ponyville. Something in her told her to go there, but for some reason she ignored it. Now the feeling had returned and she knew that she had to go to Ponyville. She packed up her party supplies in a small wagon then set off for Ponyville.

"So me and fluttershy loop-a-looped a round and WHAM! Caught you right in the nick of time." Rainbow dash said triumphantly, obviously proud of her achievement.

"Yes rainbow, I was there. And I'm very grateful, but we gotta-" She was cut off as a large beast came from the shadows blocking their path. The beast seemed to be a lion with the tail of a scorpion and wings of a bat. "A manticore!" Twilight yelled out in surprise. She looked at her companions with determination. "We gotta get past him!"

The beast lunged forward and swiped at the white unicorn. She swiftly dodged and gave it a quick buck to the face.

"Take that you ruffian!" She yelled out with triumph. The beast easily regained his balance and gave a terrifying roar. The force of the roar caused Rarities hair to frizz up. "My hair!" She cried with annoyance, shortly neglecting the angry beast next to her. She quickly regained consciencness and ran from the beast. The yellow pegasus gave a small "wait", but she was simply ignored.

The beast continued to chase the unicorn until a small force landed on its back stopping it in it's tracks.

"Ye-haw!" Yelled the confident farmer Applejack. "Get along little doggie!" The beast started shaking and bucking around to throw the orange pony off. As the beast moved past Fluttershy she gave another small "wait", which was again ignored. Eventually, the manticore gave a buck hard enough to send the mare flying. She flew past the rainbow pegasus with an, "All yours partner."

The rainbow pegasus gave a nod of agreement and flew to the beast. Fluttershy once again gave a warning that was once again ignored. She continued to fly around it, hoping that flying fast enough around it could disorientate the animal. This attempt deemed useless as the beast easily swatted her away with its tail.

"Rainbow!" Twilight yelled, concerned over the safety of her friend. The manticore scrapped its paw against the ground ready to attack. The four ponies stood in a line also ready to attack. They were almost into the fray into battle when Fluttershy burst in front of them with a loud "WAIIIIT!" The mares and manticore stopped firmly in their tracks.

Fluttershy then turned to the animal and slowly walked towards it. The beast swiftly lifted its paw to strike the yellow pegasus. The other ponies shielded their eyes from what they expected to be disaster.

"Shhh, its okay." Said Fluttershy with a caring voice. The other ponies watched as the manticore looked at the pegasus pony in pain and showed her his paw. A large thorn had been lodged deep into his flesh.

"Oh, you poor, poor little baby." She said with a motherly tone. The other ponies stood in amazement at how Fluttershy could be so brave next to the wild beast. "Now, this might hurt for just a second." She gripped the thorn with her teeth and quickly yanked it out of the manticore's paw. In a fit of pain it grabbed Fluttershy and gave a loud roar.

"Fluttershy!" The other four ponies stood in fear as they were sure the manticore was about to attack their friend. To their amazement the large beast started to purr and lick the pegasus pony's face.

"Oh, you're just a little old baby kitty now aren't you? Yes you are, yes you are." The other ponies trotted past the manticore while it was showing its appreciation for Fluttershy.

"How did you know about the thorn?" Twilight asked as she walked by them.

"I didn't. Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little bit of kindness." Twilight thought about this for a moment and just couldn't hold back a smile. They five mares continued to walk through the dark forest, desperately searching for the castle.

"Ugh, my eyes need a rest from all this icky muck." Came the persnickety voice of Rarity. As she said this aloud they found themselves in a deeper part of the forest, much darker than the rest.

"I didn't mean that literally." Replied Rarity, as she struggled to see in front of her.

"That ancient ruin could be right in front of our faces and we wouldn't even know it!" Twilight exclaimed. The next few minutes were spent calling out to each other and apologizing for running into some pony.

"Oh wait, I think I stepped in something." Said Applejack in an annoyed tone. Fluttershy looked over at where Applejack was and froze with fear. She quickly regained her senses and gave a shrill shriek.

"It's just mud." Applejack said right before coming face to face with what really made Fluttershy scream. She quickly backed away to join the group to see that they were surrounded with many distorted and twisted faces. Panic came about the group as they randomly galloped in hopes to escape this horrid place.

After a few moments of hysteria the ponies found themselves outside of the darker forest.

"Is everypony here?" Applejack asked as she looked around. She watched as the other ponies came out of the woods.

"I can't find Twilight!" Yelled Rainbow Dash. "I think she's still in there!" Worry came to the four ponies standing there. They started calling out Twilight's name to find her.

"Don't worry, I made it out!" Came a familiar voice from the other side of the distorted woods. "I think I'm close to the castle, just try and find another way around these woods!" She yelled. The other ponies shouted in agreement and began to wander around the woods for another way across.

"That's strange," said a confused and tired voice. "I was sure that it would be day by now, but the moon is still in the sky." Pinkie Pie stared up into the blackness of the night in thought. She was currently on her way to Ponyville with her wagon of goods. She blew some of her currently straightened hair out of her face.

"Oh, maybe the princess is playing a little prank on everypony! I sure do like pranks, but I could never do something this good!" The sudden thought of pulling funny tricks on ponies put her in a better mood. She hoped to have high spirits when she arrived at Ponyville. She looked out into the distance and saw the town about a mile away.

To lift her spirit, she started to sing some of the songs she enjoyed as a filly. One of the songs included a merry tune about laughing at what scares you most. As she sung that particular song a strange sense came to her. It was the same feeling she had when she moved away from her families farm. The one that told her to go to Ponyville. It was the same feeling, but it meant something else. It felt as if she was supposed to be somewhere. Somewhere important.

Pinkie simply shrugged off the feeling and continued to skip down the road to Ponyville. She was sure that whatever was to await her in the new town would be something great. Maybe she would meet some new friends who liked her parties as much as she does. Upon this thought her straight hair started to curl back up.

Twilight walked through the archway of the ancient castle ruins with triumph. After her departure from the other ponies, she had helped calm a water serpent by regrowing his ruined mustache with her magic and finally found the ancient castle of the pony sisters. She trotted through the open hallways and stood in awe as she saw the five Elements of Harmony.

Finally, after her long trek through the forest she had found the ancient artifacts that would stop Nightmare Moon and bring peace back to Equestria. Twilight gathered the elements around her and began to feed magical energy into them. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, but she had to do it soon. While she concentrated on giving energy to the five stones a dark entity of power slowly started to envelop them.

Twilight regained her conscience as the elements started to lift from the ground. Unwilling to give up, Twilight lunged for the elements, only to be caught in Nightmare's teleportation spell. After snapping out of her confusion Twilight found herself in one of the old castle towers.

At the end of the room stood Nightmare Moon surrounded by the elements of harmony. Nightmare stood triumphantly, as she had secured the only relics of magic that could stop her. Twilight was not about to let Nightmare to defeat her. She defiantly scraped her hoof against the ground ready to charge at Nightmare. Her horn started to faintly glow.

"You're kidding..... You're kidding, right?" To answer her question Twilight charged at Nightmare with all of her speed. Thinking of this to be an easy fight to win, Nightmare also charged at Twilight. Right before the two collided with each other Twilight used her teleportation spell to get her right between the elements.

"Just one spark." She said as she lowered her head to continued to feed the elements her magic. The stone relics started to glow and shake with magical power. Nightmare quickly moved to the elements and threw Twilight back with a magical discharge. Nightmare now stood in the circle of the elements as they lifted from the ground giving off mass amounts of magical power.

"No...NO!" Nightmare screamed as the elements surrounded her. Twilight smiled in confidence and triumph. Just as the elements reached their peak they fell to the ground losing all of their magical output. Twilight then looked at the stones in fear

"But, where's the sixth element!?" She asked as Nightmare started to laugh. Nightmare brought up her front hooves and brought them down with enough force to shatter the elements into several pieces.

"You little FOAL, thinking you could defeat me!" Nightmare said as she slowly walked towards Twilight. "Now you'll never see your princess or your sun. The night, will last, forever!" She finished with a victorious laugh.

"Elements or no elements, I will stop you Nightmare!" Twilight shakily stood up unsure of her words as the only things that could stop the mare of evil were deemed useless.

"Will you now?" Nightmare asked, amusement emanating from her voice. "I would love to hear just exactly how you plan to do it!" Twilight took a step back, unsure what to do.

"If you ask me, I think I'll make an example of you." Nightmare said as she menacingly approached Twilight. "I want my subjects to know what happens when you disobey my will!" A dark entity of magic started to form around Twilight. Fear was shown through her eyes as the darkness started to phase through her body. She could feel as her insides became colder. The lavender mare struggled to keep her conscious as the world started to fade away.

"I've......failed." With those two words to come from her mouth, she fell to the cold stone ground. Her body started to grow colder as the look of fear was still in her eyes. Twilight Sparkle was now dead.

"Do any of ya see Twilight anywhere?" Asked the concerned voice of Applejack. They had arrived at the castle ruins and were now looking for the lavender unicorn.

"Are you sure she's here? Maybe she hasn't made it yet." Replied the brash voice of Rainbow Dash. She was flying all around the castle looking for the missing mare.

"She was much farther ahead of us," Applejack replied. "There is no doubt that she would be here." They continued to search until the small voice of Fluttershy spoke up.

"I-I think I f-found her, she's in the tower over here." She said as she pointed out the window to the eastern tower. "She's n-not moving a-and she f-feels cold."

The four mare quickly headed toward the tower, hoping that the worst is not what they would find. Upon entry of the chamber they found the purple form of Twilight laying on the ground.

"Twilight....... Twilight. Are you okay?" Asked Applejack as she slowly walked towards the unmoving unicorn. "Twilight?" She put her hoof on Twilight and gently shook her. "Twilight, wake up."

The unicorn continued to lay there unmoving. The other ponies grew worried. Fluttershy covered her eyes as Applejack started to yell.

"Twilight, this ain't funny! Get up, we need to stop Nightmare. We need to stop......" The farm pony tried to clear her throat as she started to sob. She wanted to think that her friend was alright, but she knew the truth. She was dead. Possibly the only pony in Equestria who could have stopped Nightmare Moon was dead.

The other ponies around her also began to cry. Fluttershy and Rarity held their head in their hooves as tears streamed from their faces. Even Rainbow Dash had trouble holding back her tears.

"We should have been with her." Applejack said between sobs. "If we would have stayed with her, this wouldn't have happened." The four ponies sat around the still form of Twilight in sadness. Applejack looked at the ponies surrounding her.

"Come on y'all, we should get her back to Ponyville." The other mares quietly agreed and helped lift Twilight off the ground. Applejack looked up through the hole of the tower into the night sky.

"A'hm sorry we failed you Twilight." She said as she held up the unicorn's body. Things were going to be very different in Ponyville.

"So this must be Ponyville." Came a bright and bubbly voice. She stared up into the sky to see that it was still night. Even if it was a small prank the princess surely wouldn't keep the moon out for this long. She continued on her way down the streets of the small village.

"Where is everypony? Wasn't the Celebration being held here?" She looked around to see doors and windows shut tight, as if to keep out some horrible creature. Pinkie stopped at the edge of town. She saw four mares come out off the woods that lay at the edge of the village. They seemed to be carrying a purple ish unicorn. Pinkie quickly walked up to them.

"What happened here?" She asked. "I thought the princess was coming here to lift the sun and........who's that?" Pinkie pointed her hoof at the motionless unicorn they had been carrying. Applejack gave a small, sad sigh.

"Her name was Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. She tried to stop an evil mare named Nightmare Moon to bring back the day." Apple jack gave Pinkie a sad, tearful look. "An' we failed to be there for her." Pinkie looked at the unmoving mare and the sad looks coming from the others.

"No, that's terrible." She said hesitantly. "Is there anything I can help you with?" The farmer looked at the ground.

"Not much you can help with. We just need to get her back to the library. We have a baby dragon that needs to see her" As they trotted off towards the library, Pinkie felt something in her chest. It felt as if someone had stabbed her heart.

Heartache.......... She has never felt this Pinkiesense before. Her heart did sadden when she left her family, but this feeling was different. It was as if it was trying to tell her something.

Something important.

Applebuck syndrome

It had been three weeks since the events of Nigtmare Moon. The land of Equestria has drowned in the darkness of ever-lasting night. After only three days, the absence of the sun has taken its toll on the crops of the land. Without the earth of the sunlight, many of the plants started to wither.

The many unicorns of the land came together and found out a way to feed their magic into the soil to allow the plants to grow without sunlight. This method leaves many of the less powerful unicorns very weak. Simple day-to-day tasks became exhausting for the magical equines.

While the crops were able to grow again, they would not be as healthy or bountiful as they originally were. Against the horrible outcomes brought by the never ending night, the Apple's crops seem to stand tall and healthy. Being near the end of summer, it was time for Applebuck season.

Due to an unexpected accident that occurred while fixing the old barn, Big Macintosh, the families head farmer, had broken several ribs. He was unable to work during Applebuck season, leaving the entire job to his sister Applejack.

"Boy howdy! I got my work cut out for me." She yelled in excitement. "That there is the biggest bumper-crop of apples I've ever laid my eyes on." Applejack and Bic Mac stood on the outskirts of their apple orchard, glad to see that the cold night had not hindered the growth of their crop.

"Yee-up. Too big for you to handle on your own." Big Mac said in a blunt tone.

"Come on big brother. You need to rest up and get yourself better." Applejack replied, ignoring his statement. "I haven't met an apple orchard yet that I can't handle." Upon this sentiment, she gave an assuring hoof into her brother's ribs.

"Oops. Sorry." She said as she pulled her hoof away. "I'll take a bite out of this job in no time at all." She said with a confident attitude.

"Biting off more than you can chew is just what I'm afraid of." Big Mac replied with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Are you saying that my mouth is makin' promises my legs can't keep?" Applejack rebutted. Big Mac only replied with a simple, "Yee-up."

"Why of all the, this is your sister Applejack, remember? The loyalist of friends and most dependable of ponies!" She exclaimed staring down her brother.

