The Wackiness of Unofficial Life

Chapters

Chapter 1: Rejection of an Author
Chapter 2: The Draconequus in the Stone
Chapter 3: A Ruby Breakfast
Chapter 4: The Case of the Missing Tortoise
Chapter 5: Sleeping Pony
Chapter 6: A Change of Pace
Chapter 7: My Little Spike
Chapter 8: Invitations
Chapter 9: If You Wish to Make a Call
Chapter 10: Wrapped up in Books
Chapter 11: Party Till You Die
Chapter 12: Excuse Plots
Chapter 13: Idols
Chapter 15: When Stars Bleed Over
Chapter 16: Save it for a Rainy Day
Chapter 17: The Great Apple Robbery
Chapter 18: A Pony Odyssey
Chapter 19: Blackout
Chapter 21: Idol Playthings
Chapter 23: When All Hell's Breaking Loose
Chapter 24: A Non Tragic Ending for a Dragon
Chapter 14: In the Shadows
Chapter 20: Eris
Chapter 22: I Tried Not to Make a Star Wars Reference

Chapter 1: Rejection of an Author

"Look Spike, just cause Rarity knows you have a crush on her doesn't mean she feels the same way!" Twilight groaned once more. Ever the optimist, the young dragon continued tending to the bouquet that Fluttershy had helped him gather earlier that day. The smile just wouldn't leave his face. Nothing could get him down, not even viewing the destruction he'd caused when he'd transformed into his raging vicious monstrous self and threatened everyones' lives (though that bit with the Wonderbolts had been fun. He didn't see why Rainbow Dash was so intent on joining them with all the stuff that she did without their company).

Either way though, today was the day. The day when everything would go his way. He could feel it. The flowers were ready, he had his bow on from when Owlowiscious had threatened his place in the household, and Twilight was complaining. Everything was perfect. "Spike, I'm just warning you one more time that Rarity might not-" "Think I'm stunning, blah blah blah," Spike mocked jokingly earning him a angry blush from his lifelong affiliate, "Just like Applejack doesn't think Rainbow's sexy." "What!" Twilight exclaimed, "They're both girls!" "Doesn't change what fans write about," Spike shrugged.

Without giving the purple pony another chance to speak, the baby dragon darted out the door and sped through Ponyville. All Twilight could do was shake her head and sigh. She loved the little guy, but his thickheadness really got him in more problems than it did solutions. Maybe they should have stayed in Canterlot. At least there the most they had to worry about was Prince Blueblood occasionally making them open doors for him. "Oh well," the mare mumbled as her horn lit up. A book floated to her bed, "Time to read that Cupcakes book I found!"

It wasn't even an hour later that the same young dragon that had sped out the door so excitedly earlier slammed the object open and entered the tree that was his and Twilight's dwelling. The purple pony blinked a few times and looked down to the first floor. "I take it it went-" "Horrible!" Spike growled plopping himself down at the dining table, "Absolutely terrible!" Sighing, Twilight teleported next to him and took a seat herself. Spike lifted a brow to her. "You wanna-" "No," he hissed, "But in the end I'm probably gonna talk about it anyway so fine.

"So I got there, gave her the flowers. She was real appreciative, offered me tea, and even had all these gemstones for me." "That sounds nice-" "Oh they were delicious," Spike admitted, though still had a tinge of annoyance in his voice, "But that's not the point. The point is that she went on and on about how it wouldn't work since she would be old and gray by the time I was of age cause I'm a dragon!" Spike huffed folding his arms over his chest, "It sucks being a dragon! I don't wanna outlive you guys!"

Twilight gave a halfhearted smile as she got up and wrapped her arms around the younger figure's neck. Spike looked up at her curiously. "Silly," she chuckled, "We don't know how long you'll live." Spike's eyes went wide. "What are you talking about? You're the pony that knows everything about everything. Our house is a fucking library!" "Alright, not exactly what I meant," Twilight's eyes went to her head in thought, "More along the lines of we don't know how long Ponies live exactly." Now Spike was even more baffled. "You are a pony..." he reminded.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean much," Twilight told him, "You see it hasn't been made up yet exactly how long we live. Fans just always assume you'll outlive us because your kind lives for thousands of years. Who knows? We ponies might live even longer! Granny Smith might be older than Discord for all we know." The thought made Spike's eye twitch. "The thing is," she said tightening her embrace a bit on the dragon's neck, "You were in a fic where the person writing it wanted things to be done more in line with how they viewed how long ponies might live. This is a magical land that parodies their world. They only go based on what they think applies to ours until the people running our official material give more information about the matter. And besides, if worst comes to worst I can always probably get a spell to modify ages."

After a few seconds of silence a smile formed on Spikes face. Leaping off his chair he bounced towards the door, his hope renewed. That is until he was halted. An aura had surrounded him keeping him in place. "Hey what gives?" he cried, "I was gonna tell Rarity how we can be together now!" Twilight rolled her eyes and teleported in front of him. "Spike, don't you remember what I just said?" "That me and Rarity can be like a messed up Shrek couple?" The pony put a hoof to her forehead. "Spike, this is still a fanfic and it's still run by a fan. This particular fan is under the impression obviously that Rarity won't understand you. There'd be too many conflicts what with all her attention to detail and you...being you..."

Spike's expression dropped and his eyes turned downward. "Hey, don't act like that," Twilight rubbed Spike's head causing him to flail at her arm. "Why not?" he moaned, "I give up. If there's no winning with Rarity then who is out there for me? Who could understand me? Who would-" "Spike," Twilight interrupted a bit annoyed at the self-pity. Again Spike looked up to her. "Until something pops up in canon, would you like me to be your girlfriend?" Spike blinked. "Uh...no." Twilight gave a confused look at the response. "But you do want to be with somepony don't you?"

"Yeah, but you're like my sister or something. I read on TV Tropes how-" "Spike," Twilight whapped the back of his head, "This is a fanfic. Not everything plays out like it would in real life. And even then, as creepy as it sounds, brothers and sisters have been known to get together every now and then. We're not related so it won't cause problems even if it would be awkward canonically. Plus I'm more likely to turn out to be the one to live longer of our group since I'm like in contact with the Princess and all that crap. Now stop moping and love me."

"Uh..." Spike gulped hesitantly. Twilight's glare could've pierced straight through his eyes, "Y-yes mam!" Happy with the hug Spike gave her, Twilight trotted up the stairs with him around her neck and back into her bed. "Feel better?" she asked opening a new book. The Cupcakes one had been too unbelievable to keep reading without bursting out laughing. "If not a bit threatened," Spike muttered under his breath, "...yeah. Thanks Twilight." "Anytime honey," she giggled and kissed the baby dragon on the lips. "Hey hold on a sec! The fic just said I'm a baby-" "You wanna hump Rarity," Twilight muttered, "You're old enough." Blushing maddeningly, Spike quieted down and nuzzled into Twilight's neck.

Chapter 2: The Draconequus in the Stone

Pinkie Pie fidgeted around uncomfortably. Her teeth chattered with the vibrations of her body. She had no idea what had come over her. Even Gummy seemed to be a bit startled by his owner. The pink pony hadn't felt such a rush since the time she'd predicted that Twilight would believe in her Pinkie Sense without fully understanding it. When something completely unexpected that she'd never in a million years expect to happen would happen. The doozey.

"This is a big one Gummy!" Pinkie Pie rattled across the ground, "Almost as big as the time that I found out the writer of Cupcakes wanted to be remembered for stories other than that!" The alligator just blinked and cocked its head to the side.

"No I'm not in the mood for a boyfriend! That's Twilight's thing this fic!" she responded to the silent animal. After what seemed like a good half an hour the vibrating finally subsided and Pinkie Pie let out a sigh of relief upon returning to normal. She certainly hadn't felt anything near that caliber before in her life. She just hoped whatever was coming was something good like it had been with the previous doozey.

"Oh I know!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed happily, "Rainbow Dash must be hooking up with Fluttershy!" Again Gummy's blinking caught his owner's attention.

"Well of course I know she's not a lesbian," Pinkie Pie laughed, "But gotta pair her up with someone since she's the closest thing we have to a guy other than Spike in the cast. And you know how screwed up things get when you go with the actual guy...of course I guess you could go with Big Macintosh also. Fans really seem to think he's pretty attractive. I just don't get what the big deal is. I mean he's big, yeah. He's probably the strongest colt in town. Hell, they shoulda sent him to deal with Nightmare Moon!" Gummy blinked again.

"Of course big means he's strong and tall. What else would it be referring to?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Alright Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Apple Bloom hollered, "Today will be the day we get our-" "Cutie Marks!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle joined in excitedly. The two earth-bound ponies hopped aboard the wagon that Scootaloo rode them around in. Within seconds they were off darting through Ponyville. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle always loved the rush that came with the speed they traveled at. They felt as though they could do anything.

"So what's first on the checklist?" Scootaloo inquired from the front. "It's..." Sweetie Belle stopped just as soon as she started.

"Something wrong?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Uh yeah..." Sweetie Belle rubbed her head holding it over for her friend to see, "It says the first thing to do is to stop having the attention on us since the author can't think of anything interesting for us to do right now..."

"Wonder what that means," Apple Bloom said.

"Oh Opalescence, I remember when I was Sweetie Belle's age," Rarity sighed stroking the uncaring cat. Not even bothering to hiss it just yawned on her bed.

"Oh what an exciting youth it was," she sighed dreamily, "and the day I found that rock with all the gems in it. I still have that first dress I made with those jewels locked away you know."

Suddenly the cat let out a screech from the knocking of the door that had caused Rarity to leap off the bed taking Opalescence with her. An irritable grunt was heard as the animal impacted the floor. Not seeming to take notice of the all-to-frequent occurence, Rarity used her magic to open the front door and greet her guests. Almost instantly she trotted back a few steps. There in the doorway stood Spike and Twilight. After giving her lip a bite, the white Pony let out a nervous laugh.

"Well, um, how nice to see you two," she grinned. 'Crap!' was what she really thought 'He didn't tell Twilight about what happened did he? Oh I can already feel the guilt from the lecture she-'

"Lovely to see you too Rarity," Twilight smiled. Spike on the other hand looked almost as uncomfortable as Rarity. Almost. 'Alright...' Rarity thought, 'She doesn't seem to notice anything...no wait! She must be lowering me into a false sense of non-security! Well Twilight Sparkle, I believe I can see through this charade of yours.'

"What brings you here?" Rarity asked politely. Her eyes drifted to Spike who retreated a bit at the glance. Neither of them wanted to be in sight of each other at the moment it seemed. To her surprise, Twilight actually produced something she was familiar with. A scarf.

"I just need this patched up," she revealed a rather lengthy tear that'd been slashed into it, "A certain baby dragon didn't look where he was scraping his hands along the wall today..." Spike's chuckle could be heard from behind the annoyed purple pony. So that was it! Tears began pouring out of Rarity's eyes as she shoved Twilight out of the way and fell to the ground in front of Spike. He was just as shocked as the now wall-embedded companion of his.

"Oh Spike I am so sorry!" the drama queen cried wrapping her arms around his leg, "I know you're still maturing and it must be hard, but you can't take your anger out on Twilight! You two've been together forever! You just need to understand that we can't be together. This is between you and me, no one else! This must be so hard for you. Why I know how it was the first time I had my heart broken. I'd never want to see you like that! It's jus-" Rarity's voice silenced from the purple claws that cupped her jaws together.

"Uh...I didn't do it on purpose," Spike told her quietly, "I was just bored and wiping my hands along the walls when they came to the hook that that scarf was on." With each passing second the awkward silence brought more and more blush to the pale unicorn's cheeks. Rarity felt as though she could die of embarrassment.

"Um...yes...of course..." she said slowly turning her attention back to Twilight who'd now succeeded in prying herself loose from the structure of her friend's home, "But um...still...Twilight if the dear should get a bit...ancy in the future it's because...well...he came over the other day and-"

"Oh I know," Twilight laughed. Rarity's eyes went wide as dinner plates. 'Shit! Alright, now she has to start the lecture...'

"So if you could just get this sewed up today I'd really be-"

"Hold up," Rarity cut her off. Twilight's eyes peaked at the command. "So you know about this and aren't going to like...you know, ridicule me or anything?"

Again her friend laughed. "Rarity, why would I do that?" she chuckled, "You have every right to reject Spike." Now it was the dragon's turn to have a red tint to his cheeks while his brows furrowed.

"He'll be just fine," Twilight assured her handing the clothing piece over. Rarity sighed with relief.

"Besides, I'm his girlfriend now." This revelation caused the sigh to turn into an uncontrollable gagging and coughing fit from the air she inhaled afterwards. Twilight and Spike exchanged glances, each wondering if they should help the agonizing mare. Eventually though she did manage to regain control of her throat's inner workings.

"I'm...I'm sorry, what?" Rarity asked in disbelief, her eyes still watering. Spike did his best to hide his face in his hands. The embarrassment just kept building. 'Yes,' he thought, 'Hello my crush, I'd like you to meet my new girlfriend. My best friend...'

"Well, I thought it'd help Spike," Twilight figured, "And either way, it should be a great learning experience for me. Books are good and all, but doing that Running of the Leaves thing was so much more insightful than just reading about racing. A boyfriend should work the same way if my calculations are correct."

"But deary he's a dragon," Rarity tried to say quietly enough to keep Spike from hearing. It didn't work.

"So?" Twilight shrugged, "I love him." Rarity's eyes went between Twilight and the hiding baby dragon a few times.

"Well I'm happy for you two," she said uneasily.

"So that's defusing a nuclear warhead, saving baby chickens, and collecting the Triforce off our list," Sweetie Belle muttered checking over the piece of paper again, "We just aren't having any luck today."

"And I was so sure that beating Ganon would get it for us," Apple Bloom sighed. Sometimes she wondered if it really was worth it. This whole quest for the Cutie Marks thing. Sure it was fun and all and she'd made the best friends she'd ever had from it, but each and every new venture was nothing but...well nothing. It was as though fate was against them constantly just to crack a few jokes. Despite all their efforts they got nothing in return other than bruises and embarrassment...that they almost immediately always forgot about once they moved onto their next quest.

"Next one is statue hunters," Sweetie Belle told em.

"Alright girls, keep your eyes peeled," Scootaloo ordered, "I don't care if we have to go all the way to Canterlot, we are getting a good statue!"

"Cutie Mark Crusader Statue Hunters!" they exclaimed, "YAY!" None of them seemed to remember or care about the injuries they'd gotten in their previous endeavors.

For most of the walk back towards their home, the figure of a dragon atop a unicorn didn't talk. To the inhabitants of Ponyville it was a normal everyday thing to see Twilight Sparkle and Spike together on the street. But if one ever cared to notice they would usually find them either in a conversation or Twilight would be having the younger being write something down for her. Hardly anypony did take to such detail. But one did. It was time for her everyday random appearance. She didn't know why she did it, but it seemed instinct. But before she could she noticed the silence.

This caused quiet the reaction when she decided to pop up right in the duo's face for once. Both Twilight and Spike screamed as they fell back from the intruder. "Derpy!" Twilight yelped, "What are you doing!"

"Yeah, haven't you ever heard of personal space?" Spike groaned rubbing his back after getting back to his feet.

The gray pegasi's jaw drooped a bit. "Muffin?" Spike and Twilight shook their heads. Seeming to have become interested in a new subject, the confusing specimen trotted off leaving the dragon to climb back onto his perch. If nothing else, the interruption had been enough to bring Spike's mind back to what all was happening. He gulped at what he was about to say.

"Hey Twi...Twilight..." he started. His ride didn't look at him, but he knew he had her attention. It didn't even take years of living together to know that.

"Back there...did you mean what you said?..."

"...well of course," Twilight said in confusion, "It was an accident that you ripped-"

"No not, that, I mean that you...love me..."

This made the unicorn's head swivel around. She didn't know if Spike was joking or not. "Of course I do," she told him with a smile, "I mean we've been frien-"

"No, you know what I mean," Spike grumbled, "I mean like do you actually love love me."

At this Twilight fell silent for about fifteen seconds. Her pace even seemed to slow a bit.

"Well sure I do," she figured, "I mean the book said-" Spike's eyes nearly popped off his face. Before Twilight could finish Spike hoisted himself over head and grabbed her cheeks so that he was staring at her upside down.

"Book?..." he said quietly. Twilight nodded.

"The guide to being a good girlfriend. Step one, make sure that you know that both of you are equa-"

"A book?" Spike repeated a bit louder. Now Twilight was a bit a frightened. It hadn't mentioned the boyfriend getting worked up over the girlfriend referencing the guide. Maybe she just wasn't far enough yet...

"Twilight Sparkle, tell me you're joking," Spike told the female. She tried to peer to the sides but just kept locking her gaze back on the young dragon's face.

"You are using a goddamn book to be in a relationship?" Spike growled and leapt to the ground, "I mean it's bad enough that you blabbed to Rarity about all this crap! But now you tell me that...ugh! You know what, no. You just keep reading your book and when it tells you that you can't follow some piece of literature for that kind of thing then you tell me that you wanna be with me!"

Twilight opened her mouth to speak. Even if she had known what to say Spike was already out of hearing range. She just let her gaze drift to the ground and kicked the dirt a bit. She hadn't read about that happening at all.

"There it was again Gummy!" Pinkie Pie informed excitedly, "oh man is it ever gonna be a doozey! And and...oh I can feel it!...it's gonna involve someone we know!...hm...is it...Spike?" The pony had had her eyes clenched to try and get a better picture of who she was predicting about, but opened them upon hearing the dragon's voice. She peered out the window just in time to see him tear through the streets.

"Hm..." she rubbed her chin, "Nope...that wasn't it..."

Spike's eyelids lowered a bit as he gazed across the stream that flowed beneath the bridge. The one he'd sat on when Rarity had given him his birthday kiss. After he'd...attacked... He lifted his hand as he had that day to compare it to the clawmark his monstrous self had left embedded in the ground nearby. The print was still there and visible. He cringed at the memories it brought. Nothing but hate and spite for what he was. A monster cloaked in kindness. He knew he could probably get Twilight to get a spell to negate him ever doing that again. Ever getting-no!

He didn't need Twilight. He was perfectly fine taking care of his inner demons on his own. He'd proven that when he'd reverted back to his baby form...even if he and Rarity would have died had Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy not been there. Spike sighed and shook his head. He shouldn't be angry. He was around friends that cared about him. They risked their lives for him and, even if he didn't get as many opporunities, he for their's. With the lifting spirits, he took a nearby pebble and skipped it across the water half expecting the reflection of Rarity's reflection to pop up next to his as it had the previous time he'd been at the bridge.

A head did appear however. This one was purple though.

"...hey..." Spike said, "...sorry about...you know..."

"It's...alright," Twilight sighed, "You just know what it's like when I get into a book..."

Spike let out a light chuckle. "Yeah..." he replied, "That isn't the reason I got mad. That was just...a 'you're actually doing that?' kind of moment to add onto what was already happening. I know you Twilight. I'd never get mad at you for reading with how long we've been together..."

A spell of silence engulfed the two. It seemed like hours before either of them made a sound again. "Hey Spike," Twilight eventually said. Spike's head lifted a bit. "I do love you."

The dragon finally looked at the pony and smiled. "I love you too Twilight."

"Alright! Anypony see a difference in their flank!" Scootaloo exclaimed. The Cutie Mark Crusaders eagerly looked each other over but only received another round of disappointment. "Ugh! Screw this!" Apple Bloom grumbled, "The moon's even out now! I'm going home!"

"Yeah, Rarity might get me in trouble with mom and dad if I don't show up," Sweetie Belle sighed. Scootaloo sat down next to the statue they'd dragged back to the outskirts of Ponyville and glared up at it. "You were heavy as hell! We should've at least gotten half a Cutie Mark for you!" Even though the object was stone there was a presence it gave off in response that made the young filly feel quite uneasy. Now that she thought about it, the twisted being looked like that statue that her class had come across in the royal garden when those cotton candy clouds that rained chocolate milk had started showing up. Only this time the being was contorted in a way that showed quite the look of fear on its face.

Figuring it best not to tempt fate any longer, whatever it might bring, Scootaloo abandoned their trophy and sped off into Ponyville.

Chapter 3: A Ruby Breakfast

From the edge of Ponyville could be seen a scene that occasionally graced its outer limits. Near the cottage in the distance drifted a yellow pegasus with pink hair. Happily she collected various flowers as a tune was hummed to the pattern she'd been making in her gestures. Though she'd heard that things hadn't gone over as well as Spike would have liked with Rarity, Fluttershy was sure that the flowers she'd helped him gather had lightened the atmosphere at least a bit when the moment had finally come. She was just happy that she could help in some way or another.

"Oh hello Angel!" Fluttershy greeted her most prominent companion whom had taken to hopping about the flowerbed around their home. Immediately the bunny turned its attention to the larger being.

"Are you getting hungry?" Hastily the bunny shook its head and pointed towards the Everfree Forest.

"Oh did Squirrely get in a quarrel with Mr. Pigeon again?" Fluttershy gasped. Not even taking a guess as to how she could come up with such a suggestion and not wanting to go into the usual twenty-questions with the nature-loving pegasus, Angel simply jumped on Fluttershy's head and yanked it towards the Everfree Forest. What caught the innocent pony's eye was certainly intriguing. There seemed to be a low glow emanating from the parts that the vegetation weren't blocking. Oddly enough she wasn't scared. Had it been any other thing that was making itself known from the terrifying environment, Fluttershy would've darted into the cottage and bolted the door shut.

Before she could contemplate approaching the setting any longer however, solid figures did appear from the bushes and trees. Three to be exact. No wait...four! Three of them Fluttershy immediately noticed.

"Girls, what are you doing in there!" she exclaimed running to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, "You know you sh...shou..." The fragile pony trotted slowly to a stop in front of them upon realizing what the fourth figure was laying across their parallel backs.

"S-Spike!" she yelped. All she received was a moan. His scales were thick with sweat. But the feature that Fluttershy really took notice of was the mark on his torso. Or rather through it. A gash seemed to run straight into his abdomen, dark liquid leaking from it.

"W...what happened?..." Fluttershy finally managed to ask. The fillies looked amongst each other.

"We're not even sure what's happening with us," Scootaloo told her.

"The air..." Spike's quiet voice said, his eyes remaining shut, "It...it's alive...not burning...not...dead..." Rapidly Angel pounded his foot on Fluttershy's head and her eyes went wide. Now was not the time to try and figure out was going on! An animal needed help!

"Girls, in the cottage, now!" Fluttershy ordered.

Spike stretched and gave a soft yawn as he awoke. Even though they'd been sharing a bed for the past week now, he was still getting used to waking up in Twilight's arms. Not that it felt bad or anything. Quite the contrary actually. The warmth and comfort of her constricting arms against his smaller frame made him feel all cozy and protected. It was just...different than he was used to. The last time they'd done stuff like that had been when he really was a baby. Revisiting those memories, Spike smiled at his dozing "girlfriend". She must've stayed up all night again. With Owlowiscious around she certainly got even more work done than she used to, even though he had to fill in for him til he dropped from exhaustion the night before. The feathered menace had the night off. Twilight Sparkle really was one of the most dedicated ponies Spike knew.

"Well might as well get started on breakfast," he yawned, "Still the number one assistant, and I'll be damned if this whole relationship crap the fic's forcing on me is gonna tamper with that." Spike grunted and groaned as he tried to pry himself loose of Twilight's grasp but to no avail.

"Geez!" Spike grumbled, "squeeze me like Smarty Pants why don't ya?" Seeming to take the suggestion to heart, the purple unicorn did just that, much to Spike's chagrin. The next thing he saw was a face-full of Twilight's chest from how much her limbs wrapped around him. The young dragon could feel his cheeks heating up.

"You are so lucky this isn't a clopfic," he muttered under his breath. Once more the smaller lifeform gave a shot at freedom and once more was dragged back into the embrace of the nuzzling female. Finally Spike huffed into defeat and wrapped his own limbs around Twilight's body returning the affectionate gestures. He didn't know whether or not it was the girl's subconscious, but Spike could definitely hear some giggles from the rubbing he did against Twilight. At this an idea popped into his head. More rapidly now he cuddled against the pony's body. It only took a few seconds for Twilight to roll over in an attempt to escape the pleasurable tickling sensation.

"Alright alright! I surrender!" she laughed after toppling off the bed completely. Satisfied, Spike placed his hands on his hips.

"Now where's breakfast?" The dragon rolled his eyes.

Pinkie Pie's eyes whizzed around wildly in their sockets. She knew something was up. And she knew she was headed in the right direction. Her senses were just getting more and more out of whack. She'd never had them acting up as much as they had been for the past week.

"Why, out of all the things the author had to remember, did it have to be the Pinkie Sense?" she grumbled as she trotted through Ponyville, "I mean for others it's just "oh she's Pinkie Pie! She likes sweets and is probably more willing to experiment with sexuality cause of her personality!". But no, this one has to go the full mile. At this rate I'll be having to tear my ears off from all the flapping they're doing!" Not a single pony even gave notice of the pink one that continually blabbed to no one in particular. It was just the normal citizen Pinkie Pie to them.

"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity cried, "Sweetie Belle where are you!" Furiously the fashionista stomped around her boutique. It was one thing when the young filly had cut out three gold squares for her friend's robes or used every baby-blue sapphire on her silly yet lovely art project, but this was just too much. She had had it with that little pony!

"SWEETIE BELLE!" Reluctantly said pony's eye popped open for a second before promptly sealing itself shut again and was thrust under a pillow with the rest of her head. Sweetie Belle didn't really know what her sister was screaming about nor did she care. She was still tired from the hard labor she and her friends had taken part in the night before. And Rarity's voice wasn't exactly the most pleasant thing to be woken up from.

"I know you're out here somewhere!" the voice insisted as the stomping continued.

"Mfr asheep!" Rarity suddenly heard from the door to the room her sister usually stayed in when she visited. Her eyes narrowing, the older unicorn burst straight through the door and glared down at the little curled up lump of sheets on the bed. In an instant she had twirled her sister to the floor, Sweetie Belle's eyes twirling in her head from the dizziness.

"Alright," she yawned, "I'm apparently up now. What is it?" "Where are they!" Rarity screamed expanding her sister's eye size from the caliber of her voice.

"Where's wha-"

"ALL of my jewels I collected yesterday!" Rarity cut her off frantically, "Where did you put them? WHERE DID YOU PUT THEM!" Sweetie Belle just rolled her eyes at the drama entering the older unicorn's voice.

"I don't know, the gem-goblin came in the middle of the night and ate em all?" Sweetie suggested.

"Gem-goblin?..." Rarity thought. Sweetie Belle smacked her forehead. Rarity was actually considering the suggestion!

"Goblins are small..." "Rarity, I wasn't-" "and who do we know that's small?...and likes...to..eat..." "Rarity-" "SPIKE!" the fashion expert growled before bursting through the front door leaving her sister blinking in the trail of dust she left behind.

"This can't end well," Sweetie Belle sighed, "...oh I know what'll cheer her up! I'll make her something to eat for when she comes back!"

"I got all the gems I could find!" Sweetie Belle told the group upon dumping the glistening stones across the floor of Fluttershy's cottage. The others' jaws dropped. They'd never seen so much shining beauty in their entire lives.

"I didn't remember Rarity having nearly this much in stock when I last saw her," Sweetie Belle reminisced, "But do you think it's enough?..." Fluttershy had to shake her head a few times before it registered to her that she was being addressed.

"Oh um, yes, it should be quite enough," she laughed nervously. Carefully she picked as many as she could up with her wings and carried them over to her stove-top where she had a pot heating up with some herbs and spices in it.

"That smells good," Apple Bloom's eyelids drooped in admiration, "Can I have some?"

"Only if you want your throat shredded," Fluttershy warned as she dropped the stones one at a time into the crackling cauldron, "The stuff in it other than the jewels are simply to add flavor for Spike's medicine." The name turned Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle's heads to the moaning dragon that lay sprawled on a nearby couch. The injury looked worse than ever and the sweating had definitely increased. Spike's whole face glistened.

Apple Bloom however had taken a spot next to Fluttershy once she'd gotten all the jewels she could fit into the pot. Curiously the filly looked into it. The instant one hit the bottom of the metal it started to melt and mix into a liquid with the others causing for a rather sparkling rainbowish mixture. It practically hypnotized her in its wonder.

"How'd you learn to make this?" Apple Bloom wondered aloud as Fluttershy began to stir the liquid.

"Oh, after your little "Cutie Pox" incident I visited Zecora," Fluttershy answered lifting the ladle a bit, "Angel had chipped his tooth and she lent me this interesting book on how to make cures for various ailments saying that you'd suffered a similar predicament earlier." The memory made the younger pony blush.

"Spike's wound isn't that much different than a chipped tooth. Just on a much larger and more vital scale," Fluttershy explained. Slowly she scooped up some of the sparkling liquid and dripped it into a cup.

"Let's just hope I did everything correctly."

"And here thou are oh fare mare," Spike presented the bowl on a rather shiny platter, "Thy morning breakfast of cereal oats." Twilight turned his eyes skyward and rubbed her hoof into the dragon's head below.

"Cut it out," she smiled. Spike did the same and took his seat on the opposite end of the table. Lovingly he licked his lips upon pulling his plate towards him.

"And what are you having today?" Twilight mused taking the first bite of her meal. The dragon ripped the cloth covering his breakfast away with eagerness. Beneath it lay a large sparkling ruby. The purple pony's eyes expanded at the site of it.

"It took me forever to find one of these, especially without Rarity's powers to aide me. But finally I got one! A giant, luscious, yummy, succulent-"

"Insert other adjectives here since the author doesn't know when to stop describing something," Twilight summarized from her seat. Ignoring the peanut gallery, Spike poked and prodded the glistening object as if to weigh and measure its qualities. Twilight hadn't seen the little guy so excited in quite some time. After a few minutes probably, Spike finally lifted the ruby up and opened his mouth to take a bite.

"NO!" Both residents' attention turned to the front door. There stood Rarity with a mixture of rage and shock on her face. Instinctively she tackled the dragon to the ground in a leap that spanned a good twelve feet. When Spike regained his standing in the situation he noticed that his breakfast was gone.

"Hey! What the-"

"Hello Rarity," Twilight greeted happily from her side of the table, "Did you come to join us for breakfast?" She shrunk back a bit from the glare she recieved.

"As if!" the white unicorn scoffed hugging the ruby to her chest. A bit irritated by the whole intrusion, Spike walked over and attempted to take his meal back only to have his claws slapped away from the frustrated pony that had stolen it.

"Um...that's sorta mine..." Spike told her, "No offense."

"Oh all offense taken you little thief," Rarity turned her head to the ceiling dismissively, "You know I shouldn't be sorry at all that I broke your heart now that you've done this!"

Spike's jaw drooped a bit. Even Twilight was having trouble piecing together what the intruder was going on about.

"Did you get enough sleep?" Spike asked. The look he recieved from the pony literally caused him to take a few steps back.

"Did I get enough sleep?" she repeated, "Did I get enough sleep! I most certainly seemed to have considering I didn't notice you at all waltz into my boutique in the middle of the night and make off with all the gems that I had been collecting for my new top-of-the-line dresses you vile little lizard!"

Even though he didn't know what exactly she was talking about, the words still hurt Spike. It could be seen from his face.

"But Rarity, I was here all ni-"

"Pish posh," she cut the younger life form off, "Now where have you stashed all the others? You couldn't have eaten them all yet. You're not nearly that fat." The comments just got worse and worse affecting Spike's usually cheerful demeanor rather drastically with each passing moment.

"But Rarit-"

"Where are they!"

"He doesn't have them." Rarity and Spike blinked and turned their attention to the other resident who before the comment had seemingly faded into the background of the setting. It hadn't been a yell or anything that Twilight had made, but the other twos' voices had been so prominent that the introduction of her's was noticed by both. Calmly Twilight trotted over to where Rarity was crouched over the ruby.

"Oh Twilight, you can't honestly expect me to believe that Spike, the only person in Ponyville that feasts on these glorious gifts from heaven, didn't steal all my jewels," Rarity reasoned. "I honestly don't give much of a damn what you believe," Twilight shrugged. Now it was Rarity's turn to shrink back. She certainly hadn't expected that kind of reply.

"What I do know," the purple one continued, "Is that Spike was here with me all night helping me research the workings of Golems since Owlowicious was on vacation. And as always he was a great help. He couldn't have been at your place last night. Added to that, I wouldn't call you much better considering you just burst into our house without warning and accused him of something he had no part in." Rarity tried numerous times throughout the speech to interrupt and counteract the arguments that Twilight was making but to no avail. It was the lecture she'd feared when she'd come to her to get her scarf fixed.

"But Twilight d-"

"Spike isn't the one who took your gems. It could've been a thief or Diamond Dog or what-have you, but it wasn't Spike. And if you're so hung up over this I can always get the girls together to help you get more," Twilight told Rarity firmly. She peered into her eyes for a moment causing her to gulp and slowly hand the ruby back to Spike.

"Heh...heh..." Rarity laughed nervously as she forced herself to her feet. She made her way to the door taking caution with each step.

"...sorry Spike..." Rarity apologized taking a glance at him before evacuating the premise.

It was a while before either Spike or Twilight talked again.

"...that was kinda hot..." Spike finally broke the silence. Twilight just smiled.

"The book said that girlfriends are supposed to stick up for their boyfriends," she informed happily.

"Well than-"

"And in return the boyfriends listen more to the complaints and whining that the girlfriends have and do." Spike lifted a brow at the extended information.

"...don't I already do that?..." Twilight put a hoof to her chin.

"Yeah...I guess you do," she realized, "Wow, you really are boyfriend material."

"Like you wouldn't believe," Spike rubbed his claw against his chest proudly earning him a bonk on the head.

At first the vision was blurry. It'd been that way for quite some time. But the pain had stopped. And it was clearing up. He could see the group of ponies that surrounded him. Could make out their colors. White, yellow, orange, and yellow again. The tallest yellow was saying something. It sounded distant. "ike..." was all he could make out. After a few more times of the word being repeated he could understand it and noticed who was talking.

"Spike," Fluttershy repeated. With the sound returning so was his sight. Violently the young dragon shook his head and looked around. There were the Cutie Mark Crusaders next to her that had saved his life. They were all smiling.

"Guess I'm not dead," he said more to himself than anyone in the cottage, "Hold on a sec...Fluttershy...you're alright!" Had it been any other dragon that had leapt at her, the timid pegasus would've hidden behind a couch or some other furniture she had available. But Spike's hug was one of thankfulness and relief.

"O...of course I am?" the words finally hitting her.

"But wait...Twilight, the others!" Fluttershy looked at the younger ponies curiously. There'd obviously been something that'd happened, but she had no idea what.

"Where exactly did you three come from when you brought Spike here? Why was he-"

"No time!" Spike responded leaping off her and charging out the door, "Come on Crusaders! You have to get me back to where we were!" "Cutie Mark Crusaders Dragon Rescuers!" they exclaimed rushing off with Spike, "YAY!" Fluttershy was left coughing in the dust cloud they left behind.

"Ugh!" Rarity dramatized as she burst through the Carousel Boutique's front door. Though she was a lot less frustrated than she had been before going to Twilight's she was still rather dismayed about the whole gem affair. Jewelry doesn't just get up and walk away after all. And it had been quite a bit of hard work to collect them all. Still, they could be replaced. After all, Twilight had volunteered her and the others to help her get more if she really needed them all that badly. It was just...what could've happened to them?

What affected Rarity the most though was how she had acted. It'd taken the walk home to actually think of looking at the situation from Spike and Twilight's point of view. She couldn't believe how embarrassed she was once she thought everything over. And how mean she'd been to the dragon. It was bad enough that she'd already rejected him, but then to have her verbally attack him. It certainly wasn't something she'd get over if some guy she liked did that to her. Still, her element was the one of Generosity, not Kindness or whatever the hell it'd be called.

The moment she stepped into the kitchen though her train of thought went crashing head-first off its tracks. Smoke flooded her nostrils as it did her eyes. "What in Equestria!" she yelped.

"Come sit down at the table!" Sweetie Belle invited, "My cooking's sure to cheer you up!" Rarity let out an exasperated sigh. If nothing else, at least the gems were now off her mind now.

Chapter 4: The Case of the Missing Tortoise

"Hey sis, I'm headed out to do the usual with the CMC," Apple Bloom hollered across the orchard.

"Have fun!" Applejack called back with a wave. Thinking her kin gone, the yellowish-orange Earth Pony kicked a tree with her rear legs causing a bushel of apples to topple into a basket beneath it. Just as she was about to hoist the container up and head on to the next tree though she let out a yelp.

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack exclaimed spotting the young filly popping seemingly out of nowhere from behind the basket, "What the hay do you thinks your doin'?"

"I just done wanted to ask ya something sis," Apple Bloom said with a sad face. Applejack winced at the impact the demeanor had on her.

"Well shoot," she managed to say, "Go right ahead silly. What's on your mind?"

"Why don't you get nearly as much screentime as the other Ponies?" Apple Gloom asked. Applejack blinked for a moment.

"Now deary you know that fourth wall horseapples is fer Pinkie Pie and Discord-"

"I know, but it just bugs me," Apple Bloom pouted, "Yous is the best Pony I know." Applejack blushed.

"Well shucks, I wouldn't say I'm all that-"

"You are though!" Apple Bloom excitedly persisted, "Yous is the best buckin' an hoppin' sweety face this side o Equestria!" The blush only intensified. Applejack sheepishly rubbed the back of her front leg with her other.

"Well...ya see there...the thing is...authors just see me as borin' unless they make a romance situation outta Rainbow or Pinkie or some other crap with me."

"But you ain't no lesbian!" Apple Bloom gasped, "And how dare they! You has some o the most potential I ever did see! You're a great character! " Applejack just chuckled and rubbed the back of her sibling's head.

"Ah sis, everyone's got their opinions. Just that the majority usually overshadows the rest. Now hows about you skeedadle on over to the clubhouse? I'm sure your friends are waitin' fer ya." In almost an instant Apple Bloom's atmosphere lightened and with a nod she was off into the horizon of the orchard.

"What I would give to say the majority likes me more than anyone else," Applejack shook her head as she got back to work, "Ah the curse of Honesty..."

"Alright Twilight I'm going out," Spike informed as he passed the unicorn with her face deep inside the binding of a book, as per usual, "Anything you need other than what's on the checklist?"

"Oh, be sure to get the supplies to make a checklist," Twilight told him. Spike rolled his eyes.

"But of course ever so OCDish mistress, how much of a disaster it would be if we didn't have the supplies to make one when I'm already buying fully built-ones by the dozens," the dragon accepted.

"That's the spirit!" Twilight encouraged, "Never know when all those checklists might burn up on a day that the store decides to either catch on fire or close down!"

Spike smiled in defeat upon shutting the door. Sure it may seem annoying to the typical inhabitant of Ponyville, but he just could not see Twilight any other way than how he'd grown up with her, nor would he want to. Part of what made him the assistant he was was that he'd learned early on to accept the pony for who she was instead of labeling her as a freak as so many others had done. Though he did wish they'd gone to the donut bakery more when they were living in Canterlot instead of spending all day in books.

"Alright, sorry I'm late girls, so what are we doing-"

"Not crusading," Scootaloo's voice immediately cut Apple Bloom's off. The response shocked all the words out of the crusader that had just entered.

"Whatcha..." Apple Bloom's eyes drifted to Sweetie Belle. Her face was drenched in worry and confusion. Scootaloo, as predictably, was more stern in her expression, but still the sense of worry and foreboding hung in the air. Something was not right...at all...

"Did...did I do somethin?..." Apple Bloom eventually gulped. Sweetie Belle shook her head.

"I'm not repeating myself," Scootaloo sighed recollecting how hard it'd been to describe the situation to Sweetie Belle, "Best just to show you two." Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had a dozen questions sweeping through their minds, but before either could speak the self appointed leader of the pack was on the ground below the club house.

For most of the time after no one talked. The two that hadn't witnessed what Scootaloo had still wanted more badly than anything to question her, but neither dared. The air around her was just too hung with an ominous feeling that they had never felt before. Now that Sweetie Belle took the time to notice she realized it truly was silent. There wasn't a single bird in the air chirping. No wildlife hummed any of the tunes that normally wheeved the landscape together in such harmony. It was as though the land died a bit more and more with each step they followed Scootaloo.

Apple Bloom would've turned around and ran if she wasn't so curious or fascinated. It was like watching her brother try again and again to get the last apple off the highest tree when she knew he couldn't manage it. A disaster that couldn't be turned away from.

"Hey, isn't this just about where we left the-"

"Yes," Scootaloo answered her. With that statement she came to a stop signalling for the others to do so as well. What they now saw Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom would never forget. It most certainly was where they had left the twisted statue when they'd attempted to be Statue Hunters. Only now around it there was no life. Instead all the plants that had been on the side of the road it was on were withered. Various bunnies and rodents that had normally gone there to go about their daily business lay dead amongst the gray faded setting. And in the center of the chaos was the statue.

The silence felt like it lasted for years.

"...what...what's that thing on its neck?" Sweetie Belle now noticed the glowing red emblem that had been placed on it. It looked like a diamond-shaped letter M with another diamond shaped ring around it.

"You guys' guess is as good as mine," Scootaloo replied. When she looked back to see Apple Bloom's reaction she gasped. The filly was halfway across the gray setting!

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Scootaloo yelled. "Findin' out what that...there..thing is o...cou...c...coouhhhh..."

"Apple Bloom!" both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo cried as they saw the form of their friend fall over in the dying meadow. Even her color's had begun to fade! Hesitantly Sweetie Belle tore into the perimeter of the grayness.

"Now what are you up to!" Scootaloo called.

"We can't just leave her here!" Sweetie replied.

"Damnit," Scootaloo hissed. Knowing she couldn't leave either of them, the pegasus of the group flew above the withered environment and met Sweetie Belle at Apple Bloom's body. It took some effort but they managed to hoist her up onto their backs and started back towards where they had initially viewed the statue from. It wasn't until about three quarters of the way back that Sweetie Belle fell as well, her breath coming in gasps. Even Scootaloo could feel her head swimming as Apple Bloom slunked off her back. It felt like her head was going to explode from how much it was pounding. She was dying. Her friends were dying.

"No..." she muttered, "no...we are the Cutie Mark Crusaders...we'll never stop the journey...not until...until...ugh..." The last thing Scootaloo saw was the look on the statue's face.

"Well, that should be just about it..." Spike said to himself marking the last thing off the checklist. Twilight had even had him include the checkbox for when he'd refuse to get a sofa with the quills. She really did think of everything. For all nerdy her faults, Twilight certainly did have her share of good points and funny ones. Thinking about them just put a smile on the dragon's face. That's when his path changed.

"Maybe me'll get her a little something from Sugarcube Corner...wonder if Pinkie's in tod-oof!" The small resident of Ponyville went somesaulting across the ground from the blow he recieved. It took a few moments for his eyes to focus on the attacker.

"Oh my head..." Spike mumbled as he wobbled back to his feet and began to approach the light blue pegasus.

"Oh, sorry bout that Spike," Rainbow Dash coughed shaking off the effects of the impact, "I'm just having a bit of trouble right now."

"It's alright. What's up?"

"Oh it's just Tank and-"

"Wait a sec," Spike waved his arms around, "You're debuting in a story with no hint at all of being a lesbian or going after a homosexual goal?"

"I know right? It's so bizarre," Rainbow Dash admitted, "But yeah, I'm looking for Tank. Woke up today and he was just gone. Flying mechanism and all." The female gave a few scans around the area she'd bumped into Spike in. She really did seem a lot more...uneasy than normal. Even the Mysterious Mare Do Well hadn't gotten her all that worked up compared to how worried she looked.

"Well, if you want I can help ya look," Spike offered.

"Really!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Twilight's hug was nothing compared to the spine-crushing embrace the athlete scooped him into.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you Spike!" she practically cried. Then her emotions flip flopped to the complete opposite end of the spectrum.

"But if you ever tell any of the others how I'm acting right now you are DEAD! Got it?" Spike was almost to scared to give the shaky nod he did. Even once he was set down he was shuddering.

"Great!" Rainbow Dash thrust an arm into the air, "Let's meet up at Sugarcube Corner in two hours!" With that the blue blur vanished into the depths of Ponyville leaving Spike staring at the wind trail she left.

The claws rapped across the table in annoyance. Rainbow Dash was supposed to meet back up with him in two hours. It'd at least been a half hour more. Spike sighed a munched on his donut. He'd never forget the ones in Canterlot, but Sugarcube Corner's certainly were nothing to look down upon. They always lifted the pony's spirit no matter the problem. But Spike's patience really was growing thin.

"So Spike..." a higher pitched voice than the one he was waiting for spoke, "Had any...problems lately?..." Spike gave Pinkie Pie an odd look and decided to take another bite of his donut before answering.

"No, not really. Other than Rarity. Why do-"

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry I kept ya waiting!" Rainbow Dash panted practically appearing in the seat across from Spike with how fast she moved. Pinkie Pie obviously wasn't the one to jump from the newcomer with how unusual she was.

"Just say sorry when you give me a heart attack," Spike took a few deep breaths, "I take it you didn't find him?" Rainbow Dash's face tilted down a bit. Pinkie Pie looked between the two.

"Don't worry," she tried to comfort the other pony, "I'm sure you'll find Gummy if you look harder. Hide and Seek can't last forever." Spike and Rainbow Dash simply ignored the bizarre pink creature and kept their focus on the matter at hand. Spike could hardly stand looking at her with how her face had sunken. A sad Rainbow Dash was something he thought he'd never see.

"Cheer up," he told her, "I've been doing some thinking while I was waiting for ya." Rainbow Dash eyed him curiously.

"Just think for a minute and hear me out on this," Spike put a finger up to keep the other two, mainly Pinkie Pie, quiet, "Where did you get Tank from?"

"Hasbro's orders?" Spike smacked his forehead.

"Alright, who was the person you got him from?"

"...Fluttershy..."

"And if there's a problem that animals have, who do they automatically go to?"

"Ace Ventura!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Rainbow's eyes widened quite a bit as her face brightened with relief. Spike's donut was left twirling in the air where it was before Rainbow had flown him out the door with her.

"Tell him that Gummy found his chew toy for me!" Pinkie Pie called after them.

"H...huh?..." Scootaloo murmured. Her head was still throbbing, but not nearly as much as it had been. That's when she realized. She could see. She could move, even if it stung! Hastily she got to her feet and flapped her wings. They still worked.

"She's awake!" Apple Bloom's voice exclaimed. The moment she finished her sentence she was tackled to the ground in a headlock.

"You dumbass, you got us killed!" Scootaloo cursed, "Why if we ain't in our equivalent of hell I'm gonna kick your ass down there myself!"

"What eagerness is in her extremities," a more foreign voice remarked, "That she should make these profanities." Scootaloo jumped a bit from the sudden remark. Though she hadn't ever met the mystical woman personally, she had indeed heard enough about her from Apple Bloom as well as remembered when she used to "terrorize" Ponyville.

"Great, you even somehow managed to get Zecora killed off! Way to go Apple Brain!"
Scootaloo scoffed. The zebra chuckled at the presumption.

"What are you laughin' at?" Scootaloo spat, "We're dead!"

"If we're dead how come the afterlife looks like Zecora's place?" Sweetie Belle asked. Scootaloo's head swiveled around to take in the surroundings.

"She lives in a building?" Scootaloo thought aloud causing the zebra to give her a dissatisfied look.

"While I indeed do live within a safe place," she started the rhyme, "Us being dead is not the case." Scootaloo inched a bit away from the uneasy foreigner.

"Alright, someone needs to be a translator," she ordered.

"She's saying we're not dead," Apple Bloom told her.

"But...the statue...we fell...and..."

"If not had I been traversing there, you may indeed have become that of little air," Zecora told them, "For that place has been calling for a few days, so I payed a visit and saw such graves."

"...alright, seriously, speaka the normal language!" Scootaloo growled in frustration. She'd had enough tension from almost dying, she didn't need more from trying to figure out tongue twisters.

"She sensed that statue we brought back," Apple Bloom told her, "It's been causing a bit o ruckus through the Everfree Forest's atmosphere or somethin'...sorry about earlier by the way..." Scootaloo sighed and closed her eyes.

"It's alright," she muttered, "but we do need to find out just what's going on with that thing...WITHOUT going near it this time." Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom exchanged an uneasy grin.

"Wait a second..." the pegasus muttered, "...Zecora, do you know what that thing is?" The zebra's eyes were the ones that closed now.

"Indeed I know the chimerian creature," she sighed, "for the tale of Discord is woven through all Equestrian cultures. Yet this is not what ails the forest. That necklace upon him rings doom's chorus. The evil device, though alien here, is such from a demon that covers all in fear. Its very existence threatens all life, through malice and pain and suffering and strife. Till all are gone and wiped from this land, to give birth to destruction of all other sands. Reality itself is its sole victim, that which it preys upon for its purpose and mission."

Scootaloo looked at Apple Bloom.

"I got nothing," she too was stumped at the rhyme.

"Now you just stay off that foot and it should heal right up!" Fluttershy assured the flamingo. The slamming of her door dove the yellow pegasus behind the nearest piece of furniture.

"Don't worry," Spike apologized for the frantic Rainbow Dash beside him, "It's just us." Cautiously Fluttershy poked her head out from behind the overturned chair.

"Oh!" she said happily, "You must be here for Tank."

"YES!" Rainbow instantly exclaimed only to blush afterwards in embarrassment, "Uh...I mean yeah...I guess. I mean if the little runt ran off maybe I should just leave him. After all who wants a turtle-"

"We get it, you were worried. We won't tell anyone," Spike decided to end the blue pony's futile effort to mask her emotions. Fluttershy smiled at the glare she gave Spike.

"Wait here, I'll be right back," she told them. In order to avoid the awkward silence that encompassed most waiting rooms, Rainbow Dash decided to strike up a conversation.

"So yeah...sorry about all this," she rubbed her arm bashfully, "But...well did I interrupt you from anything? You just seemed to be walking around town."

"Oh you know, just the usual. Got done getting supplies and such for Twilight," he shrugged. Rainbow Dash thought for a moment.

"Hold up," she said, "Where were the supplies? Your hands were empty."

"Hammerspace," Spike answered.

"Here he i-"

"TANK!" Rainbow Dash cried tackling the tortoise out of the timid pegasus' clutches, "If you ever run off like that again I am going to beat you to a bloody pulp!" The reptile just stared up at its owner and blinked. A few seconds passed before Rainbow said anything else.

"You deserve whatever happened to you!" she growled hoisting Tank up onto her back. Fluttershy just smiled and shook her head.

"By the way Spike," the asked quietly, "How's your stomach doing?" The dragon looked down at his torso. Nothing was different about it.

"Alright I guess," he replied.

Quietly Sweetie Belle tiptoed into the Carousel Boutique. With any luck she'd-

"And just where have you been?" her sister asked. 'Shit' she thought.

"Um...uh...outside?..." Sweetie Belle answered sincerely. Rarity's flat expression did not change in the slightest. No matter how much of a drama queen she was, she certainly did know how to give a rather disappointed face.

"Where outside?" she persisted. Sweetie Belle was beginning to sweat. She needed to think of something as an excuse for coming home so late at night.

"Um...uh...I was...in the Everfree Forest..." Rarity flipped her sister over and looked her all around.

"No bug bites or scrapes or cuts it seems...and most importantly no dirt to drag into my home. Alright. As long as you aren't hurt or messy. But you are staying in your room all day tomorrow as punishment for staying out so late and in such a dangerous place."

"WHAT!" Sweetie Belle cried, "Why!"

"I had to call the authorities to look for you," Rarity glared.

"But that's not fair! It's not my fault they couldn't find-" The glare intensified to the point of that which Pinkie Pie had worn when she thought her friends no longer liked her parties.

"Grounded for a day. Gotcha!" Sweetie Belle agreed and rushed upstairs. Rarity smiled.

"Now I can finally get some work done in peace."

"Thanks again for all your help Spike," Rainbow Dash said upon landing in front of the library, "You sure there's no way I can repay ya?"

"The flight was enough," Spike laughed. Eagerly he hopped down. His legs felt a bit wobbly from the time they'd spent elevated.

"Well how's about I try and patch things up between you and Rarity?" Rainbow Dash winked. The named made Spike's eye twitch for a second.

"Heard you two didn't exactly have the best date ever after the little...incident you had. The Wonderbolts are still getting their wings straightened out after that."

"Nah," Spike dismissed, "I'm with Twilight now." Rainbow Dash stared at Spike for a good forty seconds before finally reacting. With a deep breath the pegasus propelled herself into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

"Oh god," she cried clutching her stomach and pointing at the less-than-amused dragon, "You, Twilight? Oh that is a good one Spike! That is, oh Celestia I have to tell that one to Applejack! "Hey AJ, guess what, Twilight's sucking face with-"-bwahahahaa! Dear lord! Rarity is gonna drop over dead! I should have brought something to record with! That would make for such a good prank!" Spike doubted that Rainbow Dash even knew he'd slammed the door behind him and disappeared with how much she was laughing.

Chapter 5: Sleeping Pony

A glass shattered. The alicorn's magic had faltered for a moment. There'd been something in the air. A foul presence that brought the royal one's attention. The drink she'd been having was of little loss in comparison to the disturbance she felt. As calmly as possible she walked over to the far side of the room and looked out the window to the Everfree Forest far below. Something was going on down there. Something that she had felt only once before. Evil. Pure, undiluted evil.

"It can't be happening again..." Princess Celestia tried to assure herself.

"Get back here!" Applejack yelled. It'd been a few minutes now and she still hadn't been able to catch the little thief.

"I'm warnin' ya!" she threatened. Effortlessly the squirrel whizzed over and under the various sticks and stones that littered the ground across the outskirts of Ponyville. There was no way it'd be giving up its prize so easily. It was almost legend to make off with apples from the Apple Family without the ponies noticing.

"You little varmint!" Applejack growled. Feeling that she had it where she wanted it, the Earth Pony made a leap. All she ended up with though was a face full of dirt. Coughing up a few rocks, she started the chase once more, the squirrel now far in the lead. But she knew where it was going. Where any animal would go and feel safe out there.

"Angel, come on, you have to eat..." Fluttershy begged. The bunny just irritably threw the carrot back at Fluttershy's face. Suddenly they heard a slam and looked towards the front door. A squirrel with a rather sizable apple was standing there and panting heavily. And it was soon followed by Applejack.

"GOTCHA!" she exclaimed wrapping her hooves as tight as possible around the rodent. It squeaked and squirmed, but nothing allowed it to come free.

"What do we have here?" Fluttershy wondered.

"This here rat was making off with one of our apples!" Applejack accused. Fluttershy tilted her head.

"Don't you normally have apples stolen by animals anyway?..." she asked. Applejack blushed.

"Yeah, but we never see it happen!" she argued, "This time I caught a fiend red handed! Now gimme back that there apple!"

With no other course of action left available, the squirrel threw it over to Angel. The bunny just looked at it for a second and kicked it back. Greedily, Applejack scooped it away before the squirrel could touch it again. Defeated, it shot a glare at the bunny who simply rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, Mr. Chubbycheeks here is going to get a stern talking to," Fluttershy told the farmer.

"Eh, don't worry none," Applejack chuckled, "I just got a bit...worked up. Chased the thing all over the...the fields and..an...I don't...feel...that...great..." With a thud Applejack fell over startling Fluttershy.

"Applejack!" she cried, "Angel! Get my medical bag! We got a patient!"

The clopping continued to echo through what seemed to be the infinite land of nothingness. She didn't know how long she'd been walking. It could have been days or months or years. Even seconds. Time was of no consequence in such a void. All that existed was her. Twilight. But she didn't feel threatened. Though nothing was around her, the void felt calm. Its atmosphere was that of nothing. No fear or joy or hate. Just...nothing.

"Hello?" she called, "Hello hello hello hello hello..." The echoes didn't even seem to creep her out. They just became one with the setting.

"Spike?" she said, "Pinkie Pie? Rainbow Dash? Applejack? Fluttershy? Rarity? Derpy? Bon Bon? Anyone?..."

"Will you keep it down?" her voice suddenly called back from off to the side. Twilight's eyes came to rest on the figure that the voice had come from. What she was looking at was herself, only...she was wearing glasses in this new version of her.

"I'm trying to study," the duplicate muttered as it turned its attention back to the book below it. Curious of the subject that it was indulging itself in, Twilight trotted over and looked down. What she saw was blankness. With an odd expression she looked between it and the clone a few times.

"...there's nothing there..." she told it.

"Maybe not to you," it replied flipping the page, "I however don't always look with just my eyes." Twilight's face scrunched up a bit at the response and looked back at the book. She tried as best she could to make out anything on the page, but it remained as bare as Apple Bloom's flank. Figuring that looking at the page would avail to nothing, she decided instead to use her other senses. And that was when things changed. The moment she sniffed the air she could smell pastries.

"What's that?" she asked the duplicate. But it was gone, along with the book. Instead when she looked to the side she saw Pinkie Pie stuffing cake after cookie into her mouth.

"It's yummy is what it is!" she happily spat food back at her. Feeling generous, the crazed pony offered the visitor a cupcake.

"It'll make ya feel better!" she told her stuffing the item in Twilight's mouth without question. Instinctively she started chewing despite the annoyance at the treatment. And it did actually taste pretty good.

"Mmm, what is this?" she asked.

"Big Mac flavor!" Pinkie Pie giggled.

"Come on Twilight, wake up!" Spike shook the dozing unicorn. No matter what he did she just wouldn't get out of bed. He'd tried tickling, making silly noises, waving a feather across her nose, playing various instruments. Everything that he could think of...well...anything that wouldn't cause bodily harm that is. Just out of curiosity the dragon's head turned around looking for an object he could use as a weapon.

"NO!" a miniature him with a halo appeared on his shoulder, "You can't do something to hurt your best friend. The pony you've lived with your whole life! Especially not now that she's your girlfriend!"

"But-"

"Eh go ahead," a devil version said from the other shoulder, "I mean you know the hell she puts you through on a daily basis even without the adventures you guys get wrapped up in. You deserve to let loose and wreck things up a bit every now and then."

"Oh aren't you the role model," the angel scoffed, "I bet you enjoyed when he became that huge monster from being greedy."

"Deliciously," the devil nodded.

"Not everything can be solved through violence you know. Just think of what the girl's relationship would be afterwards."

"And I give a damn because?" the devil shrugged, "She deserves it. Besides, the dolt goes by a book, a fucking book! If the book gets a bit rewritten by some purple claws she'd never leave ol' studmaster here alone! In fact, that's what we should do next. You got any idea where she hides that thing?"

"And where is the morality in this?" the angel asked.

"Dude, I don't know if you've noticed the horns but I'm sorta bad," the devil replied pulling out a pair of sunglasses and putting them on.

"Yeah, I get it. Like a boss," the angel rolled his eyes, "Glad that meme's outta the way."

"Uh...guys...I think I know what I'm gonna do," Spike told the yin and yang.

"Whatever you do I know will be the right path," the angel told him before disappearing into a puff of smoke.

"Well I need to beat it anyhow, got a date with a little filly conscience," the devil excused himself. With the two bickering sides of himself out of the way, Spike walked down the stairs and into Twilight's underground laboratory. It didn't take long for him to find a metal pipe that hadn't been built into anything yet. Though hesitant about his decision, the dragon crept back up to Twilight's bed and crouched over her.

"Just know that I'm only doing this cause I love you and you're my best friend," he whispered into her ear. Slowly he lifted the pipe above his head and closed his eyes.

"Oh no, not this time," Pinkie Pie growled. Had any resident of Ponyville seen her, even they would have thought the pink pony had gone nuts. For whatever unexplained reason she'd taped her ears around her head, straightened out her tail and superglued it so that it would weigh down too much to even move, and pinned her eyelids open.

"Oh you know why I'm doing this..." she hissed. Whoever she was talking to couldn't be seen th- "Of course you can't be seen dumbass," she continued, breaking the rule of starting a new paragraph each time a character spoke. Why exactly she was doing any of this- "To stop you from abusing my Pinkie Sense anymore than it's ever been used. But fine, I'll get going to meet up with some of the others. Just know that I have you beat for once!" With those words the pins suddenly popped off her eyelids, the superglue melted out of her tail, and her ears snapped back to normal.

"GOD DAMNIT!"

"You like it?" Pinkie Pie asked excitedly. Twilight was crouched over a trashcan with her eyes rather dark underneath.

"I still feel it at the back of my throat..." she moaned unpleasantly. She couldn't believe that a cupcake of any sort could taste that vile after the initial impact. Normally Pinkie Pie made such delectable treats, especially for living in the place that she did. Hell, it'd take effort to make a cupcake so bad!...for anyone! What had she put in it!

"Pinkie...wait...before I ridicule you about that horrifying thing, do you know just what's going on? Where are we?" Twilight asked hoping she had some answers.

"Why Sugarcube Corner silly," the pink one danced around happily. As she did so though, something odd started to happen. The bottom of her hooves stuck to the floor and ripped off revealing purple legs beneath, the rest of the cover shaking off with each bounce. Twilight's jaw dropped a bit as the final pieces fell from the excited pony's corpse revealing...well...herself. It did not change the expression though. This new Twilight was just as excited as Pinkie Pie normally was!

"Alright that's it, tell me what the hell's going on!" Twilight yelled pinning the duplicate against the wall.

"Whatcha mean?" her voice asked from her side. Surprised, she turned to see the clone next to her. Upon looking back at where she had pinned it there was nothing but air.

"Wha...but...you...I..."

"You're silly," the new Twilight giggled ruffling her hair, "How's about we have some fun with Spike?"

"Spike's here?" Twilight asked not knowing whether to be relieved or afraid at how the world might have changed him.

"Well of course," the new clone shrugged, "Wasn't Pinkie Pie here?"

"That was you," Twilight said flatly, "Er, I mean...me...I think...are you me?..."

"Of course I'm you," it laughed, "I'm Twilight! But you should keep better track of Pinkie Pie." Twilight opened her mouth to argue but decided against it. She could see where the discussion might lead. Endless circles of annoyance.

"Maybe you should head to the library," it suggested with a slasher-like grin, "I bet Spike would love to see you. After all, another us is already there. She gots the glasses!" Twilight slowly backed away. The hectic version of her was starting to remind her of how she was when she'd panicked over not reporting to Celestia about friendship enough. She had to admit...it was rather scary now that she got a good look at her eye-twitching face.

"Right..." she chuckled nervously.

"What the bloody hell were you thinking!" the angel cried while the devil remained rolling head over heels on the bed sheets with laughter. Spike bit his lower lip. Despite his efforts Twilight still had not woken up.

"Well you know...I was worried..." he mumbled.

"So you beat her over the head with a pipe!" the devil gagged through his laughs, "CLASSIC!"

"I thought it'd be enough to wake her up!" Spike reasoned. The angel put a hand to his forehead.

"Oh don't you facepalm me!" Spike growled.

"You beat your girlfriend over the head with a metal pipe!" the angel yelled back. Spike looked down at Twilight's snoring figure again and rubbed his arm.

"...alright facepalm me," Spike allowed the gesture without consequence.

"Oh this ain't no time for facepalmin'!" the devil Spike exclaimed handing the angel and the real Spike two bottles of some sort of alcoholic beverage, "This is party time! Our dragon's finally growing up wing-boy!" Spike just cringed and knelt down against Twilight.

"What do I do now!" he cried, "I've tried everything! She isn't waking up!" The Spikes jumped a bit at the yawn Twilight gave.

"Well...who do we know that can fix-"

"Fluttershy!" Spike happily cut off the angel. Without a moment more, he hoisted the pony over his shoulder and ran out the front door.

"Really?" the devil asked, "I was thinking more along the lines of Zecora."

"Me too," the angel agreed, "I mean they've been pestering the poor girl for the past three chapters it seems."

"Eh, just chalk it up to an unimaginative author," the devil muttered, "Now, where's that book..."

"You know we can't do anything without Spike," the angel folded his arms over his chest.

"...damnit..."

"Come on Sweetie Belle, we can't do this crap without ya!" Scootaloo hollered up to the window. The young white unicorn gave a sad look to her friends below.

"I already told you guys that I'm grounded!" she replied.

"Yeah, by your SISTER," Scootaloo reminded.

"Yeah, YOUR sister," Apple Bloom emphasized. Sweetie Belle bit her lip and stole a glance back at the door to her room. Nothing seemed all that risky about just stepping downstairs to talk to her friends for a minute.

"Alright fine, I'll be down in a sec," she told them. It took a bit of courage to make her way to the door and place her hoof on it. Even more to turn the nob and open it. Sweetie Belle cringed upon hearing the creak that accompanied its swinging. Rarity was sure to have heard! It was only a split second that she stuck her head out. From what she saw there was no pony anywhere in the boutique other than her. With her luck Rarity was still in bed or busy with a loud sewing machine! With a renewed confidence Sweetie Belle flew down the staircase and threw the front door open.

"So what's the plan?" she asked.

"I figured we'd probably swing by Zecora's," Scootaloo receited the idea she'd been going over in her head since she'd woken up that morning, "She seemed to know at least something about that statue's neck thingy from all that hocus pocus she was spouting. Then with whatever we come up with at her place we work with from there." Sweetie Belle gave a smile and a nod and stepped out of the Boutique.

"And just what are you three bothering Zecora for?" Rarity's voice sounded from behind her. Sweetie Belle gulped and turned around. There stood her sister glaring down at her.

"If you two didn't know, Sweetie Belle is grounded today. And SHE certainly knows that. Now upstairs. Chop chop," Rarity commanded. Sweetie Belle began to step back into the building but two hooves stopped her.

"We need to go to Zecora's," Scootaloo said sternly, lowering her hoof with a glare of her own on her face.

"And I have yet to hear just why you three need to," Rarity told them.

"None o your business," Apple Bloom answered lowering her's, "Cutie Mark stuff."

"Then it'll have to wait," Rarity figured, "Now come on Sweetie."

"Guys, just go without me," she sighed. Again Sweetie was halted from her trek back in. Apple Bloom had grabbed ahold of her flank and pulled back.

"Cutie Mark Crusader's stick together, now run!" Scootaloo ordered kicking up a cloud of dust from the ground in Rarity's face.

"AH! Why you little-it'll take hours to get this crap outta my hair!" she coughed and hacked as the fillies took off towards the Everfree Forest. It didn't take long for the unicorn that the pegasus had assaulted to take chase after them.

"Great job at getting me grounded for life," Sweetie Belle thanked sarcastically.

"SWEETIE BELLE! YOU GET YOUR FLANK BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" she could hear her sister scream.

"Relax," Scootaloo smirked, "We'll just lose her in the Forest." The vegetation certainly was coming pretty fast.

"How come anyone can just done get to Zecora's if they're going there no matter where they enter this here Forest?" Apple Bloom wondered.

"Plot convenience," Sweetie Belle guessed.

"Alright, so what's all this ruckus?" Applejack grumbled. Ever since she'd fallen at Fluttershy's house she'd woken to a rather...different Ponyville. The settings were the same, but there was something off about it all. Added to that, she'd come in contact with at least three different ponies that looked and talked exactly like her.

"Well dontcha know stranger?" another her asked leaping down next to her. She groaned at its entrance. She knew she wasn't the worst pony in the world, but having too many of anyone would get pretty annoying.

"Well o course I don't," she grumbled, "otherwise I wouldn't have asked that there. Can you explain all this horseapples to me?"

"Why sure as sunshine sugah," the new her laughed, "You're dreamin'."

"I'm wah?" Applejack said in disbelief. The clone nodded at her.

"Just try thinkin' o something oh great one," it proposed. Mainly out of curiosity she did as suggested and thought of the first thing that came to her mind. Instantly an apple materialized out of thin air and fell the ground in front of her.

"Why shoot, that be one darn good apple if ever I saw one!" the clone happily munched it to pieces.

"...what's goin-"

"Here, I'll show ya around," it offered. Figuring it was better than nothing, Applejack followed herself into the distorted Ponyville.

"Alright, so we've had two segments end with someone saying damnit...gotta find some way to top that by the end of this one..." Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin.

"Um who are you talking to?" Fluttershy asked.

"No one," Rainbow muttered, "So you tried everything?"

"YES!" Fluttershy yelped grabbing Rainbow Dash and shaking her, "I've done everything that I know of how to cure animals that have been afflicted with diseases, even Ebola!"

"Scary," Rainbow Dash said breaking free from the yellow pegasus' grip, "Well, guess we're screwed."

"But that's what I'm supposed to think!" tears began to form in Fluttershy's eyes, "You're supposed to be "oh let's go get em everypony! Doesn't matter if we get killed or anything! If there's a way to win I-er-I mean WE are going to find it!"! You don't just give up! You're Rainbow Dash, the team's quote unquote best player!"

"Alright alright," Rainbow Dash grumbled at the invisible quote marks, "It's just that the thing is that I'm no doctor or nothing. That's you or Twilight's field if anyone's in the group. I really do got nothin' on this crap." Fluttershy looked at Applejack worriedly she didn't seem all that bad other than the fact that she wouldn't wake up...and she did seem to look like she was turning a bit gray...even the mouse had toppled over soon after her was.

"Guys!" Spike's sudden entrance almost rocketed Fluttershy through the roof. If the scares didn't stop she was bound to have a heart attack one of these days.

"Oh..." he said spotting the farmer on the bed nearby, "Guess you already know what's goin' on..."

"I wish!" Fluttershy whimpered, "I'm guessing you and Twilight do?"

"If she would wake up," Spike said lying her on the ground and admittedly a bit relieved that he no longer needed to carry her. Both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's eyes expanded at the sight of the snoozing magic expert. She too was getting a bit dark colored.

"Well this is just great, the only other pony besides me that can do anything physically and the nerd genius down and out," Rainbow Dash muttered. Fluttershy began to pace around the room frantically.

"No no no...this can't be happening," she cried more to herself than the other two, "I'm supposed to know how to tend wounds and ease pains and stuff!" As the words entered his head, the gears in Spikes mind began to churn. Wounds...ease pains...stuff...

"Zecora!" Spike exclaimed. Both the conscious ponies gave him their attention.

"That must of been who the angel was talking about!"

"Uh...what angel?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Oh Angel, did you help Spike out?" Fluttershy asked nuzzling her nose against his smaller body. The bunny just looked at the inhabitants of the cottage and shrugged.

"Well either way, she has solved a ton of our problems before," Rainbow reasoned, "Alright, I'll carry AJ, Spike you get Twilight-" "Yipee..." "And Flu-"

"Alright, let's just get this over with," Pinkie Pie grumbled as she entered. Everyone aside from her was baffled by the flapping eared and blinking pony's intrusion. How she even knew that any of them were there was a mysterious, but then again they had to keep in mind who it was that had appeared out of thin air.

"Uh...alright..." Spike said slowly, "Why are you-"

"The faster we get this done the closer I'll be to this stupid ass author messing with my Pinkie Sense!" she fumed.

"...Pinkie Pie, you're so-"

"Random," Fluttershy and Spike finished Rainbow Dash's sentence.

"...censored you guys."

"So what are you guys exactly?" Twilight asked.

"You haven't figured it out by now?" her glasses wearing clone asked. The unicorn just shook her head.

"Well some good I've done you," it sighed, "Considering you use me the most." That's when Twilight realized.

"Oh no. No no no! Not one of those stupid episodes!" Twilight refused the notion, "I mean it's such an overdone thing! Teen Titans, Jimmy Neutron, practically any cartoon that has a shot at lasting a long time does this crap!"

"Well if it's any consolation, we're just you exploring your inner mind instead of being full fledged emotion-based split personalities of yourself that leak into the real world like how it is with most cases," the glasses wearing one informed, "And besides, you haven't even met all of us. Doubt you ever will get the chance to."

"Why's that?"

"Cause you're dying." Twilight looked at the duplicate of herself for a while before the words finally hit her.

"I'm sorry, what?" she said confused.

"You Are Dying," the other her repeated turning her attention away from her book. Twilight's jaw hung a bit. She had to admit that she certainly hadn't been feeling the best ever since entering the odd world within her mind; but dying? That certainly wasn't what she'd expected.

"What can I do to-"

"You can't," her other self told her.

"Then how will I-"

"Friendship got you this far," it said turning back to her, "Friendship will get you out of this. You know that. Spike won't just leave you lying in bed all day long. He's not THAT stupid. One of your friends will either know a way to get you out of this situation or know someone that they theorize might and take you to them. They will not give up on you no matter what, nor would you for them. You are very lucky to have come to Ponyville." Twilight opened her mouth to speak again but couldn't. She was still processing what all she'd just heard.

"But...say I do die..." she eventually suggested.

"Then I suggest you do anything you've always wanted to here in this world," it told her, "After all, it is your mind. You write the rules." Twilight blinked. She hadn't thought about that before.

"So I could've erased that crazy me that was disguised as Pinke at Sugarcube Corner?" she inquired.

"If you wanted to erase any moment of insanity of any sort that you've ever had thus altering all emotions in your makeup. Not that wise of a move I'd say." Twilight scratched her head. She really did think more than she thought she did now that she saw her analytical self at work. But more importantly, what did she want to do if she was dying?...what was there that she hadn't experienced. With the thought that popped into her head Spike appeared next to her.

"I'll let you two have some time alone," the personality said teleporting out of the library. Spike just looked up at Twilight who now had a grin plastered on her face.

"Whatcha doing?" Spike asked.

"We are going to sleep," she told him hoisting him onto her back and trotting towards her bed, "I've read ahead in an "advanced" edition of the boyfriend book."

"Come on! How in Equestria haven't we lost her yet!" Scootaloo yelled. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Apple Bloom duck under a lifted tree root in the path she was running. No matter what way they swerved or skidded through the Everfree Forest, Rarity just wouldn't let up. Scootaloo was sure that the dirt and mud and leaves and other such messy qualities would've had at least some effect on the fussy nitpicky unicorn, but she just kept coming. Even through things that only things as small as fillies could get through she somehow managed to make it past!

"Rarity! You're going the wrong way! We went to the left at that last tree!" Sweetie Belle hollered back.

"How stupid do you think I am!" she yelled.

"Adequately," Scootaloo muttered under her breath, "Girls! Just focus on getting to Zecora's! We're almost there! Once we're inside she'll defend us some way! Those riddles of hers'll drive your sister up the wall!" Continuing on their way, the fleeing ponies didn't have much time to notice their surroundings. The deeper they got into the Everfree Forest things started getting grayer and darker with each passing moment. As they neared Zecora's dwelling there was hardly any life at all, but still they were too preoccupied. Rarity was still hot on their hooves. They did take note and stopped though once they did finally pop into the clearing that the foreign home stood in. More wildlife than they'd ever seen was surrounding it!

"Um...what is this?..." Rarity said quietly having stopped too and forgotten about the whole reason why she was chasing the Cutie Mark Crusaders in the first place. It was as though every animal that could had decided to congregate at the house, the only piece of land so deep in the Everfree Forest with all of its color still intact.

"Only one way to find out," Scootaloo muttered starting up the journey once more to the house, Rarity now in league with their curiosity. Had she known that such a strange scene would have befallen the younger ponies she'd certainly had never let them anywhere near the forest, but now that she herself had seen the strangeness there was no way to turn back no matter how much her mind begged her to.

"Hey Ze-out of my way you stupid Manticorn! Zecora! You home?" Scootaloo barked leading the ponies forcefully through the crowd of strange creatures that had congregated about the residence. Apple Bloom made sure to turn away from the Cockatrice she spotted. It seemed too preoccupied with fear though to want to turn anyone to stone that day however.

"Zecora!" Apple Bloom was the one to ask now.

"Hush child! I am in here!" the deeper female voice called from the building, "Get out of my place you frantic deer!" The animal leapt out of the door giving the ponies a way to enter. Rarity was rather surprised upon finding who all was inside.

"Fluttershy? Rainbow Dash? Spike? Pinkie Pie...what are you all doing here?" she asked. A look at Twilight and Applejack was all that was needed.

"...what's going on?..." she said slowly.

"Something only your group can mend," Zecora answered before tipping a vial of liquid that she had prepared into Twilight's mouth.

"Well shoot howdy, I didn't know I had a lying side!" Applejack exclaimed.

"You don't!" the other her tried to say otherwise, "Rainbow Dash loves not having wings!" Applejack stiffled a laugh at that claim. She certainly hadn't thought that a whole world would've existed inside her own head. How or why she'd gotten there though she had no idea.

"This here side of you was only used once," the one that had been guiding her explained, "I believe you remember the mish-mash of creatures that warped you and your friends." Applejack's eyes lowered at the memory. Though it was pretty darn funny seeing ol' granny smiss tap dancing around the farm that day. A rumble shook her from her thoughts though. All across the land as far as she could see the setting began to crack and structures collapsed to the ground.

"Wh-what's g-g-going on!" her voice vibrated from the vicious tremor.

"It's trying to keep you in this state," cracks began to form along the other her's body. The lying personality had already shattered into a mess on the floor.

"Your friends are trying to evict it. It doesn't want to leave," as it finished its sentence the avatar cracked and collapsed to a pile of shards. What happened next Applejack doubted she'd ever forget. From out of a pile of cracks in front of her erupted a mountain of flames, its sheer sight searing the land around it. But it wasn't uncontrolled. There was a presence to it. A dark vile soul which's eyes peered through areas that the flames wouldn't touch, the sides of the form shaping into horns at its head. Applejack was paralyzed with fear. She'd never such an image. She knew it was just her mind, but she still felt the thing. It didn't belong. It's what had brought her into this world.

Seeming desperate to cling to her conscienceness for as long any moment more, the being reared back and flung itself at her. Applejack closed her eyes to brace for the lethal impact.

"AH!" the Earth pony cried. Sweat trickled down her face as she awoke. Her chest heaved heavily with each breath she took. It took a while for her to comprehend what had happened. Whatever it was that was in her mind had not killed her. She'd woken up. Whether it was the smell or air or simply the change infeel, she knew she was awake. Looking around now she could tell that she was in Zecora's little hut for some reason, as were her friends. Twilight seemed in a rather similar state when compared to herself.

"What in tarnation..." she said under her breath.

"TWILIGHT!" Spike flung the unicorn back with the hug he gave her.

"H...hey Spike..." Twilight gave a half hearted smile nuzzling her snout into his forehead, "Guess this isn't my mind anymore."

"It most certainly is not," Zecora declared, "Now come, let us make this stop." Applejack and Twilight looked at each other.

"Say, anyone know why we were apparently sawing logs?" the more country-accustomed pony asked to the group.

"Zecora here told us that the Everfree Forest's been causing all sortsa strange things ever since a few days ago," Rainbow Dash explained, "Either of you two been around it at all since then?"

"Well, I did chase that darn squirrel through the outskirts of it," Applejack recollected from earlier that day.

"And while Spike was out looking for-" "-a frisbee!" Rainbow Dash cleverly covered up the search for Tank causing all attention to draw to her blushing form. "...a frisbee...I did go to pick some flowers for research around here," Twilight finished and thought for a second, "Hold on, Zecora, why aren't you affected?"

"Dear child, you know of my ways," Zecora laughed, "I simply cast a potion to protect me for days. My home is that a sanctuary for all who draw near. But we must put a stop to the source of this fear." Scootaloo just covered her ears at the rhyming.

"Tell me when she shuts up."

"We've all had some of that potion that woke you guys up," Rainbow Dash told them, "So we'll all be immune from the effects. Now lets go take care of that statue's necklace!"

"Wait, how'd you know about it?" Apple Bloom asked.

"The author had a discussion between all of us offscreen," the pegasus replied nonchalantly, "Now let's go!" Nodding in agreement, even if Fluttershy's one was a bit...shaky, the group of ponies and one zebra tore out the door and into the Everfree Forest. It didn't take long before dead and sleeping animals started to litter the ground. It took all of Rarity's effort to keep the crying Fluttershy from stopping at each one.

"We are drawing near," Zecora informed, her collection of medicinal equipment jangling with each fall of her hooves, "The moment of fate is practically here!" The group skidded to a halt as they came to the clearing that the statue was supposed to be in. The Cutie Mark Crusaders gasped. It was gone.

"Well well well," a familiar voice laughed lightly from the tree its owner was lounging in above, "Looks like my fanclub has come to greet my newly freed body."

"You have a fanclub?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"More than you'd know," Discord grinned.

Chapter 6: A Change of Pace

"Greetings dear audience," the combination of animals greeted as it took its pipe out of its mouth and closed the book it was reading. The fireplace next to it warmed its body quite nicely and created quite the atmosphere for the room. "Now you may be wondering what happened at the end of the last chapter," Discord continued with a calm smile on his face, giving his pipe a puck, "Well obviously I was freed. And being the generous dracona-whatever that I am I have decided to free you of your normally atrocious author."

See? I now control how things are wri "tten. If I want Pinkie Pie to eat" chocolate rocks then by god the sky is purple.

"But regardless," the chimera chuckled, "you must all be wondering about the plot now. Well as it just so happens uncle Discord here has a story prepared." Casually he held up the book he had been looking through. On the title was written "Discord's Greatest Tales (The New and Improved Edition)".

"So without further ado," he said flipping to the page he had closed the book at, "Let's get started shall we?"

Chapter 1: Alicorns on a Train

"Are we there yet?" Luna whined. Celestia looked at her sister and did the most dramatic frown ever.

"IT TAKES TIME TO GET TO APPLELOOSA!" she screamed. Luna started crying tears of blood and spasming uncontrollably with each heaving sob.

"I just wanted a mega slush!" she cried.

"That's it!" Zecora said suddenly bursting down the cabin door, two tommy guns in each hand, "I'm sick and tired of these motherfucking Alicorns on this mother fucking train!"

"This has been the most romantic night ever," Twilight Sparkle sighed leaning her on the much larger than normal Spike's shoulder. The moon shining high above glistened upon their forms as the train rattled along the tracks. The gunfire in the other car could hardly be heard with the atmosphere that surrounded them. It was simply magical. Even in Canterlot there hadn't been such a scene that came with the rushing landscape that swept past them. The night had just been completely perfect.

"This day couldn't get any better," Twilight stated dreamily. A grin began to form on Spike's face.

"Oh I think I know a way it could," he countered scooping the delicate pony up in his strong arms. Twilight blushed.

"And what would that be?" she gave a small smile. Spike's smile just grew as he carried the female into their cabin and laid her on their bed. After making sure the door they'd come through was locked he layed down next to her. Slowly he stroked his claws along her neck, the fingers massaging each hair they came across. Twilight let out a soft purr and nuzzled her snout into his shoulder. Unable to resist the urge any longer Spike placed his other claw further down her back and leaned over a bit so that he was directly above her. The two stared at each other for what seemed like ages just enjoying the beauty of their presence and the burning within their eyes.

"You sure this is safe?" Twilight asked.

"You sure you'd be able to say no if it wasn't?" Spike replied. Knowing the answer Twilight pressed her lips against his.

"Well that takes care of those damn flying horned freaks," Zecora wiped the crimson liquid from the barrel of guns, "Now to j-"

"Hold the fucking phone!" Spike yelled angrily tearing the book out of the spirit of chaos' clutches. Discord was startled by the intervening to say the least, especially from a creature of such little power in comparison to his eternal element.

"Alright, let me get this straight, you go through that whole romance scene and then just cut away when it gets good? What the hell!" Spike fumed, "I mean yeah, it might be disturbing, but when you get that far in and then just pull out it's a fucking tease, even to those involved!"

"Yeah!" Twilight growled stomping forward, "it's obvious we wouldn't even get close to doing that stuff this early on if the story had remained the same, but I was getting in the mood with that crap!"

"Everyone's a critic," Discord grumbled grabbing the book back, "Look, if you think you can do better how's about you give it a shot kiddo?"

"Gladly!" Rainbow Dash flew into the study with Fluttershy.

"Why shoot howdy, why wasn't I even there?" Applejack gave her error, "It was going to Appleloosa! My kin's there! Not to mention poor wittle-"

"No one cares about your tree," Rarity rolled her eyes.

"And thy great dishonor was done to me!" Zecora hissed from behind the chair, "For my rhyme scheme was a tragedy!"

"FINE!" Discord yelled. Furiously he jumped up and threw the book back at the chair, "If we're gonna have to sit through all of you telling your little crappy stories I'm getting some hot chocolate...anyone else want anything?"

"Coffee."

"Hot Chocolote."

"Chai Tea."

"Chocolate chocolate with extra chocolate."

"Apple Juice, thank ya kindly."

"Hot Chocolate."

"Hot Gemnectar."

"Herbal Steamed Liquid."

Once the deity had departed the rest of the cast looked between each other.

"...so who goes first?" Spike asked.

Chapter 1: The Hour of the Rainbow

Alright, so ya see, here's the deal. It was a dark and stormy night, and Ponyville was practically getting blown off the map. Applejack was pretty much unable to keep any of the apples in their baskest and even their barn blew away. The mayor had called on Twilight but the tree had been sealed up with all sortsa rubble that'd blown into the door and stuff trapping her and Spike. Fluttershy was...well Fluttershy. Rarity's wouldn't even come out due to her mane and stuff. Fortunately for them, Celestia had called upon the Wonderbolts! They spun and whizzed all around Ponyville trying to counter the chaos. Vwish! BAM! BOOM! But it didn't work. They just got splattered all over walls and stuff. That was when the one with the most potential made her debut on the scene. Already having saved Fillydelphia from a horde of Parasprites, the pathetic little storm would be nothing compared to her might. Why one might say it was already beat, for she had been known as the greatest flier in all of Equestria. Her school couldn't even keep her in class due to how awesome and stellar she was. For the best of them, they are their own teachers I believe I heard someone say once. Either way she flew into the clouds above and destroyed the hurricane making it explode into a huge rainbow that's color spread throughout Equestria letting everyone know of her brilliant victory over the catastrophe. Truly she herself was a force of nature. The Wonderbolts couldn't have been more relieved to have chosen her for their team. Why, it was the best decision of their lives probably. Then she landed. "Garsh, thanks a lot pally o howdy miss molly," Applejack chuckled to her, "You sure is something there Rainbow Dash thing." Not even needing to be asked, the radical pegasus had already collected the apples that had been tossed about in the storm. "Yes thank you darling, you were simply smashing! Pip pip cheerios," Rarity congratulated. "By my calculations that rainbow you made saved a few kittens," Twilight said. "Hey guys, did you hear the funny joke I told Rainbow Dash about me and Twilight being together?" Spike asked. "Don't worry kid," the magnificent hero patted the smaller fanboy's head, "I got this covered." The joke was told and they all laughed. The end.

"...what in tarnation did I just listen to?" Applejack was the first to speak once Rainbow Dash had finished her story, "...why did I sound like Goofy at one part?..."

"And why was it all just one long run on sentence?" Fluttershy asked taking a sip of her Chai Tea.

"Not to mention all the gramatical errors," Twilight Sparkle complained.

"Well from what I heard when I came back in it was just an absolutely atrociously done love letter to herself," Discord rolled his eyes. Rainbow Dash's cheeks were practically the opposite color she was supposed to be. That didn't get rid of the natural angry expression she had from the reception though.

"Well fine, let's see one of you top my story!" she yelled folding her arms over her chest and turning her head to the ceiling.

"Very well," Rarity accepted the challenge, "Ahem."

Chapter 1: The Day of the Sauna

"Fluttershy darling, I am so glad to hear of the good news," the luxurious boutique owner laughed haughtily, "But honestly, you must try on one of my new dresses if you're going to make an appearance at any form of presidential meeting." Behind the nervous demeanor it was obvious that the yellow pegasus' envy was building up over the white unicorn's natural talents.

"Why no I-yes please give me as many as you can," Fluttershy begged as quietly as possible, "The Syndicate of Animal Governing is one of the most important events at my cottage. Oh I just know the other members will laugh at me if I don't come dressed as nice as you!" With a smile on her face, the beautiful pony lead the other deeper into her boutique to begin trying on all forms of different manner of clothing. Though they all looked stunning there was one that stood out the most to the fashionista for the pegasus. A sparkling baby blue sapphire cloak that her number one assistant, Spike, had helped her create.

Gracious Fluttershy practically stole it away. That's when the main character noticed. There was a speck of dirt on her hoof! "Oh no no no!" she cried grabbing Fluttershy and running out the front door, "This simply will not do! There's only one answer!" "What?" "The sauna!" With the crew of over at least three hundred ponies already knowing her appearance by heart, Rarity and her friend were given the best treatment ever. The massages eased every little tinge in their tendons, their fur being cleaned with the most affordable of hot tubs, and their hooves being filed just right. It truly was perfect.

Fluttershy lifted her eyebrow.

"...Is it over?" Applejack asked. Rarity nodded happily.

"Why of course," she replied sparkles in her eyes. The perfect ending.

"That was a story?" Discord asked. Gruffly he shook the sleeping pegasus next to him.

"W-wha?" Rainbow Dash yawned and stretched, "Is it over?"

"I...I'm Rarity's number one assistant?" Spike wondered aloud, hearts forming in his eyes. Twilight rolled hers and pulled him against her body to remind him who he was supposed to be with. Rarity closed her eyes and spun around.

"I guess you lot just don't have the class to appreciate such a marvelous story," she said, more to herself than the others.

"Yes, that's totally it," Discord smirked, "Now come on. Someone else go. The recording on this camera doesn't last forever." The remaining ponies looked at each other. Other than Pinkie Pie hectically pointing over and over at herself, they all had rather serious looks on their faces. Even Spike was giving the choice quite a bit of thought. No matter how big of a role he'd played in Rarity's story, all of them so far had been...trainwrecks to say the least.

"Oh I got a good one!" Applejack suddenly jumped.

Alright, here be Chaptah 1 then I guess: The Apple that Wouldn't Die

"What that there Twilight doin'?" I wondered as the purple pony dashed past in a lab coat. Her ever-faithful assistant was perched on her bouncing back as usual. They were headed for the library. Hastily I ran back ter my place and talked some things over with big ol' Macintosh. His "Eeyup" was all I needed to confirm my arousin' suspicions. Twilight was definitely up to somethin' in that there tree o her's. Perhaps the Princess had given her a bit too much power. An entire library all at her disposal. Its evil words to use at her every given whim. Why it just ain't natural for a pony o her stature to stay cooped up in their all the time.

Gatherin' up my courage and kin, namely Apple Bloom and her two filly friends, I scampered onto the deranged pony's property. Ever since a few days ago there'd been quite a few...accidents happenin' around the tree. Obviously traps that the suspicious mare had deployed for intruders. But I wouldn't be fallin' victim today! Scootaloo was there to give us an overview from the perimeter she flew around. With her help we scouted all about the tree and finally looked into one of the holes. The sight I saw dropped me back to the ground. That gosh darn owl had hooted right in my face!

More annoyed than anything else, I hoisted myself back onto that there windowsill and stole a peek or two. No one was around. One by one we dropped in and started searching. It wasn't until the shocks came from the basement door that we found where Twilight and her little dragon were! By the time we'd done gotten there it'd been too late.

"It's alive!" the insane unicorn screamed, electricity coursing through the scientific stuff of the apple on the bed before her. And by Celestia was it ever. Enormous vines had shot out of the sides of the apple and constricted around Spike. "Twilight!" he cried as he was twirled through the air. "Silence fool!" Twilight cackled evilly, "Do you not see my brilliance!" "Now you hold your horseshoes right there miss mad scientist thingy, we're done callin' the cops on you!" I blinked. Apple Bloom had made her way down to Twilight!

"A sacrifice!" she laughed throwing her into the now razor-filled mouth of the apple. "APPLE BLOOM!" I watched in horror as it chewed her to a bloody mess. Then it turned its attention to me. "Now my slave! Devour the others!" Twilight commanded, "Wait, hey, what are you-NO!" In an instant the demented creator met the same fate as my sister had. "Run," I told the younger fillies. Scootaloo had to drag Sweetie Belle away. It was just me and the monster left as it hobbled up the stairs. "Come on citrusy freak o natcha!" I hollered and leapt at it. The last thing I saw was the sharp teeth that its mouth opened up into.

This time the silence that followed the story was a bit different. Instead of disbelief at the clumsy storytelling, practically everyone's eyes were bulging out of their heads and staring directly at the storyteller. The room was engulfed in fear, anticipation, and confusion.

"...you die at the end?" Discord was the first to ask. Applejack proudly nodded.

"I know a thing er two about ghost stories," she patted her chest. Rarity now could no longer even hope to compete with the more rough-edged pony when it came to campfire stories at slumber parties. Especially due to the fact that she was now hiding under Discord's seat cushion.

"At least I didn't die," Spike grinned.

"Oh don't worry," Applejack waved, "The next chapter woulda begun with you suffocated to death from the vines." The grin turned to a frown at the information.

"Me next!" Pinkie shouted drawing all attention to her.

Chapter 12: Omega Di Caprio

Bulkhead was a big green autobot that had just single handedly beaten Megatron last chapter, but that has nothing to do with this one. I was getting a bit bored with Transformers so I decided to change it up a bit. Instead we now have what happened when the Ed, Edd, n Eddy movie ended with the cartoon cartoons. That was sad wasn't it? Like I mean it was over. The cartoon cartoon era. What some would say was the final nail in the coffin of Cartoon Network. But hey, now people have great shows like us. Whoda guessed back then? My Little Pony? An actual good cartoon? Biggest thing since Animaniacs? Blasphemy! It's like getting to the Secret World in Mario without the different colored blocks. Stop n' Swap my ass. There's no way in hell that's what Rare had that X-box crap planned back in the day. I mean come on! Unlocking things for a crappy sequel that never should have happened? That's almost as bad as Dragon Ball Evolution turned out. What's worse is how people always say it ruined Dragon Ball Z. It wasn't about Z. It was Dragon Ball. That's what it ruined. Evolution had nothing to do with Z. And don't even get me started on GT. At least they're making Online now huh? But Capcom decides they have to axe their own Online game. And not just that, fucking Mega Man Legends 3. I mean it takes over a decade and it's finally being made and then bam! Sorry, we're Capcom. We slap fans in the face. And you know they always have. It didn't just start with Resident Evil 4. RE1.5 anyone? I mean Sega's better than Cap-

"Pinkie?" Twilight interrupted. The crazy pony blinked a few times.

"You were going to tell a story..."

"Oh yeah!" she giggled.

"I knew there was a reason I liked her," Discord said to himself.

Alright, Chapter 5: Symphony of the Persona

So there was like this cupcake. But not just a cupcake. A GIANT cupcake. It was the size of a house! But when I took a bite it tasted like pudding. It was weird. So I added some seasoning. I asked Rainbow Dash to take a bite but she ran away screaming. Don't know why. Either way, the seasoning helped and the wind started to catch on fire.

"I'm sorry, what?" Applejack commented, "The wind started to-"

But then it turned into rain. Chocolate rain! The bad thing was though that anything they touched they started to destroy so it was sorta like Chocolate Acid rain. It still tasted yummy though. Just made a huge hole where my stomach shoulda been. But not all was lost! Twilight came down on her magical cloud she rode around on looking for some ball with stars on it. Happily she whisked me to the Everfree Forest where a huge Jokulmorder gave me a ride across the clouds. Rainbow Dash tried to keep up but she got distracted by the Wonderbolts who were failing again to save Rarity from getting killed. Then Ponyville exploded.

The End.

"Love it love it love it," a crowd's applause erupted from Discord's two hands.

"Saw that one comin'," Rainbow Dash sighed.

"Guess it's up to me to keep the sanity then," Twilight said and took a deep breath.

The Joy of Smarty Pants

There it was. The greatest doll in all of Equestria. Smarty Pants. That day was one that'd never be forgotten. The look, the smell, the sheer effort that went into weaving each layer of the magnificent gift. The two older ponies watched as their daughter happily danced around with her gift.

"We're really glad that you like it dear," the mother breathed a sigh of relief that she had taken such affection to the cloth-made contraption, "Look, it even comes with its own quill and notebook for when you pre-"

"Oh god, how boring can this get?" Discord gagged, "Fluttershy, please tell me you can do better." Twilight's head sunk at the criticism. Spike wrapped his arm around her leg comfortingly.

"Don't worry Twi, you're story was the best written out of anyones' here."

"Um...well alright..." Fluttershy gulped. She felt she could die from how much attention she was now given.

So um...I guess this is chapter 1 if you don't mind...I don't have a title though up...sorry...

Anyway I guess it um...it starts off in a field. Yes that seems nice. And there are bunnies. Oh and butterflies! They're playing. And...and...and baby dragons! Cute cuddly wuddly baby dragons as nice as a Spike that are having the time of their lives chasing each other. It's perfect and harmonic and there are-

"Ugh! Gag!" Discord coughed, "Alright, I'm sorry I cut you off now Twilight. But you're turn's up so no going again. You failed and can't redeem yourself." Tears began to form in the yellow pegasus' eyes. Reluctantly Rainbow Dash patted her back.

"Who's left?" Rarity realized. All eyes searched around the room.

"Well I guess I could give it a shot," Zecora offered happily, "Who knows? Perhaps I can make a plot."

"NO!" Scootaloo screamed tackling the zebra and clamping her mouth shut, "Quick! While there's still time! Someone take her turn!"

"Sorry, everyone's gone," Discord shrugged. Zecora gave a distasteful look to her attacker who grinned back sheepishly.

"Well, Spike hasn't gone," Applejack pointed out.

"Oh yes, Spike, give it a shot," Rarity added. The baby dragon bit his lip and looked around the room. Discord gave a thumbs up. Spike took a few breaths to calm himself and began.

Chapter 1: Spike is Magic

It was a nice sunny day out. The birds were chirping and the final snow had just been hauled away in the latest Winter Wrap Up. Unfortunately the same peace could not be had by the one who's tale this is about. As rough as he had been the morning that Twilight had been so eager to participate in her first Winter Wrap Up, Spike was awoken from his slumber.

"Ah, alright! I'm up! What's going on?" he grumbled rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Oh Spike," his lifelong friend Twilight Sparkle dragged him out the door, "It looks like this is it." The purple reptilian yawned at the town they lived in. It was cast in a rather large shadow of the moon just a few miles above. Atop it stood Princess Luna. For some reason or another she had once more become the ever-feared form of Nightmare Moon, the most twisted pony any creature had ever known.

"Attention Ponyville!" her royal Canterlot voice boomed across the ecosystem, "This is thou final hour! Oh chosen ones of the elements you shall not stop thy moon itself from impacting Equestria and shattering it to bits admits thy cosmos!" Despite the interruption of his nap, Spike could clearly tell what was going on. But he had an idea. One that didn't involve his friends. Just he himself, that's all it would take to dispose of the threat. Breaking free of Twilight's grip he started going around stealing anything he could from any of the ponies in town.

Twilight herself was shocked and confused until she saw Spike growing in size. He was turning into his monstrous hoarding self again! It didn't take nearly as long as the first time for him to become as big as he had upon igniting the transformation initially. Finally he was big enough to grab the moon and threw it back into orbit, Nightmare Moon flying off it into the depths of space from the speed. Then Spike simply stopped being so greedy and reverted back to his normal self. Ponyville was so happy they worshipped him as the hero he was supposed to be recognized as in real life.

Spike bowed upon finishing the story. Twilight was the only one that looked all that annoyed.

"...how do you know how to make so much better sentences than me?" Applejack asked.

"You spend your whole life living with her," Spike jabbed a thumb at Twilight.

"Well it was definitely the best story to me," Fluttershy complimented. Spike smiled at the admiration.

"Very nice effort," Rarity kissed his forehead. If he didn't have an outline he would've melted. Twilight had quite a different internal reaction from the witnessing of the kiss.

"And bravo Spike the dragon," Discord congratulated stepping forward to shake his hand, "You win."

"Aw cut it out," Spike instinctively said before giving the words some thought, "Wait a sec...what do you mean I win?"

"Your's was the best story and one of the only ones that didn't flat-out suck ass," Discord reiterated, "And therefore it is what shall become of this one." Everyone's eyes began to grow.

"Wait, what!" Spike yelped, "But I didn't ask for that!"

"But it's what this chapter was about was it not?" Discord grinned, "presenting the new direction of the story, with you my dear boy as the hero! Good luck, I'm sure you'll have quite the adventure trying to stop me!" Before anyone could say anything else Discord snapped his fingers. In an instant all of the ponies were shrunk to the age they were when they got their Cutie Marks.

"Don't worry, I assure you it'll be fun," Discord laughed. He gave one more snap.

Chapter 7: My Little Spike

The dragon stood in the center of Ponyville. Well...what should have been Ponyville. Instead of the normally peaceful civilization of ponies was erected the capital of chaos once more, Discord's influence spreading throughout all of Equestria from it. Spike could just stare and watch. Cheerilee ran through the scene with foam gushing from her mouth while Bon-Bon began eating the sides of the television screen. Fountains of syrup poured out from what normally produced water for the ponies to quench their thirst. Candy Canes shot out of lightbulbs. Clouds swirled about uncontrollably. It was complete and utter chaos.

"You like it I take it," Discord rubbed his fist across his chest in satisfaction. Spike didn't respond. He just continued to stare. The world he'd known was gone. What was in its place was the very embodiment of Pinkie Pie's mind it seemed. Spike could feel shiver's crawling across his body from the thoughts of what all life would be like in the type of environment that the twin Princesses had saved Equestria from so long ago.

"I know it's hard to break away from, but come on!" Discord slithered into view right in front of Spike causing him to jump, "welcome to Equestria! I'm your lord and master Discord. And you my boy play a very important role!" Spike lifted a brow to the slender being. A smile was constant on Discord's hung face.

"You are the one destined now to lead to my downfall with that magnificent story you made!" he cackled. The baby dragon flailed his arms in annoyance and the rub he gave his head.

"So congratulations! It's all in your hands now oh brave dragon," Discord continued standing up to take in more of a view of the surroundings, "Find some way to rid the world of me and things go back to your boring old lifestyle. Fail and...well you'll make me happy at least. Now go on you little scamp. I got chaos to wreak." And with a flash of light the warped abomination was gone. Spike had to shake his head to get grounded back in reality. He couldn't just gawk at what was going on all day! He had to get home! Surely Twilight would have some plan thought up! Ignoring the tap-dancing Doctor Hooves he ran towards where he thought home would be.

"TWILIGHT!" Spike called being sure to lock the door behind him. As it had during Discord's debut, the interior of the library seemed to have had nothing about it change in the ensuing reality warping. The walls and floor were still wood. The scrolls were where they should have been. Even every last book that had been on the shelves were present. The only thing not to be found in the residence was the pony that the whole place belonged to.

"Twilight!" Spike called again and again, "Twilight! Twilight! Where the hay are ya!" After about ten minutes of the futile search Spike took a break and got a glass out to put a drink in. It was only a moment of delay before the faucet he turned on exploded.

"I should've probably seen that coming," he muttered. Giving up on the beverage, the little dragon once more took to scanning through the various rooms of the tree. But there didn't seem to be anyone other than him and a giraffe Owlowiscious hybrid in the place.

"And I doubt you'd give me any indication as to where miss brainiac is with your limited vocabulary," Spike addressed the former owl and junior assistant.

"Had I seen the mistress I most certainly would have aided in the search," it replied in a smooth voice. Spike's eye twitched at what should have been a startling response from the creature. But it just became part of the confusing world that had been formed from the group's inability to do away with the chaotic spirit that now haunted the land. Spike would give anything to find out where the purple unicorn had been stolen away to. Not only because she would most likely be the one to figure everything out, but because he was afraid. With her though he'd always felt so much safer. And he was scared. If anything happened to Twilight...he didn't want to think about it. Being without his best friend...

Spike's train of thought was soon derailed though. A loud crash behind him made him spin around. The basement door, the only area he had forgotten to check, was now open with a pile of books rustling next to it.

"Oh fiddlesticks," a familiar voice grumbled from the pile. With sparkles in his eyes, Spike dove into the books and rolled the pony within out.

"Twilight!" he cried, "You're!...you're...little..." Spike rubbed his eyes to make sure that the pony he was staring down at was the right one. It certainly did look like Twilight but it was no bigger than one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Even as far back as Spike could remember she had at least been a little taller than how big this pony was.

"Fascinating..." the young girl wondered looking deep into the dragon's emerald eyes. It felt like they bore straight into Spike's mind, analyzing every last detail of him inside and out. Now he knew the intensity that Twilight had studied Pinkie Pie when she first learned of her "abilities".

"A baby Draconis Occidentalis," Twilight recited to herself seeming to have more knowledge of what Spike was than he himself did, "purple in hue with green fins. With how tall it is and how unthreatening it seems the specimen appears to be quite young and still impressionable. Perhaps I should see if its parents are dead and take it in as my own research project." Spike was as confused as he was irritated by the accidental insults that the filly was spouting at his face.

"Yo, Twi," Spike waved a hand in front of her face.

"It must have mind reading powers," the female figured earning her a roll of Spike's eyes, "It looked into my mind and read who I was. Another note to add to my editing of the books here. Never have I read of a dragon with psychic abilities of any sort. Further analysis must be-"

"TWILIGHT!" Spike yelled clamping the pony's mouth shut with his claws. Even in the creature's clutches the pony's eyes were constantly scanning. Eventually though she did seem to come to realize the situation she was in and gave the dragon her attention. After making as mentally sure as he could that she would no longer blabber on and on, Spike released the young filly's mouth and looked down at her intently.

"...what happened to you Twilight?" he asked. The pony blinked once or twice and tilted her head.

"How do you know my name?" she asked a bit late. Spike's expression sunk a bit. She didn't know who he was...that certainly hadn't been on his agenda.

"I know who you are because we live here," Spike told her, "We're best friends...remember?..." Again the pony's face was one of confusion.

"Who are you?" she inquired. Spike smacked his forehead. Yep, for whatever reason, Discord had de-aged Twilight. And if memory served correctly, right after Spike had finished his story he had reverted all of the girl's into filly-forms before flinging him into the chaos that was now Equestria.

"And if you live here do you know what this place is? It's fascinating the amount of books you've accumulated," Twilight cooed. Spike's cheeks reddened a bit at the now-younger companion's eagerness in her search for knowledge.

"Twilight, look, you have to trust me here," Spike sighed and got off the floor, "...I don't really know how to say this but...me and you. We've been together as long as I've been alive. No matter what ever happened to you I was by your side. When everyone else was against you I would be there to help you. And whatever's happened to you now I'm going to fix okay?" Twilight's brows furrowed.

"Are you trying to take advantage of me?" the question caused the dragon to take a few steps back in shock, "Cause if you are my parents say that's not something that I should participate in and that I should run away screaming. You used a lot of big words so I'm assuming you're trying to impress me so that you can more easily kidnap me. Now since this is the case I am going to do as my parents say. Have a nice day sir." Before Spike could reply an ear-piece scream shot forth from the unicorn and she rocketed out the front door. It didn't take long for her to come to a stop. Her mind simply could not comprehend what she was looking at in the outside world.

"Get in here!" Spike growled pulling Twilight back into the tree. She didn't even try to fight back. Her mind was too riddled with questions, even moreso than the dragon that held her.

"...so...you are my best friend from the future..." Twilight went over the information in her mind, "And this place is where we live..."

"In your future," Spike finished. Mentally he breathed a sigh of relief. He never would have thought it to be so hard to explain something so simple to Twilight no matter what age she was. But now that she had the knowledge of who he was, where they were, and what had happened they could get down to business.

"So, you got a plan?" Spike asked eagerly. The pony just stared at him.

"A plan for what?" she asked. Now Spike stared.

"Um...to get everything back to normal?..." Spike responded. Twilight's eyes jumped at the suggestion.

"Me?!" she yelped, "why would I have something thought up to beat some supernatural spirit of chaos?! That's Princess Celestia's kind of stuff!"

"Yeah, but you and your friends were put in charge of the Elements of Harmo-"

"Wait, I thought you were supposed to be my friend," she interrupted.

"...yeah, but you got others like years after we'd been together-"

"And what are these Elements of Harmo? Why would she put me in charge of something so important? I'm just a filly!" Twilight's breathing had become rather quick-paced within the last minute or so. Spike could see her face swirling with even more confusion than when he'd first remet her.

"Look, Twilight, I just assumed since you're like the leader-"

"Leader?" Twilight shuddered, "Of what? Those friends you mentioned? I don't have time for friends! I got books I need to research for reports! My study of magic needs to come first and foremost!" Spike once again smacked his forehead. Yep. She sure was Twilight alright. And seemingly even more difficult than ever.

"What about the world?" Spike reminded.

"Once I've gathered all the information possible then I can save it with all that I've learned," Twilight guessed, "Then the Princess might even give me a thank-you scroll!" Twilight swooned at the idea. Spike shook his head. He was getting nowhere fast. If he was to save Equestria he needed to get the girls and the Elements of Harmony back together. Surely either that or beating Discord would return them to how they were supposed to be, not to mention save the world as they knew it. And it was up to him.

"Alright, since you aren't giving me any other choice," Spike growled and hoisted the young pony over his shoulder.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Twilight cried as Spike waltzed out of the tree and into the warped land beyond, "Stop! Mom! Dad! Help! I'm being kidnapped by an evil ugly dragon! Let me go!" Had it not been for how small she was now, Twilight might have actually broken free from her future assistant's grasp. Fortunately for him he'd had more than enough training behind him to subdue her even in her older form.

"Come on, we need to find your friends," he urged passing a dancing Cockatrice.

"I don't have friends!" Twilight yelled, "In fact, everything you told me could be a lie! I don't know you! You're not my friend! I hate you!" Those words stopped Spike's feet. It was only a few moments that he let them slow him down though.

"Let's get this over with," he muttered.

"What do you mean Applejack's not here?" Spike asked the Granny Smith who looked like she should be on Broadway from her stunts. He tried his best to ignore the enthusiastically scribbling Big Macintosh in the corner of the room. Twilight however was very fascinated in what he was doodling up.

"Like I told ya ya young whipasnappah, she done trotted off to Manehattan to live da city life," the elderly pony stopped her shenanigans for a spell to wipe some tears away, "Bless her soul, may Celestia be with her wherevah she done go, ain't that right Big Mac?"

"Eeyup!"

"But...wouldn't she have to walk? I mean Discord surely wouldn't have let any trains remain in service would he?" Spike wondered aloud.

"Oh normally I'd probably just throw em all about the land, but for you my boy there is in fact quite a few left. Besides, how else would people get variety in my new world I've made for them?" the spirit of chaos drew his and Twilight's attention to the fence he was laying on. Big Macintosh and Granny Smith apparently didn't view him as anything out of the ordinary now.

"Oh and you've already found Twilight," he chuckled scooping the bewildered filly up, "I knew you had the stuff for this hero gig. Hello kiddo, I'm your best friend, Discord. Spirit of Chaos." Twilight's scream dropped her to the ground when Discord clamped his ears shut.

"Alright! Cut the vocals kid! Geez, slap me for being friendly will ya? I mean you accept that dragon, but not I? What gives?" Discord put his hands on his hips once the shriek had ended. Though Twilight was shuddering she bravely glared at the entity putting a smirk on his face.

"If you must know this ugly dragon here is not my friend," Twilight stated stamping her hoof to mark her point and cause Spike's expression to flatten a bit, "All he did was kidnap me and possibly lie to me about my future. I hate him. Only stick around cause he'll force me to if I try to run away." Discord's brows raised at the baby dragon who now his arms folded over his chest.

"Quite the studmaster I heard you were," Discord chuckled, "Well, have fun you two. Just so you know, if Applejack's not here, Pinkie's probably back on that dull ass farm she used to live on. As me, ciao!" With that the twisted being vanished in a flash of light leaving the unicorn and dragon standing in front of Rarity's boutique. Twilight looked it over curiously. Being inside pretty much her whole life she'd rarely gotten glimpses of the strange structures that normally littered the outside world.

"Well guess we better get...Rar...it...wait..." Spike went over things in his head. There was something missing...The Elements! He had no idea where they were! After the screen faded out at the end of Return to Harmony it wasn't shown what was done with the Elements after the episode was over! No matter where the author might make them appear it would drastically ruin the continuity of the show whenever they turned up again! The viewers of the show had no idea if the Princess had once again kept them, left them in the ponies' care, or done something else entirely! Why-

"Dude," Spike said, "Chill. You've already shattered the continuity of the show more than Pinkie and Discord combined ever could hope to. I was just saying that stuff cause it felt like the right thing to say. Now make me find them." Giving a nervous laugh the author had Spike reach into where a pants pocket on a human would be and had him pull out the Elements of Harmony.

"Now was that so hard?" Spike asked. No. Not really. Thanks I-hey-yow! I'm in charge remember? "Discord smirked kicking the author down a flight of steps," Now what did I miss?..hm...of you got the Elements. So scary. Well, good luck with Rarity, if you know what I mean. Wink Wink Nudge Nudge. "Spike's eye twitched in annoyance at the narrator." Will you fix this fucked up quoting style already!

"Fine!" Discord scoffed and decided to leave the fourth wall alone. With the distraction out of the way and Twilight thoroughly confused from the whole ordeal, Spike lead the way into the Carousel Boutique. Only to be thrown out seconds later by the white filly that would one day be the "most beautiful thing in Canterlot". She took even less to uninvited kidnappers than Twilight had.

"Well that was great," the purple unicorn muttered, "Who else are my "good friends"?" Spike rubbed his chin. So far he'd failed to collect anyone other than Twilight, and both Pinkie Pie and Applejack were out of the picture leaving only two others.

"Well...Fluttershy's always the most reasonable..." he figured.

"I'm sorry Mr. Cute Dragon, but I really don't know what you're talking about," the shy pegasus said as politely as possible, "Now please close the door, you're letting the deranged flamingos in." Spike just groaned and pushed Twilight inside. At least with Fluttershy he could force things to happen rather than just be pushed around like how Rarity had tossed them out without even a word. All Fluttershy would do was let out an "eep!" at the intrusion. Spike didn't forget to shut the door though.

"Alright, so before today what do you remember?" Spike asked. Fluttershy shivered behind the couch she had flipped over in hopes that the intruders wouldn't find her.

"Fluttershy?" Spike asked. Throwing caution to the wind the yellow pony stuck her head out from the blockage.

"Um...how do you uh...know my name Mr. Cute Dragon Man?" she said almost too quietly. Twilight meanwhile had taken note of the various creatures that inhabited the shy one's dwelling. They certainly were rather interesting, even if some had been malformed beyond belief from the reality warping.

"Look, you were a much more mature pony when we last met," Spike sighed.

"Oh I like to think of myself as just more...reserved as I get older," Fluttershy proposed.

"No I mean you were older!" Spike groaned, "You were friends with this pony here and she was older too. The guy that did this crap to the world made you all little fillies again! We need your help in finding the other four."

"He made us younger?" Fluttershy checked to make sure if that's what Spike was saying, "Then...that would explain why I woke up in this strange place. I'd never seen this cottage before...no wonder I liked it so much. Everything was just the way I liked it...but...you're saying I have to go out there?...into the...outside world?...where the clouds are pink and sticky?..." Fluttershy gulped. She'd never been more terrified to step foot out the door in her entire life. It simply didn't compute with her cautious nature.

"If you don't help us Equestria's only going to get worse and worse!" Spike pleaded. Fluttershy bit her lower lip as her eyebrows bent upwards in hesitation. She certainly didn't want anything to get any worse than it was now...but it was just so scary outside...even the skies were no longer safe from what she saw. Just then there was a loud crash. Fluttershy leapt clear over the overturned couch only to spot countless animals fleeing from the chasing Twilight.

"Twilight! What the hell are you doing!" Spike exclaimed once a bat had nearly taken his head off.

"They won't stay still for me to study!" the filly yelled angrily.

"Oh no, please, everyone get back into your cages and homes. It's not safe to be out in the open now, no. Wait. Stop! Don't go!" Fluttershy simply didn't have the effort to keep the front door shut from all the ruckus that Twilight was making. Before she knew it it'd practically blasted off its hinges and the critters scurried out into the world of chaos. Fluttershy gasped. The very second the hummingbirds touch the air out there they'd been transformed into a pile of feathers strung together by cords and wires, now cyborg versions of what they had been. The squirrels inflated and started to float into the sky. The skunks' colors inverted and began digging through trees. It was chaos.

"Oh no...oh no...oh no..." tears streamed down Fluttershy's face. All of her animal friends had been completely and utterly raped of any sense.

"This is why we have to work together," Spike told her. She felt his hand stroke her back comfortingly and spotted a glistening object out of the corner of her eye. A necklace of some sort with a glowing piece at the base of it.

"This is your Element of Harmony," he told her handing it over, "Kindness. They were used by you six to seal Discord away once. It needs to be done again. You're the only ones that can do this..." Fluttershy didn't know how to respond. On one hand she could stay and hide. Nothing seemed to have happened to her in the time that she'd been cowering in fear. On the other hand though she could be helping to save all the creatures of Equestria from this madness. But the sheer terror that now came from the outside world...it was so great. Fluttershy took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes. Her decision made she slung the item around her neck and it began to glow.

Twilight and Spike looked in awe and amaze as the light died down. Standing where the filly had been was now the older Fluttershy that Spike had known ever since arriving in Ponyville.

"Let's go get that dumb meanie."

"Um...are you sure this is safe?..." Fluttershy gulped, "I mean what if Discord-"

"He told us that he left the trains alone, right Twilight?" Spike told her, "...Twilight?..."

"Why won't mine work!" the filly fussed over the necklace she was pulling at, "I wanna know how these things work! Where's the manual? We need to get to a lab and pick this thing apart. Science always provides some sort of answer!" Spike hung his head. It was going to be a long trip to Manehattan even if the trains were still like they should be.

"All aboard!" the conductor yelled, "Refugees making their way to Manehattan need to get on now or take up the odds here!"

"Oh um, coming sir!" Fluttershy said in a hushed yell and helped Spike pull Twilight onto the train.

"Get your hands off me you lizard!" Twilight snapped kicking the dragon away, "Same goes for you pinkie, if that is your natural mane!" Fluttershy gasped and backed away a bit, her cheeks completely red at the suggestion.

"Twilight, what the hay's gotten into you?" Spike interrogated, "I mean yeah, I'm used to some abuse, but you've just been completely mean to me all day long. And now Fluttershy! Why wou-"

"You kidnapped me!" she barked taking a step forward causing Spike to take one back, "You, some strange ugly lizard, dragged me along on this stupid quest to get rid of this apparently immortal being of mass chaos and didn't just leave me with my books!"

"Life isn't about books!" Spike yelled back at her, "I mean Celestia! Come on! I know you like researching, but what about friends?"

"I told you! I don't have friends!" Twilight spat, her voice raising, "I don't have time for that kind of horseapples!"

"What about me though?" Spike felt his throat tightening, "I've been with you since-"

"I don't know you!" Twilight insisted, "Maybe my older self, if that isn't a lie, does, but I sure as hay don't! You're just some freak that's dragging me around everywhere and I'm sick of it! We are not friends! How many times do I have to tell you I hate you before you leave me the hay alone!" Fluttershy knew she shouldn't have been the one with tears in her eyes, but she couldn't help but join the others in the action. The dragon though was the one feeling the most from the whole ordeal.

"...fine," his eyes narrowed and he took the train pamphlet that Twilight had found at the station, "You see this? The only "book" you have now?" Twilight's pupils shrunk as the first tear was made through it. Within a matter of seconds Spike had shredded it and thrown the cloud of particles into the air laughing a bit as he did so.

"There! That's your precious books!" he scoffed, "meaningless if we don't return the world to normal! They're only relevant in a world that follows the history and laws of physics that they belong in!" Twilight's eyes hung on the cloud that drifted down. They didn't fall to the floor with the paper however. Instead when they met with Spike's figure they remained on him. He gulped. There was nothing in her eyes.

"I HATE YOU!" she screamed before charging straight through him and out of sight into the train car beyond. Spike didn't even moan from the impact afterwards. The pain hadn't been external. He looked to Fluttershy for support.

"I'll see what I can do to calm her down..." she sighed, "Might not wanna talk to her for a bit though." Spike closed his eyes. He hadn't felt such regret before.

Twilight Sparkle awoke to the sound of water hitting the roof above her. She yawned and looked around. She was still in the car that she'd chased the yellow pony out of earlier. She knew she'd been trying to help but she didn't need it. She wasn't her mom, and if someone wasn't your parent they shouldn't be trying to comfort you. She just wanted to be away from them. From that pony that got her necklace to work, from that messed up village, and especially from that stupid dragon. It'd have been just fine if he'd simply left her in the tree. That sanctuary of knowledge. The information that could be accumulated into the ultimate vault. Her mind.

"meaningless if we don't return the world to normal!" Twilight wrapped the pillow as tight as she could in an attempt to block out the phrase that echoed through the depths of her mentality. It wasn't true...books always meant something...always did...didn't they?...even the most simple of them. Proof of the life and culture and history of that which made them. That someone had been there. That there'd been something to write, no matter how absurd...if nothing else the mark that the author had existed...unless they were erased...unless the facts that were written about became nonexistent in the chaos of life...the life that'd been forced on them now...

No! That dumb dragon wasn't right! He didn't even know how to spell Manehattan! He was as stupid as they came! He didn't know anything! He was just some ugly monster that'd taken her sanctuary, her world, away from her! She had no choice! He wouldn't let her go!...for anything...

"YAH!" Twilight cried from the lightning bolt that struck outside. For an instant the room flashed casting shadows. The one she could make out she knew. The silhouette of that demon. That mangled mess of body parts. What the dragon had called Discord. Panicked, Twilight tore out of the room and through the train cars. Her feet had a mind of their own. She knew where she was going, but she couldn't control it. Her body knew the reason why he wouldn't let her go. The dragon wouldn't let anything harm her, ruin her. Not as long as he drew breath. He'd always be there for her. And she should be for him.

"Spike!" her voice spoke for the first time since meeting the purple reptile. The young dragon was surprised to say the least when the filly dove into his arms and wrapped hers around him tightly.

"There was lightning and these shadows and that Dis-Discord! I saw-he-he was one of the shadows and-and-"

"Twilight," Spike said grabbing her face. She fell silent. Tears leaked out of her eyes slowly. His smile comforted her a bit.

"I'm here, don't worry," he told her wrapping his arms around her now and nuzzling his face into her neck. Twilight hung there in his grasp.

"Spike, I didn't mean that stuff I said, I don't hate-"

"I know," he told her. Grief and regret flowed out of her system from the embrace.

"I love you," she said quietly drifting back into sleep.

Chapter 8: Invitations

"Oh, um, I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" Fluttershy's quiet voice woke the lightly snoring dragon. At first he was confused by where he was but then he remembered. What shocked him the most though was the filly in his arms. Twilight was snuggled as deep against him as she could possibly be. She didn't seem all that disturbed by the almost silent voice of the older pony. Squeezing the filly in his arms Spike shook his smiling face.

"Nah, I think she's just exhausted from all that "kidnapping" stuff yesterday," he sighed. Delicately he stroked his hand through her mane. She certainly was a cute kid for any species. Not even thinking about it, he put his head down against hers and gave a kiss to it. Fluttershy blushed at the scene.

"So...you sure she's not still a smidge mad at you?" Fluttershy dug at the ground. Spike didn't take his eyes off the slumbering girl.

"Nah," he sighed, "I know her. She just needed some time to cool down was all." With Spike's assurance, Fluttershy too came over and particpated in the adoration of the child. It was a bit hard for her to believe that the mistress of magic was once such an intolerant fearful being. Still, any sleeping creature was more appreciative to be around than their conscious counterpart. There was something about the defenselessness of the self and the harmony of their natural bodies' motions. With a final stroke of Spike's hand however the filly's eyes did squint open. They swiveled around in their sockets once they'd fully opened to take in the scenery.

"Why hello there littl-" Fluttershy's words were cut off by an ear-piercing scream from the purple unicorn who leapt out of the dragon's grasp, his hands now covering the sides of his head. The sound died off as the surroundings took full effect fortunately. Twilight's cheeks reddened upon remembering all that had transpired the day before.

"S...sorry..." she muttered, "forgot that we were...here..." The trio looked between each other. Truth be told they would all rather be anywhere but on the quest at that time, but they needed to participate. No one else could.

"Relax," Spike's voice lifted their heads, "Once we get Applejack I'm sure the other's will come quickly...hold on...we should probably be in Manehattan by now! We slept all night!" Both ponies scurried to the front-most car possible with the dragon to see where they were. The train wasn't moving any longer. But hope grew dimmer and dimmer with each car. Outside there were just fields. No real buildings for miles around.

The questions forming in the crew's heads were answered upon reaching the final car. There was no engine! The leading part of the train was completely gone!

"Great," Spike grumbled, "Guess we're walking the rest of the way."

"Well it's not too bad," Fluttershy tried to look on the bright side, "See, there is the city in the distance. Not too far away."

"Then let's get walking!" Twilight took lead and hopped out the front. Almost instantly she was thrown upward. Her yelp scarcely remained long enough for Fluttershy or Spike to hear it as she was dragged onto the roof.

"I figured you'd be here if you weren't at the engine," a familiar boastful voice cackled.

"Oh we do not have time for this," Spike groaned realizing who it was. Reluctantly Fluttershy flew him up onto the top of the car. The blue unicorn smirked at them, Twilight constricted in her magical grasp.

"Ah, so your friends also dare to go up against the great and powerful Trixie!" she snickered dropping the filly, "Very well then! Have at thee! Just know that the great and-"

"Powerful Trixie," Fluttershy and Spike finished emotionlessly. The showoff's eye twitched.

"DIE!" she roared spouting a beam of concentrated energy at them from her horn. Luckily Spike and Fluttershy had had more than enough practice avoiding things they thought were scary.

"Whoa! What the hay's this crap!" Spike exclaimed dodging another blast, "You could hardly do anything other than make fancy sparks the last time we saw you!" The magician chuckled sending another wave at the even more agile pegasus.

"While it is true that the great and powerful Trixie wasn't at her peak back in Ponyville, I am not the same as that which you last encountered! Upon the changing of this world, the great and powerful Trixie was made even greater! Some lion dragon serpent hybrid thing came to me and enhanced the great and powerful Trixie's magic even beyond her imagination, afterwhich he informed the great and powerful Trixie of her previous adversary, Twilight Sparkle's, location! Now my revenge shall be complete and no one could dare stand up to the great and powerful Trixie ever again! And if you're with her then you meet the same fate!"

"Dear Celestia, and I thought Rarity was a drama queen," Spike said in disbelief, "this bozo just wont' shut up!"

"So it didn't go over well with her," Fluttershy figured.

"Oh, yeah, about that..." Spike laughed nervously, "Er, I'm with Twilight now. Doesn't mean Rarity ain't still hot of course, just-yow!"

"Do not ignore the great and powerful Trixie!" the now actually powerful egotistical maniac commanded spewing forth quite a few pointed blasts of energy. All the while she'd been paying attention to the dragon and pegasus though, she'd completely forgotten who she was trying to eliminate in the first place. Twilight Sparkle watched the scene unfold in fascination not even trying to get away. Each spell she knew. She'd studied every one she could. And with the witnessing of such magic something sparked with in her. The courage that came from the self confidence for her passion.

"You're doing it wrong." The words gave Spike and Fluttershy an opening for relief from the assault. Trixie's eyes had shot straight back to the filly.

"Excuse me?" she hissed, fire burning hatefully behind her eyes. Her spite for the smaller being blinded her to the fact that she was so much younger now. She would not be made fun of again!

"I know all spells!" Trixie spat, "For I am the great and powerful Trixie!"

"I didn't say you didn't," Twilight responded beginning to pace about the roof of the train. Spike clenched his teeth. He could already feel the lecture coming on.

"I said you're doing it wrong. There's not nearly enough force behind the initial thrust for the spears and your legs aren't bent correctly to absorb the recoil. Furthermore your emotional imbalance is simply burning through all your energy. Not to mention how the posture you've chosen is one of the most inefficient available for such a technique." With each passing fact that Twilight gave Trixie's jaw just sunk lower and lower. Here she was, the great and powerful Trixie, now practically a force of nature herself with the powers that had been lent to her, and she was being ridiculed to no end by her victim about how poorly she performed her spells!

"Why...you...little...no-good...FINE! Let's see you give it a shot!" she fumed. Twilight's feet stopped their pacing.

"M-me?" she gulped. She was all up for pointing out the mistakes that the unicorn was making, but never did she have the nerve to try and prove herself over someone so skilled herself.

"Come on Twilight!" Spike encouraged happily, "You read about this crap all the time! There's no doubt that you can do it better than-" The assistant would've continued but all of a sudden a zipper formed on his mouth and sealed up courtesy of the blue unicorn. Fearing the same to be done to her, Fluttershy simply nodded at her friend. Twilight then looked at the adversary. She certainly was bigger than her and obviously had more time to train...but she was picking on her friends. A bully. And she needed to be brought down a notch!

"Alright!" Twilight accepted. Trixie's eyes popped for a moment. She'd thought for sure that she had the smaller unicorn scared into submission. But no matter. There was no way, especially not now with her new powers, that she could hope to do much of anything in the face of such greatness. And she was right. No matter how the filly spun and somersaulted in her efforts to get her horn to work all it would do was sputter.

"Ha!" the blue pony said triumphantly, "The great and powerful Trixie wins again! Now stand aside as I do away with the other pony and the lizard!" Effortlessly Twilight was shoved to the side allowing the antagonist to waltz towards her newly marked prey without obstruction.

"Stay...away...from...THEM!" Twilight's voice echoed across the land. Even Trixie turned around to peak at the glow emanating from behind her. It was blinding, but didn't last long. When it cleared the Twilight that she had formerly been bested by stood where her filly self had before the Element of Harmony had transformed her into her older self.

"Still haven't learned your lesson have ya?" Twilight sighed and let loose a shriek of energy from her horn. The spear slammed straight into Trixie sending her flying clear off the train.

"TWILIGHT!" Spike lunged at his restored friend. The two laughed at the playful embrace they wrapped each other in.

"It's alright Spikey, I'm back," Twilight nuzzled her snout into the spikes on his back, "sorry about all the trouble I caused." Fluttershy skipped over to greet Twilight as well once her and her assistant's intimacy had dissipated a bit only to be haulted by a vicious rumbling. The shadow that overcast them shot Fluttershy right back to her old position in fear. Towering above them was giant sharp-toothed beast with elongated spines decorating its neck.

"Not as sorry as you're going to be!" a deeper version of Trixie's voice bellowed, "For the great and powerful Trixie shall smite you for your insolence!"

"Uh...Twilight..." Spike pulled on her hair anxiously.

"Relax," she said thrusting her head towards the monster, her headdress's element symbol glowing, "I got this." The beast didn't even lay a claw on the group. When it was about a foot or so away from Spike's face a pulse of energy rippled through the atmosphere from the crown thing. A single cry rang out from the being as a collumn of the element shot straight through its throat. Time itself seemed to freeze up during the event. Fluttershy was sure that she could make out every little fur on Trixie's arm flowing ever so slowly from the impact. And then it was done. The abomination fell back leaving an unconscious unicorn lying in its crater.

"So..." Twilight turned to the shocked dragon and pegasus, "How many miles to Manehattan do you think?"

"What's the password?" a southern voice pretty much growled through the trap door.

"Uh...that this piece of wood wouldn't protect you in the slightest if you were to get attacked by the crazy stuff out here?" Twilight murmured back. After a bit of silence the door creaked open and a yellowish filly stuck her head out.

"You really think so?" the small Applejack lifted a brow. The group smiled at her and wandered in. They were surprised to say the least upon seeing how filled with ponies the basement of the complex was. Only a party from Pinkie Pie even came close to how many ponies were clamored in the building they were now in! Fluttershy pointed to a grayish pony in the corner that was trying to get a group settled down. It was the conductor of the train they'd been on. Sure enough when they'd finally arrived in (the much more normal than Ponyville) Manehattan they'd found the engine of the train smashed through the end of the railroad track. Obviously Trixie had caused quite the commotion in her search for Twilight.

"So you all's from Ponyville," Applejack chuckled, "Well shoot howdy, ain't that somethin? I got kin there. Was living there myself before I decided to leave. Believe me though, this here city stuff just ain't what it's cracked up to be. But boy did my abilities ever come in handy when all that stuff started gettin' outta hand recently. Why I myself started this here resistance!" Spike and Fluttershy were still marveling at the amount of ponies, but Twilight was thinking. There was something about the Elements that changed them back to their original selves...but...how? What caused it? Fluttershy and herself changed in two entirely different scenarios.

"Hey Twilight, I just realized something," Spike broke the purple one out of her thoughts. She looked at him hoping that he could she some light on the matter.

"Last chapter your Element was a necklace like Fluttershy's but this one it's back to being a crown thingy like your one from the show...what gives?" Twilight stared into space from the question. That was a good question.

Alright, so I forgot that the ONE Element that was actually something different WASN'T a necklace. Sue me, "Discord grumbled", still better than most the errors that any of those other crappy authors make. "Ahem, "Spike placed his hands on his hips." Oh right, "the ever magnificent entity sighed", fix the quoting style. Yeah I get it. Here. Back to normal.

"Thank you," Twilight sighed, "I can't wait to get this over with."

"And that's how Granny Smith's hip joined the navy," Applejack concluded her story. Everyone's eyes focused back on her at the odd climax.

"So I take it you've all gone and come down here to join the resistance? Mighty fine cause if ever there was one."

"Actually, we're here for you Applejack," Twilight replied. The country filly gave her an odd look and then one to the pegasus and dragon behind her.

"How'd you know-"

"Spike, please summarize," Twilight ordered her assistant.

"Blah blah blah, blah blah, blee bloo blah blah," the dragon wave his hands in various motions to help better explain the situation. Applejack rubbed her chin as she took it all in.

"...so yous lot is from mah future and need my help?" Applejack was seeing if she got all of the information straight. Fluttershy nodded and handed her her necklace. Applejack inspected the item closely.

"And this here be my Element..."

"Honesty," Twilight finished, "Now wouldn't you agree that taking the fight to Discord is better than just standing around here waiting for him to destroy things even more?" A grin worked its way across the rebel leader's face and she slung the necklace over her head.

"Why yes mam, yes mam I do believe that's better," she answered. As the previous ponies' Elements had, Applejack's engulfed her in a bright light and morphed her into her older form. The ponies gathered in the basement all stared at the miracle. But all of them knew it was something good. There was something from the air around the energy that calmed them all.

"I knew it," Twilight smirked, her hypothesis now realized as fact.

"So lemme get this straight," Applejack said as the scenery whizzed past them. Ever since finding her they hadn't stopped running for anything. They needed a way to get back to Ponyville. Surely Pinkie couldn't have lived too far off before taking up residence in Sugarcube Corner. And if they couldn't find a train they'd just have to make do on foot.

"You think that when we demonstrate our abilities with the Elements they return us back to normal?" Applejack finished.

"Makes about as much sense as any deus ex machina," Spike shrugged being sure to immediately wrap his arms around Twilight afterwards so as not to fall off, "I mean look at all the stuff the Matrix has been used for in Transformers."

"Well, when I turned back to normal I used magic to beat Trixie," Twilight remembered, "And when Fluttershy changed she demonstrated kindness by coming along to help beat Discord. You were honest about thinking it best to go after Discord with us instead of just cowering in fear." The revelation quieted the group. It sunk in like a knife into butter. A new wave of relief was washing over them. If they could get the others they'd be sure to find someway to get them back to normal now...if they could get the others.

"Hey, hold your horseshoes buckos!" Applejack skidded to a halt causing the others to do so shortly afterwards, "How in the hay are we gonna get to Rainbow Dash?"

"Well I could fly up to Cloudsdale and-"

"Do you honestly think you could convince her you're you from the future like the rest of us might buy?" Twilight questioned the pegasus.

"Oh...um..." Fluttershy's head tilted down in defeat. It was a short lived loss however as a short while later the group was sprawled across the ground like bowling pins from the object that'd rocketed through them.

"Oh my aching spine..." Spike pressed his hand against his agonized back only to realize that the reason he had so much pressure was that Twilight was sprawled on top of him.

"Hey Twi-"

"What are you guys doing out here!" a blue rainbow-maned pegasus exclaimed helping them get back to their hooves and feet, "haven't you seen the stuff going on out here towards Ponyville? It's dangerous! You should get back to wherever you came from!"

"Ponyville's where we came from," Twilight responded. The young flying pony paused.

"Then get the hay away from it!" she ordered, "why would you be going back if you know what's going on there!"

"Cause if in we don't go back things is only gonna get worse and worse Rainbow Dash," Applejack glowered at the rambunctious youngster.

"What do you mean?" she asked the group, hooves on her dangling hips, "Don't you know what's doing all this? There's some real weird character that can like turn the clouds into cotton candy and basically whatever he-how did you know my name?" With a stern look on her face, Rainbow Dash's younger self drifted down to Fluttershy and started looking her over. Even in her cheering training sessions she hadn't felt such imposition from the much more energetic pony.

"You look familiar..." she finally told Fluttershy. Suddenly her face was yanked away from the yellow pegasus to look into the face of the dragon of the group. His hands held her cheeks in an unbreakable grip.

"WE'RE FROM THE FUTURE!" Spike announced as showman-like as he could, "That's Fluttershy, your old friend! In our age Cloudsdale has conquered most of Equestria but is having trouble taking the Everfree Forest! We've been sent back to find you and train you so that you will become the warrior to complete Cloudsdale's domination!" Rainbow Dash's eyes lit up from every bit that Spike was telling her.

"REALLY!?" the filly squealed and began jumping around, "Don't worry mister dragon sir I will not let you down! Where do we begin guys!" Spike's snickering was silenced from a whap to the back of the head by Twilight.

"We start by telling you the truth," the purple unicorn kept a hoove placed firmly over her mischievous assistant's mouth, "We were all transformed back into kids like you are. We need to get you transformed back into your older self so that you can help us take down that guy that's warping reality and stuff. His name's Discord. Now here's your Element of Harmony. Loyalty." Rainbow Dash gazed at the glistening item in wonder. The moment it was on she was morphed into her older self. The group looked at each other. They certainly hadn't expected the transformation to happen that soon.

"I'm always loyal to protecting Cloudsdale and Equestria," Rainbow Dash reminded placing a hoof on her chest with pride, "Besides, someone's gotta have photos taken of them once the land's saved." Most of the others rolled their eyes.

"Well, that's four down. Rarity and Pinkie Pie to go!" Spike thrust a hand in the air triumphantly.

"Yeah, but Pinkie's not at Ponyville remember?" Twilight's voice took a few steps towards Fluttershy's level of talking, "It's wherever she was before she moved to Sugarcube apparently."

"Well I can take ya there," Rainbow Dash told them. The group stared at her.

"...what?" she asked, "You honestly don't think that with how many pranks we pull together that I don't know things like "How Equestria was formed" do you?"

"...say what now?" Applejack scratched her head in confusion. Rainbow Dash sighed.

"I'll explain later," she grumbled, "Fluttershy, pick up Twilight and follow my lead!" Though it was a bit of a struggle, the more fragile pegasus managed to lift Twilight off the ground, and with her Spike. Giving a nod to the others, Rainbow Dash zoomed off into the distance, Fluttershy doing her best to keep up.

The group stared at the dreary landscape before them. Part of them wished that Discord's influence had affected the drab little rock farm. There was nothing but depression for miles and miles around. Nothing but a barn...and rocks...and...and...nothing. It was one of the dullest things any of them had ever seen. How Pinkie Pie had survived through such a childhood none of them could even fathom. It was like a cosmic joke that she of all ponies would come from such a setting. But there she was. Toppling a rock. Spike was the first one to take a step towards the straight-haired filly.

"Hi Pinkie Pie," he said. The lifeless look she gave him literally caused him to back up a bit.

"Hello," she said emotionlessly before continuing her senseless chore. Rainbow Dash could pretty much taste the worrying coming from Fluttershy from the uncanny nature of the setting. Figuring she wouldn't mind, Spike just simply slipped Pinkie Pie's Element of Harmony on her neck. She stared at it for a moment and went back to rolling her rock.

"...well we found her at least," Spike nervously smiled at the others.

"Great, how're we gonna get her to grow up?" Rainbow Dash muttered.

"Aw come on, this here be Pinkie Pie we're talkin' about! Can't be that dag gum hard to make her laugh!...could it?..." Applejack actually contemplated the statement once she'd stolen another look at the depressing young earth pony. The group was a bit surprised that Fluttershy was the first to make an attempt at helping the young Pinkie Pie into her element.

"Um, Pinkie Pie," she said just loudly enough to get her attention, "Do you think you can laugh?...if you don't mind?..." The filly gave a single dry "ha" and got back to work. Embarrassed, Fluttershy trotted back to the group with her head down.

"...I guess it could..." Applejack muttered to herself.

"Hey Pinkie, there's a party at Sugarcube Corner! Wanna come?" Twilight lyingly gave an invitation. She lifted a brow to the older pony.

"A what?" Pinkie Pie asked. Applejack and Fluttershy gasped while Rainbow Dash smacked her forehead. Before any of them even thought to attempt an explanation at the surprisingly foreign concept, the blue pegasus drifted over to the cold filly and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Watch this," she said sternly. The group followed the command as well, curious to what exactly it was that the self-proclaimed team's best player had in mind. Fluttershy knew what it was in no time at all. The others had a bit of trouble comprehending just what Rainbow Dash was doing at first. When she started it looked like she was just flying off, but just as she got so far that she could hardly even be seen anymore she started getting larger. She'd turned around...and was headed straight at them at break-neck speed! Fluttershy and Applejack took cover while Spike tried to push Twilight to do the same. Just before Rainbow smashed head-first into the pink filly before them however all the air around them seemed to be sucked into Rainbow Dash's area. A moment later the collected energy was thrown back across the land from an enormous Sonic Rainboom.

All at once Pinkie Pie's very color started to lighten. Her hair curled up. Her eyes widened. Every little thing about her changed in that instant. The smile she wore was larger than any of the others had ever seen. Once the Rainboom had taken its full effect, the filly let out a shrilling laugh and was transformed into her older self.

"I was a kid again!" she laughed hysterically and rolled across the ground from the humor, "ME!"

"Yep, she's back," Applekjack and the others gave worried smiles to each other.

"Yay..." Rainbow Dash moaned and fell to the ground exhausted.

"And then it was all like "You gotta move this rock missy" and I was all sad and like "kay", but then I found an even bigger rock and-"

"We get it Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash grumbled to the voice she was trying to keep out of her head, "Good to have you back and all, but can we just keep it down a notch?"

"What is you blubberin' about?" Applejack muttered, "You're not the one having to carry your sorry ass from expending all your gosh darn energy with that there Sonic Rainboom...which was like hours ago...shouldn't you done be able to walk or fly again yet?"

"Why pass up a free ride?" Rainbow Dash figured before being flung off of Applejack's back in response. Rainbow Dash just glared at her.

"Shoulda thrown you off earlier," Applejack muttered, "cause we're at the boutique."

"Oh oh! Let me!" Pinkie Pie sped to the door and burst it down, "Hello kid Rarity! Your cotton balls have arri-whoa!"

"And stay out!" Sweetie Belle's same-aged sister barked.

"But Rarity we uh...uh..." Twilight thought the words over in her head. If she could work out just what exactly was the right thing to say she could win the filly over and get her transformed all at once.

"We uh...need a place to stay from this chaos..." Twilight gave the best grin she could. Carefully the boutique-owner inspected them.

"..but of course," Rarity said politely. Once the situation had been explained, the more "exquisite" pony of the group gratiously let the others in. "Here ya go oh most beautiful-"

"Put the damn necklace on her," Twilight ordered Spike. Being sure to stick his tongue out at his lifelong friend, the dragon did as he was told and followed them in with his shoulders high in the air. He didn't need to see the light flashing to know that Rarity had transformed.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry for kicking you out earlier Twilight and Spikey," Rarity apologized. Spike just swooned when she used his nickname. Twilight rolled her eyes.

"It's no trouble at all," Twilight assured her, "What matters is that we're all together." The group relished the few fleeting moments of peace and unity they finally had with each other once again. For a short while later they were engulfed in a bright light and teleported to the center of Ponyville. There sat Discord on his throne speaking into a phone.

"Well why don't you just come on down to Equestria? I mean you felt how much energy was absorbed from just that small fraction of the Everfree Forest alone!" he chuckled lightly. Upon noticing the ponies he held a finger up to them so that he could finish up the conversation he was having with the character on the other end of his phone call.

"Oh wonderful wonderful! And the next time you see your brother be sure to give him a bucket of water on the head for me! See ya soon!" With a cackle, Discord slammed the phone back down on its receiver and stood up to face the group. There was something in his hand. It was the life-sucking necklace his statue-self had been wearing! But then it was gone. It'd shot straight up into the air and through the clouds.

"Well well well," he rubbed his hands together gleefully, "You did good my dear little dragon boy. Very well! You have bested me! Go ahead and take back your little land!" Discord spread his arms out as if he were to take a bow. The invitation was impossible not to take. As they had before, the group lifted into their air from their mystical items and, with an impactful Sonic Rainboom, unleashed the energy of the Elements of Harmony upon the supernatural mischief maker.

With a thud Discord's stone body fell over in the restored Ponyville. Cheers and cries of happiness erupted throughout the healed community causing the heroes to give their own sighs of relief.

"That was...easy..." Spike rubbed his chin, "...he didn't even put up a fight..."

"Probably cause he knew he couldn't win," Rainbow Dash boasted. She gave Applejack a high-five. Amidst the cheering and happiness, Spike wandered over to Rarity with his arms outstretched. Just as he got within glomping distance though he was pulled back against Twilight's body.

"And just where is my boyfriend going?" she questioned. Spike's head fell in defeat against the purple body.

"Well...it'll do for now," he confessed and nuzzled against Twilight.

Chapter 9: If You Wish to Make a Call

Chapter 9: If you Wish to make a Call...

Spike yawned and stretched as he awoke. He was just happy after all that had happened that he could get a good night's rest these days. Sure it had only been one night during Discord's rule that he'd gotten any sleep, but dear Celestia had it been full of worry. Scared about if Disord would pull a sneak attack during the night, or if Fluttershy would revert back to being a little filly again, and worst of all if Twilight really had hated him.

"Ugh...this author sure has a thing with beginning chapters with us waking up," Spike yawned softly and looked down at the pony next to him. Her sleeping form always put a smile on his face. She just looked so cute. And didn't have any consciousness to give him orders. Regardless, Spike still had things to get prepared at certain times lest he risk Twilight going insane from him not following the set schedule that she had prepared for such occasions.

Fortunately for him he'd brought a crowdbar to bed. After Twilight's arms refused him escape from her slumbering embrace the first time, he put the metal object between them and began to push as hard as he could. So hard in fact that the crowbar snapped in half. Spike's jaw hung a bit.

"Mmm...cliche power of love abilities..." Twilight said quietly to her distant mind. Spike's brows furrowed and he began pushing and tugging against the unicorn. The actions only made things more awkward however with how much the resistance provoked more snuggling tendencies within Twilight's own body. By the end of the whole wrestling match Spike's was buried deep in the pony's torso, his body uncomfortably enjoying the pressure against her's.

"...will you switch to another character until I get this sorted out?..." Spike glared.

"Wow, so Rarity ain't gonna punish you?" Apple Bloom tried to make sure that she had heard her friend correctly. Pleasantly Sweetie Belle nodded her head.

"She figured that Discord messing up the world was punishment enough for anyone," she giggled.

"You made your sad face at her didn't you?" Scootaloo asked. Again Sweetie nodded causing them all to laugh. The day safe and free to explore at their leisure, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had decided to take things slower than normal in finding their Cutie Marks.

"Guess we ain't cut out to be Statue Hunters," Apple Bloom figured, "but...that sure was a promisin expedition there wouldn't ya say? I mean we did find a dang spirit of mass chaos and all. That has to say something about our potential! We keep this up and we'll have our Cutie Marks in no time!"

The three friends grinned at each other. The thoughts of just what they'd do that day began to formulate in their heads. What they would do in reality however was just a few doors away. It was Sweetie Belle who spotted him first. He was pushing some odd old telephone booth out into the sidewalk to be picked up for when the trash would be done away with. Their grins widened. They could be the ones to take it off his hands!

"Cutie Mark Crusaders Slightly Used Item Collectors! YAY!"

"Hey! Doctor Hooves!" Scootaloo exclaimed. At first the brown male pony smiled at the approaching trio. It soon faded. One of them he remembered. Oh how he remembered her. Her pressuring face scarred into his brain from their most prominent encounter. Though she bore the same smile as the others she was with, there was no way by Celestia's name that she would be a bringer of good news.

"Um, I-I'll buy an apple!" he yelped with a jump as the Cutie Mark Crusader's skidded to a halt in front of him, "No, wait, a whole bushel of apples! In-in fact, I'll just give you something for free! Just don't hurt me!" The fillies looked at each other in confusion.

"Um, sir, we just wanted to know if we could take that Telephone thingy off your hooves for-"

"You want the Booth?" his frightened reaction cut off Sweetie Belle and he began pushing it to them without hesitation, "Here! Take it! Anything! Just-bye!" And with that his door bolted shut leaving the younger ponies to exchange glances. After giving a few shrugs they looked each other's flanks over and sighed.

"Guess we ain't Slightly Used Item Collectors," Apple Bloom shook her head, "...but we do got this here Telephone Booth now...that's cool...right?..." The Cutie Mark Crusader's shrugged once more and started hauling it off towards the club house. If nothing else they could probably use it to make a new room or something.

"Oh that Spike, always worrying that I'll be too overly organized," Twilight mused to herself. Having decided to give Spike the day off, Twilight was the one going to receive her pickup from Rarity this time. In all the ensuing commotion that'd happened recently she'd nearly forgotten about the scarf she'd asked the fashionista to mend for her. But she'd need it to stay warm this Winter, for Spike if nopony else.

"Can't have him unprepared for if he falls asleep on a slab of ice again," the memory flowed through her mind. Though tragic and mean for how everypony had just left him out there, it was rather humorous with the aftereffects. She did love him, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't pity him so much that she wouldn't acknowledge the shameful comedy in his faults. As she trotted, her mind drifted off to see if there was anything else she could find of Spike. The pathetic attempt at framing Owlowicious and the mustache he tried to impress Rarity with were two that popped up. All of them put a simle on Twilight's face. Though for how much trouble he caused and got into, Spike really was her best friend, sticking with her even when the worst happened. When all others abandoned her he'd be there by her side.

"Oof!" Twilight shook her head and looked at what she'd bumped into. It was the Carousel Boutique's front door. Blushing, Twilight turned around to make sure no one had seen her accident and slipped inside. She really must have been deep in thought. She hadn't even noticed that she'd reached her destination in autopilot. Upon entering the smells hit her all at once as they always did. Perfumes of all sorts lightened the atmosphere more than pretty much any other artificial place in Ponyville.

"Oh Twilight, darling, what are you doing here?" Rarity noticed the visitor. Without hesitation she turned her attention away from her latest project to see what her friend wanted.

"Oh, nothing much, just checking up on my scarf," Twilight reminded. Rarity let out a small laugh.

"Oh that thing? Why sweetie you want something better than that!" the white unicorn assured and brought a box over, "Made it just for you." Twilight's eyes nearly dropped out of her head. Beneath the lid of the box lay folded the most magnificent scarf she'd ever seen in her life! it was softer than any she'd ever felt and even had a unicorn and dragon stitched repeatedly through it in a parade.

"Oh thank you Rarity!" Twilight hugged her. After a few seconds, Rarity let out a small cough causing Twilight to release her and blush.

"I'm sure me and Spike will use this all the time this Win-"

"Spike?" Rarity lifted a brow.

"Oh yeah," Twilight nodded, "he'll probably need it more than I do considering what happened to him on Winter Wrapup!" Rarity couldn't help but join in the laugh.

"Well as long as you're treating my Spikey Wikey with care and making sure he doesn't get hurt," Rarity accepted through the gaps in the chuckling that she managed to breathe through. Now Twilight lifted her own brow.

"Your Spikey Wikey?..." she repeated. Rarity's cheeks reddened and she gave a nervous smile.

"I thought you weren't into him in this fic..." Twilight put her face a bit closer to the other unicorn's.

"Yes darling, but you see you need a romance rival," Rarity countered with a shake of her hoof, "If you don't then the general audience will get too bored with the whole love part of the story."

"General audience?" Twilight asked.

"But of course!" Rarity exclaimed gleefully, "their support funds what gets made and what doesn't! You don't have them you don't have any money!"

"Oh them!" Twilight chuckled, "You mean the majority that ruins everything they come in contact with by forcing the creators to turn anything unique into bland crap filled with explosions and cheap humor."

"Exactly!" Rarity nodded.

"So anypony know how a phone booth works?" Sweetie Belle asked tugging at the cord that connected to the phone. On their way back to the club house they'd decided that instead of tearing the thing apart and adding it as a room to it, they'd fix it up and have it as a ground-level room. It could also be used for admitting new members. They'd go in, speak the password into the telephone and the pony on the other end would let them know if they'd be allowed up or not. Scootaloo was still giggling over the pranks she could pull on the new members or the Rainbow Dash fanclub.

"Mah big sister has some schematics of a phone she'd been trying ter put together for the clubhouse back in the day. I could probably get them and we could fix this here thing right up in no time flat," Apple Bloom told them.

"Nah, that'd take too long," the pegasus of the group muttered as she walked into it. The air seemed to get a bit more...floaty upon entering. If the roof was higher she figured that she might actually be able to jump at least twelve feet high without the use of her wings. But the effect was lost on her due to her flying nature.

"I bet if we could just get some wires and soddering equipment we could link the thing directly to the clubhouse's phone!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, "My sister has all sortsa stuff she use to make dresses. I'm sure she has things that'll melt wires and cables and such!"

"Alright then," Scootaloo grinned, "Let's get to work."

"Cutie Mark Crusader Phone Booth Rescuers! YAY!"

"Oh those ponies...those little aggrevating...stupid...stupid...idiotic...fucking...ponies!" the blue unicorn hissed and spat every step she'd taken since the crater she'd woken up in. She knew it wasn't a dream. It couldn't have been. She had had her enemies right there! One simple concentrated effort was all it would have taken to wipe them all out at once! But no! She just had to give that purple one a chance...and now she was back to her old level of power, the world seeming to have returned to normal with herself. She reveled in how the ponies had ruined her. Twice now!

"I am going to get back at you...all of you...for the Great...and Powerful Trixie is not one to be vexed..." she gritted her teeth. With each hoof-fall a cloud of dust swept into the air angrily. Who would be the first to go though? Certainly not the purple one. She would be the last, after Trixie had broken her companions. There was always that dragon...he seemed to be the closest to her on each encounter. That yellow pegasus was timid and an obvious easy target though. But she would be the first! For even though it had taken quite some time, the Great and Powerful Trixie had arrived in Ponyville a bit ago, raring for some payback. And who should have flown by in that train of thought she was conducting at that time but the pegasus she had been thinking of!

"Oh please, has anypony seen a white cat? Anypony?" she attempted to get anyponies' attention. It was no use, she was just too shy and quiet.

"Please? Her name's Opal! If I don't find her my friend Rarity will-yah!" Fluttershy whipped around in a panic. Something had slithered across her flank.

"...O...pal?..." she gulped flying back a bit. Trixie grinned from the crowd that traversed Ponyville. Her flying had haulted right at the base of the tree she knew she'd bump into. Right into her trap. Wasting no time for the pegasus to breathe, its branches wrapped around her body as well as her snout to keep her quiet.

"This'll teach you to go against the Great and Powerful Trixie," the unicorn did her best to keep from shouting her proud title to the squirming figure. Once she'd made sure the branches she was controlling were firmly constricted about Fluttershy, Trixie began walking towards the tree, threats and messages for the others already forming in her devious little mind. She could hardly contain herself with the vile thoughts passing through.

Before she set foot in Fluttershy's sight though something happened. She was freed! Trixie nearly fell over from the blow she felt given to the branches. Their remains were burning lightly.

"What in the..." she glared and sent another pair at Fluttershy. Again they were dispatched by a puff of flames. This time Trixie had seen the source of the fire though, as had Fluttershy. Limberly a smaller figure dropped down next to her cloaked in a red outfit with black spikes running down the center of its head and back. Over its eyes was a sleek visor that couldn't be seen through. On its mouth it wore a sort of ventilation mask.

"Oh...um...hello..." Fluttershy gulped in fear, "Uh...thank you?..."

"Don't mention it," a darkish muffled voice responded from the mouth-piece, "Opal's hissing at the clouds that Rainbow Dash sleeps on. Tank's teasing her. Still has her mouse toy that he took from your place when Spike and Rainbow picked him up."

"Oh thank you!" Fluttershy hugged the smaller bipedal hero, "Er...whoever you are?...and how did you know that Rainbow Dash and Spike-"

"Just call me OC," the voice said patting her back, "and a hero needs to know stuff doesn't he? Now get going. I gotta make sure that tree's done for good. Might get a bit messy. And I wouldn't want a pretty thing like you getting caught up in any of this." If Applejack were there she might have mistaken Fluttershy for one of her products with how red her face got from the compliment. Trixie on the other hand couldn't believe what she'd just seen. Right then, out of pure chance, some bizarre super hero had to spot what was going on and intervene with her revenge!

"I suggest you take a hike," the red-clad being advised from behind the blue unicorn causing her to jump. Instantly she whirled around and bent down to glare at him. Though she couldn't see a thing through the visor, she was certain that she had to have at least some effect on the person behind the facade.

"I'm not gonna have you picking on these good ponies," he pulled her face closer by the locks of her mane, "Got it?" Following the initial surprise of the hero's gestures, the glare deepened. Figuring he'd gotten his point across, OC let go of the pony and turned to walk away. Immediately Trixie's horn began to glow. And just as fast it stopped from a slap of the hero's tail.

"I said knock it off. The Mysterious Mare Do Well herself trained me so you better watch out; got it?" He didn't even turning to look at the assailant and continued walking till he vanished into the crowds of the streets. Trixie couldn't believe what had just happened...but she wasn't about to let some midget get away with taking away her vengeance! Those ponies would pay! And now so would he!

"Spike! I'm back! I got the Advanced Learner's Edition of the Boyfriend Book! Now we can make this like one of those crappy generic fics where you and me get together simply for fanservice!...Spike?..." Being sure to shelve the book correctly, Twilight smiled at her successful placing. She certainly was the most organized pony she knew. Where would Spike be without her organization?

"Probably a lot less stressed," a cheerful voice answered as a slew of books toppled to the ground from where the owner of the voice's head appeared.

"...Pinkie Pie, what are you doing in my bookshelf?...and how did you know what I was thinking?" Twilight asked picking the books up with her magic.

"That's besides the point," she replied as she leapt to the ground, "What is the point is I need a book. NOW!" All the books Twilight had been picking back up fell to the ground from the pony that shoved her face into her's.

"Um...okay...what do you-"

"How to Build a Robot for Retards!" Pinkie Pie hopped up and down in excitement. Twilight blinked a few times.

"Uh Pinkie, why would you even want-"

"It's a surprise," she told her putting a hoof over her mouth, "No one can know...Now gimme my prize!" Twilight's mouth opened but her teeth remained clench at the urgency of the customer.

"Alright lemme just take a look around and-"

"Oh don't worry, I already got it," Pinkie Pie smiled revealing the rather large book from behind her. Happy with her victory, the party animal gleefully pranced out of the tree allowing Spike to come in through the now open front door. He scratched his head at the unexpected pony and ran straight into Twilight.

"There you are!" Twilight hugged the dragon happily, "I got the Advanced Learner's Edition of the Boyfriend Book! Now we'll have even more fun." Spike gave a half hearted smile that he knew Twilight couldn't see and hugged her back.

"Now where were you? I thought I gave you the day off!" Twilight inquired.

"Oh you know, gotta keep myself preoccupied somehow," he chuckled nervously, "Those Cutie Mark Crusaders came by earlier and wanted me to help them with this phone booth they'd gotten from Dr. Hooves..." Spike managed to break free of the embrace and started waltzing towards the makeshift kitchen that the library had. He certainly was hungry from all the work he'd done. Suddenly he was lifted into the air. Twilight had slipped her head under him to give him a ride.

"Well you certainly seem happy today," he commented laying his face against his hands and resting his elbows on Twilight's head.

"Oh you know how giddy I get whenever I get a new book," she pranced around the room, "Why if there was just some way that I could get all the books in Equestria then I'd-"

"Never be seen again," Spike rolled his eyes at the thought of how long his ride would stay cooped up researching without eating or sleeping. Twilight smiled up at his glowering expression innocently. The first bump was what alerted Spike of the vanishing kitchen.

"Uh Twilight, I sorted wanted something to eat..." he told her trying to get down only to be glued onto the pony's back by her magic, "Hey, what gives?"

"I wanted to make your day off special," Twilight replied climbing up the next step, "that's why I got the Boyfriend Book. Wanted to practice some new techniques while they were still fresh in my head."

"Oh...well in that case..." Spike slouched into the curve of the back of Twilight's neck and ran his fingers through her mane. She smiled back at him and lifted a brow.

"Oh Opal, please, you must get over it," Fluttershy stroked the cat's fur. The feline was still quite a bit...miffed to say the least. It'd taken at least five or six minutes to finally pry her away from Rainbow Dash's cloud. It didn't help that said pegasus had been antagonizing the poor dear ever since Fluttershy had spotted her. Rainbow'd been pretty much dangling the stuffed toy in the air above Opal's face just out of reach. Each time the cat would get higher, and once or twice it had actually grabbed it, but Rainbow just plucked it away each time.

"Look, we're going back to Rarity's. It'll be nice to finally get back home won't it?" Fluttershy smiled to Opal only to receive a dismissive roll of the eyes. Unbeknown to either of them however lurked a rather threatening figure in the bushes near where Rainbow Dash had taken up residence. Again the blue unicorn was on the prowl. Her eye twitched at the annoyance that came with yet another previous defeat.

"You are not getting away this time..." Trixie growled to herself. Grinning from ear to ear, her horn began to glow causing the cat in Fluttershy's arms to screech and begin going berserk.

"Ah! Opal! What's wrong! Wait, please stop! No! Ah!" were just some of the things that Fluttershy could be heard crying through the cloud of swipes and slashes that the cat tried to attack the person that'd pulled its tail with. Trixie couldn't help but roll across the ground in laughter. The scene was the most pleasant she'd viewed in ages. A stunning victory worthy of her glorious name! That is until she noticed the cloud dying down. Fluttershy was now cradling the comforted Opal Essence in her arms!

"There there," she said softly stroking the cat's fur, "It was probably just the wind or something. Nothing to be too worried about." Joy turned to fury and rage in an instant. She'd been sure that the mad cat would have been more than enough to deal with the timid one! Before she could start up another spell something hit her square in the head. When she got back up she saw a turtle staring at her.

"Best beat it miss showoff," a familiar voice told her. Floating behind her was a rather annoyed looking Rainbow Dash with her hooves crossed across her chest.

"Well if it isn't Rainbow Cras-"

"Heard it before," she cocked a brow, "Bout as funny as an arrow to the knee. Now why don't you stop picking on a pony that can't defend herself and get outta town before we run you out again?" Trixie glared at the pegasus.

"How did you even know I was here?" she muttered.

"I live right up there," Rainbow Dash pointed to a rather hoof-crafted looking batch of clouds, "Not that hard to get a bird's eye view of the situation. Now come on Tank. I think our work here's done. Trixie'll think twice before...what the..." The event that unraveled put a pause on both ponies as they stopped to stare at the book that drifted by...and then another...and another... After about five or six books the parade reach its final participant, but they kept on their journey towards Ponyville.

"Well they are just books," Rainbow Dash shrugged, "No danger there. Come on Tank!" The tortoise lifted into the air by his mechanized propeller and followed the rainbow-maned pegasus towards the clouds leaving the boastful unicorn to contemplate just what had happened.

"Yes! It worked!" were the words that broke Spike from his slumber. He rubbed his face to wipe away the sleepiness as best he could. Something was missing. Twilight wasn't with him! For once since they'd become "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" he'd awoken without her hugging him into submission! Oh thank Celestia! But that probably meant she'd be back to bed in just a little bit. With a sigh, Spike toppled back down in the bed. Might as well get some peaceful sleep while he could.

"This new spell works great!" he heard Twilight squeal from downstairs, "I haven't even read any of these!...hm...maybe if I put a bit more magic into the spell this next time..."

Chapter 10: Wrapped up in Books

Chapter 10: Wrapped Up in Books

Undesirably the sun seeped through the drapes of the library and onto the sleeping form of the dragon that was curled up beneath a lump of sheets and covers on the owner's bed. A few minutes passed and the lump began to shudder and stir.

"Ah, another chapter another waking up," Spike yawned to himself. He cringed upon exiting the clothy domain he'd been covered in. Beams of the celestial star shot right across his eyes blinding him. He didn't need sight to notice however that the same thing that'd been missing the previous time he'd woken up was still gone. Twilight. Knowing he should already be up and hard at work on his chores, the number one assistant felt around for the edge of the bed and dropped down. Instantly he lost his balance on the unsteady floor below and toppled over, bits of it flying up and landing back on him.

"Hold on a sec...this isn't the floor," Spike realized ruffling around the messy pile that littered the dwelling. What he was feeling were a bunch of blocky structures. Curiously he picked one up and brought it close to his face. His vision was finally unblurring.

"This...is a book..." Spike blinked a few times and looked around the room. The entire place was covered in them! Not a single spare space of the floor remained! They practically flooded up to the bed's level!

"Dear Celestia," he grumbled at the thought of having to clean the mess up, "Twilight could've at least gotten Owlowicious to help her...during...the..." Spike's eyes widened even more. It wasn't like Twilight to stay vacant from her room. If anything she holed up in there whenever there was severe studying that needed to be done! Something was wrong! This wasn't a normal Twilight session! As quickly as possible the little dragon waded to the door (he had to admit it was pretty fun to adventure through the obstacles) and flung it open. What he was met with threw him to the ground. Books stacked to the ceiling outside the room collapsed on him.

"What the hay is going on!" he cried, "We don't even have this many books!" Desperately Spike burrowed through the loose terrain. Every minute or so he dug downwards to see where he was. Luckily for him he knew the library's layout without even have to look at it by now. Still, he felt like a mole in a mountain! But he had to find out what was going on! He was Twilight's number one assistant, he couldn't let her down!

"Twilight!" his muffled voice sounded through the pulsing trail he dug, "Twilight! Where are you!" After what seemed like hours the digging finally came to an end. He'd burrowed straight into some sort of hollow chamber in all the madness. Books made the walls and ceiling. And there in the center was Twilight Sparkle, her face buried deep in one of the fiendish nightmares.

"Twilight!" Spike clamored over and shook her, "Twilight! What's going on! Are you alright!" Violently the pony shook her head and looked down at Spike. Her face was a mess to say the least. Her hair sprayed out all over the place and her eyes had deep rings around them. She obviously hadn't gotten any sleep what-so-ever. But her eyes were odd. They were just as alert as they normally were.

"Oh hi Spike..." Twilight replied forming a slow smile as she spoke, "How are you today? Did you know that dragons need to eat gems in order to fuel their fire?"

"..um...yes? I know...I am one...but Twilight wh-"

"And rolling around in their treasure coats them better for defense, much like the Kaleid Ooze collects more magic as a barrier to shell its core sentience. Why in just-"

"Twilight! SHUT UP!" Spike shook her again, this time more viciously, "What is going on! What's with all the books!" The unicorn gave the dragon an odd look as if she didn't understand what he was saying and looked around slowly.

"Books?..." she blinked, "...oh, you mean the house! Oh silly Spikey, I just cast a spell to bring books to the house. Once that worked I brought a copy of all the books ever written here. Now I never have to leave!" Spike backed up a bit from the freaky smile she gave him.

"But uh...what about our...friends?..." Spike gulped.

"What about who now?" Twilight asked him in confusion. Spike's brows bent a bit. Yeah, there was something definitely wrong.

"Oh Spikey, what's wrong?" Twilight sensed his distress and took started walking towards him, his feet countering her's with every step, "We'll have lots of fun here! Just think of the knowledge we'll gather!" With no other exit available, Spike decided to simply burrow into the wall. He had hardly gotten a few centimeter's in before he was yanked back out by his tail and glomped in Twilight's grasp. He shuddered. This wasn't just another Friendship Report gone wrong. No, this was far worse. Her obsessiveness over learning would rule out any simple scroll to the Princess.

"It'll be okay boyfriend," Twilight stroked his spines robotically, her eyes not even on him, "I'll learn everything. And then we can have fun here forever in the world I'll make. You can be king and I can be queen...no, I can be goddess and you can be god! Doesn't that sound like fun?" Spike bit his lower lip with each passing iota of sanity. He had to find some way to snap Twilight out of her delusional fantasies.

"Yeah..." he cringed in agreement, "That'll be just...perfect..."

"So you're telling me that there's some recolor of Spike with a visor and a gasmask wandering around saving you?" Rainbow Dash asked. Happily Fluttershy nodded her head.

"He was so polite and...complimentary," she blushed. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"You realize it's probably just Spike in an outfit right?" the blue pegasus gave her thought. Fluttershy laughed.

"Oh Rainbow Dash, Spike isn't a super hero!" Fluttershy giggled.

"If he was a super hero he'd have Spike as his secret identity," Rainbow Dash told her more timid friend, "And if he had a secret identity you wouldn't know that he was a super hero. Besides, you guys were the Mysterious Mare Do Well once and I couldn't figure that out."

"Yeah, but that's you that couldn't figure it out," Fluttershy waved causing Rainbow Dash's eyes to narrow a bit at the subtle insult.

"Look, I'm just saying that you can't say it isn't Spike. And if it is him you do know that he's dating...dating...bwahahaha!" Rainbow Dash still couldn't get over what Spike had told her after helping to find Tank, "Him...and...and Twilight...they're...HAHA! Oh Celestia make it stop! He could be a comedian!"

"I don't think he'll be much of anything if we don't see him again," Fluttershy whimpered. Rainbow Dash gave her an odd look.

"What the hay are you talking about?" she scratched her head. Instantly her head was yanked towards the scene below. Her jaw dropped. Where Twilight and Spike's tree normally stood was now a tower of books flooding over any spot that a branch might stick out. Gathered around the structure were quite a numerous amount of the residents of Ponyville.

"Atta boy Big Mac!" Applejack cheered as her brother slammed his head into the side of the tower, "You bring that thing down! We need to rescue Spike and Twilight!" Slowly the pegasi drifted down and landed next to the Earth pony. Fluttershy tried her best to hide behind Rainbow Dash. The structure, though not alive, was rather scary from its sheer height alone. The fact that Big Macintosh's tackles were causing it to wobble didn't help at all. But the other ponies that were gathered were joining in the cheers.

"You get em bucko! Show em how we bring da pain!" Granny Smith yelled.

"Anyone done an aerial view yet?" Rainbow Dash asked. To her dismay Applejack nodded.

"Covered all the way to the roof, and just as sturdy up there..." she sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, despite her brother's efforts, nothing was happening. The most that would happen is a ripple or two would vibrate across the firm tower and dissipate into nothing.

"I'm sure a Sonic Rainboom-"

"Would blow out every window from here to Canterlot?" the mayor finished. Rainbow Dash gave a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of her head. Another wave swam across the books.

"Well we can't just do nothing...they're our friends..." Fluttershy cautiously suggested hoping that the tower wouldn't smite her for giving the idea. Applejack rubbed her chin and glanced at the place where Big Macintosh had hit. Each time it formed a small crack. Just big enough for somepony to be able to slip in... A grin crossed her face.

The young purple dragon stood amidst a vast meadow. The sky was crystal clear with the various shapes of clouds occasionally dousing the land in shadow as they floated gently by on the currents of the wind along with a few cherry blossoms. The scene was like something out of a dream. To make sure it wasn't one Spike knelt down and dug into the earth beneath him. It pulled from the crust just like real dirt as well as trickled through his fingers upon breaking apart. The world was real. The place he was in actually existed. It was...unbelievable. What had been nothing but endless piles of books that morning were now trees and grass and wind and clouds and land...life...

"It is beautiful is it not god?" Twilight's voice giggled. Spike jumped at the sudden manifestation of his friend. Now standing beside him was Twilight. But not her normal self. Instead she wore the hat that she had when she'd taken up her costume of Star Swirl the Bearded on Nightmare Night. Over her body was a rather long cloak. Not even her back legs could be seen. And her eyes...if nothing else Spike could now see the veins getting pretty red on them.

"Is there anything you want my god?" she giggled again as she rubbed her cheek against his. Spike blushed.

"Um...a jewel would be nice..." he suggested. A moment later gems and rubies literally started climbing towards the sky in front of him. They just simply began appearing on the ground! Spike couldn't contain himself. Instinctively he dove into the pile and started swimming around, the shiny delectables flooding his mouth the further in he swam. After a good five minutes he popped back out the top and his eyes practically fell out of his head. He was in space. He didn't want to look down but he had to be sure. Yep...he'd swum up to outer space with the land far far below.

"Anything else?" Twilight's voice asked. Spike looked to the side. There was Twilight with her cloak now stretching down to the world below as it lifted her to his height.

"Twilight...we're...still in the tree right?...I mean...how did you..."

"Books Spike!" Twilight laughed picking up the dragon and pulling him to her chest firmly. The scenery melted around them as she spoke revealing the piles and piles of literature that had cloaked the dwelling before he'd been thrust into the world Twilight had made.

"Spells and spells and knowledge! All of it mine to create the world that I see fit! The ultimate experiment and ultimate way of finding out just how everything works! We no longer have to age for any reason. No longer have to eat or sleep if we don't want to. Just a world all for us! Whatever we want at our whim!" Spike could've sworn he saw Twilight's eyes glowing redder the more engrossed she got in the whole concept.

"Um...but what about our friends?..." Spike gulped. One of Twilight's ears flapped at the word.

"...what's a friend?..." she asked. Slowly Spike tried to push away from the crazed pony only to be pulled back to her chest full force.

"Um...like me?..."

"Oh Spikey I'll always love you!" she nuzzled into the top of his head gleefully.

"...and uh...I'll love you...but what about the others? Like Applejack? Rarity? Rainbow Dash? Flutt-"

"Oh those pests?" Twilight scoffed, "Don't worry I've been making sure they can't get in. And that stupid brother of Applejack's certainly isn't getting in. I had our world fling him into another pony's house a little while ago." Spike violently fought to get loose from the unicorn upon discovery the revelation. He had to get out! If nothing else he had to help the others! He certainly wasn't going to be able to last even if he was essential to keeping Twilight in check. But her grip was unbreakable.

"Oh Spikey..." Twilight cuddled Spike robotically, "It'll be so fun. We'll be here togther...forever..."

"Um...what's going on out there?" Fluttershy quivered. She'd hardly moved an inch since being forced into the situation, "And um...why am I the one that was chosen to go inside?..."

"For comedic effect darling," Rarity's voice sounded from her communicator, "Why the viewers will just die from laughter once they see that you of all ponies are the one we sent in!" The answer only made Fluttershy die a little more inside.

"I thought I heard a loud bang..." her voice quivered.