"But still only one pony. And one pony plus hundreds of apple trees just doesn't add up to-" Big Mac was quickly interrupted by his sister, determined to make her point.

"Don't use your fancy mathematics to mutter the issue. I said that I'm going to handle this harvest and I'm gonna prove it to you!" She stared out into the mass amount of apple trees in the distance. "I'm gonna get every last apple out of those apple trees this apple buck season all by myself!"

As she said these words, a thought occurred to her. Big Mac was right, there were hundreds of apple trees that needed to be harvested. This would take a lot of work to be finished. Applejack swallowed the lump in her throat and walked to the first tree to begin her bucking.

"So Pinkie, have you ever had any culinary practice before?" Asked a blue mare with a strange mane resembling that of cupcake frosting. Pinkie sat there at the counter of Sugar Cube Corner, Ponyville's top bakery. She gave some thought into her experience.

"Well, nothing official. But I have thrown many parties before. I always make tons of treats for those. Does that count Mrs. Cake?" She asked. Mrs. Cake thought about this for a second.

"Well, I guess if you have made treats before, that would count as experience." She said as she scribbled down something on a clipboard. "All you really need to do is follow the instructions in the cook books. How do you feel about talking to other ponies? Would you be willing to make sure they have a nice visit?" Pinkie, upon hearing this, grew a wide smile.

"Oh, I love to give ponies a good time. I'm able to get everypony I meet to smile!" She said with giddy enthusiasm. Mrs. Cake wrote down some more notes on her clipboard.

"All right, this job allows you to rent the spare bedroom upstairs, plus a few bits for you to do what you want with. Is that okay dearie?" Pinkie put on a surprised, but happy smile.

"If I work here, I get to live here too? How awesome is that?" She clapped her hooves together in joy. Suddenly a tall, skinny, orange stallion walked through the doorway.

"Honey, don't forget that we have to go to that bakers convention in a couple of weeks." He called out as he held out a calendar. Pinkie curiously stared between Mr. And Mrs. Cake.

"You get to go to a convention too? What's that like?" She asked with eagerness in her eyes. Mrs. Cake gave a small chuckle.

"The bakers convention is where bakers from all across Equestria get to meet each other and share recipes. We also get to talk about how well our businesses have been doing." She put down the clipboard and gave Pinkie a serious look.

"We were hoping to fill our open spot so we didn't have to close the shop every time we needed to go to things like the convention. That gives me one more question to ask you." Pinkie saw the seriousness in Mrs. Cake's eyes and gave a quick look of understanding.

"When we leave the shop to attend events like the convention, would you be able to take care everything that's needs to be done here?" Pinkie sat there for a few moments to find the words to say.

"You can count on me Mrs. Cake." She replied as she brought her foreleg to her head in a salute. Mrs. Cake gave a quick smile and put away her clipboard.

"Okay dearie, come back on Monday and I'll teach you how to run the shop." The two mares shook hooves and stood up. "I think you'll make a great addition to the Sugarcube Corner."

As Pinkie Pie turned to leave, a big smile found its way into her face. "Don't you worry Mrs. Cake! I'll do my best to make the tastiest, wonderific treats ever!" As she left the building, she was welcomed by the darkness of night, held off only by many street lamps that lined the streets of Ponyville.

As she started down the path towards her small apartment building, the ground started to shake underneath her hooves. She saw Rainbow Dash flying above of Ponyville, searching for the disturbance. She looked out into the distance to see a large herd of cattle charging straight for Ponyville.

"Stampede!" Cried out the terrified pegasus. Upon mention of the stampede, the citizens of Ponyville started to panic. The flooded into their homes swiftly shutting their doors and windows tight. Due to the ground shaking under her hooves, Pinkie started to vibrate over the ground. As she tried to talk, her voice was distorted by the tremor.

"H-h-hey. Th-th-th-this m-m-m-makes m-m-m-my v-v-voice s-s-sound s-s-silly!" She said as she shook violently. The panicking ponies around her just ignored her strange behavior and continued to barricade their homes. The mayor stood in the middle of the hysteria trying to calm down everypony.

"Everypony calm down, there is no need to panic."

"But mayor, whatever shall we do?"

"Look there!" Yelled Rainbow Dash as she pointed out into the distance. Among the stampeding cattle, an orange mare and a dog were riding up beside them. The orange mare was carrying a length of rope at her side.

The villagers applauded as they saw Applejack run into the herd of cattle to steer them away from the town. The farm pony and the dog started to narrow the crowd to a more fine pointed herd.

"This is the best rodeo show I've ever seen!" Yelled out Pinkie as she stuffed her face into a bag of popcorn she found conveniently on a nearby popcorn stand. At this point, Applejack had found her way to the front of the stampede.

She abruptly climbed to the top of one of the bovines with her rope in her mouth. With skilled accuracy, she threw the rope around the neck of the leading cow. Applejack jumped down to the side of the rampant bovine and pulled it towards her. This motion allowed the entire flock of cattle to turn away from Ponyville at the last possible moment. She then led them down the town's outskirts path to slow them down.

The villagers of Ponyville gave a rousing cheer for Applejack. Pinkie was holding up a green apple flag she conveniently found in a nearby apple flag stand. After Applejack had stopped the cattle from charging, she quickly began to trot home.

"Ye-haw! Ride em' cow-pony!" Yelled out Pinkie Pie as she started to buck like a bull. The mayor was excited to see the cattle slowly returning to their plain.

"Applejack was just, just-" She began as Pinkie quickly came out of nowhere interrupting her.

"Appletastic!" She yelled out with exhilaration right before falling to the ground.

"Exactly!" Commented Mayor Mare. "We must do something to thank Applejack for single-hoofedly saving the town." Pinkies eyes started to shine with excitement.

"I know!" She said with delight.

"A party!" Pinkie yelled as the ponies of Ponyville were setting up the town hall to celebrate Applejacks achievements. Mayor Mare was walking down the street, chaffing to see if everything was in order.

"Are we just about ready to begin?" She asked Rarity just as she was thing an oversized ribbon to a tree.

"Eh, one last thing." She blearily stated. She strained her magic to tie a very large apple-decorated banner across the beams of the town hall building. Rarity brought her hoof to her head in minor pain. "Uhh, now were ready."

"That's great." Replied the mayor. "Is Applejack all ready for the ceremony?" Upon hearing this, Rainbow Dash flew down to join the two mares.

"Actually, I haven't seen her all week." She said as she softly landed on the ground.

"Not since the stampede." Came Pinkie as she trotted up behind them. The mayor took a worried face.

"But she'll be here for sure." Rainbow replied, seemingly finishing Pinkie's statement. "Applejack is never late." She said with a reassuring tone.

After the last few preparations were finished, it was time to start the celebration. The ponies of the village had all gathered into the town hall to congratulate Applejack. Mayor Mare stood at the town hall podium, standing nest to a large curtain and an oversized trophy depicting a mare in mid-gallop. She was ready to give a speech to warmly welcome Ponyville's most dependable friend.

"Ladies and gentlecolts, I thank you for being here today to celebrate the kindness and tenacity of our dear friend Applejack. A pony in which we can depend on in matters great and small. A mare who-" She was abruptly interrupted by a rainbow pegasus who flew up to the stand.

"Did you see Applejack's slick moves out there?! What an athlete!" She expressed with envy. "This week, she's gonna help me with my new flying trick and I know it's going to be SO AWESOME!" Mayor Mare quickly took to the stand.

"Yes, I'm sure it will be. Anyways, we-" She started as she was rudely interrupted, once more, by Pinkie.

"And this week, I get to run Sugarcube corner for the first time!" She announced with excitement. "And Applejack, one of the best bakers ever, is gonna help me. Applejack makes every thing great, so free samples for everypony!" As she finished her say, the crowd of ponies have a loud cheer. Pinkie was gingerly shoved by the mayor.

"Alright, that is good to hear, but I need to make my point without being-" She was cut short when a yellow pegasus flew up and got her attention. "-interrupted. Sigh, what would you like to say?"

"I-I'm sorry, I just wanted to mention that Applejack is also helping me this week with the official bunny census." She quietly stated with joy. "It's where we count up all the new baby bunnies that have been born this season. She's going to help gather them with her wonderful herding skills." She say the agitated look on the mayors face and slowly left the stage. Mayor Mare quickly put on a smile to finish her speech.

"And so, with no further ado, it is my privilege to give the prized pony of Ponyville award to our beloved guest of honor. A pony of the upmost trustworthiness, reliability, and integrity. Ponyville's most capable and dependable friend, Applejack!"

The curtain was pulled back with Applejack expected to be standing behind. The crowd of ponies started to cheer for the orange mare. But as the curtains were pulled fully back, the ponies saw that Applejack was not standing behind the curtains. The cheering slowly calmed down as they realized there was no one there to cheer for.

After a few moments of awkward silence, a voice spoke up from the back of the crowd.

"I'm here! I'm here. >yawn< Sorry I'm late." Applejack walked down the path to the town hall building bleary-eyed. She held a saddle bag at her side which was overflowing with apples. "I was just, wahh-" She shouted as she stepped on something and lost her balance. "Did I get yer tail?" She asked the pony she was next to. After a bit of wobbling around, she finally made it to the stand.

"Mrs. Mayor," She said as she approached the podium. "That ya kindly for this here, uh, award thingy. It's so bright and shiny and-" She paused for a moment as she looked at her reflection in the trophy. "I sure do look funny."

Applejack started to bob her head around making the reflection randomly distort. She sat there for a moment, moving her head around saying, "Woooo-oooo" a lot. Eventually, Pinkie came up to join her. They both sat up there bobbing their heads around the trophy making "wooo" noises.

The crowd looked at this displayed with confusion. The mayor walked up to Applejack and gave an awkward cough.

"Well, umm, thank you Applejack for saving the town from that horrific stampede," She stated as she curiously watched her light-headedly swerve around the gleaming trophy. "and always willing to help the fair ponies of this town." Applejack gave a quick yawn before replying.

"Yeah, I like helping the pony-folks and >yawn< and stuff......" She quietly finished her statement as she abruptly fell asleep on the stage. After a few moments, she quickly shook her self awake. "Ohh, a yeah. Thanks." She said as she gripped the trophy's handle with her teeth.

Applejack slowly pulled the award along the ground as she carefully walked backwards through the crowd. The other ponies stood their in awkward silence as Applejack left town square.

"Is it me or does Applejack seem a bit sleepy?" Asked Rainbow Dash.

"She seemed a bit messy to me." Replied Rarity. "I mean, did you see her mane?"

"She seemed fine to me." Came the joyous voice of Pinkie, who then continued her chorus of "woo". The other mares weren't sure what was wrong with Applejack, but they were sure that something was different.

"Ohhhhh, thank you thank you thank you for helping me with baking the treats for Sugarcube Corner Applejack!" Came the bubbly voice of Pinkie. Pinkie and Applejack were trotting down to Ponyville's premiere bakery.

"You bet Pinks." Replied Applejack with a yawn. "All we gotta do is just make muffins, right?" Pinkie gave a quick, joyous nod as the entered the pastry shop. They walked in to see the Cakes packing their things for the convention.

"Hello there Pinkie Pie." Greeted Mr. Cake as he finished stacking a couple of boxes full of cupcakes.

"Hey there Mr. Cake! I'm here to watch the shop!" She said with exhilaration.

"Now Pinkie Pie, are you sure you're up for baking the muffins and running the store this afternoon?" Mrs. Came asked with a sweet but stern voice.

"Yes-sir-y-bob Mrs. Cake! Plus I have Ponyville's prized pony to help me out." Pinkie said as she motioned towards Applejack. "Why, she's the best baker ever. Right Applejack?" Applejack had trouble hearing her remark. She shook her head to try to concentrate.

"No? You're not the best baker ever?" Mr. Cake asked with confusion.

"What? Oh no! I mean," Applejack stuttered as she snapped back into focus. "don't you fret I can bake anythin' from fitters to pies in the blink of an eye." The cakes gave nervous smiles and started out the door.

"Alright, well see you later girls." Said Mrs. Cake as they disappeared out the door. Applejack shook her head again to clear her mind, only to be stopped by Pinkie.

"Stop with the shakin' its time to get bakin'!" She yelled out with excitement. The entered the kitchen, pinkie heading for the open cook book on the counter. The book was left open on a chocolate-chip muffin recipe. Pinkie quickly examined the ingredients.

"Alrighty, I'll get the sugar and the eggs. Can you get me some chocolate chips?" She asked as Applejack stood at the counter asleep. At the order, Applejack shook herself awake.

"Eh, what was that?" She blearily asked. Pinkie repeated the ingredient once more.

"Chocolate chips!" Applejack had a hard time discerning the words. Instead of hearing chocolate chips, she only heard 'chips'.

"Chips, got it." She said as she walked on over to the shelves. "Tater chips, all salty and dry. Okie dokie." She pulled out a large bag of potato chips and carelessly dumped them into the nearby mixing bowl. "What next?"

"Baking soda!" Pinkie read aloud from the recipe.

"Soda, perfect! That will get the tater chips nice and wet." Applejack said as she opened the fridge. She pulled out a bottle of cola and continued to our it into the bowl. "Now what?" She asked as she was ready to get the next ingredient.

"A cup of flour." Replied Pinkie as she sounded out the eggs she needed. Applejack once again heard the wrong ingredient.

"A cup of sour? Well, lemons are sure sour." She continued to squeeze lemons into a measuring cup until she filled it to the brim. "One cup of sour comin' up." She said as she poured the glass into the bowl. "Anythin' else Pinkie?"

"One last thing. Wheat germ." Applejack gave a disgusted face to this remark.

"Ugh, wheat worms? Oh, that must be fancy talk fer earth worms." She swiftly walked outside and started to dig at the ground. After she had found a few worms, she threw them into the mixing bowl.

"Now that's gonna be delicious!" Pinkie said with enthusiasm as she closed the cook book. Applejack looked at the mixture with repulse.

"If you say so." She said as she helped pinkie fill the mixture into the muffin tray. A couple of hours later, after the cupcakes had cooled down, the two mares had set them down at a small stand set up outside of Sugarcube Corner.