"Ah don't you worry none," Applejack told her, "That was just ol' Macintosh. The tower finally got tired of him once he made a hole so you could get in. Somehow a large hand formed from the wall and slammed him into somepony's house. But not to fear. It'll take more than a few lousy books to keep my brother down. Ain't that right big Mac?"

"Eyow!" he yelped.

"Oops, er, sorry. Hehe."

"Look, just ignore everypony here and find Twilight and Spike!" Rainbow Dash barked, "Why didn't you guys let me do it?"

"You'd be liable to destroy Spike and Twilight's home?" Rarity suggested earning a groan from Rainbow Dash's voice. After being reminded what was at stake, Fluttershy took a few deep breaths and started again to crawl through the eternal tunnels of books. She never thought she'd ever be scared by simple stories, especially not in Twilight's home...but she was. The books themselves felt alive...and watchful. The pegasus could feel thousands of invisible eyes staring her down. Daring her to take another hoof forward. She'd felt the presence ever since she saw the newly decorated dwelling.

"G-guys?..." Fluttershy stopped to check up on them again. They were still caught up in their arguments. With a sigh Fluttershy clicked the communicator off and laid still to regain her composure before continuing. She forced her eyes shut to gather her concentration. Fluttershy wished she hadn't. That moment is when she realized just how correct she'd been in her belief that the books were alive. Though it was slow, almost nonexistent to a pony that wasn't observing, she could feel them. The books. They moved...they pulsed...they were actually flowing in a pattern. It was like they were veins being pumped...from a heartbeat...

Scared to death, the pegasus did the first thing that came to her mind. She dug. Frantically Fluttershy tore through the books faster than any evacuation she'd ever made in her life. She needed to find an exit! Simply staring at the foreboding structure from the outside had been far more than enough for her; but to be forced into the ungodly abomination? It was worse than any cave she'd ever glimpsed at, any dragon she'd ever been afraid of! She was actually inside a living entity! And in the desperation she'd left her communicator in the streaming passageways.

"RAINBOW DASH!" she cried once she'd noticed the communicator's absence, "APPLEJACK! TWILIGHT! RARITY! PINKIE PIE!-" "Hi Fluttershy, bye Fluttershy!" "-SPIKE! SCOOTALOO! OH DEAR CELESTIA! SOMEPONY HELP ME!" She didn't know whether it was from the atmosphere of the unholy realm or her own panic but Fluttershy could feel her tears flooding out of her eyes forming a trail behind her. She knew the books could hear her and see her. They had to!

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Fluttershy cried burrowing ever further through the bound pieces of literature.

"-ike!.." the purple dragon lifted his head from the citizens of Twilight's manufactured castle that had taken to worshiping him. Someone had said his name. Somepony had said his name...a normally timid voice... If nothing else it'd broken him out of the hypnotic spell of Twilight's world. It took all of his effort and concentration to keep from losing himself to the artificial realm that Twilight had created. And Twilight noticed.

"Is there something wrong my majesty?" she chimed moving over to him and rubbing her cheek against his, "You have all the riches a dragon could ever want, as well as a fanclub larger than an entire city! Though it is interesting to see its effects on you, which I shall take note of, I thought you would be happy." As she spoke a book materialized next to her which her magic scribbled her research down in. Spike clenched his eyes shut. He needed to focus.

"Spikey?" Twilight asked more sincerely. He couldn't help but look at the unicorn. Sure she still retained the chaos beneath the surface that she'd displayed before, but Twilight was still there. It wasn't enough to distract him however.

"Fluttershy," he spoke. Twilight's brow lifted at the name. It seemed so distant to her.

"What's a-"

"Our friend," Spike cut her off, "I heard her. You remember we had friends right?"

"Oh that parasite?" Twilight chuckled nonchalantly earning a rather shocked expression from the dragon, "Don't worry, the antibodies are taking care of her."

"An...antibodies?..." Spike gulped. Pleasantly Twilight nodded her head.

"Gotta have some way to keep the unworthy out of this world," Twilight figured. Spike bit his lower lip.

"Fluttershy?...darling are you there?..." Rarity tapped the communicator hesitantly. It'd been four minutes since they'd noticed they were no longer receiving complaints or excuses from the shy pegasus. And since then nothing had responded from the other end of the communicator.

"That's it! I am going in!" Rainbow Dash growled and began to rear up. Applejack tackled Rarity out of the way just in time for Rainbow Dash to charge through where she had been...and smash head-first into the sturdy wall of books.

"Did I win Spitfire?..." Rainbow Dash's eyes rolled around in her head after falling back to the ground. Applejack cringed at the near-unconscious state that Rainbow Dash had bestowed upon herself.

"Oh it should have been me that went in," Rarity declared dramatically, "Why if anything happens to the poor dear I don't know wha-"

"Well Rainbow Dash there just made a mighty fine hole. We could probably slip you in so you could look for-"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Rarity cried. Upon realize what she'd just said she'd clamped her mouth shut and her cheeks started to redden. The stares of the crowd around her just worsened the coloring.

"That fortunately shall not be needed," a bright light declared turning all the inhabitants of Ponyville's heads to the sky. Some draws dropped and others rubbed their eyes to make sure they weren't hallucinating. Floating in the air above was none other than the alicorn Celestia.

"We have come to free thy great and mighty Twilight!" Luna announced drifting down next to her sister.

"...guess the cavalry's arrived," Applejack rubbed the back of her head.

With a crash the screaming pegasus collapsed onto the ground in front of the dragon and unicorn. Spike blinked a few times and leapt onto her.

"FLUTTERSHY!" he exclaimed covering her in desperate kisses and hugs, "Oh thank Celestia you came! I-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!" Noticing the clinging being as well, Fluttershy let out a shriek and began shaking like crazy. Eventually it flew off and landed on the ground in front of them. It looked like some bizarre lump of matter that'd been formed from broken down paper. Its steps were even odder. Instead of walking like a normal being, legs shot out of the front and retracted once the limb's stepping cycle was complete. Fluttershy put her hooves over her head when it finally made its leap, but it never touched her. Instead it crumbled into nothing from a puff of green fire.

"You're welcome," Spike patted the scared pegasus who squeezed him in a tight hug.

"Oh Spike we were all so worried about you and Twilight!" she pouted, "and they forced me in here for comedic effect and I heard the books having a heartbeat and crawled all over and-and-I'm so happy I finally found you two! Now come on, let's get out of this...paradise?..." Fluttershy finally noticed the landscape before them. It was like nothing she'd ever seen before. The very definition of beauty. The sun gleaming across the clean land...it was unreal.

"Yeah...that's the thing..." Spike rubbed his arm in nervousness, "Twilight here sorta...made this world...and uh...doesn't want to leave..." Fluttershy's mouth shrunk and she turned to Twilight. Neither of them had been paying any attention to her. Nor did they want to when they finally did. She was just staring at the pegasus.

"You shouldn't have been able to make it past the antibodies," Twilight muttered and conjured up her book to scribble in, "I will have to make adjustments to them I guess. But other than test data you're of no use. I'm going to have to expunge you from the system myself I guess."

"Ex...expunge?" Fluttershy quivered. With a nod, Twilight started walking towards the frightened intruder, her horn glowing brightly. On her face there was no emotion what-so-ever. She was like a robot.

"B-but Twi-twilight, I c-c-came to rescue you g-g...oh dear..." Fluttershy began backing up once the dangerous pony had entered a perimeter of about five feet from her. Her path was halted however when a large page from a book shot up out of the ground and planted itself firmly in back of her.

"...Twilight...please don't..." Fluttershy cringed. The unicorn just continued her walk. That is, she did continue until another figure entered her field of vision. Firmly, Spike put his foot down in front of the advancing purple pony and folded his arms over his chest. Twilight blinked and tried to walk around only for him to step to the side as well.

"Spike, please move," she politely commanded.

"No." Again Twilight blinked.

"Spik-"

"Twilight Sparkle, this is our friend. Fluttershy," Spike grabbed the unicorn's ears and yanked her face towards the timid one. For about half a minute she studied the pegasus. And she did have to admit, something in the back of her mind was scraping at her subconscious about the shuddering form.

"Remember?" Spike urged. Twilight's eye twitched a bit.

"I...I...Flutter..." Twilight's mind spasmed. Unfortunately the reminiscing didn't last. All of a sudden a loud crash sounded and the world around the trio rippled. Spike and Fluttershy instinctively looked at Twilight for an explanation as to what had just happened. The unicorn however had quite an expression on her face. In an instant her emotion had shifted from researching to a sharp glare that could probably slice a tree trunk in half.

"More interference..." Twilight hissed. To the surprise of both Spike and Fluttershy, Twilight simply melted into the ground before them.

"Must delete errors," her voice sounded around them as the scenery continued to shift, "All not fit for this world are errors. This is the world, their's is flawed." Spike and Fluttershy gave each other a worried look. What was once paradise had shifted back into what it should have been. Stacks of books piled to the ceiling, now whirling around them and forming something entirely new.

"Thou shalt not best thee!" Luna exclaimed letting loose another barrage of energy from her horn at the tower. Again it shook. Her sister too gave another shot. Little by little the alicorns were chipping away at the structure. It seemed like it finally was going to give way when something entirely unexpected happened. What seemed to be the form collapsing was actually it changing. It was transforming! Gasps came from the crowd below as the ponies around the dwelling scattered into the streets of Ponyville. Hastily Applejack and Rarity pulled Rainbow Dash to the sidelines.

"Why yes Soarin', I'd be happy to accept the trophy of coolest pony in the land," Rainbow Dash dreamily drolled. Applejack rolled her eyes. When she looked back up the structure had finally stopped shaking. And her eyes nearly fell out of her head.

"Twilight Sparkle?" Princess Celestia and Princess Luna said in disbelief. Looking back at them was now the head of Celestia's best student, the books of the structure having melded together to present the figure.

"You are an enemy," Twilight's voice declared. Her horn began to glow.

"Die." Mainly from shock, the blast that she sent at Celestia knocked the sacred being to the ground. Swiftly her sister dodged through the various beams that projected and launched a vicious counter of her own.

"Thou shalt not raise her horn to-yah!" the nighttime sister cried from the projectile she received. Only when they'd confronted something near Discord's level had she even come close to feeling that kind of force!

"Sister...though I hate to say I think that we might need some help..." Luna said quietly landing next to the white alicorn.

"You alicorns are to be eliminated," Twilight's voice boomed throughout the organic setting. Though Fluttershy had been scared into submission, Spike took full notice of what was being said.

"Alicorns?..." he repeated quietly to himself, "She couldn't be...Twilight! There is no way you're taking on Celestia and Luna!" Another tremor rippled through the odd organ that he was standing on. He hurried off as liquid started to seep out of it.

"Spike!" Fluttershy yelped. Turning around, the dragon could see some cocoon-like strings beginning to form around the pegasus. With as much force as he could he pulled against them, but they were just forming too fast. With every strand he pulled away, ten or twenty more wrapped around her!

"Twilight! This has to stop!" Spike shouted still giving his attempt to free the whimpering pony, "You can't kill our friends!"

"I would never dispose of you Spikey," the voice replied calmly, "You are not an error. You are my number one assistant. You've been with me when no one else was."

"I'm talking about Fluttershy here! And Rarity, and Apple...wait a second..." an idea popped into Spike's head, "I'm the only one she still considers a friend..which means..." Spike tried to think of something else. He knew that what he'd thought up would more than likely end with him probably worse off than Fluttershy if it went the wrong way.

"Say Twilight, what's the organ in this body that contains the most destructive liquid?" Spike asked. "The Hydrofluoric Gland," Twilight's voice answered.

"And where would that be?" Spike inquired.

"It's to your left."

"Alright," he said walking over to it and getting his claws ready, "You either stop attacking Clesetia and Luna and free Fluttershy and get rid of this world you've made or I will tear this organ open." Spike could feel the presence of his friend pause. He'd at least caused enough of a distraction for something to cause another ripple to shake across the structure he was in.

"Spike, if you open that you'll-"

"I know. You have your decision to make. Stop all this or..." he scraped a claw delicately along the pulsing organ causing it to jiggle. Another tremor vibrated through the body.

"They are our friends...your friends..." he continued hoping he wouldn't have to actually risk tearing the sac open, "Stop attacking them...please..." More ripples shook. Out of the corner of his eye Spike could see the container that had been assimilating Fluttershy into the organic chamber crumbling to pieces. At the same time he also noticed something else. The antibody that had attacked Fluttershy earlier. It was crawling out of the wall...and it wasn't alone.

"Twilight, you're not going to stop me," Spike warned reluctantly. The paper spiders were gaining on him and fast.

"I'll keep you safe," Twilight told him, "The antibodies won't harm you. They'll just keep you so that you can't do anything. You'll be safe...in our world-"

"Your world!" Spike yelled yanking his hand back, "Have fun in it!" He closed his eyes and made his slash into the pulsating structure.

Celestia and Luna looked at each other for a clue as to why Twilight had stopped her assault. A few seconds passed before it made its final movement. All at once the structure rumbled and caved in on itself, the tree underneath poking out through the piles of books that toppled to the ground around it. Once they'd realized that the fight was over Applejack and Rarity rushed into the tree with Rainbow Dash in tow.

"TWILIGHT!" Applejack exclaimed as she burst through the door.

"SPIKE!" Rarity gave her cry.

"Fleetfoot!" Rainbow Dash moaned.

The two mentally stable ponies approached the group slowly. Fluttershy was knelt over a shivering Twilight. She was cradling Spike's body.

"Spike...Spike...I stopped it...you're alright...right?..." the purple unicorn's voice stammered. Once he was sure that the unicorn he'd spent his life with was back grounded in reality he popped his eye open.

"Course I am," he laughed and gave Twilight a hug around the neck, "I knew you'd come to..."

Fluttershy joined in the embrace, simply happy that things were back to normal...well as normal as things got in their town.

"Twilight Sparkle," Princess Celestia said sternly. The unicorn bit her lip at the voice. It took a while for her to actually turn and face the royal alicorn.

"H...hi," she waved with an innocent smile plastered on her face, "I'd uh...like to give my friendship report of the week..."

"Very well," Princess Celestia allowed to her sister's amazement.

"Um...well...first off sorry for all the trouble I caused...but uh, the report...I learned today that you should never get too caught up in something you're interested in...if that makes any sense." To everyone's surprise Celestia let out a small laugh.

"Oh Twilight, that's why I told you to not spend so much time with those books back in Canterlot and make some friends when I sent you here," she informed. Twilight's face reddened as everyone else joined in the relieving chuckle.

"FINALLY!" Apple Bloom exclaimed hugging the other Cutie Mark Crusaders to her, "It's done!"

"Now all I have to do is write up some good prank calls," Scootaloo rubbed her hooves together mischievously.

"And I...gotta get home," Sweetie Belle added. The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at the horizon. None of them had realized how long it'd taken to fix up the phone booth. But somehow or other they'd done it. And boy did it give off an atmosphere like no other.

"Well tomorrow we make our first phone call!" Scootaloo declared.

"Cutie Mark Crusader Prank Phone Callers! YAY!" With that the ponies headed off towards their homes.

Chapter 11: Party Till You Die

Chapter 11: Party Till you Die

"You girls set?" Scootaloo grinned. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom nodded. Determination was ever written on their faces. The winged one of the trio had spent all night thinking up pranks in her head and was raring to put them to use. Eagerly the group piled into the phone booth before them and closed the sliding door. Making sure that it was closed completely Apple Bloom turned to Sweetie Belle and nodded who in turn did the same to Scootaloo. Finally Scootaloo herself nodded and picked up the phone.

"Hey wait!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, "The door won't open back up!" The other two tried to shuffle around a bit in the confined area to see if they were jamming it at all, but to no avail.

"Please speak your-your-your- phone booth malfuncation," the phone told Scootaloo. Apple Bloom shrunk back towards her friends a bit. The outlines of the phone booth had begun to glow a bright shade of blue. Almost white.

"...what?" she asked confused.

"Please hang up and enjoy your ride," it told her. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom hugged each other tightly as the light continued to grow around them blinding the world outside from their view.

"It's finished Gummy!" Pinkie Pie announced happily setting down her drill. The toothless carnivore just blinked at the creation. It'd been way too big to work on in Sugarcube Corner so they'd had to move their operation to Applejack's barn just like they had their previous masterpiece.

"So this is it?" the recolor of Spike glanced up at the towering mechanoid. The head of it had on the cheeks of it like he did. The muzzle however was more ponyish-shaped. Unlike any species he'd seen though there were no front appendages. Just a pair of back legs. The tail at the end seemed to balance the weight and keep it upright as did the horn that jutted out the forehead between the optical units.

"Everyone's sure to love it!" Pinkie giggled practically teleporting to the machine's computer with how fast she dashed over to it, "Oh OC you'll just love it. Everyone will! Parties forever!" With a cackling glee the cotton candy colored pony rubbed her hooves together and began rapping them across the keys of computer. Anything she could think of was being inputted into the being's processor.

"Now then..." she paused for a moment to open the book she'd borrowed from Twilight, "Let's see here...the optics seem to be fine and the offense system looks to be functioning at optimum capacity..."

"Are you sure you should be doing this?" OC asked. There was no worry in his voice. If worst came to worst he could probably interfere. But as of then he was just looking up at the figure with his arms folded over his chest.

"Oh OC, you know how good my inventions turn out," Pinkie Pie waved away the concern the rhythm she played the keyboard. The apparently technical musician was interrupted a moment later from something else. This time it was the growling of her stomach.

"Alright ponies-" "One of us is an alligator and the other is a recolor of the only main male character in the show who's a dragon." "-take five. It's snack time!" Eagerly Pinkie Pie pranced off to Applejack's kitchen being sure to snatch up Gummy along the way. OC gave one last look up at the unmoving behemoth before taking his leave.

In the silent chamber the mechanoid's optics gave off a faint glow and one of its servos twitched.

"...what the hay just happened?" Sweetie Belle broke the silence. The light had died down almost as quickly as it had engulfed them. And next to the phone booth was the tree that their club house sat in. Only it wasn't how they remembered. No, what they now saw was no more than a small sapling...drenched in chocolate... Cautiously the three fillies got out. There was definitely an unnerving atmosphere in the air. One of chaos. But they needed to find out what had happened. Why was the tree now younger? Why were there clouds of cotton candy floating...across...the...sky...

"Um...girls..." Apple Bloom gawked.

"We see..." Scootaloo stared as well. The entire landscape was screwed up! Chunks of land drifted through the sky while pigs flew by. Buffaloes tapped danced across the horizon. Fountains of ginger ale shot up out of the ground in spurts. It was complete chaos.

"I don't think we're all that fit to be Cutie Mark Crusader Prank Callers..." Apple Bloom remarked.

"Yeah...probably not..." Sweetie Belle agreed, "Though things would probably still be normal if we didn't try to fix up the phone booth in the first place." Scootaloo grumbled.

"Yeah, and we also would have never gotten the chance to make prank calls," she reminded.

"We still don't have one!" Apple Bloom told her, "And now we're stuck in this weird world! Way to go!"

"Hey, it's not my fault that you guys suck at repairing phone booths!" Scootaloo growled. The Cutie Mark Crusaders shot death glares at each other.

"We shouldn't have even taken Dr. Hooves booth thingy!" Apple Bloom yelled.

"If we didn't then we would be able to prank phone-"

"We still can't!" Sweetie Belle reminded, "And cause of your insistence on that juvenile activity you've royally screwed up the world!"

"Oh so it's my fault!" Scootaloo spat.

"YES!" the other two yelled. With one last growl between them the Cutie Mark Crusaders leapt at each other's throats and whirled up a cloud of dust in their furious punches and kicks and swipes. They broke their way through the various obstacles of the land as the cloud of limbs and pained expressions toppled across it. Finally they did come to something that wouldn't get tossed aside or break. With suddens "oofs" sounding from their mouths, the Cutie Mark Crusaders splattered onto the face of a large wall they'd come to. Hastily they shook off the dizziness that came with the activity they'd partaken in and growled at each once more. Before they were able to meet though two hands slipped down between them bringing them all to a halt.

"Now while I'd love to see you young ponies rip each other to pieces, how's about you tell me what's bothering you?" the chimerian creature suggested with the rest of him floating down between them. The fillies' eyes went wide. A calm smile crossed the Draconequus' face.

"Don't worry, I got time," Discord assured them.

"Boy was that yummy!" Pinkie Pie pranced into the barn with Gummy on her head. OC trailed slowly behind them. He wondered just how long it would take for the cheerful creature to notice just what had happened in the personal laboratory.

"You gotta agree, Applejack's family certainly knows how to make a mean pie," Pinkie Pie licked her lips in honor of the crusted delight.

"Indeed..." the red Spike-like figure agreed, more to keep up the illusion that everything was alright than actually to be a part of the energetic pony's conversation. She truly was uncontrollably brimming with joy. As long as she had party plans in her head for her friends, there didn't seem to be a way to get Pinkie Pie down. And the Cakes were normally more than happy to help with her tendencies. With her latest project especially there'd be quite the advancement in her ordeals...at least that was the idea...

"Don't worry guys we'll have more later, but for now we have to get back to putting the finishing touches on PARM!" Pinkie Pie's grin faded after a few seconds of staring at her creation's computer.

"Um...OC, do you know what Flagrant System Error means?" she asked the assistant.

"I'm guessing that," the dragonic being answered pointing to the wall of the barn. Embedded through its frame was a hole in the shape of the now missing mechanoid that the computer should have been attached to. Pinkie Pie blinked a few times trying to comprehend what had happened while they were having their snack break.

"Oh!" she eventually giggled, "Silly me! I accidentally hit the "Start" button before we left!" OC shook his head while Pinkie Pie's giggling started to subside.

"Oh...wait...this is probably not a good easy to fix thing is it?..."

"I'll get the car ready..." OC sighed.

"Thank you Hasbro Merchandise-Driven media!" Pinkie Pie cheered following the red and black hero to the door of the barn.

"I see I see..." Discord stroked his beard. Leisurely he rolled back and forth on the comfy chair he was sitting in, notepad in the other hand. The Cutie Mark Crusaders meanwhile sat aloft a large couch.

"And that's when you ended up here...after I'd been vanquished by some other ponies you say?" he eyed the fillies. They nodded their heads rapidly. "And I had something around my neck that revived me by sucking out the life of the land...would it just so happen to look like this?" The three ponies' eyes widened as the chaotic entity produced a rather familiar object. It was the M-shaped thing that his statue had been wearing on its neck! Instinctively the younger beings huddled back in the couch and nodded their heads. Discord smiled and walked over to them.

"Well then here," he presented placing the object in front of them. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo hugged each other in fear. None of them wanted to get anywhere near the object. Discord just continued smiling at the trio until they realized that nothing was happening. They weren't loosing energy or fainting or anything from the malicious symbol. Cautiously Apple Bloom poked it and squeezed back between her friends in case the actions were to spell her doom. They weren't. Nothing happened. It simply sat there in front of them. Scootaloo was the one that took note of the odd nature of the monster in front of them.

"Why are you giving this to us?" she questioned.

"So that you may prevent my resurrection of course," he told them. The Cutie Mark Crusaders raised their brows.

"But this here thingy brought you back to life!" Apple Bloom reiterated from what they'd told their temporary psychologist.

"Yeah! And besides, why would you want to destroy yourself if this could?...I mean...are you expecting to be turned to stone again or something?" Discord chuckled at the notion.

"My little ponies, don't you understand anything that's happened to you?" he chuckled. His patients eyed each other and shook their heads.

"You've traveled through time," he explained, "I have NEVER been turned to stone in my entire life, and I certainly haven't had to put up with these "Elements of Harmony" that you've told me about. Therefore I'm giving you a chance to return back to your time period and destroy me before I have a chance to be freed once more!" Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom gasped at the realization. That would certainly explain the tree being younger when they'd first exited the phone booth. Scootaloo on the other hand only grew more confused.

"Hold up...you're saying you want us to destroy you?...why?"

"Oh dear child, I wouldn't expect you to understand this that well, but I'm Discord. Spirit of Chaos. Wouldn't it be chaotic for me to lead to my own end?" he cackled at the thought, "It'd be the ultimate cosmic joke!" Scootaloo gave an odd look to the others and twirled her hoof at the side of her head as she had done when Twilight had offered Smarty Pants to them...only this time she meant it.

"But this brought you back to life in our time period," Sweetie Belle reminded.

"Oh, well this one won't do that," Discord told her picking the fillies up and setting them on the ground in front of the couch. The furniture around them disappeared in puffs of smoke.

"Now run along back to your time machine ya little scamps, I'm expecting some company! And remember, always brush your teeth before bed!" More confused than desiring to do so, the Cutie Mark Crusaders trotted back towards the tree that'd one day hold their club house. Meanwhile two taller shadows approached the draconequus.

"Hello ladies," Discord greeted the alicorns, "Now what did you want to discuss?..."

Bon Bon just barely managed to jump out of the way as the hot pink car whizzed around a corner and sped through Ponyville.

"Move it people! Rescue team coming through!" Pinkie Pie announced through a megaphone, "And if anyone wants this RC Car be ready to fork over 21 97 for it and a godawful looking version of myself! It runs on batteries!" Though it'd be tough for anyone else, OC casually ignored the the pony in the second seat and focused on not running down any of the ones in front of them. He had to keep the pedal pressed to the floor in order to have any hopes of catching up to their target. From what he could see it'd already torn through some houses.

"Hey Pinkie," he interrupted the pony's ramblings, "What exactly did you program into PARM?..."

"Oh you remember I was going to make it use all its offensive capabilities to throw giant parties an-"

"No, I mean what exactly did you get done programming before it got loose?" OC corrected. At this Pinkie Pie put her hoof to her chin in thought.

"Well, I didn't get done programming it to party so it's simply going to target the nearest friend to...use...its offensive...capabilities...oh..."

"Which probably means Rarity or Twilight considering you're not targeted and the others live on the edge of town," OC figured. Leaving a trail of smoke its in wake, the tires of the cheap plastic vehicle screeched into an alleyway to cut through some of the busier streets. If Pinkie Pie hadn't realized just what kind of monster she'd set on the loose she'd still probably be having the time of her life shouting at everyone about inane things while the wind blew through her curls.

"Why again did you essentially create a war machine to party?..." OC wondered aloud.

"To give something to make a plot out of," Pinkie Pie happily answered. OC just sighed.

"Alright, we really need to figure out how to operate this thing," Sweetie Belle grumbled. Where they'd ended up certainly hadn't been the time period they were aiming...nor was it the place they phone booth had been in its previous times. No, now they were in some woods...orange reddish foreboding dead woods. It wasn't until they actually stepped hoof outside the glass chamber that the full effect of the environment hit them. The air was filled with smoke and death. Apple Bloom hacked in her attempts to breathe. As calmly as possible the fillies trotted through the woods until they got to a clearing. That's when a light shone from the sky above causing them to look up. Streaks of blue and white danced and collided with another, more lanky figure illuminating the smoldering world below with each connection they made. But what really caught Scootaloo's eye was the thing that laid before them on the ground just a few yards ahead.

"SPIKE!" she cried. Taking notice from her shout, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom hurriedly followed her to the feeble dragon. They all let out separate gasps at the sight. There was Twilight's number one assistant lying on the ground with a dark fluid dripping out of a large wound in his torso. His head was dripping with sweat and his coloring was rather pale. His breath came in short shuddering gasps.

"Spike...girls, we need to get him some help," Scootaloo said. It took her shaking the others to get their minds working again and comprehending what she had told them.

"R...right..." Sweetie Belle agreed slowly.

"We could be Cutie Mark Crusader Dragon Docto-" Scootaloo glared at Apple Bloom and shook her head. This was serious.

"Or...we could just get him to someone that could actually help him..." Apple Bloom more appropriately reasoned in defeat. Sweetie Belle cringed as she and Scootaloo hoisted the young dragon onto their backs causing all sorts of pained moans and such.

"Tw...Twilight..." Spike groaned, fluid leaking out of his mouth as he spoke.

"Come on, the Phone Booth must have brought us here for a reason. It'll be our way to get him somewhere," Scootaloo ordered. Apple Bloom didn't move however...in fact she hadn't even taken part in picking up Spike. Her eyes had remained fixed on something else entirely.

"Apple Bloom, come on. What are you staring...at?..." Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle now saw it as well. At the top of a nearby hill silhouetted by the flames behind it stood a much taller pony. No...a stallion. No pony got THAT tall. But it was unlike any they'd ever laid eyes on. What seemed to be the linings of winglike structures jutted out of its back. It also had a much odder head formation than they'd seen before. Instead of one horn jutting out of the center of the head like any unicorn, this being had two horns at the sides of its head. Two sharp pointed vicious horns. Lastly its eyes had no pupils in them. They just glowed red...blood red..

Seeming to be satisfied with its observation, the abominable entity turned and trotted back down the other side of the hill, its form disappearing in the flames behind it. The fillies only noticed how still they'd been once it was gone. They'd been frozen with fear.

"C-come on...girls..." Scootaloo managed say. Giving shaking nods, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom accompanied her back to the Phone Booth, Spike on their backs.

"Uni...Uni...Twilight...we...you just keep...running...I'll...I got your back..." his voice faded with the vanishing time machine.

"Hey Twilight, where are Oats and Daisies?" Spike asked fishing around for something to make for the purple unicorn.

"Upper cabinet to the left," her voice replied from the upper floor. Had Spike been someone else he'd probably roll his eyes that Twilight knew just where everything was at any given time in the tree...as well as be scared to death when she went crazy if something wasn't in the right place.

"Alright...Oats and Daisies," Spike muttered to himself flinging open the cabinet. He searched all around in the windy chamber but couldn't find the box of cereal until he glanced up.

"Oh, thank you," he said to the giant metal face that had its head busted through the wall in the back of the cabinet and the box in its mouth. Casually the dragon took the box, gave a smile to the mechanical being, and shut the door. He finished getting the meal together for the female of the dwelling and took it up to her room where she was studying about some new form of magic that she'd learned about. It was more in Rarity's field though considering it had more to do with fabric materials and such. After hoisting himself onto the bed, Spike set the bowl down next to Twilight and leaned back on her.

"We have a problem," he told her.

"But I don't get it..." Spike muttered to himself, "Why are we back in Ponyville?...why's Fluttershy alright?..."

"Is she never not alright?" Scootaloo asked piling into the phone booth last.

"Yeah, she's the kindest pony there is," Sweetie Belle happily announced, "She healed your wound up after all." Spike's eyes drifted down to his abdomen. He could still slightly see the area that he'd been run through.

"...Well whatever. Just get me back to where you found me as soon as possible...and why are we in a phone booth?..." the dragon finally noticed the setting he'd been lead into.

"Well HOPEFULLY getting you back to where we found you since you seem to want to go back there so badly," Scootaloo glared at the inside of the phone booth.

"I just hope sis doesn't find out about all those jewels I took," Sweetie Belle cringed at the thought of how the already normally frantic unicorn would react to such a "travesty", "...hey wait a second! I think I know when we are! This must have been when Rarity went crazy blaming Spike for sneaking in and eating all her gems!" Spike blinked and lifted a brow while realization dawned on the other fillies as well. Sweetie Belle had made sure to tell them about the whole ordeal when it had happened.

"What do you mean "when" we are?..." the dragon asked skeptically. Before anyone could explain they were encompassed in a white light. A moment later they'd appeared behind Sugarcube Corner.

"...how did we get here?..." was the question that Spike now gave.

"No idea, I was pretty sure it'd take us back where you needed to go since we got you all fixed up..." Scootaloo admitted, "But while we're here how's about we stop in for a treat?"

"We don't have time for this!" Spike pleaded, "I need to get back and help Twilight and the others, NOW!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at each other and laughed. Spike's cheeks reddened with anger.

"This isn't something to laugh about!" he insisted.

"Oh Spike, we gots all the time in Equestria with this here booth," Apple Bloom wrapped an arm around his neck causing the others to nod.

"Yeah, it's a time machine!" Sweetie Belle added. Spike took a step back upon receiving the information. It wasn't possible to travel through time, especially not for three young fillies to. But...that would explain Sweetie Belle talking about how her sister had accused him of eating all of her gems earlier...and how come the world he was now in wasn't in the danger that he knew it to be in his time period. There hadn't been any talk of the horror that'd been unleashed or burning villages or anything of the sort.

"Well...I guess I could go for a scoop of ice cream..." he admitted.

"Oh fiddlesticks, that's another failure. Maybe I need a bigger reptile than Gummy for my cyborg project," Pinkie Pie's voice muttered. The dragon and fillies turned to look at the newcomer. The normally cheerful pony was carry a small limp bag which she casually tossed into a trashcan. That's when she noticed the others in the back of Sugarcube Corner. Her eyes seemed to light up as they set on Spike.

"Hey Pinkie Pie, could we get something to munch on?" Apple Bloom asked. A grin spread across the older pony's face.

"If I can use Spike for something, you four can have all the treats you want..."

"What does it want!" Twilight cried. Her chest heaved up and down with each gasp she took. After what had seemed like hours, she and Spike had finally lost the giant robot that had taken to assaulting them with all manner of weaponry. Luckily they'd managed to get it away from their house, but that didn't stop it from tearing through quite a few other buildings in the chase. Everywhere they went it had easily climbed across its obstacles to pursue them. They didn't know how, but eventually they had managed to hide.

"We need to get a letter to Celestia, ask her for help or something!" Spike shook the trembling pony. Twilight's eyes widened and her mouth stretched a bit.

"We can't do that!"

"Why not? We never do and we usually should! Things would go so much easier for us if she came and saved the day more often!" Spike pressed.

"But if she comes she'll think I can't handle this life in Ponyville! I'll be pulled back to Canterlot where she'll lock me up in a padded cell so that I don't get hurt and my parents will have to come and hoof-feed me food or you will since I'll be tied up in a straight jacket. And I'll never see our friends again and-"

"Alright, not calling the princess," Spike gave up being sure to place a hand over the overreacting unicorn's mouth, "But if we can't get her help what can we do?" Twilight gave a few quick breaths and closed her eyes. It was the only way she could getting any thinking done under the circumstances she was in. She needed to block everything out. If she could just get a spell together that could rust something very quick or dismantle machinery then she figured they'd have the problem solved. Before the idea could develop any further however a scream echoed through Ponyville.

"RARITY!" Spike and Twilight exclaimed. Instantly, Spike hopped onto Twilight's back and off they dashed towards the Carousel Boutique. It only took a few minutes to navigate the panicked crowds that swarmed for shelter in the nearest buildings they could find. Upon reaching their destination though, the dragon and unicorn wondered if they should have followed the example set by the citizens. Standing in front of the boutique firing all manners of exploding rockets and lasers at it was the titanic metal beast that they'd escaped from only a short while before. Except now its attacks seemed to be focused on the cowering white pony behind the boutique. She saw them the moment they approached but waved for them to stay back.

"We gotta help her!" Spike pulled on Twilight's hair causing her to give a rather annoyed expression. Before either of them could think of something a new object appeared in the street. In just a split second a hot pink car had streaked in front of them and screeched to halt.

"Hi guys!" Pinkie Pie greeted.

"Pinkie, we know you're crazy, but you have to get out of here!" Twilight told her.

"If we leave how do you plan to stop that thing?" OC asked. Twilight and Spike remained silent for a spell. Not because of the question but because of who had asked it. Neither of them had ever seen the black and red being before in their lives and his form bore quite the uncanny resemblance to the dragon that rode atop Twilight.

"If you don't have an answer then I suggest you all stay back," OC told them.

"See ya in a min-"

"Get out Pinkie Pie," he ordered sternly. Pinkie Pie blinked before taking Gummy and hopping out next to Twilight and Spike. "Okie Dokie Loki!"

Being sure to wave to the cheerful Earth pony, OC pressed his foot as hard as he could against the pedal. In seconds houses became blurs as he sped passed them. He didn't need to look back at the two characters next to Pinkie Pie to know the kinds of shocked expressions they were giving to his actions. But if there was anyone that could take down this kind of threat it was him. And he wasn't about to let one of Pinkie Pie's friends get hurt if he could do anything to stop the ordeal. The wind now began to cloud his visor with how cold it was getting due to his speed, but he only got faster. Just as he was within about seven feet of the tall mechanoid, OC finally launched himself out of the vehicle and onto the robot himself leaving the car to smash into its foot.

Its attack was delayed for quite a bit as it looked down at its now burning servo. OC fortunately had crawled around under its belly and flipped up onto its back on the other side. After a while, the robot simply flopped its foot around to create wind to extinguish the flames and turned its attention back to Rarity who had now taken shelter behind her friends.

"Um...guys..." Spike's eyes grew wide as the creature opened its mouth. Clenching her's shut, Twilight hugged him to her and prepared for the worst. Seconds passed and nothing happened causing her to peak up at the beast. OC was wrestling with its neck to keep it from firing. Fed up with the little assailant, the mechanical being snapped its head back flinging him into the air and slammed its tail into him. Just as he hit the wall of a nearby building though, OC launched himself off of it and did something that neither Twilight nor Spike would have expected. As he flew through the air his arms split open revealing two large cannons that unfolded at his elbows. It was to no avail however as the larger opponent spotted the firearms and opened its mouth firing multiple rockets at him before he could even get a shot off.

"Hey PARM, deactivate please," Pinkie Pie politely commanded. The sizzling hero looked up at the now lifeless robot and groaned. Of course he had to be helping the one pony that made no sense in her reasoning...

"This is awesome!" Sweetie Belle hopped around happily, "We have our own time machine!"

"I personally never want to see this thing again," Scootaloo glared at it, "ugh, there it is...this day has caused me nothing but one big headache!"

"But it was fun!" Apple Bloom agreed with Sweetie Belle, "You know, if you count out the part where we had to take Spike back to his flaming land time period and all that. And where we put the thingy on Discord's statue's neck..."

"Yeah...guess we're the ones that caused him to reawaken in the forest. At least things turned out alright in the end though right?...but I don't think I'll ever get the image of that two horned pony thing out of my head," Sweetie Belle shuddered at the thought of the monster, "I don't see why Spike would want to go back there...speaking of which, when was there? Sis has never talked about Spike getting a big hole in his body before."

"And Spike never has mentioned it either..." Apple Bloom rubbed her chin.

"Oh enough of this crap! I am going home! And if either of you two mention time travel tomorrow you can bet your hooves that I'm gonna bash your faces in!" Scootaloo yelled and stomped off trying to get the headache off her mind.

"So this PARM thing...it stands for-"

"Party Animal Robot Mechanoid," Pinkie Pie answered Rarity, "I poured all the latest tech into it. But it got loose before I programmed it to party so it just went on a rampage trying to target you guys with its party weapons. Would've probably also gone for Fluttershy had it gotten to the outskirts of town. But luckily we have OC here to thank for helping to take that thing down!" The hyperactive pony thumped the battered hero rapidly on the back causing him to fall over when he swung the other way.

"Who are you anyway?" Spike finally asked, "I mean you look like...well...me. Except you got a visor and gas-mask and stuff." The recolor grumbled something incoherent from the ground.

"I'm sorry what?"

"I'm just some guy trying to protect people," he muttered lifting his head up, "Obviously it comes with some consequences...which would not have happened had miss cupcakes here decided to shut PARM down herself earlier."

"Speaking of the name, I've been thinking. Isn't that a bit redundant? Robot Mechanoid?" Twilight intervened.

"Oh Twilight, that's not how you spell retard," Pinkie Pie giggled tossing the book she'd borrowed the other day onto the more intellectual pony's back. Twilight was about to explain what exactly she had said but decided against it. They all had quite the confusion from the pink one already. Adding more would just be unneeded torture.

"So darling, what um...do you plan to do with this mechanical monstrosity now?..." Rarity asked daring to step over to the titan. It stared down at her lifelessly making her quiver a bit.

"Well, I've decided that animals like this need to be free!" Pinkie Pie declared sternly with a hint of despair entering her voice, "And though I cherish it as any parent would their child, it longs for the open air and independence that comes with growing up. Of course it can come visit anytime, but what it needs is to make its own decisions and choices. To experience life as we have in the more rebellious times of our youth. So I'm setting it free." No one was spared in the strange looks that were given to Pinkie Pie.

"...it's a robot..." Twilight reminded.

"And robots shouldn't be restricted by the rules their parents set," Pinkie Pie sighed, "So PARM, reactivate and erase targets. Go live the life you need to!" Everyone let out their own respective cries and leapt back as the mechanized creation snapped back to life and looked around. After giving a final look to its creator it bounded off through Ponyville and into the Everfree Forest.

"...well...hope Zecora'll be okay..." Twilight muttered.

Chapter 12: Excuse Plots

"Oh that Pinkie Pie..." Applejack grumbled. After hearing about what had happened the day before, the earth pony knew that it'd take quite the cleaning up to fix the damage that that little "project" of her's had done to the barn. All Applejack could do was shake her head and head for the broom closet. Needed to start somewhere after all.

"Why shoot..." she muttered thrusting open the door and clutching the cleaning device between her teeth, "back when I rowdied up the apples in here I done didn't make nowhere near this kinda cotastrophe." It took what was seeming like hours to the dedicated individual, but Applejack knew there was probably no way that the pony that had caused the calamity would pick up...or probably even notice the mess to begin with. That was just a normal thing to Pinkie Pie. EVERYTHING, no matter how acceptable or strange, was normal to the mentally unstable one of their group. Of course if she wasn't like that, Applejack doubted Pinkie Pie would probably be anywhere near as much fun, not to mention how less exciting her parties would probably be. But still...it got tiresome sometimes.

"Well fiddlesticks," Applejack finally spat the broom onto the ground, "This ain't going nowhere!" And it certainly wasn't. In all the time she'd spent, Applejack hadn't even fixed up a fraction of the barn. Debris was still cluttered everywhere. If she was gonna get the job done she'd need help. And who she knew just who to get.

"Eh, Rainbow Dash is probably just sleeping on clouds anyhows. If she can take the time to level a barn, she should be able to clean one!" With restored faith of the cleaning, Applejack trotted out the door and traveled off towards the cloud formation that Rainbow Dash and Tank called home. After all, she was the most athletic pony in Ponyville, other than herself of course. The more ponies involved, the faster it'd get done! Meanwhile, back at the barn itself, three fillies popped their heads in.

"I'm tellin' ya, I saw my sister go in here," Apple Bloom told the other crusaders, "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll know just how to fix up the phone booth. It was her club house originally after all, and I did tells ya about how she was trying to make a phone back in the day."

"Yeah, but it's a TIME MACHINE that belonged to Dr. Hooves, not just some phone booth. WAY more intricate and complex," Sweetie Belle reminded.

"Use normal words," Scootaloo groaned at having to try and figure out what exactly the more intellectual one of the group had said. Sweetie Belle just rolled her ways. "Either way, I don't see your sister."

"Sis!" Apple Bloom called. The Cutie Mark Crusaders wandered into the ruined shack that the Apple Family had once called a barn taking care not to step on any of the glass or wood littering the floor.

"Man this place is a mess..." Scootaloo muttered, "Wonder what we've been missing with our adventures...why's there a giant ass computer thingy in your barn?" The young group huddled around the area that Scootaloo was pointing to. Sure enough there was some rather shoddily-put-together high tech equipment inhabiting the windy dwelling. On its screen flashed the words "Flagrant System Error".

"You need to get more modern stuff," Sweetie Belle told Apple Bloom.

"This ain't ours," the yellow one replied just as confused as to why it was in the barn as the others were, "Oh! Maybe it has Ponycraft on it!" Now eager to experiment with their finding the ponies began tapping all manners of buttons on the console's keyboard only enhancing the amount of times the words flashed on the screen.

"This computer's a piece of crap," Scootaloo eventually declared. Giving up as well, Apple Bloom slammed her hoof down on the keyboard in frustration. Suddenly the screen's words disappeared and were replaced with others.

"Welcome back mistress," a male voice scratched out of the makeshift device, "Descent begins in five seconds. Your cupcakes are cooling in the break room as usual. Have a nice day of SCIENCE!" The fillies gave each other odd looks before falling over with the rumbling of the floor. As had been stated, it only took five seconds for whatever was happening to happen. Beneath the hay they stood on the floor began to lower into the ground. The Cutie Mark Crusaders could only watch in awe as they descended into the earth below. The vertical tunnel was decorated with all sorts of lights and party decorations!

"This is incredible!" Scootaloo exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell us about this!"

"I don't even know what THIS is!" Apple Bloom told her just excited to be experiencing the event. The three young ponies ran around the elevator excitedly until it finally came to its stop at the bottom of the shaft. They were just as eager to exit and see what lay beyond. And they stopped. Though the chamber below was just as fun and enjoyable as the trip down had been setting-wise, there was something very wrong with what they now saw. In front of them above the first doorway was a symbol they thought they'd never see again.

"That's..."

"...we see it too..." Scootaloo cut Sweetie Belle off. The symbol that they'd put on the neck of Discord's statue to resurrect him burned into their minds.

"I am telling you, this is THE most important thing that could possibly happen!" Rarity explained as she hurried around the Carousel Boutique leaving Spike and Twilight's eyes to follow her, "Why if Fancy Pants is promoting my elegant designs in Canterlot do you know what this could do for my business? Not to mention that I'm already quite the star there myself and-"

"Yeah...we know how big something can get there," Twilight chuckled with a doubtful smile, "We sorta lived there our whole lives before coming to Ponyville and all..." The information did not delay Rarity in the slightest. She was caught up in her own world scurrying about to find all the materials needed. As for why she'd had the library-duo come over, she needed help with collecting quite a few gems earlier from when her previous batch had mysteriously vanished the day that she'd accused Spike of eating them all.

"Why with your help I could shine across Equestria with my fashion!" Rarity dreamed in her dashes, "I just hope that the designs won't end up too bad. For Canterlot, nay, Fancy Pants, I must give the best of the best! If I don't have his approval I might as well just not even bother! Why, what if he doesn't like the highlights or the gems? What do you two think? Rubies or sapphires? I NEED ANSWERS! SAY SOMETHING!" Twilight just smiled and rolled her eyes at the overreaction that the drama-queen was giving to the situation.

"Anything you design is lovely Rarity..." Spike said a bit too politely earning a lifted brow from the purple unicorn next to him. Though it was met with a bit of disapproval from one, it definitely seemed to give the support that the white one needed. She certainly calmed down a tiny bit if nothing else.

"Why thank you Spikey Wikey," Rarity said giving him a kiss on the forehead. Instantly the baby dragon fell backwards and Twilight's brows furrowed a bit.

"But you don't understand. It NEEDS to be the BEST of the BEST. Oh...if only I had some way to know if he'd like it for su-"

"Rarity," Twilight put a hoof on her friend's shoulder, "Calm down. You've met Fancy Pants. And I know him. He's one of the most popular ponies there is in Canterlot, and with the Princess as your teacher you get to hear things that others don't. He's not that hard to impress. If you're his friend that's enough. Basically he acts as a medium between the common folk and the more...classy ones. He's just as popular as he is because he isn't afraid to be who he is and knows how things work with society there. Whatever you make will be fine." Rarity took a few deep breaths and smiled.

"Thanks," she gave Twilight a hug before helping her yank Spike back to his feet.

"But did you really have to do the kiss thing?" the purple one whispered, "I mean you know how me and him are right now."

"Only cause of the fanfic," Rarity reminded, "And remember how I told you that you'd need some romance rival to keep fans interested."

"Stupid general audience," Twilight muttered.

"So...what do you guys think this place is?..." Sweetie Belle asked. After finally getting over the shock of the symbol they'd seen upon entering the underground complex, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had taken to exploring the place. What they found were rooms and rooms of test tubes and odd large capsules with liquid and such in them. Sometimes they'd find malformed creatures inside that seemed to have been dead. Sometimes there'd just be bubbles floating through the preserving material inside. Whatever was going on down in the mysterious area however had Pinkie Pie written all over it. There were balloons and streamers and bright colors everywhere. And the cafeteria was filled with nothing but sweets and cookies.

"Well, Pinkie Pie does come over every so often...no idea what she could be using this for though," Apple Bloom contemplated, "But did you gals notice something about them there tubes that we passed?"

"Their liquid glows!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"Well yeah, but that's just for dramatic effect probably," Scootaloo added, "What did you see Apple Bloom?"

"Well...some of those creatures that were in them...none of them were breathing..." Apple Bloom stated.

"...uh...duh? They're obviously dead and wouldn't be able to breathe anyhow if they were underwater for that long," Scootaloo said flatly.

"No no, what I mean is I don't think they're entirely...like us."

"I hope not!" Sweetie Belle gulped, "Do you know what Rarity would do if I came home looking like that!" Scootaloo rolled her eyes and decided to sit down at one of the cafeteria tables. Though it was definitely an interesting discovery, she had to admit her legs were get a bit tired from all the trekking through the halls and such.

"What I'm trying to say is I think they need to be turned on," Apple Bloom finally got out as she herself took a seat with Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo looked at her curiously. "I mean think about it. They're all hooked up to that fancy looking equipment in them there rooms. Added to that, in bits that you can see through their skin you can sometimes make out machinery can't ya?"

"So what? They're robots or something underneath their skin?" Scootaloo inquired.

"Or a cyborg!" Sweetie Belle offered causing her friends to grace her with confused looks. Her brows flattened at the reaction. "Things that are part robots and part animals."

"Makes about as much sense as anything Pinkie Pie would do don't ya think?" Apple Bloom responded. After a minute of thinking about it the others had to admit that it wasn't too far of a stretch for the bizarre pink pony. She certainly did have a tendency to provoke things that wouldn't normally happen, no matter what subject it was. Especially considering how she sometimes reacted to her Pinkie Sense and all that.

"Well I'm ready to keep exploring," Sweetie Belle happily hopped to her feet. With a grunt Scootaloo got back to her's as did Apple Bloom. Excitedly they followed the white one into another hallway. It sure beat anything they were planning to do before finding the secret underground facility. Sure time travel was good and all, but finding something that was new was always more invigorating than revisiting something one had already done no matter how incredible. Upon opening the next door however the trio came to a stop as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom bumped into Sweetie Belle's halted form.

"Hey Sweetie, what gives?" Scootaloo growled.

"That," Sweetie Belle told them. Curiously Apple Bloom and Scootaloo peaked out from behind the white unicorn and their eyes widened.

"Seriously Spike, you need to get over this Rarity thing," Twilight told the dragon that rode on her back. Spike shook his head in the mane he'd buried his face in.

"Can't help that she's hot," he replied causing Twilight's teeth to grit a bit.

"Yeah but you can help how you react to her," Twilight muttered almost not loud enough to be heard, "Remember who your girlfriend is."

"Tch, make that self proclaimed girlfriend," Spike added. Twilight's eye twitched and she stopped walking. Spiked poked his head up to see what'd they'd run into. There was nothing in front of them.

"Hey Twilight, what gives?" Spike asked.

"Get down," she ordered. Though surprised by the tone of her voice, Spike did as he was told. "If you like Rarity so much then why don't you just go for her?"

"...I was before you decided to make me be your boyfriend..." Spike reminded. He couldn't see how much Twilight's face was scrunching up. She wasn't used to being bested by the dragon in many of their debates.

"So you admit it then," she huffed.

"...duh?..." Spike flatly replied.

"So I'm not good enough to be a girlfriend, you just want Rarity Rarity Rarity!" Twilight spun around and pressed her face against his. Spike gulped. He could definitely see traces of her insane state behind her eyes.

"Now I didn't say that..."

"But you think that!" she spat digging her face deeper against his, "You think that I'm just no good at all as a girlfriend. Maybe I haven't followed the book well enough or something, but fine. If you love her so much how's about you just run back off to her? After all, who'd want a girl that just spends her life reading? One that actually uses her head!"

"Um...Twilight..." Spike held up a finger in an attempt to interject. He certainly did not like where the conversation was going.

"Nope, you've said all that needs to be said," Twilight glared, "I'll just leave you alone with your precious wittle Wawity..." Now Spike's mood began to sink to her's.

"Alright then, fine," Spike muttered back, "Just forget all the time I've stuck with you or cared enough to stop you from trying to kill the princess and her sister." The glare deepened in the unicorn's stare. She knew that Spike could be quite the competent arguer when he needed to be, but she'd never experienced him remaining so calm under her more angered self. "Seriously...why are you being so jealous?"

"I'm not jealous!" Twilight yelled, "You're just...you can't make up your mind on who you want to be with! And until you do we are through!"

"Wait, what!" Spike yelped, "Twilight, what are you talking about? I still love you and-"

"Like hay you do," she muttered while her horn began to glow, "see you when you bed Rarity." Before Spike could say another word she vanished in a flash of light leaving Spike standing all alone in the street they'd been walking along. He couldn't go to Rarity cause he knew how that'd go over from his previous attempts. And he didn't know where to find Twilight. Spike was all alone.

"...so this place makes mechanical Spikes..." Sweetie Belle deducted. Initially she'd tried to turn away from the glowing capsule that stretched from the floor to the ceiling, but it was just too fascinating to view. Within the illuminated liquid hung an uncanny mimic of the dragon that accompanied Twilight Sparkle anywhere she went. Except for a few things. Other than the cords and wires that connected to its body, parts of its form were missing. One of the eyes and half of the snout of the lizard in particular were the items of focus. Where skin should have been it seemed to have not formed all the way over the areas giving the openings in the body rather torn looks to them revealing the metal skull and skeleton beneath. It was almost scary to look at...but at the same time far too interesting. Like some bizarre art project left unfinished.

"What would Pinkie Pie want with cyborg Spikes?" Scootaloo wondered aloud as she walked around the tube looking the lifeless figure up and down from every angle. One of the spines along the copy's back was ripped. It was like somepony had come and torn apart a highly advanced windup toy of the baby dragon and stuck it in the tube.

"Why's Pinkie Pie want anything she wants?" Apple Bloom countered. Being the first to become bored of the observations they were making, she let out a yawn and slouched over on a nearby console. A second later she and the others jumped from a hiss that sounded from a nearby door. Uknowingly the country filly had pressed against a series of buttons on the console in her laziness activating the entrance. From the opening emanated a rather eerie reddish glow.

"...you go first," Sweetie Belle pushed the orange pegasus in front of her.

"Uh uh, no way!" Scootaloo growled switching places, "No way I'm getting mauled by some deranged Spike wannabe!"

"Guess you ain't nearly as brave as Rainbow Dash then eh?" Apple Bloom goaded. She winked at Sweetie Belle upon hearing the inaudible curses that Scootaloo gave under her breath. She knew she'd regret taking the lead, but somepony had to. And who more qualified than Rainbow Dash's number one fan? Though scared to death inside, the pegasus boldly set foot into the new chamber and ventured in. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom hobbled in close behind her. Other than the glow there was nothing too unusual about the room. It was just another decorated mechanical chamber just like all the others. At least that's how it looked to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Scootaloo was the only one that could see the source of the glow. Right in front of them...

"Oh no..." she muttered causing the others to pop out from behind her and gawk as well. Though it wouldn't have been surprising to see the symbol again after witnessing that it had been the decoration at the very start of the underground facility, this was quite different. Instead of a simple decoration, the symbol that Discord's statue had born was now an actual solid separate entity floating before them and contained within a glass dome on the wall. Thousands upon thousands of cords seemed to be hooked up to the device it was trapped in.

"...alright...why is THAT here?..." Sweetie Belle asked the question that was on all of their minds.

"Thanks for letting me come over..." Spike said quietly.

"Oh it's no trouble at all," Fluttershy assured him. A smile seemed forever hung on the pegasus' small mouth. Spike really did feel bad about coming over uninvited though. He knew how timid and fragile Fluttershy was compared to the other ponies. The perfect contrast to the only other pegasus in their group. But she always seemed so willing around him. He supposed that his first impression must have been quite a good one for the yellow pony. The kind one walked at a calm pace around the interior of her dwelling being sure to help all the critters that holed up in it.

"So um, I know it's not exactly my place to ask," she said quietly taking a seat across from the purple biped and began to twiddle her hooves, "But um...what exactly is wrong...if you don't mind?..." Spike smiled and rocked his head back and forth at the pony's shyness. Eventually he let out a sigh and closed his eyes.

"Twilight sorta...has the impression that I don't think she's good at being a girlfriend or something anymore and stuff," Spike cringed at the memory of how mad his friend had gotten, "I'm pretty sure she's jealous."

"Ah, so the author's run out of material for you and is falling back on the old break-up-but-keep-feelings and probably get-back-together formula to tease the fans enough for them to stay agonizingly interested," Fluttershy summarized.

"Basically," Spike sighed, "But I mean really? This early on? Cause it's not like we're just another generic cartoon. We have interesting characters that can get into interesting situations no matter what point in time. Like right now, Pinkie Pie could just jump out of your pot over there and start up an adventure."

"Good idea!" the pink pony exclaimed doing exactly as Spike had suggested causing Fluttershy to rocket to the ceiling from fright. The dragon smiled. Half of him knew that what he'd said would happen.

"So, what do you have planned?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Well I don't know about plans, but I need to find where OC went!" the crazy pony grabbed the dragon and shook him furiously, "You dragons wouldn't happen to have like cookoo sensing powers to each other would you?"

"N-n-n-o-o-o!" Spike's voice vibrated through the spasms. It took a while for his eyes to stop spinning around in his head once Pinkie Pie had decided instead to yank Fluttershy back to the ground and ask her own slew of animal-related questions to her.

"Why do you need to find him?..." Spike managed get his sight focused back on the insane intruder, "And what is he exactly? He had those two cannons come out of his arms. That ain't normal for my type."

"That's a secret!" Pinkie Pie hissed threateningly backing Spike up a bit into his chair, "No one allowed to be flat-out told! Viewers have to put it together themselves until later in the story!"

"You know, that's the thing I hate about OCs," Spike muttered, more to himself than the others, "They're always "ooo, look at me, I'm so mysterious and can do anything! I'll show up all the main characters and make the competent members of the audience spite me cause of it while the author is oblivious as to where the hate's coming from! I'm so amazing!". I mean really, it's like five sixths of the time the authors won't even try and just make them super things with no personality."

"Oh tell me about it. I mean have you heard of Ebony? I mean dating Draco and Dumbledore kicking ass at a My Chemical Romance concert? I can't make that stuff up!" Pinkie Pie was caught up in a fit of laughter from the example she gave, "Dumbledore...My Chemical Romance...he was...bwahaha! Now that is a good one!" Fluttershy tried to give her own halfhearted laugh so as not sound awkward amongst the other two participants in the conversation. Though really the only one in the room that was having the time of her life was Pinkie Pie...as she did anywhere she went.

"But either way," Pinkie Pie immediately flipped to a serious demeanor, "Let's hunt down that OC!"

Twilight Sparkle sighed and hung her head. Whenever there seemed to be things that got her into a more out-of-touch mood there was always a bench she would sit on and contemplate things, sometimes with a book. And the book she now had she wondered why she even took from the library at all. All it'd caused her was trouble thus far. And now she'd completely gone against all her efforts at being a good girlfriend...but she wasn't jealous. She was above such insignificant feelings. There was no reason to be jealous ever. She had had everything she would've wanted. Being taught by Celestia herself, having the wealth of knowledge that came with the library, and having her number one assistant constantly at her side...well...maybe not anymore...

Again her head dipped as her mind ventured off into memories that the bench brought. Most specifically it fixed on the time that she'd heard the fillies laughing at her in her mind when she thought she'd be sent back to Magic Kindergarten. Twilight sighed. Even for how collected and reasonable she was amongst the others, she still had her own spouts of drama and craziness it seemed after being exposed to the world she'd shunned for most of her life. It wasn't easy trying to fit in and keep one's nature the same at the same time. Though most of her breakdowns had come from just the sheer scope of the catastrophes that she had to help save Ponyville from on a daily basis.

But Twilight wasn't jealous...she couldn't be. She wouldn't allow it. No, she'd sent Spike away because he was the one that was confused over what he wanted...wasn't he?...

"How to Woo Your Man in EIGHT Easy steps," Twilight scoffed as she read the title and opened the book, "Some help you've been...hm...oh that does look fun...never have gotten Spike to take me out and pay for dinner or anything...hm..." Twilight's mind drifted off as she continued to scan through the piece of literature. Certainly not the most well written thing she'd ever come across. But it guaranteed success on the cover. It had to work.

"Take your partner to a romantic place, preferably with friends in case it doesn't work and you two want others to interact with so as not to feel awkward when-"

"I must say again Rainbow, it sure be a mite nice of you ter come help with the barn."

"Hey, what are loyal friends for?" the pegasus shrugged.

"You just wanted to get out of clearing the skies didn't ya?" Applejack questioned. Rainbow Dash smiled proudly. The duo came to a stop at the somewhat sad figure of their purple unicorn friend.

"Yo, Twilight," Rainbow Dash dropped down next to her and stole a glance at the book, "What's up?...why're you reading that?..."

"Oh not much..." Twilight sighed.

"Oh don't be going all emo on us," Rainbow Dash wrapped an arm around the more reasonably-minded pony and gave her a shake, "You got us! Now what's up?" Twilight sighed again and closed her eyes.

"I...yelled at Spike..." Twilight said quietly. Rainbow Dash and Applejack gave each other an odd look.

"Um...no offense or nothing hun, but shouldn't your little buddy be used to that kinda thing by now?" Applejack asked. Twilight shook your head.

"No...I mean I yelled at him. I said he might as well not be with me and just go for Rarity since he still makes those big longing eyes at her any time she's within viewing distance..." Twilight and Applejack glanced over at Rainbow Dash who was now in a fit of giggles.

"Now what be so gosh darn funny about this perdicament?" the yellow one was contemplating about whether or not she should berate the blue one.

"Oh it's just that Spike told me that same joke...and you and him being togeth-togeth-ahaha!" Rainbow Dash rolled around so much on the bench that she eventually fell onto the ground, tears streaming down her face and her chest heaving up and down from the gasps of air she managed to take in every now and then. Applejack just rolled her eyes and patted Twilight on the back gently.

"Now you shouldn't fret none," she told her, "You and Spike have known each other forever right? Friends don't just break up that easily. You know he loves you, and no matter what kinda tomfoolerey happens between you two you'll both stay like that. Even if you ain't gonna stay in this relationship thingy from it there's no way either of yous is ever gonna stay mad at each oth-"

"Hold up!" Rainbow Dash interrupted stamping back to her hooves and looking Twilight dead in the eye, "You mean...you two are really like...boyfriend and girlfriend?..." Blushing, Twilight nodded.

"We were..." she answered. Rainbow Dash titled her head a bit while her eye scrunched up. She seemed to be trying to comprehend the notion presented to her.

"Alright, well aside from the inherent creepiness that comes with a lot of fans seeing you two more as a brother and sister type of deal, Applejack's right. Spike loves ya and you love him. Friends always have these kinda spats. Like watch this!" With an "oof" Applejback fell over from the punch Rainbow Dash gave her. Glaring, she lifted her head back up and cocked a brow at the surprisingly eager flying pony.

"See, we're still friends," Rainbow Dash claimed.

"We'll see about that..." the victim muttered under her breath as she got back up. Despite Rainbow Dash's effort and the blow that Applejack had taken however, Twilight still just hung her head and absentmindedly returned to her book. The pegasus and earth pony looked at each other and nodded. Twilight jumped a bit in fright upon the book being slammed shut by the blue one's hoof.

"Alright Twilight, we gots to get yer mind off this here dilemma," Applejack told her, "So how would you like to come help me and Rainbow Dash clean up the Apple Family barn? It's quite a mess after that little...incident Pinkie Pie caused..." Twilight contemplated opening the book again, but only for a moment. She really did need something to get her mind off of how Spike must have felt towards her. With an attempted smile she nodded.

"So...ignoring the obvious evil thing that she has here, Pinkie Pie's fixed up a pretty cool place," Scootaloo gave her opinion. After they'd finally managed to tear themselves away from the object that'd enraptured their senses so hypnotically, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had made their way back to the cafeteria For how much they'd witnessed the certainly were hungry. Greedily Apple Bloom scarfed down cupcake after cupcake.

"You know you probably shouldn't eat so many of those," Sweetie Belle commented before taking a bite of her own giant cookie.

"Eh, I work out enough with sis," Apple Bloom figured and swallowed another one whole.

"I think she's talking more about your reputation," Scootaloo smirked. Apple Bloom just gave her a confused look. "Anyhow, think we should come back here again sometime?"

"If we avoid that room with the Discord necklace symbol thingy in that dome, then yeah. It might be cool," Sweetie Belle nodded.

"It fush fun!" Apple Bloom agreed through the sweets that she was chewing, "And sha bish shcary."

"And since it's on your land Pinkie Pie can't keep us out," Scootaloo figured. A mischievous smile crept across her face at the thoughts of what the Cutie Mark Crusaders could do in their newly found facility. There was a new door of endless possibilities opened to them with the material that the complex provided.

"I was thinking Cutie Mark Crusader-"

"s should get out of here?" a lower voice finished Scootaloo's proposition. Their eyes leaping in surprise, the fillies turned to look at the other being in the room. Leaning next to the door they'd entered through was a figure that looked like a black and red version of Spike.

"I'll escort you back to the elevator if you don't mind," OC offered.

"It was mighty nice of you two ter help," Applejack thanked her friends as the last of the rubble was levitated into a trash bin, "Now all me and Rainbow here gots to do is build this place back up and it'll be back to its old self in no time."

"Just be sure to keep Pinkie Pie from building weapons of mass destruction in it this time," Twilight gave a sympathetic smile.

"Oh don't worry, we's is gonna have quite a talk about that little spell," the earth pony assured causing Rainbow Dash and Twilight to giggle a bit.

"What'd you wanna talk about?" the aforementioned pony asked causing Applejack to jump from her sudden appearance behind her. Twilight and Rainbow Dash were pretty shocked as well. Though they should have expected the more out-of-touch-with-reality pony to pop up basically anywhere by this point, it still caught them quite a bit off guard.

"Um...why are you here?" Rainbow Dash risked an answer from the absurd pony.

"Oh um...I'm sorry, are we interrupting something?..." a smaller voice almost whispered from the barn's collapsed entrance. The instant he spotted Twilight, Spike slipped in back of Fluttershy and kept behind her as she ventured into the ruins of the structure that had once housed Pinkie Pie's partying death machine.

"Nah, you're cool," Rainbow answered with a wave, "We were just wondering why the sudden intrusion and all that good stuff."

"We're looking for OC!" Pinkie Pie hopped up and down, "I needed him to report to me about his findings on molasses in the mines outside of Ponyville!"

"...Molasses comes from sugar cane being processed into sugar..." Twilight told her.

"Nerd!" Rainbow Dash coughed. Pretty much everyone other than Fluttershy glared at her.

"What?" Rainbow Dash shrugged, "You were all thinking it."

"Oh Dashie, molasses doesn't make nerds. Willy Wonka does!" Pinkie Pie corrected happily.

"Well either way, Pinkie, we need to set a few ground rules," Applejack told her, "Why don't you all come on inside for some pie and-"

"OKAY!" Pinkie Pie cut her off and zoomed into the nearby kitchen with Rainbow Dash. Applejack and Fluttershy follwed in slowly after them leaving only Twilight and Spike to stare at each other in the ruins. The sound of a plank falling echoed through the wrecked chamber.

"...hey..." Spike was the first to talk.

"...hey..." Twilight kicked at the ground a few times in an attempt to alleviate the dragon from her mind. A spell of awkward silence encompassed the room.

"Twilight...I just wanted to say um...I can't help how my canon feelings are. If I could this would turn into another of those crappy fics where characters are just given random personalities to live out the author's fantasies...but as things are I still have my crush on Rarity," he explained slowly and approached the unicorn. Gently he put a hand on her cheek, "but that doesn't mean I don't love you. Your my best friend and I know you're trying. Your still my girlfriend to me." Tears began to form at the rims of Twilight's eyes and she put her neck around the dragon's smaller body.

"I know it's just this fanfic Spike," she sighed, "I still love you too. I didn't mean all that-"

"I know," Spike rubbed his cheek against her's.

"Um...are we interrupting something?..." a deeper voice asked. Blushing, Spike and Twilight looked to the side. OC was standing there with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.

"...Pinkie Pie's waiting for you in the kitchen..." Twilight informed. The mysterious recolor gave a sigh himself and trudged towards the door. The Cutie Mark Crusaders raced towards it once the smell of pie hit them.

Chapter 13: Idols

Against the black vacuum the symbol gave off a red hue. Its dynamic M-shape bled across the cosmos like a trickle of blood leaking from a violent wound. One that threatened the very fabric of reality itself. The mark of a monster leeching off of that which all else was made of. Silently it drifted. How far it'd traveled was not what mattered, nor was that which it passed. What mattered was that it existed. Its very appearance signified the threat it heralded. That without which a very pivotal balance would become undone. And that which could doom all else if the opposing force were to falter as well.

After what could have been an eternity the object finally stopped. It hadn't just hit the surface that it'd collided with. It'd traveled there. It had a purpose to land where it had. Within moments that meteor that the symbol had touched illuminated from glowing red lines that slithered across it from where it'd been impacted. Once the light had died down the symbol lost its own becoming now just a signature on the outer surface of the astral entity. After another low glow, the meteorite began drifting on a new course. Towards the direction where the symbol had come from.

"Oh my oh my oh my!" Rarity flung the dresses about in every which direction. Though Twilight's words had calmed her down when she and Spike had assisted her, that did nothing to stop the unavoidable panic that continually flowed through her every vein. As she did any time that someone of any importance whatsoever graced her with their presence, Rarity practically fainted from the anxiety she placed on herself to impress others. "It just has to be perfect!" she repeated for about the fiftyith time.

"Hey Rarity, I'm gonn-"

"Sweetie Belle stay right there! I need your help!" Rarity ordered. Her younger sister blinked and shook her head viciously.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Sweetie Belle asked slowly.

"I need your help! Now just hold on!" Rarity said again. Sweetie Belle's jaw nearly hit the floor before snapping back up into a huge grin. Rarity had asked for her help! She NEVER wanted her help with anything! At best she would usually send all manners of sewing materials and mannequins flying about the room in her attempts to get some yarn or something to get on Rarity's good side.

"Alright so what do I-yipe!" Sweetie Belle yelped as her sister literally picked her up and put her on a stand. At first the filly was a bit confused as to just what her sister was doing, but it soon became obvious and her expression began to glower a bit. Sweetie Belle agonizingly tried to shift herself into more comfortable positions with the clothing that Rarity drenched her in. Pins and needles poked at her skin once each dress was on her.

"Hold still Sweetie Belle!" Rarity pleaded continuing to make her adjustments to the outfits she forced onto her sibling, "These need to be pinned at just the right areas!" Sweetie Belle clenched back the annoyance that built from the mild injuries and tweaks that she was being inflicted with. When she'd agreed to give her sister a hoof she certainly hadn't meant being a model and just standing around. If there was one thing she couldn't stand it was doing nothing that involved moving. Her eye bulged with the next needle that hit her and prepared for the worst. It was going to be a long day.

"Alright troops, this is how you do it!" Rainbow Dash announced. With unparalleled speed, the winged blue pony zoomed across the sky and towards a swarm of clouds. The other pegasi gasped at the velocity at which Rainbow Dash was approaching the clouds. And then she was gone, but only for a split second. In an instant she had blasted out the other side with a trail of lightning following her from the shattering mass of condensed water. While the cloud split off into mere particles of its previous form, Rainbow Dash whizzed around leading the conduit of electricity into various patterns in the sky. After about a minute or so the athlete twirled around in a little tornado and broke off from the path she was heading leaving the bolts of lightning to sail high into the clouds above. The others that had been watching looked on in amazement at the crashing thunder that ensued. Finally a light rain began once the sounds had dissipated and sprinkled down upon the charged particles that the electricity had left spelling out the word "Rainbow Dash" in the sky.

"And that is what I'd like to call-"

"Showing off?" one of the other pegasi suggested. Rainbow Dash's brows lowered a bit which gave a pretty comical effect with the rain that drenched her hair flat against her face.

"Either way," the egotistical pegasus continued, "THAT is how you start up a storm!" The ones that weren't either gossiping about the proud attitude of the demonstrator or taking notes clapped their hooves together. Well, almost everyone. For on the ground below came hoots and hollers praising the idol.

"Ah, at least someone respects my eff...orts?..." Rainbow Dash's voice dropped upon spotting her admirer and gave an exasperated huff.

"Woo! Yeah you show em how its down Rainbow Dash! You kick ass!" Scootaloo cried amidst the civilians that were trickling into their dwellings to take shelter from the rain that now swept across Ponyville.

"Ugh...what are you doing here pipsqueak?" Rainbow Dash groaned, "Don't you have your little Crumbly Marge Crib to hang out with or something?"

"My what?" a nearby young colt asked.

"N-not you Pip," Rainbow Dash smacked her forehead, "I meant Scootaloo here."

"Oh I just heard that you were showing the other pegasi how to make storms and stuff today so I just had to come see! I mean who could miss out on Rainbow Dash, greatest pony of the skies, performing such a feat?" Scootaloo gushed at her hero. Rainbow Dash had to rub her knuckles proudly across her chest in admittance that she wholeheartedly agreed with all the compliments that her number one fangirl gave. Remembering who was giving the shouts of joy though, Rainbow Dash's expression sunk again and she lowered her head to her admirer's level.

"Well it's not that I don't enjoy the praise or nothing," she told her before pressing her face up against her's, "But knock it off." Scootaloo blinked and tilted her head. The command swirled about in her head as if trying to find a futile way to get into her brain. The words just simply did not register to her. This was her hero. Surely she would never shun her worship.

"Oh Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo giggled, "you'd do good as a comedian as well as an athlete!"

"I'm serious squirt," Rainbow Dash poked against the filly's chest causing her to fall over, "Knock it off." The stern demeanor soon dropped from the older pony's face upon seeing a more depressed look cross the smaller one's however.

"Look, it's not that I don't like you or nothin..." Rainbow Dash told her, "it's just...you get annoying you know? And it's sorta embarrassing whenever you're the one shouting out my name and drawing all the attention to us..." In her mind infinite spasms were rocking across the filly's world. The words were finally making themselves known to Scootaloo's consciousness. Their meanings were actually penetrating the facade of her fangirling.

"Oh..." she said slowly, "o...okay...sorry...but what if I just yell your name ten times an-" Rainbow Dash's sudden flattened face gave her the answer she needed. With a small chuckle Scootaloo backed away and broke into a speedy run to get out of sight of the more menacing figure of her idol leaving Rainbow Dash alone in the rain that poured down.

"And then I tell her "you get annoying" and she makes this sad face for some reason," Rainbow Dash put a hoof up from the perch she'd slouched into on the balcony of Twilight's library, "I mean what's up with that? You'd think her cat died or something with how she looked." Twilight gave a look of disbelief to Spike who just shook his head.

"You should know by now how she talks to others," he rolled his eyes. Rainbow Dash's eyes lifted in confusion.

"You guys talk to Scootaloo?" she asked. Spike rubbed the space between his eyes and decided that some sort of chore needed tending to. With Spike gone, Twilight nervously laughed a few times.

"Um...no offense Rainbow Dash, but um...you don't really consider others' feelings that well," Twilight told her. Now it was the pegasus' turn to laugh.

"Oh Twilight," she chuckled, "I always think about others. Do you think I don't know how much they want to worship me as their new savior and whatnot all the time?" Twilight's eyelids lowered with a sigh. Spike was right to evacuate when he did. Unfortunately one of them had to stay to reason with the sudden waterlogged visitor.

"What I mean is that you...don't seem to exactly realize how your words might...hurt others sometimes..." Twilight specified. Rainbow Dash fluttered her eyes a bit trying to wrap her head around just what it was that the unicorn was talking about. "You know...like how when Rarity made those dresses for us...we were all making excuses trying to cheer her up and you just flat-out agreed that she was a laughing stock..."

"Well she was!" Rainbow Dash stated. Twilight clenched her eyes shut for a bit. She didn't think she'd ever met a pony as thickheaded as Rainbow Dash was when one tried to explain something to her...other than maybe Pinkie Pie, but she was more just...out of it than anything else. With Rainbow Dash her pride overpowered anything else.

"I just don't think you realize how much that could hurt other ponies all the time, especially someone that looks up to you like Scootaloo..."

"Well Celestia help Applejack if she ever needs to bend the truth," Rainbow Dash muttered. Twilight knew it wasn't that Rainbow Dash had problems covering things up or twisting the facts. No, she was a natural at that when she needed to be. Her flat-out disregard for others in certain situations was the problem.

"I'm just saying that maybe you might wanna say sorry to Scootaloo," Twilight suggested. Immediately Rainbow Dash's eyes shot completely open and she let out a shrill set of laughs and giggles to which Twilight mumbled something incoherent. Eventually the voice died down and Rainbow glanced at Twilight.

"...you serious?..." Slowly Twilight approached her friend.

"I just think that maybe you might have hurt Scootaloo's feelings..."

"Eh, what do you know? That little filly'll take anything for me. And besides, it might do her some good to lay off me. I got dozens of other fans after all. No problem replacing her. And if I'm wrong may I be struck by lightning!" Daring fate, Rainbow Dash floated off the balcony and put her hands on her hips staring up into the raining clouds above. To add even more antagonization she wiggled her butt at them as well. "She?" she declared, "Nothin! Now, if you don't mind I'm gonna go see who all I can impress with my rain techniques!" And with that she was gone.

"I thought she'd never leave," Spike thankfully said as he came up behind Twilight and held a cookie jar up to her, "Ya want one?"

"Nah," Twilight politely declined provoking the dragon to dig ever further into the mass of sugary delights, "I just hope Rainbow Dash eventually realizes how much a "hero" can hurt a fan..."

"Feh," Spike scoffed, "She's lucky to even have one to begin with." In the distance they saw the sky light up from a bolt of lightning.

"And then she said "You get annoying"..." Scootaloo sighed. After making her way back to the Cutie Mark Crusaders' club house she'd sat down on the window frame and hung her leg out of it. Needless to say she was still trying to fully comprehend just how the conversation with Rainbow Dash had gone earlier that day. She could never say such a thing about her...could she? Rainbow Dash had to have been joking.

"Well...have you ever thought that maybe you is sorta...too much?..." Apple Bloom suggested wincing in expectation at what the response might be. Scootaloo's brows furrowed.

"What do ya mean?" she asked taking a sip of her Rainbow Dash-shaped cup, "How could I be too much? I'm her biggest fan! Her number one supporter! Why without me she probably wouldn't have half the confidence she does!" Scootaloo laughed heartily in reminiscence of how high of a position Rainbow Dash must have held her. "Why one might even think you're jealous of how she views me!" Apple Bloom rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, cause I totally have someone telling me to shut up." Almost immediately the filly regretted what she'd retorted with. In the blink of an eye Scootaloo's boastful and thick-headed happy demeanor shifted to that of a puppy that'd just been kicked for a reason that it didn't quite know. "Aw hey now, don't be like that...you could...oh I know, you could worship my sister!" Apple Bloom's grin stretched from ear to ear with hopefulness.

"Right," Scootaloo practically spat, "As if she could ever even consider making the Wonderbolts." Now Apple Bloom's face was the one that lost its shine.

"Oh you don't think my sister could pass up those washout of showoffs!" she growled.

"The Wonderbolts are the greatest fliers of Equestria!" Scootaloo yelled, "Well other than maybe Rainbow Dash of-"

"They get nearly killed every time Rarity comes within a few feet of them!" Apple Bloom reminded.

"Who wouldn't welcome that as an alternative around her!" Scootaloo hissed. The two ponies leapt at each other and pressed their faces together, their eyes locked in death glares and their teeth clenched. Suddenly they were broken from their match by the slamming of their clubhouse door. There stood Sweetie Belle with a frown that would put either of the other two to shame. Nervously Scootaloo and Apple Bloom gave each other a worried stare. Had the late member of the group overheard their argument?...

"H-hi Sweetie Belle..." Scootaloo was the first to greet.

"Y-yeah, hi..." Apple Bloom bit her lower lip, "H-how are you doin'?..." Sweetie Belle eyed the yellow filly without once shifting an ounce of her expression and blinked to switch her view to the orange one. Both of them wore the most innocent smiles they could muster. She could care less what kind of prank they were up to though.

"Oh, I'm just swell," Sweetie Belle muttered turning to the side to reveal her body. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom gasped. Her normally white form was riddled with all sorts of red spots! Obviously not in the best of spirits, the unicorn passed the earth pony and the pegasus, both of them staring at the dots as she passed.

"That...is the worst tattoo job I've ever seen," Scootaloo told her.

"Yeah, and besides, it won't count as a real Cutie Mark anyhow," Apple Bloom added. Sweetie Belle's frown only dipped more.

"This was my sister's way of "having me help" for once," she muttered. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo cringed. Had the pegasus been right about her comment of the Rarity earlier? "I mean I hang around all the time just wanting to do something nice for her, something that Rarity will actually acknowledge that I had a hoof in fixing up and I end up stuck as a simple model getting stuck by pins and needles as she folds her stupid little dresses!" Sweetie Belle spun around with a twitching eye causing both of her friends to jump, "And you know the best part? In the end she didn't even need me anymore! She just started crazily throwing random crap together in a panic!" Scootaloo and Apple Bloom hadn't realized they'd backed up and begun huddling in a corner from the rage that shot out of their more elegant companion. With the fuming out of her system though, Sweetie Belle sighed and laid her head down on the window frame Scootaloo had been resting on, "I just wanna help out..."

Just then an idea lit up in Apple Bloom's head. "Maybe not you...but maybe WE can," she proposed wrapping her forearms around the necks of the others and bringing them together, "Scootaloo, this could show you that you can look up to ponies other than just Rainbow Dash and actually get some recognition out of it. Sweetie, alone you might not be able to get a word in edgewise with fussy ol' Rarity there, but with the three of us we can force our help on her! What do ya say?..." For a spell Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle rubbed their chins and gave a grin at each other.

"Cutie Mark Crusader Dress Rescuers! YAY!"

Clangs echoed throughout the Carousel Boutique. If it hadn't been raining so hard the sounds might have perpetrated into other buildings around it. Opal Essence didn't know whether to be afraid or intrigued at the actions of the berserk unicorn that owned the clothing structure. From where the cat had taken shelter it could see the shadow of the pony slamming a hammer viciously against something on a slab beneath it, each impact causing one of the clangs. After what seemed like hours, the shillouette dropped the tool and held the object that it'd been beating up. Seeming satisfied, the shadow wobbled over to a rounded object and dropped the material in. A loud hiss shot forth from the cauldron's cooling process.

"This is it..." Rarity cackled slowly, "The ultimate material for the ultimate outfits...with this new element I've invented the costumes will become anything the wearer wants! And if they want it a size larger all they have to do is add a drop of water!...I'm a genius...they'll have to love it now...they must! I'll be the greatest fashion designer in all of Equestria!" Opal Essence shuddered from the loud roll of thunder that clapped applauding her owner's sanity with the bolt of lightning that also struck contrasting her image even more against the wall. The cat would be lying if it didn't admit that it was a bit more frightened than normal.

Before the self-praising could continue however the front door suddenly flung open causing Opal to leap high into the air from the slam that shot forth from it impacting the wall. Needless to say it'd quieted Rarity at least.

"Alright Rarity we are here to help!" Sweetie Belle declared. Her sister gave a rather nervous laugh.

"Oh Sweetie Belle, I'm pleased to announce that that will not be necessary," she told the Cutie Mark Crusaders. To drive the point home she reached into the cauldron that'd been cooling her material from earlier and held it up proudly.

"Introducing," Rarity walked over to a stand and draped it over it, "My latest design! It can become whatever the owner wants it to!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders stared at the simple blank outfit for a few seconds and then at the raggly-maned Rarity and then back at the outfit again.

"Yeah, we're helping," Scootaloo informed.

"But girls I just-"

"Aw look at you, you've worked yourself into a mess," Sweetie Belle worried and began pushing her sister towards a nearby door, "Don't worry, you just groom yourself back to your old self. We'll take care of everything here!"

"But Sweetie I-"

"We got it under control!" Apple Bloom assured shoving the older pony all the way through the door and locking it. Relieved that they had the obviously mentally unstable owner out of the way, the Cutie Mark Crusaders turned their attention back to the subject at hoof. The dress. The plain bland inconceivably unimpressive dress that Rarity had spent her time working on. Scootaloo wondered when Rarity's mind had gotten lost.

"Alright girls, what do we have to work with?" Apple Bloom asked. Hastily the fillies ran around the room picking up anything they could find. In no time they'd accumulated a rather healthy pile of glitter, frabic, sewing utensils, jewels, and all odds and ends of art supplies. Even quicker they'd gotten to work on assembling what could only be described as a sin against whatever fashion god existed. At least that's how it seemed to Opal who had decided to take shelter in the nearest dwelling she could find now that her insane owner was gone.

Happy to be away from the nightmares that infested the Boutique, the cat slunk into the dress that Rarity had set up. She was surprised at how nice and warm and cozy it was considering that it'd been cooling in the nearby cauldron just moments before. Now the animal just wish it had a strand of yarn to play with. Opal's eyes soon widened at the seemingly living strand that did in fact seem to pop out of the dress's interior. With a grin the feline made a swipe. This was the life. Now it just wished that the entire dress was made of the strands. As if on cue with the cat's mentality, literally thousands of strands erupted drowning the animal in happy swipes and swift slashes.

"Alright I think it's just about-"

"I told you I didn't need any more help!" Rarity yelled finally throwing open the door she'd been locked behind , "And if you fillies ever dare lock me in-dear lord! What is that!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders also gave their own gasps at the now wriggling mass that had been Rarity's dress. Worm-like clothy structures were swirling all over it! One reached out and threw a basket of spools at the opposing wall. "I should never have played god!" Rarity yelped as she dove for the ground to avoid a flying sewing machine.

"Don't worry!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, "We got this!"

"What do you mean we got this?!" Scootaloo asked, "The thing's throwing fucking mannequins!"

"Well, everything has a weakness. And what causes dresses to wrinkle and get heavy and stuff?" Sweetie Belle asked. All eyes drifted to the front door. Rain was still pouring outside.

"No..." Rarity said slowly, "Girls stop!" But her shout was in vain. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were already at the dress and wrestling it off the stand. Opal fought furiously inside to counteract all the shifts that the outfit was now undergoing. Before Rarity could grab any of them, the fillies had yanked the living costume off and tossed it out of the Carousel Boutique. With a soaking splat it landed on the ground outside and collapsed in a heap. Victoriously the fillies hopped in the air and hit their hooves together. And then a rumble rippled across the land. The fillies stared at the dress.

"Oh no..." Rarity bit her lip.

"Tank! Hey Tank! Where are ya dude?" Rainbow Dash called. Her flight was jittered a bit by a sudden sneeze. After the little pit-stop to dry off at Twilight's the pegasus had thought that it'd be a smooth ride home where she could just kick back and play video games the rest of the day. To her surprise though her ever-loyal pet was nowhere to be found. In retrospect it was a bit stupid to spend so much time away from her castle in the sky after starting a storm considering how much the little guy loved water due to being a tortoise and all that. Tank was sure to have traveled down to the land to play in his element.

"Oh come on dude, I'm not gonna stay out here forever," Rainbow Dash complained more to herself than anypony else. But her search was over. Upon finishing the plea a low gurgle noise sounded from above her. There was Tank staring down at her from his flying contraption. "Least leave a note or something the next time ya head out like that," she gave a weak smile and floated up to his level, "Race ya home!" Tank was already off into the clouds. Rainbow Dash was feeling a bit generous and decided to give him a head start. She herself however wouldn't be following. Even though she was flying, Rainbow Dash could feel the very atmosphere tremble from what was rocking the ground below.