"Free muffin samples spectacular!" Cried out Pinkie with delight. In no time at all, a large group of ponies had gathered around the stand and stood in awe for the treats.

"Yeah, muffin spectacles! Get em' while they're hot!" Applejack yelled out as ponies left and right took the muffins off the stand. Seeing things go well, she gave a small goodbye to Pinkie and walked back to her family's farm to continue her apple bucking.

Only about two minutes after she had left, the ponies who had eaten the muffins felt quite ill. The disturbing taste had left many ponies with bad indigestion. Some of them fell to the ground holding to their stomached while others tried to find a pale to vomit into. Pinkie looked out into the crowd of sick ponies, and then at her own half-eaten muffin.

"Uh-oh." She said right before her stomach started to growl. She had messed up her first time running Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie was really going to need to explain this to the Cakes. But first, she needed to find somewhere to puke.

It had been a rough week for Applejack. She had launched her pegasus friend across town with a strange see-saw platform. She was responsible with possibly poisoning plenty of ponies. And to add to that, she created a stampede of hungry new-born bunnies that ate Ponyville's crops, making it harder for the ponies who ere struggling with their crops to begin with.

But among all of this, she was glad that she was nearly done with her apple bucking. She only had this last tree to deal with, and the entire orchard would have been harvested. She was glad that there was just one tree left. She wasn't sure if she could handle doing this any longer. Her lack of sleep and food had really taken a toll on her.

Just one more good buck. She planted herself in front of the tree and lined up her back hooves. She lifted her leg into the air and with a loud >thud< the apples that were held on the tree came falling into Applejacks saddle-baskets. She was finally done. She grew a smug grin as she saw her brother walk up to her.

"Look-ee over here big brother! I did it. I harvested the entire sweet apple acres without yer help. How'd ya like them apples?" Applejack yelled out smugly as she believes her work to be over.

"Um, how do you like THEM apples." Big Mac replied as he pointed to the rest of the apple orchard. Applejacks attitude of triumph turned into one of despair. She looked at the hundred trees still lined with apples. She began to mutter to herself, unable to keep her balance. After a moment of swaying around, she collapsed onto the ground.

Applejack stayed there motionless for twenty minutes. After her brief slumber, she rose to look at the field of apple trees. She knew now that she truly had taken more than she could chew, but it was too late now. She wouldn't let herself quit after coming so far.

She knew that she would need help, but no one in her family could help her. Her sister, Applebloom, was too young to help buck, while her grandmother, Granny Smith, was far too old. Big Macintosh was still recovering from his injury and was still incapable of helping. Applejack was in this alone.

With a heavy sigh, she picked up her saddle-baskets ready to finish the harvest. She didn't care how long it would take or how exhausted she would become. This only wasn't for her family, it was to provide food for all of Ponyville. She picked herself up as she trotted to the nearby tree to, once again, begin apple bucking.

It was about seven hours later when Applejack had continued her harvest. Her mind was clouded with exhaustion and her body week from hunger. She had not stopped bucking since she started. She had trouble keeping her balance and repeatedly fell to the ground.

Every time she attempted to buck a tree, she would either miss completely or just scrape the side of the trunk. Only after a few attempt could she make full contact with the tree, only to not have enough power to knock down all of the apples. Applejack has been fighting sleep for three hours now. She was not sure how long it would be before she collapsed. She continually told herself to finish bucking before that happened.

The orange mare continued down the laid-out path to the next tree until she heard a strange voice.

"Poor, poor Applejack." Came a mocking voice from up in the trees. "So many trees to buck and no one to help you."

"Who's there?" Applejack cried out. "Don't think you can steal any of the Apple family's apples!" She stood swaying in a defensive stance.

"A-ha-ha-ha." Came the mysterious voice. "Why would I try to steal my brothers?" Applejack looked around in confusion.

"Brothers? Whaddya mean 'brother's" She asked as she wearily stared out into the distance.

"You would think that for a mare who has spent her life working with apples, she would know when one was talking to her." Applejack froze in place, still unbalanced but not as bad as before. She stared up into a nearby tree to see a swaying apple with two blank eyes and a wide grin. She nearly screamed at the sight.

"You really took more than you could chew with this, didn't you Applejack?" The apple mocked from up high. "You spent so long working these fields with no one to help you. This job gets real hard without company. Isn't that right brothers?" With this remark, many other apples lined across the trees sprang to life, giving their agreement.

Applejack could do nothing but look I horror as the apple of her or hard began to come to life and laugh at her. She could feel as their blank eyes stared into her. She wanted it to stop. She wanted the voices to cease. The orange mare fell to the ground with her hooves covering her ears, hoping to mute the noise.

The apples only seems to get louder due to this. They kept yelling at her with remarks like, "so alone," and "no one to help," and "silly little farmer." Eventually, their voices all came together as one, but still many. Their mocking remarks became a melodic tune.

"Applejack, Applejack, working through the day.
Applejack, Applejack, gave no time to play."

The orange mare laid on the ground, hoping for the voices to stop.

"She worked all night she worked all day, she worked without rest.
There was no other mare like her, she truly was the best.
But one day she worked too hard, her mind began to crack.
She heard the voices in her head, and then she finally snapped!"

The apples continued to sing this song while Applejack shakingly stood up. She started to smile. She started to laugh. She sat there in hysteric laughter for a few minutes. Then, she sang.

"Applejack, Applejack, working through the day.
Applejack, Applejack, gave no time to play.
She worked all night she worked all day, she worked without rest.
There was no other mare like her, she truly was the best.
But one day she worked too hard, her mind began to crack.
She heard the voices in her head, and then she finally........................................................... snapped!"

Dragonshy

It was a dark and chilly night in Ponyville. In fact, it has been night in all of Equestria for almost two months now. The unicorns of the land were all drained of their magic to keep the crops fertile enough to grow food. The animals of the land have lost their dependence from ponies. They have all started to revert back to their earlier instincts like the animals found in the Everfree forest.

Birds would hunt smaller insects while the dogs would tear apart rabbits. The ponies of Ponyville decided that these kind of beasts would not be allowed to live in Ponyville with other innocent creatures. The animals that have lost their sense of well being had been sent into the Everfree forest with the other wild animals.

Whilst these beasts have gone sour, there are still some who have stayed untainted by the everlasting darkness. These creatures are the product of the kindness given by only one pony. This pony is a delicate being who can communicate with the animals on a completely different scale from the others. Her specialty and benignity have kept these animals from reverting back to their instinctual origins.

No pony truly understands how she manages to keep the creatures domestic. They believe it to be some kind of magic, a sacred element if you will. But even though she is able to keep her animals in line, not all of them are willing to cooperate. There are some who, against everything she does for them, abandons her and flees to the Everfree forest.

Although there are several creatures she can understand and help, there is one who she cannot get to. This is a rare and mystical creature, one who is so uncommon that little is known of his species. His name is Spike, and he is a rare Violet-Wyvern dragon. He never talks, seldom eats, and just hides away from everything.

Who could blame him? He was very young, possibly too young, to have this tragedy fall upon him. He was a familiar, an assistant to the magnificent unicorn, Twilight Sparkle. She was his friend, his family. She practically raised him since he was hatched by her magic. They were as close as two friends could be.

All of that changed when the princess of the night returned from her lunar prison. Twilight believed that if she could find the Elements of Harmony, she could defeat the evil princess. Turns out, the elements were nothing more than useless relics, nothing more than decorations that held no magical properties whatsoever.

This mistake cost Twilight her life.

The dark Princess wanted to make an example of her, to show what happens when you defy the word of her order. The young dragon became heartbroken. The pegasus known as Fluttershy offered to take him in and care for him in Twilight's absence. She was always afraid that he would never come out of his slump. Even up to that day he seemed to lay there as if he had nothing left to live for, just waiting for death to take him away as well.

Fluttershy had tried several times to talk to the young dragon, to possibly ease his pain. He merely shunned every attempt she made to communicate with him. Fluttershy became disheartened over time and made less attempts to help the young drake. She takes care of her animals and makes sure Spike has what he needs.

The yellow pegasus was out tending to the few animals that had not left her. There weren't that many now, mostly injured or weak creature that couldn't survive by themselves. She had just brought some fish to a muskrat with a broken leg, and his young offspring. The muskrat had broken his leg when the others had left for the forest. He made an attempt to bring them back, but they responded by attacking him. One of them clamped down onto his leg until the bone snapped. Fluttershy managed to save him before things got any worse.

She hated to see her animal friends like this. The ones she took care of were all so sick and weak. The others had betrayed her and left. With the circumstances she was given, Fluttershy was glad she still had some creatures to care for. She was exceptionally glad that her favorite bunny friend was still with her. The young rabbit was sort of a troublemaker, but was given the name Angel.

Even though things in Equestria haven't been too good, the small rabbit seemed to grow nicer. He seemed to be more willing to help Fluttershy with the remaining animals. He once tried to help her with Spike as well. The yellow pegasus flew over to his small kennel with a carrot in her teeth. As she landed at the entrance, she carefully dropped the carrot onto the floor.

With a yawn, the white rabbit walked out of his home and picked up the carrot.

"There you go Angel Bunny." Fluttershy said as he started to nibble at the carrot. "I found the freshest, ripest carrot they could grow. It's such a bad thing that the unicorn ponies have to keep using their magic to keep the food growing." She looked up into the cold, everlasting glow of the moon. Sadness found its way into her eyes.

"I really hope things start to get better." She stared into the moon with longing for a while. Soon, the young rabbit started to cough. Fluttershy quickly snapped out of her trance and looked at him. "Oh dear, are you alright? Do you have some carrot stuck in your throat?" She asked with concern. The rabbit shook his head and continued to cough.

"Do you need some water?" The pegasus asked. Angel shook his head again and continued to cough. He pointed his paw into the air to show her something. She lifted her head to see what has disturbed her small friend. To her dismay, there was a large trail of black smoke drifting from the mountains.

"Oh no!" She shrieked. "I have to get to town to warn everypony." She looked down at Angel with a worried face. "Do you think you can take care of the animals while I'm gone?" The small rabbit gave a quick nod and started towards the cottage.

Fluttershy turned to look at the cloud of smoke as it traveled towards Ponyville. She had to get there fast and warn everypony. She started to trot forward until her wings lifted her off of the ground. "I hope I'm not too late." She said as she flew towards the town.

Pinkie Pie was working on making a batch of cupcakes at Sugarcube corner. She was glad that the Cakes were forgiving enough to let the 'poisoned muffin' incident slide by. She couldn't have known that Applejack was going crazy. It was truly a sad thing to hear that Applejack was being put into the hospital for her mental illness.

Pinkie was standing on the side of the street as the Apples were dragging Applejack down the road. Applejack had a crazy look in her eyes as she kept mumbling about the voices. Pinkie had felt something tug at her heart. The same exact feeling she got when she saw Twilight.

Pinkie was still unsure what this feeling meant, but it only came to her when she lost certain ponies. Living in Fillydelphia, she had seen ponies get hurt and read news of dead ponies. She had never received that certain feeling for them. Only Twilight and Applejack.

Pinkie stood there staring into the mixing bowl until a little nibble came from her leg. She looked down to see her pet alligator Gummy teething on her leg. She gave a small laugh and picked up the alligator in her hooves.

"You need to stop chewing on everything Gummy." Pinkie said with a chuckle as she hugged the little alligator. She set him down and watched as he walked out of the kitchen. She gave a quick smile and resumed her cooking. After she had taken the cupcakes out of the oven, she took a brief moment to stare out the window.

As she stared off into the distance, she saw a yellow pegasus fly from the outskirts of town. She carried a worried look on her face as she tried to get everypony's attention. Due to her feeble demeanor, no pony really gave her a second look. Pinkie left the cupcakes on the counter then left the bakery shop to she what had Fluttershy worked up.

"Hey Fluttershy!" Yelled Pinkie from across the street. "What has you all worked up? It's not good to worry about things too much." Fluttershy quickly flew across the path to Pinkie.

"Oh Pinkie, it's terrible!" She said frantically as she pointed to the sky. "There's a big scary cloud of smoke heading towards town. And where there's smoke, there's fire. We need to warn everypony."

"Smoke?" Pinkie asked as she looked up into the sky. She pulled out a pair of binoculars seemingly out of nowhere and stared out into the distance. Just as Fluttershy had warned, there was a gigantic cloud of smog not only heading towards the village, but also across the land to other towns.

"This is horrible!" Pinkie stated with unease. "What are we going to do?" She stared at Fluttershy in hopes of an answer. The shy pegasus only looked at the ground. Soon enough, a brownish colt walked up to them.

"You two, I need you to come to town square." He quickly stated. Pinkie and Fluttershy looked in confusion. "The mayor is holding a town meeting, we need everypony in attendance." With that, he quickly trotted off in search of more stray ponies. Fluttershy gave Pinkie an uneasy look.

"Don't worry Fluttershy!" Pinkie said as she put her foreleg over the pegasus's shoulder. "I'm sure that we can figure out a way to get rid of the nasty smoke." Fluttershy gave a brief smile then followed Pinkie on her way to town square. Hopefully the ponies of Ponyville can figure out a way to stop the fire and the smoke.

The ponies of Ponyville were all gathered around town square, waiting for the words of their mayor. They have been talking among themselves, mostly about the smoke overhead and what it means. Mayor Mare stood at the altar of town square and announce herself to the townsfolk.

"Everypony, calm down. As you have probably already seen, smoke has been traveling across the sky." The ponies gathered around the stage quickly withheld their conversations to listen to the words of their mayor. "It seems as though this smaug has not only been drifting above Ponyville, but slowly reaching all of Equestria."

This statement had brought back the worried chatter of the crowd of ponies. They kept asking the mayor why this is happening, where its coming from, and what can be done to stop it.

"I have been told by some wandering pegasus that this smoke has been coming from the distant mountains. The smoke is presumed to be the product of a large forest fire in its heights." The mayor left this statement with hesitation. "We have already sent our best weather ponies, including the forecast captain Rainbow Dash, to send rain clouds to the mountains to wash out the fire."