"What...the...hell?..." she rubbed her eyes. She had seen the landscape correctly. Something was covering it in all sorts of wriggling tentacles of shirt-sleeves. At least that's what it looked like. Completely confused, the pegasus decided to inspect the material and flew in for a closer look. Before she could react numerous appendages shot out and constricted around her limbs and body. "WHOA!" Rainbow Dash cried. Viciously she tried to fly back but the force was too great. She was being dragged in!

"Get off me you clothy pieces of crap!" she cursed against the pulls. No matter how much she flapped her wings she just kept sinking deeper and deeper! In mere seconds she could feel her hooves touch the now fabric landscape...and sink into it! "Come on! Give me...a...break!..." Rainbow Dash struggled.

"What do we do!" Sweetie Belle squeezed her sister tightly. Rarity looked around hesitantly. Though they'd managed to climb to the roof of the Carousel Boutique, she and the fillies were now trapped! The outfit she'd designed had literally flooded throughout all of Ponyville wrapping around any building it could...and probably was still spreading!

"Well, it's just cloth. Can't we go and just walk across it?" Apple Bloom suggested.

"With those things?" Scootaloo pointed to the slithering tendrils sprouting forth from the surface. Apple Bloom had to admit, they did send shivers down her spine.

"Oh this would have never happened if it'd stayed out of the rain," Rarity pouted, "now my career will plummet!...unless my new invention kills me first of course."

"We're gonna die?" Sweetie Belle's grip tightened.

"Well duh we're gonna die," Scootaloo's eyelids lowered, "This ain't no disney crap. I mean haven't you seen how Transformers Prime is? This is the Hub!" Rarity gave a sigh at the shameless self-advertisement.

"No deary...we're not gonna die..." she tried to assure her sister as well as herself. Meanwhile the other two were looking out across the land. The more time they wasted the more the cloth enveloped Equestria.

"Maybe if I can swim against-" Scootaloo answered Apple Bloom's thought by tossing a nearby manequinn head onto the cloth. After a second or two it sunk. But it wasn't a wasted effort. Scootaloo did get an idea from it.

"If I can get enough platforms I can hop across to the other roofs..." she muttered. She and Apple Bloom turned and began gathering what materials they could. It took a few minutes but enventually they had a sizable pile together.

"Are you sure about this?..." Apple Bloom gulped as she looked over the edge of the Boutique again, "I mean it'll be like those disappearing blocks in Mega Man..."

"Relax," Scootaloo told her giving her wings a flap, "I got these remember? Even if I can't fly yet they'll give me some boosting effort. Now then, lemme just take this and this and this...and that should be enough platforms to get to the house over there."

"But how'll you get off that roof?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Eh, I'll just go into that house and take stuff from there to use," Scootaloo shrugged propping herself up on the ledge, "wish me luck!"

"What is she-"

"LEEROY JENKINS!" Scootaloo's cry turned Rarity's inquisition into a shriek causing her and Sweetie Belle to join Apple Bloom at the edge. Just before Scootaloo hit she threw out a purse. With just the right twisting she landed with both hind hooves on it. But there was no time to revel in the victory, she needed to keep going. Being sure to stay as calm as possible the filly managed to platform her way across the other roof earning a cheer from her peers. Rarity on the other hand didn't see the point. Now she'd simply put herself in even more danger with no one to help her.

Though determined to stick to the plan, something caught Scootaloo's ear. A voice. A familiar voice.

"HELP!" Rainbow Dash cried. Without a second thought the fangirl rushed over to the other side of the foreign roof and looked down. There was her hero flailing helplessly amidst the tangling mass of sleeves! "Come on! Somepony! I need a hoof here! Please! I don't wanna-"

"Hold on Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo's response immediately earned a surprised look from her idol. Of all the times she got fed up with the filly's constant worship, now really wasn't the time for it. "Here!" the younger pegasus bent down on her belly and reached out, "Grab on!" Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. She wasn't gushing over her heroics. She was trying to help her! Rainbow Dash had already been swept past at least five houses already with ponies in them, each too afraid to give any aide. Yet here was Scootaloo.

"I can't hold my arm out forever!" the filly told her as a bolt of lightning struck in the distance. Remembering what all was going on, Rainbow Dash strained against the clothing to reach for her hoof. It was a challenge to say the least. Every last fiber of her being had to exert itself to even lift out of the mass of webbing.

"Almost...there!..." Rainbow Dash grunted, her arm vibrating under the strain of the coils. With anticipation building, Scootaloo risked a crawl closer. Their hooves finally touched with another bolt of lightning. The relief of the sensation didn't last as long as they'd have liked. Even as Scootaloo pulled, Rainbow Dash wouldn't budge...in fact...it was pulling her down with the older pony!

"Scootaloo you have to let go of me!" Rainbow Dash warned.

"No way!" she yelled back, "If I do you'll-"

"If you don't you'll go down with me!" Rainbow Dash told her. Scootaloo's clenched eyes tightened even more with each tug she gave.

"I...am not...letting...go!" To Rainbow Dash's amazement she actually did feel herself lift a bit...no...not just a bit...a lot! She couldn't believe her eyes.

"S...squirt...you're...flying!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Immediately Scootaloo's eyes shot open and looked back. Her wings really were levitating herself into the sky! But with the realization came a more calming attitude allowing Rainbow Dash to snap back down a bit.

"Dude! Don't stop!" she ordered. With more concentration than she'd ever given it in her life, Scootaloo made her wings flap. "Atta girl! Just keep doing it long enough for my wings...to...there!" With the strands strained against the length they were now reaching for Rainbow Dash it was simple to move her own wings around enough to loosen the grip and wave the rest off. She was free! Eagerly she wrapped her arms around the rather faint Scootaloo and drifted them both back down to the roof. The filly was out of breath from the whole experience.

"I-I was flying..." she panted. Rainbow Dash just smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Really am lucky to have a fan like you," she told her receiving a hug in return, "And you'd better be happy no one's around to see this or I'd have to push you off the roof...now, can you tell me what all's going on?"

"Rare...Rarity made this clothing that makes whatever the wearer wants to morph it into happen...and water makes it grow..." Scootaloo explained. Rainbow Dash lifted a brow and set her down on the floor of the roof.

"Water makes it grow eh?" she repeated, "Wonder how it'd react to a little malfunction in the weather then...stay here squirt. I got clouds to take care of!" Scootaloo simply stared up at the sky as the rainbow streak zoomed into the clouds. In no time they'd been whirled away to give way to the sun...and were brought back again with an even more violent storm! For minutes the weather changed every couple of seconds until finally a hiss was heard. Gathering what little energy she had left, Scootaloo crawled to the edge and looked over. The tentacles were withering up and expanding seeming not to know what to do to counteract the constant shifts in the environment. Finally the clothing gave up and began to shrink back to the normal plain outfit that it had been before the whole ordeal had transpired.

Triumphantly Rainbow Dash landed next to her fan and watched with her as Rarity, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle ventured out to the costume. With her eyes spinning, Opal Essence staggered out of the remains and collapsed to the ground in front of them causing them to laugh.

"Now you know why I am the best," Rainbow Dash complimented herself, "Damn I love Sonic Adventure 2."

Chapter 15: When Stars Bleed Over

"So let's see here..." Apple Bloom muttered. She stuck her tongue over her upper lip in concentration and wiped the sweat forming on her brow. Though books weren't necessarily her forte, they did provide a surprising amount of information. And for what the Cutie Mark Crusaders had been doing that day they certainly needed what help they could get. Their numerous adventures they'd gone on had resulted in a lot more...bruises than normal. That's where Apple Bloom came in. Unlike the others she'd had quite the experience when Zecora had patched her chipped tooth up during the "Heart's Desire" incident. If she could just get a batch together they'd be all set. Luckily she still had some material she'd snatched from the foreigner!

"I still say we could have made off with the flaming tire," Sweetie Belle gave her thought before sucking in a hiss of air from the twinge the knee she was slowly stretching gave her. It had quite a bit of a scab forming on it.

"It'd have been fine if the other drivers didn't decide to crash into us," Scootaloo complained. Her hoof was firmly grasped around her wing. From the rims of the constricted area quite a red splotch was forming in the injured body part. It was painful for sure, but if they could have the miracle given to them that Zecora had supposedly used on their yellow member then it would be just fine. Apple Bloom sure seemed to be taking her sweet time though. Not that anypony could really blame her. Working with foreign materials as well as trying to keep up with Twilight's book's instructions at the same time was pretty tedious. But eventually the substance was complete and lay in a thick liquid in the pot that Apple Bloom had been operating above.

At first glance it was a bit unappealing to Sweetie Belle but Scootaloo practically ate the spoon in her eagerness for recovery. And recover she did. In an instant her wings expanded and deflated before returning to their normal status. Happy with the results, Scootaloo flapped them a few times and began prancing around provoking the remaining filly to do the same. The liquid sure didn't taste all that great, but the effects couldn't be argued with. It was worth bearing the odd sensation to get her leg all patched back up. Sweetie Belle grinned as well now and chased the pegasus around. Apple Bloom just breathed a sigh of relief now that she'd done everything.

"You really are quite the potion-master," Scootaloo complimented hopping down in front of the earth pony, "Why I bet you could outdo all the other ponies that do this stuff without even trying!" Apple Bloom blushed and waved the notion away bashfully.

"Aw shucks, now you know I ain't nearly that qualified," she laughed a bit.

"Who else would do that Heart's Desire thingy on their first try?" Sweetie Belle reminded. The crimson of Apple Bloom's cheeks only intensified with the piling comments.

"Well...truth be told I have been working on my own little experimental potion thingy..." Apple Bloom kicked the ground nervously. Her friends' eyes expanded a bit and a grin spread across Scootaloo's face.

"Well what are we waiting for?" she grabbed the potion-maker and shook her, "Let's whip that thing up and try it out!" Apple Bloom's eyes nearly shot out of her head at the suggestion and she broke out of the grip.

"What!" she yelped, "Oh no no no! You don't know what yous is sayin'! I mean what if it's screwed up and all-"

"You just fixed us up," Sweetie Belle joined in the persuasion, "why not give it a go? What's it supposed to do?" Apple Bloom bit her lip and cringed a bit. She really didn't know whether she should be divulging such a project to them...but they were her two best friends.

"Alright..." she said slowly, "It um...uses that Poison Joke I told ya all about and the Heart's Desire to sorta...affect the physical nature of a pony rather than just give them the abilities to do what they want. So think of it like this. Say you wants to be a dog. Well just have some of the potion and bingo! You'll give Winona a new playmate in your new self!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle squealed at the thoughts that drifted through their minds. All their dreams coming true!

"Well let's try it out," Scootaloo rubbed her hooves together.

"But-"

"Please!..." the pegasus and unicorn stuck their lips out at Apple Bloom. Reluctantly she sighed.

"Fine..."

"Hm...oh that sounds interesting..." Twilight turned another page in her book. Her usual small smile hung in default on her face. She always got so much enjoyment out of reading. Even if the book she'd picked out was rather...sub-par she still became enraptured in the simple act of scanning through something. Her little "girlfriend" book though was quite an interesting look into the male psyche. Twilight just didn't know how much longer she should keep reading. It was in spurts that she did so with that book so that she wouldn't blaze through it like all the others. That, and she already had a book picked out for when she'd go to bed.

"Twilight!" Spike's voice called causing the pony's ears to jolt upward. Twilight's smile grew a bit at the dragon who entered the bedroom. An apple was in his hand. He smiled back and hopped onto the bed. "Got the apples. We should be set for at least a week or so. They were practically giving them away with how many they'd rounded up this time." Casually he rolled the shiny red fruit to Twilight who picked it up and took a bite. Her eyes popped wide open from the taste. She'd never had one so yummy before.

"This is the best one I've ever had," she said through her munching. Spike just smiled and crawled over to Twilight's side where he snuggled up against her. After gulping down the contents in her mouth she smiled back and nuzzled her snout against his forehead.

"You know you don't have to read that book. I think you're a fine girlfriend," Spike complimented wrapping his arms around her neck before pressing his lips against hers. Somehow her eyes grew larger than they had when she'd tasted the apple. Spike had certainly caught her offguard with the sudden affectionate gesture. That wasn't to say it went without consequence of course. Firmly she pressed back against the dragon causing his cheeks to redden as well. For a good minute or two they continued their loving actions towards each other. Had Scootaloo been there she would have been ridiculing the "gross" actions all the while.

"You know Rarity may be beautiful and all but you're something else Twi," Spike sighed and leaned against her. His eyelids were halfway closed partly from the intoxicating feelings that had overwhelmed them and partly from sleepiness. It was getting pretty late. The sun was almost down and it'd been quite a day from all of his usual chores. The dragon was just always so glad when he finally got into bed. And now with his companion he had a more comfortable "pillow" to relax against. Twilight on the other hand was having a bit of a mixed reaction to the final statement that he had made.

"Oh I'll be more beautiful than Rarity could ever hope to be once I'm done with the book," Twilight assured the snoozing figure beside her.

"That was some day of selling apples sis!" Apple Bloom congratulated.

"Aw shucks, it was nothing," Applejack laughed, "And your girls little batch of em that you gave sold faster than any I done ever did see!"

"Yeah, but not a single pony reacted to the potion stuff," Scootaloo muttered under her breath, "And we poured it on all of em..." Sweetie Belle gave her a whack while retaining her smile for the older pony's presence. Though she was rather inclined to repeat the action back to the unicorn, Scootaloo quickly realized why she'd done it and decided to keep her lips shut. Thankfully Applejack was too entranced in talking to her sister to notice the comment that Scootaloo had given.

"Well I best be getting back inside. Reckon you should be doing the same pretty soon. Say goodbye to your buddies and skeedadle on up to bed okay?" Applejack said to her sister. Apple Bloom nodded back allowing the older pony to do as she said she would. Once she was out of earshot the Cutie Mark Crusaders huddled together.

"Alright, that sucked," Scootaloo ridiculed the country pony.

"Well give her some credit. She does make a good healing potion," Sweetie Belle attempted a defense, "And aside from that it's her first time trying this new thing out. And she made it up herself. There's bound to be a hitch here or there..." Apple Bloom gave an innocent smile but it did nothing to deter the pegasus' frown.

"Well whatever," Scootaloo muttered, "I'm gonna head back home. See you guys tomorr-"

"Wait a sec, you have a home?" Apple Bloom cut the most rebellious member in disbelief. At this the orange pony lifted a brow, "I mean I know you've said that before...but...you actually have a home?"

"Uh...where would I be if I didn't?..." she asked.

"Well in one fic you were just hanging out in our clubhouse as a home until Spike came an-" Sweetie Belle's talking was stopped by Apple Bloom's hoof to her mouth.

"Copyright infringement," she muttered, "Even if it's a fic it's still pushing it. But yeah, tons of fics I done come across have you as an orphan or such due to some tragedy in your past leading to a more relateable sympathetic side to you that's never even hinted at in the show nor that you would display in that degree otherwise. What gives?" Scootaloo rolled her eyes.

"Do you girls honestly think that, after all that's been done in this story, that crap would be pulled here? At most the author'll just lampshade that it's a common occurrence in tons of other stories and will avoid it entirely upon doing so like I'm doing right now. If nothing else I'll at least have foster parents here until my real ones show up in canon. So as of right now I'm headed home, to bed...where my PARENTS are in this fic are. Bye!" With that the pegasus was off until she disappeared over the horizon of Sweet Apple Acres leaving Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom to grin at the stress they'd caused her.

Images passed slower through the dragon's mind as he began to awaken from his slumber. It certainly had been a nice dream he'd had. But now Spike was being brought back to reality as he was any morning. He was just glad it wasn't Winter Wrapup again or Twilight might have him out of bed before he was even supposed to go to sleep. The name brought a sort of comfort to him. Twilight. A smile swam across his mouth at the thought of the creature next to him causing him to snuggle deeper against her. But something was different. It wasn't unpleasant feeling, but it certainly wasn't the pony touch he'd come to know over the course of his life. After another rub against the more...textured surface, one of Spike's eyes cracked open.

At first he couldn't tell what it was that he was looking at. It was purple like Twilight's body was...but it wasn't fur. No...rather it looked more like...scales... In disbelief Spike lifted a hand into view and stared at it for a bit. Then he looked back at the purple surface of the creature he'd pressed up against. The patterns were the same! The baby dragon gulped and pulled back a bit before leaping off the bed entirely as the sight of the whole being came into view. What he had been sleeping against was a dragon! Granted it wasn't nearly a fully grown one. In fact it looked only a little bit taller than he. But a dragon none-the-less!

Spike's lip quivered as he tried to holler or yelp or do anything of surprise and alarm until he got a closer look. The other dragon's scales were the same color as Twilight's body had been...the exact same. Curiosity overruling his fright, Spike approached the supposed intruder. He couldn't lie, after his experience with another of his kind he wasn't so willing to undergo another hostile encounter. But this dragon was almost his size. If there was a problem he could handle it. And despite that...he felt...calmer around it. As though there was no reason to be afraid it. Throwing caution to the wind, Spike crawled back onto the bed and attempted to poke it.

Before he could though, the dragon shifted from the disturbance on the sheets and yawned. Spike's eyes grew as it hoisted itself up and stretched, the morning light glistening off its shiny sleek scales. His jaw nearly dropped. The dragon was beautiful. Her form was so slender and her spines were so thin. Out from between the normal spines coming down over the top of her head like hair however was one longer one that had the same shade of purple as her scales did. As with Spike's fins, the ones on this dragon's cheeks were of a lighter shade of her spines and her tummy even paler than that. As for the eyes, they glistened purple like her body.

After the stretching had ended, the creature collapsed its tendons back into place and looked at Spike. With a smile she crawled over to the smaller dragon and pressed her snout up against his. Spike's entire body burnt to a crisp with the overwhelming passion he felt transfer between them. His mind had blown a fuse.

"Good morning Spikey," Twilight's voice cooed from the lizardy lips. Alright, NOW his mind had blown a fuse.

"Twi-twi-twi-twi-" the male dragon stuttered like a broken record. The female just lowered her eyes and smiled at the younger one. It was always so cute to see him stunned by her. Taking advantage of the bemused assistant, Twilight slid her neck around his as her claws grabbed his arms and pinned him to the bed. He couldn't have fought back if he tried. There was too much to process. But the pleasant presence of her body at least kept him grounded somewhat in the world of what was real. "...that's one good girlfriend book," Spike finally managed to say.

Gruffly a lump shifted beneath they covers it dwelled in. The entity inside was still trying to rest and rolled about to avoid the light that spat into the room from the morning sun. It was a wasted effort though. That was how Applejack found herself waking up that morning. With a grunt from the unwanted intrustion of illumination, the creature's hand reached up over the top of the covers and pulled them down. She took in a deep breath of air as if to activate her body for the day and creeked open her eyes. As she did any morning, Applejack stared at her room and bent upward to stretch.

But something was different...her limbs seemed...lighter...her smell was...different...and by Celestia was she colder than normal! A shiver rippled across Applejack's body from the sudden chilliness. With the shaking she felt something else. Her chest seemed...heavier...everything about her very being seemed different. But Applejack was still tired. Drowsiness overwhelming her, the being threw back the sheets and flung her legs over the side of her bed. She almost fell over upon hopping to the ground below. Chalking it up to how tired she was, Applejack made her way to the bathroom.

After taking care of her natural functions, the female grabbed her toothbrush, covered it in some toothpaste, and began cleaning her mouth for the day. As she brushed Applejack took the time to look herself over in the mirror to see what all might have caused such a change in how she felt. What stared back at her was radically different than how she normally viewed herself. Instead of a four legged pony, the creature she was looking at had little in the way of hair save for her mane. She also hadn't noticed that she'd just been walking on two legs until she got a glance at the new form. What had been her forelimbs now just hung at the sides of her vertical body when they weren't being used. And most oddly of all two fleshy mounds hung on her chest.

Finally done brushing, Applejack rinsed her mouth with some water and spat. Calmly she put her toothbrush back in its holder and screamed.

Scootaloo hesitantly stuck her head out of the clubhouse and glanced around. The last thing she needed was the other two noticing that she'd spent the night sleeping in it. Sure she had a home she could go to but she wasn't exactly on the best terms with her folks for the time being, and the wind had really picked up that last night for some reason. But neither of the other Cutie Mark Crusaders seemed to be around. After making sure that neither Apple Bloom nor Sweetie Belle had a way to tell that she'd been camping out in their get-together area, the pegasus trotted up to the telescope and took a peek in it.

It was more out of curiosity than anything. But it'd been a while since she'd done any stargazing. Actually...it'd probably been that day of the meteor shower that she'd last really viewed any of the celestial bodies closely. They may have been distant and untouchable, but perhaps that's how it should be sometimes. No matter the length between them though, those cosmic entities always brought a sense of awe and wonder. Scootaloo eagerly pressed her eye into the telescope's eyepiece and cranked up the equipment to see past the clouds and atmosphere into the vacuum beyond.

There in that vast eternity lay all manners of forms and shapes that sent her mind into swirls of incredulous thought. Might a pegasus get up there someday on their own? Just a space suit and they'd traverse through the universe? What if it was her? Would she lead Equestria to a new intergalactic society? The thought made her grin. Rainbow Dash might even give her an authograph for it! But the daydream would have to wait. Something was pricking at the edge of the filly's mentality. A red glow was burning clear through her retina from the telescope. Something out in that blackness was glistening a bright red as though to make space itself bleed.

"What do ya think she's looking at?" Sweetie Belle asked. Instantly Scootaloo yanked her face away from the hypnotizing find. She hadn't heard either of them come in due to her concentration. Come to think of it...she hadn't heard anything. Anything except a sound she'd never heard before. It had felt distant...like the red dot itself had been talking to her. The mere glimpse of it was enough to imprint on a pony. But now her focus was on something else. Looks of concern hung on her friends' faces.

"What's up?" Scootaloo asked making sure that her blanket was safely tucked under the floorboards. Their expressions turned into a grimace from the question. Scootaloo's brows just heightened in curiosity.

"I think our "experiment" worked..." Apple Bloom said quietly as she kicked the floorboards. With the fillies reunited, they headed off towards Sweet Apple Acres leaving the telescope on the wound of outer space growing ever closer.

"What in Celestia's name is happening!" Twilight cried. Spike rushed over to her to keep her from falling over again. She sure may have looked pretty hot now but the former pony was having quite the trouble adjusting to the balancing of dragons' tails and standing on two legs normally. With his help though she did seem to be managing at least a bit. What concerned Spike however was the state of the Ponyville they now traversed. There was no reason for the quaint town to be called such anymore. What littered it now were panicking creatures and chimeras of all sorts. Some of them didn't even look like they should exist. If Spike wasn't so unafraid around the scenery he might have guessed that Discord had been freed again. It was complete chaos!

But priorities came first. And Twilight was his. With all of her problems she was having adjusting after the revelation of her new self, the former unicorn had no problem ignoring all the other warped ponies. Not that Spike minded helping her out of course. Holding her dragon body in his arms was...pleasant feeling to say the least. Half of him wished they'd never left they bed.

"If you didn't do that then it would weigh on your conscience and drown you in guilt for not helping to return her to normal," his voice told him from his shoulder. Sitting on it was an angel with his features.

"Oh please," a devil said from his other shoulder, "Cut the kid a break, he's finally got a babe his own species that he can...you know..." Both Spike and the angel blushed from the wiggling eyebrows that the more mischievous persona displayed.

"So now you dudes show up...like when was the last time I saw you guys? The metal pipe incident?" Spike addressed the sudden intrusion.

"Yeah, Sleeping Pony," the devil reminisced happily, "The day our boy here decided to finally man up and take a pipe to his slave-driver's head..." Spike's eyes drifted downward at the memory while the angel rubbed his fingers between his eyes in annoyance. "Chapter 5 wasn't it?..."

"Look...not that I don't care about you two...you know that I love myself and all...but why are you here exactly? I've already made up my mind of what I'm doing," Spike stated.

"Cameos dude," the angel replied giving the devil a high-five.

"Spike, who are you talking to?" Twilight asked trying to steady herself in her walking. With an embarrassed blush engulfing him, the young dragon rushed over to the female one and gripped her around the waist to keep her from falling over. The heat only intensified in his cheeks from the soft delicate pressure her hips gave back to him.

"That's our Spikey," the devil chuckled as he disappeared yanking the angel away with him.

"Thank you Spike," Twilight hugged her assistant close against her body. Had he not had a frame he would have melted right then and there.

"D-do we h-h-have a pl-an?..." Spike managed to shudder. He couldn't look up to see that Twilight had given a nod.

"We need to see how far this craziness has spread," she deducted, "See if the outskirts of Ponyville are like this too. And who lives out there?"

"Fluttershy?" Spike guessed.

"Oh Spike Spike Spike," Twilight patted his head pushing his face against her each time, "she got an entire chapter last time. Who's a main character in this one?"

"...Applejack?..."

"So it did work!" Scootaloo cheered, "This is awesome!"

"What's awesome about it?!" Sweetie Belle cried, "My sister is now some bizarre paint project!"

"And Celestia forbid we find out what my sis turned into!" Apple Bloom gulped, "Oh dear, I can just hear the yelling now..."

"But we're already back at Apple Acres," Scootaloo pointed out.

"Just cause I need to get my ingredients and stuff," Apple Bloom sighed, "Once we get them we just sneak back out and head to Zecora's for-"

"For what?" Applejack's voice asked causing all three fillies to freeze in utter fear. None of them wanted to turn around but knew that they would have to eventually. "Ahem?" the voice said more sternly. Shakily the Cutie Mark Crusaders turned around and braced themselves for the worst. They weren't ready. All three of them had nearly jumped out of their skins at the sight of the new creature. It was hardly that Applejack now towered over them rather than it was the fact that she looked like something that simply didn't belong in Equestria. Her fur was all gone revealing tender peachish creamy skin beneath that had two legs standing the body up vertically. Her hands were irritably on her hips to accompany the frown she gave.

Next to her was a new figure. What at first Sweetie Belle thought to be Spike was actually a new dragon entirely. This one was more slender and a bit taller than Spike, and her spines were dark blue instead of green. A small frown hung on her muzzle as well, but her eyebrows were bent to display a look of worry rather than disappointment and annoyance. But Spike wasn't entirely absent. He was just keeping the new dragon held upright from behind...and constantly seeming to squirm about to get more comfortable against the newcomer.

"H-heya sis!..." Apple Bloom feigned innocence acting as though nothing were wrong or out of the ordinary, "W-who's your n-new friend there?..."

"This here was Twilight Sparkle," the taller being bent over to press her nose against her pony sister, "And I used to be Applejack. Now, what say you done fix this here predicament?..." Apple Bloom gave a desperate grin and stepped back a few feet. It was one of her friends that gave the next reply.

"What're you talking about? How would she know how to fix this?" Scootaloo stepped forward bravely. Applejack just huffed.

"Cause you lot poured her potion all over them apples we sold yesterday. Obviously didn't work out too darn well for the rest of Ponyville," she told them. Apple Bloom clenched her teeth. She knew!

"And where do you get that idea from?" Scootaloo challenged. Her question was answered by a soft thud that occurred to the left. The three fillies huddled in fear at the giant spider legs that approached. Their terror changed to confusion and relief upon seeing what they were connected to. Out from behind the barn slunked the body of Big Macintosh atop the arachnid appendages.

"Big brother here saw you alls dousing your little ingredients on them apples yesterday," Applejack told them.

"Eeyup," the nightmarish spider-pony confirmed.

"So I done figured that "Hey, they're fillies. What all harm can they do? Probably just some spice they found from the cupboards.". Had no idea that you still had some Zecora mojo stashed around..." Apple Bloom bit her lower lip. The amount of guilt was almost worse than when she realized that they were the reason that Discord came back.

"Funny that ya mention that," she nervously laughed, "We were just on our way to go get some help from her..." More scarily than the frown she'd been giving, Applejack's face was now graced with a grin.

"Then let's go," she said. Apple Bloom gulped.

As per usual the royal halls of Canterlot glistened with the light that reflected through the stained glass windows that decorated their walls. But something was amiss in the usually calm setting. Echoing through the hollow chamber were clopping sounds that started up then stopped then started up again. Should any of her advisors or assistants have been there they would have instantly sought to find any solution to cheer the normally content princess up. But as things were right now Celestia had taken to a rather rare state of mind for her. Brooding. Back and forth she paced the hall. Her thoughts traveled to any corner of her mind that they could reach. But she couldn't find a solution. And eventually they came to a halt.

"Sister, what ails thou?" Princess Luna inquired. Taking note of the company, Princess Celestia spun around and watched as the smaller sibling approached. She didn't make any attempt to put a calming smile up at all for her twin. "Sister, thy royal cabinet members and chefs grow concerned. Thee hardly ever see thou for thou's usual unions with thee! Thy's return has taught thy that thou should not skipeth meals so often!" Now a smile formed due to Luna's ancient way of speaking.

"Sister, you really need to get better accustomed to talking in the modern times," Princess Celestia chuckled. Luna closed her eyes to fight back the heat growing in her cheeks from the comment.

"Thy...I apologize," she muttered. Celestia just continued smiling and walked over to her sister. "But sister," she continued, "what is troubling you? You've been rather reserved ever since shortly after Discord's statue was taken. He was turned back to stone. Is it because you're not getting enough screen time? We have the show for that." Celestia's face turned downcast from the further questioning.

"No...it's nothing like that," she sighed, "We've been around longer than any pony. Granny Smith telling the Founding of Ponyville's has shown that. I have had all the opportunities to get any screentime I need." Princess Luna now too turned a bit sour-faced. Ever since she'd returned she'd marveled at all that the new world had to offer. But now...this was the first time seeing the controller of the sun in such a manner. Something was truly wrong.

"I've felt it too..." Luna confessed earning a glance from the concerned sibling, "That great evil...I thought one such as you might ignore it though. It has not caused a disturbance and its presence has remained low to nonexistent."

"For now," Celestia added. Luna cringed. She knew that the white alicorn took into account the whole nature of the situation. "I fear I will require Twilight Sparkle and her group to go on a little errand soon..." she sighed. Luna's eyes lit up.

"Say, why have you refraimed from doing such so often now?" Luna asked, "In the show you constantly barrage the poor unicorn with letters." Princess Celestia giggled.

"Oh that's cause it's the show," she reminded, "there I have to pester her. It's like my job. Not that I wouldn't enjoy it here, but when things get serious I simply don't have time to fool around. I mean did you see how I reacted when Discord came back that first time? I was like "this is war" and rallied the group together to stop him. Damn was I badass. But either way I just can't do that kind of crap right now. Not with...that thing out there..." The chuckling of the two princesses died down as their thoughts drifted back to the feeling that'd been seeping throughout the land. Something would be happening...soon. And if Twilight and her friends couldn't stop it...neither of them even wanted to think about that.

"...in the meantime though how's about you help me think up another prank?" Celestia suggested a quality time project to Luna.

"Should we aim for higher than when you sent her two tickets to the Galla when you knew she had five friends?" Luna asked. Celestia grinned.

"Much higher."

"So how much more do you have stashed around the farm?" Applejack almost growled from her seat atop her brother.

"I done told you this is all I gots!" Apple Bloom grumbled as her head tipped back to the bags she was carrying, "Sides, this weren't my fault to begin with!"

"And just how not?" the cowboy-hat-wearing primate wondered how her sister would try to worm her way out of the obvious lie.

"Well these two kept pestering me to try the potion out," the filly gave dirty looks to the other Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sweetie Belle looked down shamefully while Scootaloo just gave Apple Bloom's face back to her.

"So you done go and splatter it all over our apples," Applejack muttered, "Nice."

"I'm not gonna have to make you two stop am I?" the spider-legged male sibling asked. The sisters shot each other with glares and turned their heads upward in disapproval of the company. An awkward silence passed through the group for a bit.

"Thanks Spike," Twilight eventually said upon him catching her again, "I think I'm getting used to the whole balancing thing...but it's still a bit...weird..."

"I don't mind..." his muffled voice said pressed into her tummy. Smiling, the older dragon rubbed the male's head and gave it a kiss before attempting to walk again on her own. They needed to keep up with the others. The group was almost to Zecora's after all. Not that she didn't mind Spike's help, in fact she liked the attention he was giving her. It was just that they'd sorta been slowing down the group with how much she'd been stumbling through the Everfree Forest. "Spike, I said I'm al...alll...ah!...ACHOO!" The entire group rocketed away from the hot blue stream of fire that shot forward from the sneeze that the female dragon let off. Twilight's eyes whizzed to each other the startled members that stared back at her.

"Still mad about me toasting that stars and planet book you got mad at me about?" Spike cocked a brow knowing that Twilight now realized just how hard it was to stop a dragon sneeze. She gave him a weak grin while the group began to get back in order. Fortunately for them there wasn't much more they had to endure, for just through the next arch of trees lay the opening that the Zebra's hut sat in. With it now in sight everyone, and Twilight with Spike's help of course, charged at the doors and burst into the dwelling. What Sweetie Belle saw she couldn't believe.

"I must thank you again," Rarity said, "Even if it is just a temporary cure...oh hello Sweetie Belle."

"You're alright!" the younger unicorn exclaimed rushing over to her sister and tackling her into a hug.

"Oh my, it is quite the predicament," Zecora said upon seeing the various creatures enter her house after which her eyes drifted to Apple Bloom, "Perhaps not should this have been an experiment." The filly hung her head at the comment.

"Please help!" Apple Bloom pleaded, "If you don't then Ponyville's gonna be Messedupville! And my sister's gonna have to get used to carrying these weird bags around on her chest and my brother's gonna be climbing all over things and scaring visitors to death!...actually that part's pretty cool. But you gots to help!"

"Yeah, sorta owe us since you haven't made an appearance since the whole Discord thing," Scootaloo added. Zecora gave a sigh to the typical attitude of the rude pegasus.

"You must pardon me," she retorted, "for a warden of the forest am I. A while back some mechanical monstrosity started wrecking terror. Its cynical animosity has been keeping me to correct its error. But Apple Bloom I believe is the cause, should not she be the cure for her clause?" Again Apple Bloom grumbled from the blame being put solely on her.

"Zecora, she doesn't know a cure," Twilight informed, "What we do know is she used Poison Joke to cause physical effects from Heart's Desire in it." With the revelation of the ingredients, Zecora's eyes widened quite a bit.

"My...this is much more serious than I thought," the zebra admitted before walking over to a table and scrolling through some maps, "your countermeasures should lie at this spot." The group of warped beings huddled around to see what her hoof was pointing. Some gasped while others gave each other worried looks.

"In the Pun-Based Meadow grows the Cleverly Named Mushroom that cures all that troubles," Zecora explained, "Return it here and I shall prepare an elixir for ailes that bubbles!" Scootaloo muttered something under her breath.

"What?" Sweetie Belle asked. Scootaloo glanced at Zecora and contemplated whether or not she should repeat it. The zebra's accompanying expression was all the sign she needed.

"Just said she's really running out of material..."

"So Applejack...I've been wondering...what are those things?" Twilight asked almost immediately toppling over from pointing at the objects on her friend's chest. Luckily Spike was right there to catch her. Applejack looked down at the two mounds and shook her head.

"You know, I been wonderin' that myself," she replied poking one, "But they feel good to touch." Curiously she poked the other causing it to bounce a bit. Once Applejack had made sure that Twilight was looking elsewhere, the country female began fiddling around with the mounds a lot more, the pleasure never seeming to stop. In fact the more she played with them the more addictive it seemed to get. It took a while for her to actually stop and when she did a dark crimson flooded across her face hoping that no other pony had stolen a look back at her in their trek through the forest. It took her only seconds to make sure no one was watching still allowing her to go back to her little game.

To keep the plot from becoming to "mature" however, thankfully the author decided to switch over to what Spike was in the process of doing. Like the previous character he too was in a conflict. And like Applejack it had to do with his emotions. The baby dragon's dilemma however was over the dragon that he now assisted and the white pony that trotted next to Sweetie Belle. Spike gulped. Her swaying hips and tail definitely provoked a feeling within the reptile, but just as his mind began to become intoxicated with visions of his crush, another figure wormed its way into his mentality as Twilight wobbled about causing his face to be planted firmly in her soft chest.

It was a maddening situation to say the least. But at the same time it was a godsend. Spending his day watching his crush and being crushed against the tender body of the female he was supposed to be with. It was like a dream come true...minus the spider-legged colt that walked in a silent nightmare next to them of course. In a sense Spike wished everyday could be so enjoyable. He was loving every second of the tantalizing sensations that flowed through him. This was probably the reason that he didn't notice the scenery slowly giving way to the meadow that the group had been approaching ever since leaving Zecora's hut. It wasn't until Scootaloo spoke up that the warped party members and those helping them out took notice.

"Pun-Based Meadows..." Scootaloo read causing them all to come to a halt, "...that has to be the most generic writing I've ever seen on a sign." And the group had to admit, it truly was a rather vibrant display of normality. It was just a meadow it seemed. No springs or oddities about it...just a meadow...that the wind lightly brushed past.

"I know it'd be more dangerous," Rarity scoffed, "But the author could have at least been more imaginative with it."

"Eh, probably doesn't wanna go against the show's canon in case a map or something is done of the forest ever," Applejack figured. Rarity rolled her eyes.

"Coward..."

"Well either way I'm happy," Apple Bloom cheered, "Let's find us that mushroom and resolve the chapter! Cutie Mark Crusaders Seekers of the Ass Pull! YAY!" With the other two fillies joining in the declaration, the Cutie Mark Crusaders lead the union of misshapen beings deeper into the peaceful setting. And deeper they went...and deeper...and deeper. It seemed to take a good five minutes before the cast finally joined Twilight in collapsing to the ground.

"I just don't get it!" Applejack grumbled, "Zecora said it'd be here!"

"Knew we shouldn't have ever trusted that witch," Scootaloo muttered, "burn her at the cross I say. We could be out here until dark now..."

"Oh of all the worst things that could happen, this is the wors-" Rarity's complaining was silenced by a claw to her mouth.

"NO!" Twilight hissed, "No! Not in this fic! That crap may pass in every single other thing out there in the fandom but not here! I have had it with that stupid statement that the authors always feel the need to shove on us! You are not finishing it in this one!" Rarity's struggling eventually won over the small creature though and viciously she tossed the dragon aside. Instinct of the new body taking over, Twilight leapt back to her feet and braced herself for the charging unicorn. She was surprised at her newfound strength once she'd gripped Rarity's head under her arms and flipped her over. It was like tossing a book or two away!

But Rarity was far from done. She was fed up with all the venturing through the dirty woods that day and knew that the cure she'd gone to Zecora to prepare for her would be wearing off soon. She might as well make some use of her normal self before she was forced back into the elegantly designed pony she'd always dreamed of that would no doubt be ruined in the brawl. She gritted her teeth as she once more thrust her horn against Twilight. This time however she'd actually managed to knock the dragon down and pinned her to the ground. They may have been friends, but all of the cast got on each other's nerves in one way or another.

Spike meanwhile could only just stare at the fight that'd broken. It wasn't out of shock and wonder like how it'd been for Applejack and her brother. Rather a new state was washing over him. It wasn't one of worry or fright. No...this felt more like...enjoyment...lust. There his two love interests were wrestling each other across the ground. The gorgeous white fashion expert Rarity and Twilight in her sleek new dragon body, all of her animalistic desirable feral qualities being brought forth in the actions she was now performing. Spike didn't even realize that his jaw had dropped quite a bit during the conflict.

Eventually the fight died down at the baby dragon's feet leaving both participants gasping for breath. Both looked up at Spike for help. His reaction caused both of them to glare at him.

"...do you think you two could start making out?..." he asked. Instantly he recieved a slap from both the creatures causing the members of the Apple Family that'd been watching to break out in laughter. It was only when everypony and every other misfit had regained their composure that they'd realized what was missing. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were gone!

"I found it!" Scootaloo's voice exclaimed dashing the older figures over to a nearby ledge. Below the Cutie Mark Crusaders had most certainly discovered the fungus they needed. But there was one major problem. They were stuck! There was no way back up! "Hey guys! We...found...how do we get back out?..." The other fillies now felt their lips quiver with fear.

"H-hold on yall!" Applejack called.

"Y-yeah, we'll g-get you out somehow!" Rarity assured. Uneasily the older members of the group looked between each other. Before they could even think up the most basic plan a shriek caused them all to look back down the ledge. Something was now in the lower plain with the Cutie Mark Crusaders! It looked...like...a monster. It wasn't that it was scary or anything, it's just that...that's all it could be described as. There was nothing unique about it. It had to be the most bland thing any of them had ever seen. But the Cutie Mark Crusaders needed help. And so the rest of the cast slid down into the pit with them.

"Stay where ya are!" Appeljack ordered. Slowly the being turned to the intruders and tilted its head.

"What are you?" Twilight couldn't help but ask. It blinked.

"I am Generic Monster. The guardian of the Deus ex Machina that these fillies have taken! I will destroy all who-" Its voice faded away once a giant metal structure smashed it into the ground. The group looked up trying to register what had to just happened. Their eyes twitching, Spike, Twilight, and Rarity backed away from the mechanical being a bit. PARM inspected everyone below and lowered to the ground.

"Need a lift?" Pinkie Pie asked from on top of it. With one last look between the deranged and exhausted group, they filed onto the robot one by one and rode off into the sunset towards Zecora's hut.

Chapter 16: Save it for a Rainy Day

Chapter 16: Save It For a Rainy Day

A soft rain drizzled across the land. Not a pony remained outside in Ponyville. Though there might have been work that could be done, it was just so much more relaxing to snuggle up and have fun inside on such days. At least that's how a dragon and a pony that inhabited the library always viewed it. In the downpour that the pegasi had arranged a beacon of warmth emanated amidst the falling water. The tree that all other ponies went to for knowledge shown brightly with life and vibrance pouring from its illuminated windows. Even the occasional harsh wind did nothing to damper the ...almost all the windows had light.

"There ain't no way you're gettin' me this time..." Spike murmured. Tightly his claws gripped the plastic device that controlled the character on the television screen. He could feel his palms beginning to sweat with anticipation. Gulping down any building tension he might have, the baby dragon egged the protagonist along the path he'd set, shotgun ready. If there was a jump scare he'd be set. It'd taken him quite a few hours, but he'd built up an impressive amount of ammo for the game that was normally rather stingy about such things. Spike's hands began to tremble as he continued down the rusty blood-splattered corridor. He just knew something was going to startle him. And something did.

With a scream he leapt about five feet in the air and zoomed back to the ground to hide shuddering beneath the blanket he'd taken from the basket he used to sleep in. The fright hadn't come from the television though. No. What startled him had been real. It'd been a touch...a poke rather... Realizing that the images on the screen couldn't come to life and do anything to him, Spike peeked out from underneath the covers and glanced upwards. Connected to the purple limb that had touched him was one of the only two other residents that inhabited the book-filled dwelling. Lifting a brow, Twilight looked back down at him and smirked.

"Playing scary video games again are we?" she mused. Glaring back, Spike shakily forced himself out from under the blanket and grabbed the controller. He wasn't afraid. It was just a game. "Watch out!" Twilight gasped overdramatically as her hooves pressed both of Spike's cheeks inwards, "Who knows how long before the Pinkie Zombie sucks your brain out of your toes! Or what about the Cockatrice Mutant?" Puffs of green fire leaked out of Spike's nostrils in annoyance as Twilight continued to giggle. "BOO!" Even though he knew it was coming, Spike had to brace himself for Twilight's latest attempt.

"It's gonna get you Spikey..." the unicorn said in a wavering voice as she bent over the smaller creature and ran her cheek along his, "One wrong step. It's coming. Almost there...any second now it's going to pop out and you are going to scre-"

"AH!" the lizard practically evaporated into thin air with how quickly he dove under his blanket. Twilight only chuckled and leaned against the soft lump now before her. It didn't take long for Spike to recover, but it never should have happened to begin with. It was a game. It wasn't real. Doing his best to keep a determined face he slunked back out into the world of the living and stared at the screen that Twilight was smirking at. On it was the creature that had slithered out of the nearby wall. A small techno-organic mouse creature that sniffed the protagonist a few times and scurried off. Spike's expression was one of questioning to the older inhabitant.

"What?" he scoffed, "I wasn't scared. It was just a mouse...thing..." Twilight let out a few chuckles through her closed teeth and rubbed her hoof into Spike's head much to his displeasure.

"Nothing to be ashamed of, the game's supposed to scare ya," she reminded, "why even I screamed when I saw that little guy."

"Really?" Spike asked in disbelief.

"So you were afraid," Twilight teased. Spike glared.

"Shut up..."

"I love you!" Spike tackled Twilight. Had he not done so she might have jumped clean out of her skin from the surprise attack. Once the unicorn had fully comprehended what had happened she joined the dragon in his laughter and pressed back against him effortlessly pinning him to the floor of the library instead. More on autopilot than anything, Twilight nuzzled her snout against him to counter his various presses and shoves. There was no way he'd be winning whatever it was that he was attempting. Come to think of it that was a rather good question actually. Once the little wrestling match had come to a stop Twilight lifted her head and stared down at Spike.

"What are we doing?" she asked him. Spike thought for a moment and gave a shrug.

"Having fun?" he guessed.

"Well I know that silly," Twilight rolled her eyes as she sat down in front of him, "But like...why? What purpose does it serve the story?" Spike rubbed his chin. For minutes the duo thought and thought, neither of them reaching any viable sort of conclusion.

"Well..." Spike eventually put a finger up earning an eager glance from the female only to put it back to his chin a moment later much to her disappointment. After a bit she gave her own start to a theory which didn't last either. All the thinking did was cause one giant headache for the dragon and unicorn. The introduction Spike had made really did nothing at all to advance the plot in any way shape or form...in fact...the way the chapter had been going did nothing at all for the overall story either.

"You know...maybe this is filler," Spike suggested. Twilight's brows bent anxiously at the unsatisfactory revelation. "I mean Dragon Ball Z had that stuff all the time."

"Yeah, but Dragon Ball Z could afford that crap after the audience they raked in from Dragon Ball," Twilight reminded, "This is a story, a FAN story. People are going to get bored out of their minds unless we come up with a real plot for the chapter."

"Okay, first off, what are you talking about? DBZ was the one that got popular first, not Dragon Ball," Spike put his hands on his hips. Twilight sighed.

"I'm talking about the original Japanese stuff," she muttered, "Dragon Ball was already pretty successful before Z was even thought up there. It didn't need an American audience. That just made it more popular is all. Most of Z was already done before many people in the states had even heard of it."

"Well thank Celestia they translated it," Spike attempted to hold some relevancy in the debate, "Would've killed me to have to read those subtitles." The dragon glowered at the short laugh Twilight emitted. "Oh, I'm sorry for not being able to keep up with your precious reading skills," Spike mocked.

"It's not that," Twilight explained through the chuckling, "It's just...how can you even begin to think that the English stuff is better? I mean the jokes are horrible and no one sounds right. And don't get me started on how they messed up the music." Spike's eyes nearly fell out of his head upon hearing the words.

"WHAT!?" he exclaimed leaping at the unicorn's neck, "That music was badass! Way better than that 80's crap they had! And how can you say that about the voices! I mean have you heard Goku in the Japanese stuff? He sounds like a kid!" Twilight's eyelids lowered to match her assistant's annoyed expression.

"That's how he's supposed to sound," she defended pressing her snout up against his, "He isn't supposed to be all raspy. Oh and don't get me started on Piccolo. He sounds like he swallowed fucking sandpaper!"

"Piccolo is a fucking badass!" Spike yelled.

"Yeah," Twilight agreed cooly, "In the Japanese version..." The two glared into each other's eyes for a spell to accompany the growls they gave. "As for the music there is no way in hell that that Bruce Faulconer crap is anywhere near the genius atmospheric material that the true version has." The growling only intensified between the two lifelong companions as the heckling between the divided fanbase of the anime continued.

"Alright fine..." Spike eventually came to a stalemate, "You're free to like your version of the show and I'm free to like my-" "Crappy" "-version of the show. This be My Little Pony remember. Love and tolerate and all that crap." Finally having a moment of silence the two continued their glares at each other before it slowly turned to bemused expressions that began laugh. For three minutes straight they hollered and hooted over the event they'd just partaken in. It was unbelievable.

"And that...that is how you waste over half a page with Dragon Ball Z!" Twilight gasped for air.

"A true tribute to the show if ever there was one!" Spike declared thrusting his fist in the air. Approvingly, Twilight hit her hoof against it and they continued the laughter. It took quite a while for the interior of the tree to quite down so that it finally gave Owlowicious a chance to hoot starting the noise again, though a bit reserved in its loudness this time. The dragon and unicorn were left gasping on the floor once it was all over. It certainly had been quite the argument. Even their's never got that ridiculous or dragged on for such a length normally. Only if Pinkie Pie were thrown into the mix did things drag out from her illogical thought processes. Spike and Twilight both looked to a nearby bookshelf.

"Guess she isn't popping out," the dragon assumed.

"Thank Celestia she doesn't take every opportunity the author presents," Twilight sighed.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure she's still a bit miffed at the author with that Pinkie Sense thing," Spike told her.

"Really? He stopped that ages ago."

"Some ponies don't just let things go. Remember how you told me about Applejack's Pinkie Promise?"

"Oh god don't remind me," Twilight put a hoof to her head at the thought of the demonic G-minored monster that was normally so cheerful and fun-loving.

"But anyway, as for this story having filler, what's wrong with that?" Spike questioned, "I mean I get so tired of each and every fan story having the same tired old formula of it being an actual, you know, story. Sure this has one, but by in large it's just various random adventures like in our everyday lives in the show that tie into an overall story behind the scenes at the very end. This kind of story can afford breaks like this one. At least that's what I think." Twilight closed her eyes and thought for a moment. For that moment the rain trickling down the tree seeped into her mentality calming her excited mind. Maybe Spike had a point.

"You know...you're right," Twilight said with a smile. Spike folded his arms over his chest proudly. Well he did until he saw what Twilight magicked down to them from her bed. Spike sighed as she flipped through her book. "This'll give the perfect opportunities to try out some new techniques from the boyfriend book! And just think, we can...Spike, what are you doing?"

"Oh nothing..." the younger being replied quietly, his grip on the book tigthening evermore, "Just...taking this!"

"HEY!" Twilight yelped as the book and Spike vanished into a room next door. She could still hear the dragon giggling in the chase that started soon after. "Spike get back here! That's mine!"

"Gotta catch me first!" she heard him holler back. Twilight's brows narrowed. It was war.

Twilight's eyes darted around wildly. She had to be more careful. One wrong step and it'd be the end. That'd be it. She'd lose and then it'd be game over. The unicorn could practically smell the tension in the air with each quiet step she took across the littered landscape, the overturned furniture providing the only cover for her. And him. Somewhere out there, in the vast endless maze of junk resided her opponent. The vicious lizard that would no doubt tear her limb from limb if he ever got the chance. She knew he already had her scent. That was one advantage he'd automatically have over her. But she had brains. Something that she knew she was in a more rewarding caliber of when compared to him.

As she came to the next corner, Twilight took a deep breath to steady her inner workings and slid her head towards the end of the couch. She continually hugged it so as not to provide room for error. When such a situation was in motion mistakes weren't allowed. It was her or him. And if he got the chance she was done. That wasn't part of her plan. Fortunately no matter where she looked Twilight could not see scale or spine of the purple menace. Upon second thought it might not actually be in her favor. What if he had blended into the environment to fool her? Camouflage. She could be looking right at him and not notice.

"No..." she muttered, "He's not that smart..."

"You sure about that?" a male voice asked.

"Course I am," Twilight responded not daring to take her view from the battlefield of scattered books she was scanning, "There's no way that his expertise in strategic thinking could...compare...to...mine..." Twilight gulped and slowly slid her head upwards. She was staring right into the eyes of her nemesis.

"What about at common sense?" Spike grinned. Sheepishly the unicorn waved. The pause needed from the comedic effect gave just enough time for her to run off into the open war torn land. There was no time to look back. Twilight knew that if she did she would see the dragon on her heels ready to strike! He needed to be that efficient to be her assistant! In her run she tossed any book or parchment she could in back of her in a desperate attempt to divert the no-doubt seeking lizard. She could hear his footfalls changing with each step, but never getting farther behind!

"Come on!" Twilight cried. But she was within the home stretch! If she could just make it to the well-constructed mound of blankets and books on the other side of the room she'd be safe! In one final bid for sanctuary, the unicorn took a sharp turn. She smiled upon hearing the crash. Spike hadn't been nearly as quick to react as he had early due to how long he'd been chasing her in the linear path. Twilight on the other hand wasn't finished. Eagerly she pounced onto the springy sofa next to her and leapt clean over the back of the piece of furniture. She landed right in front of her fort! Proudly she pranced towards it...until she saw a rather annoyed looking Spike covered in books and writing utensils next to it.

"COME HERE!" he yelled. Twilight hardly had time to let out a scream as the dragon flung himself at her and pinned her to the ground. The duo fought wildly across the ground until eventually they lay in a panting mound in front of the fort. Twilight had been that close to it. That close to safety. That close...to having more time to think of a better plan. "Looks like I win again," Spike boasted proudly. The unicorn just huffed and shoved him off of her.

"Spike this isn't fair. I've not been able to make it to the book at all yet!" Twilight whined. Spike grinned and patted her head playfully. It provided a rare moment for Twilight show her look of disapproval towards his teasing.

"Then you admit I can outsmart you," Spike summarized. Twilight's eyes went wide and her pupils shrank at the proclamation.

"I never said nor implied that..." she drolled.

"But you're thinking it," Spike's grin widened. He could see her eye beginning to twitch. "Face it, you ain't getting your little boyfriend book back unless you say that I am in fact better than you." He had to physically bite his lips shut to keep from bursting out in laughter from how much Twilight's face was scrunching up from the continued ridicule. "Either you make it to the book without me stopping you or say that I can best you. Your choice," a few giggles worked their way into the final sentence of the dragon's statement. He hadn't had such fun indoors since he was a newborn when he and Twilight would spend all their time playing when she wasn't hard at work studying.

The pony on the other hand was caught up in a rather internal conflict. She could hear her teeth grinding inside her closed mouth. It wasn't that Spike was better than her in certain things. That much was obvious without a point needing to be made. But to declare that he was better than her in strategic thinking? In planning? Such a concept was absurd! It was to be laughed at on any other circumstance. But Spike had something she wanted. Without it she couldn't continue to be a good girlfriend. Spike would no doubt forget about the bond that the story had forced on him and just go back to lusting over Rarity. She would have the book...but how?...

"Just order him to give it back..." Twilight's voice told her. The unicorn blinked and tilted her head.

"Give me the book back," she commanded. Spike lifted a brow.

"No." Twilight's stern expression dropped back to the defeated one she'd been wearing ever since she'd started the vain attempt to retrieve the item. It may have been just a game but she should've been winning!

"Don't just let him get away with it!" her voice persisted, "You're the boss here! He is your slav-er-servan-uh-assistant!" Now Twilight's head lifted a bit. She wasn't talking...but she could hear her voice. Curiously she glanced at her side to see a miniature version of herself with devil horns on her shoulder. "Come on! You're the student of Celestia! MAKE him give it back!" Before Twilight could even question what was going on her voice retorted from her other shoulder where an angel version of her was perched.

"Violence is not the answer," it told her calmly, "You want to love him. That's the whole point of having this relationship to begin with. Should you force it to be returned it would only cause a setback in your affection towards each other."

"Oh not this crap!" the devil one smacked her forehead, "Look here angel girl, this story'll be boring as hell if there isn't conflict!"

"Then perhaps stories shouldn't be made and peace should just come in the harmlessness that follows," the wiser avatar suggested. This only helped to further the devil's spite. Twilight could see its mane beginning to turn firey in the distaste it felt towards its opposite.

"Look! It's not that hard!" the devil told Twilight gripping her cheeks, "Watch!" A wicked grin gracing her lips, the devil turned to Spike. "Hey bitch! Get me my book!"

"Fuck off!" Spike's voice yelled back. But it didn't come from the dragon. Now both Twilight and him watched as her devil and his yelled at each other.

"Please, this is Twilight's turn for this," Spike's angel pleaded.

"Screw that crap, this be war!" the horned one cackled as he got a trident out from behind his back. All Spike's angel could do was sigh as the devil clashed weapons with Twilight's one. "No little unicorn whore is gonna tell us dragons what to do!" he hissed, smoke pillowing from between his teeth as he spoke. Likewise Twilight's devil was displaying rather vicious physical signs as well. Her eyes glowed a dark purple while her middle horn slowly started to lengthen into a rather lethal-looking spear to counteract the weapon that Spike's one carried.

"Oh contrare," she chuckled darkly, "a servant should not speak out against his master like that..."

"My master ain't no one's, slut!" the male devil yelled. The anxiousness reached a climax causing the two to leap back from each other due to the sparks that shot forth from the point they'd met at. The devils stared each other down for quite a spell before the next move was made. In the meantime Spike and Twilight shot each other an odd look to be sure they really were viewing what was happening.

"So...you doin' anything this evening?..." Spike's angel gulped nervously. His blush made Twilight's one smile.

"Didn't really have anything planned," she winked. Spike's angel now was almost completely red from the gesture. "Why ya asking?..."

"Just um...wonderin'..." he rubbed his arm bashfully. Just as Twilight's one was about to ask something else the reignited battle overtook her voice. Again the devils slashed and swiped at each other. Both Spike and Twilight just stared, mostly in disbelief, at the subconscious event that took place between them. It was...unbelievable to say the least.

"You're almost as good at pissin' me off as Pinkie Pie is at-"

"HI!" the earth pony's voice cried turning every characters' attention to the cheerful new devil that'd appeared. Spike and Twilight's devils only gave one annoyed look at each other before kicking the intruder in the stomach causing her to poof away.

"Dumb bitch," Spike's devil muttered, "I mean seriously, she doesn't pop up when the big guys talk about her, but when we mention even-"

"Don't call her back," Twilight's devil muttered. A second later they jumped back into the realization that their fight had been paused and lunged at each other's throats once more.

"I will murder you!" Spike's devil seethed.

"I'll rip out your lungs!" Twilight's yelled.

"I'll tear your brain out and carve out your eyes!"

"You got nothing on Jeepers Creepers dumbass! Why I'll-

"Yeah? Well I'm gonna-"

"Ha! Like hell you are-"

"And then she said-"

"But I didn't-"

Eventually the two ground to a stalemate with their weapons locked once more and pressed each other's snouts up against each other as the only form of intimidation they had left to muster. Their next action made the others give both mortified and confused looks. With as much viciousness as they'd fought the devils locked lips and began wrestling around in a heated romance in the air which they finally vanished into in a cloud of smoke. Twilight and Spike stared looking with their jaws hanging even after the angels had started up a conversation again.

"Well I think we're gonna get going too..." Twilight's angel kicked her foot against the air, "We um...have some things we'd like to talk about in private if you don't mind..." With a smile bigger than Spike had ever seen himself in the mirror with, his angel vanished with Twilight's leaving the two physical beings to stare at each other in silence. It seemed to go on forever until a bolt of lightning flashed across the room from outside.

"...may I please have the book back?..." Twilight asked politely. Spike's expression calmed at the question that brought them back to reality and pulled it out from underneath the sofa cushion that Twilight had bounced off of earlier in her attempt to escape him. Her jaw almost fell again.

"It was...there?..." she choked, "But what about the I was tracking-"

"Decoy," Spike shrugged. Twilight blinked a few times to help process just what all had happened. When all was said and done though they were still just standing there with the book.

"...so...how should we spend the rest of the night?..." the dragon asked, "I mean after we get this mess cleaned up of course..."

"I think that can wait," Twilight told him as she lowered her head to his eye level. Spike's mouth formed a small hole upon seeing the wink she gave him. "How's about we head back to bed? I've always felt that the rain provides some nice atmosphere when you're trying to rest..."

"We're gonna be resting?" Spike asked. Twilight's eyelids lowered and she smiled at him. Happily the dragon hopped up onto her back and the pony ascended the stairs to her bedroom.

Chapter 17: The Great Apple Robbery

"And you're sure your little bunny boy can watch over Tank?" Rainbow Dash asked. The other pegasus giggled and nodded to her as she shut the cottage door.

"Angel always watches over the other animals while I'm away. Even makes sure I do some things correctly when I overreact to some things. He's the best helper ever. Why I can't count the number of times he's kept me on track. In fact I'm pretty sure that he'd sometimes play with Tank back before he went with you."

"Oh well that's good then I guess," Rainbow Dash muttered not knowing whether to be thankful or disturbed by Fluttershy's understanding of the animal society. Fluttershy squeaked a smile out as she locked the door of the cottage.

"And it's good to see that you two have developed such a bond," she told the blue pegasus, "You really care for the little guy." Rainbow Dash's head jolted up at the statement.

"No I don't!" she exclaimed as a crimson hue overtook her face. The less socially-adept pony looked at Rainbow Dash in a mixture of worry and confusion. "L-let the little guy rot for all I care. He'd deserve it for making the storm last so long as it did the other day!"

"Tank caused it to take that long?" Fluttershy rubbed her ears to make sure she'd heard the claim correctly.

"O-of course he did! Little pest wouldn't leave me alone and caused me to...it's his fault, not mine! Now we gonna get going or what?" Rainbow Dash put her front hooves on her hips now that she was flying in the air. As usual an annoyed expression graced her face when discussing something she'd rather not be dealing with. Fluttershy's one was quite a bit different with an unsure smile. She may not have been too used to socializing but she did know Rainbow Dash.

"Oh Dashie, it's not a bad thing to care about your pet," Fluttershy laughed lightly.

"I don't care about him!" the more energetic pony's blush returned full force, "Now if you don't come on I'm leaving ya!"

"...you're the one that asked me to go in the first place..." Fluttershy pointed out. A chill wind blew past them yanking away any sense of dignity and composure that Rainbow Dash might have had with it.

"...just shut up..." Rainbow Dash muttered. Fluttershy smiled knowing that she had bested her friend and floated as quickly as possible after the blue pony. Neither of them looked back to see the blue unicorn that popped out from behind the timid one's dwelling. Slowly Trixie began to unlock the cottage's front door.

As the smoke flooding from the front of the train began to clear the shape of three ponies could be seen standing in front of the vehicle. It wasn't long before it sped off again leaving them coughing in its wake. But other than the mild irritation the trio was rather content. They'd reached their destination without delays of any sort. And the setting that lay before them was one that two of them had wanted to spend more time in the last time they'd visited. Unfortunately, just like it had been the time before, the group was there for business rather than simple personal amusement.

"I'm mighty thankful you gals decided to help out. But really, I'm sure we don't need all that much assistance," Applejack told them.

"It's no trouble," Twilight assured her.

"Yeah! Besides, we needed a break from her and Spike being together all the time when they're onscreen after last chapter," Pinkie Pie added. Both Twilight and Applejack rolled their eyes upon hearing the fourth wall breaker's comment.

"Anyhow," the orange earth pony diverted the conversation, "Guess we better get on down to Braeburn and see what all the damage is. I'm a mite surprised he weren't here to welcome us after last time."

"Now who's saying I'm not?" another countryish voice asked turning all heads to the side. Standing there with a huge smile on his face was Applejack's cousin. "Welcome to Appleloosa!" he hollered and rushed over to the group, "Care to take the tour arou-"

"Did that last time," Applejack reminded hesitantly, "Though I wouldn't mind checking up Bloomberg while we're here..."

"Well we couldn't do the tour even if ya wanted," Braeburn sighed. Dullness in his walk, the male pony trotted over to where the train had been and looked out across the dry land beyond. It may have been bare, but it certainly brought some soothing to the ordeal that his town was now ensnared in. And somewhere out there over the horizon the buffalo tribe were certainly fairing much better in attitude for the time being. Part of him wishes he could have been one of their's instead every now and then. "All the other folk are caught up in a war against those damn trespassers..." he muttered.

"Oh believe me, when they see us they'll be run out of town in no time flat," Applejack assured him confidently. The trio was a bit surprised to hear the sigh he gave.

"I wish I could believe that cuz, but this just ain't some normal machine they're luggin' around," Braeburn told them, "Them Flim Flam guys are pretty darn near unbeatable. Their machine sucks up all our apples before we can even get to a single tree!"

"I don't see what the problem is," Twilight interjected, "I mean you guys are an apple community right? Why would you even consider buying cider from those crooks when you can do it yourselves?" Braeburn turned around and squinted his eyes.

"You gals don't know do ya?..." he muttered. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Twilight looked between each other.

"You guys are competing against their machine to see who's better at doin' cider ain't ya?" Applejack asked, "That's what we did when they done came on down to Ponyville. And we only had nine ponies against em. A whole town should be able to handle em with their hooves tied up!" Braeburn laughed a bit at the thought.

"Oh you..." his voice lowered as he talked, "...no...that's not the situation. When I told you we all had them Flim Flams as our problem I didn't mean no duel or nothin'. Those guys are STEALING our apples for this shiny newfangled device they have! No matter what we do they're either just too fast or durable to stop. That's why I asked for your help." With each passing second the newcomers' faces winced and cringed more and more. They could beat them in a contest no problem, but none of them thought the duo would stoop to actual crime. They seemed too...sophisticated for that.

"If you done wanna wait for the next train to take you on back to Ponyville then I don't blame ya," Braeburn sighed, "Sorry to waste you alls' time." Applejack zoomed in front of her cousin just as he began to walk away grinding him to a stop.

"Now just you wait here one gosh darn minute," she ordered, "We didn't come all the way down here just to head back. These guys are horsin' around with my kin and I ain't gonna just let that slide, ya hear? Sides', I ain't leaving until I've rowdied on down and visited ol' Bloomberg! You lot best be treatin' him with respect!" Braeburn's face was one of relief and sympathy from the loud announcement that his cousin had made.

"Applejack, you know how we treat our trees," he ruffled her mane causing her to grunt, "And thank Celesia! We need all the help we can get!"

"Why not ask the buffalo?" Pinkie Pie suggested. Braeburn's pupils shrank at the thought.

"Well ya see, the buffalo might not be attackin' anymore but there's still some strain amongst our folk and their's..." Braeburn kicked the ground nervously. Had Twilight or Applejack payed attention to Pinkie Pie's growing smile their faces would've been those of curiosity.

"Then you're available?" Pinkie Pie asked. The question literally made the colt jolt upwards.

"What?!" both he and Applejack exclaimed while Twilight simply gave an astonished look. Pinkie Pie just continued to smile.

"We probably don't need to spend anymore time focused on us right now. Why don't the readers look into what the Cutie Mark Crusaders are up to? I mean they weren't even in the last chapter," she suggested.

Scootaloo yawned lazily. It'd been a rather boring day even after the other two had gotten to the tree house. Sure they'd worked on a few ways to get their cutie marks. But as usual it amounted to nothing in the end. The results were always the same. Cuts and bruises. Fortunately Apple Bloom was able to snag some more stuff off of Zecora just in case of emergency the last time they'd seen the zebra. Scootaloo didn't know why, but the foreigner always just gave her the creeps no matter what side she was on. Whether it be her weird way of talking or the smell of her hut or just the oddity of the resident herself, Zecora sent shivers of uneasiness throughout the filly.

"Whatcha think about this one?" Sweetie Belle asked. More out of lack of anything to do than anything else, Scootaloo yawned again and inspected the sheet of paper that her friend had produced. On it was what one could only call a scribbled mess. Scootaloo looked at the happy unicorn and cocked a brow instantly dropping Sweetie Belle's cheerful demeanor.
"We need the design to look good," the pegasus practically spat turning towards the mannequin that they'd abducted from Rarity's Boutique shortly after the whole flooding Ponyville with clothing incident. The simple rag that the older pony had made certainly had turned out to be a lot better than any of the fillies had expected, but that in no way meant that they were giving up on the dress they had been attempting to make that night. It might not have been the most enjoyable thing in the world, but if it was what would get them their Cutie Marks then they absolutely needed to try it out.

And so far things were coming along better than expected. They'd snuck away all the cloth they needed, but the Cutie Mark Crusaders were stuck at an stalemate. What should they have the dress turn into? What should have been a normal easy-to-solve question had transformed into a good week-long debate and argument with each pony giving various designs, descriptions, and even bringing in models they'd created.

"I still say it should be covered in apples!" the yellow filly remarked from the mannequin's side, "Everypony loves apples!" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both shook their heads.

"Needs to be glittery!" Sweetie Belle declared.

"Or rainbow colored," Scootaloo suggested. Now Apple Bloom took the pegasus' place in sharing Sweetie's expression.

"That would look awful," Sweetie Belle flatly stated. In seconds Scootaloo had pinned her to the ground.

"What do you know? It'd look beautiful!" Scootaloo growled.

"Yeah, maybe to Rainbow Dash fangirls," Apple Bloom agreed. In moments the clubhouse was caught up in another disagreeing frenzy of dust clouds and injuring fillies. Thankfully Apple Bloom had another batch of the healing potion ready. It truly was good to have a white mage.

Spike was almost flung clean off of Twilight's bed from the rumble that shook the tree.

"Whoa!" he cried clinging onto the covers for what felt like dear life. He knew that he should be up and about tending to the various chores that Twilight had left him in charge of in her absence, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Besides he deserved the free time to rest. Aside from that most of the stuff she'd listed had been the usual trivial normal daily things that he normally did. He swore that he must have seen "breathing" as a chore at least three times within ten other words from each other.

Once he'd managed to make his way back onto the mattress safely, the baby dragon crawled over to the other side and slid down. The crash had come from downstairs. Just in case of the yet-to-be-encountered hostile intruder, Spike breathed out a little bit of flame to see just how much he had to generate currently. Sufficed to say it was more than enough as it roasted the wooden wall outside of Twilight's bedroom. Just another thing he'd have to patch up before she got back. But it'd be worth the price if it was to fight back some robber or bandit. A bit more eager than he probably should have been the lizard slid down the stairs as stealthily as possible and peered into the main lobby of the library. It definitely was a mess. But there was something else in there other than just books. Something was...moving underneath a pile of them.

"Hey Twilight!" Rainbow Dash called erupting from the mound leaving a shaky Fluttershy shuddering in the remains of the impact site, "Sorry bout the mess but...Twilight? Ya here?..."

"Didn't you guys know she was headed to Appleloosa with Pinkie Pie and Applejack?" Spike's voice got their attention. Her face now one of defeat, Rainbow Dash muttered something under her breath and drifted back to the ground. Fluttershy was in much lighter spirits, as to be expected.

"What's up?" Spike asked finally getting to the ground floor, "I can probably get you any book you're after if that's the problem."

"I don't think the author even knows what the problem is yet," Fluttershy confessed her thoughts. Rainbow Dash shot her a somewhat distasteful look and turned her attention back to Spike.

"Well while it is true that the author didn't know what kind of plot he was making, I now do," she boasted lifting triumphantly in the air, "He had a whole day after jotting down what Fluttershy said to come up with something." Fluttershy and Spike both stared at the rainbow-maned pegasus for a second or two.

"...so what is it?..." Spike persisted. Casually Rainbow Dash drifted over to him and landed.

"We!..." she started. A good ten seconds or so passed in utter silence allowing Fluttershy and Spike to eye each other uneasily.

"...yes?..." Spike waved his hand signalling to continue.

"Sheesh, you guys just don't know how to build drama," Rainbow Dash scoffed.

"After your little story Discord let you give I'm surprised you know how," Spike muttered causing Fluttershy to let out a few giggles. Rainbow Dash scrunched her snout and rolled her eyes. "Just call em as I see em," the dragon shrugged inciting even more reactions from the pegasi.

"Anyhow..." Rainbow Dash growled through clenched teeth, "We're here because...because..." The pony's eye twitched as though she were finding it hard to figure out just what it was she was trying to say.

"...you okay?..." Spike was unsure whether he should be asking the question or not.

"...god damn it why hasn't the author thought up a reason for me and Fluttershy to be in the story yet!" Rainbow Dash seethed, "I mean I even go through the effort of backing him up claiming that he's made up a reason and he still can't think up crap! What the hell? Give me something to work with!" The author gave a rather nervous laugh and bit his lip from the reaction of the character he was supposed to be giving purpose to and twiddled his thumbs. In an attempt to buy more time he decided to switch to some other characters and see what they were up to.

"Oh you son of a-"

"And that is why we are not giving back the apples," the mustached pony told the group. Angrily, Applejack stamped her hoof and started approaching the two swindlers.

"Oh my I do believe we've upset the poor lass," the other brother chuckled.

"Indeed I'm sure we have," the mustached one agreed. Casually he strolled forward to meet up with their prior enemy and bent his head down to look her in the eyes. From where he was standing she could easily leap up and start making a fuss with him. But the violence would likely only escalate the catastrophe they'd engulfed Appleloosa in. The last thing that Flim and Flam needed was more provoking. Sure they might be given a bruise here and there but in the longrun it'd only serve to fuel their reasoning for tormenting the settlers. They were Applejack's family after all.

"Now, unless you can think up a good reason why we should give back the apples I suggest you take a hike kiddo," Flam said daring to rub his hoof into the earth pony's hat. Unable to restrain herself any longer, Applejack snapped forth and bit at the appendage. Fortunately for the unicorn he yanked his leg back just in time, his grin never fading.

"Now you see here! This here town's trees are theirs, not yours! Now it don't matter none if you're given permission to use them like back in our contest but don't you dare go about stealing! That's just low down and dirty ya hear?" Flam turned to his brother and they both burst out in laughter.

"Maybe that might sound threatening from a pony that actually talked with correct grammar," Flim managed through his cackling, "But you little missy have lots to learn about business. Not everything in the world is just fair game. If it ain't good for business it don't belong. And being broke ain't good for business now is it? When we get to the next town we need to have enough of those succulent fruits ready to press into cider for the whole populous. And we're going to have those apples. With or without your cooperation. Kapeesh?" Twilight and Braeburn had to physically hold the orange pony back to keep her from attacking the two swindlers. Braeburn fully understood her feelings though. He too was pretty tempted to just let her loose. But he'd seen what the brothers were capable of. It was for the best to restrain her.

"Then it be war..." Applejack glared. The brothers gave another round of laughter much to the newcomers' surprise.

"Oh ho ho, yes do try," Flim wiped a tear from his eye.

"I take it you haven't been filled in on what all the pathetic attempts the ponies around here have tried to do to run us out of town," Flam assumed. Now it was Braeburn's turn to feel the sheer spite towards the two intruders. It didn't last much longer though. Without a care in the world the two turned towards a machine behind them and their horns began to glow.

"Tata for now," Flim said.

"Can't wait to see what you come up with," Flam added. Before any of the ponies could get another word or action in, they were all flung high into the sky from the blast the machine the brothers had activated shot at them. With a loud crash they splattered comically back on the ground a good mile away from the base that Flim and Flam had set up. Thankfully a few trees had had their branches out to break their fall a bit.

"That was awesome! Let's do it again!" Pinkie Pie cheered only to fall over a second after hopping back up. Worried and distraught looks hung on everyone else's faces, most notably on the two apple-based ponies.

"Well Twilight..." Applejack sighed, "What's the plan?..."

"So am I, still waiting..." Rainbow Dash sighed.

"For this world to stop hatin'," Spike sang afterwards prompting another to take it up.

"Can't find a good reason," Fluttershy continued.

"Can't find hope to believe in," Rainbow Dash finished with a weak smile. The group couldn't help but let out a round of laughter once their little communion of singing had ended.

"No but seriously..." Rainbow Dash said a bit dismally as her humor came to an end, "Are we seriously just gonna be sitting around here all day as something to give pacing between the others' adventure in Appleland since the author didn't come into this chapter prepared for what to do with the other characters?" Fluttershy and Spike thought for a moment. Even they had to admit the peacefulness was rather boring. "I say we take action!" Rainbow Dash pounded her hooves together causing the other two to jump a bit, "So what if the author sucks ass? We still can do stuff!"

"Like what?" Fluttershy asked. Rainbow Dash tapped her chin. They had a whole chapter to waste, but she wanted something thought up as soon as possible. The anticipation would be the death of her if she had to sit around doing nothing in the tree any longer.

"We are going to..." she started. Spike and Fluttershy edged towards her eagerly. But nothing came. All her mind drew was a blank. One continuous blank. She wasn't the one of the group that was usually having to come up with plans. So she said the first thing that popped into her mind. "...pull the biggest prank on Ponyville!" The other two occupants' eyes grew a bit and glanced at each other uneasily. They knew how good Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were at their pranks. But pranking all of Ponyville?

"Now let's get started," Rainbow Dash rubbed her hooves together mischievously.

"So then, that's the quiet one down..." Trixie muttered rubbing her butt. It still stung from the injuries she'd received from Fluttershy's little demon rabbit. But at least she'd gotten done what she needed to there. It was a good start. And from what she'd heard the "country" one was out of town as well. That's how she found herself standing in front of Applejack's house. As boldly as she'd performed at her shows, the magician rapped her hoof on the door loudly. A spell of silence passed and she repeated the action. Receiving no response of any sort again, the unicorn simply pressed harder against the door and flung it open. Then jumped back in fright.

Swaying there in a rocking chair before her was an elderly green pony. Obviously Applejack's ancestor of some sort. Trixie was about to turn tail and run when she realized something. The only movements that the elderly pony was performing were vibrating up and down. Upon further inspection she noticed that the eyes were also closed. She was asleep! Wiping the sweat from her brow, Trixie walked as quietly as possible into the first floor of the dwelling and began searching for a way to the basement.

In retrospect Trixie was a bit surprised she hadn't thought of the revenge plan sooner. She knew she still had some residual power left over from the abilities that Discord had enhanced her with, but she'd never actually thought of making an actual effective object with her newer magic. Now though she had. All she needed now was to put the devices in place and when the time came, all of them would get it. All at once. Her revenge complete on the little group of ponies that probably belonged in an insane asylum more than anypony else at times. But what she had in store would ensure that none of them would bother her ever again!

"Eehh, can we help you?..." a dull voice asked. Trixie's brows jolted up beyond the top of her head before her pupils slowly slid towards the side of her face. Standing behind her was a much bigger male red pony who was a bit skeptical of the intruder to say the least.

"Why, er, um, yes. I the great and-er-Trixie am here with something I would like to sell to you kind folk," the blue pony lied as cooly as possible, "I was going to talk to the owner but she seemed asleep so I was checking around for anypony else to make the presentation to..."

"Ask her if she wants some pie!" Granny Smith, now apparently awake, hollered from the other room surprising both Big Macintosh and Trixie. The red pony escorted the rather uneasy unicorn back into the living room and sat her down on the couch. "Why hello there!" Granny Smith greeted with more enthusiasm than anyone Trixie had seen even close to her age, "What brings you on down to Sweet Apple Acres?" Trixie's eyes went to her head hesitantly.

"Why I just wanted to see if you folks would be interested in this new device I have to offer," the showoff selected her words as quickly as she could. Big Mac kept a stern face, but his elder's shifted to one of confusion and a bit of wonder from the fear the object that was produced emitted. From a cloud of magic Trixie dropped a glowing red diamond-shaped letter M onto the table in front of her. The power that seeped out of it graced her lips with a rather wicked grin for a moment.

"...what is it?..." Granny Smith asked cautiously. Hastily Trixie shook off the ecstasy.

"Why can't you tell?" Trixie asked, "It's a, uh, crop producer...enhancer...izer. Makes any crop you want, from apple trees to corn grow faster than ever! Just plant the seeds and this puppy does the rest. But it has to be kept underground in a cellar or something where other ponies can't find it and run off with it. If it's above ground it can't work its way into the soil and stuff." Big Macintosh grimaced at the device. Even he was beginning to feel a bit ill from it.

"I dunno...we do things mighty traditionally around these parts..." Granny Smith eyed the contraption carefully.

"I'll throw in a free batch of test seeds that'll react to it first and within five days or your money back," Trixie told her.

"Let's give it a shot!"

"Now have you even tried asking the buffalo for help?" Twilight asked. The sheriff's dulled face just continued to hang how it was. Nothing ever seemed to change it. "I mean yeah, it's good that you put up resistance and all...but pies are not going to get the job done, especially with the kind of equipment these two are lugging around. What we need is more physical force. The buffalo can give that!"

"Twilight...we haven't seen the buffalo come by here ever since these two have shown up," Braeburn answered, "We haven't even gotten the chance to ask for help."

"Hold on a second," Pinkie Pie said. To everyone's shock she grabbed Braeburn by the cheeks and mashed her lips against his. The only pony that didn't give a reaction was the sheriff. Twilight was the first to recover giving her the chance to see Applejack's open jaw which was now practically on the ground. Once Pinkie had finally decided to pull away she smiled leaving the male pony with his eyes two different sizes as his mind tried to wrap around just what had happened.

"...Pinkie Pie...what the hell?!" Applejack yelled after finally coming back to her senses, "I mean I know you is perhaps the most random pony I've ever come across, but gosh darnit that was just outta fuckin' nowhere!"

"Oh you should have all seen the looks on your faces," Pinkie Pie giggled and turned back to Braeburn to whisper in his ear, "Call me." Seeming satisfied with how thoroughly she'd affected the group, the crazed party animal pranced off towards the other inhabitants of Appleloosa to help with the pie making. The remaining girls approached Braeburn in an attempt to get him to respond in his now petrified state.

"Uh...you okay Brae?..." Applejack poked.

"...my mouth tastes...sweeter than any caramel apple I've ever had..." he said slowly prompting a sympathetic smile from Twilight. Applejack on the other hoof didn't know what she should say to Pinkie Pie the next time she saw her. The energetic pony's action had caused quite the muddling in her emotions.

"So, you think you can take down these Flim Flam guys?" the sheriff brought the group's attention back to the matter at hand. Twilight looked to the sky in thought.

"What all do you know about their little operation here?" she asked.

"Well, they'll have all the apples they need in an hour or so from what I've heard," Braeburn told her.

"Then they gonna make haste and leave town...for now..." the sheriff sighed. Twilight's eyes narrowed. The solution was coming together.

"Alright, Sheriff, have the inhabitants block off all ways out of town," Twilight ordered, "Appeljack, your with me in tracking those two criminals. And Braeburn, do you know where the buffalo are located?"

"Well shucks course-"

"I do!" Pinkie Pie suddenly popped out from behind him causing everyone to jump.

"Good," Twilight nodded, "You two'll go check up on them and see if they can-"

"Whoa! Hold up there!" Applejack dashed between Twilight and the others, "Pinkie, we need to-"

"No time for that," Twilight said, "If Flim and Flam are leaving this quick then we gotta act as fast as possible. Think you two can get out there?"

"Well I dun-"

"Of course!" Pinkie saluted and grabbed the colt by the throat. In an instant they were off into the horizon beyond the town. Once the sheriff had left to check up on his forces, Twilight trotted off into the apple fields with Applejack to carry out their part of the mission.

"I hold no responsibility if Braeburn comes back traumatized," the orange pony muttered.

"So you need what now?" Rarity asked.

"Glitter!" Rainbow Dash repeated loudly, "Tons and tons of glitter!" The excited pegasus backed the fashionista up quite a bit with each press she made towards her in her shouting. "Mayor Mayer won't know what hit her when it all comes together! It'll be the ultimate prank! Oh, Pinkie Pie'll be so jealous!" Fluttershy bit her lip. Maybe she should have stayed at home. Sure Rainbow Dash seemed a lot happier now that she was doing something, but if there was one thing she had learned over the years it was that when she was happy something bad would probably end up happening.

"Right..." Rarity nodded. Of course she had no problem sharing her materials, especially with a pony that needed them so badly, but the one in question was usually one she was more skeptical about. Especially when it came to the pranks she'd sometimes pulled. The unicorn could've sworn that she'd gotten a few hairs out of place the last time she was a victim of one of the mischievous occurrences that Rainbow Dash so loved to enthrall herself in. "I'll be back in just a-"

"Got it," Spike bounced up to the unicorn. Rarity looked down. Sure enough the contents that Rainbow Dash had requested were in his claws. Smiling, Rarity bent down, gave the dragon a kiss on the cheek, and levitated the items over to her counter. Needless to say, Spike twirled around and fell back on the floor from the peck he received. Rarity had to admit, the young dragon certainly was quite the assistant for whenever his friends needed things done. Her in particular. This came as no surprise though after they'd narrowly avoided certain death when Spike had transformed into his large monstrous form.

"Alright...so what is this prank you got planned?..." Rarity gulped as she filed away the money that Rainbow Dash displayed. With a giggling fascination, Rainbow Dash rubbed her hooves together once more and bent over the glitter. Just to be careful, the unicorn took a few steps back leaving the rather reluctant Fluttershy to fall prey to Rainbow Dash's insidious explanation. "Enthralled isn't she?" Rarity whispered to the recovering lizard.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Spike huffed, "Can't say I blame her though. Came into the story without the author even having anything thought out for her to do."

"Oh my, I do hate when that happens," Rarity agreed, "At least the author doesn't just throw me in for no reason whenever it's focusing on you and Twilight. That'd just ruin any potential of my character if I'm just another stock pony." Spike moreso just listened to the sound of the pony's voice rather than what she was actually saying. The very echo of it soothed his nerves. Everything about her was just incredible to take in any time he had the chance to be around her. Without any thought to it, Spike slid over and leaned against the white body of the beautiful being. Happiness flowed through him as Rarity slid her front leg around his neck. Spike would've continued with his instincts when he remembered who he was supposed to be with.

"Hey Rarity..." he swooned a bit earning a bright smile from the incredulous mare. It was near impossible to talk when she looked at him so adoringly. But he had to. For his sake if nothing else. "Um...if I'm supposed to be with Twilight...don't know if you realize that you're doing this or not...but um...why are you being so...sweet towards me?" Rarity stiffled a laugh and nuzzled her cheek into Spike's head causing him to blush rather violently.

"Why deary, I'm supposed to do this. Provides conflict emotionally for you and Twilight so that the reader doesn't get too bored with the stuff that actually matters in the story," she cooed, "Just the sign of a bad author in this case not knowing how to make a pairing that he likes interesting. A scapegoat to grab more views really."

"Stupid general audience..." Spike folded his arms over his chest.

For most of the walk through the wilderness the two ponies traveled in silence. Well, one of them tried to keep it that way. Anypony from Ponyville could tell you that it was literally impossible to keep a lid on the one that Braeburn now trotted with. No matter his vain attempts Pinkie Pie would not stop trying to get some form of a word or sentence into the otherwise calm trek. It was...a new experience to say the least.

"And then I said "oatmeal! Are you crazy?"! But either way, we're here now. So, how many mares have you bedded?" What should have just been another question in the endless babble Pinkie Pie spouted out popped out to Braeburn and made him almost trip.

"I'm sorry...what?..." he coughed and rubbed his ear to make sure he'd heard the foreigner correctly.

"How many mares have you bedded," Pinkie repeated gleefully, "It's an easy question. Just gotta tell me how many times you've fuc-"

"I done know what it means!" Braeburn exclaimed to keep her from continuing with any vivid description she might attempt. For the love of Celestia he had no idea what a trip with the pink pony might entail. Now all he wished was that they would reach the buffalo as soon as possible. At least there he could talk to another, much less crazy, female that he could actually tolerate.

"So..." Pinkie's grin stretched from cheek to cheek almost covering her eyeballs.

"No offense, but that ain't none o' your business," Braeburn told her. Disturbingly Pinkie Pie's grin only closed so that the teeth couldn't be seen. It didn't go away as the male had hoped.

"You know, no matter what the numbers are, I can add to them," she winked. Braeburn gulped and kept walking. That is he did until he was pulled around so that he could see the pony again. Her eyelids drooped as she continued to approach leaking sweat down across the male pony's body. Braeburn tried to hasten his backwards walking but Pinkie Pie just kept in the same distance that she'd started to pursue him with. Eventually he did end up tripping and fell onto his back. He didn't need to look at her to tell that Pinkie Pie was standing right over him. But Braeburn wasn't about to give up. Clumsily he crawled backwards on all fours until he hit a rather large rock keeping him crouched beneath Pinkie Pie.

"Look, it's not that you aren't...uh...fun or nothin'," Braeburn fumbled with his words, "But uh...I just ain't ready for this kinda pressure. 'Specially not now with those two criminals robbin' us and al-ah!"

"Oh silly it isn't pressure," Pinkie Pie told him snuggling her face into his chest, "It's fun. Everypony loves fun!..." Braeburn cringed from the affection and struggled with all his strength to break free. But it was no use. Pinkie Pie had him wrapped up tighter than a king cobra would its next meal. If he wanted any chance of seeing if the buffalo could help he'd have to give into her unending adoration.

"I...uh...I gues-"

"Oh look! Buffalos!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed leaping over the rock that Braeburn was pressed up against. He had never breathed such a sigh of relief in his life. Shakily he got back to his hooves and trotted around the edge of the rock to see if they had actually found them. When he did he let out a small gasp.

"So, you sure your sister won't mind that we're taking her stuff?..." Apple Bloom asked. She knew how fussy Rarity got towards people that messed around with the things she owned even when it was just a hair out of place that the culprit had bumped something. The anger only seemed to elevate when it was them involved. For one reason or another she just seemed to have this odd vibe that felt as though she always placed suspicion on the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They had no idea why she'd be so wary around them of course. It's not like they ever did anything wrong...other than flooding Ponyville with her clothing. But that was just one accident...along with the golden fabric Sweetie Belle used to make their capes...

"Nah, she'll be fine," Sweetie Belle assured the other two. With renewed confidence, Apple Bloom intensified her walking to keep up with their orange leader. With all the material they'd...borrowed they'd be sure to settle on some design for the dress they were making. If nothing else they'd bought more time before they'd need to scrounge for more supplies. And it wouldn't be too long before they got back to the clubhouse. They had the whole rest of the day ahead of them. Why they'd already reached the tree that Spike and Twilight lived in!

"Oof!" Scootaloo grunted, "Hey! Watch where you're...hey...you're that Trixie showoff aren't you?" The other two Cutie Mark Crusaders popped out from behind their friend to get a better look at the unicorn that had emerged from Twilight's home. She turned her head to the sky and huffed.

"That's The Great and Powerful Trixie to you!" the magician muttered. Scootaloo just grinned back at her friends and rolled her eyes inciting quite a bit of laughter.

"Do you doubt the Great and Powerful Trixie's abilities after her grand debut here?" she glowered. Scootaloo turned back despite her friend's chuckling.

"Why no, we don't doubt someone that failed to even subdue an Ursa Minor when she'd told us all she'd taken down an Ursa Major," the pegasus sarcastically replied, "You must be powerful with how quickly you ran away..." The giggling only increased the awareness that Trixie had of how drastically her face was contorting from the sly remark. They'd follow her vengeance on the older ponies.

"YOW!" she cried and grabbed her hoof.

"RUN!" Scootaloo ordered. On cue the group dashed off into the streets of Ponyville before Trixie could even so much as touch the filly that had kicked her. The unicorn's eye twitched. Oh they would certainly pay. But she needed to remain focused. She'd seen the white one that she'd given the green mane to leave with the two pegasi and the dragon. That meant that the Carousel Boutique would be quite a snap to break into. Trixie's pained expression turned to a grin as another of the diamond shaped Ms poofed into her clutches.

"Alright ponies, we ready?" Twilight asked.

"All's clear on this end," Applejack's voice announced through the walky talky.

"Everything's set up on the east side of town," the sheriff's followed.

"Then they have no way out," the unicorn concluded, "everypony else be ready with your ammunition if you see em coming your way. No way we're letting them out of here!"

"You're darn tootin'!" Applejack cheered followed by hoots and howls from the rest of the crowd she was leading. Satisfied with the response, Twilight clicked off the communicator and waited...and waited...and waited... For what seemed like hours the ponies sat around at the perimeter of the town, one by one drifting off into relaxed and sleeping positions. All the scouts Twilight sent out came back reporting the same thing. After she and Applejack had returned they'd take up the position that the Sheriff had on the other ends of town and dispatched others to fill in for them. No matter the time period though, Flim and Flam were still harvesting the apples from the trees. Until finally one came back reporting that they'd stopped. The machine was on the move towards the edge of town.

"We got em now!" Twilight exclaimed jolting all the other ponies up into defensive positions, "Applejack! Sheriff! Be ready! They're gonna be making their exit!"

"Not if in we have something to say about it!" Applejack declared earning another round of applause from her group.

"Hey Sheriff, any sign of Pinkie Pie or Braeburn yet?" Twilight took the opportunity to ask.

"Nothing but tumbleweed blowin' by here," he replied. Twilight's head tilted downward. She knew that Applejack would be taking the news much more harshly and asked mainly on her behalf. She was sure that Pinkie wasn't capable of doing something too bad to the poor colt... was she?... Either way, they needed to remain focused. And so again the waiting commenced. It seemed to go on for about ten minutes before she finally decided to send a scout out. What was reported back was something that Twilight hadn't expected. The brothers apparently weren't trying to get away. They were just sitting in the town with their contraption. The railroad tracks next to where they were ensured they couldn't just plow out that way. But why weren't they doing anything? Did they know they couldn't get out?

The answer came with a loud blaring horn that swam across the land. Twilight's eyes went wide.

"Applejack! Meet me at the train station righ-"

"Already headed there!" she yelled back. As quickly as her legs would carry her Twilight stormed her group over to the railroad tracks. None of them had counted on a train actually accepting to ship the criminals to another area! But with the changing scenery it soon became clear that such was not the case. From what Twilight could make out it wasn't a train speeding along the tracks at all. At least not a normal one. No this thing was more of a device used to transport heavier equipment along the railroad with the brothers' faces plastered on the side of it as a logo. Even as Twilight and Applejack's groups met up with the sheriff's they could see Flim and Flam turning to grin at them and wave.

"Oh like hell you're gettin' outta here with them apples!" Applejack yelled. Just as she was within grabbing distance of the harvesting machine it zoomed onto the now stopped railroad vehicle and locked into place. With it safely bolted down, the vehicle folded into more of an armored vessel with cannons on each side that wasted no time in firing off blasts at the oncoming herd. Those that weren't knocked to the ground from the force of the impacts fled to the sides of buildings and began firing off their pies in vain at the getaway vehicle. Two ponies remained chasing it however. Their breaths shallow from the pace they needed to keep so as to compete with the wheels of the vehicle, Applejack and Twilight were almost at its rear. But it was gaining speed. Fast. If they didn't catch it now they never would. So they jumped from the boarding platform and reached out to grab onto the end of the vehicle...and missed.

Flim and Flam clacked their hooves together over their victory and slung their legs over the other to enjoy the ride to the next town. They would have too if a loud explosion hadn't rocked their ride a few moments later. Astounded by the noise, Flam peaked out his window and yelped.

"What?" Flim asked pushing his brother to the side to get a view as well. He had a similar reaction. Standing on the top of the vehicle was a rather bitter looking Applejack, lasso in mouth.

"Shoulda stayed with your folks," Flam growled, his horn glowing to activate the cannons. Just before they could fire, another imploded from Twilight's magic who proceeded to rip the remains from their holster and fling them at the brothers causing them to yank their heads back into the vessel.

"Get rid of them!" Flam demanded.

"ME?!" Flim growled, "You're the one that got the bright idea to get the apples from here!" The siblings continued to bicker and yell until they remembered what was at stake.

"Alright, first thing's first," Flim muttered flicking a switch. The windows rolled up and the head of the vehicle lifted upwards on a sturdy cord connecting it to the rest of the vessel. Applejack and Twilight took a few steps back as it turned around to face them, cannon's on each side of the cockpit. "We swat some annoying flies!" Flam finished joyfully. Twilight put up a shield of magic just in the nick of time to counter the firepower that was poured on them. But they couldn't do anything against such force! The brothers simply had too much of an advantage. "And this is for getting us run out of Ponyville..." Flim chuckled. Just as his hoof scraped the surface of the button he was planning to use however, the cockpit rocked. The two looked around the head and shrugged ready to press the button again. This time though the rocking was much worse. The vehicle itself almost tipped over! More worried than angry, Flam peered to the side. His jaw dropped.

"Hey...Flim..." he gulped.

"What!" his brother growled viciously. He'd had enough intrusions for quite a few days. But they weren't over it seemed.

"You know how we uh...locked up all those buffalo right?..." Flim's eye twitched not wanting to look where his lookalike was pointing. Sure enough there was a large herd of them keeping pace with the vehicle and throwing their bodies against it with a yellow and pink pony riding atop them.

"THAT'S IT!" Flim roared. Shoving his brother out of the way the furious pony shifted the view of the cockpit and began unleashing all hell on the herd. What he didn't account for was that, due to the harsher lifestyle that the buffalo lived, they would easily weave in and out of the blasts while the two ponies they escorted, along with a smaller female buffalo, would hop onto the top of the vehicle with Twilight and Applejack.

"Pinkie! If you done got yourself preg-"

"We need to strike now!" the female buffalo drew the group's attention to the cord that connected the segments of the vehicle together. It certainly seemed to be the critical point of the mobile fortress. "My people can't hold them off forever!"

"I got this," Twilight told them, her horn glowing near blindingly. The group braced themselves and a loud shriek shot towards the neck of the vehicle.

"Um Flim..." Flam squeaked.

"What is it no-" Flim began and chanced glancing back at the group atop their vessel, "Oh you mother fuc-" With a loud bang the cockpit snapped clean off of the rest of the vehicle and soared high into the air.

"And I reckon that's for tossin' us around earlier," Applejack spat upon hearing it land in the distance. With the buffalo's help, the vehicle finally rolled to a stop and began the journey back to Appleloosa.

"Thank you so much Little Strongheart," Braeburn hugged the female buffalo causing her to blush, a sensation that he shared with her.

"Always happy to lend a hoof," she returned the embrace, "Especially if it means saving those delicious pies of yours."

"About time someone did more fanfiction supporting you two!" Pinkie Pie stomped, "I mean seriously! The show even has you two give embarrassed flirty looks at each other and you don't even have fifteen fics to your pairing name! What the hell?" The redness only continued to leak across their faces as Pinkie's rant continued.

"Wait a sec...why're you supporin' them?" Applejack shot the crazy pony a suspicious look, "Weren't you hittin' on ol' Braeburn earlier?"

"Oh yeah, but that was just to make you feel all flustered and stuff," Pinkie Pie laughed. Applejack's face now joined her kin's coloring but for a bit of a different reason. "I mean you are the only one of the mane six with available male siblings after all. You gotta feel the shame and embarrassment in fiction anywhere you go. I mean have you seen Rule Thirty-Fo-" Fortunately Twilight made the wise decision to clamp her hooves over Pinkie Pie's mouth. She was just glad she could head back home to Spike after all this craziness.

"...so what was the prank supposed to be again?" the dragon asked. Rarity shook her head slowly as they watched the intoxicated blue pegasus dancing on top of the Mayor's building.

"I honestly don't know if I knew what it was to begin with," Rarity muttered.

"Everypony stand back! I got a pillow and I ain't afraid to use it!" Rainbow Dash slurred threatening the crowd below with a bowl of jello, "Hark the herald angel's sing! Glory be to me! Fuck yeah!" With that, the drunk pony fell backwards out of sight of the others below, more than likely unconscious from how much alcohol she'd consumed.

"And this is why this story needs a better author..." Fluttershy sighed.

-end of chapter-

And I got an author's note. I know you're not supposed to put these apparently but I just wanted to let everyone know that me has art for each chapter up on my warahi account on deviant art if anyone wants to take a look.

Chapter 18: A Pony Odyssey

"No, I am going with you guys!" Spike stomped his foot. Finally he had gotten Twilight to stop tossing books into her saddlebag. Desperately she sifted through her mind for an excuse.

"Spike, look, I'll need someone here to defend the tree in cas-"

"Like hell you do," Spike muttered rolling his eyes, "What ever goes wrong when you aren't around? Oh wait? What's that?...oh my god I think I hear wind creeping in to slowly deteriorate the books in here over a billion-year period!" Spike faked excitement, "Surely this requires my delicate time and attention!"

"Exactly," Twilight swung her hoof about enthusiastically, "Now you stay here and be sure the books are preserved and I'll-"

"No," Spike folded his arms over his chest. The unicorn gave an innocent smile. "Why do you guys always get to go on adventures and I don't? I mean a fucking dragon came here and what did I do? Watched over Fluttershy's animals! But nope, I didn't complain. Just happy to help cause that's the guy I am. Because I am, and I quote, Twilight's number one assistant. Sure I wouldn't have liked to face down the big sharp-toothed monster that turned out to be a crybaby not worthy of being a dragon myself, but by Celestia does it get boring here sometimes! But I put up with it and put up with it. Sure it's nice and safer, but you guys head out and do all this cool crap all the time!" Twilight bit her lip.

"Spikey, I need someone here to-"

"No You Don't." he stated, "You're just worried that I might get hurt." Twilight's head dipped a bit.

"...you're right," she confessed leaving Spike a bit stunned by the reaction. That's not to say he didn't immediately go back to his annoyed self with folded arms. It just caught him off guard a bit. "Spike, you've been with me forever. I don't know what I'd do if anything ever-"

"Save it," the dragon rolled his eyes, "I've heard that crap on like every show ever that has a super caring relationship between two characters." Somehow Twilight's atmosphere sunk even lower than it had been. Spike would be lying if he said he didn't feel bad about it, but by god he needed to counter her every now and then. "And I'm not just some foul," he continued, "I can take care of myself. Now I'm going with you!" Uneasily Twilight blew some air out of her nostrils and lifted her head back up.

"Fine," she sighed and pulled something out of her bag. Spike's eyes widened at the reveal. Draped from her mouth was a white suit in the shape of his body with a visor on the front of the face piece!

"Whoa!" he exclaimed and yanked it from her grip, " Twi, I thought you weren't wanting me to come! Why'd you have this ready?" Even if she was still a bit down from how their conversation had went, Twilight's spirits were lifted a bit by the excitement that Spike displayed. Casually she magicked a checklist down in front of Spike's face and put a checkmark next to the space that said "Spike refuses and tags along" causing him to rub the back of his head bashfully and give a regretful smile.

"You're gonna need it if we're headed into space."

"Now you're sure you don't need me to come?..." OC asked, a pitch of worry in his voice. The crazed pony might get on his nerves but that didn't mean he didn't care about her. "And uh...what about if Fluttershy needs protecting?...and you know how Rarity gets if things get a bit messy...and then there's Fluttershy. I mean I know Applejack can handle herself, but what if Fluttershy-" The recolor was stopped by a hoof to his gas-mask. A mischevous grin crossed Pinkie Pie's face.

"...you like Fluttershy don't you OC?"

"...this isn't Spongebob Squidward," he muttered back being sure to toss the limb off his face. Giggling to herself, the pony pranced around her assistant as they trekked through Ponyville. Headed to where they were was every other pony. Some chatted while others exchanged worried glances. Never had something like this been attempted from their community before. Then again, a lot of things that hadn't happened before did once Twilight had come to stay with them. "I'm just...worried about you is all..." OC reluctantly confessed, "It's in my very makeup to protect you. Are you sure that you-"

"We're fine," Pinkie Pie cut him off, "Geez, you're like Mrs. Cake when she leaves me to babysit!"

"I am not!" OC yelled. If he didn't have the visor Pinkie might have seen the vicious glare he was giving her, no matter how unappealing the face might be normally. Pinkie Pie just kept up her default cheerful attitude as she hopped towards their destination. To her it was just a normal everyday occurence...just like anything else it seemed. A herd of cows could be about to trample Ponyville to dust and she'd be munching away on popcorn enjoying the show. That was just the kind of pony she was. And part of OC hated to admit that that was what he liked about her. She was a break from all the normality that would be the usual punishment for life. She made things interesting no matter how much of a nuisance she was at times. That's why he was worried. Something was telling OC that things would be changing...soon.

"Well wish me luck!" Pinkie Pie chipped happily, "and don't worry I can drop some lines to Fluttershy about you." OC's mask kept any emotion off of his visible face in response to the wink he received.

"I just worry about you," he repeated placing a claw on the pink pony's face. The firm yet gentle touch surprised Pinkie Pie for a second. But only for a second. As jolly as ever she yanked away and lifted her head proudly to the sky.

"You're not my mom," she chuckled, "Now I'll see you when I get back. Remember, if you see-"

"Pumpkin Cake phasing through walls reference the anti-spells book you got from Twilight-"

"And if you see-"

"Pound Cake flying around wrap his wings like Applejack did Rainbow Dash during the Running of the Leaves," OC recited. Exuberantly Pinkie Pie nodded her head.

"See you when I get back!" she declared and charged off towards the stage that had been set up in the center of town where the Mayor was waiting. OC waited with a tapping foot for Pinkie Pie to return and handed the forgetful pony her space suit when she did.

"Don't forget to brush your teeth WITHOUT chocolate syrup!" he reminded. Once the pink blur had vanished into the crowd beyond OC turned to make his trip back to the Cake's dwelling. Before he'd even gone a few feet he came to a stop and stared at the blue unicorn that was gleefully rubbing her hooves behind a nearby house.

"Today's the day..." Trixie cackled to herself, "Everything's all set up! Now all I gotta do is concentrate and-"

"Hey dumbass," OC's sudden remark made the mischief maker leap at least a good ten feet in the air. Even he had to give a moment of silence for the mark she left upon hitting the ground. "Just thought you might wanna know that the ponies you like to torment are headed into space." It took a spell for the words to register. When they did she blinked and tore off around the corner of the building. Her jaw hit the floor once she'd taken in all the ponies that had gathered to see the group off.

"Oh you gotta be kidding! Today of all days!" the unicorn growled proceeding to tear chunks of her mane out in undying frustration.

"Thank you all for coming to see our heroes off!" the older gray-maned pony announced from the stage. Just as the speech started Pinkie had wobbled on and grinned at her shocked friends. "As you well know the Equestria Hoofagong Satellite has recently lost contact with its main base in Canterlot Control Tower. As such we are sending our finest there, with their consent of course, to find out what is wrong up there. Let us all wish them a safe journey into the great beyond that we call space!" The group's confidence heightened with the hooves that stomped for them across the ground.

"I am sure Celestia herself would be proud of you," the Mayor told the ponies and dragon, "May her speed grace you and her sister's orbiting structure watch over you."

"Thank you May-"

"Yeah! We kick ass! Let's go!" Rainbow Dash cut Twilight off and clamped her visor shut. In no time at all, the others had grabbed hold of her in some way and, with Fluttershy's help, she took flight. Never in all her life did Twilight think she'd be experiencing what she was now. But she was. Clouds zoomed past. Wind streaked fog across the viewport of her suit. A chill swam across the outer layer of her body. Fortunately their suits had been designed by Luna herself otherwise they might be burning up from the friction that was rushing across their forms.

"Prepare for ignition in 5," Rainbow Dash's voice warned through their earpieces, "4," Applejack's eyes squinted, "3," Rarity blew a tuff of her mane out of her field of vision and Pinkie clung to her body, "2," Twilight just stared in wonder. She hardly even noticed her assistant's claws digging into her side. "1!" Fluttershy bit her lip. "IGNITION!" With a Sonic Rainboom in their wake, the group rocketed upwards into the stratosphere of Equestria. Clouds grew less and less frequent as did the blueness of the sky until finally nothing surrounded their fronts but the depths of the cosmos itself and the lights that littered its distant reaches. Twilight couldn't believe her eyes.

"And...they're...in space!" Scootaloo shouted to the others happily, "And as to be expected Rainbow Dash is leading the-oof!"

"Where's mah sis!" Apple Bloom asked peering into the telescope, "I can't see her! Their suits make it impossible to tell who's who!" As she had done to Scootaloo, Apple Bloom was pressed to the ground so Sweetie Belle could get a look.

"Just look at their tails. I see my sister! Oh this is so awesome! Maybe she'll bring a metal plate back for me!"

"Or a moon rock!" Apple Bloom theorized.

"...they're going to the space station," Sweetie Belle reminded.

"...space station?" Apple Bloom repeated in a questioning manner.

"Yeah, the space station that we'd never heard of until now cause it wasn't made up until a little while ago but will probably be seemlessly integrated into the story so some fans might believe it'd been thought up since the beginning," the unicorn replied.

"Oh, that space station," Apple Bloom's mouth shrank a bit.

"Will you two get off me!" Scootaloo yelled. Before either could react the pegasus had jolted upwards knocking her friends to either side of the clubhouse. "Geez, I'm the one that got it positioned and everything and you two just shove me aside without a care in the world...ooo! Did you guys see that? Rainbow Dash just totally pulled Rarity's tail!"

"Uh no, we sorta can't...you're sorta the one viewin' right n-"

"Come on Rarity! Kick her ass!" Sweetie Belle yelled literally throwing Scootaloo out of the way to get a view of the scene. One of the white-clad ponies certainly did seem to be rolling around weightlessly with laughter while another was flipping around and looking at the others. One thing she noticed was a smaller dragon-like one swimming about as the other horned pony tried to chase him. "Hey! No fair! Spike got to go and we didn't!"

"You serious?" Apple Bloom asked pressing her cheek up against her friend's to get a look.

"Well either way, Rarity wouldn't be able to do crap to Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo confidently scoffed.

"That's assuming she's better at defense than mah sister," Apple Bloom gave her input, "You wouldn't believe the bruise she had on her side once she was broken out of Discord's corruption. That unicorn can kick." A bit too eagerly Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement.

"Well fortunately Rainbow Dash isn't such a weak little farm pony," Scootaloo waved the facts away. Almost instantly Apple Bloom's eyes narrowed.

"Well at least mah sistah ain't some glory hoggin' showoff that can't stay focused on anything that requires actual effort!" she growled.

"Oh you did not just go there!" Scootaloo pressed her face against her peer's.

"Oh I just so did!" Apple Bloom hissed back.

"Either way, neither of em can stand up to Rarity's judo. Hiyah!" Sweetie Belle let loose a boastful snap kick to the air.

"Applejack so woulda beat her if she hadn't been corrupted!" Apple Bloom claimed.

"And Rainbow Dash would paddle both of them in her sleep!" Scootaloo yelled.

"That doesn't even make sense!" Sweetie Belle logically concluded.

"It does so!" Scootaloo insisted.

"It does not!" the other two hollered back. For a few seconds silence filled the room as they stared each other down. Then they leapt at each other's necks. They'd be needing another batch of Apple Bloom's healing potion before the day was done.

"I swear Rainbow Dash, you get less and less ladylike by the day," Rarity huffed upon removing her suit, "No wonder you're such lesbian fanbait." The pegasus contemplated on snapping back at the unicorn but decided to just shrug instead. A harsher reaction would only give Rarity more room to criticize. Deciding to join her friends, Rainbow Dash removed her suit and took in the air of the space station. It was...different to say the least. Whereas the feel of their homeworld was one of liveliness, this was one of solitude. A certain serenity that even Fluttershy's day to day activities had trouble rivaling. Yet beneath the calmness of the orbiting structure there lingered uneasiness in the air. Had the others not been there Rainbow Dash, though she hated to admit it, would have her legs quivering.

"So we just check up on the crew and get back down to Equestria right?" Applejack asked. Twilight shoved her assistant forward and he pulled out a scroll.

"Dearest Twilight and company," he read, "I regret to inform you that I am once again in need of your ever dependent aide. Should you chose to accept this request you are to fly up and check on the Equestrian Hoofagong, our most dependable space station and the first successful attempt at one. Last week we lost contact with the crew there and just need you to see what all is going on up there. It should be nothing more complicated than getting word from them. They're a highly dependable crew and I doubt there's anything all that wrong. Your Sun Riser, Princess Celestia." Spike folded the parchment back up and tucked it away with his space suit at the airlock content with his reading.

"I just don't see why we had to bother coming up here," Rarity reasoned, "I mean shouldn't they have crews prepared to come up here?"

"If we didn't come up here what would the plot be?" Pinkie Pie gave her superior reasoning. The unicorn sighed in defeat.

"Alright Twi, what's the plan?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I think we should ask Spike," she told her.

"SPIKE?" everypony else repeated in shock. The dragon's eyes practically popped of his head at the suggestion.

"M-me! What!" he yelped, "What the hell do you think I can do! You're the one that's always thinking up the solution to save the day and all that!"

"Well I just thought some of my, ahem, expertise might have rubbed off on you a bit," Twilight closed her eyes and feigned disappointment. Spike squinted at the pony as he tried to wrap his head around just what all she might be implying. The words certainly hadn't been something she would have said normally. The other ponies too seemed to be recovering from the startling moment.

"Well, if I'm going to give my thoughts I guess we should just keep headed to the main lobby. If common sense dictates anything it should be easy to find if we just keep heading down the halls. Never too hard for guests to get to, at least from my experience," Spike twiddled his thumbs nervously. The group slowly looked to one another.

"...makes sense to me," Rainbow Dash said, "Let's get going." As was her nature, the blue pegasus took the lead and began floating through the corridor before them. After her was Applejack followed by Rarity and then Fluttershy for obvious...defensive reasons. Finally Spike took a seat atop Twilight and they formed the tail of the group. Had the ponies not been caught up in conversations about how incredible it was to be where they were now they would have all felt the foreboding breeze sifting through the halls. But not everyone was so relaxed. Twilight could feel Spike constantly shifting on her back.

"So...what was that all about back there?..." Spike eventually leaned over to whisper into her ear. Twilight's eyes went to her head as a small smile formed on her muzzle.

"What was what abou-"

"You know," the dragon grumbled. He brought his head back a bit once Twilight's had turned to look at him. Her unnerving calm smile still dangled on her face with her eyelids half shut giving off a disturbing feel of superiority.

"I just thought that since you wanted to come on these adventures so much you might have things planned for them," she cooed, "I mean you have to be prepared you know." Spike glared at her.

"So this is still about that whole "me insisting to come along" thing then isn't it?" he put his hands on his hips. Twilight's smile grew and she turned her head back towards the front. "Well just so you know it's not gonna get me to stay at home more than anything else. I've shown that I can hold my own when things get tough. I know you care but you're not my mom or anything," Spike muttered slumping into the arch of Twilight's neck.

"Quite a bit of the fanbase would disagree with you there," she said under her breath. Spike would have asked what she'd uttered but just didn't have the will to continue with the conversation. All it would do is lead to unpleasant results. Instead he turned his head and stared into the blackness beyond the window they were passing by. It took up the entire wall. He knew Fluttershy was as hypnotized as he was by the scenery. It was more magical than anything he fathomed when down on the surface of their planet. The adventure should be filled with pleasant sight seeing and calmed nerves. But something was wrong. In all their journeying they hadn't come across another living soul. No ponies no dragons. Nothing.

They did eventually stop however. Spike and Twilight joined the others in the ensuing gasps and commotion stirred by the sight they came to. What they had assumed was the lobby looked like any normal lobby should. A front desk, some decorations here and there to liven up the setting, and a wide room. There was just one thing wrong. Sprawled out on the ground in front of them was something none of them had expected to see. Though it displayed signs of being a pony there was something missing. Its skin and muscle and blood and organs. What was spread out in front of the desk was a skeleton with a piece of clothing on that indicated that it had been one of the crew members. No one was unoccupied enough to catch the fainting Fluttershy.

"...I think we're a bit late..." Rainbow Dash broke the silence.

Carelessly OC kicked a rock. It's not that he wanted to make a mess of Pinkie Pie's deranged room. He was just bored to death. Without Pinkie around there was no pony to be annoyed with. And without the others around there really wasn't anypony to protect, especially after informing Trixie that they'd left. And so far not even the Cake's twins were making any racket for him to deal with. Gratuitously the dragon let out a filtered sigh through his gas-mask and fell back on Pinkie Pie's bed. Gummy stared at the fan-character and waddled over to him. OC rolled his head lazily to the smaller reptilian that blinked at him.

"I hear ya, this place is dead as hell," he muttered. Again the crocodile blinked. "Yeah I know people would consider this me, an "original character", stealing the spotlight, but really I've just been on the sidelines this whole story with implications as to what my actual story is. Not like I've really had even a real scene to myself yet. I mean I just make appearances here and there to help the ponies or play the straight man to Pinkie Pie's antics. Nothing major. Yet I know that simply because I'm an OC fans are going to hate me. Not like I give a damn though...it's just a bit...annoying. Not that they dislike OCs. I get where they're coming from. Don't get me wrong. It's just so damn unbearable how many crappy ones are thought up every single hour of every single day by unimaginative pieces of...I should calm down..."

With his next sigh OC grew a bit irritated. It was the sound of the gas-mask. His outfit he had to wear. It wasn't only just to differentiate himself from what he was a recolor of. It was also to hide what lay beneath. He didn't hate it. He hardly had real hatred towards anything. It just grew to be a nuisance now and again having that be the sound of his intakes and exhales.

"Like goddamn Darth Vader," he murmured reaching for the object. With ease he removed the air filter and slid back the red outfit from the opening at the mouth of it. With the disguise removed the dragon sat up and lifted a hand to his face. After a moment of thought he ran it along his cheek. He could feel all the scarring and missing parts that would be there on the character he was based off of. A tremble coursed through him as it felt the opening of the socket where his eye rested. But he should have been used to it. It was his body. An incomplete mess. As any recolor was. Just a warped shell given a personality for the sake of the fan's story. No originality save for the cliches forced onto them.

For what felt like hours the dragon just sat there rubbing his face until finally he grew tired of the motions and hoisted his outfit back on to cover it. Spotting the mound of rocks next to the bed he kicked the two topmost remnants of the old crazy "friend" Pinkie Pie had had, Rocky.

"Don't see why she bothers to keep this hunk of pebbles around," he stated hoisting the final, most heavy rock, into the air, "Oh look at me! I'm rocky! The big tough imaginary friend that'll slit anypony's throat who decides to mess with Pinkie! She's from a Rock Farm so I'm her best pal! Got it!" A few seconds of silence passed before OC dropped the rock back on the floor. "I'm gonna go insane from boredom...wonder if anypony besides the ones I normally see need help today..." Gummy just blinked as he watched the recolor walk towards the window sill and leap out into the world beyond.

"Okay...okay...don't panic..." Twilight tried to get the group back under control. It was a lost cause. While Pinkie Pie and Applejack suggested more and more gruesome theories about what could have happened to the pony in the lobby making Rarity's cheeks ever more green by the second, Rainbow Dash did everything she could think to to bring Fluttershy back to the realm of the living.

"Fluttershy! This is the coach talking! If you don't get your sorry plot out here this instant you are failing this semester!...again!" the blue pegasus yelled into her ear. No reaction. The timid pony just wouldn't snap back to consciousness. That didn't stop her attempts though.

"Ponies! Come on! We need to-"

"Or he could have been melted!" Pinkie Pie cheered cutting Twilight off.

"Ah that'd of been too easy," Applejack said, "musta had his skin sucked off and then his organs pulled out through-"

"I'm going to the washroom!" Rarity screamed and tore into a corridor with a hoof over her mouth.

"Great..." Twilight huffed, "There's one of us gone...Girls! Will you all just-"

"Fluttershy, if you wake up there's cider for you!" Rainbow Dash shook her violently. All it accomplished was her tongue flinging about loosely from her mouth.

"Girl-"

"Or his blood was boil-"

"SHUT UP!" Spike yelled. The silence that follwed left him rubbing his arm nervously before holding his arms out to the remaining unicorn.

"Eh...thank you...Spike," Twilight reluctantly accepted the assistance in spite of how much she was trying to push the dragon away from the willingness to join in the adventure. Now though there was no use in doing so. Any help she could get in calming the group was welcome. Twilight gave a stern cough into her hoof and started.

"Now then, we know that...something happened to make this pony what they are now," Twilight directed attention to the skeleton. Unfortunately for Rainbow Dash she'd finally woken up Fluttershy only to have her faint again at the sight of the remains. With her eye twitching she glared at Twilight and received an innocent smile in return. "Um...well we need to find out what it was that caused this to happen and see if there are any survivors," Twilight reasoned, "So let's split up into two teams and-"

"Hold up! We're going to...track down whatever did this?" Spike gulped. Twilight smiled at him.

"Why yes...is it too much for you to handle do you think? I'm sure you can wait at the airlock if you need to," she grinned. Hesitantly, Spike put on a sour face and shook his head slowly.

"Well, I could um...stay with him..." the once again revived Fluttershy suggested.

"No, I'm fine," Spike peered at the purple unicorn who shared a similar expression. While the two partners stared each other down the others just wondered what it was they were doing.

"So uh...what all groups are we gonna divide into?" Applejack eventually asked snapping them out of their wordless confrontation. Both blushed realizing how long they'd been performing the gestures in the presence of the others.

"Oh um...how's about-"

"Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight. I'll go with Applejack, and Pinkie and we'll pick up Rarity along the way," Spike said instantly. Twilight didn't even have any way to respond to the interruption. No one ever gave serious orders that actually made sense when she was doing so. "If that's alright with you of course," Spike lifted his brows to her. She furrowed her's in response.

"It's...just...fine..." she murmured.

"Good," Spike said and walked over to the two Earth ponies who were still thinking up the most horrific things they could suggest for how the deceased one might have ended up in the state it was. Twilight on the other hand didn't have as pleasant a trip to her group. Her mind was still trying to wrap around Spike's sudden display of leadership. True she had asked for him to give his thoughts back at the airlock, but she hadn't expected him to react so harshly now and even say what groups they should go into. He had usurped the natural order. But...it wasn't a problem...right? He was proving that he could handle things. After all, someone that lived with Twilight everyday needed to be ready on the fly.

"She gonna be okay?" Twilight asked about the shuddering Fluttershy.

"With me around of course she will," Rainbow Dash beat her chest proudly. Giving a wave to the other group, Fluttershy departed with Twilight and Rainbow Dash down one of the starlit corridors. Fortunately with new scenery came new discussions to take their minds off of the oddness of the previous room.

"I have always wondered something," the unicorn confessed in the endless boasting of the blue pegasus. Rainbow Dash looked down at her curiously. "It's just that...you always seem to be quite fond of Fluttershy and everything...like she's the first one you go to a lot of times and all that despite your polar opposite personalities. I've theorized it's probably one of the things that causes people to pair you up with other females in fiction...what's up with that?" Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to respond but found no words coming out. She really did need a moment to think the question over.

"...I...well you see it's like...well we're pegasi and...um...well I've known her the longest. Went to flight school and everything together," Rainbow Dash gave a weak answer, "Just have history I guess."

"Well uh, it is true, and she helped me um...find out how much I loved animals," Fluttershy reminded quietly.

"Yeah, and Fluttershy...tries to cheer me on whenever I do my flips and tricks," Rainbow Dash formed her own compliment, "And I love doing that. We're just a couple of lovers!" Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy gave big smiles to Twilight before the realization of the awkwardness of the claim hit them. Quickly their faces turned crimson.

"...that sounded a bit...gay dude..." Twilight pointed out ever so willingly.

"Thank you Tucker, we know," Rainbow Dash replied stalely.

"So, are you two done with your little "theories"?" Rarity shot death glares at the earth ponies. Applejack's brows bent sympathetically while Pinkie Pie looked to the ceiling in question.

"Well I did have one-"

"We are sugahcube," Applejack smiled clamping the pink one's mouth shut. Still a bit repulsed by the less sophisticated behavior, Rarity turned her attention back to the front and walked up alongside Spike.

"Quite the pair they are," she muttered.

"Oh they're not that bad," Spike laughed lightly. Then he realized who he'd said it to. "Er, yes I mean. They are horrible. Should be smited for such words," he covered quickly as he broke out into a nervous sweat. Rarity just smiled and rubbed his head gently causing the sweating to increase. It didn't matter what fanfiction Spike was in, Rarity would always have a special place in his heart. No pony even came close to her beauty. Well...if Twilight in her dragon self counted then that might, but nopony else. Merely being in the generous mare's presence was enough to cause him to trip over his words.

"So Spike...what all was that there about in the lobby with Twi?" Applejack asked. The sweating that had died down increased again.

"Er, what do you mean?" he chuckled. Applejack's face flattened.

"Oh nothing..." she replied, "Just that you two were boring into each other's face with the force of a thousand apple buckers is all..."

"...what's that even mean?" Rarity asked the question that was on the dragon's mind. Applejack sighed. Before she could respond however Pinkie Pie popped out from her side.

"She's asking why you were having the staring contest!" she exclaimed, "I mean me and Gummy have staring contests all the time! But not like that! We're usually all smiley. Well I am at least. Gummy just sorta has the same expression all the time. But you don't need to worry. I know what he's thinking. It's a crocodile owner thing. Why one time he even suggested that I eat all the cotton candy that the Cakes had made. All by myself! What a joker. But I did eat it. It was delicious. After that I just needed some nice whipped cream for-"

"And what with all the stern words," Applejack cut Pinkie Pie off while Rarity giggled a bit at the annoyance that the country pony was having to endure. Spike meanwhile was easily the most nerve-shot of the group at the moment. It was a bit hard to pinpoint just what exactly got to him, but when one did it was rather easy to get him to breakdown.

"I uh...don't know what you're talking about," he lied.

"He and Twilight are having a little spat because their characters are more fuedy for the sake of the chapter being close to Valentine's Day. Basically she didn't want him coming along cause it might be dangerous but he insisted and want's to show his manliness and stuff. It'll probably be romantic," Pinkie Pie told them. A quietness permeated them once she was finished rattling off the plot that stole away any sense of decency that they might have had otherwise.

"...Pinkie, how did you-"

"Don't you read the script too?" she asked in confusion. Spike smacked his forehead.

"Maybe I shoulda gotten Rainbow Dash..." he muttered.

"And turn this into a fic implying that me and her are together? No thank you," Applejack grumbled.

"Well I wouldn't mind trading with Fluttershy then," Pinkie Pie told them preparing to leave the scene only to be yanked back by the orange pony.

"I think you've done enough fourth wall breaking for now," Applejack muttered. Pinkie Pie squeaked a smile.

"Well I truly am sorry for you darling," Rarity apologized by yanking Spike against her body and nuzzling her face against his. He was frozen with passion. "Sometimes lovers just need a break from each other. We understand."

"Indeed!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, "We can throw a party for ya!"

"Or we could stick to the plan," Applejack reminded. Everyone else was quite surprised to see how far ahead she was. "The faster we get this over with the quicker we can get off this floating ghost ship. Now you lot get over here. I done found something."

"If it's another skeleton I will personally shove you out the airlock," Rarity muttered. As the group looked into the room she was pointing to their eyes grew quite a bit. Quivering there was a little colt. His head jittered around in fright upon seeing the intruders.

"...guess we found a survivor..." Spike said.

"Find anything?" Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash shook her head dawning the unicorn a disappointed look.

"Nothing but more and more skeletons," Rainbow dash sighed, "Whatever happened here we missed it." The mere mention of the nightmarish figures littering the rooms practically caused Fluttershy to collapse any time the subject was brought up. Twilight stayed with her simply in case she needed help. "What about you guys?" Rainbow Dash asked. To her surprise she recieved wave to follow them and Twilight trotted towards a nearby room. While the hall she lead them down, much to Fluttershy's discomfort, was almost painted with a coat of dried crimson, the room beyond was quite clean. Its contents mostly consisted of various high tech medical equipment and flasks and computers.

"Woah," the pegasus rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing the setting correctly. The room was practically glittering with how clean it was. All the beakers were in holders and not a sheet was out of place on the beds that the staff was meant to perform their work on. It was a relief to see after the shambles that Rainbow Dash had had to endure in the living quarters of the station. But one question remained why. "...why...is this place like untouched?..."

"Well it was locked and I managed to hack my way inside with the control panel to the room," Twilight explained, "As for why there's no pony in here...well...you don't wanna know what happened to them." She pointed to a nearby locker and shook her head. Fluttershy was actively trying to ignore it. Still in awe the other pegasus drifted around the room inspecting every last bit of it.

"...well...this is great and all...but is there anything to be found out here?..." Rainbow Dash asked after eventually landing back on the ground.

"As a matter a fact there is," Twilight told her. The two flying ponies followed her to a nearby microscope. "Thanks to Fluttershy we found out that somepony apparently launched all the evacuations pods into space before anypony could get on them."

"Well that's stupid!" Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"Not necessarily," the unicorn motioned for her to look in the microscope. Even though she knew she probably wouldn't even be able to tell what she was looking at, Rainbow Dash did so. After a few seconds she yawned. Other than seeing some odd looking formations absorb others there wasn't much going on.

"Alright, what's this crap?" she asked in a bored voice. Twilight stared at her a bit in disbelief.

"Rainbow Dash, I'm sure you've seen something like this in movies before," she replied. The pegasus' brows jolted up at the realization of what she'd seen and stole another glance. It was true! She had viewed the morbid implications before!

"Oh fuck no! We do not have a Metroid Fusion on our hooves do we!" she gasped. Twilight bit her lower lip only furthering the dismal expression Rainbow Dash now wore.

"Um...I'm sorry but what are you talking about?..." Fluttershy mumbled cautiously.

"Ever heard of an X Parasite?" Rainbow Dash asked. Fluttershy shook her head. "The Thing?" Again the head shook. Rainbow Dash let out an exhasperated sigh. "Basically this monster eats anypony else it comes across and can mimic them afterwards. Those skeletons we've been finding are of its victims and-" Fluttershy crashing to the ground silenced her. She smiled nervously at the unamused glare that Twilight's face shifted to. "So uh...any theories on how this might've got here?..." Twilight put a hoof to her chin.

"Well...if they hadn't heard from them for about a week I'm assuming they found some meteorite or a fragment of one floating by that they intercepted and examined back then. Big outbreak happened, monster ate everypony, and one of the survivors launched off the escape pods so that it couldn't get off the station," the unicorn hypothesized.

"...think there'd be any survivors left now?..." Rainbow Dash risked another question. Twilight looked at her.

"Do you think there would be?..."

"...should we call the others?..."

"Call the others," Twilight nodded. Rainbow Dash turned on the communicator they'd brought with them.

"Do you need help?!" OC popped out of a group of oranges causing the customer and salespony to scream and hop back, "Do you?!" The frightened customer attempted to flee but he'd grabbed onto her mane and began riding the air behind her in the mad dash she proceeded to perform. "Give me a problem to solve! Anything! I'll pay you! Just put yourself in danger and I'll rescue you! Come on! Just a boulder coming towards you! Someone tying you to railroad tracks! I'll even get the terrorists if you want! Just help me out here!" Despite his efforts, ultimately the red and black coated dragon was flung off into a pile of hay on the outskirts of the marketplace.

OC contemplated just lying in the soft material until Pinkie Pie returned. If only he could have gone with them. Even Spike, the less-than-capable dragon, had accompanied them. If Twilight had been his partner it'd have been different. But no, he had to be stuck with the one pony that made no sense. OC let loose a relishing sigh. He had never imagined that he'd resort to such a level over such a trivial issue. But how couldn't he? He was designed to keep the ponies safe. And without them to get in trouble he had no purpose. His talents wasting away in the day-to-day normality that'd enrapture society. It was torture. Just waiting. No pony wanting or needing his services. His personality nothing more than a mask that the creator of the fanfic had designed with one goal in mind. That which he'd give away in an instant for a more simple happy purpose like most official characters in shows and cartoons and comics.

"Maybe he's dead," a voice piped up. One of OC's brows caved down while the other raised. Ever hopeful to find a pony in need, he sat up and looked down at the group of fillies before him.

"Aw, now we can't dissect him," Apple Bloom pouted. On any other occassion the dragon would have shown some form of annoyance. But this wasn't any other. He was desperate. More eager than any pony had ever seen him, the masked hero slid down in front of them and embraced them in a spine-crushing hug. "I-can't-breathe!..."

"Oh I am so happy to see your miserable little faces!" he chimed as he twirled them around in his clutches, "You idiots always need help finding your Cutie Marks! Well don't worry! Today I'm all yours to help! Now let's get you set up with an AK-47 and-"

"Actually we're doing something else today," Scootaloo told him managing to break out of the deathly hug. The revelation prompted the release of all three of them. His last resort, gone. As though he were a dog being teased with a chew toy, OC twitched uncontrollably. The fillies exchanged worried looks. "Maybe he's gonna die now?"

"Hey mister Spike guy, are you alright?" Sweetie Belle asked. She jolted back from the twitch his face did to look at her.

"Oh I-I'm j-us-st fi-ne!" he managed to get out of his spasming jaw, "Ev-erything's h-hunky doory! No r-reason to wo-worry! Ju-st an OC here th-that can't do what he-he's suppose-suppose-supposed too!" with the last words he fell into a fetal position on the ground and stroked his tail. The worried looks grew more extreme on the fillies. Then Scootaloo's face lit up.

"Hey girls, we always are trying to get our Cutie Marks and he's just nice enough to help. So how's about we give it a shot?" After a wind of silence had whisked by the other two's faces lightened as well and they picked up the trembling dragon as they had Spike when they had gone on their little time travel adventure. "Cutie Mark Crusader Dragon Therapists! YAY!"

"So you're saying this here station's been uh...eaten by some monster?..." Applejack said uneasily. To her dismay Twilight nodded. All Rarity could do to keep her stomach from ascending into her cheeks again was block out what was being discussed with various "lalalas" that she kept singing to herself while her hoofs remained firmly pressed against her ears. As far as she was concerned none of this was happening. Sure she was happy to lend a hoof here and there but for all she cared right now she was back at the Carousel Boutique working on her dresses. What should have been a nice little journey amidst the stars had turned into a nightmare.

"Alright then...where's the monster?..." Applejack asked. Everyone in the group looked at Twilight. And she at them. None of them had stopped to actually ask that question until just then. All they'd witnessed was the aftermath of the grievous ordeal. As far as anypony had seen there was no sign that there was life of any sort other than a dragon and the six ponies aboard the vacant space vessel. Now that it had quieted down even Rarity and Fluttershy joined in the pondering with renewed hopes that there was no longer a crisis for them to even be involved in.

"Well either way, shouldn't we like get off here and report back to the Princess?" Rainbow Dash asked, "I mean all the escape pods are gone. Even if the thing's still around there's no way for it to get down to Equestria and do to it what it did to this place."

"What about Slugger? We can't just leave the little guy here," Spike chipped in.

"...who?" Twilight asked.

"We done found a little brown foal here that had been hiding from whatever happened. Had Slugger scribbled on his handkerchief," Applejack informed.

"Not much of a talker though," Pinkie Pie added, "Couldn't even get him to laugh at any of my jokes."

"The kid's been through a lot, what do you ex...Rainbow Dash, why do you look so worried?..." Spike changed the subject upon noticing the floating pony's bent brows. Every few seconds her pupils would travel from one side of her eyes to the other.

"...you said Slugger right?..." she gulped. Spike nodded.

"Told him about our suits and everything we used to get up here. Said we'd take him straight to the Prin-"

"The kid's dead." Instantly the dragon stopped talking.

"Now whatcha mean the kid's dead?" Applejack contested, "We done found him hiding away in a storage room. I mean I know he may not make much noise but he's just as able to walk and everything as the rest of-"

"No, I mean he's dead!" Rainbow Dash yelled, "One of the rooms Twilight had me search through! It was his! There was foal's skeleton resting on the bed in there! He is dead!" The group shifted looks around the room, most of the faces were rather wide-eyed.

"But...what do you mean he's dead?" Pinkie Pie asked, "He was walking with us..."

"Where is he now?" Twilight demanded.

"Oh, he's just right back...uh...Applejack...where is he?..." Spike gulped. The earth pony's mouth dropped a bit as realization and a new horrific fear washed over the group. The next second they were tearing through the halls of the astral graveyard.

"Wow...thanks, I guess you guys are right..." OC reclusively admitted to the fillies. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had smiles larger than he'd ever seen on them before. They'd actually accomplished one of the goals they'd set out to do without anything exploding or breaking or blowing up in their faces in some form or another!

"Cutie Mark Crusader Dragon Therapists! YAY!" they squealed and looked at each other's flanks. It only took a moment for their light hearted nature to take its dip. There was still no decoration on them!

"Oh come on!" Scootaloo yelled and slammed her hoof into the floor, "...ow...what does it take? We actually did something this time and for what? Blank flanks...again..."

"We is never gonna get our Cutie Marks," Apple Bloom pouted.

"Just blank flanks...forever..." Sweetie Belle finished, her lower lip quivering. The next moment the trio was in tears.

"D-don't cry girls!" Apple Bloom said, "U-unless you th-think we can g-get our Cutie Marks in cr-crying. In th-that case keep it up!..."

"I ain't crying!" Scootaloo sobbed, "I got dust in my eyes!..." The waterworks continued for a good minute or so. What brought it to the stop gave them much more of a reason to cry than they had had previously. With one loud clack their heads were slammed together, the pain giving a much needed distraction to the pitiful display they were putting on.

"OW!" Scootaloo rubbed her temple, "What the hay was that for!"

"It was annoying," OC muttered. The pegasus whimpered a tear-filled scowl at the red and black-clad dragon. "Now look here, you're canon characters," he reasoned, "despite what the fanbase does to you you'll more than likely get a proper resolution to all your Cutie Mark searching in the actual show. And if not you got a good fanbase to fall back on and give you respectable endings regardless. You got nothing to worry about and certainly no reason to cry over it. Now I thank you for your help, but if it's all the same to you I'm gonna use your telescope to see if any progress has been made up there." Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom nodded their heads politely.

"Thanks I guess," Scootaloo folded her arms over her chest. That's when it hit him. OC had helped somepony! Not just one, but three of them! He'd fulfilled his purpose. Happiness coursed through his veins in his walk to the space-viewing device. With a fresh new feeling the dragon looked into the eyepiece. The space station was still there and none of the ponies were beside it. He didn't expect them to be. There were obviously still inside. But there was something else that caught his attention. A bright red dot in the distance just next to the station. A...distant object. Yet somehow...familiar...too familiar... The feeling he'd experienced the day that Trixie had led Rarity, Twilight, and Spike out to the Everfree Forest was returning. Badly. In his mind he could hear things. Screams. Vivid images filled his mentality. Horrifying images. Death. Burning. Chaos. Complete and utter chaos. And then something clicked. The last thing OC remembered before losing consciousness was the three fillies that had helped him staring at his seizure-induced body in shock.

"Hey! Slugger hold it!" Spike yelled. The foal need only one glance at the group to know that he didn't have much longer to slip the oversized pony-shaped space suit on. "We'll take you back to Equestria! Just stay right where you are!" the dragon ordered. No matter the dishonest promises or shouts they gave the foal wouldn't stop. He was just about to snap the visor down over his face when the group finally got to the outer edge of the room. Having been there for a week he knew the layout much better than the intruders did and slammed a hoof into a button on the wall next to him. Hardly anypony had time to react as a metal door slid down in front of them. But Twilight did. Using all the magic she could muster, the unicorn gripped the underside of the door and ground it to a halt just about a foot or two from the ground.

"Damn it!" Rainbow Dash growled, "Applejack! Give me a hoof with this thing!"

"On it!" the orange pony replied rushing over with her to yank at the panel. It wouldn't budge. Even Rarity joined in with her magic to press against it. But it was no use. The door was just too shut for any pony to squeeze under. But not all of them were ponies. Knowing there'd be no other chance to stop the creature otherwise, Spike stepped forward and bent down. Before he could make any progress he was yanked back.

"And where do you think you're going?" Twilight eyed him. Spike knew that no matter how much he might struggle he couldn't break the kind of magic that bound him now.

"Twilight we don't have time for this!" he swirled around to scowl at her, "Look, I know you didn't want me coming cause of how dangerous it might be and I know I might actually belong at home sometimes more than I wanna admit, but damnit look at this! If that thing gets to Equestria we can just kiss our world goodbye! Every pony, dragon, cockatrice, EVERY LIVING THING will die! I'm the only one that can fit under the door! Now let me go!"

"But Spike-I-NO! You are not getting yourself-"

"Sugarcube," Twilight felt Applejack's hoof on her shoulder. Tears began to form along the rims of her eyes. Spike cringed at the sight. The one thing that might change his mind.

"Look, I think if we push real hard we might be able to squeeze me under-"

"Sugarcube," Applejack repeated, her hoof pressing against her firmer. The tears started sliding onto her cheeks.

"And if Fluttershy tries to reason with him we might buy more time for me to-"

"TWILIGHT!" Spike yelled, "LOOK!" Reluctantly she slid her view over to the window of the door. The loosely hung space suit was fumbling around to undo the airlock. Against all will the unicorn gave in and released the dragon.

"Do not die," she told him. Spike flashed a small smile.

"If I did that I wouldn't be able to have fun with you anymore," and with those words he rolled under the door. Once on the other side he could tell that the foal was having quite a bit of trouble with the lock. In his struggling he hadn't noticed the dragon that had slipped in. Figuring it best to not waste anymore time, Spike simply leapt on him and threw him to the opposite wall. A loud slap echoed from the impact Slugger's form made. Needless to say the creature was rather shocked by the sudden force that had pushed him. It was a short-lived victory however. Spike's jaw dropped to the floor from what happened next.

Be it defensive instinct or calculating design on the opponent's part, the former colt's arm expanded within the suit until the arm of the suit itself literally popped off revealing a long sickle-like formation jutting forth from what had been his foreleg, blood dripping down the newly formed appendage.

"...that is fuckin' badass..." Rainbow Dash thought aloud earning a rather unhealthy glare from Rarity. Twilight meanwhile had her face on the ground. She was getting as good of a look as she could from the crack beneath the door.

"Alright, Rarity, get down here," she said. The fashionista bent over and peered through as well. "See that switch on the airlock?" Twilight asked.

"Who could miss that drab piece of equipment?" Rarity scoffed, "Yes I see it. What abou-whoa!" Both unicorns scooted back a bit from the green illumination that swept over their faces. The following alien screeches and cries ensured their distance. In the hesitation of figuring out how to avoid the biological monstrosity, Spike had shot forth quite a bit of his flamebreath engulfing the warped being in a pillar of green embers. Wildly it flailed around trying to put it out. It wasn't long before it was extinguished and back to attempting another swipe at the now much smaller dragon only to be burned once more. Its body constantly squirmed into new repulsive forms amidst the flames.

"Spike keep it up!" he heard Twilight yell from the other side. He only pressed onward with the fire as long as his breath held out. Eventually he had to take a bit of a hacking breath to regain his spent energy.

"I really didn't eat enough gems for this..." he moaned to himself. With each passing moment he had felt his fire dying down.

"SPIKE! Look out!" Pinkie Pie yelled. Knowing he'd only have a second, if even that, Spike simply ducked and rolled. With more luck than he'd ever felt himself have before, the dragon had just barely avoided the slash from the monster and switched places with it in the process. When he turned around to face it he nearly threw up. The being was nothing like the foal he'd found earlier. Now amidst the remnants of the space suit was an abominable sin against nature. Its feet bubbled with each step it took. The clawed hands pulsated against otherwise calm air of the chamber. And its face...dear Celestia its face. It was just a mess of all sorts of creatures. Some parts of the monster he recognized, others most certainly were not from any part of Equestria he'd ever heard of.

"Spike! Keep it distracted and press yourself up against the wall!" Twilight ordered. Just before it could make another swipe, Spike spat as big a fireball as he could muster straight into its mangled face and dashed for where he'd been told to. A volley of unholy screams wailed throughout the hollow corridors of the station.

"Think we can hit it?" Rarity asked.

"We have to," Twilight stated. Taking as little of time as possible, the two unicorns aimed their horns. Given that they had to press their faces against the floor they couldn't really see where they were aiming. But they had to make the shot. With their teeth clenched and all the others watching in anticipation the unicorns fired off a blast. The sound of the monster grunting told them that they'd missed. Horribly. It'd gotten in the way of their magic! But it allowed Spike to see just what they were doing.

"Twilight! Rarity! Stay there and shoot again when I tell you to!" he yelled. Sick of all the interruptions, the monster let out a mind-numbing roar and made a final pounce at the dragon. As it had before, it was met with green flames licking its body causing it to collapse into a writhing mess in front of Spike, its form desperately trying to mutate into another to counteract the damage done to it. But it never got the chance. "NOW!" he yelled. A newly formed eye on the monster's body was all that got the chance to see the beam that hit the lock that it'd been trying to undo prior. Only now it didn't have a space suit. All at once its cries faded with the air that was getting sucked into the vacuum beyond the door. Fortunately for Spike, the unicorns had just enough energy left to magic the airlock closed again before they hit the ground and blacked out from how much they'd exerted fighting against the force of the evacuating oxygen.

"How ya feeling?" Spike's voice asked. Twilight's drooping face just continued to view the stars beyond the window in the hall she was sitting in.

"Lousy," she laughed weakly, "still have a major headache from the blast...how bout you?..."

"Oh you know, just major mental scars," he shrugged playfully and took a seat next to her. Regardless of all they'd been through, the scenery before them felt worth it. "The Princess says the backup suits'll be here in a few hours. The stars really do look beautiful from here though..."

"I'll never look at them the same way again," Twilight sighed.

"You so stole that."

"I so stole that," she confirmed. It took a while for the words to sink through the atmosphere and into their heads. When it did they couldn't help but laugh.

"...Spike..." Twilight started once the joy had died down, "...I um..."

"I know, you didn't mean it you love me, yadda yadda, same old same old," Spike said with a smug smile. For the first moment Twilight returned the expression. Then she proceeded to smash his head between her arms and nuzzle against it with her face.

"Oh Spike I just don't know what I'd do if I lost you!" the tears she'd saved up earlier poured out, "You're my number one assistant! My best friend I've ever had! I know you've been on adventures before but this was...this was something I had no idea that we'd be fine in! I just...just..." The unicorn's voice deteriorated to mere sniffs and whines until one of Spike's claws placed itself on her lips. Through the tears she could see him smiling doubtfully at her.

"I know Twilight," he assured her and gave her a kiss on the lips, "I love you too. And...in spite of what we accomplished here I probably should stay home sometimes when things like this happen. It's just...I helped against Discord even in this story and all. I've done some pretty amazing things in canon also. I just...feel left out sometimes is all. I don't know what I'd do if you didn't come home one day...well other than do everything I've always wanted to without your checklists buggin' the hell out of me." Mustering a grin Twilight bonked the back of his head causing him to give a similar one.

"So I guess we've learned something then?" Twilight asked.

"A letter to the princess?" Spike proposed taking out a quill and scroll from behind his back. To his surprise Twilight brushed the items to the side and turned back to the stars.

"Later," she told him, "let's not ruin the moment..." Shock turned to happiness and comfort on the dragon's face as he turned his attention to the astral objects as well and leaned against the purple unicorn. Relieved to finally have a moment's rest, Twilight hugged Spike to her and he returned the warm embrace. In the distance a red streak drifted slowly across space.

Chapter 19: Blackout

"What a glorious night it twas doth not thou agree fair sister?" Princess Luna cheered. Princess Celestia merely smiled and nodded her head. She was just happy with how joyful her sister was once she'd been restored by the Elements of Harmony. It certainly was a travesty that they weren't able to stay connected to them, but from all that had been displayed the Elements were in just as capable of hooves as they'd always been, if not moreso. What Twilight and her friends had accomplished since they'd been blessed with their responsibility some ponies would never have even dreamed of. Not only had they stopped Nightmare Moon, they'd also reimprisoned Discord himself.

...yet...even with such feats, would the nearing ill that drifted towards Eqestria be able to dealt with? Ever since Discord had used some of the alien essence the fear had been lingering in Celestia's mentality. Unfortunately only time would tell if such a threat as the one she envisioned would be able to be bested by the group they tended to rely on. If it wasn't...she knew that even she and her sister would not be able to protect the world from it...

"Oh sister, must thus dwell on such ominous feelings?" Luna groaned sensing the disturbance rippling through her daytime half. Princess Celestia dipped her head. She knew that she shouldn't worry...but still...no pony should ever have to go through what Twilight and her companions would be dealing with soon enough should it actually occur. Fortunately her sister was there to assist in such times of peril. "Thy should turn thy frown upside down!" Luna hopped in front of Celestia happily, "For we knowest what bemuses her sibling so!" And to Celestia's amazement her dulled expression did shudder into a more joyful one to look at.

"Luna...we're over a thousand years old," Celestia reminded lowering her sister's hoof that dangled some of her old stuffed animals they used to play with. Now the dark bluish pony was the one with the distasted expression. But it didn't last for long. She had a backup plan. A smirk worked its way across her face determined to keep her sister from wallowing into the depressions she somehow survived whenever she forced herself to deal with all the problems of their world herself. Celestia could only raise a brow to the suspicious look her sister now bore. "What?..."

"Oh we know," Luna giggled magicking a piece of parchment into Celestia's view, "These ALWAYS cheerest thy up." Celestia's face turned to one of surprise and then smugness that wormed a smile across her mouth as well.

"I honestly didn't think you could devise such a feat," Celestia admitted, "Especially considering that you've stayed out of touch with society for so long."

"Well it's in our blood thou hast come to believeth," Luna winked, "Besides, I had help adjusting on Nightmare Night remember? And who better to comedically stir others' lives than the princess of it herself?..." Prouder than she'd remembered being in a long time for her sister, Celestia patted her back and nodded.

"This will do quite nicely," she told her, "Quite nicely indeed. I best get to writing." Before the white alicorn could acquire a quill however, Luna's hoof stopped her. "...what is wrong sister?..."

"Well it's just..." Luna's lower lip shuddered a bit while her cheeks washed over with pink, "...could we maybe...play after?..." Celestia's smile grew as she closed her eyes and nodded. Gleefully Luna hugged the stuffed animals to her chest and flew off into another part of the castle.

Gently Twilight nuzzled the slumbering dragon's head. She had awoken before him. That seemed to be a first. Wasting no time with hesitation the unicorn placed a few kiss along the smaller creature's head. Even if they'd not slept in beds together since they were younger, it sure was nice to have something to cradle again in the soft comfort of the resting area. Twilight remembered the very first day he was hatched. Those wide green eyes looking up to her younger self, curious and attentive even in birth. Though now they lingered on her for other reasons. The pony's snout rubbed roughly into the scales below. Each passing texture prickled her face tentatively. Even in sleep he amused her.

The yawn he gave caused Twilight to lift her head back a bit. Her smile couldn't help but grow at the cuteness he emitted. In lack of anything she could think of, Twilight stroked the dragon's spines gently, her hoof bending back every individual. The flick of them bouncing back into place caused Spike to shuffle around pleasantly in her arms. If there was one advantage to having a boyfriend that was smaller than her it was that she could be so playful with him. One thing that the "boyfriend book" had neglected to mention was the care that one needed to show towards their spouse. And with how long they'd been around each other Twilight was confident that she knew how to do so. Happy with the motions Spike performed in return she bent down and placed a kiss on his forehead.

The dragon stirred a final time and let out another yawn before creaking open an eye, "...hey honey...how ya doin' today?..." The words slurred together as Spike's eyes drooped shut a few times causing Twilight to giggle. "Smarty Pants do her homework last night?" his mumble turned into a light snore that stopped and started up again. The little guy was drifting in and out sleep. But his dream seemed to be one that Twilight was all too familiar with.

"Oh yes, she's coming along quite fine you know," the unicorn recited barely able to contain the laughter building up inside her. Spike smacked his lips together a few times and swallowed.

"That girl's quite the brainiac..." he yawned, "and quite good looking too...I'm pretty sure I know who gave her those features..." Even if he wasn't fully awake Twilight still blushed from the compliment and decided to keep playing along.

"No more beautiful than her father is handsome..." she replied. Slowly, so as not to wake the semi-sleeping lizard, Twilight lowered herself down next to him and wrapped her limbs around him. Her cheeks lit up more from the rubbing his face gave to her chest. For that moment in time Twilight wished she could've cast a spell to preserve it. Though it was a minute or so at the most, it felt like forever that Spike nuzzled away her insecurities and worries. For that fraction of the day everything just felt complete in her.

"I love you Twilight..." he eventually broke her out of the trance he'd put her into, "...you know...you coulda stopped me...hadn't said that stuff since we were little..." Twilight closed her eyes and pressed her chin against his topmost spine.

"You seemed happy enough," she told him softly stroking his back as she spoke. The action made the dragon shiver deeper against her front, just the result she'd been desiring. After a little while Twilight wondered if he had fallen back to sleep in her embrace once more. The squeeze he gave around her waist told her otherwise. She allowed a light moan to slip out of her lips from the gesture prompting even further nuzzling from the cold-blooded partner.

"...you know...I always sorta did picture us ending up together back when we pretended to do that whole family thing with Smarty Pants and all that..." Spike sighed finally shaking off some of the sleepiness, "Just spending the days together...me and you..." Twilight's brows slanted a bit at the memories she shared of their little playtime activities. Looking back on it it really was a joyful relationship in their innocent naivety. "Rarity's pretty as were quite a few of those Canterlot ponies, but I always saw you as mine when we played like that. I'd pretend to cook to practice for being your assistant, you'd sit in bed pretending to help Smarty Pants with her homework...I'm so glad I was your entrance exam..." Twilight would have replied; but really there was nothing to say. It would just interrupt the peace of the event.

Spike wasn't finished though apparently. Viciously the dragon fidgeted around in her grasp until finally she looked down at her squirming captive. Figuring he was going to try to kiss her, Twilight bent down only to be greeted by a plume of green flames followed by a scroll.

"...sorry..." Spike blushed, "...we got a letter..." Stupified by the sudden reaction, Twilight blinked through her ash-covered face and undid the scroll with her magic.

"Come on Pinkie Pie, why not?" Rainbow Dash followed the prancing pony around her room, "Today would be the perfect one to pull a prank on Rarity!"

"I'd love to any other time, but I'm just too busy today," Pinkie Pie told her happy as ever, "Gotta see what all's up with OC!"

"...who?" the pegasus muttered. At first Pinkie Pie laughed thinking that the blue pony had made a joke. Eventually the humored response died down and her eyes widened with how Rainbow Dash had no idea who she was talking about.

"...I guess you haven't seen before..." Pinkie Pie worked her head around the fact slowly, "I mean he's rescued Fluttershy, Applejack let us use her barn, he saved Twilight, Spike, and Rarity...but you...well easy way to solve this! Here is OC!" Eagerly the pink pony tore back the polka dotted curtains that covered what normally would have been a closet. What the chamber held now though was a sight that made Rainbow Dash take an easy step back. What rested within was what looked to be a red and black recolor of Spike with a gasmask over his mouth and visor over his eyes. The metal slab he lay on was connected to the walls while numerous cords ran down and connected into his head and body from the ceiling.

"...how did you even figure out how to run all these cables?..." Rainbow Dash couldn't help but wonder at the sudden display of intellect that the crazed pony had obviously performed on her patient. Rainbow Dash knew Pinkie Pie wasn't completely stupid, but this seemed more along Twilight's line of handiwork. "And uh...what is that thing?..."

"This is OC!" Pinkie Pie rushed over and wrapped a foreleg around the neck of his unconscious body, "He's my helper! Apparently he was hanging out with the Cutie Mark Crusaders while we were up in space, had a seizure, and passed out."

"Guess that makes sense if he was hanging out with them," Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "But uh...how would you know how to fix him?..." Pinkie Pie smiled and continued to squeeze the neck until she heard a snap. The ponies glanced at his now limp dangling head. Innocently smiling, Pinkie Pie rushed back over to Rainbow Dash.

"Well I'm sure I know how to fix him. After all, who better to fix an OC than they're creator?" Pinkie Pie boasted.

"The fans of the story," Rainbow Dash snarked under her breath. Then it hit her. "Hold up, you're saying you made this guy? I thought that authors made OCs..."

"And the author had me make this OC," Pinkie Pie pointed out, "So he still made it, I just gave my helping hoof in the medium he was being created in!"

"But wh-"

"That's enough questions," Pinkie Pie told her pleasantly as she began pushing her towards the window, "Enjoy your day as best as possible and be sure to eat lotsa cupcakes and cookies for me! I'll be able to do all the pranks you want after I'm done with OC here, promise. But for now me gotta take care of the little guy. So see you later Rainbow-"

"But Pinkie-"

"I said bye," a dark voice uttered. Using all the force she could, the pegasus inched her head to turn against the unusually strong pressure that Pinkie Pie was using to push her. For just a split second she could have sworn she saw a red glow to her bubblegum colored friend's eyes. But just for a second. A moment later she was floating outside of the Cake's parlor with Pinkie Pie smiling cheerfully at her as the window shut in her face. Dishearted by the way things had gone, Rainbow Dash sighed and drifted over Ponyville. There had to be some prank she could pull without Pinkie Pie...

Casually Fluttershy trotted through town. She had just come back from paying a visit to the hole where she escaped back to the surface after meeting Winona Jr. Ever since the incident she'd made it a priority to make frequent visits to the crack in the ground. Each time she would drop some food or something down. Winona Jr. was never there, but every time she came back the items would be gone. Sometimes she'd just go there to talk about what was on her mind. At least once she was sure she saw a pink glow in the distant darkness below. But as with any time she had to ultimately leave. In her path Fluttershy hummed a tune to herself.

"You're all my very best friends!..." she finished quietly. As it ended she bumped into something and fell over. Fluttershy hadn't realized how distracted she'd been. After shaking her head to clear the initial dizziness, the fragile pegasus gasped and got to work picking up all the fruits she had knocked off the stand. "Oh my...oh my...there!" Fluttershy forced herself a wide reassuring smile upon placing the last of the succulent objects back onto its display panel.

"Oh, why thank you very much!" a voice said causing the pegasus to turn around.

"Oh it was nothing Carrot Top. I mean after al-"

"Yes, some ponies do make quite the mess," a younger voice now scoffed. Both Fluttershy and the sales clerk looked down at the pink filly that had positioned herself between them. She looked like one of the Cutie Mark Crusader's classmates. "Thankfully you had me here to put everything back in order," Diamond Tiara told her.

"...but um...wasn't I uh the one to...um...pick up the uh..." the timid's pony's rebuttal lingered into an unintelligible whisper by the time she was done talking while her cheeks filled with embarrassment, shame, and confusion at the claim that the filly had made. Diamond Tiara smirked knowing that Fluttershy's nature simply wouldn't allow her to fight back against even the smallest offense against her being.

"Oh, it was you?" Carrot Top asked receiving a polite nod from the younger pony, "...well thank you then! You don't know how tiresome it gets picking up these things!"

"Oh believe me, it was no trouble at all," Diamond Tiara lied as she walked over to Fluttershy, "now if you don't mind, we simply must be going!" After being tossed an orange by the clerk, Tiara triumphantly pranced off alongside Fluttershy. The pegasus had no idea why the girl had taken to following her, but she wasn't about to give any negative reaction to the company on account of how harshly the filly might act. From the Cutie Mark Crusaders' description she was scary to say the least.

"You know you're lucky I came along to take the blame for you when I did," Diamond Tiara said through her munches, "One second more and that ungrateful mare might've snapped your neck or forced you into manual labor for your efforts. Fortunately I arrived just in time to woo her with my more "sophisticated" position in society."

"O-oh my..." Fluttershy said quietly, "Do you think she'd have really done that? I mean she always seems so nice and polite..."

"No doubt," Diamond Tiara replied gulping down the last of her gift. While the juices of the succulent item washed pride and satisfication through her body, the filly's eyes got to work scanning over what she could see of Ponyville from where they stood. A grin formed when her sites finally set on something. A construction site. And littered across its frame were more birds than she'd ever seen in her life. Just the right subject for the pegasus she walked next to. "Hey Fluttershy, those birds shouldn't be there! It's not safe!" Diamond Tiara feigned worry for the critters. With a gasp the yellow pony dashed over to them and began reasoning with the avian lifeforms. It was even easier than Diamond Tiara had thought.

"And don't forget, you can always stop by my cottage for a bite to eat," Fluttershy ended the polite suggestion to the winged beings and waved to them as they flew off.

"That really was something!" a stallion's voice congratulated. Fluttershy turned around blushing with pride. In an instant it was for another reason. The pony receiving the compliments was none other than the filly that had alerted her of the bird predicament in the first place.

"We'd been trying to get them out of here for about a week now!" another sighed in relief.

"Oh anytime," Diamond Tiara replied naturally, "Always do enjoying giving a helping hoof." Fluttershy bit her lower lip lightly.

"Ugh! Come on!" Rainbow Dash yelled. Ever since leaving Pinkie Pie's not a single creature had fallen prey to any of her traps or tricks! It was as though the forces of nature themselves had turned against her! But she wasn't about to give up. She'd been attempting to get a prank through ever since Applejack, Twilight, and Pinkie had taken their trip to Appleloosa. And by god she was going to have one work! But what one?...on who? She'd already attempted the squirting flowers gag with Big Macintosh who had just set the plant aside after she'd zipped around to hide behind a tree. Rainbow Dash had given Cheerilee some invisible ink but the teacher had known better instantly. Even dangling a mouse in front of Fluttershy hadn't done the job! She immediately knew that it was Opal Essence's toy that Tank normally stole!

"As Celestia as my witness I will prank somepony before this day is done!" Rainbow Dash screamed tugging at her mane. She had had it! If she couldn't get a single individual to fall prey to her mischevous antics then she'd just simply have to come up with a brand new prank. One that would test her skills and go beyond! One that Pinkie Pie would have to be sorry that she missed out on! Oh it was gonna be a big one alright. And she had just the things to do it. She didn't know how, but her brain was working faster than it normally did. Not that it was a problem, or something she even really noticed all that much. But still, it was a necessity to accompany her current determination. With a hysterical laugh of lightning, the pegasus zoomed about above Ponyville. It was going to be one hell of a day alright!

Suddenly the white princess's head jolted up startling Luna.

"Sister, is something wrong?" the star-maned alicorn inquired. Celestia blinked a few times.

"...I just feel as though I'm supposed to witness something..." she said slowly.

"Oh tis probably just a reflex to the air or some such nonsense like thy had on the day when thy received that letter about the Sisterhooves Social from thou generous Rarity and thou's sister," Luna figured. Celestia rubbed her chin. With the delayed response, Luna's form dipped a bit in annoyance. "Please sister, Ms. Bow Tie is waiting," she pleaded holding up the blue plush doll with an orange mane. Deciding it probably best to give up on the inclination in favor for quality time with her sibling, Celestia reached for her own plush toy.

"So...how do you think we should even go about doing this?..." Spike asked from his seat atop the purple unicorn. Twilight looked at the ground. Truth be told she didn't know. Never had she gotten such a letter from the princess before. But she couldn't let her down. If she did then her position as her best student would be usurped! Others would flock to her vacancy and fill it before she could even have time to muster a reason as to why she should still be in the princess' presence! Without even the slightest afterthought she would certainly never even be considered to be amongst such pristine stallions and mares ever again! The princess would forget she existed and the benefits she received with such a history would be lost! Spike pulled on one of her ears to get the fretting pony's attention.

"I don't wanna be a beggar!" she slumped over and began crying into her arms. Spike's initial reaction was that of just plain wonder which then turned to a rather annoyed face once the realization of how much Twilight's mentality was panicking, as it normally did when such "impossible" tasks presented themselves.

"Twilight-"

"Spike, I'm sorry but we might have to sell your spines for-"

"What? Hell no, just liste-"

"And-and we might need to bargain away your old sleeping basket-"

"Twilight! Shut the bloody hell up and calm the fuck down!" Spike ordered with a smack to her face for good measure. The ponies that had been trying to avoid the strange scene now gave it their full attention. The action at least rebooted the pony's brain allowing her to take in just how many others were staring at them. Nervously she and Spike waved to them signaling for them to slowly return to their daily lives leaving the duo to deal with the issue on their lonesome. "You just need to calm down Twi," Spike grabbed the sides of her face gently and lifted it so that she was looking him in the eyes. If nothing else the emerald optics brought a somewhat ease to her internal battle.

"Yeah...maybe...but Spike, the Princess said that if I couldn't find an old Moondancer plush toy then-"

"Then nothing," Spike cocked a brow, "You're just going to make up inane consequences that the Princess would never even think of doing to you. The letter said, and I quote "To my Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle. I know you are probably relaxing as best as possible after the whole space station ordeal, but it has come to my attention that my sister and I are...missing something from an old collection we used to share. It is an ancient line of toys based on an old animated show that we were quite fond of. Its name is Moondancer and is a plush toy that we would be ever so grateful if you could lend a hoof in finding a copy of. If not that is perfectly understandable, but it would be greatly appreciated if you could do so. You and your friends are the go-to-ponies after all. May the sun shine brightly on you. Your Princess, Celestia."

Spike supposed he shouldn't be surprised to see his lifelong buddy hyperventilating upon completing the reciting. But damn if it Twilight's overactive imagination wasn't annoying sometimes.

"She just wants you to look for it IF YOU CAN. If you can't find it it's no big deal-"

"No big deal?!" Twilight cried, "No big deal!? This is the Princess! Of course it's-"

"Gonna turn out like the time you thought you'd be late on sending Friendship Reports to the her?" Spike finished folding his arms over his chest. The excited expression that Twilight had plastered on her face had no words to accompany it now. Her assistant had effortlessly defused the panicking bomb that constantly threatened to go off within her. And for that she was thankful that he was her's. He knew exactly how to handle her when it mattered. "So...what is it we should do?..." Spike urged some common sense reasoning from the female. Relieved, if not a little embarrassed from her display, Twilight got back to her hooves.

"Let's check out some toy stores." Spike eagerly hopped back onto the pony. There was a more self-centered reason that the dragon was so happy to be accompanying the unicorn. They might even have one of those cool vehicle toys that turned into robots there!

"See? With me around you'll always be safe from those commoners that would otherwise rip you to shreds!" Diamond Tiara assured the rather confused pegasus she'd been accompanying around Ponyville. On one hoof the filly was apparently keeping her safe from all the other ponies they'd come across. On the other...she was rather unpleasant in terms of company. As of current the duo had saved a baby carriage from sliding off a cliff (though Fluttershy seriously had to wonder why there even was one of those in Ponyville that wasn't blocked off in the first place), recovered some misplaced money, returned the Mayor's lost doll, and helped stop a nearby dam from flooding into the community.

And currently Diamond Tiara had a saddlebag full of money, a couple dozen lollipops, a medal of honor, and an all time exclusive membership to "Dam World, the Greatest Waterworks Amusement Park!". With each feat they accomplished Diamond Tiara reaped the rewards all the while "protecting" Fluttershy from the supposed hostile ponies...No, that's not what she was doing. She was using Fluttershy. And Fluttershy knew it. But what could she do? It's not that she minded not getting prizes or anything of the sort for her deeds. No, she could go her whole life just living amongst nature with no sense of the trivial items of luxury that other ponies valued so dearly. What hurt was the manipulation. Well...it didn't exactly hurt...it just felt bad to her that other ponies would act in such deceitful manners.

But she couldn't fight back. Despite the worry of possibly inciting the monstrous filly's wrath, Diamond Tiara's father was one of the most successful ponies in Ponyville! For all she knew she could be locked up for life for even so much as stepping wrongly in front of his daughter! But the guilt...it was so overpowering. With each passing deed it climbed its way through the ranks of her consciousness tempting her tongue with debate to the younger pony. But she'd held it back. If there was one thing she had, at least under normal circumstances, it was self control. If there was something she didn't like happening Fluttershy would simply tolerate it for the benefit of those around her. It was a quality that had developed over her childhood of interacting with Rainbow Dash. And there was a lot to tolerate about that pegasus.

Still, at times it did becoming...grating. And this filly was really testing that line.

"Hey, Fluttershy, doesn't that child look like we could get him his ball back?..." Diamond Tiara suggested pointing to a nearby crying filly next to his mother. Fluttershy had to admit, it was a sad scene and she did see where the ball was. But this was too much. Firmly she planted her hooves on the ground. "...Fluttershy?..."

"Now listen..." Fluttershy began softly, "Um...if you don't mind of course...now it's not that I wouldn't like to help him...but don't you uh...think you might be taking this a bit far?...I mean...I haven't once been told to be the one that's been solving everything..." Diamond Tiara's eyelids lowered causing the pegasus to take a step back from the intimidation they gave off.

"What are you saying?..." she muttered. Fluttershy gulped. She knew she shouldn't have spoken up. "You seem to forget that I've been protecting you..."

"...but um...you haven't..." Fluttershy finally admitted kicking the ground in hesitation, "Those ponies would never...ever hurt me...I know that..." Being brave really was a challenge for the yellow pony. Unfortunately it was all for not. In the blink of an eye the pink filly that had been casually strolling along beside the pegasus transformed into a scowling nightmare.

"GET THE DAMN BALL!" she yelled. With a single squeak escaping her quivering form, Fluttershy darted off in the direction of the playful sphere. Seeing that things were back in order, Diamond Tiara happily pranced towards the filly and his mother.

"Seriously? Not a single pony has heard of this Moondancer thing?" Twilight muttered to herself upon exiting yet another of the toy stores. Though he knew he'd regret it Spike marked off the final store on the list and wrapped his arms around the unicorn's neck burying his face into her mane.

"Hey Twi-"

"We've been to them all right?..." she sighed. She felt the dragon nod his head into her mane.

"Can't really blame em though. I mean the toy's gotta be what, a thousand years old or something? Normally you'd have to go through some epic final boss dungeon with insane amounts of needless backtracking for that kind of crap. I'm just glad they had that new Optimus Pr-" Spike's sentence was silenced from the neck that threw its back against his face resulting in a rather quick bite. A small "eep" escaped Twilight who twisted her head around to glare at him. All Spike could do was shrug.

"We only do that in bed," she reminded. The dragon wiped the sweat off that was forming on his brow. "But hickeying aside, I got an idea!"

"Joy."

"Rarity!" Twilight exclaimed. Spike practically fell off of his companion's rump. "She knows how to make soft fluffy stuff! And that scroll had a picture right?" After hoisting himself back up onto Twilight's back, Spike unruffled the scroll and tried to hand it to her only for it to be magically yanked out of his grasp the instant it came into Twilight's view.

"Give me a papercut why don't ya?" Spike spat rubbing his paper-burned appendage. But Twilight was too far gone. All she had filling her head was her plan.

"There's hope yet..." she giggled.

"Thank Celestia that Rarity was able to do this," Twilight sighed. She took a sip of the tea that her friend had prepared. The warmness of its slick form sliding down her throat worked its calming nature across the rest of her body. While Spike would have preffered hot chocolate, he had to admit that the treat was nice. And there was no way he'd ever reject a gift from Rarity. But as with Twilight he too was glad that the search for the plush toy would be over. That'd mean no more guilt that Twilight would undoubtedly carry around with him. They could just send the doll back to the princess and get back to the tree where they'd snuggle down and play a game or two...if Twilight didn't insist on studying some books of course.

"Hey Rarity!" a younger voice said. Twilight and Spike looked up to see Sweetie Belle peeking out of the railing of the staircase. "Where's Bloodmasher 3?"

"Now why are you looking for that?" her sister asked in a mixture of concern and annoyance. If there was one thing she didn't need it was for the filly and her friends to start acting up with the violent games they occasionally sought out. It was bad enough that they'd discovered her secret stash of highly mature material that she kept locked up for special occasions. And she'd be damned if another of her Silent Filly series got a scratch on the disc the size of Sweet Apple Acres.

"No reason..." Sweetie Belle drew the words out with a smile. Rarity rolled her eyes.

"I'll help you find it in a minute, right now I have to give Spike and Twilight something," she told the smaller unicorn. Gleefully she sped up the stairs. "Only play for thirty minutes though!" Rarity yelled after her. She huffed knowing that her sibling was out of hearing range and put on a smile for her guests who were a bit stiff from the loudness of the final part of her conversation. "Sorry," she apologized and walked over to the table between them, "Oh and about the scarf it's still not done. I've had to focus all my time on making my dresses look good for Fancy Pants!" The fashionista squealed with joy until she realized the stares she was getting. "Oh, ahem, uh yes..." she chuckled as her horn began to glow, "Introducing the new, the improved, Moondancer Plush toy!"

Twilight could barely contain herself. The moment they'd been waiting for was at hoof. And then her face faltered. What plopped down in front of them was no doubt beautiful beyond compare...but it wasn't what she'd asked to be created. That didn't stop Spike's jaw from hitting the ground however.

"...um...Rarity...that's not Moondancer..." Twilight gulped. The laugh she got surprised her.

"Notice that I said new and IMPROVED darling," Rarity patted her head. Twilight's pupils shrunk. "That old drab stuffed rat was out of style before I was even born! I simply had to make...modifications here and-"

"We're dead," Twilight said.

"Here we go," Spike rested his cheek on his hand to prepare for the chaos that would ensue.

"This was for the princess, we were trying to find this doll for the princess!" Twilight cried collapsing on the table in front of her.

"Oh, well that explains why it was so out of date," Rarity figured before her eyes shot open, "Wait! The princess? As in Princess Celestia? Ruler of Equestria? THAT Princess? Oh my gosh, you are right darling!" Rarity joined in the crying. Spike closed his eyes.

"I'm just gonna go get more tea," he sighed and excused himself from the room.

"I was asked to do something for the princess I changed it!" the drama queen continued, "Oh what dastardly deed have I sowed? Who am I to declare what is and isn't in style for an individual? I am a failure that's what! Oh how I-" Her voice was lost in the ensuing explosion. Twilight was the first to have her vision drift up to the stairs next to them. Once Rarity did she had practically vanished to the upper floor. Spike was beckoned back into the room as her shrill scream rattled the Carousel Boutique. About a minute later the dragon and his companion were standing next to the owner of the complex staring in shock at what had been a closet. Lining its interior was a pitch black coat of paint that had splattered across everything inside.

"It isn't our fault!" Sweetie Belle tried to explain.

"Isn't your fault?!" Rarity seethed pressing the frightened Cutie Mark Crusaders into a nearby corner, "I don't recall setting up a bucket of paint or anything up to ruin my entire SECRET video game collection that I told you I'd help you find!"

"But it wasn't!" Scootaloo dared to yell back, "We just flipped on the lights and blam!" Rarity was about to hiss back when another explosion occurred in the distance. Curiousity overwhelmed Rarity enough for her to allow a window to be opened in a break from the argument she was engaged in. Sure enough similar sounds to the one that had fated her closet were occurring all over Ponyville with shrieks and cries of all sorts joining them.

"Oh my," a timid voice caught their attention. Below the window stood Fluttershy. "It's happening to you too? Oh, I don't think we can help right now. Sorry. All the other ponies are-"

"Get away from me!" Diamond Tiara yelped. Quicker than Fluttershy had ever seen the pony move, she whizzed behind her legs and pointed to the pegasus. "She's the one you want!"

"But you're the one that's been helping us!" one pony reminded. Diamond Tiara bit her lip.

"Yeah! And we need help now!"

"Yeah! Help us!"

"Help us! Help us!" the crowd that had gathered repeated the words like a bunch of entranced zombies.

"But...Fluttershy's the one that-eep!" Diamond Tiara was unable to say anything else as the crowd tore her out from behind Fluttershy and dashed off into the chaotically consumed civilization. The group inside Rarity's house just watched the crowd until they were lost on the horizon and slid their eyes down to Fluttershy.

"Diamond Tiara kept taking credit for me helping everypony else out today..." Fluttershy explained.

"...and you didn't ever tell them you were the one that did so?..." Rarity questioned. Fluttershy smiled and nodded her head.

"What matters is that I know I did it. Doesn't matter what anypony else thinks," she told them. Spike put a finger to his lips.

"That actually sounds like a good letter to the princess..." he muttered. Almost immediately he regretted mentioning the royal pony.

"Oh what are we going to do!" Twilight cried and buried herself in Rarity's embrace as did Rarity to her's, "We're gonna be banished!"

"Or forced to work as janitors at the local uncouth clothing store!" Rarity gave her own thought. Spike lifted a brow to them.