Many sighs of relief came from the crowd, but there was one who was still unsure of the situation.

"D-do you really think that they c-can put out the fire?" The shy pegasus asked Pinkie Pie, who stood right beside her.

"Don't worry about it Fluttershy!" Said Pinkie with assuring glee. "I'm sure that the pegasus ponies can handle it. Plus, Rainbow Dash is there. She would never let us down!" Fluttershy gave Pinkie over-enthusiastic joy a small smile. Their attention was brought back to the stage where Mayor Mare continued her speech.

"At any moment now, the pegasi will return to assure us the fire has been put out." She said with admiration. She looked up into the black, smoky night sky to see fast approaching figures coming from the direction of the mountains. "Well, here they are now."

The pegasi landed next to the town square stage with Rainbow Dash right in front of them. "We're you successful? Did you put out the fire?" Asked the mayor with hidden concern. Rainbow Dash only looked up in shock.

"No..... We didn't put out any fires." She slowly replied. The mayor looked confused.

"Why couldn't you put out the fire?" She asked, finding it harder to hide her worries. Rainbow Dash slowly started to respond.

"The-there wasn't a fire to put out." She stated, the fear imminent in her eyes. This only confused the mayor even more.

"No fire? Then tell me, what is making all of this smoke?" She asked out of confusion more than concern. Rainbow Dash started choking on her words.

"I-it was a dr... drag..... " She started before her voice stopped. The mayor slowly walked up to her to hear her better.

"What was it?" The mayor was next to Rainbow waiting for an answer. Rainbow started to fumble for her words.

"I said it was a dr... dra-a....... " She stopped to take in a deep breath, and in an almost inaudible voice she said, "A dragon." The mayor's eyes grew wide with fear.

"A dragon?!" She accidentally yelled out to Rainbow Dash. The crowd of ponies around them stood silent. They were hoping they had not just heard what they thought had been said. The mayor, noticing her mistake, asked for Rainbow Dash's assurance on this information. She gave a slow and regretful nod. The mayor took a heavy sigh and faced her citizens.

"It seems..... It seems as though we were never dealing with a fire to begin with. No..... No, this is far worse." She said this to the town with hesitant breath. The worst thing to have right now was a panic. "This smoke is indeed coming from-......... from a dragon."

Many cries of shock and fear came from the ponies below. Some of them stood in dead silence, while others quietly whispered to their families. Pinkie Pie had looked down to see Fluttershy on the ground, frozen with fear.

"No, no..... no. Not a dragon. Not a dragon. No, please don't let there be a dragon." She kept repeating this to herself with fear imminent in her wide eyes. Pinkie looked at her friend with concern.

"Are you okay Fluttershy?" She asked her frightened friend. The yellow pegasus only continued to shake in fear from the mention of a dragon.

"Mayor Mare, if the smoke is coming from a dragon, how do we stop it?" Asked one of the villagers who wasn't shaken up by the word of a dragon. The mayor gladly took his question with interest.

"Yes, yes. We do need to find a way to rid ourselves of the smoke." She stood there in deep thought of how to evade this problem. "Well, if the dragon is making the smoke, can't we just ask him to leave?" She looked to Rainbow Dash in hopes of a reassuring answer.

"W-we have already tried to get him to leave. Every time we woke him up to ask him to leave, he simply ignore us and continued to sleep." She looked at the mayor with failure in her eyes. "The more we bothered him, the more agitated he became. We didn't stop until he drove one of the other pegasi into the side of the cliff."

The mayor looked at Rainbow Dash with crushed hope. She looked at the villagers, and then to the smoke covered night sky. She took a heavy breath before beginning her sentiment.

"If we can't get rid of this dragon," She started with baited breath, "then I think there may be only one other way to get rid of this smoke." She looked up at Rainbow Dash with determination in her eyes. "The pegasi will have to clear it. All of it. Only until the dragon decides to leave."

"Do you think the weather pegasi can handle it?" The mayor asked her with a pleading look in her eyes. Rainbow Dash stared at the mayor with a newfound strength in her eyes.

"You bet mayor! We will be able to clear it out in no time!" The mayor took a relieved sigh.

"That's great to hear, but I'm not sure that the weather team will be enough. We may need all of Ponyville's pegasi to help." She turned back to the crowd as she raised her voice. "If we can get all of the pegasi to do this, we will have no need to fear this smoke." The townsfolk looked up at their mayor with determination. "We need the weather team to begin clearing out the skies. I will let Rainbow here tell you where to go from here."

Rainbow looked out into the crowd of ponies, losing the last speck of fear and worry in her eyes. "Okay, here's what we need to do." She called out to the pegasi in the crowd. "We will need pegasi to constantly clear this smoke from the sky. But first, we need to send a small group across Equestria and tell everypony of our plan."

The crowd yelled out their agreement as the pegasi flew from the crowd. Rainbow Dash pointed out to them, marking their teams and sending them to other towns.

"You four, I need you to go to Baltimare. You five over there need to make your way to Fillydelphia." She called out as the avian ponies flew off to their given locations. After a few teams were sent out, Rainbow Dash continued her orders.

"That should do it. Now I need the rest of you to get up into those black clouds and do whatever you can to clear it away." Shouts of correspondence came from the many pegasi ponies as they flew off into the smoke. Pinkie stared into the sky as she watched them all fly through the smoke, then looked to her side to see Fluttershy still on the ground next to her.

"Uh, Fluttershy? Don't you think you should go help them." The frightened pegasus looked up at Pinkie. "I mean, you are a pegasus and all." They were joined with a cyan pony who landed right beside them.

"She's right Fluttershy, we're going to need every pegasus to help us with this. That includes you." Fluttershy looked up at Rainbow Dash as she slowly stood up.

"B-but I can't join you and the other pegasi. If I do, who will look over my animal friends?" She asked with concern. Rainbow Dash grew a harsh look on her face.

"What about that dragon you are looking over? Wasn't he an assistant once? Why can't he help?" Fluttershy looked back at her with regretful sadness.

"He hasn't spoken a word to me since I took him in. He's too upset over losing Twilight. I don't want to put that much on him." Rainbow Dash stared back, growing more aggressive.

"Then I guess you can't take care of your animals. Let them go wild, that's all they've been doing lately. Just forget about them." Fluttershy looked back with distaste. Pinkie Pie quickly stood between them.

"Dashie, calm down. You don't need to be angry." She said as she tried to stop Rainbow's anger.

"I can't leave my animal friends. You can't make me." Fluttershy said as her voice slightly grew.

"Just let them run into the forest with the other animals. You can't keep them safe forever." Rainbow was slightly increasing her tone towards Fluttershy.

"No, I will not abandon them." Fluttershy stated with slight anger in her eyes.

"You need to help us keep the sky clear Fluttershy. We need the air clean so we can breath." The anger in Rainbow's voice was rising against her will to keep calm.

"I am not leaving my animal friends to fend for themselves!" Fluttershy cried out in anger and sadness.

"Please girls, we need to stay calm." Pinkie said, once again trying to bring peace to the two mares.

"Who cares about your animals?!" Cried out Rainbow Dash as she could no longer hold her anger. Fluttershy looked at her with shock, then hatred. She turned to leave with tears forming in her eyes.

"I do." She softly said as she flew away back to her cottage. Rainbow Dash looked back at her with anger, then flew off to join the other pegasi with the smoke. Pinkie merely stood there as she watched her friends fly away from each other. She turned and slowly began her walk back to Sugarcube corner.

"The cupcakes should be done cooling by now." She said in sadness as she walked down the dark road, covered in the shadow of smoke and night.

Fluttershy sat in her cottage surrounded by the few animals she had left. Her house was dark from the night. She had lit a candle, but it had went out several minutes ago. She had her hoof on Angel, slowly petting him. Her eyes were heavy with tears.

"She said I should let you just run off into the Everfree forest. She said you didn't matter to any pony at all." She said as tears slowly ran down her cheeks. "But you matter to me. All of you." She looked off into the dark corner of the cottage which held the saddened dragon. "You too, Spike."

Fluttershy exhaled a large sigh of sadness. "I want to help everypony, but I just can't leave you all here alone." She lowered her head to nuzzle her precious rabbit. "I don't want to lose any of you." The little dragon in the corner moved his head to listen to the yellow pegasus.

"So many of your friends have left and gone into the forest. I just.... I just don't want to lose anymore of you. It hurt my heart to see them leave." She held the rabbit in her hooves in a tight embrace. It was then, a small voice was heard from the corner. It was strained, as if it wasn't used for weeks.

"I don't want to see you leave either." Fluttershy looked up to see the baby dragon was slowly sitting up.

"Spike?" Asked Fluttershy, shocked to hear his voice.

"Yeah." He said as he strained to stand up. "I don't want to see you go either." The animals around Fluttershy scrambled over to help support Spike. He walked over to the yellow pegasus, propped up by a mongoose. "Ever since I lost Twilight, you have been the only one I could call a friend. You took me in when you could have just left me."

Fluttershy sat next to him with tears in her eyes. "I couldn't leave you. You needed some pony to take care of you." She slowly wiped the tears out of her eyes. "Y-you told me about yourself. Told me about your life, even though we had just met."

Spike gave a little smile. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"You felt as though you could trust me. Why was that?" She asked. Spike leaned against the couch and gave a simple reply.

"Because you reminded me of her. She always wanted to know everything." He looked down in sadness at the memory of Twilight. "I..... I think I'm done grieving her death. She wouldn't want me to be sad." He stood up firmly with a wide grin. "She would want me to remember all the good times we've had. What we've done together."

The purple reptilian climbed onto the couch and sat on it's arm. "You go and help the other pegasi with the smoke. I'll watch your animals for you." Fluttershy looked at Spike with surprise.

"A-are you sure?" She asked.

"I feel it's the least I can do for you." Fluttershy wiped the last of her tears away and pulled the small drake into a warm embrace.

"Thank you Spike." She said as she let go of the baby dragon. He looked up at her with a warm smile and replied.

"What are friends for?"

Recoil and regrets

What had I done? The sky was turning black as night. Thick smoke hung in the air. This wasn't just changing the future of some random pony, this was changing the future of all of Equestria. The pink mare was unconscious at my table, having been put under the influence of my spell.

That damn spell. Why had I continued to use it? It doesn't help me and only brings pain to others. I admit that while their pain was enjoyable, I had always felt guilt hang around me like an iron chain when I used this spell. My carelessness has brought darkness and despair to this land. I had to stop the spell.

I spent several minutes searching throughout my ancient books on a way to counteract the spell, but it was all for naught. The spell was a burden to use. Once started, it cannot be stopped. Not only can it not be stopped, it can only be used on a pony once. After it is used, it cannot rewrite their life again.

I had to find a way to stop it. The entire world around me was shifting. I stared out the window and watched as perfectly fine ponies turned into empty husks, just to return to normal, dazed and confused. I once again rummaged through my spell books.

"This spell has been used throughout history! There has to be a way to stop it!" I yelled out in frustration. Time was not on my side for this. The spell takes only an hour to finish it's process, even though in the mind of the pony it may take takes months. I was about to give up my search until I saw one of my oldest scriptures.

"Delving into the subconscious: Spells to affect the mind." The title stated. I thought that I could use a spell to transcend into her mind and help her reverse the effects. I quickly flipped through the pages until I found what I wanted.

"'Transcending into the mind'. This sounds promising." I read through the necessary steps to preform the spell. "To enter the mind of a pony, first you must have a physical representation of their memories. Most preferably a crystal ball."

I stared over to the transparent orb sitting on the table next to the pink pony. I quickly created a link between it and Pinkie. Her memories flashed blurry in the glass confines of the sphere.

"What's next? Let's see. 'Next, you must find a being within the subject's memories of strong magical capabilities.'.......... Damn!" All of the unicorns of this rewritten history have been drained of their powers. There wouldn't be any strong enough to use this spell.

No, there had to be one. I fed energy into the crystal ball to rely not only her current memories, but also of the ones before the spell began. Hopefully if both were together, I could find a being not hindered by this horrible reality.

There was only one. It was strange, for this being was not a unicorn. In fact, she wasn't even a pony. This creature was a zebra living in the isolation of the Everfree forest. She appeared to have a vast knowledge of ancient magic.

"Once the determined pony has been located, project your own subconscious entity of power into the mind of the subject. Find the pony and possess their astral being, replacing their subconscious with your own."

I stared into the orb at the zebra. For once, I was going to stop the spell. I was going to do good. I stared out into the shifting sky as it flickered from daylight to darkness. I gave a heavy sigh knowing what would become of me of I happened to succeed. I lowered my head towards the pink mare as my horn lit up.

"I didn't want this to happen, but I'm going to make it right." I felt as my body grew limp and fell to the floor. I looked down at it as my projection of energy hovered above it. I looked back at Pinkie, and with a heavy sigh, phased into her mind ready to save her from what I have done.

"Pinkie! Shut the doors and windows! Turn off all the lights and hide!" Pinkie turned around dumbfounded to see Mr. Cake frantically running around slamming windows down tight.

"What's going on Mr. Cake? Is this some kind of surprise party?" Pinkie asked with excitement. Mr. Cake opened his mouth to talk but was cut short with Pinkie's chatter. "Ohhhh, it IS a surprise party! Why else would we make everything dark? Who are we throwing the party for? Mrs. Cake?" She bounced around happily while shutting the windows.

"But wait! Where are all of the decorations? We can't have a party without decorations! Oooh, and cake! We can't have a party without cake either!" Mr. Cake was desperately trying to calm the pink pony down. "Not to worry Mr. Cake! I have just the thing!" Pinkie said as she pulled out a colorful cannon out of the cupboard.

"This is my party cannon! I've been working on it for a while. It can decorate a whole room in a matter of seconds!" She pulled the rope on the device, causing it to shoot out several cakes and desserts which precisely landed on a nearby table.

"Pinkie, we're not throwing any parties today!" Mr. Cake yelled out in frustration. "I forgot that your newer here and don't know about our 'visitor'." Pinkie slowly pushed her confectionary cannon back into the cupboard.