"If this wasn't so pathetic this might actually be hot," he grumbled. As the sobbing ensued inside, yet another character appeared on the scene.

"Damn that felt good," Rainbow Dash sighed. Spike and Fluttershy's looks said all the question for her. "Didn't you guys here the explosions?" she laughed as she twirled around in the air, "Man that was priceless! I can't believe I didn't think it up sooner! All I had to do was get just the right amount of paint integrated into a raincloud and bam! The second the lightning struck the main powerlines every pony that turned on a switch was greeted with a nice ol' room of pitch blackness! Oh...oh Pinkie Pie is going to be so jealous!" The dragon cringed at the information.

"Uh...one of those ponies was Rarity..." he told her.

"Eh, she'll get over it. Besides, comes off if you just wait a while. That what she crying about right now?"

"Nah," Spike sighed, "That'd be some ancient doll the princess asked us if we could keep an eye out for. Couldn't find one so we had Rarity try to make one. Turns out she didn't think it looked good so she "improved" it. We told her it was a request from the princess. Cue the waterworks."

"Ancient doll huh?" Rainbow Dash scratched her head. Spike handed her the scroll and she looked it over. It only took a matter of seconds before she handed it back, confidence brimming off her face. "I got that." Spike's eyes felt like they would have dropped off his face if they weren't attached.

"You have that?" Spike asked joined by the unicorns he admired. Rainbow Dash nodded her head.

"Daring Doo's adventures had a lot of interestin' locations. So I decided to fly down to one of em once," Rainbow Dash told them, "turns out it had this wicked endboss guarding that doll of yours." Spike's lips curved into a smirk. "But before we send it I just gotta tell ya, that princess is pulling your legs." Twilight and Rarity looked at each other. Spike just shook his head. He wouldn't doubt the claim. "There's no way she could have expected you to find it. I mean come on, you have to have caught on that she's not all that serious all the time with what all she sends you. But regardless, you have the queen of pranks here to prank em right back."

Happily Luna danced around the upper air in the royal chamber that the princesses had been enjoying themselves in.

"Tis almost time for thy to get to work," she cheered, "Thy dost wonder how thou fair Twilight and thou's trusted assistant faired in thou's quest though."

"Normally it doesn't take more than a day," Celestia voiced her statement, a tinge of worry in her voice, "Hope she doesn't end up overdoing it again with some sort of "Want it Need it" spell or anything..."

"It did provide humorous results though did it not fair sister?" Luna pointed out, "Thou great steed Macintosh tossed all others away like ragdolls! Thy only rejoice is that he was not sent to defeat Nightmare Moon. Thy can feel the bruises already!" Celestia giggled at the though. She had to admit though, from what she'd seen of Applejack's brother he was byfar the strongest of the Apple Family that she'd witnessed ever since she'd met Granny Smith's father all those years ago.

Just then Luna's joyful actions halted and both alicorns peered down in front of Celestia. Sitting there was a rather...shapely package.

"No way..." Luna said in disbelief, "That...that can't..."

"I'm just as surprised as you, though let's be serious. They couldn't have possibly gotten a real-" the most royal pony in Equestria was cut short by a loud splat. It took Luna a few seconds to realize just what had happened but when she did she doubled over in a fit of laughter. Celestia's face was drenched in ink! Though it was amazing, somehow Twilight had acquired a Moondancer plush toy (which Luna graciously glomped and stole away before Celestia had time to react). But what had caused the mess was a ribbon that had been tied around its neck with a flower on the end of it. Like many comedian tricks, the plant expelled some form of a liquid to its audience. And the white princess had just so happened to be in the line of fire.

Eventually the situation reverted more to a livable atmosphere giving the sisters a chance to notice one last thing. A letter had been sent along with it. Fearing another booby trap, Celestia convinced Luna to undo the scroll and they jumped back. All that greeted them though were words.

"Dearest Princess Celestia. How ya doin? It's the loyalest of all ponies here. Now then, I appreciate the efforts and all, but this is pushing it a bit far don't ya think? I mean if it hadn't been for my knowledge of Daring Doo Twilight and Spike would never have found this little guy...or girl...whichever it is. Either way though please do kindly ease up on the trolling. This is MY turf. Got that? The Queen of Pranks, Rainbow Dash"

Chapter 21: Idol Playthings

What was normally a rather quiet and revered hall was again thrown into a series of discussions and exclamations. Within its walls walked Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle. The six chosen bearers of the Elements of Harmony. At the end stood the two leaders of their world. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The alicorn sisters that oversaw the protection of Equestria from all that should threaten it. And from how Celestia had acted it was something of the upmost importance. That's why even Rainbow Dash had no hesitation in joining the group when she received word.

Celestia closed her eyes and dipped her head a bit. An uncomfortable silence caused the gathered ponies to exchange unsure glances amongst each other.

"Are you sure you want to be the one that tells the tale sister?..." Luna question. Firmly, the white alicorn lifted her head back up and nodded. She took in a deep breath and opened her eyes once more.

"I'm...fine..." she sighed. She took one last look over Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash wishing that such a story would never have to be burdened by their generation. "This tale that I am about to tell you you will never find in any book," Princess Celestia warned, "If anypony does not think they are up to the responsibility of keeping Equestria safe from any and all harm that may threaten it please leave now." Rainbow Dash and Applejack in particular had to admit that they were rather impressed that even Fluttershy didn't so much as back away. With each of the group standing their ground Celestia focused and her horn lit up. "Micron..." she muttered.

Now the ponies jumped. All in one bright flash the stained glass windowed hallway that they'd been called to shattered giving way to a dark void. The only thing providing lighting were the stars that hung around them and the bright lively planet below. Equestria.

"It was...a long...long time ago..." Celestia started, "As you well know Discord ruled as Equestria's Spirit of Chaos until I and Luna put a stop to him one thousand years ago...but he wasn't the only culmination of that element that ever existed in this realm." Fluttershy pointed towards a glowing red speck in the distance. It was approaching, fast. In seconds it'd slammed into the surface of their primitive world. For just a moment Twilight could've sworn she saw red lines slithering out from the impact site like veins snaking into their planet's very being. But it could have just been her eyes.

"It was simpler times back then, and not entirely uncommon for meteorites to hit the planet. But never had one been so big that didn't cause too much immediate damage," Luna pointed out. Celestia nodded and the scene shifted to that of a field where a crater lay smoking. Approaching it was a silhouetted pony with wings and a horn.

"Curiosity overtaking society, the most impressive Alicorn of the time was dispatched to investigate. It truly was nothing but a meteorite, most of which had burned up in the atmosphere...but...something changed him..." Fluttershy gasped and ducked behind Rainbow Dash who could only watch the inherent coolness of the lifelike vision as the red vines Twilight had noticed before slithered up from the cater and worked their way into the Alicorn. Luna cringed at the memory. Ultimately the figure had absorbed all the redness from the crater and indeed its form had been warped. Instead of a unicorn horn it now bore two devil-like horns jutting out of the side of its head while its wings had been separated into four tentacle-like structures, two on each side.

"His return...would mark an era of chaos that's knowledge would only be allowed to a select few in the eras to follow..." Even Applejack had to wince at a few of the shadowed ponies that stood up against the evil Alicorn's forces which were easily run through. The implications of how viciously the shadows were done away with was horror enough. "Eventually though...it was driven out of Equestria..." as Celestia continued the scene again changed. To the evil creature's shock six round forms swirled around it siphoning out the vile presence that had inhabited the Alicorn. While the lifeless form collapsed to the ground below, the swirling stones spun faster and ejected the abomination back into the cosmos beyond Equestria's skies.

"It was never destroyed..." Luna told them. Outer space had once more become the backdrop allowing for a much easier transition back to the stained glass hallway they'd started out in, "and now it's coming back." Every pony present was completely silent allowing Celestia to get in control of her senses more easily. The memory had obviously been tasking to the two rulers. But their wellbeing aside, the utter shock of such a tale pierced the group's calmness like a steak knife through butter. None of them had been prepared for such a revelation.

"...so what are you saying exactly?" Applejack was the first to speak up, "This thing was thrown back into space right? The bad guy's done been expelled from Equestria hasn't he?"

"Correct," Luna answered, "But he's coming back. He will arrive very shortly. Within a chapter or so at least."

"But those were obviously the Elements of Harmony that sucked out the evil in him and shot it back out into space," Twilight stated, "We have those. Can't we just do the same thing again?" To her surprise, her teacher shook her head.

"We don't want it to have to come to that," Celestia told her, "They were barely able to manage that the last time. And even then the losses were far greater than the ponies of this time period are even able to comprehend." Again the room lessened in noise.

"Great," Rainbow Dash spat, "So what? We just wait for this thing to come? I mean how else are we supposed to fight it if we aren't sure if we can even rely on the Elements this time?"

"By not giving it the chance to regain its former self," Luna told them. Quite a few of them lifted their brows.

"When the damage was done and the smoke had cleared the body parts of the Alicorn that had been possessed were decided to be hidden away in different areas of Equestria in case the entity ever returned to reclaim its former body. If we can collect them and keep them here it will not be able to grab anywhere near as powerful a body as it had last time," Celestia elaborated.

"...but the dude's dead isn't he?" Rainbow Dash asked, "I mean...even if it found the body again there'd be no muscle or anything to animate would there?..."

"Magic is powerful," Celestia told her, "We can't take the chance. Even in our prime this being far surpassed our own abilities." Now Rarity took up the opposing side.

"So...if you can't stop this...and the Elements of Harmony might not even be able to...you're expecting us to do it?..." she checked to make sure she had everything straight, hoping of course that she did not. Celestia closed her eyes.

"You are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony," she reminded, "You are that which this world is entrusted to now and relies upon. Whether or not you always agree with the responsibilities placed on you doesn't mean anything if fate already has a path figured out for you. It is your duty. Now are you all ready to defend this world no matter what, even if the attempts are in vain?" Celestia opened her eyes back up and viewed her audience with her sister. The ponies glanced at each other for a while but ultimately directed their attention back at the sisters and nodded. Celestia sighed. "Then let's get started..."

"So why aren't we going after the one in Ponyville first again?" Spike wondered aloud, "I mean yeah, they're all singular body parts and all that good stuff but why not go for the closest one?"

"Cause it's so close to home and safe due to being surrounded by citizens," Twilight told him, "And besides, it's not like anyone's after them. Oh, and actually they're the armor that the body wore. The actual body is somewhere else." Spike muttered something under his breath and slouched into the back of his friend's neck, his body rising with each step she took. It was always pleasant to have a ride for all the hard work he put into taking care of all the studying that Twilight wrapped herself up in. But a trip across the world was not what the dragon had been looking forward to when he assisted Twilight in returning Princess Celestia to power. It was just supposed to be getting her back on the throne and going back normal life.

"It'll be fine," Applejack promised, "We just done gonna head on out ter the buffalos, get them arm pieces, and get on back down to Ponyville where we rendezvous with the others! Piece o' cake!"

"Did someone say-"

"Stick with your group Pinkie," Twilight sighed as the orange earth pony pushed the pink one back into the hole of the tree she'd popped out from, "But Applejack's right Spike. If the parts were entrusted to that land back then then the Buffalo must have at least some knowledge as to the whereabouts of them. All we'll have to do is ask and explain the situation." Spike had stayed rather quite while listening, partly cause he'd been daydreaming about if they'd been paired up with Rarity instead of her polar opposite. But that didn't mean he wasn't listening. He hadn't been told that it was the buffalo that they'd be visiting.

"Oh awesome!" he exclaimed. Absentmindedly he squeezed Twilight's sides reddening her face a tint. "Those dudes are great! Can't wait to see how many of those blue rocks they have to munch on!" Applejack just chuckled at the dragon's newfound enthusiasm. At least some of the regret of not having the white unicorn with them had vanished. "How long do you think it'll take us to get there?"

"Well if we can catch a train we should be there by the next paragraph that deals with our group," Twilight told him. Another press of Spike's limbs against her body transfered his excitement to her sending shivers through her. She was glad that he'd agreed to go with her despite his longings for Rarity. He was her assistant.

"Aright Pinkie Pie, now you're sure that Twilight spent enough time casting the spell on you? Don't want you falling through the floor or nothin...oh and ya know you may wanna lay off the sweets. You're nowhere near as light as Fluttershy..." To an athlete like her it was normally no problem for Rainbow Dash to hoist her friends around and fly them where they needed to go depending on the distance. But Pinkie Pie was another matter. She literally had to force herself to give the pink earth pony a ride!

"Nah, sweets are fine. Just heavy right now for rule of funny," the possibly insane mare replied. Rainbow Dash glared down at her passenger.

"Well stop it."

"Alright!" Pinkie exclaimed. To the pegasus' amazement the earth pony actually did get lighter! All of a sudden it was like carrying a bag of feathers! Rainbow Dash couldn't help but do a few somersaults through the skies with the nearly nonexistent anchor!

"WOOHOO!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Their shouts of delight filled the stratosphere of Equestria. That is it did until Rainbow Dash screeched to a halt.

"Oh...right...gotta get the armor for the legs...hang on Pinkie!" The excited passenger didn't even need to be told. She was already expecting the ride to be like a roller coaster with how she was used to seeing her friend soar through the heavens. It only increased the sheer thrill that raced past her as the pegasus zoomed towards a patch of clouds below. The winged pony's hometown. Cloudsdale.

With little more than a thud the duo landed provoking quite a bit of bouncing from Pinkie Pie as she traversed the more fluffy ground. Despite the fact that she had visited Cloudsdale before she was always so enthralled by its nature. While it certainly did not stack up to the tall tales that Rainbow Dash spoke about it, the sky-dwelling community was enthralling nonetheless. Rainbow Dash could only smile watching her friend bounce along the fluffy material on which they trotted. But they had a mission. And they had to stay focused. She couldn't let the princess of all ponies down!

"Now...if I were a sacred item of ancient evil that's supposed to be kept out of the public eye...where would I be?..." she quietly asked herself and rubbed her hoof against her chin in thought.

"Well well, if it isn't Rainbow Crash," a dull voice chuckled. The mare rolled her eyes knowing full well who it was.

"Yeah Yeah! Rainbow...uh...Crash!" a somehow more unintelligent voice followed its leader's.

"Look Bulk and Skull, I don't have time for you right now. And besides that I thought you wanted to be my friends after my Sonic Rainboom," Rainbow Dash waved the childhood bullies off without even bothering to turn around.

"Yeah, but this is a fanfic! Gotta make as much references to the show as often as possible!" the first voice protested.

"And in the lamest ways possible," Rainbow Dash added under her breath, "Look, unless you guys have information on some evil pieces of leg armor I suggest you get lost. Sorta on a mission from-"

"That's probably at the old Cloudsdale Museum in the restricted section," the gray pegasus cut her off. Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. Finally she turned around to acknowledge their presence.

"What?"

"I said-"

"I heard what you said!" Rainbow Dash stated, "I'm just wondering why I'd never heard of any of this-"

"Because it was made up for the fic," the brown bully repeated. Rainbow Dash smacked her hoof against her forehead.

"Makes sense to me!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, "Let's go get those legs!" Rainbow Dash sighed. As long as it got the horribly constructed plot over with faster she supposed she would tolerate her role for just a bit more.

"Oh my, are you um...sure we should be here? I mean what if she's not home? Or if she um...doesn't want company?...I know if I'm asleep I can usually get a bit miffed from someone knocking on my door...not that I've ever been mad at you for that of course! But it's just that maybe she wouldn't want some pony-"

"Fluttershy, darling..." Rarity put a hoof up to stop her friend's increasingly quieting suggestions, "Please kindly be stop talking. Zecora is always willing to help us when-"

"My home isn't getting wrecked by your shenanigans," the zebra finished. Rarity's mouth dipped into a small hole at the bottom of her face upon hearing the voice. "Fluttershy is right to be wary in such centimorgans. But what brings you here my dears? Normally our meetings would reduce some to tears." Knowing that the shy one certainly wouldn't be answering, Rarity stepped forward with as business-like a smile as she could muster and coughed into her hoof to begin.

"Pardon our intrusion, but we are currently on a mission from Princess Celestia. So unfortunately this is not an...informal visit. Just stopping by to see if you had any information that might help us is all. If you don't mind of course." Rarity informed.

"Not at all! It's always an honor to prevent Equestria from a fall," Zecora replied happily and lead the way into her hut. Fluttershy may have been more terrified than any other pony of the supposed witch back when she first showed up in Ponyville, but Zecora had proven time and again to be a great aide to many of the troubles that had been encountered since her arrival. "I must say though, I am very thankful. Informalities from the pink one can be quite a handful." Even the timid pegasus had to chuckle at the comment.

"Well thankfully Pinkie Pie's Rainbow Dash's partner this time," Rarity said, "but we do have to be quick. Fate of Equestria sorta depends on this and all..."

"Then let us waste no time," Zecora suggested and turned to a wall of books, "my knowledge is for you anytime. What is it your are looking for? I have such details on this forest and more." Fluttershy gave Rarity an uneasy look. The fashionista didn't have to ask to know what the yellow one was wondering. She too was concerned with how the foreigner might react to the description of the item. But they needed to find it and fast.

"...you wouldn't happen to know about any...evil items in the Everfree Forest...would you?" Rarity gulped. Zecora just stared into space for a few seconds before her eyes narrowed and shifted to the unicorn.

"...what kind of evil items?..." she muttered. Rarity bit her lip. While she was attempting to form just what kind of description she should give in her mind however something unexpected happened. Fluttershy stepped up.

"It's some orange and bluish leg armor that was supposed to be hidden here before Discord's reign," she told the potion mistress. For a split second Zecora's eyes went wide which was followed by their closing and a low sigh. Slowly her head dipped.

"So the end is finally near..." she muttered, more to herself than her guests, "Yes, I know the location, it is close to here. But know this. The monster you seek to undo is not a toy. Should you fail all will become void. That which you love and care for shall be no more. The land, the sky...all will bear this terrible sore. The plague on reality has no care. It can be seen in its very stare. Friendship, love, kindness...it's not that it dislikes these precepts. It is that its foul mind simply can not comprehend such conepts." Rarity and Fluttershy backed up more and more with each ensuing elaboration on the beast that they had been tasked with protecting the world from.

"Yes, I know where your items lie. In the remains of the old castle which the princesses used to reside. The location where you first found the Elements of Harmony. Go there to recieve your leggings of antimony." The room fell into utter silence once the fountain of words had come to its close. Rarity just hoped that Fluttershy had understood everything other than the location of the items. Cause she sure as hell couldn't follow. Part of her agreed with Scootaloo's disdain towards the wording of the zebra. But they had the information they needed. And they knew just how to get there. With as polite of farewells as possible, Rarity and Fluttershy slipped out of the hut and started towards the ruins.

"...please don't fail..." Zecora said quietly.

The sun was high in the sky by this point beating down upon the three four legged figures below with a smaller one riding on top of one of them. All things considered they had been making an amazing amount of progress giving the amount of time there'd been since they left Canterlot. And if it kept up they'd be at their destination and have their parts in no time!

"You know, you all could visit when you aren't trying to save things sometime...just relax and all that..." Braeburn almost muttered. He never mind helping his cousin or her friends out, but it did get a bit...irksome never having them actually enjoy the town. Still, helping others came first, especially when it was something that Princess Celestia was involved in! After their previous visit the buffalo had even given the folks of Appleloosa a detailed shortcut on how to reach them if ever Flim or Flam ever thought of showing their fowl manes around their town again. Needless to say, Applejack and Twilight had emphasized something much more dangerous than those swindlers could ever hope to be.

"Well I would have loved to come last time had Twilight not had me stay home..." Spike was sure to press his cheek up against hers as he informed their guide. The unicorn returned an innocent smile. "You guys didn't have an epic pie fight like the first time we were here did ya? I would've definitely helped in uh...cleaning it up..."

"Nah, nothing of that sort. Hardly anyone fired anything off before them brothers started using live ammo. Your mare friend and Jacky here helped take down their train fortress thingy with all the buffalo me and Pinkie rounded up," Braeburn told him. Twilight's smile grew as the dragon's face pressed even more against her's.

"Oh well, then that's just fine that I missed that epic of an adventure and had to stick around to see Rainbow Dash get drunk off her ass instead...actually...that part really did make up for not tagging along..."

"Yeah, I sorta wish I coulda seen that myself," Twilight admitted.

"Oh don't worry, got it on tape," Spike winked. The pony's face lit up.

"Movie night when we get back?"

"If you buy the snacks and soda," Spike told her.

"Deal," Twilight agreed. Playfully the unicorn and dragon nuzzled their faces together inciting a gag from the other female of the group.

"Sorry for taking ol' Dashy's persona here, but we got a mission love birds," Applejack reminded in an annoyed tone. Spike and Twilight exchanged rather bemused looks.

"She's just jealous," Twilight figured.

"Totally," Spike agreed. Applejack just stifled a grunt.

"Braeburn, how much longer till we get there?" the earth pony inquired from her cousin, "...Braeburn?"

"Oh it's so good to see you again!" a new female voice exclaimed. The next moment Applejack saw her kin he was pinned to the ground by Little Strongheart. Eagerly the young buffalo helped the pony she'd knocked over back to his hooves.

"Why shucks little missy, you sure know how to down a varmint," Braeburn complimented adding her reddening face to his. Applejack's eye twitched. All she was thankful for was that they'd finally made it to the buffalo tribe.

"Yep...definitely jealous," Spike reiterated.

"Definitely," Twilight repeated. Their smiles broadened evermore from the death glares their subject shot at them.

"Stealth suits."

"Check!"

"Gas spray canister."

"Check!"

"Night vision goggles."

"Check!"

"Escape ropes!"

"Duplicated by an insane amount from the Missing No. glitch!"

"so..."

"Check!"

"Alright! And the final item...fifty five cupcakes?..." Rainbow Dash squinted to make sure she was reading it correctly.

"Already eaten sir!" Pinkie Pie saluted. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and threw the scroll of paper off the roof. Now all they had to do, provided Pinkie Pie didn't provide anymore interruptions, was slip inside. Rainbow Dash felt the invigoration she had when she had stolen the Daring Doo book from the hospital as she pulled the hood of the stealth suit over her head. It hadn't taken long for them to reach the top of the Cloudsdale Museum and Rainbow Dash wasn't about to ask where Pinkie had amassed their equipment from. What mattered was that they were there. It was now or never.

"Now if my calculations are correct, then we should be just over the door that leads into the restricted section..." Rainbow Dash said trying her best to sound like she knew what she was talking about. She was professional enough however to not shove her face against the glass that made up part of the ceiling over said hallway. "But how to get in..."

"I got an idea!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Before Rainbow Dash could even notice, let alone stop her, the earth pony had somehow acquired a rock and threw it straight through the window! Rainbow Dash cringed as the glass shattered around the impact sight. It worsened upon hearing the dull thud of the rock landing far below.

"Pinkie Pie! You retard!" the pegasus yelled trying to strangle her into a headlock, "I am not going to prison because of you!"

"Well duh! Who'd wanna do that?" the pink pony laughed. Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. Surely if security had found out they'd already be surrounded.

"...just get the rope out..." Rainbow Dash reluctantly told her partner. Oblivious as ever, Pinkie did as she was told and dropped the end of it down the opening she had made. "Once I'm in you come down too." She didn't know if she was supposed to take the salutes that Pinkie Pie gave her as serious or not. She knew better than to ask however and decided instead to lower herself down towards the museum floor. Her blood pumped faster with each part of the descent she made. She was just like Daring Doo!

"Look out below!" Except with one of the dumbest sidekicks in history. Rainbow Dash hardly even had time to look up before the crazed pony's butt slammed against her head.

"Gah! Pinkie! Hold on to the rope tighter!" Thankfully she slowed to a stop about halfway to the bottom. "I told you once I was in that you could come down!"

"Yeah, and you're in," Pinkie Pie pointed. Rainbow Dash let her face hit the rope in defeat. Then she realized something.

"Uh...Pinkie...what's holding the rope up?" Rainbow Dash gulped. Pinkie Pie thought for a moment.

"You know...that's a really good question..." The moment the realization washed over the pegasus, the top end of the rope fell down beside them. The duo eyed each other a few times before gravity took effect and sent them plummeting to the floor below. Just before they hit, Rainbow Dash managed to dive into a glide and slower their fall to a small bump. That didn't stop Pinkie's cries of delight however.

"WOO! Let's go aga-" Rainbow Dash knew she needed to use all the force she could to keep noise from passing through the hoof she clamped over her friend's mouth. They'd already screwed up far more than enough to make her idol facepalm at the performance. It was only when she felt Pinkie Pie's muzzle stop moving that she let go.

"Hey Rainbow?"

"Ugh...what is it Pinkie Pie?"

"Why didn't you just fly originally?" she asked. Rainbow Dash glanced upwards from the question.

"How would that make for a cooler infiltration sequence?" she asked back. Pinkie Pie rubbed her chin.

"Yeah, guess I see your point," she nodded, "Ooo! There's the door!"

"Pinkie! Wai-" Clack! To Rainbow Dash's relief there wasn't an alarm to sound once the door was flung open. Didn't stop the mental heckling she sent towards Pinke though.

"Well, you coming?" she called back. Rainbow Dash's face glowered. She was so happy that Daring Doo was not her audience right now.

"Are you sure we should be back here? I mean last time it was all of us together...now it's just...um...two of us..." Fluttershy's voice faded to a whimper at the last few words. Rarity just continued the stroll through the faded ruined chamber that she only guess must have been a hallway in its prime. Aside from some dust though there wasn't too much she could really complain about in the venture, especially with the price at stake.

"We'll be fine darling," she assured her more timid spa-buddy, "Just keep your chin up and your eyes alert. We've been going further and further beneath the ground and still nothing. Besides, it's just some old castle. The Elements of Harmony were lying here alone for ages. If there were any sort of criminals or anything they'd have been long gone before either us or Nightmare Moon had a chance to get to them." Fluttershy continued a bit more confidently than she had been but still some fear clung to her.

"It's just that...I heard this place was where Nightmare Moon had holed up when she became evil..." she whimpered. Rarity's brows rose a bit. Perhaps this would be funner of a conversation than she had thought.

"Well I heard that it was where our princesses had set up a sanctuary from when Discord ruled. The forest being "Everfree" from his chaotic grip," Rarity discussed her own gossip.

"What about the one where it was where ponies lived before Equestria was founded?" Fluttershy asked. Rarity puckered her lips and blew through them.

"Puh-lease, you think that our kind would ever willingly live in this eldrich location? The princesses could since they're all super magic and stuff, but normal ponies? No way."

"Actually I don't think it'd be all that bad. Nature is nice...when it's not attacking you...besides, I heard on one of those National Ponytainment channels that some archaeologists actually think that all of Equestria might have been like the Everfree Forest before Discord messed up the world. That's why we have to manage the weather and nature and everything now," Fluttershy informed. It only took seconds for her to realize how outspoken she'd been and stole her voice back to silent embarrassment.

"I honestly have never heard such a load of horse apples in my life," Rarity detested the notion, "Really? ALL of Equestria was like the Everfree Forest? That's just complete lunacy my dear. Ponies taking care of nature and making sure everything runs properly is just the natural order. Nothing more. Really, this forest is more than likely just a permanent effect of Discord's chaos."

"O-of course...sorry for suggesting that..." Fluttershy mumbled. Her pacing began to slow with her confidence.

"Not at all dear," Rarity responded happily. For a bit they walked in silence, their hoof-falls echoing through the hallow underground passages. The ambiance alone displayed how long it had been since any living being traversed them. Their ancient mysteries and treasures lying in wait for the day when one might stumble across them. But right now there was only one treasure that the intruders sought. And contrary to what they might have believed, it too was searching. It's malicious nature slithering through the emptiness. Filling it with dread and horror. Only the ponies' most primal senses were alerted to such a presence. The rest of them just trudged on in search of what craved them. Craved release from its imprisoning home.

"Fluttershy, you did eat before we left right?" Rarity asked. Both ponies stopped.

"Um...yes...why do you ask?..." Fluttershy replied.

"I just thought I heard your stomach grumble is all..." Rarity muttered, "Well...it's probably nothing. Just my ears wanting some noise in here or something." Now a bit knocked down to Fluttershy's level of boldness, a slowness could be felt in her trotting. Something had made a noise! She knew she had heard it...hadn't she? Rarity had just tried to comfort herself was all. There was something down there with them...but they had a mission..they couldn't turn back.

"Eep!" Fluttershy squeaked. Instantly Rarity swiveled around, a tinge of horror filling her gaze. All that she could see was a shivering pegasus.

"Fluttershy? What's wron-"

"I heard it too," she whispered, "Just now...behind me..." Both ponies froze. This time they'd both noticed. The deep growl hissed towards them from the direction they'd entered. Something was following them...something...evil...

"Dude, I'm telling you, all you gots to do is keep the B button held down and press start," Spike could hear his voice saying.

"And I'm telling you that it's the A button," his voice responded. The angel and devil had decided to make a little camp site on his shoulders once they'd reached the buffalo herd. It hadn't taken long for them to explain the situation to the leader, but it was doing so for actually finding the item. Spike had just assumed that they would have had it in a chest or something and he could just spend the rest of the day munching on their blue rocks. But no. It just had to be in some spooky cave on the outskirts of the tribe that they had to "prove" their worth by finding it inside. Fortunately for them Braeburn and Little Stongheart had decided to accompany Twilight and Spike in their quest.

"And I'm-"

"Will you both shut up?" Spike hissed. Everyone gave him a curious glance. Spike waved back to them to get them to continue as quick as possible hoping to hide his embarrassed face. The two earth ponies and the buffalo shrugged and decided to do as suggested. Twilight however fell back to the smallest member of the group.

"Your conscience is acting up to eh?" she whispered. Spike rubbed his arm.

"They've been bickering ever since we got in this place..." he muttered, "Getting pretty...annoying..."

"I hear ya," Twilight sighed, "Mine won't stop arguing about which had the better experience with your angel or devil that one night..."

"Doesn't matter either way cause you know you're the one that got the best out of that, eh?" Spike wiggled his eyebrows while nudging her side with his elbow. All he got in return was a bonk to the back of the head.

"Not in front of the others..." she grumbled, "At least Rarity isn't here to distract you from remembering that event though." Spike rolled his eyes and continued in his steady, though a bit discomforted, pace behind the others. Despite the bickering of the two sides of his mentality, the cave itself just gave him the creeps. He'd expected it to smell bad. But even in that regard it didn't provide such a comforting backing. It had no odor. No sound. No life. Just a dead cave. And yet...Spike could have sworn he felt something.

"I say ya off the dumb apple folk and the buffalo," the devil suggested. Spike lifted his brows in surprise and looked at his shoulder. The miniature version of himself was busy filing his claws. It wasn't that he was not used to the...questionable decisions that his tempting mind proposed. But the severeness of the words had taken him aback somewhat. Normally the actions the devil gave weren't so harsh, especially not to ponies that he was friends with. "I mean ya don't wanna do it with Twi in front of em or have em here if you two decide to get "lost" and have your moans echo through this place. Just off em and have your way with her. Gotta show her she shouldn't be ashamed to have fun with ya."

"...what happened to wing boy?..." Spike asked having realized the absence of his other self. Added to the mysterious disappearance the devil form of him now seemed a bit...larger than he was used to be.

"Why would I do that?" Twilight suddenly asked. Now the attention was on her blushing form. Like Spike before her she signaled for the group to continue. The others got back to discussing just what kind of freaks they were accompanying.

"You're angel gone now too?" Spike asked as quietly as possible, "Wanting to kill the others?" To both of the questions the unicorn gave uncomfortable nods. The two purple beings knew that there was something very wrong. But even so...they couldn't help the excitement crawling over them. The thrill of the suggestions alone peaked their interests. They knew they shouldn't try to, but they couldn't help themselves.

"So this here buffalo leader guarded the evil item even til he died?" Applejack replayed the story in her head. Little Strongheart nodded rapidly. She always loved sharing her people's tales to those that didn't know of them. And from all she could tell her favorite listener was ever intent on what she had to say. Had the others not pressed matters over who deserved the land more, she and him probably could have come to a calm peaceful solution. Braeburn definitely looked kind enough on that first meeting.

"Why shucks Strongheart, you buffalo are pretty brave. Think the old guardian left any clues for finding the..." Braeburn trailed off. Having heard it in his hoofs at first the apple-based pony could already notice his words fading into the rumble that ensued. Before the two ponies or buffalo had time to react a large rock slammed into the rims of the tunnel behind them. And Spike and Twilight weren't anywhere to be seen. They were trapped on the other side!

"Oh now what in tarnation is this malarkey!" Applejack hollered and threw herself against it. All she got in return was quite a dizzying spell and some wobbly legs. It was no use. The rock wouldn't budge.

"Hey! Twilight? Spike? Can ya all hear us?" Braeburn hollered. There was a muffled noise on the other side. The trio looked between each other uneasily.

"This place was designed with multiple passages to confuse grave robbers a bit. There are ways back," Strongheart assured them. Applejack sighed.

"Alright you guys, just hold your horseshoes! We're a coming!" Applejack yelled and turned to the others, "As for you all, keep your eyes peeled for them armor pieces. Fate of Equestria and all that." The buffalo and pony nodded.

CRASH!

"Oh come on Pinkie! That's the seventh ancient pegasus guard helmet you've knocked over!" Rainbow Dash growled.

"Must be my lucky day!" Pinkie Pie giggled. Rainbow Dash's eye twitched. She knew that the party animal could be a bit...careless. But this was pushing it! They'd only been searching the place for about thirty minutes and already Pinkie had done enough damage to set research back a good few centuries probably! And it was only made worse by the guards they now had to avoid due to the alarms that she'd inevitably been setting off in her clumsiness. Fortunately the karma hadn't caught up with them yet. But it was only a matter of time...

"Ooo...what's thi-"

"DO NOT TOUCH," Rainbow Dash ordered through clenched teeth. She had enough problem concentrating on keeping lookout for the guards without her ditz of a partner breaking something else.

"Alrighty," Pinkie Pie replied happily and bent down to read the name on the base of the stand, "Ancient Cursed Leg Armor of the Evil Alicorn. Highly Cl...cl...classified. Hm...they really mispelled class..."

"Wait, what!" Rainbow Dash yelped. The next second she was standing next to Pinkie Pie and looking the item over herself. It was the item they'd been sent to find! "Oh hell yes!" Rainbow Dash thrust her hoof in the air and jumped for the leg pieces, "Pinkie, I'm gonna need your-"

"Step away from the armor!" a voice spoke from the stand it was set up on, "Alert! Intruder! Lethal force authorized!"

"...what?..." Rainbow Dash gulped. She only hesistated for a moment, but that was all it took for the guards to track the thieves down.

"Step away now!" one of the guards barked. The energy that flowed through Rainbow Dash that she felt whenever the need to overcome an opponent pumped into her body. It was a contest just like any other. And she needed to win. She could not let the princess, no, she couldn't let Equestria down! Without even thinking she tossed one of the legs to Pinkie Pie and tore through the maze of displays with the earth pony somehow keeping up and avoiding the shots that the perusers were firing.

"Damn it, where's the fucking exit?" Rainbow Dash muttered.

"Right there," Pinkie Pie jerked her head to the right. There was no time to feel exasperated from the cuckoo lander's nature right now. Instinctively she dove to the door and tackled Pinkie Pie into the hall they'd entered the museum from. The blue one was about to breathe a well deserved sigh of relief but stopped herself. Waiting for them were about ten other guards on the other side.

"...Pinkie Pie?..."

"Yeah?"

"Hold on. Tight." The earth pony had no time to ask what she was talking about before Rainbow Dash leapt at the guards. They backed up in surprise just as she planned giving her ample opportunity to breach towards the windows above and shatter clean through them, glass raining down on the roof below in her wake. But they weren't out of the heat yet. Rainbow Dash knew that some were on her tail. It wasn't hard to spot the rainbow trail she left behind with how fast she was going after all. But she was the best flier Cloudsdale had.

Limberly she swam under a slew of clouds. Ever since they'd exited the museum bullets had been whizzing past them but it was near impossible to get hit by such an inaccurate device at the speed they were going. That's why most of the guards had taken to attempting to grab at the pair. Some had managed to latch onto Pinkie Pie a few times, but even then it was a simple matter of the giddy pony wiggling her legs to get free. Eventually Rainbow Dash did feel an arm lock around her throat, but it didn't last long. The guard was sent hurtling back at two others leaving only three to deal with.

Rainbow Dash was thankful that the air around Cloudsdale was scheduled for a downpour that day. Pinkie's screams of delight had only escalated at the lightning bolts they dodged. And the currents of electricity would be the way to make their escape! Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed. One false turn and they'd be fried and ready to serve at the local prison! She was part of the weather patrol for a reason however. Her experienced body knew how to swerve through the mass of clouds above them. Once they'd exited the fluffy airborne material she could see only one guard remaining. That was what she had grabbed one of the clouds in the bed below for.

Giving the cutest wave she could, Rainbow Dash kicked the cloud she'd saved towards the brown pegasus and it smacked him dead in the face, its lightning rippling all across his body before it dissipated leaving him to fall to the bed of clouds below.

"And that is how you make an escape," Rainbow Dash declared bowing once they were out of sight of her hometown. Pinkie Pie was still shaking from the excitement she'd endured. It was better than any ride she'd ever been on!

"That was way more fun than just explaining to them that the princess wanted us to get the armor pieces!" Pinkie exclaimed. Rainbow Dash fully accepted the compliment until she realized the last part of the sentence.

"...I hate my life..." she sighed.

"Wh-what is it?..." Fluttershy whimpered. Ever since the dark entity had made itself known to them she'd been huddled behind Rarity as securely as possible. Surprisingly whatever was in the labyrinth with them hadn't tried really attacking or anything, but every now and then its sounds would echo behind them causing shivers to spasm throughout their bodies. It definitely was scary. From all that they could make out from whenever it briefly showed a glimpse of any part of its body it was reptilian in nature. Something that could hiss and snarl in the most vicious of manners. Its animosity untamed. But it was different than just some other animal. Normally Fluttershy felt a sort of connection. But with this...nothing... Just emptiness...hate...that which she'd sensed from the creatures that had try to do her and Winona Jr. in when she'd run into him...

"We're just here for some ancient cursed leg parts!...along with any speck of treasure that might lie alongside them of course..." Rarity added in a hushed tone. Her eyes snapped to full attention at the roar that followed her statement. "...I just said we MIGHT take some treasure...I am a fashion desi-" The unicorn was cut off by another spiteful snap from the shrouded being. Now Rarity's eyelids lowered. "Now that's just rude. You could at least let me finish. If it's any consolation it'll just be gems or rubies or-" This time her mane was blasted back from the noise that pressed into them. Needless to say Fluttershy was frozen with fear. A bit more hesitant than she had been before, Rarity eyed the pegasus and then turned her attention back to the darkness with her friend's equally worried look. "Gems?"

A hiss slithered towards them.

"...Diamonds?..." A growl responded.

"...Sapphires?..." A roar tore through the chamber. Fluttershy wrapped her hoofs around the unicorn's mouth in a strangling hold to keep her from uttering anymore of the obviously offensive words. But it was a lost cause. Before their very eyes a sleek claw stomped into view in front of them. Then another. All passion drained from their bodies as the third object slithered into view. Like the rest of its revealed body the head was completely black, as if it swallowed up light and hope itself. Like the dragon they'd encountered at the mountain, this one's face ended in a sharp beak. But at the sides of its head jutted out two horns. And above its snout were two glowing red eyes. It peered into their's. Searching them. Looking over their very being. Corrupting them.

Then the monster did something that neither pony expected. It stretched out its hands cupping them before the intruders. All at once Rarity's face glistened from the treasures that began to pile up before her very eyes. It was as though someone had snapped open a bottle of shaken up soda. Only in this instance treasures and wealth were the liquid within the bottle! Hypnotically Rarity began to approach. Fluttershy could hardly do anything to hold her back!

"Rarity stop!...please?...That thing's been following us around! It can't be good!" Fluttershy attempted to plea. The unicorn was too far gone though. Drool slid down her lip.

"Gems...jewels...must...have..." Rarity mumbled. Fluttershy stole a glance back at the dragon. Its claws were now overflowing with the glittering materials! Money and valuables of all forms were tinkering to the ground! With all the force she could muster Fluttershy dug her hooves into the ground and flapped her wings in her attempts to stop her zombified friend. It nearly did the trick but still she pursued.

"Come on Rarity..." Fluttershy urged in a strained voice, "It's just a distraction...remember our mission...these jewels...they mean nothing... not if we fail..." For a moment the unicorn stopped and her eye twitched. Something had certainly clicked in her head. "Go for the gems and then everything's done for. Your friends... Equestria... Spike..." Rarity's open mouth shut and she blinked a few times. Then a darker expression graced her face.

"While I would love these gifts, we have a job to do," Rarity told the dark figure, "Now then, please get out of our way." The dragon's eyes grew a bit and he jiggled the wealth of his hands up and down suggestively. "My decision's final," Rarity spat. Realizing its defeat, the dragon's eyes closed and it faded away, the treasure with it. Fluttershy saw a tear streak down the white pony's cheek. But the sudden loss was interrupted with a loud clang. Where the dragon had been was a set of armor designed for a pony's legs. The darkness of the entity was still lifting from them.

"Oh...oh! Yeah! Right there!" Twilight's moans echoed. Spike at the moment was busy digging his face into the pony's neck which her hooves eagerly persuaded him to continue. Even if she wasn't wrapping their bodies together he'd still be engaging in the actions. His devil was enough of an indication of that. He could feel it practically pressing against his back. The two had been interacting like this ever since they'd managed to get the boulder to collapse and separate the others from them. They need to in order to get some privacy. Just then though, Spike's head jerked back. Twilight cracked an eye open curiously. "What is it?..."

"Shhh..." Spike put a finger to his lips, "Listen..." The unicorn's ears flapped around a bit to search for whatever noise Spike might have heard. It didn't take long for the other voices of the other members of their group to reach her. Applejack, Braeburn, and Little Braveheart were definitely getting closer!

"Damn it..." she grumbled, "Come on, let's go find somewhere else..." Just as disappointed as Twilight, Spike broke from the embrace and began following her through the tunnels of the cave. They didn't know where they were going, but they did know that they were getting farther away from the others. The only consolation Spike had was the swaying of Twilight's hips in front of him. But that wasn't the only thing on his mind. Or on his shoulder rather. The devil hung lazily next to him.

"Yeah, that was good," he yawned, "but really, you can do better than that." Spike rolled his eyes. Twilight's voice showed that wasn't alone either.

"Dude, we nearly got caught as is. I doubt we could've-"

"You seem to think I'm talking about miss nerdette over there," the devil chuckled, his tone a bit darker than normal. Spike cocked a brow. "You know who I'm talking about...wink wink, nudge nudge..." Spike's pupils shrunk a bit in realization. Quickly he shook off the thoughts.

"Dude, I'm trying my best to keep her outta my head so it won't cause problems with Twilight. You're not really helping..."

"I'm the devil part of you. Shock and amaze there," the smaller him commented sarcastically. The dragon scoffed a bit of smoke at the image. The, for lack of a better word, evil side of him was not one that usually had good ideas sure. But how it'd been acting ever since they entered the cave was new. Never had it wanted to actually hurt others before. At least not physically. And he and Twilight had nearly been influenced to kill the others. And for what? Some free time to snuggle up and have some fun? But now it was trying to steer him towards Rarity...why?

"So first you want me to shag up Twilight, then you tell me to forget about her?" Spike wondered aloud. The devil shrugged.

"Just telling ya what you want lizard boy," it shrugged. The face was beginning to gray a bit.

"No...you and the angel are supposed to argue and that shows me what I want. He's not here...and why are you getting so big?"

"Man, you're just chalk fulla questions today ain't ya?" the devil smiled, "Look, just off Twilight here, get out before the others find out you're the one that did it, and go find Rarity. All problems-"

"Hold the fucking phone! You want me to kill Twilight now?" Spike asked in flat astonishment. The devil's eyes narrowed. His horns had been growing a bit it seemed.

"I'm telling you what you want...what you need to do..." it hissed, its voice growing darker towards the end of the sentence. A wave of fear washing over him, the dragon backed up a bit.

"NO!" Twilight suddenly yelled snapping Spike's attention to her. Furiously she fidgeted around everywhere. Eventually, she managed to fling her devil self off of her and onto the floor. Spike gasped at what he saw. What should've been a pony with a cartoony devilish outfit was now a warped monstrosity that's outfit was now streaked orange and its eyes glowing red. It too bore the same grayish skin that his devil's face had been fading to and its horns were immeasurably sharp. The face didn't even have a snout anymore. It was more that of a primate's which had lines running down the cheeks from the eyes.

That's when Spike remembered. He still had one on his shoulder! For a moment he just stared at the parody of himself. It looked almost exactly the same as Twilight's devil. Only his had what looked to be the frames of wings growing out the back. It didn't even need to open its mouth to speak.

"Kill her..." a deathly voice uttered causing the eyes to light up a bit, "Destroy...if she is not one with us...she is one with the void..."

"YAH!" Spike screamed and tossed the creature to the ground next to Twilight's. The two Equestrians huddled together and trembled as the devils wrapped around each other spiraling into a single entity. Red light illuminated the areas where the bodies wouldn't cover up in their melding.

"Kill...destroy...assimilate...begone with the other...that which remains is that which is mine...do as I say...kill her...kill him..." the voice grew louder with each passing phrase. Spike and Twilight turned to each other. They could see it in each other's eyes...as well as feel it within themselves. The urge. That dark force accumulating behind their civilized selves. Primal natures coming to surface. Slowly the duo reared their upper limbs back to strike each other. But the blows never came. They just remained staring into each other's eyes, the dark natures swirling within them constantly being fought back by their bond.

"Attack!" its voice came from all directions. It could be heard even in their heads. "ATTACK!"

"No," Spike and Twilight replied together. They could sense the being's sudden surprise and lift a bit from the hold it had on them.

"We are not listening to you," Twilight continued.

"So fuck off," Spike finished. The entity was fading now. Fast. Its form spun out of control while the possession on their mentality finally lifted completely. With a loud bang it exploded leaving behind a rather unusual form. What stood before them appeared to be the shadow of a large buffalo.

"Please do not let this fall into the wrong hands," its voice faded with its form. In the spot where it had been was a large piece of armor that looked to be made to cover a pegasus' body. Twilight and Spike looked at each other and then back at it.

"There you two are!" Applejack interrupted the calming atmosphere. Braeburn and Little Braveheart happily followed her over. "Oh and lookie here! You two found the armor piece! Good work crew!"

"Um...are you sure we should be doing this?..." Apple Bloom questioned. As nervously as she had all the others, she plugged the final cords into place that Sweetie Belle had instructed her about. That wasn't to say the instructor wasn't just as shooken up as her friend. Sweetie Belle was just following orders. As per usual, the most thick-headed one was the one orchestrating the event.

"You saw what the future was like!" Scootaloo reminded slamming her hoof on the computer console for emphasis, "If we don't do something our world is gonna be destroyed!"

"What about Discord saying it was all because of us though?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Oh he was just making reference to when we freed him off screen in chapter eleven probably," Scootaloo figured, "But think about it. We know what the future is gonna be like! We can stop it! And what better way than with an army?" Mischievously the filly rubbed her hooves together.

"But...will these even work? I mean they've just been sitting in their tubes ever since we've seen em," Sweetie Belle inquired. All it took was one look at one of the mangled Spike lookalikes to make Apple Bloom shudder.

"Only one way to find out!" Scootaloo grinned. Eagerly she slammed her hoof down on a big red button. It was simple logic to deduct that Pinkie Pie would've made such an easy-to-use system. At first Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom sighed, both in disappointment and relief. Even if an army might help, none of them wanted any Spikes with limbs falling off just following them around. But their air was sucked back into them soon enough. All at once the tubes lit up with an ominous green glow from their bottoms and the liquid within began to drain. Then a Spike opened its eyes. The hue of them was a bright red. Then another...and another. Eventually all the experiments had been activated...and began breaking out of their cryogenic sleeping pods.

No matter what the Cutie Mark Crusaders said they wouldn't stay put. Some of the clones scratched at walls while others bit at structures around the room. Every now and then one might attempt to lunge at the young ponies. Then one found a door. And that was when they all exited. Despite the Cutie Mark Crusaders' cries to help them and explanations the situation, the clones scurried out the door and through the halls. And towards the elevator shaft...

"So you're saying you guys found a dragon?" Applejack questioned. Rarity and Fluttershy nodded, the latter a bit more rapidly.

"Well, it was more of an... entity I guess you could call it. We felt it more than anything," the unicorn told her. Spike had been listening rather intently to the story.

"It was probably the cursed armor taking shape in order to manipulate you," Twilight reasoned. The others gave her a glance. "Think about it. Tempted you with wealth and everything. If it fully corrupted you what would've stopped it from using you to get out to the rest of the world? Princess Celestia must've sent us cause we're the ones that can do this stuff. Gotta admit though, it is sort of neat to get these armor pieces as prizes..."

"Yes, even if they are a bit...heavy, they certainly give quite the statement to whomever would wear them," Rarity agreed.

"Can I put em all on? I wanna play the dark god of chaos!" Pinkie Pie cheered hopping up and down. Fluttershy and Applejack allowed a few giggles to escape. Rainbow Dash was less amused however.

"I think you've caused enough trouble already oh "god of chaos"," the pegasus murmured being sure to keep their leg armors out of her reach, "But now that we're all together there's no way we're gonna fail in getting this last piece. All we gotta do is head back on...down...to...what...the...hell..." The group came to a complete stop at the top of the hill that had blocked their view of their community. What lay before them was sheer chaos. Buildings were being caught up in explosions and flames while ponies ran through the streets screaming in terror. "...fuck this story..."

Chapter 23: When All Hell's Breaking Loose

Twilight's legs were shaking more than they ever had in her life. To her left Rainbow Dash struggled to get up, blood dripping down her mouth. Fluttershy, as all them should probably have been doing, was taking cover behind a tree with Rarity only slightly more brave in front of her. Pinkie Pie had just gone crazy in unleashing whatever she could think up on the monster only to be thrown back with less effort than he'd dismissed the blue pegasus. Applejack seemed to be holding her ground better, but even then all he was doing was sidestepping whatever she did. Discord just sat off to the side munching on popcorn and taking an occasional sip of soda.

"Yo Twilight!" he called, "How much you wanna bet Applejack doesn't last another minute?"

"We'll deal with you in a second!" the earth pony barked to shut the chimera up. Unfortunately the brief distraction was taken advantage of by her opponent. With a flex of his wings Applejack was sent hurtling towards them and landed face first against Rainbow Dash's stomach.

"Ooo..." Discord cringed, "That'll be thirty bits." Twilight growled and jumped up. They may not have been a match for the monster but they still had one ace left.

"That's it...girls...Elements! Now!" Twilight ordered. Spike took a few steps back from the group in the chance that what they were about to do wasn't safe for allies. One by one the ponies picked themselves up and produced the necklaces and tiara.

"Oh this should be good," Discord commented before taking a long sip from his drink. The Alicorn however wasn't nearly as relaxed. Though he was certain of the outcome of the fight, the objects that the ponies had intrigued him quite a bit. Slowly they started to lift into the air, a bright light illuminating the group. The Alicorn's eyes grew. There was a familiar energy growing from the colored cores of the necklaces and tiara. Such power wasn't normal in the realm they were in. Twilight opened her eyes, pure white light glowing out of them. Unicron brightened his as well.

A loud crack echoed across the land as the usual rainbow began to form. This time though it did not attack their enemy. This time the chipped Elements shattered and exploded scattering the group about the ground. Smoke lifted from the charred holes that the Elements had inhabited in the pieces of jewelry. The ponies looked their items over in pure shock.

"They more than likely would not do much to me, but it was best to eliminate any chance you have correct?" Unicron asked. Fluttershy had never been more scared. Not only was the monster making short work of both Rainbow Dash and Applejack, but it had destroyed the Elements of Harmony! The only hope they had!

"...can you kill us non-painfully?..." she whimpered. Only the more athletic ponies gave her degrading looks, although they too fully understood where she was coming from. None of them wanted to face this kind of being. But they had to. They were the only chance that their world had. The last line of defense.

"Who is your leader?" the dark voice inquired.

"Uh...do we really have a-"

"I am," Twilight cut Applejack off. Sternly she got back up and stomped her hoof to mark her reply.

"Die," Unicron uttered. Every ponies' eyes shot wide open. Faster than they'd seen any pony else charge, Unicron galloped at Twilight, his horns low to the ground for his strike. Discord put a finger to his mouth. The abomination's actions had even surprised him. Twilight's eyes were the ones that expanded the most though. She didn't have time to cast a spell or anything. But her mind did have time to act. And what it did was not favorable. A flashback of when she'd first hatched Spike filled her mentality. She'd never forget that day. The most important day of her life. Being accepted by Princess Celestia, jump-starting her training, and most of all bringing her number one assistant into the world. She wouldn't have traded anything for history to have gone different on that day. She saw the blur close in and felt Unicron brush up against her.

But she didn't feel pain. Instead she hit the ground and looked back. Then she felt like throwing up. The reason she hadn't been pierced was because Spike had pushed her out of the way! And now he was skewered on Unicron's horn, his internal fluids flowing down the sharp structure. Every pony that didn't have their throats clogged with fear gasped. The monster's eyes darkened a bit.

"It seems I've missed," Unicron muttered. Casually he flung the limp dragon over a nearby hill, "It won't happen again, I assure you." Twilight could feel her heart rise in her throat. To her it felt like the entire world had just fallen apart around her. Her number one assistant, her best friend since she'd been alive, had just been run through and tossed aside. Depression and fury hit her like sledgehammers. This entity had just destroyed Spike, a main character...that wasn't supposed to happen! They were the heroes! They were supposed to win! Sure they might get hurt, but not like this! Emotions swirled about violently in the purple unicorn.

"You...MONSTER!" Rarity yelled. Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack had to tackle her to keep her from getting any closer to her death. "You killed Spike! I'll murder you! I'm going tear your fucking eyes out and shove them so far up your ass that your wings are going to pop off!" she continued her screams as she tried to squirm out of her friends' grip. Unicron flicked his tail to the side and lifted his brows a bit. The response certainly wasn't expected from the materialistic mortal that he'd assumed she was. That's probably why he was distracted from the glow that was building up in the troubled purple pony at his hooves.

"Uh...Uni...may wanna step back a bit," Discord suggested. Unicron didn't move, but he certainly took notice of the growing brightness below. He could feel her power slowly swirling out of control. And it did not show any sign of dampening! It truly was a unique group that'd arrived for his reawakening. But that didn't mean he was going to let them have the time of day to actually make a formidable opposition. Just as brightly as Twilight's horn glowed Unicron's eyes lit up. The group froze as his energy swam through them. They could feel their skin burning. He was going to kill them all at once. Both opponents' glowing reached their climaxes at the same time and in a flash that lit up the sky above everything went silent. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash had disappeared and Twilight fell over in front of Unicron. Motionless.

"Girls!" two voices cried. Unicron looked up just in time to see Discord tackle the approaching princesses into the sky above.

"I've so been looking forward to our reunion!" he chuckled as they tore through the clouds, "Let's catch up a bit before you talk things over with Mr. Grimdark down there shall we?..."

"Oh crap, I probably shoulda told the Crusaders something about the future," Spike muttered smacking himself in the head. He turned to look back down the hill but they'd already vanished in their time machine. "...oh well, probably just make some time paradox anyway that'd threaten to illogically wipe out all of reality...what the crap's going on here?..."

A loud clash of thunder rumbled across the sky from the impact the white and blue streaks gave the serpent-like figure above. The scene was hypnotic. It went on for quite a few minutes before a substantial breaking of the stalemate occurred. Deciding to give it more of an effort, the serpent knocked the white streak back a good distance and grabbed the blue one before zooming down to the ground. Upon landing Discord could be seen rather vividly with Luna clutched in a headlock. It was like watching a catastrophe. You wanted to turn away, you knew you should, but you couldn't.

"Unhand me foul chimera!" she hissed bucking at him ineffectively. Discord just smirked and bent her towards the other antagonist. Her eyes locked with Unicron's and she froze. "Uni...Uni...Uni..."

"Another alicorn," Unicron muttered, "Indeed your abilities far exceed that of others of this realm, as do your partner's. However I feel something in you that has been locked away. A touch not unlike that within I and Discord." Luna yanked and tugged, but Discord's grip on her throat was like a cemented clamp. Discord's grin grew once the shimmering Unicron gave her body died down and he released his limbs from her. Slowly rose a taller and darker alicorn, now more in Celestia's figure.

"Oh this is so awesome!" Discord thrust a fist in the air, "It's like the Legion of Doom or something...except without Solomon Grundy asking for pants..."

"Luna! I'm-"

"Late," a darker female voice finished. Celestia questioned whether she should land or not after spotting her sister. She just remained floating in the air before the corrupted trio. "Of course you can feel free to join in the fun," Nightmare Moon continued, "But knowing you you'd rather just try and protect our pathetic land. You are the one they worship after all..." Celestia opened her mouth to speak, to attempt to reason. But she knew it was in vain. And all things considered...Nightmare Moon always did somewhat have a point. Knowing there was no way that she could stand up to such an accumulation of evil alone, Celestia took one last regretful glance at the corpse of her student and teleported to help the rest of Equestria prepare for the worst.

"Oh oh! I got a good one! Two Alicorns and a Draconequus walk into a cider bar!..." Discord giggled happily. He hadn't been so giddy since his rule of Equestria. And now he had two partners to help him! Unicron enlisted his usual silence while Nightmare Moon grumbled at the prankster.

"We have much to do do we not?" she asked.

"Indeed," Unicron nodded. The evil trio ventured off beyond the hill that had housed Unicron's coffin. Once they were out of sight, Spike toppled down the hill he'd been peering over. Partly it was due to the shock of the whole scenario that he couldn't keep his balance, but mostly it was due to his destination. He needed to be as quick as possible to see how Twilight was! Skidding to a halt, Spike slid to his side and pressed his head onto Twilight's overturned body. His eyes grew. There was a sound. It was faint, but there was a heartbeat. Spike sat up and wiped his brow in relief. Remembering where they were, Spike hoisted the unicorn over his shoulder and started making his way towards the burnt forest that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had brought him through.

"Don't you die on me..." he said quietly.

Fluttershy's scream began to die down after a minute or so. Realizing that she no longer felt any pain she allowed her eyes to open and peaked around. She was in a forest. A nice, calm, peaceful forest with critters frolicking about once the commotion she'd caused had stopped. The pegasus put a hoof to her mouth. She scanned the scenery slowly. If she was dead she certainly had quite an afterlife to look forward to. But if she was dead...where were her friends? She could picture Rainbow Dash possibly causing problems with Cerberus, but not really many of the others would be all that deserving to be locked up where the demon dog guarded.

As if to test her hooves Fluttershy rocked to a standing position. She was still a bit shaky from the events prior to her debut in this new location. Seeing that her legs were still able to register she next fluttered her wings. They worked just fine too. Even though her body still felt a bit heated Fluttershy hopped around a bit with the rest of the woodland creatures. She was so excited. It was a complete contrast to the ordeal she'd had to endure prior. No more of battling evil or any like that. Her thoughts were cut off however as her eye-shut face slammed into a tree in front of her.

Even for some pony as timid as Fluttershy it wasn't much effort to shake off the sting, but that's what bothered her. It snapped her eyes back open. The impact had hurt. It had actually registered as physical pain. Hesitantly she lifted a hoof and hit herself in the cheek as hard as she could. She was just thankful that it wasn't any of her friends that did it. Though not nearly the most physical of the group she definitely felt another ounce of tension wash of the area she'd hit. She could still feel all that she could normally! She wasn't dead! A smile slipped across her face. Then it faded. That meant...that Equestria was still in danger. That monster was still going to destroy things! And she didn't know where she was...

Fluttershy had no idea how she'd come to be in the woods...but in retrospect it was probably a blessing. She could hide out there...at least until Unicron, Discord, and Nigthmare Moon sent their inevitable evil to wreck havoc on it. But it's not like she could do anything. After all, how could she, the most easily scared pegasus there was, hope to combat not just one, but three of the most evil entities that had ever set foot on their world? She couldn't. It was an impossibility. It was best if she just stayed out of the way and left fighting to others. Yes...that was how she was. With the revelation fully dawned on her, Fluttershy hunkered down inside a log. She could at least try to find a suitable hiding place for a nap.

"Now what do we have here?" a gruff voice perked her ears up. Fluttershy inched her head out of the log curiously and stared up. "Well, if it isn't my greatest accomplishment," Iron Will recognized.

"I wish...I wish...I wish...come on..." a soft voice chipped over and over. It sounded a lot like her mother's. Groggily, Twilight Sparkle's eyes slid open and she blinked a few times. Her head felt like it'd been hit by a bowling ball. All she could remember were those last moments of magic welling up inside her. Her emotions had spun out of control at the sight of what had happened to Spike and the energy she produced became unpredictable. But from the looks of things she was still alive...at least it felt like she was. Twilight was now looking up at the clear night sky with stars decorating the cosmos beyond. Then another pony's head popped into view causing her to emit a surprised cry.

"Oh goodie! My wish worked!" the pony giggled and began prancing around the now conscious one. Twilight rubbed her eyes and shook her head. Though her head was still pounding she could see clearly. And the pony she saw sure wasn't like any she was used to. This one, though it was obvious what the creature was, was not nearly as slender as she. The body was quite a bit thicker and the face pudgier. But it was a unicorn. It just didn't look like it belonged in Equestria. Its purple and white mane bounced up and down on its pink body as it pranced. "Oh the stars always grant my wishes now!" she chimed.

Twilight rubbed her temple. She really needed to keep her magic under control...no, what she needed to do was get back to the battlefield. See if the others were alright...see if Spike was alright... Twilight tried to get to her hooves but fell back down. The energy was still a bit drained from her. But she had to get back to her friends and out of the place she'd woken up in...wherever that was.

"Um...sorry about...appearing here, I was just trying to help my friends...where exactly is here?..." she asked. The prancing pony stopped and giggled again. The pudgier one took time to look her over.

"Well you don't really look like you're from around here exactly, but I still think you'd probably know that you're in Ponyland!" the pinkish unicorn exclaimed happily, "If you want I can show you around!" Twilight mentally rolled her eyes. She really didn't have time for distractions...but her energy did need to build back up before she could teleport again. She at least knew where it was that Unicron had been. It might take a few teleportations to cover the distance from wherever she was. But in the meantime she might as well do something.

"Alright," she sighed with a smile, "But first I should probably ask who you are."

"Oh of course," the pink unicorn chuckled, "My name's Twilight."

"Oh damn...what in tarnation?..." the yellow earth pony moaned. Dizzily she shook herself. The moment the bright light had died down the air had cooled. Not by much, but she was no longer burning to say nothing else. Applejack took in the smell of her surrounding to better stabilize her mentality. There was certainly something in the air that gave off a familiar feel.

"Hey cuz!" Applejack's ears stood on end and she spun around. Trotting towards her was Braeburn. She was in Appleloosa! "Well shucks, what are you doin' here? I thought you went whizzin' by on that train with your buds some time ago!" His voice simply provided background while her eyes scanned the scenery. There was no doubt about it. The dirt-roads, the wooden buildings, the sheriff relaxing in a chair. She was in Appleloosa alright.

"...what...happened?..." Applejack murmured quietly. Braeburn tilted his head.

"You okay there Applejack?" he asked. Her cheeks reddened a bit realizing he'd heard her.

"Er...yeah...it's just that...Twilight and the others they...I uh..."

"I know what you need!" Braeburn declared and grabbed her forehoof. With a yelp Applejack was pulled into a spinning dance. "Kick your hoof in the air and wiggle around like you just don't care!" he sang. Applejack's face only gained more crimson as crowds of ponies gathered around their performance. "Yeehaw! Shake off your worries!" he hooted. By now a few ponies were joining in a beat with their hooves. Applejack did have to thank her cousin though. He had made a congregation far more successfully than she could have, and if Unicron was still around she'd need all the help she could get.

A round of applause erupted as Braeburn halted the movements. Applejack was left gasping for breath. Once she'd allowed herself more of an ease into the situation it wasn't nearly as flustering as it had been. Still, there was no time for the sense of enjoyment right now. Now was time for action.

"Alright," she panted, "Now...now listen up every pony! I gots an important announcement from out of town!" Quite a few murmurs washed through the crowd. Braeburn was perhaps the most curious of course having been the one to spot her. "Now I know y'all might think I'm dag gum crazy, but ya gotta trust me on this! There is a monster headed this way! It is going to destroy everything unless we stop it! Now who's with me!" The crowd fell to complete silence. Then broke out in laughter. Applejack bit her lips and squinted her eyes as the civilians began to disperse back to their everyday lives.

"...god damnit!" Applejack hissed stamping her hoof. Not a single pony had stayed to even give her the time of day. None that is except for the one standing behind her.

"...ya ain't fibbin' are ya?" Braeburn asked. Applejack lifted a brow and turned around. She was a bit surprised to see that he'd remained.

"Element of Honesty," she stated putting a hoof to her chest, "Every word I speak is the truth or the most poorly constructed twisted version of it if I'm told to lie. There is a monster headed here. It's going across all of Equestria. I've seen its power firsthoof. And it ain't pretty." Braeburn kicked up a bit of dust from the rode.

"Well...can't say I blame the others for not believin' ya. But that'd explain why you were a mite upset before I made ya dance...where are your friends though?" Applejack's eyes went towards the ground.

"I wish I could tell ya," she sighed, "They were fightin' him with me until he was gonna kill us. Then I just ended up here. Twilight probably teleported us I reckon, but ain't able to figure out why she didn't send us all to the same place...now I don't even have any support for when I go up against him again..." Braeburn walked a bit closer.

"You're planning to launch another round on it?" he asked. Applejack looked him in the eye.

"Someone's gotta," she replied, "He'll just tear his way across Equestria if no one opposes him..." To her amazement a smile formed on her cousin's face.

"Well you got me," he winked, "And I'm pretty sure I know who all else might lend a hoof..."

"Ugh...what a way for a lady such as I to be treated," Rarity coughed. She could've sworn that she still smelled some singed fur from the heat that had encompassed her and the others before the teleportation had occurred. Sure it'd been a shock how much power such a being possessed, or that such a being like that could even exist to begin with. But he could have at least made it not as ruining towards her outward appearance should she have survived like she did. It was simply impolite. Not that where she'd ended up was any better. At least she knew the place though.

The instant that Rarity had materialized in the cavern she'd recognized it. It was the tunnels that she'd previously been held captive and was vainly forced to work for those beastly Diamond Dogs. But at least she was safe. That was looking on the only bright side there was. With that out of the way only the negatives were left. Namely the dusty rocky dirty road that was currently staining her hooves. It would undoubtedly take five trips to the spa to get her body clean.

"Oh what a world," Rarity wiped her brow dramatically, "and to think, none of this would've happened if my lousy sister and her silly friends had just stayed put! Maybe I should've let her adopt Applejack as her sister!"

"I know that whining..." a more scratchy voice muttered. Rarity spun her head around to spot a pair of eyes watching her. Reluctantly the medium-sized Diamond Dog scruffled out of the shadows and scoffed. "If you're gonna be down here please zip it. You were straining enough last time!" Rarity scoffed at the comment and turned her head to the ceiling.

"That's no way to speak to a lady," she said dismissively, "Now, please show me the way out of here unless you want me to start complaining again!" Immediately the Diamond Dog's eyes shot open and he put his hands up in defense.

"Alright alright! Just...keep it down..." he growled. Rarity smiled and began following the taller creature. The journey through the tunnels was awkward to say the least. There she, a frazzled lady, was following her previous kidnapper through some old tunnels. The scene only elicited silence save for their footsteps and hoof-falls. "...so...what brings you down here?..." the Diamond Dog struck up a conversation to save himself from the tension in the air.

"Oh it's not by my will of course," Rarity assured him receiving a grunt in return, whether or not she paid it any mind, "I was teleported here by my friend who saved us from this evil monster that's gonna try and...well I dunno know what he's gonna do exactly, but a lot of people are gonna be dead if he has his way. Caused a lot of destruction in the old days I heard. Believe me though, I'd never come to such a drab filthy place on my own."

"Just as clean your mouth probably..." the Diamond Dog muttered under his breath. The underground passages seemed to go on forever. And for all Rarity knew they did. Growing bored from the constant generic looks of the scenery, Rarity lit up her horn and with it the walls and ceiling. The tunnel now shone brightly with the gems she'd made known behind their rocky prisons. Instinctively the Diamond Dog leapt at the wall next to him...and fell right back down from the faceplant he gave it. He shot Rarity a nasty look.

"If you're not gonna dig then do not do that..." he spat. Rarity closed her eyes refusing to admit any form of an apology. He probably deserved it for how she'd been treated last time. To his unhappy delight she did darken the cavern back down though.

"Those aren't gonna mean anything anyways once Unicron comes into these parts," she told him and took up the journey again. The Diamond Dog cocked a brow. "That's the monster's name."

"Right, like he'd be able to found our place," he cooed, "Oh I'm so scared..." It was Rarity's turn to perform the gesture.

"You won't be acting that way when he gets here. I've seen what he can do...and to be honest we could use all the help we can get..." Rarity confessed. The Diamond Dog almost fell over in laughter.

"You? Help YOU?" he gasped for breath, "After what you did? No thank you!" Rarity looked at the ground and kicked it, a warm blush coming over her face.

"Um...I'm sorry..." she more suggested than said. The Diamond Dog folded his arms over his chest.

"Sure ya are...I can still hear those grating conversations in my ears..." he growled. Rarity sighed.

"Well I can't really say I'm THAT sorry for you," she rolled her eyes as she spoke, "But...think about it...all your gems...meaningless!" The creature just rubbed his chin and shrugged. "Oh come on! If there's one thing the same between us it's our love for those lovely rich jewels! We both know how we'd feel!" The Diamond Dog's mouth drooped a bit.

"Alright fine...I'll get the others...but I expect a lot more than just our stash staying intact," he gave in. Rarity smiled and nodded. She'd make Unicron pay as much as possible for ruining her good looks.

"I'm still trying to get my head around the whole...you being...me thing..." Twilight Sparkle muttered. So far she'd been lead through the much...bland land, at least compared to Equestria, and had come across all the usual pegasis, earth ponies, and unicorns. Unlike her though, they much more strikingly resembled her newfound namesake in physical form. Much more pudgy and...for lack of a better word, realistic.

"Well, you also remind me a bit of Moondancer," the other Twilight thought aloud, "But what do you think of Ponyland?" The joyful unicorn through her hands up happily, apparently proud of her uninspired homeland. Twilight Sparkle bit her lower lip.

"It's um...interesting..." she said quietly, "Very...uh...hehe...oh I wish Spike was here, he'd make some remark for me." The mention of the name caused the other unicorn to take a step back.

"You wanna see Spike?" she asked. Twilight practically fell over.

"You know him?" she exclaimed.

"Of course I do," the other Twilight laughed, "He's the baby dragon that hangs out with the humans and stuff." Twilight Sparkle's mouth dipped a bit. It obviously wasn't the Spike she knew.

"...what's a human?..." she asked. The other Twilight could only gawk.

"You...don't know what a human is?..." she questioned. Twilight Sparkle blushed in embarrassment. The other on just smiled and shrugged the situation off. "Oh it's alright, I can take you to see em!"

"Well that's kind of you and all but I really do need to get back to my friends, they need my help," Twilight Sparkle told her. Foretunately the walk around town had given her the time she needed to build up some more magic. Slowly her horn began to glow. When it reached its peak however it didn't give the usual controlled reaction. Instead Twilight collapsed to the ground. Her head felt like it'd just split open from how severe the head ache was.

"Ugh! Dear Celestia! What the hell was that?" she choked. Something had prevented Twilight from using her powers. Something...that had noticed her presence...

"Alright...when we get back...we need to have a serious talk...about how much cream you've been having with your wheat..." Spike huffed. His tongue was practically on the ground with how much he'd been panting. He was used to carrying stacks upon stacks of books sure. Twilight had been no problem for him at first. It was only after miles and miles of walking did his knees begin to feel like they'd been turned to jello. Spik's balance wavered a bit making him struggle more than ever to keep his footing on the mountainside he was climbing. He didn't know how far he'd gone, but he did know that he needed to get Twilight somewhere where those monsters weren't likely to investigate.

"Funny how the scenery just sorta provides us with any location we need," he panted. Hesitantly he looked back over his shoulder at the unicorn. Her face was dipped down next to his in her continual unconscious state. Spikes nuzzled his cheek against hers and gave it a kiss. "Just hang in there...I'm gonna take of ya, don't worry." The only response he got was the slow bob of Twilight's head from the air that she breathed. Just happy for her to even be alive, the young dragon wobbled the rest of the way up the mountainside. Fortunately it wasn't too much longer to get to the top. Unfortunately, they weren't alone once he was able to look down into the crater at the center. It was a caved-out mountain filled with dragons!

"...oh boy..." Spike gulped. He was about to head straight back down the way he came when a voice stopped him.

"Hey guys! Look who it is!" Spike gulped. He remembered the voice clear as day. Somehow he managed to continue on his way back down when a red claw grabbed him by his free shoulder and began dragging him down towards the other teenage dragons that he, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity had managed to escape from when he'd gone to find out more about himself.

"Been wondering where you and your "pony" friends ran off to..." the leader chuckled, "Haven't seen you since the migration. But don't worry, we gots lots of time to catch up now don't we?..." Spike gulped again being sure to keep a firm grip on the pony he was carrying. Unfortunately he lost her when he was gruffly tossed to the ground causing Twilight's body to topple over next to him.

"Guys look, I don't have time for this..." Spike tried to explain, "My friend, she's-"

"One of the unicorns that was with you when you ran away," the red dragon acknowledged, "Don't worry, we'll deal with her too."

"Can I use her for gem bowling?" the bigger brown one pleaded eagerly.

"Eh, knock yourself out," the leader shrugged. The brown one thrust his arm into the air triumphantly and began to pick the unconscious pony up.

"Wait! I gotta get Twiligh-"

"You got a beating to get to is what you got," the red dragon snarled clamping his claws around the younger one's head so that he couldn't go after the unicorn. Slowly the other chuckling teens closed in around him, some punching their fists in anticipation.

"You don't understand! I need to take care of her! If I don'-"

"Do you have an off switch?" one of the others grumbled, "I mean don't get me wrong, we wanna hear you cry and stuff...but that's all we wanna hear."

"I'll shut up if I get Twilight! Now give her ba-"

"Eh, just pretend he's a mute," the leader proposed. Grins grew on the others' faces.

"But Twi-"

"Ugh, will you shut it?" the red dragon spat.

"You don't-"

"I said be qui-"

"UNICRON!" Spike screamed. The teenagers paused for a moment along with the entire community that seemed to go silent for the word.

"...it's pronounced unicorn dumbass," the red dragon muttered, "Now, if we can proceed with your beating then everything will be just-" His voice was soon drowned out by the footfalls of a much larger red dragon. Spike and the others stared up at him.

"Leave him alone," it ordered. The teenager did as he was told and backed up a bit with his friends. Spike's eyes grew as its head lowered to his level. "Now what did you say?" Spike bit his lip wondering how he should answer such an imposing figure.

"...U...ni...cron?..." he said quietly, "He's um...this monster...brought about chaos in Equestria a long time ago or something and he's back along with Discord and um...Nightmare Moon if you know of her..." The older dragon closed his eyes and puffed out a bit of smoke from his nostrils.

"I was hoping I'd misheard you," he muttered. The teenagers could only wonder what was being talked about. Just then a loud crash caught everyone's attention. Lying amidst a trail of falling gems was Twilight's slumped over body.

"YES! Strike!" the brown teenage dragon cheered. Spike slapped his forehead. He was not taking all the blame for any injuries his partner might awaken to.

"Princess Celestia, Fillydelphia has been evacuated," a guard informed. The princess nodded her head in acknowledgement. She never stopped walking through her stained glass corridor. She needed to keep up a rather tight pace in order to make sure that she got to every reporting agent in time, especially with her sister gone. Celestia didn't have time to really dwell on her absence, but it still soured her mentality quite a bit. All that Luna had been...warped into that nightmarish form of her tainted persona. It had been quite a blow that she'd been transformed back into her previous self. But the worst part was what she had said.

'You are the one they worship after all...' The words hung in her head. She couldn't help it that the ponies of Equestria had always given so much praise to her. If she had had it her way she'd be just like any other pony popularity-wise in a heartbeat. Luna knew that...but that wasn't Luna...that was Nightmare Moon that had made the claim, all the envy that lurked in her sister's heart. Celestia couldn't help it though. It was her duty, as the night was Luna's. It was the way things had to be. She needed to keep that thought in mind at all times.

"Another batch of civilians were just shipped in from Dodge Junction!" a guard reported. As with the others before, Celestia nodded to him allowing him to get back to work in helping those coming into Canterlot. The higher class unicorns may not have admired the attention that their community was getting now but Celestia could care less about their trivial complaints. She'd be damned if she was going to leave the other ponies of Equestria unguarded. And what better place to set up a defense than the most protected community in the land? It would certainly be the last place to fall.

"Please don't let it get as bad as last time..." Celestia prayed. The princess came to a stop at the next archway. A guard should have been there to meet her. After a few seconds she heard his panting and he skidded to a halt in front of her.

"Sorry your majesty!" he apologized gasping, "But Hoofington, they aren't getting organized enough! Ponies are just shoving themselves into trains and blocking everything up!"

"Do we have any troops we can send to sort it out?" Celestia asked. The guard nodded. She was about to continue to the next guard when he stopped her.

"We have a problem though!" he told her, "Two alicorns have been spotted on the outskirts of the town!" Celestia's heart sank.

"Keep the troops here," she ordered, "And get word up to the Hoofagong's new crew. Tell them to make ground zero at my location." The guard would have asked what all that actually meant but the next instant Princess Celestia was gone. Where she reappeared was chaos. Ponies of all types and sizes clamoring on the boarding platforms for the trains. There was so much tension that few hardly even noticed her presence.

"Attention!" her voice boomed over the crowd. It'd been quite a while since she'd used the royal Canterlot voice. But it certainly had done the trick. Every inhabitant was now staring at her. "Those that can not find a spot on the trains get out of town and onto the hill at the horizon. I'll meet up with you all there!" Few questioned the royal one's orders.

"Wait, what do you mean meet up with us?" a colt asked at the gate of the town, "Why won't you be coming with us?" Celestia closed her viewable eye.

"I'm the only one that can hope to hold those monster off long enough for all the trains to get out of here... Now go!" The colt nodded reluctantly and dashed off with the others. Celestia took in a deep breath upon seeing the trains wheel off into the distance and turned to the collection of ghost buildings. The emptiness alone would have been enough to unnerve any normal pony. But there was something else lingering in it too. An infectionous atmosphere clung to the desolate land. As calmly as possible Celestia trotted through the streets, her hoof-falls echoing in the hollow passages.

It didn't take long for her to spot the first body. A mare that'd had its side torn open. Bone and muscle could be seen beneath as blood gushed out of the gash into a pool around the corpse. The sights of the smitten civilians only grew the further into town she got. Eventually she heard crying desperate voices which soon turned into screams. She ran now. The more the bodies piled up the louder the voices got until finally she spotted a pony and ground to a halt. Standing over a twitching colt was an even larger alicorn than herself.

"Unicron..." she muttered. The dark entity knew she was there before she'd even arrived, he just chose the sound of her words to lift his head to her.

"Ah, the sister of the sun..." he responded just as gutturally, "I take it you're not here to join us." Celestia simply glared at the monster. "Just hold on, I'll be with you momentarily. This mortal unfortunately has also declined my offer." Unicron's eyes began to glow and the young one trembled. She was more scared than she'd ever been in her entire life. To her luck the pony that controlled the sun was there. Unicron's eyes widened a bit at the sight of the unharmed child. A magic barrier had been placed around her. Celestia teleported her to safety and stole Unicron's attention to herself.

"Leave them out of this, they can't defend themselves," Celestia said.

"Their fate is the same as all else. Join me or join the void," Unicron stated, "Those that neglect my leadership doom themselves. The same stands for you. Your sister has already accepted the invitation."

"You raped her mind!" Celestia yelled furiously and shot a beam of energy at him. Unicron gave his own deflecting it into a house next to them.

"Please...all I did was remind her of the darkness within herself," Unicron argued, "You however seem to have no trace of such an element. I offer you this one last chance to surrender." Celestia hadn't felt such anger towards any being in literal ages.

"Well here's my answer," she hissed. Unicron just stood there in front of her waiting for the inevitable futile gesture she would make. To his amazement however she was standing just as still as him...if not more so...it was almost like she was...concentrating... Once Unicron realized what was happening it was too late. Heat covered his body and the air around him felt like it was being vacuumed into the sky. The orange-armored pony gazed upwards. As he suspected the sun was beaming brightly down upon him. Too brightly. He was like an ant beneath a magnifying glass. Celestia let loose the stored energy the moment she saw him turn his attention back to her. She needed to strike first. And so she did.

In one loud boom a pillar of light shot down on the abomination. Even before the beam hit she could see bits and pieces of Unicron's armor drifting into the paler pillar that'd been around him prior. Celestia let out a rattly breath and her legs wobbled. She hadn't had to use that much energy in quite some time.

"Okay...now that...hurt..." Unicron's dark voice muttered through the smoke. Celestia knew it'd been vain to hope that he would be defeated by such an act. His very presence dispensed with the clouds around him, his eyes glowing blood red. Only now two more figures stood by him.

"You know you really should join us sister," Nightmare Moon proposed, "It'll be the only way to survive."

"Eh, it may not be the funnest thing, but at least I'll get to play with this world while it's still here," Discord chimed and whisked out a gray pony from behind his back, "Isn't that right Derpy Hooves?"

"I sincerely concur," the pegasus replied rather intellectually. Discord smiled and patted her head. "Now get outta here you little cameo-maker you," he said playfully and snapped his fingers causing her to vanish. None of the group payed any attention to him. They were all used to his kind of nature. "But yeah, you're sorta retarded for thinking you could get rid of Mr. Good Times here," Discord drolled jabbing a thumb at the male alicorn. Celestia chuckled a bit.

"...why's she laughing?" Nightmare Moon asked. A large grin formed on Discord's face.

"I knew this day would come!" he exclaimed, "She has finally lost it!" Eagerly he slithered over to the white alicorn and slung an arm around her neck while his other hand produced a camera. "Now I can show you have to have some real fun!" Discord told her as he snapped the photo.

"It's not that," Celestia told him through her chuckling. The other's gave her inquisitive looks. "Sure I like that I pissed you off, but that was mainly meant to show where I was."

"What do you mean where you were?" Unicron demanded. He was growing a bit tired of the elder sister's distractions.

"I meant that," she said pointing her hoof upwards. The others looked up. Discord and Nightmare Moon backed up a bit. A bright red object was soaring down towards them.

"That's the Hoofagong Space Station!" Nightmare Moon exclaimed. Celestia shot her a smirk.

"Simple fix," Unicron muttered. His eyes began to light up.

"Checkmate," Celestia's smirk became a grin. As brightly as Unicron's eyes glowed, her horn put up quite a competition. All of a sudden the male alicorn felt his joints buckle under some newfound pressure.

"What in the Pit?" he grunted. What should have been a mere pebble to flick aside had become an anvil encased in cement. He could give up pushing against the falling orbiting structure, but there'd be no time for him to make an escape if he did. "Assist me now!" he yelled. Hesitantly Discord and Nightmare Moon exchanged worried looks and combined their own power with his. The descent had certainly slowed, but it showed no signs of stopping.

"Damn, what spell did she cast on this thing?" Discord growled, "I can't even transform it into anything else!" It certainly was quite a spell. So much so that the princess had dropped to her knees from exhaustion.

"You are a fool..." Unicron uttered amidst the strain.

"I might be," Celestia gave a half-hearted laugh, "But I'm the fool that gave you one hell of a bitch slap." Using what little energy she had left, Princess Celestia lit up her horn once more and disappeared.

"...you know what? Screw this! If she's not even sticking around to face it with us then I'm out!" Discord declared crossing her arms over his chest. Nightmare Moon let out a cry from the sudden increased pressure and toppled over. The space station was now zooming towards them due to the broken concentration.

"...good luck," she told Unicron and teleported with Discord. The male alicorn's eye twitched as he felt the metal plating of the spacecraft scrape his horn's.

Celestia meanwhile was panting on a hill on the outskirts of the town and watched as the vessel exploded where she had been moments before. Already she could feel her energy returning. The villagers around her held each other to comfort those that couldn't bear the sight of their land suffering such a fate. But it was nothing compared to what came next.

Celestia managed to stand back up and get the group together for teleportation when suddenly a harsh wind swirled around the vacant town and shot back out from a pillar of flames that ascended into the sky. The entire town was caught in the tornado of chaos, the light it produced almost blinding and the energy that accompanied it dark as ore. It swirled for a full minute before dying down. The only thing that could be seen in the tattered remains of the town was the figure of an alicorn, its eyes red and hate-filled. Celestia worked up enough magic to account for the ponies around her and teleported.

"Come on ponies! Will you just stop and-"

"Outta the way lesbian!" a pegasus shouted. Before she could make a retort, Rainbow Dash was flung out of path of the crowds that were in the process of fleeing Cloudsdale. Ever since she'd appeared there it'd only gotten worse and worse. At first it was just a few ponies that knew about what had happened from guards, but once word got out into the general community all hell had broken loose. Pillars collapsed from the evacuating inhabitants.

"Remember, Canterlot is where you are to take shelter! Not outside the city walls!" an escort warned his group. Rainbow Dash flew back to the entrance of her homeland. All of her attempts to recruit troops for the fight she planned to give Unicron had been in vain. No one would listen to her. Paranoia had taken full control of the pegasi.

"Please! Just listen! If we work together we might-"

"This is my group! Stay out!" a female spat and kicked her hard in the stomach. Rainbow Dash landed on the clouded floor of the airborne civilization with stars spinning in her head.

"Okay...yeah...you guys just go cower...I'll just be...ow..." Rainbow Dash groaned forcing herself into a sitting position. She took a final look at the departing groups and slammed her front hooves down furiously. "DAMNIT!" she yelled, "Why the fuck won't anyone listen to me!"

"Perhaps it's because you need to resort to such acts of pleading to get their panicked views on life," an unexpected voice deduced. Her jaw hanging, Rainbow Dash turned to look at a gray pegasus who had eyes that went in two different directions.

"...Derpy?...did you just...say something smart?..." Rainbow Dash asked. Casually the normally dopey pegasus took the monocle resting in front of her right eye off and rubbed it on her free foreleg.

"What is smart is a concept that can only be measured that who speaks the specified word," Derpy Hooves explained being sure to readjust her eye-wear. Rainbow Dash just blinked. "I am just here as I believe I can aide you. You seem to be searching in the wrong place for reinforcements."

"And...where would you suggest I get these "reinforcements"?" Rainbow Dash cocked a brow, "And how did you get-"

"That matters not for the time being. And is it all that surprising? In such times of chaos is the unexpected not expected?" Derpy Hooves, rather disturbingly, rolled her eyes at the dumbfounded expression her audience displayed. "Go to those you're familiar with," she said flatly.

"Like who?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Hey Rainbow Crash! Didn't you hear that we're supposed to evacuate?" a male voice asked. Rainbow Dash's eye twitched.

"No..." she said quietly at first, "...no...no...no no no no! Not them!" Rainbow Dash pulled her mane furiously.

"Hey Rainbow Crash, why aren't you leaving?" the gray one sat down next to her.

"Yeah! We were gonna check up on you when we got to Canterlot!" the brown one added. Rainbow Dash sighed.

"Look guys, I don't have time for you right now. I'm busy trying to form a team to take on Unicron," she muttered.

"Well we ain't got nothing to do!" the gray pegasus declared wrapping an arm around her neck. Her eye twitched more.

"Hey can we ask Spitfire to come too?" the brown one asked. Her eye stopped twitching.

"She's here?" Rainbow Dash yelped. The brown one nodded.

"She's helping escort ponies to Canterlot along with the rest of the Wonderbolts," the gray one told her. Rainbow Dash's annoyance was replaced with nothing but hope and victory. A grin spread across her face.

"And thus ends this segment of the story," Derpy Hooves announced.

"And that is how Iron Will came to be in this forest!" the hybrid animal finished being sure to stroke his tie at the final words, "Just passin' through to the next town. But how come you're here?" Fluttershy lowered her tea cup and stared into the dark liquid within. Perhaps she could hide in it and avoid answering the question. Reality said otherwise.

"Oh...I was just um...well you see..."

"Still the shy type eh?" the minotaur chuckled. Fluttershy blushed. "Guess my lessons really can't change everypony."

"Oh no it's not that!" Fluttershy assured him quickly, "It's helped me a great deal! Stand up for myself against a certain, um...housemate, and even refused my friend's pestering when she was trying to force me to see the Dragon Migration!"

"Really?" Iron Will rubbed his chin, "Well, can't say I blame ya. That migration can get pretty heated I hear. But as for why you're in this forest..." Fluttershy's newfound eagerness quickly diminished back to its previous status.

"That...um...I didn't really chose to come here...my friend teleported us when we were about to be killed..." The minotaur gripped his mouth so as not to spit out his tea. That definitely was not the answer he'd been expecting.

"Ec-Excuse me?" he gagged. Fluttershy took a sip of her cup to calm the memory a bit.

"We were...well you see...we were told by Princess Celestia to find all the pieces of this old alicorn's armor. He almost destroyed Equestria a long time ago. We're the Elements of Harmony and all. We found them but...well these...bad ponies got in the way and took the armor and resurrected the alicorn we were trying to prevent...Unicron...he destroyed a nearby town and then tried to kill me and my friends as well...he would have to if Twilight hadn't teleported us. I don't know where the others ended up, I'm the only one that got teleported here..." Fluttershy took another sip and put the cup down on her dish. She didn't know before then that the minotaur could be so quiet.

"...well that's quite the tale..." Iron Will eventually commented adjusting his tie to get more comfortable in light of what he'd just heard, "And this Unicron guy. What do you plan to do about him?" The pupils of Fluttershy's eyes shrunk.

"I-I'm sorry?" she gulped. She knew she'd heard him right but she needed to be sure.

"This Unicron guy. You can't honestly tell Iron Will that you aren't going to retaliate in some way are you?" Iron Will's eyes narrowed a bit. Fluttershy bit her lower lip.

"It's just that...he's so...scary..."

"And what did Iron Will tell you about those that pick on you?" he crossed his arms over his chest.

"...when they give you the beat down, you make them scream loud..." Fluttershy whimpered. Iron Will nodded but he was still not satisfied. He could tell by the look on her face that she wouldn't take action. "Mr. Iron Will sir...he's just so...bad..."

"Well then don't do anything," he shrugged, "Let Equestria be destroyed." Those words only conflicted the internal battle of the pegasus even more. But it did make some progress.

"...I'm sorry...it's just...what good could I do?..." Fluttershy's eyes began to tear up a bit. Iron Will tried to look away. He may have been a motivator and stern as steel, but he still had emotions.

"What good could any of us do alone when faced with something like that?" Iron Will asked. Fluttershy's looked him in the eyes. "You have your friends, and with the destruction he'll undoubtedly cause I'm sure that they'll be headed towards him if they're just as determined as you were after my teachings. They care about you, the two outside your cottage showed that the day I showed up to collect my pay. They ain't gonna let you die if they have anything to say about it. And I'm sure you wouldn't let them either. We've been hearing about a lot of the...destruction and stuff going on over the radio so we can head ya in the right direction."

Fluttershy looked down at her tea cup and took a final sip.

"I just...don't wanna...go alone..." she said quietly. Her head lifted once a hand was placed on her shoulder. Iron Will smiled down at her.

"Who said you will?" he asked opening his arm out to his dozens of goat helpers, "This our land too. And I don't just have these muscles for show ya know." Slowly but surely Fluttershy's trembling body steadied.

"Mr. Iron will sir?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for the tea party."

"Anytime."

A purple claw stroked Twilight's cheek. Her breathing was just as low and quiet as it'd been since she'd come to be in the state she was in. With the older dragon's support Spike had easily gotten her back from the teenagers and soon took to caring for her in a nearby vacant cave. Figuring it'd been enough time Spike removed the wet washcloth on her forehead and replace it with a fresh one. He didn't know if it'd help but they always seemed to be placed on things that weren't feeling well. The dragon looked her over and allowed a puff of smoke to steam out of his nostrils.

"Please be alright..." he requested to the unresponsive unicorn. Delicately her wrapped his arms around her neck and nuzzled his face into it. A tear slid down his cheek darkening her body a bit where it connected. Spike didn't know when he'd last felt such uselessness. He'd done what he could and still Twilight hadn't been safe. He'd failed in his duty as her assistant...that's why he needed to nurse her. For his and her sake he needed to see that she was restored to her former health.

"Just snap out of it soon..." his voice vibrated against her body, "We're gonna be taking the fight to Unicron again and this time we got backup...got the dragons on our side...I just want you to be here to see it..." For what felt like an eternity Spike hung to her neck just trying to give any form affection he could to her in hopes of a sign. But there was nothing. Just her distant breathing. He'd never felt so alone.

"What's with you and ponies anyhow?" a voice asked. Spike glared over his shoulder to see the red teenager from earlier. He was leaning on the mouth of the cave. "Look dude, I ain't gonna hurt you or her, not with the old guy's breathing down our necks now. It's just...why don't you just ditch them and stick with us? You got potential." This made the baby dragon's brows bend a bit.

"...she's my friend...my best friend," Spike replied, "I've known her all my life...I wouldn't care if I was considered a slave or what species we were or anything. Our relationship's still the same. I love her. And I need to make sure she stays safe, especially with that...monster out there now..." He could hear the red dragon gag in disgust.

"Well whatever," he murmured, "Just wanted to let ya know we're gonna be done getting ready soon. Might wanna be out there when everyone takes off." Spike nodded his head and turned his attention back to the unconscious pony. The red dragon stepped towards the exit and stole a last glance behind him. He shook his head at the sight of the younger one and left.

Unicron's eyes glowed for a moment. The feeling had stung through him again! It'd been about the fifth time now! Irritably he glanced down at the diamond shaped emblem on his chest plate.

"Look, if you're still upset over me and ol' Mooner here bailing we said we were sorry," Discord grumbled thinking that the motion was in recollection of their prior activities, "But hey, look on the bright side! Gave me some time to turn a town's entire water supply into soap! You should've seen how the evacuating ponies were panicking! I mean-"

"Shut up," Unicron ordered. Discord blinked and flattened his brows.

"But of course oh master, I live to serve you," he mocked. Unicron was too preoccupied with his internal disturbance to make a retort.

"Ugh! Why the bloody hell won't my magic work!" Twilight screamed. Furiously she stomped her hooves on the ground kicking up clouds of dust. Needless to say, the foreign Twilight stepped back a bit.

"Maybe you should wish on more stars. Always seems to help me!" she chirped joyfully. Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes. With pretty much no more options however, she decided to take the advice and looked skyward. What she saw dropped her to the ground in shock. The stars were moving!...they were...forming something... The other Twilight backed up even more. Filled with spite and malice, the pair of red eyes that formed from the constellations peered down at the duo.

"So, that is why I've felt a bit off since I tried to do away with you and your friends," the dark voice spoke.

"Unicron!"

"This is my world," he explained to the unicorn that tried to attack the celestial optics. Her faltering magic only gave her another headache. "And you are not welcome here..."

"Un...i...cron?..." the pinkish Twilight slowly. Then it all came back to her. All at once. It was too much. She could only fall to the ground in the seizure that ensued from the memories. "No! I can't teleport! Why? Megan...Molly...Danny...Spike...I'm sorry! I'm...sorry..." the unicorn cried. Tears streamed down her face. And then she was gone. In a flash of red light her body shattered to nothing.

Twilight Sparkle contorted her brows and turned back to look at the eyes above.

"You brought the fate upon her..." Unicron muttered, "Had you not made her remember she could have lived a nice life here...forever..." Twilight's eyes widened.

"You don't mean...this place...this...Ponyland..."

"Is what Equestria will soon join," the eyes narrowed, "As well as its occupants that submit to my authority. And you could too...if you would only give in. Become one with I...there is no other option..." Twilight dropped to her knees. There really was no way to win against such a force...he was just too much... "I promise it will be perfect, everything you'd ever wanted..."

"And that wasn't real..." Twilight added quietly. The glow above showed that the comment hadn't gone unheard.

"Come on Twilight..." she heard a voice say in the back of her head. She blinked a few 'd heard it a few times earlier, but she'd just discarded it as daydreaming or her brain just simply displaying things to keep her from boredom.

"Spike?..." she asked.

"We'll...take...Unicron...I just want you here...please wake up Twi..." the dragon's voice grew louder the more she allowed herself to hear his words. Unicron's eyes grew a deathly shade of red.

"This is MY world!" the evil voice boomed. Twilight looked back up at him and gasped. Next to the eyes was another constellation that'd formed in the shape of Spike's head.

"Please wake up Twilight...please...I need you..." it said.

"NO!" Unicron yelled furiously, but Spike's image would not fade. The more her assistant talked the more Unicron's eyes dimmed until there was nothing. No eyes, no stars, no Ponyland. Just herself and Spike.

"Twilight?...TWILIGHT!" Spike eagerly tackled the now conscious pony. With an "oof" she fell back on the makeshift bed that her assistant had obviously put together with some grass. "Oh Twilight! I was worried that you were't going to ever move or anything again!" Groggily, Twilight slipped a foreleg around his neck and nuzzled him into a returning embrace.

"It's alright Spike," she told him.

"Um...ew..." a deeper voice stuttered. The baby dragon and unicorn looked to the mouth of the cave to see the red teenage dragon. "Well, don't wanna interrupt anything...but we're ready to head out..." Twilight looked down at Spike.

"Got some dragons to help us fight Unicron," he told her. Twilight grinned.

"Let's go."

"Alright OC! Listen up! I'm gonna skip all that "oh where am I? Oh I must've gotten teleported from fate or some crap like that" cause fans are probably getting sick of it! Wanna go fight the dark god of destruction that messed up our lives in this fic?"

"Sure." the dragon shrugged.

"Let's go get P.A.R.M.!" Pinkie Pie yelled, "To the next part of the story! AWAY!"

"So, your mind all clear then? I told you it wouldn't be so easy to get rid of those ponies. Especially not the purple one," Discord mused. He didn't need to look at Unicron to feel the hate that was directed at him.

"You know, to your brother's society you may be well known as the angel of death. But this is Equestria. I and Discord are what their generation have to fear. My sister always kept stuff locked up about you," Nightmare Moon informed.

"Then I'll just have to remind them why I am to be feared," Unicron muttered.

"Well, how's about you start with them?" Discord proposed jabbing a thumb to the horizon. In front of the setting sun glistened a tall metal figure with a pony and baby dragon seated atop its back. The antagonists eyed the structure and it began to approach them.

"We're gonna kick your ass!" Pinkie Pie declared, "P.A.R.M.! Ramming speed!" Discord shook his head and let out a yawn.

"Well, go nuts," he shrugged. Unicron's eyes began to glow, but a second later they dimmed. Now a few more figures had appeared behind Pinkie's group. What looked to be an entire army was following her! The Diamond Dogs, with Rarity at the lead, were kicking up quite a bit of a dirt cloud in their wake. The newcomers certainly got the attention of Nightmare Moon and Discord. "Scratch that! I'm joining in this wrestlin' match!" the draconequus chuckled.

Nigthmare Moon was about to join in the fray that was approaching when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. To their left a group of buffalo were closing in on them! Quickly she turned to their assault unfortunately allowing her to view yet another group coming in from behind them! This one was comprised of an endless stream of wildlife, goats, and a minotaur with a yellow pegasus accompanying him.

"Oh it's just like the good old days!" Discord cackled having spotted their only remaining free direction vanish into a flock of Canterlot guards. Eagerly he began building energy in his hands.

"Sister!" Nightmare Moon hissed. The two princesses' eyes locked upon seeing each other. With just as much speed as the white one, the bluish alicorn took flight at the forces of Canterlot.

"Alright! Hut hut, hike!" Discord laughed throwing himself at the buffalo herd. In no time the Appleloosian natives were flying across the battlefield. But still they somehow pressed forward. Unicron meanwhile was gathering back up his power. He knew it'd not even take a fraction to wipe out the forces that had come from Ponyville. And he would have done it too had not a barrage of electricity pelted into him like machine gun fire. Furiously he looked up. Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts were towing some of the most dangerous storm clouds he'd ever seen across the sky with a few bigger boy pegasi.

Even in spite of the unholy roar he let out, the forces didn't stop. It was only when they noticed what the call had summoned that they began to falter a bit, and even then they still continued. Slowly but surely the ground beneath the Ponyville legions erupted with deceased bodies and ancient bones snapping together to form a rather undead horde that began tearing through them, their eye sockets glowing as red as Unicron's. But with the combined forces of the Diamond Dogs and Pinkie's inventions they were giving quite the fight.

Unicron was about to try once more to make his own strike but was still denied the opportunity. The roars of the airborne lizards caught everyone offguard. Viciously the dragons descended on the monster spewing as much fire as they could on him with each pass they made.

"You were afraid of this guy?" the teenager laughed at Spike and Twilight. They glared from the adult they were seated on until a loud explosion sounded. With smoke billowing from its mouth the large dragon spiraled into the battlefield below. Spike just barely missed the slash of one of Unicron's undead forces while Twilight toppled head over heels after being flung into the field of chaos from the crash. She couldn't hear anything even though everything around her was nothing but a complete orgy of violence and destruction. A buffalo flew over her head and slammed down onto a few of the zombies, blood gushing from his side.

"AH!" Spike cried. Hesitantly the baby dragon clawed his way out of one of the undead's grip and crawled onto its head. Like a drunk it flung around trying to get at him until he decided to hop to another, and then another...and then another. He kept hopping his way across the battlefield until he found himself next to his look-a-like.

"One hell of a fight," OC commented being sure to kick one of the zombies away from a Diamond Dog, "thought it was gonna be suicide at first."

"I hear ya," Spike panted, "...still think that?"

"Pretty sure."

"Same," Spike agreed, "To your left." Not even having to look, the red and black baby dragon unfolded his arm into a cannon and blasted the head off of a skeletized version of their own species.

"Heh, you call this a force of evil?" the red teenage dragon spat landing next to the two baby dragons.

"Garble, he killed the dragon that me and Twilight were riding," Spike reminded placing his hands on his hips. The teenager shrugged.

"Still, you tikes probably need help," the teenager feigned annoyance. Not taking too kindly to the new arrival himself, OC morphed his other hand into a blade and sliced it past the teenager's face. Garble's face froze in fright.

"Might wanna watch your back," OC warned retracting the blade. The zombie that'd tried to attack the teenager fell forward lifeless.

"Back to back badasses?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Back to back badasses!" Applejack nodded. In a stunning display of defense, the two ponies began flipping around each other knocking back the undead monsters that'd been closing in on them. Rainbow Dash kicked the head off of one before sliding under Applejack's legs and knocking the feet out from under another while the earth pony used the leverage of the pegasus beneath her to backflip and tear her back hoof down the chest of a zombified bear, snapping each rib off of it and causing it to shatter to dust as she landed.

"Megatron and Optimus, eat your Sparks out!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed picking up Applejack and taking to the air. The duo flew across the field with ease knocking down opponents left and right.

"They're sure having fun," Discord smiled at the display of zeal.

"Discord!" Twilight yelled. The chimera glanced down and smirked.

"Sorry, gotta go," he told a tap-dancing buffalo and drifted over to the purple pony, "What's up kiddo?"

"Why are you doing this?" Twilight Sparkle demanded. Discord's brows bent in confusion as a pair of Diamond Dogs with rabbit ears stumbled past them

"What do you mean? You know me. Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. I live for this stuff!" he cackled rising into the air. With each inch he ascended the ground around him and Twilight grew more and more warped with soda bottles and building blocks popping into existence.

"No, I mean why are you helping Unicron?" Twilight insisted. The draconequus stopped and lowered his eyelids.

"Oh...him," he grumbled, "Well I know he can be a pain in the ass and all with his stupid "oh look at me, I'm dark and foreboding and bleh" display; but really, he's a god of chaos! We're like cousins! We both live for complete and utter usurpation of everything that's stable!"

"And what about when he has to destroy Equestria?" Twilight asked. To her surprise the chimera laughed again.

"I'll just simply hitch a ride to another world," he shrugged, "You obviously have pieced together by now that this isn't the only Equestria out there in the multiverse. Now if you'll please hold on a sec, ahem. Luna Luna she can win! With a plot like that, who can't grin!"

"Shut the hell up!" Nightmare Moon yelled. Discord just mockingly clapped as her sister rammed into her side. "Okay Tia, enough nice pony. You are dead!"

"If that's what it takes!" Celestia growled. Had the battle below not been occurring there's no doubt that the audience would be watching in disbelief at the glistening white and blue streaks painting the heavens above. Clouds thundered at each impact they made. Energy crackled in electric arcs around their bodies as the perimeters of where their force allowed them to impact. Twilight had never seen either princess display such power in all her life. And Unicron was apparently even stronger...

"Reminds me so much of their final fight against me," Discord sniffed wiping away a fake tear, "So, who you been taking on here?" Discord waited a few seconds in silence before glancing down. "Twilight?" she was gone. The chimera whirled around a few times to see if he could find the unicorn. Ultimately he shrugged. "Hey! You there! Yes you with the goofy spines! I can give you a scale makeover like you wouldn't believe!" the spirit of chaos announced approaching his newly found dragon target.

"Remember! You get bruised, you let loose!" Iron Will hollered. Apparently the encouragement helped as his troops progressed quite a bit inward. Their target had finally gotten the chance to launch off a few rounds himself. And what he had done wasn't pretty. One blast alone had been enough to incinerate an entire tenth of the combatants. Nothing remained of them but bones which had gotten up afterwards and joined the horde of the undead. But that wasn't enough to stop them!

"Iron Will will-yah!" the minotaur yelped upon being forced to the ground by a few of the zombies. Alone they were nothing compared to him. But apparently they'd learned that over the course of the fight. And above him stood a goat skeleton with a sharp sword in its mouth. No matter how much Iron Will struggled he couldn't break free. "Ugh..if Iron Will must go, then make it a good swipe!" he ordered.

The goat was all too happy to oblige. But the slice never came. Instead the zombie dropped the weapon and just stared in front of himself. On top of the other zombies that were busy holding their target down stood Fluttershy, her eyes scarily wide staring into its sockets.

"Stop." she ordered. At the very speech the skeleton collapsed. The other zombies looked up at Fluttershy in shock then back down at Iron Will. Without a moment more of hesitation, the undead fled from their enemies. "That's some talent you got there," Iron Will coughed nursing his back. Fluttershy blushed and kicked the ground bashfully. "And you thought you needed assertiveness training."

"It's nothing really..." she assured him. Before any more of the discussion could continue though, Fluttershy was swept off her hooves by a purple blur and relocated somewhere else.

"Alright, I got you..." Twilight sighed setting the frightened pegasus down. Once Fluttershy realized who it was she smiled.

"Oh Twilight, this isn't the Brony Edition. I'm not in love with you or anything. No need to be so affectionate...if you're trying to be of course...if you are then that's fine too I guess..." Twilight put a hoof over her mouth to stop the endless rambles that would ensue.

"Already got one fourth wall breaker," she grumbled.

"Did someone call my name?" Pinkie Pie asked. Twilight Sparkle grinned. For once she'd actually needed the crazed one of the group...as well as the others.

"Now if I could just get the others..."

"Whatcha need?" Rainbow Dash asked plopping herself and Applejack down next to Fluttershy. With a yelp Rarity was flung onscreen.

"That's no way to treat a lady!" she yelled.

"The story needs you!" an undetermined voice replied. She rolled her eyes and stood up. Confidence washed through Twilight. They were back together. The group. And joined they could overcome any obstacle. That's how it'd always been. But...Unicron didn't seem to play by those rules. He'd seemingly killed Spike, something that Twilight didn't quite understand the whole details of considering he was back. But he flat out destroyed the Elements of Harmony.

"Well I'd say we've mustered together all we could," Applejack stated. In the distance she saw her cousin aiding Little Strongheart. And for some reason Granny Smith tackled a zombie out from in front of him. "Where the hell did she-"

"So what do we do now?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Got everyone here, but no one's doing shit against the big bad himself. Anyone that gets close he just bats an eye at and poof. Dead. The plan just to get our asses handed to us again?" Twilight glared at her. But she was right. What hope did they have?

"We're the only hope that Equestria has..." she remembered the princesses' words, "...whether or not we have the elements we have to try..." One by one she looked her friends over and one by one they nodded. "...when I first came to Ponyville...I had no idea that I could have so many friends or what all it would really be like to have them...but...I'm glad I met you guys. And if we die here...I'm glad that we had our time together." Fluttershy was in tears from the speech.

"And what about me?" a male voice asked. Twilight looked to her side to see Spike there with a bit of an annoyed expression. She gave him an innocent smile.

"Oh Spike, you know what you mean to me," she said squeezing her forelegs around his body. His cheeks turned a dark shade of crimson.

"Yeah yeah," he murmured pushing her back a bit, "But you don't think you're going into this without me do you?" Twilight's smile turned into a frown.

"And have you get killed again?" she replied.

"And what about what happened to you?" he asked. Delicately he took her hoof in his hand and looked up into her eyes. "I don't want to lose you..." Her own eyes downcast at the words. Twilight took in a deep breath.

"Don't worry sweetie, we'll take care of her. Promise," an unexpected pony assured him. Spike and Twilight looked at Rarity and then the others. They all had determination written on their faces, even Fluttershy.

"Alright," Twilight sighed, "Let's do this." Twilight began to depart with the others when Spike grabbed her cheeks and yanked her into a kiss.

"Love ya," he told her. Twilight smiled and nuzzled her nose against his before joining her friends. The path to the dark god was surprisingly void of dangers. And he too was preoccupied shooting down dragons and Diamond Dogs.

"Alright Unicron! This ends now!" Twilight yelled. His reaction may have been slow but he had certainly heard them. The devil-horned alicorn turned to face them.

"I must wonder why you have such a death wish," he uttered. A few ponies gulped but none of the dared to turn from the oppressor. "I do admire the forces you have gathered against me, but it shall only serve as an example for what happens to those that oppose me. And your fate is no different. I will kill you. Now."

"Stand your ground girls!" Twilight ordered. Each pony braced themselves as a lethal wave of energy tore through the ground at them. It'd be impossible not to feel it, but they were still standing once it'd dissipated.

"What?" Unicron muttered. Shakily Twilight Sparkle took a step forward.

"I was right," she said confidently, "The Elements of Harmony are more than just objects. They're what we are. Each and every one of us makes them up just as we make them up! You won't get rid of us that easily!"

"Hold up, the elements are still here?" Applejack lifted a brow. Twilight nodded.

"If you take the time to feel, I'm sure you'll realize it. Now, get ready to attack!"

"Fool," Unicron muttered. To every ponies' shock, the purple unicorn charged just as eagerly as Unicron had at her when they'd first met. He just stood there waiting. It was only at the very last second that he made his move. He flapped his wings. But this time his adversary didn't leave the ground. She didn't even budge. Twilight just dug her hooves into the dirt and stayed planted where she was. Even Unicron was a bit bewildered by the act. Taking the opportunity, Twilight finished her charge. A loud slicing sound encompassed the arena.

Unicron stared into space for a few seconds and looked down. He saw the gash in his armor but couldn't believe it. No one from this world, let alone no pony, had ever struck him before. Certainly not enough to leave a lasting mark. Twilight smirked and looked at the scar she'd given. The other ponies were shocked. But a newfound courage was washing over them.

"Insolent filth..." Unicron growled. Twilight felt like a train had slammed into her from the smack his hoof gave her. She hit the ground hard, blood painting a few pebbles in front of her mouth.

"TWILIGHT!" her friends exclaimed. Nothing but anger fueling them, the others leapt into combat against the demonic figure. Unicron flapped his wings again, only slowing the ponies down as he had Twilight. But this time he was ready. Swiftly he slashed his horns at them when they got close only for two of them to roll to the sides while the other three leapt over the slash. Deciding to ignore the yellow pegasus and white unicorn at his sides, the monster took target at the pink one falling in front of his face. He took aim and fired off a beam of energy from his eyes.

The laser would've ended Pinkie Pie had Rainbow Dash not pulled her out of the way allowing it to pass onto a dragon behind her incinerating him in an instant. He took aim at the pink one again when Applejack's back hoof slammed into his cheek from above firing the next blast at a nearby unfortunate buffalo. Enraged that he'd been denied his smiting yet again, Unicron slashed at the earth pony. Limberly the athlete hopped over it and hit his face again with her forehoof. Seeing that nothing else was working, the demon resorted to his limbs as well. He had to admit he was impressed by how expertly the pony could dodge. But it couldn't last forever.

With a cry of pain, Applejack felt the full force of one of Unicron's punches sending her hurtling across the ground.

"God damn...that stung worse than a nest o' hornets..." she coughed. Unicron only took two steps towards her slumped over form when Rarity and Fluttershy finally gave their own assaults from the sides. Unicron simply flexed his wings to knock them back and continued. It was when he was bringing his hoof down on the earth pony's face that Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash tackled him from behind. Furiously he bucked around and shook. For any other pony they'd have been flung off relatively easy, but these two clung like super-glue. But he was a god. And as such they did ultimately feel the ground. But that didn't stop them. The two continued to pester him as best they could eventually inciting a slap from his burning tail.

The vain fight continued while Fluttershy and Rarity helped the other unicorn back to her hooves.

"We got you darling," the white one said helping to keep their friend balanced.

"He really is scary..." Fluttershy commented quietly. She was surprised that she herself had dared to hit him.

"ENOUGH!" Unicron roared. All eyes on the battlefield turned to him. Energy was building up in beneath his plating. His form was shining an unholy light from where he was standing. Celestia gasped. He was going to do to the battlefield what he'd done to Hoofington! As quickly as she could she rushed down and skidded to a halt next to the six ponies that'd been fending him off.

"Twilight! Barrier around him! Now!" she ordered. Twilight nodded and joined the glow of Celestia's horn. A deafening explosion sounded, but it was dulled. Neither Twilight nor Celestia had ever felt such a strain against their magic before. But the explosion was contained to only within a few feet of the monster. What the audience saw from the outside was just a ball of fire that swirled around beneath its purplish transparent prison. It was only when it ended that the magic forcefield shattered with a loud bang leaving only a smoking crater. And something else.

Floating above the newly formed hole could be seen Unicron's now charred alicorn body as the smoke began to disperse, his eyes redder than ever.

"I will kill you..." he said darkly, "I will kill all of you! Every last being on this damn rock is dead!" Quite a few creatures had to squint against the blindly light that began to swirl around Unicron. Once he'd become enveloped in the veil of whiteness a series of strange crunching mechanical noises sounded from it with the shadow beneath standing upwards in a more primate form in the ball of light. The battlefield could just stare as the ball ascended into the clouds above. Everyone except for the six ponies that'd tried to stop him. If they hadn't been so dead-set against Unicron, the ponies that couldn't fly would have probably been astounded that they were levitating, their bodies glowing the colors of their elements.

"Let's end this," Twilight Sparkle said. The others followed her into the night sky.

From a distance it would have looked like the sky was being painted with six heavily saturated watercolors. The streams of purple, pink, red, green, orange, yellow, and blue wove their way majestically through the heavens of Equestria, the moon in the background only enhancing the incredible sight. Clouds sped past the illuminated forms in their chase. Ahead of them was what had once been the alicorn that Unicron's evil had taken hold of. Now it had been morphed into a gigantic version of his head with bat-like wings replacing where the horns should have come out of the helmet.

It didn't take long for the monster to realize that it was being followed. When it did the head whipped around, its newly formed fanged jaw hanging open. Lazily the lower jaw slung about in the chaotic swerving it made as it fired off a barrage of blasts at the mystically enhanced ponies. Unicron didn't waste any time to see if any of the shots even hit. The head just whirled back around and the lower jaw snapped into the upper one with a clack while the wings picked up speed.

The ponies meanwhile were left dodging the incoming projectiles. Most just passed by, but quite a few did just barely scrape past their bodies, the lighted trail behind them causing them to explode upon contact. Fluttershy however took one full-force to the face. Her trail spun about dizzily until Rainbow Dash swept by and got her back on track.

"What the hell kind of attack was that?" Applejack exclaimed, "He wasn't even aiming!"

"He's not worried about us, that's the thing!" Rainbow Dash yelled back, "As long as he gets to wreck shit up he's happy!"

"We're just flies to him," Twilight muttered.

"Then how's about we become a swarm of bees?" Rarity suggested.

"I'm game for that!" Applejack grinned at Rainbow Dash.

"Could we maybe be butterflies?...they're not as prone to be mean..." Fluttershy gulped. The only response she got was the nosedive that Twilight lead the group into.

"Too infinity and beyond!" Pinkie Pie screamed. The head only had seconds to look down at the group that the voice had come from before they slammed up into its crown twirling it over and over through the starry setting. It only took the stretch of the head's wings to stop the aftereffects. Taking better aim this time he opened the mouth again. This time a large cannon jutted out a bit and light began to form at its center.

"Uh...that's...new..." Rainbow Dash bent her brows.

"Split up! NOW!" Twilight ordered. The group fanned out like the fragmenting of a firework as the beam blasted through where they had been congregated. Clouds disintegrated and the remaining ones lit up from the passing pillar.

"Holy crap!" Rainbow Dash smacked the side of her head. Her eyes were bulging. "That nearly took my wing off!"

"It's gonna take your everything off!" Rarity exclaimed. She tackled the pegasus out of the way just another sped by. This time the beam didn't stop as suddenly and curved around to hit the six nuisances.

"We gotta hit him again!" Applejack yelled. Twilight, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash immediately took action performing quite impressive bends around the beam that was constantly zeroing in on them. Its assault was finally stopped when the collided with the face's cheeks and nose launching it further into the sky beyond. The face released one last blinding blast before turning and continuing on its way.

The energy hadn't been enough to hurt them really, but it did set the ponies back quite a ways. Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth at the sight of all the destruction that the monster was raining down on the land below once her vision returned. He needed to be stopped.

"He's headed for Ponyville," Rainbow Dash muttered.

"How do you know that?" Applejack asked. The pegasus lifted a brow.

"Winter Wrapup sky manager remember? If any pony knows the airways it's me."

"Less talking!" Rarity interrupted. With all the ponies focusing back on the matter at hand, they again took to speeding through the atmosphere. Fluttershy, let alone any of the ground-trapped ponies, had never felt such a velocity before. Rainbow Dash most certainly had, but even then it was nothing like how they were traveling now. It was so fluid, almost like there was no wind resistance or friction holding them back!

A loud explosion shook the land below as a forest was disintegrated from one of Unicron's blasts. Fluttershy's eye twitched.

"He...just...all those animals..."

"Now Fluttershy, keep your cool-"

"DIE!" Fluttershy's scream cut Rainbow Dash off. To every pony's astonishment, the most timid of them broke off from the group and slammed straight into the back of Unicron's helmet. The head tried to turn but couldn't. The pegasus was pressing too hard against it...and wouldn't stop. The metal plating begin to dent inward and proceeded to do so each passing moment until finally Fluttershy disappeared into the caved in portion. With an alien screech from the head, Fluttershy shot out of the front of the mouth, oil and mechanical objects decorating her path. The others just viewed the scene awestruck.

"Come on! She's procured us a window of opportunity!" Twilight realized. The others just shifted their distant stares at her. She put a hoof to her forehead. "...attack."

"Oh..." the others looked at each other and nodded. Eagerly the five other streaks raced at the distracted head. But Unicron was rather irritated from the previous assailant. Figuring Fluttershy's friends would try the same, he turned to them and shot off beams from his eyes, one for each of the five ponies. Twilight figured he must have been getting a bit arrogant to leave after only giving off such a sloppy attack. That's when she realized something. She was being followed! The lasers were homing in on them!

"Girls! Zig zag your flying!" she yelled. Noticing the remaining projectiles as well, one of the ponies panicked. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had to sweep Rarity out of the way.

"Oh...crap..." Rainbow Dash gulped upon glancing back. Their three followers had joined into one big beam! "Egghead! What the hell are we supposed to-"

POP!

Twilight was just as surprised as the others to see Pinkie Pie behind her with no beam following her and gum splattered all over the earth pony's face. Greedily she licked the substance all back into her mouth and flew over to the remaining trio. Quickly she chewed and blew another bubble which the large beam disappeared into with another pop. The others looked at her bewildered.

"...Pinkie Pie...where'd you get that chevkov's gun from?..." Rainbow Dash asked.

"Discord gave it to me during the fight!" Pinkie laughed. Applejack and Rarity sighed in relief.

"Oh, sorry I broke off from the group...I just got so mad that I...um..." Fluttershy twiddled her hooves nervously after she'd returned to the others.

"Girls, quit yapping, get Unicron!" Twilight Sparkle ordered. Rainbow Dash clamped a hoof over the yellow pegasus' mouth and sped off with the others. "I can see Canterlot in the distance!" the purple unicorn alerted. The streaks picked up speed. Twilight had never even been on a train that'd gone anywhere near as fast as they were going now. And Unicron was still ahead of them, only now oil was leaking out of the hole that Fluttershy had made. That didn't seem to deter him from the destruction he was raining.

"Girls, hit him hard and then spread and go wild!" Twilight told her friends. Unicron may have given them quite the hassle whenever they'd been together, but apart he had had to resort to more strategic methods. With the others falling in line behind her, the drifting cone they formed gained an insane amount of speed, so much so that Unicron only noticed when they'd slammed into the wound that the yellow pegasus had made. Before he could turn to face them, one of the streaks knocked his cheek the others. And then one slammed into him from above. Two more managed to rip into his mouth and shoot out of the linings of the wings! The head flailed around chaotically as the streaks bled through its form.

Using all the energy he could muster, Unicron tensed the inner workings of the head. Twilight was about to pierce a glowing red culmination of energy when the force of the action gripped her and tore her backwards out of the side of the face. She slowly halted her spinning and locked her eyes back on the head with her friends. Smoke was spewing out of the holes they'd made and was descending dizzily towards the mountain next to Ponyville.

"At this rate it's gonna hit Canterlot! Let's make this last one count!" Twilight exclaimed, "Rainbow Dash, if you please." The pegasus grinned and zoomed towards the head. One by one her friends latched onto each other's tail with her's at the front so that they could keep their energy's in line with her's. By the time that they were past Cloudsdale they didn't need to hold on anymore. They just swam along with the path that Rainbow Dash cut through the clouds. And then they were at the head. And a loud bang echoed throughout Equestria.

With the largest explosive rainboom that Rainbow Dash had ever felt, she and her friends tore through the back of the head and shattered one of the eyes upon exiting. It was the final nail in the coffin. If it wasn't out of control already, the head certainly was now. Crazily it spun about wobbling just out of reach of Canterlot. The city was filled with the gasps at the shadow that passed over it which proceeded to smash into the side of the mountaintop above.

But it didn't stop. Even in defeat Unicron seemed determined to bring about as much destruction as possible. Toppling more than gliding, the head continued downards barely missing the top of Mayor Mayer's building and smashed into the Everfree Forest. From there it swerved and churned all around through the trees and dirt. Finally, it creaked to a rest about a mile from Fluttershy's cottage where it lay smoking and immobile. Sparks shot out from the battle scars it now wore.

Cautiously, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy drifted down and landed in front of the structure. It may have been unable to move anymore, but it certainly wasn't inactive.

"You can not destroy me," Unicron's voice uttered from the unmoving mouth. Sparks shot out of the shattered eye socket while one of the wings twitched. "You do not possess that which is required to end my life." Twilight Sparkle approached the harmless monster, her element reappearing on her head as the other's reverted back to their necklace forms.

"Maybe not," Twilight murmured, "But we certainly can do something to you. Just know this. As long as people are willing to work together, as long as there is friendship there will be those that fight against you, as they will anything that threatens them. And as long as they exist, you will always have a threat, whether or not you can comprehend why they resist." As they had each time they'd had the Elements of Harmony before, the ponies felt the energy flow forth from them and rush into the form of a rainbow. Viciously it fell upon the head and swirled around it.

"My destiny..." Unicron's voice groaned through the vortex, "You can not...destroy...my...destiny!" The voice faded with the rainbow and the head was gone.

"What?!" Discord cried. Noticing that he and Nightmare Moon had been noticed by the ponies, he attempted to fly off only to be knocked to the ground by Celestia as she rushed down to keep them there.

"Girls," Celestia tilted her head to the two remaining antagonists suggestively. The group grinned.

"...well fuck..." Discord spat. A moment later he thudded on the ground as a statue and Luna shook the effects of the cleansing off to regain her composure.

"So all is...returned to normal?..." the restored princess of the night asked.

"TWILIGHT!" Spike exclaimed. The unicorn turned just in time to be tackled by her assistant. OC hopped off P.A.R.M. and waved to Pinkie Pie.

"Yeah..." Twilight nuzzled Spike's head, "Everything's back to normal."

Chapter 24: A Non Tragic Ending for a Dragon

With a light click the front door of the library shut. Smiling happily, the young dragon walked to the kitchen and began rummaging around for something to feast on. He'd grown used to the hole that P.A.R.M. had made in the back of the cupboard when it'd tried to kill the tree's residents upon its activation.

"Well, if there's one thing this author has it's consistency," Spike muttered to himself pulling out a box of oats and gem shavings, "...when he wants to..."

"And speaking of consistency, how'd your talk with Rarity go?" the other dweller of the home asked. Spike jumped a bit in surprise and turned around to face Twilight, the cereal all over his face from the startled reaction. The purple pony giggled a bit at the display. Ferociously the smaller purple creature shook his face dropping the healthy pellets to the ground. A small frown hung on his mouth.

"Well, how do you think it went?" he exasperatedly sighed. Twilight Sparkle joined his new expression and kicked the ground a few times. "The only thing different this time was that I was the one saying we weren't gonna be together...then Rainbow Dash came in drunk as hell and started yelling at us about how we owed her for stopping you from killing the princesses when you made that whole book monster thing." The two companions had to laugh at the last part of the information. But the laughter only delayed the soured atmosphere that'd return given a few more moments. Twilight's nervous kicks were the only thing to give sound to the silence.

"And...how do you feel about..."

"I'm fine," Spike waved his arms in front of his face. The last thing he wanted was for there to be guilt between them. "Surprisingly was a lot easier to do than I thought." Twilight's frown turned into a doubtful smile. Gently she knelt her face down and nuzzled it against Spike's cheek sharing in his blush.

"I'm proud of you," she told him. Spike bent his brow's to match the pony's. "I know it must've...not been easy to split with her...but I really gotta know...why didn't you just go with her? All the crap the story put us through's over and nothing's stoppin' ya..." Firmly Spike gripped Twilight's face and looked into her eyes.

"It's because I love you," he told her. Her eyelids lowered a bit.

"Oh Spi-"

"Psyche!" he laughed. Twilight rolled her eyes. She knew it'd be a miracle for him to really be THAT romantic. "But really..." he continued, "...I do love you Twi. You know that. But the real reason...well this is a fanfic. And we got our roles in it, no matter what we ourselves think about the matter. Just gotta make the most of it...and you do look pretty nice..." The red returned to Twilight's cheeks. Bashfully she rubbed a hoof against her foreleg.

"Spike..."

"No it's true," he promised taking her hoof in one of his claws. Twilight looked down at him. Her mind was racing at the sudden change in tone. "Whether it be my own personality or this story directing me, I do love you and I couldn't imagine life without you. You mean everything to me Twilight Sparkle." A tear trickled down her cheek framing the smile it slid past.

"I love you too Spike," she replied. Fully accepting the situation, she knelt back down and closed her eyes. The dragon did the same as their lips drew close together. And then they broke apart. Smoke had sprayed in both of their faces from a cannonball that exploded between them. Spike and Twilight hacked and twirled around dizzily until finally collapsing at a nearby open window. In the distance they could see Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie in fits of laughter next to her party cannon.

"Jackasses..." Spike growled. Twilight just shook her head and closed the curtain to keep any other projectiles of the pranksters out. "Hey Twi, what are you-ah!" The pony's shadow tackled the dragon's out of view of the window.

The End

-end of story-

Tada! I hope you've enjoyed the story as much as I have making it. Originally I had no intention for it to be anywhere near this long, or for the chapters to really get long either. But by the second chapter I pretty much had the main story thought out. Just wanted it to be a bunch of random adventures that connected together in the background. Now yes, there are plotholes for if the story were to continue so that other things might be answered, but as of now it's over.

Rover was the Diamond Dog that Rarity ran into btw.

And honestly, I don't mind if Spike ends up with Rarity. It's just that at the time I made this Twilight seemed like a much better choice and Rarity just seemed like a girl that wouldn't give any mind to Spike other than being touched by his crush. But mainly I wanted a story where it wasn't him ending up as this long-living creature that would die long after his buddies. And honestly, Granny Smith is still popularly believed to be 300 AT THE LEAST.

But either way, hope it turned out alright.

For those that haven't been following along on fanfiction.net however you're in for a bit of a treat. You know how I put up self-done pictures and stuff for the story? That's all on my deviant art account. Never left any notes about it here like I did on the fanfiction version as I didn't think author notes were allowed here. But...what the hell? It's the final chapter. So here's a link to this story's gallery if you wanna see:

http://warahi.deviantart.com/gallery/35259489

Chapter 14: In the Shadows

OC's head tilted upwards. He'd felt something. Something...dark...a primitive nature. Some swirling vileness deep down in the dark depths of his mind's eye. A...presence. It was distant...but it was there. And it was getting closer. Across time and space he felt it approaching. A malevolent entity. One of despair and chaos. Death and destruction. A compilation of unimaginable power. It sent quivers through his every atom. He'd never felt such a hate, such a force before in his entire existence. Nothing in Equestria rivaled its abilities. Not alone... It could be the end...the end...of everything...

"HI!" Pinkie Pie screamed causing the smaller figure to rocket into the ceiling. It took the dragon-based being a lot shorter of a time to regain his composure when compared to the others that Pinkie interacted with due to his more serious and determined nature. Robotically he dropped back to the floor and looked at the pink pony.

"Hi," he muttered back. A grin that shouldn't have been able to fit on her face appeared and she started to prance around. "I'm supposing you want me to guess what it is that you're so happy about..."

"Nah, I'll just tell ya!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed snapping a bib and diaper on him as she talked. OC contemplated whether he should just rip the items off or see where exactly this deranged path was headed.

"...well?..."

"It's baby sitting day!" Pinkie Pie cheered, "The Cakes have a big order to fill today so I get to hang out with the kids!" In a rather calm manner, the gas-masked hero took the juvenile clothing off and flung them away.

"...so this was just so you could shoehorn the Cake's kids into the story?" he asked partly in disbelief.

"Well duh!" Pinkie Pie stated, "I mean they're new characters! You gotta acknowledge that they exist in order to peak the interest of the reader!" The pony could hardly contain the laughter that rippled through her body from the excitement. She knew it was going to be a great day. OC on the other hand had walked over to the window.

"Yeah, well...have fun with that," he told her as he opened the window. Without another word he hopped out and started leaping across the rooftops of Ponyville.

"YOU TOO!" Pinkie Pie called after him.

Casually Spike munched through his bowl of gems. After all the hard work he did sweeping up all the mess that Rarity's apparent clothing disaster from yesterday had caused around the library he sure had worked up an appetite. And as far as he was concerned he definitely deserved the reward. He internally moaned at the pleasure that the sweetness of the ruby brought to his taste-buds. In another pocket of his cheek a sapphire pressed up against his teeth allowing him to suck in its own flavor in filtration. The dragon could feel his cheeks heating up from the sensation.

"Thank's again for making breakfast," Twilight said from her spot where she was devouring her own meal.

"What's a number one assistant for?" Spike asked proudly spitting out a few bits of the gems. Owlowicious let out a hoot causing the two to laugh. As composure regained in Spike he took another bite and looked around the room slowly. With realization his bites loosened. "Hey Twilight...I think we're in the story right now..." After a few blinks the unicorn's eyes widened and she spat out the bite of cereal that she'd taken.

"Quick! Spike! Make interesting plot!" she ordered. Hastily the dragon and pony rushed around looking for anything they could find to entertain the viewers.

"Um, hey Twilight! I just threw a bunch of books on the floor by accident!" Spike yelled tearing the pieces of literature out of their shelves. Twilight's jaw dropped and she clasped her cheeks in fright.

"Oh no! Whatever shall we do!" she cried. In a misshapen manner she started circling her beloved books, "I know we've had such emergencies before, but not like this! We need help!"

"An expert!" Spike declared thrusting a finger into the air, "Someone who can not stand messes!"

"RARITY!" the exclaimed together.

"Oh don't worry Applejack, Winona will be just fine if she stays off of the paw for a while," Fluttershy told the earth pony. Gently she put the dog down so that it could crawl over to its master. Truly a better plot had been found. Winona looked up at Applejack and let out a happy woof once she'd adjusted to the cast on her back leg. Giving a smile back to the pet, the pony hopped around provoking Winona to do the same. It was a bit limp in her skip but it managed.

"Why shoot, she should be back to her old self in no time!" Applejack agreed rubbing her hoof playfully into the smaller creature's head urging another woof out of her, "Ain't dat right ya little varmint? Thanks a bundle as always Fluttershy! Don't know what we'd do without yer scary knowledge of animals!"

"Oh your guys' pets would probably all die," the medic replied nonchalantly. It only took her a millisecond to realize what she'd responded with and put a hoof over her mouth to accompany the odd stare she received. "I uh mean um...they would probably do just fine on their own and heal up naturally!" Fluttershy giggled nervously and gulped. An awkward silence blew through the cottage.

"So...ya heard about the little clothing disaster?" Applejack tried to break the tension.

"Oh yeah yeah," Fluttershy edged back to normality, "Saw the whole thing happening from her. But don't worry, it'd have never gotten us. I made sure that this place was locked up tight enough to survive a nuke!" The pegasus' usual companion, Angel, nodded its head in confirmation. Applejack just giggled at the concept.

"Us? We were gonna go down fightin'!" Applejack proclaimed throwing a hoof in the air, "Why dear ol' Granny Smith had her M9 Shammalon rarin' ter go! I figured that we'd at least buy some time for Apple Bloom and her friends. Thought she was at the club house...that is until we done found out that they were the cause of the whole mess!" Applejack cocked a brow at the last statement she made.

"Not those little angels!" Fluttershy gasped.

"The very same," Applejack stated, "Now don't you worry none, not too much punishment we're giving her on account oh how disastrous an experience it musta been already on her end. But-oh shoot! I need to get back to make sure she's done bucking all the apples in the east orchard! Thanks a million Fluttershy! We gotta jet! Come on Winona!" Not even bothering to let the dog try out her athletic skills in her new confinements, Applejack simply picked the dog up by the neck and dashed out the door. Once they were out of sight across the hill in the distance Fluttershy stopped waving and walked back to clean up her medical table. Just as she was about to put the last of the supplies away though something caught her.

"Oh dear," Fluttershy said quietly upon inspecting the item closer. It was Winona's collar. In the hurry Applejack must have forgotten it. She strapped it around her hoof as carefully as possible so as not to break any of it in case it were fragile.

"Angel, I'll be back soon. In the meantime I'm counting on you to hold down the fort!" Fluttershy alerted. The loyal second in command gave its salute and grabbed a carrot as its weapon. After giving a stern nod Fluttershy turned to the door and exited. She knew that in angel's paws everything would be okay. Getting to Applejack's however was much longer than she thought it'd be. Though the earth pony left a clear trail in her determined run, it was by no means as easy a trek when compared to when she'd cut through Ponyville to get to the farm. But she felt a bit adventurous today. A notion she'd soon regret.

Without warning the ground trembled beneath her. The yellow pegasus' pupils shrunk and risked a glance downward. Cracks were forming out from where she'd stepped. And the trembling wouldn't stop. Paralyzed with fear, Fluttershy let out little more than a squeak when the fragile floor finally caved in. Only her mind was able to scream as much as she desired. Downwards she fell. Deeper...and deeper...and deeper into the underground of Equestria. Had she not been such a coward she could have simply flown away. But that was not her nature. No, she was doomed to drift helplessly along the whims of whatever preyed on her. And so Fluttershy found herself dumped into a damp dark underground cavern with hardly any light aide her. Her knees shook with fear.

"So let me get this straight..." Rarity's eyes trailed between her two guests. She was still a bit worn down from the whole fabric-flooding ordeal the other day. "You two want me to help you...clean up a pile of...books..." she said slowly. Rapidly Spike and Twilight nodded their heads, smiles plastered hopefully on their faces. Again her eyes looked them over. Desperation hung behind the masks they wore. "A task that both of you deal with daily..." she continued. Again they nodded. "...didn't realize the story was focusing on you?"

"Didn't realize the story was focusing on us," Twilight admitted kicking the ground a bit causing her and Spike to blush in embarrassment. Rarity's eyes glowered.

"Some main characters you are," she grumbled, "I mean that's the best conflict you two can think up? I have a whole chapter of insanity buildup to a major town-threatening issue and you two just throw some books on the floor thinking that'll suffice? Fuck you!" With that the more fashionably centered unicorn slammed the door in the duo's faces. After a few seconds Spike and Twilight turned their heads to look at each other.

"Beg?" Spike suggested.

"Beg," Twilight repeated. Perhaps it was the banging of their hooves and fists on the front door of the Carousel Boutique that brought the attention. But whatever it had been, the eavesdropper was glad that she'd been drawn to the location of the purple unicorn and the baby dragon. Her horn glowing with ideas of how to exact her revenge on them, a grin spread across Trixie's face from the bushes nearby.

Save for the occasional drop of water that echoed throughout the hollowed catacombs beneath the magical land, all was silent. Fluttershy hadn't uttered even a peep since she'd entered the new environment. Even if she had worked up the courage to fly, she couldn't have exited the way she'd entered. The cave-in had blocked that off. Instead she was doomed to wander the seemingly endless caverns. She didn't know how far she'd gone but she knew it couldn't be much knowing how paralyzed she was whenever something scared her. Even so, she didn't recognize any of the territory she'd trekked once adjusting to the dim lighting. She at least wasn't just going in circles. But then something startled her. All of a sudden she'd heard something. A dark deep scary groan of some sort...

"Um..hello?..." Fluttershy's voiced creeped wearily out of her. There was no response. That didn't stop her from turning around a few times just to be sure she was alone. Though she hated the feeling of the absolute isolation, it was welcome to some situations. With the author having a rhyme out of the way that Zecora would be proud of, Fluttershy cautiously continued to tip toe through the tunnels. An echo sounded with each hoof fall. At least she knew that she could only be afraid of herself if her steps were the only thing bothering her. But there was something else in there. She could feel it. And again she heard the groaning.

This time her eyes became the size of dinner plates and she dashed to the nearest wall she could. The sound had come from right ahead of her! It couldn't be too far off! Fluttershy's chest lifted up and down faster. Her breathing quickened and her body shook in fright. The pegasus cringed at the swarms of monsters that invaded her mind. It could have been anything that was waiting to devour her or cut her to ribbons! Her...alone...trapped in a cave...a dark cave deep deep beneath where any other pony lived...with a monster just waiting for the time to strike...helpless and defenseless against the dark hand of death. She'd never wished more in her life that she could have been like Rainbow Dash. But waiting around wouldn't solve anything.

Mustering all the courage she could, Fluttershy gave the last gulp she ever thought she would and slid out from where she was hiding. Around the corner of an upcoming wall a light could be seen lingering behind it. She had a few more seconds at the least. But she was going to find out what it was. Her legs wouldn't stop moving. Her body was determined to quench the curiosity welling within her. Though she felt that she'd regret it, Fluttershy put a hoof out from behind the corner and then another. Once all four were present she gulped once more and cranked her head to the side to get a view of what lay beyond.

Fluttershy was surprised to say the least. What was spread out before her calmed her. A cozy fire had been made to light up the portion of the cave. On the wall were dug various alcoves that had been filled to the brim with all manners of gems and jewels. Rarity would've gone into a coma from the sight of such a find. All notions of fear, if only for that moment, had vanished from her mentality. But what intruiged the pegasus the most was the form the sat in front of the fire with its back to her.

"S...Spike?..." Fluttershy practically whispered. Upon giving it some thought it could have just been some other baby dragon, but either way she'd found civilization. With a newfound hope, the pony pranced over to the sitting figure. "Oh Spike, you don't know how relieved I am that I found...Spike?..." The form certainly looked like him. A copy even. But the coloring was quite a bit faded. Despite the look, there was a rather musty odor around it. Ignoring the warnings that clawed at the depths of her mind, Fluttershy reached out a hoof and tapped the dragon on the back. The touch was dry. She finally received a reaction however. Slowly the baby dragon turned to look at her. Fluttershy's scream rang throughout the entire cave system.

The pegasus' eyes fluttered open unwillingly. The dream she'd had had been one of the worst she'd ever experienced. Getting lost in a cave and finding that...thing...and...Fluttershy clenched her eyes closed. It couldn't be true. What she could see was still the nightmare she'd fallen into! There she lay in the lair of that thing filled with rubies and sapphires and emeralds while the fire cackled away nearby. All she could do was pray that the setting was gone when she opened them again...it wasn't. Her head rattled around as she scanned the area for the torn creature. It wasn't anywhere in sight. At least not until she looked straight up.

There it was perched over her. Fluttershy opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. All she could do was stare into its curious mangled face. The left half of the face wasn't so bad, but the right would make most of the participants in Nightmare Night envious. What should have been a normal replica of the other half was a torn mess. The skin was decaying and ripped exposing the shiny bone beneath. Now that she could make it out the right leg also had most of its skin and muscle gone. It was made all the more uncanny by the fact that the creature didn't seem to even realize that it should be in excruciating pain. It just stared down at her as if studying some newfound bunny rabbit. After what seemed like an eternity it finally spoke.

"Flu-tter...shy..." it said slowly. It was a raspier version of Spike's voice. But it had spoken her name. Though she was still frightened, the pegasus wobbled to a standing position and looked down at the malformed baby dragon. Other than the obvious scars it didn't seem threatening at all. It was just curious.

"He...hello..." Fluttershy whimpered.

"Hel-lo," it responded pausing a bit between the syllables as though it were putting the word together as it went along. Fluttershy and the being just looked each other over for a while.

"Who are you?..." she eventually asked. It blinked and peered at her hoof.

"Wi...no...na..." the baby dragon read slowly. Realizing what he saw Fluttershy looked down and giggled. She'd forgotten that she was still wearing Winona's collar on the hoof.

"No no, this is the name of Applejack's dog," she explained.

"Dog!" it laughed. Fluttershy couldn't help but join in the amusement.

"Do you have a name?..." she asked. It smiled and clapped.

"NAME!" it exclaimed in another fit of laughter, "Fluttershy! Name! Party!" The pegasus' brows bent in sympathetic happiness. No longer sensing any fear from the odd specimen, she knelt down next to it and put the collar around its neck.

"Well just for convenience let's call you Winona Junior okay?" she suggested. Winona Jr. grinned and gave the pony a hug causing her cheeks to redden. Glad to have found a non-hostile companion, she returned the embrace.

"Now...let's see about getting you patched up," Fluttershy said.

A snicker rippled out from behind a tree. From there Trixie had the optimum view of what all was going on in the one next door. She could see clearly into the window. Though the white unicorn was still complaining, she seemed to have finally agreed to help the purple one and her friend. From where she was perched Trixie figured that they were just now finishing up. That was her cue. With the glow of her horn the books that the group had finally restacked rattled and shot back out. Twilight and Spike looked at the pile and then at Rarity who glared back at them.

"Honestly Twilight, you've milked this enough," she muttered picking the books back up and shoving them into the shelf again. And again they ejected from their placement. Now Rarity's eye twitched. "I said knock it off!" she hissed.

"That wasn't me!" Twilight told her picking up the books herself this time. Before they could even be inserted they pulled against Twilight's magic. Gritting her teeth she clung to the knowledge-filled objects and fought back with as much force as possible. The magic that she competed with felt familiar...but stronger. Some residue was left of something that had enhanced it. In the end it was a wasted effort. The books were torn from her grasp and pulled clean out the front door. "After them!" she ordered.

The group tore chase across Ponyville trying to get the the books back each chance they could get. Trixie meanwhile was hopping across roofs and treetops just out of sight of her victims. Her grin grew ever wider. She was finally getting at least a little bit of payback for all the humiliation that the ponies had put her through. And with primary target no less! But the books weren't enough. She knew there were much more satisfying ways to exact her judgment. That's why she was leading the group further and further to the outskirts of Ponyville. Unbeknown to her however, a smaller figure was keeping a rather close eye on her being sure to keep a few roofs behind her with each leap she made.

"There we go!" Fluttershy said happily setting the bandages she'd found lying in some of the treasue that the Spike-look-a-like had horded down next to him, "All wrapped up. And with that ointment we gave you any pains and aches your injuries might have had should be going away also." Though obviously not able to understand what at all Fluttershy was talking about, the dragon smiled and hugged her.

"Fluttershy!" it laughed. Said pony's cheeks reddened at the affection and she nuzzled it back. Now that all the problems with the baby dragon that she could tell were taken care of though, it was time to get down to business.

"Um, you're welcome," she said politely as she pulled away, "But um...do you know a way out of this cave?...if you don't mind showing me of course. It must be getting late and I doubt my bunny can keep the cottage battened down forever...if it's no problem that is..." The Spike blinked and laughed.

"Fluttershy funny!" it clapped its hands. Her brows lifted at the remark. It'd actually said a phrase that made sense!

"You can...talk?..." she asked slowly. Happily it nodded its head.

"Me Winona Junior!" it laughed, "Me supposed to throw party and protect ponies! Me make happy fun times! You talk lots more than me know though..." Fluttershy gave the smaller being a half hearted smile of her own. The creature obviously hadn't been fully educated...but...if it knew how to talk...how did it know how to talk?...

"Winona...there wouldn't happen to be other...creatures down here with you would there?..." Fluttershy asked. The expression that followed was one the pegasus wouldn't have expected. The baby dragon's brows slanted and a frown formed on its mouth.

"They not good people," it told her, "You no want to party with them..." Now Fluttershy gave a similar expression.

"Are...are they the ones that gave you those um...injuries?" she bit her lip. The baby dragon just looked down at his leg. Though the skeleton beneath had been silvery and much harder than she'd expect bone to be, it was still a glaring error in the biology of the creature that sat before her.

"Few come down here alive to begin with..." it told her, "And those that do...they mean...they few but they bad..." Fluttershy knew she was afraid from the newfound information but more than anything she felt sympathy for the mangled creature. It was just trying to get by and survive apparently. All things considered she was lucky to have run into it and not the others. Even so...she did need to get out of the cave. For her sake if nothing else.

"Is there a way back up to the um...surface?..." she stuttered. The baby dragon looked up at her and then back down at his feet before getting up.

"It take a while, but me know the way," it told her, "Thank you for making me a mummy. Me look better now." Fluttershy tried not to giggle at the creature's limited vocabulary and knowledge.

"It's no problem at all," she replied.

Even though they'd been wandering for what seemed like miles, fear would not stop coursing through Fluttershy's fragile frame. A presence that she would have otherwise not noticed was all too able to be felt now that she'd been informed of the other cave-dwellers...whatever they may be...but they were there...watching...waiting... Deciding it best to just ignore the feeling, Fluttershy followed as quietly behind Winona Jr. as possible. Even in his consistent steps she could feel the fear that enveloped even him.

Fluttershy couldn't help but shudder. The fear, the utter terror of the unknown crept along her spine vertebrae by vertebrae. She gulped down the tension that was building in her throat. No. It wasn't the fear of what couldn't be seen. There was something more to it. A pure undiluted vileness that lurked in the shadows. That which nightmares themselves would shun. It was as though everything she'd ever been afraid of was merged within the inescapable darkness. Nightmare Moon's bold terrifying form. Discord's malevolent laugh that debuted his first physical appearance to her. The enormous dragon that she'd eventually overcome for the sake of her friends. It was all there. Every last bit of fright constantly nipping at her. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before in her life. If there was ever moment she worried that she might die of fear it was then.

"We keep moving," Winona Jr. tugged at the pegasus' pink hair snapping her back to reality. Fluttershy hadn't realized that she'd frozen to a standstill.

"R-right-t..." her teeth chattered. It took all her effort to do so, but she managed to lift a leg and put it back down in front of her. Then another. With the baby dragon's companionship Fluttershy managed her way through the rest of the path. Upon reaching their destination Fluttershy looked down. She could actually see the ground. Squinting she peered upwards. There was a hole in the ceiling where daylight poured down from!

"Oh Winona Jr. thank you!" she hugged the smaller being, "But...how do we get out?..." The baby dragon gave her a curious look.

"You flap wingies?" he suggested causing Fluttershy to blush and her eyes to shrink.

"Oh um...I'm not really the best flier..." she muttered as her cheeks continued to redden. Before either of them could continue the conversation however a light thumping sound echoed from the darkness. Fluttershy cringed. They'd run out of time. From the front, the left, and the right there were pairs of glowing red eyes approaching.

"That which does not become one with I," an unspeakably dark voice uttered from the right one's mouth.

"Shall become one with-" Winona Jr. and Fluttershy turned their heads to the one now speaking at the left.

"The void..." the one in front of them finished. The two untainted inhabitants of the cave hugged each other tightly.

"Oh come on!" Twilight yelled at the books. They'd been chasing the blocky objects all around Ponyville and now had followed them into the Everfree Forest! It was insane! Rarity had contemplated just giving up and going home a few times, but the story was actually getting pretty interesting to her! Even if it was getting her quite a bit dirty Rarity pursued the dragon and purple unicorn in their quest to recover the books. All the while a third unicorn chuckled to herself. They were playing right into her hoof. Now she could finally put what she'd been working on to good use. Her revenge was at had.

Finally, with everypony panting, the books finally slowed to a stopped and dropped on a patch of ground before them.

"Alright!" Spike cheered as he hopped down from Twilight's back and scooped them up, "Now we can head b-yah!" Rarity and Twilight let out their own screams as the ground rocketed up from beneath them and strung them up into a net in the air. They'd been captured for some reason. The voice that followed though made them realize just who had been leading them on.

"And so, the great and powerful Trixie once again captures her prey!" the blue showoff laughed finally emerging from some nearby shrubbery, "And now to exact the great and powerful Trixie's revenge! If I remember right white one I gave you a head of green last time. What color do you think you're due for today?"

"No!" Rarity squealed slamming her hooves into Twilight and Spike in her vain attempts to escape the net, "NO! Stay back you foul fashion devil!"

"I think polka dots would be swell too," Trixie smiled provoking even more pain for the other two captives.

"And I thought I told you to cut this crap out," a deeper voice muttered. Everypony was surprised by OC's sudden appearance, Trixie herself reacting rather hesitantly towards the intrusion.

"And-uh-I don't give a damn!" she bit her lip. She certainly remembered how he'd handled her last time, but she was ready now! He was right in front of her and he wasn't protected by the civilization of Ponyville seeing her antics! "Now stay out of this!" Trixie hissed shooting off a beam of energy from her horn at him. Seemingly instinctively the red doppleganger of Spike rolled out of the way and somersaulted beneath another barrage of beams.

"Oh you fucking Mary Sue!" Trixie growled.

"Tell that to my PARM injuries!" he yelled back taking a swipe at the pony. Fortunately for Trixie she was ready and leapt back before jabbing her horn forward into a spear of magic striking OC dead center into the chest.

"Yeah, I guess you aren't one. Sorry," Trixie apologized with a grin earning a grunt from the gas-mask. Figuring it best to end the assailant as quickly as possible, OC reached his arms back and unfolded them into the cannons he'd used against PARM earning quite the surprised look from Trixie. Steadily he took aim. He knew the showoff wasn't in any state to focus her mind after seeing such an odd sight. Thankfully she did what he thought she would and took off into the forest leaving OC to fall to a knee on the ground.

"Damn dragons rock," Spike complimented rubbing his hand on his chest.

"Then why don't you be a dear and get us down?" Rarity suggested wrapping her forelegs around his neck and rubbing her cheek against his. Twilight rolled her eyes. Before Spike could do anything though the net gave way beneath them and they collapsed to a heap on the ground.

"Ow..." Twilight groaned.

"MYR HRT?" a muffled voice sounded from beneath her. The unicorn rolled away revealing the smushed baby dragon beneath.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" she inquired. He glared back.

"You're hurt?" Spike repeated stalely. Twilight gave an innocent smile until Rarity helped him back up. She may have needed a romantic rival for the general audience's interest, but she didn't have to like it.

"You are welcome ponies," Zecora said sheathing the blade she'd used to free them. The three main characters gave her odd looks.

"I got her in case I needed backup," OC explained finally getting back to his feet. Just then a scream rang out that none of them had heard that day.

"Fluttershy?" Rarity, Spike, and Twilight looked around. She was nowhere to be seen. Again it sounded and they looked down. Beneath them was a crack the shown into the earth below. There was huddled the timid pony. How or why she was down there didn't matter. They needed to help her.

"Zecora, do you have a rope?" Twilight asked. Not even speaking a word the Zebra revealed one from a pack she was carrying and lowered it into the hole. Fluttershy jumped a bit probably thinking it was a snake when it entered her sight and looked up. She'd never been more relieved in her entire life to see her friends.

"You go, me hold them off," the baby dragon told her, "Me used to life here." Fluttershy thought about protesting for a moment but ultimately disregarded the notion. He was right. She needed to take the opportunity she had. Even as she gripped the rope she heard one of the dark creatures let out an ungodly cry and saw it leap. It looked just like another mangled baby dragon!

"GO!" her companion ordered. Faster and faster Fluttershy climbed until she was hoisted onto the safe land of Equestria above.

"Fluttershy?...what were you doing down there?..." Rarity asked handing her a washcloth to wipe the dirt off her. The pegasus just let out a few shuttered pants and shook her head.

"I-we-baby dragon-monsters-mummy-" Spike clamped a hand over the pony's mouth.

"I've had enough of this adventure stuff today. I'm going home," he grumbled, "Come on Twilight." Happy to be over with the storyline they forced on themselves they walked towards where they'd entered the forest with Rarity happily joining the departure. She'd need quite a few baths to get all of the dust out of her mane. Fluttershy meanwhile gave a worried look back down into the hole. There were no longer any signs of fighting. No shrieks of terror. No glowing red eyes. Just the ground far far below.

"You must not worry for that which dwells here," Zecora told her, "such beings that scurry are used to fear." Fluttershy gave her a curious look. Did she know about the cave dwellers? OC just stuck around to make sure that nothing attacked the remaining inhabitants of the woods. But what Zecora said...was Winona Jr. really alright?...wait...the collar! She hadn't returned it to Applejack! Frightfully Fluttershy stole another glance down into the crack and jumped back a bit. She was staring down into the pink eye of the baby dragon that had helped her. With a smile on its face, Winona Jr. waved her. And Fluttershy waved back.

Chapter 20: Eris

"...sister, what is the matter?" Luna asked. With a yawn she stretched and flexed her wings. Normally when she returned to the castle Celestia was ready to lift the sun, but rarely did she look so...disheveled for lack of a better word. "If it is about two chapters in a row starting with us as the main characters thou knowest that it tis odd..." The white alicorn did not reply. She just simply scanned the horizon that their castle allowed them to view. In a sense she wished she could be there. Away from all the pandering and high society that had evolved from the unicorn's own self righteousness over the millenia. In a sense Celestia felt like a slave. But that came with being in any position for too long. Anyone that had lived as long as her would likely realize such trivial revelations.

"Normally thy are so full of happiness and pride in the show!" Luna continued her well-intentioned heckling, "Why is thy so drab in thy wicked fanfic?" Celestia couldn't help it. Her sister's out-of-touch way of speaking always lifted her mood.

"Luna...for the sake of the readers if nothing else please try to talk as we do nowadays," Celestia chuckled. The nighttime princess blushed and turned her face to the ceiling.

"If thy...you insist..." she shuddered as she spoke inciting even more humored results from the white sibling. She knew Celestia probably could sense the rolling of her eyes beneath her half-shut eyelids. But she still cared about her. "Celestia...I know you're worked up over the whole conflict of this plot...it's far beyond anything anypony, especially now, has had to witness. Had they, Equestria would shake in sheer fear at the threat. But we have to be strong. Not just for the ponies, but also for the dragons and the plants and the buffalo and any other form of life that litters our fair planet!" Luna was surprised when Celestia gave a half hearted laugh this time. She was sure in retrospect that the declaration would move her back to the overwhelming sour feelings she'd been experiencing prior.

"It's not that Luna..." Celestia sighed as her eyes drifted to the floor, "I mean yes...that's bad but it's inevitable. I know that we'll have to face it whether we want to or not. You'd make a great motivational speaker by the way." Luna's brows furrowed.

"Then what troubles you?..." Now Celestia's line vision drifted back to the horizon.

"That..." she pointed. Luna looked at the horizontal border in the distance for a second or two and then back at her sister.

"Oh no..." Luna gasped and started yanking Celestia around by the throat ignoring the gagging noises, "Come sister! The wretched infection of evil has seeped into you as well! Don't worry, I've had experience with such tendencies as Nightmare Moon! We are not going to have you destroying Equestria!" Celestia had to admit, she was surprised at her sister's nigh unbreakable grip, but eventually she managed to struggle out of it.

"It's not that," Celestia hacked trying to get her breathing back in order, "I'm just sick of this you know? Being the one in charge. Having to lift the sun. Having to take care of everypony and being expected to know everything that has happened immediately when I'm talked to about anything. And those goddamn papers! Why the fucking hell don't we have ponies that are qualified to manage all those approvals and crap! Why is it always me? Yeah, sure, I can fake being unsurprised and show that it doesn't concern me. That's easy by this point. But dear lord if it isn't irritating as all hell!" Luna was once again clamping her appendages onto the taller pony in some way.

"We are not having YOU go crazy. Do you know what that would do for Equestria? Especially with such an evil on its eve?" Luna reasoned. Celestia sighed.

"I know...don't worry, I got it under control..." she said quietly, "You just know how I get every few century or so..." Calmly the older of the alicorns trotted back over to the balcony of the castle. "I just...sometimes wish...that I could be normal...like any other pony out there...not being forced with this kind of task..."

"But sister...you would die of natural cause if you were normal..." Luna told her. The smile that graced the white one's lip sent a slight shiver through her. "Granny Smith is theorized to only be three hundred or so after all..."

"You honestly think death would be a concern to me?..." she muttered, "You know how it is outliving all of your friend time and again. I'd be lying if I didn't say I'd want to see them again...but we make new ones as the generations go by. And its our responsibility...I just wish that even for a day that I could get away from it all..."

"Well...perhaps...I...can...help..." the two princesses were startled by a panting voice. Turning around their eyes widened at the sight of a unicorn in a purple cape that was gasping for air. In her hoof she held up a shiny red apple and was obviously trying to work up a grin.

"I've been traveling here for two chapters...just take a bite of this...and all your worries will be gone..." Trixie told them and collapsed.

"Alright, so what are we gonna do?" Twilight asked. She felt the dragon wrap his arms around her neck and squeeze tightly.

"Be sure to stick with you and not let myself stare at Rarity's fine ass..." Spike grumbled earning a smile from the unicorn.

"Correct!" she practically cheered. Spike just slumped into the curve of his partner's neck. If nothing else her mane would provide some comfort to take his mind off of the beauty that owned the Carousel Boutique. The softness was almost like nuzzling into the linens of his pillowcase and the fragrance was like that of freshly viewed books. It was definitely a benefit of sleeping with her again. The odor must have developed with age though. Spike hadn't noticed the aluring aroma when they were younger. Desiring the impact of the senses even more, the dragon nuzzled his face deeper into her mane forcing a rather accepting but quiet noise to escape the owner's lips.

"Might wanna cut that out considering we're gonna be around company," Twilight remarked reluctantly. Knowing it'd be for the best for both his crush on Rarity and to keep the commotion down amongst others Spike settled for simply resting against her mane. Assured that everything was in order for them to present themselves, Twilight rapped her hoof on the door of the Carousel Boutique. The duo waited pleasantly for their call to be answered...and waited...and waited... After about a minute or so Spike and Twilight looked at each other. This time the male knocked, rather viciously. Instantly they heard clambering and voice behind the door. They didn't know whether or not they should leave or stay to see whatever chaos might spew out and engulf them. Twilight took a hesitant step back but it was too late. All at once three fillies burst out and were wrestling across the ground.

"I said I got it!" Scootaloo yelled.

"And I be the one with the sales experience!" Apple Bloom hollered.

"But it's my sister's shop!" Sweetie Belle argued. The bickering continued until Spike decided to jump down and force the friends apart.

"Alright, what the hay's going on?" he asked.

"I wanted to open the door!" Scootaloo glared at the others who stuck their tongues out in return. Spike looked at Twilight and she shook her head.

"We're here to pick something up," she told them.

"Oh, well that's too bad," Apple Bloom replied. A blank expression hung on her face. "Rarity's done gone down to Canterlot to display her revolutionary dress thingies. We was just tiddyin' up the shop."

"Yeah, and since we're done we're off to the clubhouse now," Scootaloo added, "Got plans with the time machine today!" The claim made the purple creatures jump a bit.

"...time machine?..." Spike repeated to make sure he'd heard it right.

"Yeah, don't you remember? We rescued you from all that burnt woods and stuff with the evil looking pony that had horns and all sorts of evil glowing red eyes?" Apple Bloom shuddered at the recollection of their little adventure. Since then they'd refrained from using the device. But curiosity, as usual, had gotten the best of the young fillies and they were ready to plunge through the time stream once more. In the spell of silence that followed Spike again looked at Twilight who now stared back just as confused. Being sure to swirl his figure along the side of his head, he turned back to the Cutie Mark Crusaders who realized that he didn't know about anything they were talking about.

"You dumbass!" Scootaloo whacked the back of Apple Bloom's head, "It hasn't happened yet! You may have just ruined the timeline as we know it!"

"We're still here aren't we?" Sweetie Belle stated. Scootaloo looked around wildly. Everything did still seem to be in place.

"You got lucky this time," she hissed to her friend. Sweetie Belle decided to do something actually useful while her friends were throttling each other. Putting on a smile she approached the two customers.

"What exactly is it you wanted?" she asked politely.

"Well we were here for our scarf," Twilight told her. Not that she expected the filly to know what she was talking about. But still, if it was complete and she knew where it was... Instead of answering however Sweetie Belle just lifted a brow.

"...didn't you already get a scarf from Rarity that was better like way earlier on in the story?" she asked. Twilight's brows lifted. That was right...she'd said thank you and hugged her and everything. Even taken offense to Rarity calling the dragon her "Spikey Wikey".

"Yeah..." Spike remembered, "...and last chapter she said our old scarf still wasn't done..." The fighting between Scootaloo and Apple Bloom was what made up the quietness that followed while the others tried to mentally pinpoint what all was going on. "Well...I think it's just the author forgetting about that and thinking the plot point is still going on," Spike shrugged.

"God why do we have this incompetent idiot as our author?" Twilight scoffed, "forgets plot points, doesn't even acknowledge a fourth wall, and just flat-out does things for fanservice!"

"It's like a story written by Capcom and Hasbro," Spike summed up the thought before turning to the screen, "Yeah, we went there."

"Well either way, we're off to the time machine. Have a good day you two! Cutie Mark Crusader Time Travelers!...yay?" Sweetie Belle attempted to jump start a good mood. Her friends however were still caught up in their dustcloud of limbs and bites and scratches. "...I'll see ya there..." she grumbled and trudged off.

The delightful air circulated through the pony's lungs before being expelled from her nostrils. It was as joyful to have such an atmosphere washing over her tender body as it was flowing within her system. She had been working for the entire story practically to get where she was now. And it was as glorious as the last time she'd visited the dreamlike civilization. The community that she'd deserved to born into. The architecture and art of the community unmatched by all of Equestria which only the most elite and exquisite could truly admire. That which unicorns alone had founded so long ago. And it was here that she would truly be recognized for her talents. The beacon that she would shine from across all of Equestria.

"I do hope we are not going all the way back to the room you stayed in last time..." the cracking voice of the pony carrying her luggage coughed through the smoke left by the train that had dropped her off. The white unicorn looked around. She actually hadn't been told where she would be staying. Worry taking over her, the pony dashed around looking for somepony holding up a sign with her name on it. After the trip to the royal city her quest could all be put to a stop in one slight miscalculation of not asking just how she would be residing.

"I take it you don't have a message from the princess for me?..." she asked the bellhop nervously. His only response was a look of disbelief which the owner of the pounds and pounds of dresses that he now carried returned. Thankfully she didn't have the chance to be reduced to tears.

"Ah Rarity my dear," a familiar pride-filled male voice saved the dilemma, "I would like to rewelcome you to Canterlot!" The white unicorn could hardly contain herself as she turned around. No, scratch that. She couldn't.

"FANCY PANTS!" she exclaimed and rushed over to him, "Oh I just know you'll love these new outfits that I've come up with an-ahem-I mean, hello, how are you doing? Hehe..." The highly valued pony gave his own controlled chuckle and nodded to the baggage carrier. He let out a sigh of relief and trudged over to them.

For most of her trip the stark white pony had traveled in silence. It wasn't just for the fact that she was getting used to the smaller form after not having it for so long. No, she just couldn't believe it was actually happening. Though she no longer had wings or her magic to use, she was happy. And in disbelief. An ecstasy of freedom clung to her. A sense she hadn't felt in what seemed to be an eternity. Had she not the experience she did, the pony might have collapsed in the chariot she was riding in as a maniacally giggling wreck from the overwhelming emotions that coursed through her. It was unbelievable. A dream come true. After centuries she was...normal... She didn't have to worry about papers or nursing a world or any of that crap! She could just be like any other pony! The two soldiers that lead the chariot gave a rare change of expression at the squeal of excitement that came from their passenger. The silence had been broken.

With a nearly unnoticeable thud the chariot touched the ground below and wheeled to a halt. Barely able to contain herself, the pony on board exited the vehicle, ginger in the spring of her step. The wind blew the pink mane about magically the moment she set hoof on the grass below. Long had it been that she could feel such a sensation from the natural setting. The feelings she was receiving were intoxicating. Ever since she'd taken the bite of the apple it'd just been one long roller-coaster ride of delight and wonder. Taking a deep breath the white pony closed her eyes to concentrate on the air flowing through her mortal form.

With a renewed sense of liveliness the pony opened her eyes back up and breathed out. It was simply magic. Something she'd dreamed of for centuries. Whenever she'd get depressed her mind would always drift to thoughts of what it'd be like if she were like any other in the land. But destiny had had other plans for her. Whether or not she should have taken the offer she did mattered not now. What mattered was that she was a normal pony now. And she had a whole day to enjoy it before being forced back into the life she'd so desperately come to spite in her subconscious. A smile grew upon seeing the sign above the town she had been taken to.

"Ponyville," she said happily, "I thank you for bringing me here."

"Of course Princess Celestia," one of the guards gave the usual reply.

"We look forward to your return," the other added and they flew off. The now mortal Celestia watched until they were lost in the clouds leading to Canterlot.

"...that makes one of us..." she sighed.

"Well...this is a bummer..." Scootaloo muttered. She kicked a charred rock across the ground. From what all could be seen the Cutie Mark Crusaders had returned to the point in time that they had found the injured Spike which they had helped. But that wasn't the bad news. No, the bad news was that they now had control over where they went. And Sweetie Belle had suggested going just a little tiny bit into the future. Whatever had happened to this ruined world would be gracing their's very soon. That was the fear that overwhelmed the less more easily worried members of the group.

Scootaloo as usual though just took it as another thing to overcome. Her thickheadedness knew no bounds, nor did her scheming. Even as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom analyzed the wrecked landscape she was formulating a plan. No matter how scary it was it was bound to come. And when the horrible incident occurred they needed to be ready. That much Scootaloo found to be obvious. But how would they be able to even hope to counteract the travesty that had befallen this present? It couldn't have just been a fire that'd gotten loose. There'd be ponies scurrying around everywhere trying to help each other out. No, this was something that had been sudden. Something no pony had had time to react to.

The trip into the town nearby the dead woods had only made things worse. Nearly every single building had been annihilated. Skeletons littered the streets, those that had remained intact that is. The buildings that were standing even had some sitting in chairs or lying in bed. The most damaged part of the town seemed to be pointing towards the hill they'd come from. All that lay in its remains was a large crater. Though it was getting to her too, Scootaloo began to grow annoyed with how frequently they were stopping for the other Cutie Mark Crusaders to either throw up or regain their composure.

She was still trying to piece together just what had happened. There was hardly sign of a struggle. The ponies in this town had no idea what was happening when it did. It'd been instantaneous. Their lives ended before they even had time to comprehend that they had. Their remains frozen in the activities they participated in when the disaster had struck. Not a care in the world. The sheer value of such destruction was horror in and of itself. Not a bird sang. Not a wind blew. It was just cold dead silence. Not a sound was made other than the fillies that traversed the ravaged community.

"I want to go back home!" Sweetie Belle finally stopped and stomped her foot.

"Yeah, I'm with Sweetie on this," Apple Bloom agreed. Scootaloo rolled her eyes. She was surprised they'd lasted this long without complaining.

"You guys do realize this is the future right?" she reminded, "It's gonna happen whether we like it or not. We should stay and scope out more to find out a way to-"

"NO!" Sweetie Belle yelled, "I wanna go home NOW! I'd rather spend my last days with my sister and parents then keep seeing what's going to happen!" Scootaloo found herself unable to reply. The words had struck a bit too close to home. Sure she wanted to survive, but if there was no way to there honestly was no better way to live out the end of their lives than what Sweetie Belle had suggested. Scootaloo gave one last desperate look around the doomed setting and gave in.

"Fine..." she sighed. Though relieved, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were just as disappointed as the pegasus. The futuristic hover cars and holograms had been replaced by little more than a citywide graveyard. Their trip back to the time machine was just as quite as the one that they'd taken into the late civilization. Just as they were about to pass into the black trees that littered the woods however a voice spoke. One that they recognized. A female one. That sent trembles down their spines.

"And what do we have here..." the deeper voice cooed, "Three fillies that I seem to recall being at the building were I made my magnificent debut after my thousand year imprisonment." The Cutie Mark Crusaders gulped and turned around. Standing before them was the much taller princess of the orbiting figure of Equestria. Nightmare Moon.

Those that weren't startled by the newcomer's smile definitely were by her appearance. The pony that now pranced around Ponyville was more gorgeous than any they'd ever laid eyes on. She could have almost been a twin to Fleur de Lis of all ponies had she possessed a horn! But as it sat she was simply the most gorgeous figure in all of Ponyville bar none. Many colts turned their attention from their activities when they passed and most of the mares' jaws dropped. But the intruder just passed by as happy as could be taking in all the joys of the natural world she had never been allowed prior.

And then another sensation hit her. Actually, more of an object. Celestia yanked her face back, a suction sound occurring from the the force she used to remove her muzzle from the wooden structure it'd planted itself against.

"Hey! Watch where you're goin' ya dumb broad!" an older male yelled from the top of the ladder. Celestia put on the best sympathetic smile she could.

"I do sincerely apologize," she said cooly.

"Better be!" he spat inciting a bit of a droop in her face, "Could've broken my neck if this thing fell!"

"Sir, I told you that-"

"I heard, and here's what I have to say back!" he yelled. At first Celestia didn't realize what had happened. Even after her eyes popped open through the dirt that had flooded over her otherwise shining and beautiful face she still had to piece together that the colt on the ladder had just dropped a gardening shovel-full of dirt from a nearby plotted plant on her in return. "You're forgiven," he drew out the reply. Quite a few ponies observed the scene in shock. Celestia had put up with far worse before. She'd lived far more than long enough to know that it was just a natural reaction for some. But she no longer held the responsibility she had. She had a right to try out an emotion she rarely was ever allowed the opportunity to display before.

"How dare you!" she yelled and kicked the ladder. The pony above clung for dear life from the vibrations that rocked his seat. "My mane is going to have be washed at least twice to get it back to how it was!" Of course she didn't care, but still, she had to retort somehow.

"And I give a damn because..." the colt drolled. The response only incited even more frustration building up in her. "Shoulda thought about that before ya nearly killed me."

"Nearly killed you?" she growled, "Nearly killed you! Oh I'm sorry, I guess you don't know just who you're talking to!"

"Should I?" he asked. His question was as stale as a cracker. Celestia puffed up her cheeks as her brows knitted.

"Of course you should!" Celestia hissed, "How could you not?!"

"Who are you?" the male pony mused fluttering his eyelids tauntingly. Celestia would have sent the offender soaring into Cloudsdale had she still had her powers. But she didn't. And she couldn't let him know that. She couldn't let anypony know who she was. It would undo all that she was attempting! Should her cover be blown the inhabitants would just start worshiping her all over again, the joys of normality again stolen away from her! Celestia bit her lower lip while her mind did cartwheels trying to think up a way to reply.

"I'm uh..." Celestia gulped. The antagonizing colt's grin just spread. Hesitantly she kicked the ground, "um...my name's Celest..." The dirt-covered pony turned her head to the ponies that had been watching. None of them seemed to be making any connections between her and her former self as far as she could hear.

"Well isn't that just adorwable," the colt on the ladder cooed, "Bit of advise, you ain't gonna get as lovely as your idol if you look like you've been rolling around in mud fangirl." Celestia hadn't felt such anger rising since Discord's jests.

"Yeah?" she muttered back, "Well you're...uh...ladder's stupid!" Taking the pathetic comeback as a victory, Celestia strolled off to the side of a building only to be greeted by another slap of dirt from the colt she'd left behind. She felt her eye twitch. After making sure that no pony was paying attention to her anymore she slipped into the alleyway that the corner of the building provided and rubbed her hoofs together. A series of giggles and squeals echoed through the alley. She hadn't felt such excitement in ages! High above her the sun danced around uncontrollably.

"I must say, these dresses are perhaps the most exquisite I've seen in quite some time," Fancy Pants admitted. If Rarity weren't so well mannered she'd be hopping all over the high-class unicorn with all forms of affection. And with his approval came that of all the other notable ponies of Canterlot. It was overwhelming to say the least. Everything that she'd been preparing for, all that she'd put her heart and effort into would finally be paying off! She'd become more popular than Photo Finish had made Fluttershy! She'd be able to get an even bigger boutique! Why she might even be able to make a little addition where Spike could stay in when he visited!...Spike...

All at once the unicorn's mind dampened. Spike. The one without which she wouldn't have been anywhere near as successful as she had been in creating her more recent masterpieces. Truth be told she was never an amateur when it came to finding jewels. No, the trouble was digging them up. And the dragon had always been more than eager to help in that regard. Ever since he'd laid eyes on her she had noticed his infatuation. Even when she occasionally ended up insulting him against her better instincts his lust would remain him oblivious to the accidental rudeness. In his eyes she could do no wrong.