"A visitor? What kind of visitor?" She asked with intrigue. Mr. Cake gave a heavy sigh.

"Her name is Zecora. She's a strange pony who comes into town every so often. The only thing she does is dig at the ground and wanders back to her home in the Everfree forest." He explained as the last window was shut tight.

"We never approach her. The ponies of this town believe that she has mystical powers of an evil enchantress." Pinkie looked at him with worry.

"Is she really an evil enchantress?" She asked. Mr. Cake stopped in his tracks to think.

"No, I can't say she has these powers. But I don't really want to find out. We just lock ourselves away. We don't bother her, she doesn't bother us." Pinkie looked back at the orange stallion with sadness.

"But what if she's nice? What if she feels out of place by being different?" Mr. Cake gave a tired sigh.

"Pinkie, if the entire town fears the sight of her, I don't think she would be a good pony." He stared out of the window towards the forest. "I'm just going to listen to the town folk and stay away from her. You should too. I don't want to see anything bad happen to you."

"But you've never talked to her! You don't know that she would do bad things! She could be-" Pinkie was quickly interrupted by the baker.

"Pinkie, just listen to me. Stay away from Zecora. Whenever you see her, just close the shop and wait for her to leave." Pinkie looked back at Mr. Cake with shock. She nodded her head in submission. He turned to make sure the door was firmly shut right as he heard a loud knocking come from it.

"Mr. Cake? Mrs. Cake? Pinkie? It's Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Can you let us in?" Mr. Cake peeked through the window to see the yellow and cyan pegasi standing at the door. He unlocked the door to let them in, then firmly shut it again.

"Me and Fluttershy were out clearing the sky when we saw Zecora roam around town. Most of the other pegasi hid in the smoke while we came here to check on you." Rainbow Dash stated as she walked into the bakery shop.

"W-we know that you haven't been in Ponyville long enough to know Zecora, s-so we wanted to make sure you knew." Came Fluttershy with a scared voice.

"Ah, don't worry about me! Mr. Cake filled me in on that enchantress." Pinkie stated as she walked to her two friends. "You've seen Zecora, right? Does she really have evil magical powers? Can she talk with ghosts or turn ponies into pumpkins?"

"Well.... We never really seen Zecora do anything like that." Rainbow Dash said hesitantly.

"Darn, I've always wondered what it would be like to be a pumpkin." Pinkie said in disappointment. "I would possibly make the sweetest pumpkin pie ever!" The two pegasus ponies looked at each other dumbfounded towards Pinkie's enthusiasm.

They heard a scream coming from outside the bakery. Rainbow Dash looked out the window and watched the remaining ponies quickly scurry to their homes. She was here. A few moments after everypony had piled into their homes, a cloaked figure slowly walked down the road. She stopped every few feet to dig at the ground.

She stared at the ground disappointed. After a few minutes of walking around town, she turned to leave. After she had left town, the ponies started to come out of their houses. Pinkie only looked toward the outskirts of town in sorrow.

"What if she isn't bad?" Pinkie asked. "You've never seen her do anything. What makes you think she would?" Mr. Cake and the two pegasi only looked back at her with perturbation.

"There's just something about her that's..... different." Replied Rainbow Dash. "She's not like us. She doesn't act normal. She lives in the Everfree Forest for pony's sake!" Pinkie stared back at her blankly.

"Just trust us Pinkie. Zecora is bad news. Stay away from her whenever you can." Rainbow Dash looked over at Fluttershy. "Come on Fluttershy, we need to get back to work." With that, the two pegasi left the bakery shop and flew back up into the black smoke that looked above the village.

Mr. Cake walked around opening the windows back up. He looked at Pinkie sympathetically. "Lets get back to work." He said as he trotted into the kitchen. Pinkie gave a small sigh and joined him. Zecora couldn't really be bad, could she?

I slowly woke up in a haze. I wasn't used to preforming that spell. I haven't used it in years. I got up and looked at my surroundings. There were many trees and bushes around me. It gave off an odd feeling, as if something was watching me.

I was in the Everfree Forest. If I remembered right, she lived somewhere within these woods. I started to walk down the dirt path ahead of me. It didn't take too long to find her home. The spell usually puts you near the target being.

I looked through the window to see if she was here. To my relief, she was. I decided to just walk through the front door, seeing no harm in the matter. As I did, I felt a strong pressure push me towards the ground. I looked up to see a strange rock hung from the door. The relic was to protect the inhabitant from wandering spirits. I guess I was in the form of a spirit at the time.

"My my, what do we have here?" I heard the voice of the zebra as she walked towards me. "A wandering spirit I fear." I tried to stand up, but the energy of the relic kept me in place.

"Now tell me spirit, you invade my dwelling. What is it that you persist in telling?" I gave a small chuckle.

"I'm not sure why I'm stuck like this. I'm pretty sure that mask over there meant 'welcome', right?" I gave a nervous smile. "Tell me Zecora, what happened after you left your land?" I saw a look of confusion in her eyes, then that of animosity.

"Pony of evil, magic forbidden. Why come here, unprotected and unhidden?" She narrowed her eyes at me in pure hate. "After your magic had changed my fate, I was forced here with a clean slate."

I gave a small laugh. "Yeah, I apologize for that. Didn't really expect them to kick you out. Oh well, just water under the bridge right?" She only stared back at me with anger in her eyes. "Guess not."

"For what you have done, I will not forgive. Tell me now, why should I let you live?" I tried to stand up the best I could to get face to face with her, only to be force back to the ground.

"Well, the thing is... I need your help." She looked back at me with disgust.

"You hurt others, that is what you do. Why would I want to help you?" She asked as she lowered the relic on the door, causing the pressure to increase.

"The truth is, I messed up. I'm not saying I feel bad for what I've done and I'm trying to make amends, I mean that I really messed up this time." It became harder to breath with the relic forcing me down. "You see the sky outside? Notice how it has not change from night for months, and how it is covered in smoke? I caused this. And if I don't stop it, Equestria will permanently stay like this."

She looked out of her window into the dark sky. "I need to find a mare named Pinkie Pie and help her change this world back to the way it was. The only way I can do that is if I take your body." I looked up to Zecora. She stared down at me pondering my position.

"If you don't let me, then Equestria will stay like this forever. Soon enough the unicorns will die out from exhausting their magic. The pegasi will become too weary to clear the sky and the smoke will start to suffocate everypony." I looked up at her waiting for a response. After a moment, she gave a slow nod.

"I care not for you now, but to help everypony, I shall." She threw the relic across her home into the corner. I stood up relived to be free. "If anything is to happen to me, you will face my animosity."

I walked over to her and with a nod, put my horn on her head. Upon doing so, my being began to shift. My subconscious state was combining with Zecora's. After a few moments, I opened my eyes and looked around. I took a quick look at my hoof. Black stripes came across my foreleg. I had taken over her body. But there was one problem.

"The transformation is done, now I must find the pink one." I said to myself. A realization had hit me. I had just rhymed. "No, I cannot rhyme. I surly do not have the time." It seemed as though that wasn't really a gimmick she did, but was stuck with her naturally.

It didn't feel forced, but the words I gave out were horribly rhymed. It was as if I said it just to rhyme something. How she put up with it, I would never understand. I would just have to stick with it until I could figure out a way to help Pinkie get her old life back.

Now, all I had to do was walk into Ponyville and find Pinkie. It wouldn't be too hard to find her. The hard part would be to change the past in this reality. I only knew of one being that could do so, and he wouldn't be too fond of seeing me.

"I just don't know Gummy. My friends say she's bad, but I'm not sure if she is." Pinkie was sitting on her bed relaying her thoughts to her pet alligator, who sat beside her chewing on her pillow. "They say that I should stay away from her. I guess they know what they're talking about. What do you think Gummy?"

The little alligator looked up a moment with his misaligned eyes, then continued to chew on the pillow. Pinkie gave a small smile and looked out the window. She sat there for a few minutes gazing out of the glass until she heard a voice come from the kitchen under her room.

"Pinkie! She's coming again. Make sure the doors and windows are shut tight!" Came the worried voice of Mr. Cake. Pinkie awoke from her trance and quickly trotted downstairs. She came to the sight of Mr. Cake once again shutting the windows and locking them.

"Where's Mrs. Cake?" Pinkie asked as Mr. Cake ran past her.

"She's still out getting more supplies. I'm going to try and find her before Zecora gets here." He explained as he shut the last window in the kitchen.

"That sounds dangerous. Do you want me to come?" Pinkie asked with worry, and a hint of excitement for having a chance to see Zecora. Mr. Cake sped past her towards the door.

"No thanks Pinkie. I need you to stay and watch the store. Make sure everything is locked tight. We don't need that witch coming in here." Mr. Cake firmly shut the door as he left the bakery to find his wife. Pinkie stood there alone, looking out the window as Mr. Cake raced down the road to the grocery stands.

The pink mare sat at one of the dining room tables and stared out the window, waiting to see Zecora walk into town. Most of the ponies in town had once again bars axed themselves into their homes, hoping to hide from the enchantress.

It was about that point, that I did. I knew how the villagers reacted to Zecora. I had seen Pinkie's memories of how the towns ponies feared her.

I decided to just stay out of everypony's way, since I had no need to be near them. This place had been through hard times. I remember coming to the village when I was younger. It wasn't nearly this bad. It was my fault that the village was going through these hard times, but still.

I had no time to worry about the condition of the town. I was here to fix it. I just needed to find Pinkie and help her get her real life back. I was halfway down the road before I spotted a strange, ginger-bread like building. To my knowledge, that was Sugarcube corner.

That place sure had good business. When I visited it when I was younger, it was nothing more than a stand with a plateful of cookies and cupcakes. Now, it was a full bakery. I neared the front door as I heard movement within the edifice. No doubt, Pinkie trying to find a place to hide from Zecora.

This was not a random guess. My mind has been linked to Pinkie's memories, letting me see whatever I needed to see at the moment. She headed towards the kitchen and opened a silverware drawer. Seeing her previous memories, I knew what was to happen next. In a reality bending phenomenon, she managed to somehow fit her entire being into the small drawer and close it up.

I hastily walked to the front door. I tried the handle until I remembered that they had locked the door. Knowing that this world was nothing more than a fabricated realm that should not have existed anyways, I turned my back to the door and gave a swift buck. Zecora must have been stronger than I had thought, for the door easily busted off it's hinges.

I walked over the splinters left over from the door. My attention was brought to the kitchen where Pinkie was hiding. No, she wasn't being there anymore. She was now in the cupboard in the dining room. I would never understand how she could play with physics like that.

I decided that instead of bursting into the cupboard, I would call out to her. "Come out Pinkie, you need not to fear. Wanting to hurt you is not why I'm here." Damn rhymes. They annoyed me but I was stuck with them. I heard a shuffle come from the cupboard. She had moved again.

Pinkie was now in her closet upstairs. I could see her getting into the cupboard from the kitchen, but from one floor to the next undetected? You would think she was trained by ghosts. It seemed as asking her wouldn't work. Maybe something else. It was then that I felt something nibble at my leg.

I looked down to see a small baby alligator teething at my foreleg. I was about to swat the thing away until I had remembered something. This annoying reptile was Pinkie's dear pet. Maybe she would come out if she new I had him. I picked him up and started my way upstairs.

"I need to talk and nothing more. My patience is growing very sore." I said loudly so she would hear me. "So you don't want to talk just yet, what if I said I hold your pet?" I heard a loud crash from her room. She slowly walked out of her room holding onto a broom stick in defense.

"Y-y-you better n-not do anything to m-my Gummy y-you wicked E-Enchantress." Pinkie said to me as she held out the broom stick. I gave a small laugh.

"No harm will befall him, if you agree. I need a moment of your time, to warn you, you see." She tightened her grip on the broom and walked towards me.

"W-warn me of what?" She stuttered, her eyes filled with worry and confusion. I loosened my grip on the small alligator.

"This dark world is not what you think. It's only an image, made with clear ink." I explained to her. "Your real existence, I can give. Your friend Twilight, she still lives." Pinkie looked at me with a sudden sadness in her eyes.

"Twilight?" She asked. "How do you know about her?" I slowly put the baby reptile onto the ground.

"This world was made by an ancient spell. I cast it upon you, and made this hell." I stood solemnly in front of her. "I saw your joy, and in a fit of anger, used my spell to put you in slumber. You lay still, your life slowly fading. Replacing it with despair, fear and hating."

She looked at me with fear, her grip on the broom growing weaker. I took a step closer to her, just for her to take a step back. I was about to speak back up until an image flashed across my mind. A colt was standing in front of the bakery. He stared at the broken door in fear, and then anger, As if he had something he wanted to protect inside.

He wasn't alone. Some of the braver ponies of the village had gathered around him. They knew I was inside, and they didn't take too kind to that. I couldn't be distracted by them. I needed to convince Pinkie. I regretfully put the images aside. I opened my mouth to talk to her, but was quickly silenced by her scream of help.

The other ponies began to pile into the bakery. I couldn't do anything. I was no longer a unicorn, so I had no access to my powers. Zecora had some talent, but could only use large amounts by using special mixtures and potions. I had neglected to bring any.

The towns ponies quickly surrounded me. I was out of options. I needed to be able to help Pinkie, so I couldn't do anything else to anger them. All I could do was surrender and go with them. I just hoped that I would still have a chance to fix all of this.

Things would get harder from here. They had decided to not give me any punishment of their law. Instead, they nearly restricted me from ever returning to Ponyville. I could no longer go to Pinkie. The only other possible outcome was to have her come to me.

This would prove difficult as my appearance to her came off in a bad way. She was afraid of me. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best thing to tell her that I had made all of this happen in the first place. As the mayor gave the order to have me evacuated from the village, she asked me if there was anything I wanted to say.

I stared out into the crowd. I looked at Pinkie, standing in the middle of the crowd surrounded by her friends Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity. I gave a small sigh and stated my confirmation.