And that was part of the reason why it pained her to see him chasing after some pony other than her. Sure she had told him that it would be best not to be together due to the difference in their species. Up until that point rarely anything had been told about his life cycle in canon, or that of any dragon. That was why she had made the decision she had. Because, like so many ones before him, the author of this story had decided that she should feel that it'd simply be a burden to his supposed elongated life span. But that shouldn't have mattered. If the relationship was good the creators of the show wouldn't have killed her off or let things get depressing. Not like that. No, but the author was working with what he had at the time to justify Twilight being a better match for him.

That was what got to her the most. That the countless hordes of fans out there just paired each pony up with another that made no sense to begin with! Of course Twilight was a much more suitable one for Spike than others like Rainbow Dash or Derpy Hooves. But Spike had shown the most feelings towards her! And in her role of the story she'd just blown him away. The being that adored her the most in all of Equestria. The guilt hung on her like glue dangling from a freshly slapped together project of Sweetie Belle's. Rarity did love Spike! Maybe not in the way he desired. She didn't know. But she did love him, and he her...but he was with Twilight now...and if it was for the best, Rarity needed to support him.

Her sigh didn't go unnoticed.

"Is something wrong my dear?" Fancypants inquired. Rarity blinked and immediately covered her face in a smile.

"Nothing Fancy Pants!" she assured, "The outfits are selling...that's...good..." The more sophisticated pony gave a doubtful smile back and magicked a wine glass over to her.

"It's Fancypants just so you know," he reminded, "One word. The author's been getting it wrong all throughout the story."

"There really should be someway to kick them off of directing the piece if they're this bad..." she muttered under her breath before taking a sip.

"But I know the nervousness you must be feeling. I wasn't always the confident stallion you see before you now," he tried to comfort her. At this Rarity's eyes bulged a bit. Fancypants gave his usual chuckle to her reaction. "All gotta start somewhere. I'm sure everything'll work out fine. Now if you don't mind I must go talk to Hoity Toity. He really seems rather interested in how these revolutionary pieces of cloth you've made work." Rarity waved to him as he departed and finished her drink.

"Ooo...can I have this one?..." a somewhat dopey voice asked. Rarity lifted a brow. The voice sounded like one she'd heard before, but not often. "It is pretty perty..." Trotting closer to one of her displays Rarity could now see just who it was that was admiring her work. Not that it mattered much. It was just the window cleaner that had embarrassed her when she'd come to Canterlot during Twilight's birthday. When she'd first met Smartypants.

"Oh of course," she told him politely, "It'll be about one hundred and seventy five bits." The price made the pony's eyes go to his head.

"...well I done reckon I don't have that much...would a hundred and twenty be alright?..." he asked. Instinct took over to pump a bit of anger through her. Her sales were not for bartering.

"No," she told him, "These are a new and unique type of fabric. At the price I give they're already a steal. One hundred and seventy five."

"...but I don't have that much..."

"Then I guess you can't have this," Rarity reasoned. The customer's head low, he slunked away with his tail between his legs. "Have a nice day!" she called after trying to make up for the harsher words.

"Well if it isn't my favorite chaos-causing fillies!" the chimera greeted with outstretched arms. A bit too eagerly he scooped the Cutie Mark Crusaders into a strangling embrace and twirled around. The young females on the other hand were frozen. They'd already been traumatized enough from the evil princess of the night dragging them away. But now the even more monstrous force of nature had been shown to be in the same place at the same time as her! Discord and Nightmare Moon were working together! And they had them in their clutches! Surely death would be a welcome alternative.

"Oh you don't know how thankful I am for you three idiots!" Discord happily danced about the ruined landscape, "Because of you I was able to be freed back before Twilight and her dorky power rangers group managed to seal me away again! You kids actually thought I was gonna let you destroy me! Oh that just put such a smile on my face once it worked out! I owe so much to you! Not that I'm gonna really repay ya, but still. Either way, welcome to the apocalypse!" The Cutie Mark Crusader's heads clonked together upon being sat down on a nearby rock which the spirit of chaos displayed the blackened world beyond from. Smoke still drifted off of some structures.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Discord wiped a tear from his eye and sniffed, "and it's all because of you...take your time..." The Cutie Mark Crusaders might have been looking but their minds weren't there. They were still trying to process just what all was going on. The destroyed town, Nightmare Moon, Discord...it was like their worst dreams come true. All of Pandora's horrors unleashed unto the land. It truly was the apocalypse it seemed. The blood red sky above only further complimented the insanity that raced through the world. They shouldn't have returned to the time period. And somehow...it was about to get worse...

At first the rumbles didn't even register to the Cutie Mark Crusaders' butts. But within moments they were bouncing on the rock they sat. It was only when the voice spoke though that they finally took note of the newcomer. The sound that uttered from it was unlike any voice they'd ever heard before. A deep dark yet firm voice. Like that of a controlled monster that commanded all others. That which orchestrated all for its end benefit. Evil. Pure evil...

"Discord..." it spoke. A smirk formed while his eyelids lowered.

"Who me?..." he joked trailing one of his lion fingers across his brown chest. The very air around them changed with the annoyance that the powerful being was filled with. A loud crack of thunder from the hoof that struck the ground was the response the draconequus received. "What is it killjoy?" Discord scoffed.

"Why are these three here? Everything should have been wiped out..." it muttered. The fillies couldn't have fought against the magic that enveloped them if they tried. They wished they'd at least put up the effort though once they'd been levitated in front of the beast's face. If they'd been frozen before then now they'd become laced in cement. The very glimpse into the glowing red eyes before them was enough to crush any defenses of their mentality. They could feel its presence seeping into their very soul. Corrupting them. Suffocating them in the evil that accompanied its very nature.

"Just admiring the scenery's my guess," Discord shrugged as he pretended to file his nails. The glow of the being's eyes intensified from the comment the peanut gallery gave. The Cutie Mark Crusaders did realize the plain fact however. This was the being that they had seen on their last trip into the future. The one that had seen them off when they'd gone back to the time machine. Only now there was no silhouette to protect them from its terror. And it truly was not a form to mess with.

Standing taller than Nightmare Moon herself, this male pony was clad from head to hoof in armor. Scootaloo actually recognized it as somewhat the style that the royal pegasus guards wore. Except the coloring was orange with bluish gray areas to break up the otherwise amber pattern. But the most important part was on the chest where the red diamond shaped letter M sat. Even its mouth was covered in a silverish plate. Not a bit of its organic form could be seen through the plating it bore. And as they'd seen prior it did indeed possess horns on the sides of its head unlike how any other pony that had one would have it coming off the forehead. Two razor sharp horns jutting out of the sides and coming up like a devil's would. But the most unusual feature would have to have been the tail. It seemed to be made not of hair but of a reddish flame. As for where the wings of the pegasus should have come out there were instead just two tentacle-like structures coming out of either side of his body. It truly was a monster.

"After having analyzed you I see that you're not from this time period..." it announced.

"Don't worry, you'll get here eventually," Discord cooed running a bird talon under Sweetie Belle's chin. A glance at the pony holding them was all he needed to roll his eyes and exit the scene.

"As such, I suggest you return to your time period before causing some form of a time anomaly. I may desire your end as much as I would anyone else in this reality, but I've had more than enough experience to not want to risk a messed up time stream with this vulnerable a body at stake. Now then, begone." The Cutie Mark Crusaders continued to stare at the monster even after being set on the ground. Before Discord had a chance to interject his own playful tendencies the scene was interrupted.

"Please...help...I..." a ragged and bleeding pony begged stumbling through the rocks. There had been a survivor. "...oh fuck..." was the last thing he uttered after setting his eyes on the trio of monsters before him. Discord waved politely.

"Die," the orange-clad abomination ordered. With a glow of his eyes the survivor fell forward, motionless. The Cutie Mark Crusader's sights now remained fixated on the corpse.

"...alright, I'll take em back to their little time machine," Discord grumbled and scooped them up, "Don't say me never did nothin' for ya."

"Ah!..." Rainbow Dash yawned as she stretched aloft her fluffy clouded sanctuary of a home, "...cameo..."

Owlowicious eyed the pulsating bedsheets suspiciously. The number two assistant had seen the pony and dragon of library slink in beneath them but they had yet to emerge. For about half an hour or so now the sheets had just stirred around wildly with an occasional voiced noise escaping the material. Figuring it best, for its own safety if nothing else, the owl decided to visit another room of the library. Meanwhile the covers continued to squirm.

"N-no, not there Spike!" Twilight's voice remarked, surprise and desperation filling her sentence.

"Sorry, but I really don't think it'll stay up if-ah!" Spike's retorted. More grunts and groans escaped the sheets until finally the sheets collapsed in a heap on the bed. It wasn't long before they were rustling again though. This time however the heads of the two creatures beneath popped out onto the pillows at the top of the mattress. "Told you the bed fort wouldn't stay up with just a few books," Spike grumbled. Twilight rubbed the back of her head bashfully. "And it'd have made the perfect base for hide and seek..."

"Well now I at least know where to look next time," the unicorn stated. Now it was Spike's turn to rub his head at his grinning bed buddy. Throwing off the embarrassment they were placing on each other, Twilight pulled out the newer scarf that Rarity had made them, more to make the element more present so that the author wouldn't forget again, and wrapped it snuggly around their necks in turn pressing their cheeks up against one another. It definitely was a nice comforting touch it provided. But that was to be expected with any of the fashionista's products. What really provoked the enticing feelings was the friction between them.

"You know...I been doing some more reading..." the sides of Twilight's mouth curled upwards as she revealed the "Boyfriend Book" that she had lying on her nightstand. Though he did become enticed by the implications of the statement, Spike raised a brow. Something wasn't adding up correctly.

"...shouldn't you have been done with that thing like before the chapter after you found it?...I mean no offense, but you're like obsessed with reading." Twilight could only blush at the realization and set the book back down.

"Gotta keep some things running as plot points so that I don't advance too quickly," she murmured, "And I guess one little dragon doesn't want-"

"I DO!" Spike exclaimed grabbing the unicorn by the thighs. Slowly their eyes drifted down to his claws which he took back hesitantly, a red crimson warping his normal purple hue.
"Hehe..." Twilight's eyelids drooped a bit. Spike gulped. He'd hardly ever seen her face so seductive. The closest he could compare was when Rarity would attempt to worm favors out of him or when Pinkie Pie had interrogated him and promised treats if he talke-

"HI!" the pink pony hollered. Both the dragon and unicorn screamed at the head that popped out between them. Quickly she looked up and down at the bedmates and blinked. "...Ooo! We havin' a threesome? Spike you playah!"

"Pinkie! What the hell are you doing!" Twilight yelled.

"Oh you know, just shattering walls here and there," she shrugged, "the usual...say, you guys got jumper cables around here?..."

"...no?..." Spike answered.

"Drat!" the crazy pony somehow snapped her hoof, "Well, have fun you two! Bowchickawowow and all that!" Being sure to give suggestive clicks of her tongue to both participants she disappeared just as mysteriously as she'd emerged leaving Spike and Twilight stunned.

"...where were we?..." the unicorn eventually managed to ask.

"Um...you were sorta suggesting-"

"Oh right," Twilight smiled and brought her lips down against Spike's. No matter how sudden her action had been, the dragon's longer tongue reacted instantly to the pony's. It swirled around her inner cheeks and jaws in ways that she couldn't fathom any other creature's doing. Definitely one of the benefits of having such a relationship with the being that was so close to her. She hardly notice his fingers drifting down to her thigh again. The ferocity at which they exchanged the lashing of their tongues was far too much of a distraction. Twilight could taste the sweetness of the gems that her kind would normally fatally shred their throats up with if they attempted to devour the precious stones.

Twilight didn't protest at all to the rolling their bodies made when they switched positions so that the smaller being was no longer smashed into the bed beneath. With his new vantage point Spike ran his other claw along Twilight's side. Each brush it made against her sent shivers along her frame causing her to kick a few times. Once three more kicks were made, Spike broke the kiss and rubbed his cheek against her's.

"Love ya," he said stroking firmer this time. Now the leg didn't shake so much as quiver from the force her pressed against her. The sensation was still there but not as uncontrolled. Twilight let out a light gasp once she felt the fangs touch lightly against her neck.

"Spike, we need to get back to work in a bit..." she told him quietly.

"You really think you can't give it up this once?..." he chimed into her ear. Twilight pressed both lips inwards and bit their interior's.

"...gotta work double tomorrow then..."

"I think we can manage..." Spike told her. With her confirmation, the dragon opened his mouth wider, the sharp teeth on the lower jaw now ready to nip as well. Just as they hit the surface of Twilight's purple body a loud banging interrupted. The pause was a bit awkward, but Spike tried again. He'd be damned if somepony knocking on the library's door was going to interrupt their quality time when the building was supposed to be closed. And again the banging from the front door echoed as he touched her skin. Twilight rubbed the back of his head in sympathy.

"We can continue later," she told him. Spike folded his arms over his chest as he sat up and stuck his lower lip out. Twilight shook her head and hoisted him onto her back before trotting downstairs. She was sure to put on a smile and turned the knob to the front door.

"Hello, I'm sorry but the library's-"

SPLAT!

Once Spike realized what had happened he'd doubled over in laughter. The whipped cream of the pie that'd planted itself in Twilight's face drizzled down her mane. She blinked a few times and wiped some of it off.

"Got ya," a calming but excited voice declared. Both Spike and Twilight jumped. The sight of the pony that leapt out of the nearby bush only sent them back into the tree even further. Continuing what had been Spike's laughter was a beautiful, yet dirty looking, white pony with a flowing pink mane. Only one pony could look so gorgeous.

"...Princess Celestia?..." they gawked. Behind her form the sun jolted around in the sky.

"We keepest telling you that thou must feel it in her-"

"Will you please talk normally?!" Trixie pleaded to the legendary pony next to her, "I mean god damn! I go on about "The Great and Powerful Trixie!" but you're just all like "I knowest thy bestest thou musteth sucketh large!" and just what the hell?! Who EVER talked like that?" Luna scowled at the egotistical showoff.

"Certainly no pony that knew how to speak correctly," she muttered, "It was never pronounced "bestest"." Trixie rolled her eyes and leaned her head back to enjoy her beverage. When she proposed to take Celestia's place while she enjoyed a day as a normal pony she hadn't thought it'd be nearly as hard to control the sun as it was. With a pop of the metal cap, the soda drizzled down into the blue unicorn's throat. Sure she was glad to have wings now but even so that didn't stop the hardships that came with the newfound abilities. They'd definitely take some getting used to.

That's not to say it was all bad. Even as they strolled through the street the unicorns of Canterlot broke apart a path for the grander ponies to trek. For all they saw Trixie looked exactly like Celestia. The spell that the sun controller had placed on her before she bit the apple that Trixie had stolen during the incident where Ponville had been warped into all sorts of bizarre creatures had worked perfectly. She was an exact replica to stay in place of Celestia while she was away. Which would be much longer than the royal pony may have thought if everything worked out as Trixie had calculated. She couldn't help but fantasize about what the future would bring with her in charge.

"Ah, here it is!" Luna cheered a bit more joyously than Trixie would have enivisioned the pony that orchestrated the moon. Looking up she could see that they had indeed reached their destination. The most esteemed clothing complex in all of Canterlot. And to their luck it had a brand new display! Eagerly the two raced in happy as fillies being let out for recess. Luna was immediately enthralled by the various decors of the night that had been composed over the centuries she'd missed out on. Trixie meanwhile dashed over to the new display. They certainly were some of the most elaborate designs she'd ever seen. And her eyes grew as she viewed a pony that tried the bland cloth they were made from on. The clothing actually transformed! Trixie was about to ask how much they were when she noticed something. The owner. She could feel her blood beginning to boil. It was the unicorn that had dared to upstage her in fashion.

"-and that is how it works," Rarity finished telling the customer, "Of course it only transforms once. Gotta keep the sales coming in ya know."

"Pardon me Rarity, but I do believe I heard word of a continually changing one some time ago..." Fancypants interjected. Her ears peaked at the proclomation.

"Oh that? That was just a...um...test..." Rarity laughed nervously. She'd specifically designed the newer models to never be able to repeat what the Cutie Mark Crusaders had done when they flooded Ponyville with her newfound material. And with Fancypants' acknowledgement they were selling like hotcakes!

"These drab excuses for cloth?" Every pony gasped. The remark had come from none other than Princess Celestia herself. Fancypant's monocle dropped from his face.

"W-what?" Rarity said in disbelief. The comment had certainly taken her aback.

"How can you all even consider wearing these out-of-style designs?" the fake princess scoffed, "Transforming material was gone when I was a filly! And for good reason! Do you not realize just how dangerous it could get? I don't even wanna think about another famine." With each word Rarity backed further and further away from the crowd that had been admiring her clothes.

"Ahem, "sister" what exactly are you talking about?" Luna glared at the imposter, "I for one-"

"Have been trapped on the moon for a millenia and obviously can't be relied on as telling what is and isn't suitable for tastes," Trixie finished. Luna's jaw hit the floor. The mortal had rendered her completely speechless. Fortunately there was last contender.

"But dear princess, do you not realize who made these designs?" Fancypants asked, "It's Rarity. The holder of the Element of Generosity and your pupil's best-"

"And she obviously needs to consider another industry," the princess cut him off. Feeling that the damage was done, the figure of Celestia turned and exited the building. Luna stole a glance at the crowd and followed quickly after. What had been the best day of Rarity's life had shifted to the opposite. In the blink of an eye the esteemed community was tossing the now declared out-of-date items of clothing to the ground and moving on to other exhibits. Tears slid down the fashionista's face.

"Um...not that I'm one to be all that worried but...are you sure this is safe?..." the now much-more-like-her-sister in form Celestia asked, fear very clearly present in her voice. When she had arrived at her star pupil's doorstep she had expected a warm hospitable welcome and endless attempts to inform her of how to live life as a normal pony. And she had gotten a nice welcome...until she informed Twilight that she couldn't turn back to her old self on her own. Even after telling her that the effects would only last a day, the book-obsessed unicorn rushed the princess down to a lab that she'd never even guessed would reside in the basement of the tree! As of current she was hooked up to god knows what by numerous wires while her hooves remained locked into place via clamps on a table in front of her. The pair only worked faster after Celestia had informed them that it was just some pony called Trixie that had given her the apple.

"Of course it is. Remember how powerful you are?" Twilight reminded even though her eyes continually scanned over her equipment. It was her studious nature. No matter what she did otherwise her mind was on autopilot to scan over her settings. "Besides, Spike was my first test subject when he lost his ability to breathe fire one day!" Celestia mentally muttered something to herself. Well...it'd at least been a good run of pulling pranks and enjoying normality while it lasted. Figuring there weren't many resorts left, the white pony looked down at the dragon next to her, his claws furiously working to connect various components required for the supposed "curing" machine that Twilight had made. "So...this gave you your fire back?..." Celestia struck up a conversation. Spike worked up a hesitated grimace and leapt onto Celestia's back.

"I don't think so..." he whispered into her ear, "Just needed to eat some gems and felt back to my old self. Fuels dragon's fire organs and all that..."

"...then this'll do nothing?..." Celestia skeptically looked herself over.

"It's mostly for Twilight's amusement," the assistant shrugged. Celestia had to admit that it was cute how the lizard cared for the older being. "But...I do remember it feeling like a ton of needles are jammed into you all at once..."

"...fuck..." Celestia said just as quietly as Spike had been speaking.

"Alright Spike! Get back!" Twilight ordered. Celestia gave the dragon one last silent plea for help before he leapt to the ground and took cover behind the terminal that Twilight had positioned herself at. All the royal pony could do now was brace herself. And brace herself she needed to. Spike had not been lying in the slightest in his description. All at once it hit her...and evaporated just as quick. Whatever had happened she was still alive in her mortal form, but dear lord had it stung. That split second Celestia would never forget for the rest of eternity! It was as though Discord himself had slammed her face first into all of his pranks at the same time!

The sizzling pony wobbled around and slid onto a nearby wall once the restraints were released. Twilight and Spike lifted their safety goggles, and as the male expected the female looked rather distraught over the whole matter. Celestia coughed out a puff of black smoke and fell over with a somewhat dazed look in her eyes.

"Luna! Put that down or I'll kick yo ass!" Celestia hollered as she looked up at her student, stars in her eyes. Spike looked up just in time to see the younger pony smack her hoof against her face. He always did enjoy watching Celestia completely annihilate all the visions and fantasies Twilight had of her mentor being the esteemed and respectable character that she'd built up in her mind over her youth.

"Any more ideas?" he asked through his giggles. Twilight's stern demeanor returned.

"We're going to Canterlot," Twilight stated.

"Of course Luna! I'll show you my Playpony collection!" Celestia interrupted dropping Spike to the floor in uncontrollable spouts of hoots and hollering. Twilight was only relieved that it was just him witnessing the depraved state of their leader.

"You may have everypony else fooled but I was right there in front of you when you took my sister's form!" Luna yelled. Not even her hoof slamming on the ground in front of her was enough to break the showoff's unimpressed attitude. With the position she now held there was nothing she had to be afraid of. "And how dare you ridicule such incredible works of art!" the princess of the night continued, "all I had while I was banished was the art of the cosmos to view! I know what I'm talking about when I say that those dresses that thy fair Rarity had made are some of the most spectacular I have ever seen in all my years!"

"And I give a damn because..." Trixie drolled, "Yeah, I'm reusing a line from somepony else earlier in the fic. So what?" What did impress her however was that she could actually hear the dark blue purplish pony's teeth grinding through her frustration. "You seem to forget who is the one that actually rules Equestria," the fake form of Celestia said. Luna's eye twitched. That had been enough.

"Even though my sister does rule it alongside me and we actually view each other as equals, you are not her!" Luna yelled furiously, "You're are just some arrogant jackass that thinks she can do whatever she wants since she's taken over a royal pony's body for a day! I will relish lowering the moon this night more than I ever have in my life! When we agreed to this deal we were under the impression that you'd hold up your end of just being a placeholder for my sister, not undermine even MY own declarations!" The white alicorn had a small smile on her face for the fuming royal pony.

"You alicorns can get so cute when you're mad," Trixie cooed and pinched Luna's cheek. That was the last straw. Immediately she bit at the hoof and tackled the taller figure across the ground of the throne room. The guards switched between watching the duel and looking at each other numerous times, unsure of just what they should do.

"I would've killed Twilight and her friends five times over when I was Nightmare Moon!" Luna hissed between the punching and quarreling, "I'm sure I have enough of that energy left over for some arrogant bitch like you!" Luna was surprised at just how much energy it actually took to pin the imposter to the ground. On second thought it was her sister's body she was fighting against, but still it was a fake and she was the predetermined victor. Just as Luna's horn glistened to dispatch whatever judgment she had cooked up for the disrespectful little brat so did the one her sister's body bore. With her cornered tension, Trixie was the first to strike. And she had never felt such an attack from her being. It was as though she had the power of the sun itself behind her blast! Effortlessly Luna was thrown against the opposing wall allowing Trixie to get back to her hooves and cast a dark grin.

"You seem to be under the impression that I was going to be giving up this body to begin with." Luna's eyes expanded. The guards had begun to close in on Celestia's stand-in. Needless to say they were scared to death.

"But...one day! That was the deal! ONE DAY!" Luna yelled. Trixie cackled and knocked the guards back as she had the royal one.

"Sorry, but this is just too fun!" the magician laughed, "And I don't even have to make a deal with Discord this time! With this body I can do whatever the hell I want! And without my consent your sis ain't getting it back anytime soon!"

"Is that so?" the voice asked from another part of the room. All the participants of the fight turned to the doors that slammed open. The Celestia that had been reverted to a normal pony walked through, her student and the student's assistant at her sides. Luna hadn't seen her sister filled with such piercing contempt for another pony before. Discord sure. But a pony? Never. Not a normal one at least. "Give me my body back now," she ordered. Trixie was about to dispatch with the newcomers as she had the others until she saw what was behind them. In marched a good portion of the royal guard. She may have had the power to take them all down without even trying, but she was nowhere near accustomed enough to the body to risk doing such!

"That was a command from your leader," Celestia reinforced her previous statement. Trixie gulped.

"W-why are you even trying to get this body back?" she stammered, "I gave you want you wanted! A NORMAL life! Everything you're denied! No longer would you be annoyingly worshipped! No longer would you outlive those you held dear! Why are you trying to take back this curse?" Celestia scoffed at the notion.

"You seem to be enjoying it rather well. But to answer your question it's because it is my duty." The rightful controller of the sun squinted at the fact. "I may not always like it...but it is my responsibility to be in the position I was no matter my opinions on the matter. Now give me my body back!"

"Uh...think I should get outta here?..." Spike asked tugging at Twilight's mane.

"...it'd probably be safest," she reasoned. She was sure to put a kiss on his head before he high tailed it back to the outer world of Canterlot. Twilight wouldn't be evacuating though. Trixie had been causing trouble for quite some time now, but doing so to one of the leaders of Equestria was going too far. But Trixie wasn't about to give up such power. And there was nothing more dangerous than a cornered animal. Celestia and Luna were the only ponies to stand their ground as the magician's horn started to glow. She didn't know what she was doing, but it had to be better than nothing. At least that's what she thought. Trixie felt the energy leave her body, but nothing happened to her opponents. That was why she was confused by the looks of horrors present on the royal sisters' faces.

"What?" Trixie shrugged, "I didn't do anything..."

"Maybe not to us..." Luna murmured and put a hoof over her face to defend against the growing brightness that poured into the room.

"...but you just caused the sun to go supernova..." Celestia finished.

"I mean he's such has such a lousy sense of humor! But by god if he doesn't cause the chaos he's credited to. Did you see that village down there? They literally didn't know what hit em! Only thing I regret is they aren't around anymore to play with. But eh, that's chaos for ya. Unpredictability at its finest. And what's more chaotic than nonexistence? Oh lookie how the time flies! We're already here!" With a chuckle Discord dropped the Cutie Mark Crusaders off in front of the phone booth. Robotically they walked inside. "Now then, don't forget to do your homework and brush your teeth. Be in bed by nine," he advised, "And do say hello to your sisters or idol for me. I do so miss them, especially now. Didn't even stand a chance..." Still in shock, the Cutie Mark Crusaders vanished with the phone booth leaving the spirit of chaos to stroke his beard. "Now...where did Celestia fly off to I wonder..."

Before Spike had had the chance to get outside ponies were screaming their heads off about the now critically altered sun that loomed over the land of Equestria. Though the temperature hadn't really changed all that much the star sure had. What had once been a nice yellow lamp to the planet they lived on was now a squirming red violent mass of dust and plasma threatening to blow its top at any given moment. It pulsated like some balloony alien organ dangling in the sky. It'd only be a matter of time before it popped. And with its destruction would bring that of Equestria's. The dragon shook his head. Just another day in the life of the group he was a part of.

Well...if the world was gonna end he might as well spend it doing something he enjoyed. It was almost comical to think of how casually he strolled down the street compared to all the other residents of the royal civilization that were caught up in their crazed dashing. But the baby dragon just walked along the paths of the road with a calm smile on his face. If it was the end there wasn't anything they could do about it now was there? One thing that the panic had certainly helped with however was that it had completely gotten rid of any line there might have been to gain admittance into the fashion complex that Rarity had her displays at. He didn't expect to see her inside, but it was still a bit disappointing to find that she too was gone. Still...he could at least look at the outfits.

"Wow..." Spike marveled at the beauty of each one he passed by. They were all stunning and had more variety than he'd ever seen the fashionista attempt. Mainly out of the urge to try one ever since the clothing had flooded Ponyville, Spike slipped one of the blank clothes off its stand and slinked into it. Instantly it began to change into a more scale-patterened design of purple and green. "Incredible..." Spike couldn't believe his eyes as he spun around to look it over.

"Well you can have it..." a voice muttered causing him to jump. Now he knew why he hadn't seen Rarity. She was slumped over behind a nearby table just out of sight of the front door. The dragon returned the action she'd caused him to perform by plunging face first into a hug. "Gah! Who do you think-Spike!" Once she realized who the assailant was she eagerly embraced him as well. "What are you doing here silly?"

"You think I'd miss out on one of your shows if I can help it?" Spike mused. Rarity's white face did little to hide the redness that pumped beneath it. She smiled and nuzzled her nose against his. "So how'd it go?" Spike asked wiggling his eyebrows. They stopped once the pony's face drooped.

"It was going great until...until...PRINCESS CELESTIA HATED THEM!" Rarity ended in a tear-filled bawling. The initial surprise of the claim wore off as Spike gave it some thought.

"About that...that was just Trixie disguised as the princess..." Spike informed rubbing his arm bashfully.

"...pardon?" Rarity blinked. The tears dried up rather quickly as the information hit her like a ton of bricks. Then her eye twitched. "That little bitch...but...it's too late now...before then it was going just fine..."

"As well it should!" Spike declared being sure to lift up the end of his outfit. A giggle escaped Rarity's mouth from the dragon's display of his design. "These, as anything you do, are incredible!" The twos' eyes locked. And for a moment time seemed to freeze. They could feel their faces drifting towards each other, their eyes lowering. And then they stopped. A sound of admiration had snapped them back to reality. Rarity's jaw dropped a bit when she saw who it was. The window cleaner from earlier was still looking her outfits over despite the impending doom outside.

"...you can have it if you want..." she told him. The pony lifted his head. "Hayseed Turnip Truck wasn't it?"

"...but I don't gots the money..." Rarity smiled. She wasn't the Element of Generosity for nothing.

"I'm sure I won't miss just one of them," she told him with a wink.

"Young one, you do realize that you are going to KILL ALL OF US, right?" Luna spat. Sweat poured down the body that Trixie was now in possession of.

"I-I can fix it!" she assured and again her horn glowed. Celestia tried to stop her but it was too late. She knew what spell the amateur imposter was casting but there was no time to stop it from being performed. "T-that worked didn't it?..." Trixie asked more to make herself believe than anyone.

"If sending the sun on a collision course with Equestria is making it work, then yes. You've saved us all," Celestia sarcastically muttered. Out of desperation Trixie cast another spell. The throne room lit up like a flashlight turned on inside a jack o' lantern. "And now you're doubled the speed it's going at..."

"...I can't give these powers back! They're mine!" she screamed.

"What use are they if everyone's gone?" Twilight asked. Trixie turned to run but couldn't. She turned again and still her legs wouldn't let her leave. There was nowhere to go. The world was going to be destroyed. It didn't matter how fast she evacuated. With no other option, Trixie fell down and wrapped her arms over her face.

"It's not fair!" she cried, "It is not fair! I'm the Great and Powerful Trixie! I was supposed to be the best! Mommy always said I was! I'm not supposed to lose!"

"You don't have to," Celestia told her. Calmly she walked up to the throne and stood in front of the crouched over form of herself. "Give me my wings and give me my horn. I will fix this." Trixie sniffed and stared at the smaller pony.

"...you won't punish me will you?" she gulped. Celestia scowled emitting an "eep" from her.

"Which do you think would be worse? A punishment from me, or..." Celestia lifted a hoof to a nearby window. It felt like it should have shattered from how bright it was glowing. With one last tearfilled jerk of her face, Trixie's horn glowed once more and she was turned back into her former self. And with it so was Celestia's body. Everyone in the throne room breathed a sigh of relief while the controller of the sun set it back to normal.

"Now then," Celestia muttered, "About your punishment..."

"Like hell!" Trixie yelled. Even Celestia's magic couldn't counter that which Trixie had conjured. There'd still been some residual magic left in her to allow her to teleport. And where she'd ended up none of them knew. It didn't take too long for things to return back to how they'd been prior to the whole ordeal. Within at least half an hour Celestia was sitting in her throne once more and Twilight stood before her with Rarity and Spike on either side. The purple unicorn had to keep her arm wrapped around her assistant to make sure he didn't wander over to the white one.

"We're glad you're back Princess Celestia," Twilight told her, "...sorry that you didn't really get to be...normal for the whole day...it's just that without you...and Trixie of all ponies!..."

"I understand Twilight," Celestia smiled, "It is my duty and my position. It's just that...every century or so I get sorta worked up about it and all...but regardless it's my responsibility. And as such I must place upon you a task only I can allow on any pony else...therefore I must speak with all of you."

"Well we are at your service and ready to listen!" Rarity announced. She was just happy that the real Celestia hadn't been the one to spite her outfits.

"No...I mean ALL of you," she repeated.

Chapter 22: I Tried Not to Make a Star Wars Reference

Chapter 22: Attack of the Clones

"You want her to what!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. The rest of her friends shared in the shock, at least two them dipping their ears down in anxiousness.

"Twilight Sparkle, though you do have your...moments of...brilliance...we do think it would be best if you left Ponyville," Mayor Mayer told the unicorn. Twilight's brows bent upwards.

"Now why in Celestia's name should she do that?" Applejack dared to challenge the figure of authority. Unfortunately for her the mayor had quite a bit more of the community on her side behind her. But she was her friend, as were the others.

"Yeah! What about how she helped organize Winter Wrap Up?" Rainbow Dash reminded.

"Or when she stopped the Ursa Minor?" Rarity added.

"Oh, and when she helped wake up all the critters on Winter Wrap Up?" Fluttershy asked.

"I got sprayed by a skunk when I tried..."

"You still looked cute doing it though," the pegasus tried to compliment her.

"Yes, this is good and all, but everypony also has their faults. She is no exception," the mayor rebutted.

"But why kick her out?" Applejack stamped her hoof.

"She got the entire town obsessed over a little doll!" Bon Bon yelled from the crowd.

"She was afraid of-"

"She created a monster of books and even nearly killed the Princesses!" another pony yelled.

"Well, you know how she is with book-"

"And don't forget the time that she turned her mom and dad into plants!"

"How would you even know about-"

"What about how she ruined the earth ponies' harvesting methods during Winter Wrap Up?" a male one suggested.

"Oh come on! We just went over how she-"

"ENOUGH!" Twilight yelled. All fell silent allowing the mayor to sigh and step forward.

"Twilight...I really am sorry," she told her, "But ever since you've come to Ponyville, no matter how fun you've made things, your presence here has caused mishap after mishap. And now our town being ruined like this...we just think it might be for the best if you leave." Twilight looked at the congregation that had formed to greet them from the burning town below. Their faces certainly weren't welcoming. Twilight could feel a lump forming in her throat.

"Now you listen here!" Applejack again took the lead, "We-"

"It's alright Applejack," Twilight told her. Her friends turned to her stunned. Certainly they hadn't heard her correctly.

"Woah now, you aren't just giving up are you?" Rainbow Dash hopped down in front of her and peered the unicorn in the face, "We're your friends dude! We aren't gonna let them-"

"It's alright," Twilight repeated, a bit more somber in tone this time, "It...might be for the best...I dunno...all I do know right now is they don't want me. And if I do bring about bad luck well...you all should probably find the last piece on your own just to be safe. I mean there are five of you right? Just get it and get back to the princesses. Mission accomplished..."

"Twilight...where else you go?...our home's down there..." Spike stretched an arm out towards his friend. Her head had dipped quite a bit.

"I dunno..." she muttered, "just...stay with the others, you'll probably be safer..." No matter her friend's protests and assurances, Twilight trotted off over the hill they'd approached Ponyville from. All that lay beyond was the train station that'd brought them to the outskirts and a mountain. The dragon stared after her until she vanished over the top of the hill. Seemingly satisfied, the villagers departed back to town to attempt to reclaim their land from the monsters that were tearing it apart.

"Well this is just bullshit!" Rainbow Dash yelled angrily, "We get back and everypony's been forced up here where they greet us with this? Oh I'm gonna give those little Spike things a beating alright!...no offense of course." She grinned as innocently as she could at the young dragon.

"I best check up on the farm! Let's all meet back up at the center of town once this is all sorted out!" Applejack declared. Eager to exact revenge, the two most take-charge ponies of the group sped into Ponyville leaving the white unicorn and yellowish pegasus with the dragon. The purple creature was still staring at the hill trying to process just what all had happened. He could understand that some of the things Twilight caused...were a bit extreme at times...but...he never would have thought she'd be kicked out. Especially not with being Celestia's star pupil. Spike's train of thought was derailed from a bonk to the back of the head. He was surprised to see that it was Rarity who'd delivered it.

"Well," she nudged her head towards the hill, "shouldn't you get going?..." Spike gave her a confused look.

"But Rarity...if she's gone wouldn't you like me and you to...you know..." The unicorn bent down and narrowed her eyes at his. He looked down. "Yeah..."

"Spike...no matter what we feel like we have roles in this story, and your's is with her. Even without the author forcing this pairing on it, you'd still go after her. You two love each other and nothing will ever change that..." Rarity reluctantly confessed. Her eyes jolted open as Spike's lips met her's.

"Just didn't want you to feel bad if I chose her over you..." he explained quietly. Rarity's lips curved into a doubtful smile and she returned the affectionate gesture with a rub on the head.

"You'd do anything for her. You're her number one assistant after all. And you are her first and best friend are you not?" With one last smile between the two, Spike bounded off over the hill to search for his friend.

Shakily three fillies shuddered through the metallic corridors of Pinkie Pie's underground laboratory. They'd long since mapped the entire place out via numerous visits. But now...with those monsters on the loose they couldn't be any more cautious in each step they took.

"I done knew we shouldn't a fooled round with this here place. Science is evil, 'specially Pinkie science..." Apple Bloom voiced her opinion.

"So much for saving the world..." Sweetie Belle sighed, "Where do you think all the Spikes went?" The group jerked to a stop. They could've sworn they'd heard something pitter patter near them. Hesitantly the Cutie Mark Crusaders looked around. They couldn't see anything other than each other. Figuring that it was just fear working into them, the fillies continued their journey towards the exit. They may have come down to the facility for help, but they certainly weren't going to stay if they couldn't control such monstrosities.

"What we gotta focus on now is just telling everpony about what's going to be happening," Scootaloo muttered. She wasn't used to giving up. But with the overwhelming odds what other option was there? The pegasus was going to be useful, that much she was determined to be whether or not she had an actual acting part in the grand scheme.

"Girls! Stop!" Apple Bloom hissed. The two others did as suggested and glanced over to her. Apple Bloom's ears were fidgeting every which way. Soon enough their's were doing the same. They definitely could detect some sort of noise but were having trouble weeding it out. It was the same old pitter patter they'd heard before only now it was closer and more active. The more time passed the louder the noises got. Every now and then one of the fillies thought they saw something moving further down the hall, slithering almost. They rounded a nearby corner and Sweetie Belle's ears perked.

"RUN!" she yelled. Neither Apple Bloom or Scootaloo wasted any time in arguing. Had they the ceiling above would've collapsed on them from the creature that'd been lurking around on top. All three lost their breath at the sight of it. Like Spike the creature was dragonish and about their size but with some very important details. First and foremost, most of the skin and scales had fallen off the right part of the chest allowing a bit of a gory display to the muscle beneath. Parts of the tail looked almost like they'd been chewed up. But the feature that bore into their minds the most were the eyes. The crimson glowing eyes, like small flashlights in the darkened corridor paving its path.

Letting out an ungodly cry, the abomination leapt at them. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo managed to dodge, but due to Sweetie Belle's more sheltered lifestyle it easily grabbed her.

"GET OFF!" she screamed pushing back against it as hard as possible. Viciously the creature snapped its jaws at her, each bite closing just inches from her face with sickening hollow clacks. But its strength was too great. It was going closer bit by bit. Just as it was about to bear its fangs into her though, it was flung into the opposite wall from two well placed kicks by her friends.

"Might wanna listen to what a lady has to say," Scootaloo quipped. Apple Bloom meanwhile was helping their fallen member back up.

"Come on! We can't stick around here!" the earth pony started a run through the hall. And indeed they couldn't. In practically no time at all, the Spike clone had shaken off the attacks and was hot on their hooves. Scootaloo spared a glance back at it to see if she had time to spout out another one-liner. She didn't. With surprising accuracy, the clone jumped forward and slashed at her, just missing her tail by a few hairs!

"Double time it Crusaders!" Scootaloo ordered as her wings began to flap. She may not have been able to fly maturely yet, but every little bit to speed along helped.

"This is for earlier!" Sweetie Belle called. To Scootaloo and Applebloom's amazement she produced a large wrench from the bag she'd brought down with them and tossed it straight at the creature's head. And just as incredulously it hopped out of the way and began crawling on the wall at the same speed it'd been chasing them! Sweetie Belle's jaw dropped at the sight. Forcefully her friends grabbed her and dragged her into a nearby room.

"How do you shut the damn door!" Scootaloo spat as she fiddled with the controls on the panel next it. None of it made sense to her.

"That's one of them voice activated locks I reckon!" Apple Bloom announced. Scootaloo bit her lip.

"Um...Cupcakes?..." she told it doubtfully. A red X appeared over the lock symbol.

"Pumpkin' Cake!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. Again a red X was displayed.

"Make it stop!" Scootaloo pleaded. Another red X.

"Lauren Faust!" Apple Bloom desperately searched for the correct password.

"Hasbro!" Scootaloo yelled at it. A message displayed on it saying 'Try Again Later'. "Oh come the fuck on!"she cursed smashing her hoof against the top of the console. The message switched to 'Fuck you.'. "Classy."

"Oh fiddlesticks this is Pinkie Pie! She's so simple minded it could be anything!" Apple Bloom cried.

"Password," Sweetie Belle said still in a bit of shock. Instantly the monitor displayed a green check-mark and the door sealed shut behind them. The creature's unsatisfied screeches could be heard muffled on the other side. With a huff of exhaustion, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom slumped down next to each other.

"So...we're trapped here now..." the pegasus murmured.

"And in Pinkie's room it looks like," Apple Bloom added, "...well...we can at least look through her stuff before we die right?..."

A shadow trotted across the land. It'd already passed the train station that it'd arrived from and was heading up a nearby mountain. The sun was setting. Night would soon claim the land and the figure needed to find someplace safe to settle down. The area around Ponyville that wasn't the Everfree Forest might be more managed than it, but it was still proper to have somewhere to hole up in the event of an emergency.

"Twilight! Wait up!" a familiar voice called. The unicorn's head lifted and she turned around. She was shocked to see that the smaller figure had actually come after her. Spike soon slowed to a stop in front of her panting and huffing with his hands on his knees. "Oi...you sure can cover some ground quick..." Twilight allowed a small smile to appear.

"And why are you here?" she inquired, "I told you to stay safe with the others. Besides, you'd have alone time with Rarity..." Spike peered upwards and readjusted his hands so that they were on his hips.

"I'm your number one assistant, YOUR'S," he reminded, "And no amount of you feeling sorry is gonna change that. I belong with you; got that?" Twilight's smile grew. She knelt down and nuzzled her snout against Spike's cheek. Determined to keep some shred of dignity, the dragon pushed the head away, his cheeks crimson from the affection. "Yeah yeah, I love you too..." he murmured. Twilight giggled and bent lower to let her partner on. For a while they just strolled along the mountain in silence. Neither really knew what all to say. None of the group could've predicted that Ponyville would've been caught in such chaos upon their return.

"...so...where's our new pad?" Spike eventually asked as he wrapped his arms around Twilight's throat. Her pace slowed a bit.

"No idea..." she replied slowly. Knowing that his question had soured the atmosphere a bit, Spike nuzzled his face into her mane and tightened the embrace around her throat.

"Well don't you worry, I'm here to take care of ya. We'll find some hole and I get it all decorated. Probably can scrounge up a few books that people have tossed away along the path or something. Whole new home sweet home eh?" Twilight had to chuckle a bit at the visuals that his voice painted. With the enthusiasms their trip picked up a bit of speed. She had to admit that from where they were Ponyville looked rather lovely against the setting sun. And Spike's physical closeness was helping quite a bit. "What would you do without me?" he boasted.

"Probably have a lot less headaches to deal with," she mused. Spike popped open an eye.

"Sarcasm's returning. That's a good sign..." he muttered. Twilight shot a sly smile back at him. "Maybe I should pay you to get you to cheer up more though. Be less effort on my part and money works on girls a lot is what I hear..."

"Act now and get the special elephant edition absolutely free," Twilight quipped. Now it was Spike's turn to grin.

"Only if you call now even though the commercial's been shown for like five years and has the same offer every time," Spike added. The duo burst out in laughter once their parody ended. Had any pony been camping out below they might have looked up due to the joyful noises. It wasn't too long before the humor died back to a manageable level. "Ah...I love you Twi..." Spike laughed lightly into her mane. Twilight herself would probably be a bit embarrassed if he could see how big her smile had gotten in the stint of laughter they'd partaken in.

"...thanks for coming after me," she said slightly out of breath.

"Someone's gotta keep you at least somewhat sane," he told her. His only response was a nod. She certainly couldn't deny how...crazy she could get something. Spike let out a long stream of air from his nostrils. The unicorn at least made a comfy pillow. When he turned to the other side of the neck though he noticed something. It was as though his mind snapped back to a more primitive time upon spotting the dent in the mountainside. The hole on it...he'd made it.

"I know where we are!" he exclaimed. Twilight winced at the sudden loudness of his voice. "This is where I trapped the Wonderbolts when I was big!...ya know those guys really ain't all that special, especially compared to their "fangirl"." Twilight was in complete agreement with that claim. She just figured it was only a matter of time before Rainbow Dash slowed up on her praise for the fliers. Just a phase she was going through. She'd helped in saving Equestria quite a few times even for Celestia's sake! Why she still clung to such celebrities, no matter how talented, was a bit beyond her understanding. They all had their heroes though she guessed.

"Well, this is a good sign," Spike commented. Twilight gave him a confused look. "Don't you remember? I horded everything up here! It's the perfect spot for a new hangout!" Twilight's eyes lit up. He was right. It may not have been much, but a large cave certainly beat camping out under some rocks. Eagerly she charged higher up the mountain.

"Um...Winona?..." a timid voice quivered. There was nothing to be seen. Of course that was normal whenever Fluttershy had visited the site prior. But now...an uneasiness hung in the air. A sense of dread and disharmony billowing forth from the chamber below even moreso than Ponyville's current destructive state. It had taken quite some maneuvering to keep from being detected by the mangled Spike look-a-likes while cutting across town to her cottage. But once she'd gotten there and made sure every creature was safe and alright she'd bolted towards the hole that the kind Spike creature had helped her escape from. "Winona Jr.?... are you down there?..." There was still no response.

Hesitantly Fluttershy looked around. There didn't seem to be anything that might endanger her if she needed to escape...nor any pony around that could help her. The pegasus gulped and looked back down into the darkness below. She couldn't hear or see anything. But she still knew the path. And if those monsters weren't scurrying about...well... it wouldn't hurt to go down and check would it? Fluttershy's mind was in a constant spat with itself over what course of action should be taken. And neither side would be the victor. Even as she finally hopped in her mind was at war. And now her most prominent mentality took part in the debate. Fear. That's all she felt upon landing. Any of the warmth and kindness of the world above was sucked away in the desolate land she had delved into.

Fluttershy didn't know how long she stood there at the site that she'd impacted. For all she knew it could have been days that she was petrified in fright. But in time her joints began to move, somewhat on autopilot. Her friend was at stake, and for that she had to be brave. The ponies above no doubt had more to worry about than she. She just had to find Winona Jr. and make sure he was okay. And for that she needed to make herself known.

"Winona..." she rasped. Fluttershy was a bit surprised at how tight her throat was. The pegasus squinted and took a deep breath. "Winona!..." she managed to squeak. As expected there was nothing in response. Not even her own echo. Fluttershy's cheeks reddened. She was just thankful no pony else was around to hear the pitiful display. For this kind of alerting she'd need to muster up all that she'd learned from Iron Will. The beast within that stayed cooped up until provoked. That which the animals at the Grand Galloping Gala had to lay witness to. Fluttershy squeezed her eyes shut and reeled back.

"WINONA!" the scream sounded throughout the underground. The chamber shook and a few rocks fell from above. Fluttershy had to take a step back afterwards from the echo. She'd managed to even scare herself! But there was an echo that wasn't her's that returned. She didn't have time to continue reacting to her own voice! Lingering not a moment longer, the scared, yet determined, pegasus sped through the cavern towards the area where she'd patched the creature up. Be it luck or some other coincidence, there weren't any of the monsters that had chased them last time.

It took a few minutes but eventually she came to a stop at the dimly lit treasure horde. The greeting she got caused her to scream again, this time in sheer terror. Fluttershy was sure she'd be ripped limb from limb right then and there. But all the physical sensations she felt slowly registered as nothing more than squeezing. Though terrified to, she looked down and sighed with relief.

"Fluttershy!" the hugging pink eyed baby dragon laughed. Simply glad to still be in one piece the pegasus hugged him back.

"Hello...um...is this thing on?...oh it's rolli-oh hello every pony! Medley here! I'm just being the news reporter today because Spike, the usual assistant for any big event, has not been able to be found since we kicked Twilight out of town. So if you'll just follow me I'll take you around Ponyville!" the greenish bluish pegasus chimed. Shakily the camera pony nodded and followed her through the burning town. Around them buildings collapsed in on themselves and ponies were flung out of windows covered in scrapes and cuts from their assailants. Medley just watched giddy with excitement to be noticed as a more main pony for once.

"Hello sir!" she greeted a brown earth pony that'd toppled out of his front door, "What is happening to you on this dismal and horrible day? Please fill our viewers in on all the details!" Doctor Hooves stared blankly at the mic that'd been shoved in his face. It wasn't until one of the baby dragons leapt on him and drove his fangs into his neck that he finally emitted a sound and galloped off. "Oh this is so awesome! Fans are sure to love me with this big of an event! Hey hey! Zoom in on that burning pony over there!...why are you backing up?..."

"Um...behind you..." the camera pony's voice quivered. Curiously Medley twirled around and looked down. A huge grin spread across her face upon viewing the reptile behind her. There stood one of the mangled Spike clones, its arms quivering uncontrollably. In fact none of its body seemed to have the ability to stay still. Its head continually twitched yet its eyes remained focused on her. Part of its jaw seemed to be missing and some damage had clearly been done to its bleeding stomach. But that wasn't the only bleeding part. Quite a bit drizzled down its vicious maw.

"W-we should b-be r-run-ning now!" the camera pony informed. Medley just pursed her lips and blew air out of them.

"Oh puhlease! This thing can't hurt me! I'm a main pony now!" she giggled, "Isn't dat right you wittle baby dwagon? Now, pwease tell us your name and what all you've done to-" SNAP! It took a few seconds for the pegasus to register just what exactly had happened. When she did she just smiled and turned back to the horrified camera pony with the dragon's jaws firmly gripped on her head. "See? It doesn't even hurt. I'm a main charac-OH CELESTIA! I CAN FEEL IT IN MY BRAIN!"

Somehow the camera pony broke out of his frozen state and bolted off leaving the camera to drop to the ground. All it could record now was the seizuring struggle the pegasus attempted to free herself with in front of it.

"I think...I...got it!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. The other two lounging Crusaders bolted up and appeared next to her. It'd taken quite some time, but she'd finally unlocked the video log that'd been in Pinkie Pie's room! Sweetie Belle glanced at the others. They were just as excited and worried as her. Sure it'd be quite an earfull to hear just what all the party animal had recorded, but at the same time it'd been a complete descent into madness considering who they'd be listening to. "Maybe we shouldn't-"

"Do it!" Scootaloo yelled slamming her hoof on the start button. The unicorn hid behind the earth pony in case it'd been booby trapped. Instead something even scarier came out of the device. A calm voice. Pinkie Pie's voice. Pinkie Pie...with a calm voice...

"Recording log...how many times have I done this now?...what day is it even anymore?...I dunno...I really don't...nor do I really give much of a damn at this point...this project was a complete failure from the get-go. None of the equipment wanted to work and everything just constantly fell apart...I'm thankful that Applejack lent me the barn and all but...god damnit why the hell did this crap happen? I just wanted to bring happiness and laughter to every pony! That dragon the Cutie Mark Crusaders let me use was able to be cloned much more easily than Gummy ever was and it still doesn't work!...

"...maybe it's just this power source...Back at the rock farm it always felt like it belonged cause of all the power I felt it give off. Helped me trudge through each of those miserable days. Never felt good...but it did the trick. Figured that if I just used it on other things it might make them powerful and make them...no...that's the thing talking...that damn diamond shaped M...its red glow...its pulsing energy...its intoxicating...no! This thing is evil! Pure unsaturated malevolent diabolic maniacal evil! If anyone ever finds this do not, and I mean DO NOT, under any circumstances activate the things down here!

"The thing uses you! Makes you do what it wants! Twists you until you're no longer yourself! All it wants is manipulation! It won't stop until the world is its own! Its new private domain to warp to its design!...that's why...I'm stopping it...I can't destroy it...I'm sorry but I can't...I've found things that can damage the structure but I just...can't...it's too much a part of me now...the most I can do is just leave the thing. I'll return down here periodically to dispose of the bodies one by one...but that's all I can do...I can't get rid of them all at once, the power would overwhelm me again...it's probably even used you without you realizing it if you're listening to this...

"My only consolation is that I've designed a failsafe. One that might finally free me from this poison should I ever fall to its infection again...I've managed to stave it off for this long probably due to the Element of Harmony I possess. I theorize that if I didn't have that I'd have turned into a zombie for it long ago...that's why I've placed a bit of it in Spike 0-C. It completely counteracts the effects of that damn...thing... I tried it once before but the subject never seemed to respond. Got rid of that one.

"Either way...this is Pinkie Pie...I'm...really sorry..." A click sounded and the device turned off. The Cutie Mark Crusaders remained staring at it wide-eyed.

The dragon clapped his hands together to puff some clouds of dust off them. Being the number one assistant wasn't always the easiest job but it sure left a sense of satisfaction once a task had been completed. And said task had been rearranging quite a few rocks around as furniture to get the place started with while Twilight had been busy performing other tasks outside. More out of boredom than curiosity, Spike dropped one of the rocks where he'd been asked to place it and slipped out into the open. If nothing else the fresh air would be a good change. Spike stretched and looked around. The sight of the unicorn on the edge of the mountain dropped them back to his sides. He had to admit that she certainly looked lovely in the evening settings.

"Yo, Twi...what's up?..." he chipped. Twilight's form jolted up. She certainly hadn't expected the voice. She looked back at her assistant for a second before returning her attention to Ponyville below. Seeing that she hadn't given him any hostility, the dragon walked over and took a seat next to her. The community below was still burning brightly from the chaos that'd erupted prior to their return. He heard a sigh quietly lapse through her lips.

"It's not your fault ya know..." Twilight peered down at the smaller being. He seemed to be inspecting his hand.

"Spike, it may not be my fault this time, but think of all the other times I'v-"

"We've all made mistakes Twilight," he told her. It was his turn to sigh. Firmly he flexed his hand and closed his eyes. That's when it hit her. The place they were at. "...none of us are completely innocent...I still hate that I ever turned into...that...thing..." Before Twilight could say anything he pulled an object out from behind his back. It was the hat that Cheerilee had given him on his birthday. "Wondered where this went until we got up here." Spike flipped it up and down a few times invoking a smile from the unicorn.

"...you know what...you're right..." Twilight gave in. Spike was about to flip the hat again but was instead squeezed against the pony's chest. He could feel his face heating up within a few seconds. "And come to think of it...the residents weren't really acting all that...normal themselves. I mean yeah they can harsh due to their stupidity sometimes but nothing like this."

"...you're right..." Spike murmured, the realization overriding the loving tensions that'd been seeping through him, "They were acting as unreasonable as..."

"...our..."

"...devils..." the unicorn and dragon finished together. A new fear washing over them they stared into each other's eyes. A cloud of dirt was left in their trail as they sped down the mountainside.

"Pumpkin Cake!...Pound Cake!...Ya in here? Please Celestia cry or giggle or something!" the red and black Spike recolor called through the smoldering house. Flames licked at his suit anywhere he walked. He could feel the intense heat smothering the outside of his form. But he was prepared. He'd been designed to deal with far worse than any pony could handle. He just hoped it wasn't enough for the twins to.

"PUMPKIN! POUND! You in here?!" he hacked. Even with his gas-mask the fumes were getting through a bit. Noticing a moving pile of rubble he approached it. Only at the last moment did he notice the size of it. Far too big to be a filly or foal. The instant the feral Spike clone shot out he dropped to his back and put his legs in the air. The clone couldn't do anything as it fell into his feet and was levered out a nearby window from them. OC shook his head and got back up. He'd already had to deal with five of the abominations before that one. Something had certainly gone wrong down in the lab and he had no idea where Pinkie Pie was. But he had his orders. And that was to protect the twins in her absence.

The baby dragon was about to move onto the highest floor when he heard something. It was faint, but he'd definitely noticed the noise. It was crying. Both of them! Being sure never to become too panicked, the dragon rushed over to a nearby doorway. It'd collapsed when the house had originally come under attack. But the twins were behind the rubble. He could see them! As fast as he could OC cleared what he could from his mind and focused on his hands. The twins' crying stopped momentarily in astonishment. His hands had morphed into shovel-like structures!

"Hold on," he told them. Without a moment more the dragon got to digging through the wood and pipes and other such debris that'd collapsed. He was just thankful that the Cakes had finally allowed only him to go in to get the twins. It took quite a lot of assurance and reminders that Pinkie Pie, their babysitter, had designed him of course. If there was one thing he didn't need right now it was more ponies in danger. Finally the last of the planks gave way and he morphed his hands back to normal.

"Now let's get you out of-yah!" The second that OC set foot into the room beyond he'd been flung into a nearby wall, fire engulfing him from the burning plaster. "Alright...that hurt..." he grumbled flailing about to extinguish his body. He was about to leap at the attacker but couldn't bring himself to. Standing across from him was his creator, Pinkie Pie.

"Oh thank Celestia," he sighed, "Look, it's me, OC. Not one of the others. Now let's get the twins and...Pinkie?..." OC took a few steps towards her. There was something wrong. Her eyes...they were...distant... "...Pinkie?...are you okay?..."

"Tell me mortal, why do you side with such pathetic beings?" a dark voice asked from her mouth. Naturally the smaller figure was startled. It may have been her body, but Pinkie Pie sure hadn't talked to him. "As with the others you have my influence, yet you do not aide in the destruction of this realm...why is that?..." it continued. Behind his visor OC narrowed his eyes. He wasn't entirely sure what all was going on, but he had a vague understanding of what was being talked about. Ever since the other Spike clones had started attacking he'd felt it too. The urges. The dark force at work. That which drove the others to eradicate all else. Spread chaos. But he was different. Something was preventing him from falling to such temptations.

"Step away from the babies," he ordered. Pinkie Pie's head dipped a bit.

"You dare to order me?" the voice spat.

"It's my duty to protect them. Now get out of the way or I'll make you!" OC yelled. Pinkie cocked a brow.

"Your duty is to do as you're told. And what I tell you is to help your brethren in the annihilation of this realm. You are my herald. Now do as I command!" With the last word Pinkie's eyes glowed a deathly shade of red. OC recognized it. Reluctantly he morphed his hands again, this time into blades.

"...Pinkie Pie...I don't want to hurt you..."

"You speak as though she's still here..."

"Big Mac! Where's Granny?!" Applejack yelled. Not daring to leave his position, the large red colt just glanced back over his shoulder directing his sister's eyes to do the same. What she saw made her jaw drop. There was her grandmother beating back about a dozen or so baby dragons with nothing but her will and walking supports!

"You want some o' this!?" she hollered. A dragon that'd attempted to slash let out a shriek as the one of the walker's legs smashed into the side of its head. "This is how we brought the pain back in mah day! Now come on! That the best you rascals' got?! Come get some!" Applejack continued to view the scene in shock as the elderly pony battled her way across the field of demons.

"...shouldn't we..."

"Be my guest," Big Macintosh offered, "I personally ain't looking kindly towards the bruises I might get in the process though. 'Specially when this side of the farm needs defending." Applejack stole another look at her grandmother. There seemed to be no end to her stamina.

"...and what about Apple Bloom and her buds?..."

"...um...well I saw em go into the barn earlier..." her brother strained to think in the midst of the beatings he was giving. In the blink of an eye Applejack was off into the still damaged structure next to their house. The place was obviously still under renovations after P.A.R.M. had wrecked it, but for some reason those fillies would wander out there on occasion.

"GIRLS!" Applejack yelled. She twirled around. They were nowhere in sight! "GIRLS! Come on out and stop foolin'! We gotta get yous somewheres safe!...girls?..." Seeing that her voice wouldn't do her any good, Applejack trotted around hoping to find some clue as to their location. She was about to give up when suddenly she spotted something behind Pinkie Pie's computer. A gigantic hole...with a Spike clone climbing out of it!

"What in tarnation?" she muttered. Before the clone had time to react, Applejack's hoof slammed into its head and sent it toppling back down into the depths below. There was a soft thud after a few seconds. It wasn't too deep, but still, if she wasn't careful she could end up just as badly as the dragon probably had. Applejack had no idea how, but obviously Pinkie Pie had installed the shaft. And with her design its walls were probably not that smooth. That's why Applejack was able to climb down the side of it much easier than she'd have expected otherwise.

Upon reaching the bottom she cringed. The Spike clone she'd knocked down certainly wouldn't be getting up again seeing how its body was literally twisted into a complete 180. The spinal cord had to have snapped. Yet it still twitched. The sight would have probably made her vomit had she stayed any longer. Fortunately for her she had a sister to find. With such a goal it was hard not to see why she stole herself so fast through the underground maze of corridors. Every room she came to seemed devoid of any sign of life save for a few Spike clones here and there that lay deceased in their cryogenic sleeping pods.

Applejack did eventually come to a stop though. There was one last clone remaining down in the facility blocking her path...and constantly assaulting a metal door with all forms of hisses and slashes. Her eyelids came closer together. That had to be where her sister was holed up.

"Hey scale breath!" she barked. The dragon paused for a second and looked at her. After giving a hesitant glance towards its previous target the dragon eagerly leapt at its newly exposed prey. This pony wasn't like the ones that it had been after however. She knew how to fight back. That's how it came to be flung into a nearby broken pipe where it hung squirming about, its innards decorating the area where it's torso had landed. Satisfied with her victory, the pony walked over to the door and tapped her hoof against it a few times.

"Girls?" Her brows fidgeted a bit hearing some struggling sounds from the other side. Applejack crouched and prepared to pounce as the door slid open.

"I said I done got it!" Apple Bloom yelled.

"And I said I opened the door first!" Scootaloo argued. Applejack's expression drooped. She was surprised that the idea of the Cutie Mark Crusaders arguing hadn't crossed her mind. She was just glad that she'd found them.

"Now what in sam hill are you three fillies doin' down here?" Applejack stamped her hoof to get their attention. The younger ponies looked between each other sheepishly. Seeing as how they didn't respond she decided to say something else. "I take it you lot know how to use the elevator?" They nodded their heads. "Good, let's get back topside to help defend the-"

"Actually...we think maybe you could help in some other way..." Sweetie Belle proposed. Applejack lifted a brow. "...follow us."

"Oh...oh my...this architecture is incredible..." Fluttershy awed at yet another of the magnificent feats they'd come across. Like the many others that Winona Jr. had lead her past this decorative pillar stretched to the ceiling of the cavern. She didn't know just how long they'd been walking but the signs of an old civilization certainly weren't that far off from the area in which the baby dragon dwelled. Fluttershy'd only needed to ask about the creatures that had tried to stop her from escaping last time for him to start leading her off. Under any other circumstance she'd have protested, but the complete lack of life in the cavern other than him was unnerving to say the least.

Again they passed by one of the pillars. This time Fluttershy could make out the details more clearly. What she had thought had been just primitive scribbles she could now verify were symbols and pictures. Quite a few pictures in particular caught her eye actually. Namely the ones of ponies. They weren't like the ponies on the surface. These ones seemed to have fish tail fins replacing their back legs.

"They near...me feel..." Winona Jr. shuddered. Fluttershy swiveled her head around quickly but didn't see or hear anything. They were the only ones there save for the pillars around them. But Winona Jr.s quivering said otherwise.

"Where are they?" Fluttershy asked, even if she didn't want to know the answer.

"We close...their home up ahead, through next archway," the baby dragon replied. More cautiously now he stepped. Fluttershy made sure to do the same. Though she herself didn't notice anyone else, she certainly could feel tension in the air. Looking to the right though she could have sworn she saw something move. Crawl actually. A shadow had skittered along a pillar. But it could have just been her eyes.

"Here..." Fluttershy came to a stop with Winona Jr. In front of them was a splendid archway of designs that Rarity would envy. It was undeniably ancient as were the pillars they'd passed. But what drifted out from the opening was nowhere near worthy of such praise. It wasn't a smell or a gas or even anything that could be tasted in the air. It was just a feel. Like that when goosebumps crawl across your body. Only this was permanent. As long as they stood there the sheer evil engulfed them.

"...you wish to see?..." Winona Jr. asked. Fluttershy actually thought. She'd been acting rather impulsively until this point. Something had been drawing her here. But with how far they'd gone...she needed to see. What was it that provoked such malice in these underground pathways? Uneasily she nodded and Winona Jr.s head dipped a bit. The two slowly entered the archway. It didn't take long to find their way through the corridor beyond, but it felt like trudging through tar. The atmosphere alone would have been enough to paralyze even the bravest pony if they tried to fight it.

When they did get to the end though they stopped again. Fluttershy could now see just what the source of the evil was. Glowing red atop a pedestal in the center of the chamber was a large diamond shaped structure. It was hypnotizing. The intoxication could be felt more fluidly than any alcohol she'd ever had in her life. She had to literally tear her eyes away from the object to notice that her companion had wandered over to a nearby window. To get her mind off the object more than anything else, Fluttershy stuck her head out and her eyes widened. Below were swarms of Spike look-a-likes, just as warped looking as Winona Jr. had been before Fluttershy patched him up. Except for one difference. Instead of pink, their eyes were red.

Just then Fluttershy heard something. A hiss. The two turned around and froze. Crouched where they had entered were two of the clones. Winona Jr. dared a hiss back. But they didn't attack. Despite any motions they made the two clones just stood guard at the doorway eyeing their captives warily and occasionally drifted their gaze to the diamond. Eventually Fluttershy started towards it herself. She knew why it'd been calling her. She was the one that could remove it. It was trapped and only she had the power to free it. The clones watched eagerly as she brought her hooves up and grabbed it.

The moment she touched the object her vision blurred. She felt all of its dark evil presence filling her own. Red electrical arcs shot through her in every which direction. Fluttershy opened her mouth to scream but only the red sparks shot out. She could feel it destroying her. Corrupting her. Every atom of her being was being torn away at to be the new vessel for the object. But there was something about her that wouldn't give in. Deep down. Her kindness. The destructive power viciously scraped at the element but to no avail. Fluttershy was able to yank it off its stand, but it did not control her as it had been designed to.

The Spike clones eyed each other nervously. They certainly hadn't expected her to be able to resist its contagious nature. But it was free and that's what they had needed. Without a moment more of hesitation the clones leapt at them. Fluttershy clenched her eyes shut. Next she heard a light giggle and then two loud screams. Feeling that she wasn't dead, Fluttershy chanced a look back at the clones. They were now lying motionless on the floor. In her hooves were the charred remnants of the diamond with pink flames lifting off them.

"Me do good," Winona Jr. laughed hugging Fluttershy. The pegasus looked back through the window. The ancient civilization that'd been lair to the clones was just as dead as the ones in their chamber. The source of the corruption had been disposed of, and with it all that it'd been influencing beneath Ponyville. Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief but sucked it back in upon hearing a scraping sound. The stand that the diamond had rested on was moving sliding back. Once it had fully moved aside the dragon and pegasus could see what lay beneath. It was shining orange armor. The final piece that Fluttershy and her friends had been tasked with collecting.

"...oh my..."

The taste of blood filled the dragon's mouth from the impact the back of his head had against the wooden planks behind him. His vision swirled around. The entire world swam around him. He could see two Pinkie Pies trotting slowly towards him, her posture as relaxed and bold as it had been at the start of the duel. Sure he might have been able to kill her, but there was no way he was desiring to do that. With how things looked though...that might be the only option...if it was available. The sound of her hoof-falls thudded dully in the distance of his mentality. With how things looked...he was going to be the one to not be leaving the burning house alive.

"Tell me something mortal...how come it is that you fight..." the dark voice drolled. An agonized grunt shot out of OC as Pinkie's hoof hit his stomach. "How can you, a single being, hope to stand against this?" Whatever dark force had hold of Pinkie Pie observed the lowering eyelid behind the cracked visor.

"Who ever said I could?" OC spat, "I'm just doing what I know to be right!" Another pained noise choked out of his gas-mask. The entity was clearly not too amused with the answer.

"There is no such thing as right," it told him, the pressure ever increasing from the hoof pinning him into the burning wreckage. He could feel some of the suit melting. "Right and wrong...such concepts are only thought up to generalize beliefs based on one's own background. In the true nature of this realm there is no such concept. Just beings making excuses to do what they do. Now tell me again, why do you go against me?" OC couldn't take it anymore. The heat and hoof was too much. He let out a shriek from the pain and rolled deeper into the flames to escape Pinkie Pie's grip. Fortunately the rubble wasn't too big a pile and he'd rolled out the other side in no time. But he was damaged. It was an understatement to say that his opponent was wearing him down.

"...you...you have my answer..." he coughed, "It's what I believe to be right. And what I believe is that you don't belong in that body! Now give Pinkie Pie back!" Pinkie's face rocked a bit. She easily stepped through the flames and stood upright in front of him.

"Why would you wish to free her from the paradise I've given her?" it asked. OC's eye twitched.

"WHAT PARADISE?!" OC yelled furiously and waved his arms around, "This burning village crap? Gee, yeah, sounds like the perfect party for her!"

"On the contrary, she now resides within my mentality," the entity retorted, "A world that I have designed to fit her needs. All you need do is just give into the power I offer and you may join. Don't...and...well you'll suffer the fate of everything else in this realm that refuses the offer." OC forced his stance to be just as straight as his adversary's. He was sure he must have at least a bruised bone by this point.

"Then kill me," he told the dark spirit. For a second Pinkie Pie's eyes glowed red. OC would've said something else but the next moment he was curled on the ground writhing in pain. The spasms were just like the one's he'd been riddled with after looking into the Cutie Mark Crusader's telescope the day that the older ponies had gone up to check on the space station...only worse. The baby dragon could do nothing but look straight ahead as his body jerked. Even his visor shattered from the energy that the bond with the entity surged through him. He was dying.

That's when OC received quite a surprise. He never believed the notion before. The thought that one's life would flash before their eyes as they met their demise. But his did. Memories of his first birthday party. Meeting Gummy. Helping decorate cakes and other batter-baked goodies. Snuggling up with his creator during his early days when he napped. And memories that he'd long since lost access to. Those that Pinkie Pie had cut off when she'd put the finishing touches on him. He hadn't even had a clue there was anything before he was given his suit.

"H-hi there Clone Ze-ze-ze-zero C!" the static-filled flashback stuttered through his corroding memory banks. Her face jerked all over the place in his mind's eye. "G-gummy would like-like-to-would-like-Gummy-say hi too!" the pink pony chipped spastically. OC forgot the pain racing through him. The vision of the lab-coated mare had his full attention. "I-I'm sorry not have a party read-ready. We're just so used to...failures by this point th-that we-" the image flickered for a moment. Some time seemed to have passed before Pinkie Pie talked again. "I de-signed you with two goals in mind. The first of c-course being to enjoy life and h-help out wi-th parties and all that g-good stuff...the second...I've e-equipped you with the latest state-state-of-art tech-ology. Please...I know what I've done down here is-is-is-I-down here-done-wrong...that's why you are to do your best-best to pro-ect every pony you can...you are the end result of everything g-good that went into this pro-ject. If you're hearing this...please...don't give up...please..."

The memory didn't so much fade away as it stopped. Another surge of pain snapped it out of OC's grip. Unfortunately for his assailant however he'd gotten the message. Somewhere, deep inside of him, something was fighting back. Preventing him from fully succumbing to the effects of the vile infection. That's what'd kept him from joining the other clones in their rampage. And that's what now amplified to dissipate the searing force he was put under. Pinkie Pie's brows shot up upon feeling the effects lift.

"I said give her back..." OC hissed. Any time before, the possessed pony would have had no problem knocking the smaller being to the side. But now there was something behind his blows. A supernatural force. A familiar force.

"You can't...you have one of those six...powers?..." the voice drolled in shock. That's when OC realized. He knew what the energy was! Having to actually give effort now, Pinkie Pie's limb smacked OC back a bit only for him to skid to a halt a few feet from her and launch himself into her again. As violent as he needed to, the clone struggled to keep the pony pinned.

"No, that's her responsibility," he told it, "She just gave me some of it. Now give her back!" Pinkie's eyes glowed red again. It was in vain this time. OC's exposed eyes glowed back just as brightly and pink. He could feel the presence falter a bit at the giggling that seemed to be coming from his body. "GIVE HER BACK!" he ordered. The Cake Twins hugged each other tightly while a bright pink flash engulfed the room from the baby dragon. The next thing they knew they were sitting in the previously flame-ridden room, all the fires extinguished and with their babysitter laying limply on the ground. Exhausted, OC fell over next to her.

"...that's my clone," she laughed weakly. OC managed to give her a thumbs up before passing out.

"So you done tell me that all this crap is because of Pinkie Pie?" Applejack asked. The fillies nodded their heads in unison. The older pony muttered something under her breath. "And this here...hammer thingy can stop it?..." Again the Cutie Mark Crusaders nodded. It hadn't taken long for the fillies to locate the device that Pinkie Pie had told was designed to destroy the evil symbol in one of her logs. But none of them had the strength to hold it, let alone swing it. Applejack on the other hoof was a lot more physically adept. "Alright...let's see this thing."

Apple Bloom walked over to the door and looked back at her sister. She didn't want her of all ponies getting warped by such evil. But she was the only one of them that could do it. Closing her eyes, she pressed the button on the door and it slid open. Instantly the air shifted. The unbelievable power swirled around the ponies, its dark nature in full swing with all that it now had control of. What had been the lonely power room beyond the clone chamber that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had stumbled upon all that time ago was now a mentally writhing pit of chaos and evil. Applejack nearly dropped the hammer out of her mouth in shock. She'd had had her doubts, but now there was no denying that the fillies knew what they'd been talking about.

It took a while for Applejack to step hoof into the room beyond. It grew easier as she progressed, but part of her constantly fought to just tear back out of the room and leave the facility all together. But she could end it. All she had to do was bring the hammer down on the diamond-shaped structure and it would all be fine. Applejack was about to do just that when she glanced down at it. Its glowing red temptation leaked into her visuals. It knew what was going on and how defenseless it was.

Applejack tried to bring the hammer down but stopped a few centimeters away from her target. She had to do this...but she didn't want to... Again she swung it and again she stopped. Sweat was forming along her brow. Such power...she craved it. With it she could ensure that Sweet Apple Acres would stay open forever. She could pave a new era for her family. She could use the power...keep all of Equestria safe from whatever threatened it...nothing would be a challenge for her... Her teeth gritted against the hilt of the hammer. No. She needed to destroy it. A third time she lifted the hammer, and this time she did hit something. But it wasn't the symbol. Instead the hammer had slammed into the ground next to its stand. Applejack panted. She couldn't believe how strong the presence it gave off was.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders meanwhile were watching in anticipation, each swing downing their spirits more. They knew none of them had the strength to deal with it, and if Applejack wasn't able to overcome its manipulation...

"Come on sis! Smash the thing!" Apple Bloom yelled. Before Scootaloo could grab her she'd shot into the room to try her hoof at the hammer. The intruder didn't go unnoticed. Time seemed to stop as her scream filled Applejack's ears. The evil energy ripped through her small body launching her back towards her friends who were in turn engulfed in the torturous pangs. They cried and wailed as their skin crawled. Scootaloo's mouth started to bleed while Sweetie Belle clamped her hooves over her ears. Apple Bloom just continued to shake on the ground joining her friends in their cries.

Applejack's eye twitched. Others could use her, work her to the bone, and kick her while she's down. But no one would hurt some pony she cared about while she had a say in it.

"Go to hell!" she yelled and picked up the hammer a final time. She brought it down and everything went quite. The girls still screamed as the energy vanished from their systems, but no sound came out. All noise just felt like it was sucked towards the symbol during the impact. And then it was thrown back full force rocketing Applejack a good ways out of the room as the diamond shattered and exploded, its evil nature extinguished. The ponies didn't need to go back to the surface to see if the clones had been stopped. The calmness of the atmosphere was answer enough to that curiosity. The ordeal was over.

Rarity waited for a few minutes once the clones had dropped dead around her. She'd been ready to continue bashing their heads in with her mannequins but there was no signs of life anywhere other than the ponies that were now cautiously emerging from their ruined dwellings. Across the street she could see the mayor in tears at the sight of her building. It was worse than when she'd had Derpy help Rainbow Dash with repairs.

"Looks like we got here a bit late..." the most intellectual of their group said. Rarity turned around, her eyes wide. Standing next to her boutique was Twilight with Spike on her back.

"I wanted to fry a few more of em," the baby dragon pouted earning him a bit of a disturbed look from the two ponies. "What?" he shrugged, "Never get criticized for killing dragons in any of our video games." Twilight just shook her head. Quite a few ponies that passed by gave her quite sorrowful glances. It was obvious they'd regretted how they'd treated her. Something had definitely been wrong with the whole incident. It seemed a lot more than just a coincidence that it'd happened when it did. But now that it was over they had work to do.

"Where are the others?" Twilight asked. Rarity blinked.

"Probably all off defending their homes like me. Why?"

"Armor."

"OH!" Rarity put her hoof to her mouth embarrassed that she'd forgotten their mission, "Right..." Rarity dug at the ground nervously. They really should have stuck more as a group. Without Twilight around things just fell to pieces. That's one thing that the townsfolk hadn't seemed to realize when they ridiculed her. Spike was about to walk over and pat her to comfort her when Twilight pulled him back. She knew what he was really up to from his dismayed reaction to her tug.

"Well, let's get searching for th-"

"Others?" Rainbow Dash cut Twilight off landing at her side. The others stared at her sudden arrival. "What? Just saw ya guys and decided to drop in. After all, the fanfic left me out of everything else where fans would get to see my awesomeness. Found Fluttershy by the way. Hey, ya wanna hear how I took on fifty three of thos-"

"We found it!" the quietest of the group managed to squeak excidedly scaring Spike as she appeared behind him. Twilight let out a chuckle and moved so that he landed on her back. After making sure he was safely seated she proceeded to join the others in gawking at what the shy pony had found.

"Fl-Fl-Fluttershy, however did you find..." Rarity trailed off.

"Oh Winona Jr. helped me. Had to leave him below though. Thought he'd be safer there. It was in this ancient civilization's catacombs beneath Ponyville," Fluttershy answered. Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped even further.

"A-A-Ancient?...you-go-you went to an ancient-that Daring Doo...how the hell did I miss out on this crap?!" the blue pegasus cried. All Fluttershy could do in response was blush proudly.

"Probably cause you were too busy showing off," the other athlete guessed. Rainbow Dash instinctively shot a nasty look at the cow pony before realizing that she'd appeared just as instantaneously as Fluttershy had.

"Was tryin' ter get to ya when I saw ya land. Tell ya that we took care of the Spike clones," Applejack informed. Now the stares of amazement were her's.

"You and who else?" Rarity asked. Applejack moved to the side and Rarity tackled the one of the fillies behind her. "Sweetie Belle! Where in Equestria were you? I was worried sick! If mother and father found out you'd been hurt or anything they'd have my head! My head I say!" Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes.

"Come on sis, not in front of the others..." she whispered desperately. It didn't stop the crushing embrace. The others smiled at the display of affection.

"What the hell happened to you squirt?" Rainbow Dash showed her own rare display of concern towards another filly. Blood still stained the younger pegasus' lip.

"We were trying to save the future," Scootaloo murmured. Applejack was just as surprised at the others from the response.

"...future?..." Twilight repeated, "...you two've been to the Starswhirl section of the Canterlot library?..." The Cutie Mark Crusaders glanced at each other.

"We done found a time machine," Apple Bloom told her.

"And we went to the future!" Sweetie Belle finally broke out of her sister's grasp, "But when we got there it was bad! Discord was free and things were on fire and a pony died!"

"So we came back here to wake up the Spike clones that we knew Pinkie Pie had created!" Scootaloo cheered enthusiastically. Then she remembered the results and slumped over, "Thought if we could get an army together it could help stop that...saw how great that turned out..." Rainbow Dash could hardly believe the story, but with all that'd happened that day she wasn't about to say that it didn't happen. Smiling, she ruffled the filly's hair.

"Don't sweat it kid...I'd of done the same thing had I been in your spot," she told her fangirl. Scootaloo almost fainted then and there from the attention she'd been given. "Kinda makes sense that Pinkie was behind it though..."

"I know right?" the pink earth pony agreed. For her none of them had to be surprised that she'd come out of nowhere. "Sorry bout sorta damning all of Ponyville to this. Couldn't really help it though. Got infected. OC made me better though!" Pinkie Pie giggled and bounced around joyfully.

"Uhuh...and you're here because..." Applejack asked.

"The plot needed us all to get together," Pinkie Pie replied. Twilight grinned. For once the story was on their side.

"Alright girls! Let's go that last piece together with the others and-"

"Oh..." Pinkie Pie's mouth shrunk and her hops stopped. The others stared at her. "...about that...while I was um...possessed...I sorta had the other pieces taken away by some ponies..." Quite a few ponies smacked their foreheads while the others eyes grew.

"...and who would some of these ponies be?..." Twilight asked hoping that she wasn't tempting fate. She had.

"I believe she means me," a familiar sly voice declared. With an "eep" from Fluttershy the piece of armor was magicked off her and into Trixie's clutches, "And I'd just like to thank you all for your continued support."

"Oh you are so dea-" Rainbow Dash was cut off by a sudden burst of fire from Spike which produced a scroll.

"Oh looks like they've finally noticed," Trixie chuckled to herself. It was simply Spike nature to read what a letter from the Princess said.

"Twilight, get the pieces NOW! Get them somewhere safe! The body...of the...Alicorn has been...stolen..." his voice started to falter towards the end of the message. The group's expressions were just as disbelieving as Twilight's. They'd had their goal in reach and like always the story yanked any joy away. Spike let the scroll fall to the ground. Trixie was already off on the horizon.

"...get her." Twilight said.

The train billowed forth more steam than it ever had in all the ages it'd been in use. The group hadn't thought that Trixie would have a getaway ready. But lo and behold the Flim Flam brothers had been waiting for her with a newly designed traincar vehicle, the body of the Alicorn and the other parts of armory undoubtedly inside.

"Come on girls! Shovel that coal!" Rainbow Dash barked shoveling her own batch of it into the flames of the engine. Even Fluttershy, however little she could, was helping. Spike was busy adding his own fire to the machinery. Rarity however would obviously not be caught dead in the environment and as such joined Twilight at the front of the train.

"Seriously? She just comes out of nowhere and takes it?" Rarity scoffed, "This was such an ass pull!"

"You're surprised?" Twilight asked in a deadpan tone, "You ready with your horn?"

"Not as skilled as you, but of course. I wouldn't want those delightful scraps of clothing remaining in such devious hooves," Rarity replied. She crouched her knees a bit following Twilight's lead. They were almost at the unique car in front of them.

"Just a bit closer..." Twilight muttered. There were only a few yards between them. "Closer..." the end of the train progressed a bit further. Once they were within inches of the vehicle the sides flipped open revealing two large cannons. "NOW!" The unicorns clenched their teeth and focused all the energy they could on the weapons. It didn't take long for Twilight's magic to crush her side's one. Rarity though only managed to mislead the line of fire until Twilight had time to help her out.

With the firing devices out of the way they were free to ram the vehicle, furthering its speed while at the same time grinding the devices within that controlled its acceleration. Steam began whirring out from the wheels. They'd already passed through quite a few towns in the chase and were shooting through a somewhat desolate field on the outskirts of Fillydelphia.

"We got em now!" Rarity exclaimed. Almost as if karma itself had been listening, the vehicle in front did something neither pony expected. It literally hopped over the edge of the tracks at the next corner and fired two shots behind it from a pair of newly revealed cannons. The railroad tracks splintered to ribbons and left the train on top to careen helplessly into the field beyond with the Flim Flam brother's vehicle.

"Ugh...what the fuck just happened?..." Rainbow Dash moaned managing to pull herself out of the overturned train. She could see the smoking remains of the other vehicle just a bit ahead of them. After helping the others out she joined Rarity and Twilight at the smoldering invention.

"Hand them over..." Twilight ordered the smug unicorn standing in front of the makeshift train.

"They're all yours," Trixie confessed, "Flung them all up to that hill when you forced us off the tracks. But I suggest you hurry." Twilight cocked a brow. Before she could interrogate the showoff any further however, Trixie had leapt into the air and landed on a smaller train vehicle that launched out of the overturned one. The Flim Flam brothers could be heard laughing as they hit the tracks and retreated back the way they'd been chased. Twilight sighed. They could be dealt with later.

"Come on ponies...and dragon...let's get those items and-"

"Twilight...what is that?..." Spike's voice quivered a bit. Twilight saw just how reasonable his reaction was upon looking at where he was pointing. There was a red glow in the night sky...and it was growing.

"...move..." she ordered. The others watched the approaching object fearfully. "MOVE!" This time they did. The group raced faster than they ever had before. But they weren't quick enough. They couldn't be. They were competing with a rock that was falling from space. And it was gaining speed. Even Applejack and Rainbow Dash were panting with how fast they were having to go. They were almost at the pieces of armor and the coffin when it finally did hit. Twilight had Spike to shove her to the ground to avoid being flung back like the others. "NO!" she cried.

What Twilight witnessed next she would never forget. Before her and Spike's eyes a skeleton lifted out of the ruined coffin, its bones coursing with the red glow that had haunted everything having to do with their whole quest. Veins and muscle formed slinking over its figure while the pieces of armor congregated to where it was levitating snapping on individually. Where skin could be seen it was soon being patched up by even more armor that somehow grew over it. With one last swivel of the head the jaw snapped shut and pale skin slid over it followed after by the final piece to cover up any of its organic frame, a metal plate over its mouth. Finally a reddish flame plumed out of the piece where the tail should have been forming the body structure.

With a red glow pulsing from its eyes, the newly formed Alicorn descended to the ground and stood there. Spike gulped. The others were also watching in sheer horror. The shadowy nightmare that the princesses had shown them was now in full color, the orange pieces of the armor enhancing its bold form. The frames of the bat-like wings moved up and down in a passing wind. Slowly its devil-horned head turned to view the ponies. It looked them over one by one and turned to the community on the other side of the hill. A full minute passed before its eyes glowed again.

When they did the sky above lit up with an unholy shade of red. An enormous explosion could be seen over the hill that blocked the group's view ascending forth a cloud of its own high into the sky that filled out around the top like a mushroom. With not even any effort or care the creature had wiped out the city that their train had been headed towards before toppling over. The ponies felt an entirely new wave of fear flood through them. In the incredulous display none of them had given any recognition towards the other figure on the hill. A statue. Discord's. Calmly, the Alicorn walked over and tipped his horn to the stone. With a bright flash, the Draconequus emerged and stretched with a yawn.

"Oh, you're finally here," Discord commented realizing who'd freed him, "Took you long enough. How many chapters has it been since I made the call?..." Fluttershy almost fell over sideways.

"Who are you!" Twilight yelled. Spike clung for his life on top of her, "Why are you doing this!" The alicorn turned to the ponies again, this time his entire body and lifted his head as high it would go. Rarity could have sworn she'd just swallowed her heart.

"I...am Unicron..." the dark voice announced.