"This world will become worse, it will die from the plague of a curse." I said to the villagers. They shouted in uproar. I was then being forced out of the town square. In one last attempt, I broke free and ran through the crowd. I stopped near Pinkie. I stared directly at her, and with a soft but serious voice I said, "If you wish to see this world safe, you must do what I say with haste. Track me down through the forest groove, the fate of Equestria lies solely on you."

Two of the villages stronger stallions rushed towards me, then continued to drag me out of the town. We reached the outskirts of the village where they swiftly threw me out. They stood there in case I made any attempt in entering the village again. I knew better.

I slowly began my walk back to Zecora's hut in the forest. I could only hope that Pinkie would heed my warning. If she doesn't, then Equestria could very well end. I stared out into the dark forest. I gave a heavy sigh of defeat.

I had some waiting to do.

Heartache

It had been two weeks since my incident in town. I could only watch as the ponies went back to their struggling routines. It would not take long for things to go under. The unicorns had already shown signs of depletion. Some of the weaker ones had already begun to use the magic from their reserves. After that was consumed, there would be little to keep them alive.

The pegasi fared no better, for their constant work clearing the sky seemed to become more of a hazardous task. The dragon that slumbered at the top of the mountain had fallen into a deeper sleep. The smoke omitting from it increased, causing the constant job of clearing it harder.

The earth ponies seemed to be the ones keeping them up. Their crops gave the needed energy for the pegasi and the unicorns. This could not last much longer as the unicorns would soon be unable to keep the land healthy. The crops would die out, leaving the rest of the ponies to starve.

Without the given energy from the food, the pegasi would be unable to clear the sky. The smoke would flow through the land like a curse, suffocating everypony who would inhale it. It seemed as though the ponies still tried their best to keep this from happening. Only time could tell when they would break.

There was only one pony who could stop all of this from happening. Her memories were a gateway that could change these events for the better. Within her subconscious was the key to saving this troubled land. All she needed to do was find me.

My luck with this proved naught, for she seemed to ignore what had been happening. She seemed to pretend everything was alright, that things would start to get better. But for her, things would only get far worse.

She was carefully walking across town, eyes focused on the sky as if she was expecting something. She stopped in her tracks for a moment when her tail gave out a small spasm of movement. Her eyes grew wide and she ducked under neath a nearby porch, eyes fully focused on the sky. After a few moments, she quickly changed her location to a nearby fruit stand.

She stared intently to the sky, seeming to expect something to fall. She turned to walk away until she saw something falling; a small amphibian creature. She quickly trotted to where it would land and swiftly caught the creature in her hooves before it could hit the ground. It was a frog from the local Ponyville pond.

"Oh, my." Came a timid voice from above the pink mare. "I'm sorry Pinkie. I told him to stay in the carriage, but he just kept hopping around." Pinkie watched as Fluttershy landed gently next to her pulling a small carriage full of frogs. She gave a small laugh and put the frog back into the pegasus's carriage.

"It's okay Fluttershy! No one was hurt." She said as she stared at the cart. "What's up with all the frogs?" Pinkie asked with delight.

"Oh, well, the pond in the middle of Ponyville isn't really doing too well. There isn't anypony willing to clean it so the frogs are getting sick there." She explained with a smile. "I'm taking them to Froggy Bottom Bog so they don't have to be sick anymore." Pinkie gave an understanding nod.

"That's real nice of you Fluttershy. It's good to see that not everypony has gone grim." She said with a laugh. "Oh, by the way, how is Spike doing?" The yellow pegasus gave a nervous look.

"Well," She started. "He's doing alright. He helps me with my animal friends. The ones that, haven't left anyways. He's a really good helper, but he just seems kinda...." She trailed off. "Out there. He's still shaken up over losing Twilight. We don't talk about her too much. It seems to hurt him when we do."

Fluttershy looked at the ground with sadness emanating from her eyes. Pinkie put her hoof on her shoulder in reassurance. "He's been through a lot." She said. "Even if it does hurt him a little, you might want to talk to him about it. Let him remember the good times he's had with her. Let him know that you're there for him." Fluttershy looked up with watery eyes.

"Do you really think that would help?" She asked.

"Abso-possi-lutely!" Pinkie said with enthusiasm. Fluttershy returned with a weak smile. She thought about it for a moment.

"All right, if you really think it will help. I'll get to my cottage and give these frogs something to eat. Then I'll talk to him. Let him know things will be alright." Pinkie wrapped her forelegs around Fluttershy with a smile.

"That's the spirit! I bet he'll be just fine afterwards!" She yelled out in glee. She let go of Fluttershy and with a quick goodbye, the two parted. As Pinkie walked away, a strange feeling came to her. Surprisingly enough, it was the heartache she felt when she lost Twilight and Applejack.

"That's strange." She said aloud to herself. "Why would I feel this now? I haven't seen anything bad happen lately." She ponders this for a moment then shook it off as a faulty sense. Pinkie just continued on her way to Sugarcube corner.

The cottage at the edge of the Everfree forest was faring surprisingly well. Only a few animals had left during the past two months. The rest, even though fully healed and healthy, had decided to stay at the small cottage.

Between the pegasus, the dragon, and the rabbit, things were going well. Each animal was taken care of and properly fed. None of them showed any signs of wanting to leave and join their feral brothers in the Everfree forest.

Fluttershy had just finished giving food to the frogs and was trying to find Spike. After a few minutes of searching, she found him lying next to a tree, staring at the faint glow of the moon through the smoke. She carefully walked up to him and took a deep breath.

"Hey Spike." She said softly. He looked at her with a smile.

"Hey Fluttershy. It's good to see you, I thought you'd still be up clearing the smoke." He replied as he sat next to the tree petting a small mouse.

"They had enough pegasi up there, so they let me have a break. I was about to bring some of the frogs from the pond to the bog outside of the Everfree forest." She explained. "They're over there eating now. I'm going to take them when they're done."

Spike gave a small laugh. Even though so much had happened to Equestria, the timid pegasus had not grown any bitterness. She always stayed the same, kind pegasus he met months ago.

"Umm, I-I think there's something we need to talk about." Fluttershy said reluctantly. Spike looked at her with interest.

"What is it Fluttershy?" He asked. The yellow pegasus swallowed the lump in her throat.

"You seem to be thinking a lot lately. About Twilight." She said this, and the little drake's smile faded. "I just want you to know I'm here if you want to talk. I-I mean, if that's okay with you."

Spike looked at the ground for a moment then looked up. "Yeah, it's okay." He said to her, eyes lowering back to the ground. "I have been thinking about her." He said slowly, eyes focused on the dark patches of grass before him. "It's been a few months, but I still wake up in the middle of the night expecting her to be pacing in the other room."

Spike let out a heavy hearted sigh. "She's the closest thing I had to a family. I was hatched in Canterlot, far from any other dragon. She hatched me, with her magic. At first, it seemed as though she only needed me for an assistant. That was really the only purpose I was there."

"I helped her with her studies and kept her library clean and organized; There wasn't really any other way she'd want it." Spike gave a small laugh remembering Twilight's crazy organization disorder. Everything had a place, and it always had to be there. Fluttershy was intently listening to the dragon's tale.

"She raised me there, at that school. Raised me like a mother would. Except she didn't act like a mother, but a caring sister. We became closer. I wasn't just her pet, I was her friend. Her family. We were as close as we could be until.....until......" Spike drifted off with tears forming in his eyes.

Fluttershy put a hoof on the dragon's shoulder, letting him know it was alright. He looked up at her teary eyed and saw her heartwarming smile. He wiped away a tear with his claw. "After Twilight was gone, I wasn't sure what I'd do. I felt lost in the night. But you came and took me in. You could have easily shrugged me off to be somepony else's problem."

"But you didn't. You let me into your home without any question. You showed me a kindness that I wouldn't get from anypony else." The small dragon stood up and threw his arms around Fluttershy. "I have always worried what I would do without Twilight, but because of you, I don't need to worry anymore. I want to thank you, for your kindness, for everything."

Spike was openly crying now, his tears getting caught in Fluttershy's pink mane. The yellow pegasus returned the drake's embrace with tears of her own in her eyes. The two remained like that for a few moments, the silence broken by Fluttershy's voice.

"I promise you Spike, I won't let anything hurt you. I will take good care of you, for Twilight." The young dragon broke the embrace with a genuine smile.

"Thank you." He said. He cleared the tears out of his eyes with his claws and sat back down against the tree. "I appreciate everything you've done for me." Fluttershy gave a tearful smile.

"What are friends for?" With that, she left to help the frogs to their new home. Spike laid his head against the tree, staring back up into the smoky night sky.

"No no no no no no, this is bad this is bad." Came a frantic voice from the outskirts of Ponyville. "I have to find Fluttershy! It's very important!" Pinkie quickly galloped down the path that lead out of the village. She was on her way to Fluttershy's cottage.

For the past two hours, she had continually received various senses that seemed to come to her randomly. Her head had been wrapped around trying to figure out what they all meant. She had a hard time finding her footing because her knee had been pinching at her. She believed this to mean that something scary was soon to come.

After this and various other senses, she had determined that they came together around the sense she felt when Fluttershy had left to her home. Whatever all these senses meant, it had to be about her. There wasn't a moment to lose, something bad could happen at any moment.

Pinkie looked out to see the cottage growing closer to her. She was almost there. She couldn't see any signs of her friend around the dwelling. As she arrived, she started to yell out her name.

"Fluttershy! Fluttershy, where are you!?" She desperately yelled out her name until she heard a voice come from a nearby tree.

"Pinkie? What are you doing here? Why are you yelling so loud?" Came the tired voice of Spike. Pinkie quickly ran to him.

"Spike! Have you seen Fluttershy?" She asked, fear imminent in her voice.

"Uh, not since she talked to me an hour ago. She was taking some frogs to that bog at the edge of the-" He said as he was swiftly cut off.

"The bog, that's right! Fluttershy was taking the frogs to Froggy Bottom Bog! We need to get to her, fast!" Pinkie explained quickly.

"Why, what's wrong?" Spike asked with worry.

"Uh.... I don't really know. All I know is that something is going to happen to Fluttershy!" Pinkie said dreadfully. Spike looked at her with concern.

"Wait, how do you know that?" He asked. Pinkie looked at him and gave a tired sigh.

"I can see the future! No time to explain. Twitchy tail of power. Lets go now!" She yelled out.

"I'm not really sure I know what you're sayi- WOAH!" Cried Spike as he was lifted off of his feet and placed on Pinkie's back. The pink mare swiftly ran towards the location of the bog.

"Please let Fluttershy be alright." She said to herself as she galloped down the path to Froggy Bottom Bog.

It was dark and dreary in the mucky swamp known as Froggy Bottom Bog. The deep thicket held nasty creatures who basked in the eternal night. Obviously a safe environment for a pony to visit unprotected. It was here that a yellow pegasus found a new home for a group of amphibious frogs.

She gently landed with a cart filled with them. As she landed, her hooves sunk a little into the ground. She flapped her wings momentarily to stay above the dark mud.

"Here you go little frogs. It should be much nicer here than that dirty old pond." She said sweetly to the frogs as she unhooked the latch to the cart to let them out. A single frog hopped out onto the mud and moved around a little. He croaked a reassurance to the others and they quickly hopped out to join him.

Fluttershy gave a small laugh as she watched the frogs hop away. She was glad that she was given the time to do this. As she started to tighten up her cart, she heard a strange rustling come from the thicket. She slowly backed away and called out, "Hello? Is anypony there?"

She was met with silence. After a moment, the rustling continued. It sounded stronger than before. Fluttershy backed away even further. Whatever it was, was getting closer. She looked into the distance with fear, waiting for some horrible creature to appear out of the swamp.

The rustling grew even louder and more violent as the creature came closer to her. The yellow pegasus wanted to fly away, but her wings had shut tight around her in fear. She could only watch as the creature came closer to her. She could see as the weeds before her shifted. It was almost there.

Fluttershy tensed up, ready for whatever creature that lay in the thicket decides to attack. After a few moments of paralyzing fear, a dark figure appeared out of the weeds. The pegasus quickly looked the other way, closing her eyes. She could sense the creature getting closer to her.

She felt something brush past her leg and she gave out a small yelp. After she backed away, she summoned enough courage to open her eyes and look at her attacker. As she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of a small water snake. That's all it was, just a small curious snake.

Fluttershy stared at it for a moment, then have a small laugh. She laughed at herself for being paranoid once again. This little snake only wanted to see her, not hurt her. She bent down to touch it with her hoof. As she brought her hoof to the animal, he slithered onto her leg. She lifted him up to take a better look at him.

"Aww, you're not some big horrible beast." She said to the small reptilian. "You're just a cute little snake. Yes you are, yes you are." As she petted the snake and cooed at it, he slowly looked up at her. A look of fear quickly found its way into his unblinking eyes. He swiftly slivered off of Fluttershy's hoof and into the thicket.

"I wonder what that was about?" Stated the confused pegasus. She turned around to see what had frightened the small water snake. The only thing she could see was a big, dark trunk of a tree. At least, it looked like a tree. It was thick, tall, and went far up into the air.

But the bark of the tree didn't look right. It didn't really look like wood, but kinda like giant scales. The kind of scales you would find on a lizard. But the only kind of lizards that big were..... Fluttershy stood still with fear as she saw the tree start to move. It swayed from side to side menacingly.

Three other trees around her began to move as well, all having the scale-like bark of the first. She then realized that these trees couldn't be trees at all. The trunks of the unreal-trees then started to bend downwards. Fluttershy looked up to see four wide grins gleaming in the night. These trees around her were really necks, and the heads were coming down to her.

All she could do was watch as the giant sets of teeth came down to welcome her. She could see the faint outline of reptilian heads through the gleam of the moon. It was surrounding her. She wanted to move, to get away as fast as she could, but she was still frozen with fear. She was about to try to escape, until she realized something.

These creatures were dragons. Gigantic, fearsome dragons. Fluttershy lost all sense of her surroundings. She could only focus on the giant, wavering mouths, and her paralyzing fear. She was trapped, she couldn't move. Even if she could, there was no way she could outrun them.

As her very last option, Fluttershy drew in a deep breath. As she released it, she screamed at the top of her lungs, "HEEEEEELLLLLPPP!" The cry echoed through the swamp, bouncing through the trees and weeds. That was it, that was all she could muster. Now, she could only hope some pony heard her.

"Pinkie, please tell me what's going on." Came the worried voice of a young drake. "What's wrong with Fluttershy?" Pinkie was galloping towards Foggy Bottom Bog with Spike riding on her back. She looked back at him panting heavily.

"I just have a feeling that something is going to happen to her. A lot of feelings actually, but there's no time for that!" She said between breaths. The pink mare was trying her hardest to get to Fluttershy before anything bad happened. The purple dragon only grunted with disbelief.

"I still don't think I believe you. How can you know when things will happen?" He said to her. She responded with a tired sigh.

"Listen, I randomly get small twitches and shakes. Each thing means something. When my tail twitches, that means something is gonna fall. When my knee pinches, that means something scary is going to happen." She quickly explained to him.

"Is your knee pinchy now?" Spike asked with discomfort. Pinkie gave him a quick nod.

"Very pinchy. It almost hurts to run." She replied. "And I just know it has to do something with Fluttershy. Besides my pinchy knee, I have a lot of other feelings too. I don't know what they mean, and that's why we need to get to Fluttershy, fast!" Spike began to grow worried. If pinkie was right, then that meant that Fluttershy was in danger.

"W-what do you think happened to her?" He asked. "What if something bad happened to her?" Pinkie tried to shake away the dragon's questions.

"Please Spike, don't think like that. Nothing bad is going to happen to her! We'll be there to make sure it doesn't!" She said to reassure Spike, and herself. They quickly saw the edge of the swamp appear before them. Pinkie stopped long enough for Spike to climb off her back.

"She should be here somewhere." Pinkie told the young dragon. "You go look over there and I'll look over here." Spike nodded his agreement and ran off into the swamp. Pinkie turned and ran into the bog, weaving around the trees.

She galloped around the trees, hoping to find the yellow pegasus. The pink mare called out her name in hopes to receive an answer. She was only met with silence. The minutes she spent searching seemed to stretch into hours. Each second without finding her became harder and harder.

Pinkie had grown extremely worried that she would not find her friend. Just as she had slowed to catch her breath, a voice caught in her ears. It was a shrill scream of terror. It was calling out for help. It was Fluttershy. With new found hope, Pinkie swiftly ran into the direction of the scream.

After a minute of running, she tripped over a small creature that ran out of the thicket. She stood up and looked over to see Spike in the mud, rubbing his head.

"Spike!" She called out. "Did you hear Fluttershy?" The small dragon looked at her and stood up, dusting himself off.

"Yeah, I was just coming to find her!" He said with fear in his voice. "Something bad really has happened to her!" Pinkie walked over to Spike and threw him back onto her back.

"Not yet!" She said. "We can still save her! Nothing bad will happen to her, I promise!" Spike looked at her with wide, teary eyes. He had trouble believing her. She had trouble believing herself. Pinkie quickly turned and ran towards where she heard Fluttershy.

The two quickly traveled through the swamp, dodging tree branches and high roots. Nothing could slow them down, they had to get to Fluttershy. They heard another scream come from her. They were close. Pinkie gave the last of her energy to push through the thicket.

As she ran, her hoof got caught on a loose root. She and the small dragon were thrown from the trees, landing firmly in the mud. Spike stood up shaken, while Pinkie laid in pain. When she landed, her back leg had collided with a rock. She struggled to stand up.

Spike looked up to see Fluttershy off in the distance, surrounded by four large, snake-like heads. "Fluttershy!" He yelled out. "Come on Pinkie, we need to help her!" He called out to the injured mare. She stood up and walked over to him, keeping her weight off of her injured leg.

Pinkie looked up at the four creatures surrounding Fluttershy. Their heads were right next to the yellow pegasus. They gave a low growl at her, staring directly at her.

"Fluttershy!" Cried out Pinkie as she started to run towards her. Her leg was too sore from exhaustion and her injury to work, causing her to trip into the mud. Spike stood there watching Fluttershy in fear. With tears in his eyes, he ran towards her with all of his might.

"Spike! Wait!" Cried out pinkie as she carefully stood back up. The little drake refused her warning and continued toward his friend. He tried the best he could, but was too late. One of the heads brought itself towards Fluttershy with its jaws wide open.

With a quick snap, it brought its teeth right into the paralyzed pegasus. Spikes eyes grew wide. He slowed to a staggered walk as he watched his caretaker rise from the ground. A crimson liquid dripped from the beast's mouth. The other heads came around it and snapped at the body from his teeth. They bit into her and slowly tore her apart, red mist floating in the air.

Spike fell to his knees in fear as he watched her tear apart. Tears quickly filled his eyes. All he could do was mutter a quiet, "Noooo......." He shut his eyes and looked away, hoping this to be some horrible nightmare. Hoping it all to be some horrible nightmare. He wished to wake up to the familiar clop of hooves on the ground as Twilight paced around the room. At least the chirp of the birds in Fluttershy's cottage.

He couldn't take it. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

"Spike!" Yelled out the tired voice of Pinkie. "Please, g-get away from there." He looked back at her, quickly limping towards him. Then she said the one thing he wished not to hear. The one thing that he wished was wrong. The one thing that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"There's nothing you can do."

Author's Note

I am so so so so so very sorry for those of you who do not like this chapter. I have tried to prolong it, but it had to get it done to get to the rest of the story. This chapter was hard for me to write. It's creation has left a hole in my very soul. Writing 'heartache' has given me heartache. I only hope this doesn't dissuade you from the rest of the story.

Change of fate

Chapter 6 - Change of Fate

Equestria was held only by the thinnest of threads. Unicorns had been dying out, leaving the task to ferment the land's crops with magic even more draining. Unicorns from all over the nation had suffered from exhaustion, insomnia, and insanity. All ultimately leading up to their death.

Because the task of keeping the crops supported had become so unbearable, many of the fermented soils of equestria had died out. Only a select few crops could be harvested. Ponies around Equestria had been put under law to ration what had been given to them. The poorer areas had little to nothing to live on.

This nation wide concern of hunger had affected the pegasi greatly. Without the energy and nutrients given by the earth ponies' crops, the pegasi had little power to control the smoke covering their land. Some little villages and towns had suffered from suffocation, with the death toll increasing every day.

Things seemed very bleak for Equestria during this time, but there was still hope to save those who where lost. Although these situations seemed cataclysmic, there was still time to change everything back to how it used to be. It was about this time that I was finally visited by a certain pink mare......

The sky was the same way it had been for months. Dark, with suffocating smoke glooming in the air. It was near impossible to keep morality in these dark times. Ponies would do whatever they could to get food. They would take, they would steal, they would kill.

Unicorns would see keeping the land healthy as a burden rather than a solution, so many of them stopped spending their magic. Pegasi saw clearing the clouds as an impossible chore, causing many of them to quit and fly as far away as they could in hopes to find a suitable land. Earth ponies struggled to keep their crops growing, since the abundance of smoke and lack of magic caused most of their plants to die out.

It was dark times in the once great land, affecting even the most kind-hearted of ponies. One such pony being one of the most light-hearted ponies in Equestria. Pinkie Pie was enjoying her time with one of her last friends, Rarity. Unlike the other unicorns who had abandoned the quest of keeping the land healthy, Rarity refused to give away to these selfish thoughts.

She spent every waking moment she could feeding her magic to the earth, giving all she could give. This had left her very weak, causing her to have trouble keeping her eyes open. She fought exhaustion as much as she could. Rarity knew that her time was near. She had been using her magic gathered from her life aura for weeks. She was at her end.

sip< Came from Pinkie, enjoying a freshly brewed cup of tea. She had been spending time talking with Rarity during her final hours. She also knew that her friend was halfway into her grave, and wanted to be with her when she passed. The same recurring sense had been tingling at her the entire time; heartache.

Pinkie set the intricately designed tea cup down. "Spike seems to be doing well." She said sadly. Rarity lifted up her head with intrigue. "He's still depressed about Twilight and Fluttershy, but he doesn't sulk around anymore. I think all the sadness he had just kind of left him. Like he was just too sad to be sad anymore."

Rarity gave a small cough. "You know, dear, Rainbow Dash has been down spirited as well. Although she won't admit it up front, you could tell by her actions." She said as she blearily looked out the smoggy window. "She has spent every minute she has up in that smoke. Some pony who puts that much effort into something is obviously trying to forget."

She placed a hoof on the window pane and gave a heavy hearted sigh. "Those two went to flight camp together when they were young. Fluttershy would be teased for being a frail flyer, and Rainbow Dash would be there to protect her. They were as close as friends could be."

She took a sip of tea as she stared out into the distance. The white mare set the cup of tea down with a horrible cough. "I'm not too sure how long I'll stay awake darling. I know that if I succumb to slumber I won't wake again." Pinkie looked at her friend with detriment.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" She asked. Rarity gave a small chuckle, her gaze not leaving the window.

"There's not much you can do sweetie. My magic has run out; it the end for me I'm afraid." She said cherubically. Her hoof was lying on one of her last designs. "Just, stay for a bit longer is all I'm asking. It shan't be long now." Pinkie gave a slow nod, tears forming in her eyes.

The two friends sat there quietly until Rarity slumped back into her chair. Her eyes slowly closed but her smile did not fade. Pinkie sat in silence, broken only by the tiny drip from her tears falling into her tea. Her heart was reeling in pain. She sat there for a few minutes, staring into her reflection given of by the watery surface.

She slowly stood up. She walked over to her friend and carefully placed the unicorn onto her back. Pinkie brought her to a small red couch. She carefully placed Rarity on it, crossing her hooves over her chest. She gave the white mare a quick hug, whispered "goodbye" into her unhearing ear, then turned to leave.

Pinkie left the Carousel Boutique with a heavy heart. She walked out into the cold, unforgiving night. Her straight hair blowed in the wind. Ever since she witnessed Fluttershy's death in the bog, her hair had refused to curl up back into her usual style.

She walked down the streets of Ponyville. Most of the homes were empty due to the families either moving out, or moving on. Pinkie did not like how bad things had become, but she still felt a shred of hope lie somewhere inside of her. Somewhere, she knew there was something she could do to help. It was about then she saw me.

I was walking down the streets of the village looking for her. I knew that I was banished from the fair town, but I didn't see anypony try to stop me. I expected Pinkie to be scared, since the last time we met really didn't have the effect I wanted. But instead, she walked up to me with a saddened smile on her face.

She gave me a quick nod. I gave her a surprised smile and merely stated, "Follow me."

We were at Zecora's hut in the Everfree forest. It was time to tell Pinkie everything.

"This world you see before you is fabricated. It is a product of a curse that I put on you." I said to her hesitantly. "Only now I see my mistake. My envy of others got the better of me. It is my fault that this land is falling apart."

She stood at the other side of the hut, facing away from me. I could tell she was crying. "I know that you won't forgive me for this, but we can still save everypony. Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack......" I paused for a brief moment. "...Twilight."

Pinkie slowly turned her head towards me. She gave me a look of pure animosity. Angry tears flowed from her eyes. "It's all your fault." She growled at me. "Because of you, I've seen my friends die." Her stare could melt the ice of Windigos. I nodded in understanding.

"I know that I put you through all of this. I'm sorry, I truly am." Her stare of hate turned into that of disgust.

"Apologies won't bring back my friends!" She yelled at me. Her disposition had started to annoy me.

"I know that! I know what I've done!" I yelled out at her. "I don't need you to accept my apology! I just need you to listen!" I calmed my voice as she sat down reluctantly. "Almost a year ago, you moved away from your families farm. You had a choice; turn right to Fillydelphia, or turn left to Ponyville."

Pinkie sat there listening intently. "In your true reality, you turned left. You met Twilight and the others. Together, you defeated Nightmare Moon and brought back the day. Together, you confronted the dragon and made him leave. You six were the protectors of Equestria. You went on magnificent adventures and helped save the lives of thousands of ponies."

I gave a tired sigh. "But then you met me. I saw how happy you were. I couldn't stand seeing anypony that joyful. So I cast a curse upon you. I reversed time and forced you to turn right, creating this horrible reality."

I slowly walked towards her. "Yes, I caused you great pain, but now I'm trying to relieve it. I'm not asking for your forgiveness, I'm asking for your help. Only you can bring Equestria back to its former glory." I held out my hoof, waiting for her agreement. "Don't do it for me. Do it for your friends."

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. She brought her hoof up to mine. She stared into my eyes with a newfound hope. "Tell me what I need to do."

It was a clear night in Canterlot. Having the royal guards clear the smoke seemed effective for this grand city. Guards were stationed all around the palace, making this task much harder. We had to move fast, I doubt the princess of the night would be tolerant to intruders.

"So why are we here in Canterlot?" Pinkie asked me. I have her a quick smile.

"Nightmare Moon wasn't the only being you defeated. There is another who is much stronger. He is currently imprisoned within the Canterlot gardens." I explained to her.

"Like a dungeon in the middle of the garden?" She asked. I gave her a soft laugh.

"Well, more like a stone imprisonment. A spell was cast upon him that turned his very being into stone. He resides in the garden under watch of the princess." We were next to the Royal Sculpture Garden in the middle of Canterlot. As we neared the entrance, I could seem two guards positioned at its entry.

"Damn, these guys are everywhere." I cursed to myself. Knowing that this mission would need acquirements, I supplied myself with a small satchel filled with special herbs and mixes. After a moment of searching, I found a small blue bottle containing a clear mist.

"Hold your breath." I whispered to Pinkie as I threw the bottle at the ground before the guards. The bottle shattered releasing the mist into the air. The guards jumped at the sound and started searching around to find an intruder. As they inhaled the fragrance, their motions became sloppy and their eyes slowly closed. In mere seconds, the elite guards were collapsed on the ground.

"Now's our chance." I stated as we walked past the slumbering guards. As we entered the garden, we were welcomed by many statues lining the walkway. I started my search to find him among these stone fixtures.

"Friendship, victory, nobility..... Ah-hah!" I found myself in front of the misplaced statue. It depicted a being with the head of a stallion, tail of a dragon, wings of a bird and bat, and much other strange appearances. Pinkie looked at the statue with interest.

"Hahahaha, he looks like a pony jigsaw puzzle!" She laughed. In truth, he really did. He looked like a piled on mess with everything but the kitchen sink.

"Well, we made it. I guess the hard part will be waking him up." I said aloud. Pinkie stopped her laughing and turned to me.

"How are we going to do tha-" SLAP! My hoof was brought to her cheek causing her to flinch in pain. "Oww! What was that fo-" SLAP! Another strike had left a red mark on her cheek. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"You're worthless to me! Did you really believe that I'd help you?! If I were your friends, I'd be glad I died! Then I would have to have anything to do with you!" Tears flowed from her eyes. She stood up and glared at me with pure rage.

"You said you would help!" She yelled at me. I gave a mocking laugh.

"I only said I would to raise your hopes, just so I could stomp on it later!" I took a quick glance at the statue. It had begun to shake, giving off a dark aura. Just a bit more. "I'm glad I did this to you! All the better to see you squirm like the ingrate you are!" She continued to glare at me. She closed her eyes and slowly turned around. I guess she didn't want me to see her cry. I may have gone too far. I was about to apologize to her until her hind legs quickly came up from her, bucking me in the chest.

I fell to the ground in pain. I laid in front of the statue and looked up to see it shaking violently. Many cracks ruptured from the stone, each crack giving of massive amounts of dark energy. Piece by piece, the stone shell fell to the ground. Before me was the god of chaos himself, Discord.

"Hey, that's not a nice way to treat your friend..." He said to me in a teasing tone. "Just look how sad you've made her." Pinkie looked up to see Discord hovering above her. He looked up into the dark, smoke covered sky.

"You ponies sit here calling ME a mess. Look at what you've done with this place." I slowly stood up in pain and shook myself off.

"That...that is the reason we freed you for your prison." I said to him. He looked at me with playful interest.

"Oh? And what am I supposed to do about this? Why would I help you?" He asked. I gave him a hard laugh.

"If I remember correctly, you owe me." I told him. He stared at me with confusion.

"Why would I be in dept to a broken zebra? I mean seriously, you can't even rhyme like one." He mocked me. I never really liked this guy.

"First of all, I got sick of the rhyming. I found that if a zebra is unable to rhyme, they go insane. All I had to do was try to rhyme 'orange'. Her mind cracked, but mine was there to take over." Discord stared at me, seeing my mental form possessing the zebra.

"Ah yes, now I can see your astral form. Tell me, for what reason may you have in stealing another's form? Beside having some fun, that is." I gave him a hardened glare.

"That is the second thing. I possessed this body to reverse a certain spell. I think that you of all beings would know it well." His being disappeared, then reappeared next to me. His face was next to mine giving an intimidating glare.

"And, pray tell, what is that spell?" I backed away from his glare and gave my answer.

"Why, the reality spell of course. You know, the one I used on you all those years ago?" He pondered this for a moment, then something snapped in his head.

"YOU!" He lashed out at me. "You miserable waste of air!" He flew to me, bringing my body up off the ground. "Because of you I was trapped in that stone imprisonment for a thousand years!"

"Hey! All I did was give you those powers! It's your fault you decided to abuse them!" He released me and let me fall onto the ground. "I saw your pain. YOU asked ME to change your life. If I knew you would turn into a damn tyrant, I would have never put you under that spell!"

"You are still the reason I have these powers. The reason why I was imprisoned." Discord harshly landed on the ground next to me.

"You hurt other with your powers. I saw what you did to Equestria. I wanted to help you, but you went too far." I stated bluntly.

"The lies you speak are immense! I know very well you couldn't care less about others." He rebuked.

"I do care for others! For the less fortunate, for those in pain and need! That is why I am here! That is why you're free!" I took a moment to regain my breath. "What I have done has killed thousands of innocent ponies. I am trying to fix that. I'm trying to save them. If I wasn't, why would I be here?"

Discord stared coldly into my eyes, and upon seeing the sincerity in them, he calmed down. "So Equestria is dying because of you?" He asked. I gave a sharp nod. He pointed a claw towards Pinkie. "Is she the one under the spell?"

"Yes," I stated. "She is an Element of Harmony. Without her, Equestria slowly became....this." Discord slowly flew to the pink mare.

"What is your name young filly?" He asked her. She looked up at him in eagerness.

"Pinkie." She said slowly. "Pinkie Pie." He gave a soft laugh.

"Well, Pinkie Pie, I am sorry this pony over here has hurt you so much." He said to her. "There is a way we can change what's happened to you." She perked her ears to listen. "I have a strong control over reality. I can shift physical forms and those of arcane forms as well. I can slip through dimensions with ease, making a task such as transversing through time possible." I walked up next to him.

"Discord can bring you to the time that I changed. The time you turned right." I explained. "All you need to do is get your past self to turn left." Discord gave her a strong look of warning.

"It may be a difficult task, as you will not have a physical form. You can only transverse through time as an astral spirit." He told her. "You are unable to communicate with your past self, or any other pony in your memories, but you have some influence over your surroundings. And as this reality is limited to your memories, I can only allow one trip through time. Anymore will create a rift in the spell. The result of that could be apocalyptic."

Pinkie stared up at him with hope. "But if I do it, everything will go back to normal? My friends, they still be alive?" She asked. I regretfully stepped in.

"Yes. In the reality I took you away from, you still had your friends. You were as close as ponies could get." I gave a heavy sigh. "If you succeed, you WILL see them again." She looked at me with determination in her eyes.

"Let do it!" She said enthusiastically. She stood ready to be brought back to her past. Discord rubbed his hands together.

"Okay. All I need you to do is think back to that time. I have not been there, so this must rely solely on you." He explained to her. She closed her eyes and tried her best to focus. After a moment she gave a small nod of accomplishment. Discord placed his claw on her head and closed his eyes, focusing on her past. It was then I heard a booming voice.

"INTRUDERS! HOW DARE YOU RELEASE THE VILE BEAST FROM HIS IMPRISONMENT!" I looked up into the night to see a dark figure flying through the sky. Her armor seemed to reflect the glow of the moon, as her mane seemed to be comprised of the darkness of night itself.

"Times up!" I yelled out. "We have to go now!" Nightmare Moon quickly grew nearer to us. Discord snapped his fingers, and in an instant, everything faded away. It was soon replaced with a blinding light. It took a moment to realized that this light was given off by the sun. We had made it.

I had forgotten how beautiful the sun was during the afternoon. I guess you don't realize how wonderful things are unless you have seen a world without them. I slowly got up and turned to see Pinkie and Discord next to me. We were next to a dirt path. A path which seemed to diverge into two separate roads. One road traveling through a forest towards Ponyville, and the other alongside a cliff side towards Fillydelphia.

"According to my sense of time, we should be five minutes away from when you get here." He said to her. "All you need to do is get yourself to turn left."

Pinkie stared off into the distance. I walked up next to her. "Pinkie," I said. "I really am sorry for what I have done to you. I have had a lot of time here to think about that." She sat unmoving, staring out to the dirt road. "I wasn't thinking straight. I haven't been think straight for a long time. I'm sorry it caused so much pain for me to understand that."

No response. She only stared at the road before us. "I'm not asking for your forgiveness; Celestia knows I don't deserve it. I have done too much wrong in my life for it to ever be fixed. But you....you have something to live for. You have the best friends anypony could ever wish for. Don't let that go. Don't ever let that friendship go."

My gaze was brought to the ground. "Maybe if I were to have someone to care for me, I wouldn't have become this monster." I sat there with my eyes to the ground. I felt her press against me, wrapping her forelegs around me. I turned to see her with tears in her eyes and the warmest smile anypony could give.

"Thank you." She said. I stared at her, shocked.

"Thanks for what?" I asked.

"Thank you for caring." She said. Her embrace grew tighter. Not knowing what to do, I returned her embrace with my own.

"Hey lovebirds! If you haven't forgotten, the fate of Equestria depends on the next two minutes!" We let go of each other and stared out to the road. Out into the distance, there was a lone carriage, holding one of the strangest ponies I would ever know.

"How are you going to do it?" I asked her. "How are you going to change everything?" She gave me a soft laugh.

"Don't worry about it. I know exactly what to do." She walked towards where the two paths met. She turned to her right and stared at the cliff side next to the road. Up near the top was a cracked surface, ready to collapse with enough force. I stared down the road. The carriage was getting nearer.

Pinkie had started her climb to the top of the cliffside. She arrived at the top as the carriage drew closer. I could hear the driver ask Pinkie where to turn. We didn't have much time left. Pinkie was at the top of the rock, trying to dislodge enough stone to collapse the cliffside. She looked down to see the carriage stop in the road for her past self's decision. There wasn't enough time to push the rocks out.

I stared up at her in fear. She wouldn't be able to do it in time. I saw her back away from the rock. I guessed I was wrong. She wouldn't save Equestria. Everypony was doomed. I sighed in defeat, but the. I saw her run back towards the broken rock. She threw her body at the stone, and it gave way with a powerful crack.

"PINKIE!" I yelled out as she came down with the rocks. She was caught in the middle of the avalanche. The huge stones bounced of the side of the cliff, as did Pinkie. Her body landed roughly onto the dirt path, dozens of stones following her.

The carriage pony backed away in surprise. Not being able to see Pinkie's astral form, he quickly turned the other direction and continued down the path. I watched as the dark aura left the carriage as her true reality began to transpire once more. I walked up to see a crimson pool soaking underneath the rocks. I heard a painful moan come from underneath them.

I quickly shifted the stones aside until I could see the tattered form of Pinkie. Blood was pouring from her chest where a heavy stone had crushed her. She looked up to me with that warm smile. "Everything will go back to normal, right?" She painfully asked me.

I gave her a quick nod. "Yes. I promise everything will be better."

"Pinkie Promise?" She asked as she brought her hoof to her eye. I gave a warm laugh.

"Pinkie Promise." I said as I crossed my hoof across my chest, then placing it over my eye. She gave a raspy laugh, then laid her head on the rock. Her breath grew slower as her eyes closed. "See...you...soon." Pinkie said. She took one last breath, then left. The world around me began to fade as the spell failed. I stood with tears in my eyes.

"See you soon."

Epilogue

There's not much more to say at this point. Soon afterward I found myself back at my small tent. Pinkie awoke from beside me. She looked happy. Against everything that had happened to her, she continued to smile. I guess laughter really is a virtue.

It didn't take long for the princess to find me. My spell did have a momentous effect on Equestria. I was startled to see the royal guards storm into my dwelling, followed by the princess's faithful student Twilight Sparkle. I was never on the princess's good side, so circumstances like this had happened many times before.

Usually when I was confronted by her guards, I would cast a distracting spell, or simply teleport away. But I had no will to escape this time. Even if I did, I knew that Twilight would have a protection spell around my tent to prevent me from escaping. The guards forced me to the ground, placing a special collar around my neck countering my magic.

I had no intent to use it. I knew very well what I had done. I knew that if I were free, I would only repeat the damage I had done. If I did, I possibly could not have stopped it again. It was time to stop running. As the guards escorted me out of my shoppe, I looked back to see Pinkie holding Twilight close to her, obviously happy to she her alive again.

The trial was short and just. I had been trialed for the use of black magic, the destruction of countless ponies' lives, and the interference of an Element of Harmony. Because of my willingness to be imprisoned, the princess saw one of her 'banishments' to be inessential. Instead, she merely sent me to the castle's lower dungeon, under the watchful eye of her and her sister.

This is where I have resided; in the dark depths under the glorious city of Canterlot. Most days I would stare out into the sky, reflecting on the pain I had given to many innocent ponies. I would stare down at the land, no longer feeling above it, but as it above me.

Not all of my days were spent wallowing in my self loathing. Once a month, I received a special visitor. It always warmed my heart to see her bouncing in the door. She always sat in the same spot behind the bars. We would spend the next hour or so talking and laughing with one another. She would tell me about her friends and what crazy adventure they had been through during the month.

I still don't understand that mare. I had almost ruined her life and destroyed Equestria, but she still calls herself my friend. I never deserved to have a friend, and I reminded her of that frequently. If the same events had happened to another, they would have gladly watch me rot away in this cell. But not her. She has given me forgiveness that no other pony would be sane to give.

I thank her for that. I really did enjoy her visits. It let me remember that there are good things in this life that overshadow the bad. For a long time, I had been lost in anger, in covetousness. She decided to stop and help me towards the light when others would disregard my existence.

I sit here now with nothing more to lose. She had given me the forgiveness that I never deserved and a friend I could have only wished for. I had spent nearly two thousand years causing pain, when in truth, I was running from my own. My skin has started to shrivel. My age had been accelerating everyday.

Normally, I would cast an age spell the moment I caught a trace of a wrinkle. But now, I think it's time to stop running. I have greatly surpassed my time, and it was time to go. Upon my request, the princess had allowed me to be free of my imprisonment. To allow me one day before my inevitable demise.

Just one more day in this existence. I never expected to see myself so close to death. My entire life I had fled from it, but now I welcome it's eternal embrace. But before I can allow myself to pass on, there is still one thing that I must do. Tomorrow is when Celestia will allow me my freedom from this prison.

What I have decided to do is travel to Ponyville. I have spoken about this to Pinkie. She said it was wonderful that I could spend my last day there with her. I could see an enthusiastic smile spread across her face, and I could tell she was already planning a party in her head. She was excited to have me come to her home and see her friends.

I am glad that all the pain I have caused her has slipped away. In truth, because the spell failed, those events really never happened. Only I and Pinkie had the memories of that horrible existence. To any other pony, those events never transpired.

I'm glad I can spend my final day with some pony who I can call a friend. I guess it truly is better to die happy, then live in fear. As of now, I'm going to need my rest. You've probably never been to one of Pinkie's parties, but from what I understand, it will be fantastic.

Author's Note

Here is the last installment of 'turn left'. Thank you all who have followed through the story and left wonderful reviews of it. I will return soon with some newer works.