Trixie's Shadow

Chapters

Chapter 01
Chapter 02
Chapter 03
Chapter 04
Chapter 05
Chapter 06
Chapter 07
Chapter 08
Chapter 09
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 10

Chapter 01

The sleek azure unicorn stood quietly at the mouth of the cave. Her purple cloak was out of place among the miles of cheerless scrubland, and her equally colorful cutie mark—a magic wand with a swish of pixie dust—only further confirmed that she did not belong here.

The idea must have occurred to the unicorn as well, for she glanced wistfully over one shoulder, and when a distant raven cawed, her entire body flinched from nervous tension.

After a moment, she steadied herself and returned to appraising the cave. So far as she could tell, it was utterly impenetrable—not a single shaft of light fell over its threshold and the unicorn felt a vague unease creep into her mind. It was not too late to turn back, though doing so would mean giving up on nearly a year’s endeavor. She was still pawing at the ground in indecision when the image of a certain town flashed across her mind.

Instantly, the unicorn spoke.

“Awake! The Great and Powerful Trixie is here!”

It was a bold statement by any account, and in a land unused to noise, the words fell like the blast of a cannon. A slight rustling began inside the cave.

“Come forth! Trixie is waiting to speak with you.”

Another, deeper rustling sounded from the cave. Its entrance grew darker than ever, and when a whispery voice rose out of the blackness, there was not the slightest sign of what was speaking.

“Trixie? I do not know that name. But I have been sleeping…”

The voice was less harsh than Trixie had expected, less frightening too. She drew a deep breath and continued.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie has awakened you to make a deal! See here.”

An aura of magic sprang to life around her horn, and a small gold key appeared in the air. As it floated into view, the shadows near the cave’s entrance flared. Trixie gave back despite herself, and the voice was quick to respond.

“Forgive me. I mean no harm. But you can imagine what a shock it is to behold the means to my liberation. Tell me, how did you obtain it? I had thought that key locked deep within the treasure vaults of Princess Celestia.”

The voice no longer sounded vague or sleepy. It was now a rich bass timbre, and Trixie had an impression of great eagerness behind it.

“The magic of Trixie is far too mysterious for one such as you! You need only know that I can free you, and will, if you serve me.”

“And what must I do?”

“You will travel with me to the town of Ponyville. An ugly mule named Twilight Sparkle lives there and—”

“Ah,” interrupted the voice, “now I begin to understand. Is she is your rival?”

Trixie flicked her tail.

“She is not my rival! Twilight Sparkle is a foolish simpleton who overstepped her limits when she challenged me!”

“And you seek my help to teach her a lesson?”

“To teach all of them! All of them who mocked me. I’ll prove I’m every bit as great as I said.”

The unseen creature sounded pleased to learn of its mission.

“Very well. Free me! I will stand by your side.”

Trixie began summoning her magic. Abruptly, she halted. This banter had distracted her, so much so that she had nearly forgotten the most important part.

“Give me your word,” she said. “Swear you will obey me!”

A long pause followed.

“Well?”

“Surely,” purred the voice, “I could operate better under my own initiative? If you go too far in restricting my freedom, our partnership will never realize its full potential.”

Trixie shook her head.

“Goodbye,” she said. “We have nothing more to talk about.”

She turned and began to walk off. The voice cried out at once.

“WAIT! I was merely… testing you. I see now that you understand the rules of my existence. Truly, you are as wise as you claim.”

“Then you give me your word?”

“I give you my word. Free me from this prison! I swear that I will use my powers to do as you ask.”

“And nothing more?”

“And nothing more.”

The creature’s promise dispelled the last of Trixie’s doubts. With a silent smirk, she called forth her magic and focused on the hovering key. A disembodied lock appeared at the cave’s entrance. Without any hesitation, Trixie unfastened it.

“AT LAST!”

The voice roared from the darkness, blowing pebbles and cobwebs before it. Under Trixie’s hooves, the ground itself trembled. But still the creature did not emerge.

“What’s wrong?”

“Did you forget?” replied the voice. “Or is your knowledge not as deep as I imagined? Regardless, I have no body until a separate mind imagines it. Tell me how I shall appear.”

Trixie blinked in surprise. The legends had not mentioned this. And yet, if she were going to have a shapeshifter as a companion, why not make the best of it?

“You are a strong, handsome stallion with green eyes. You have a smooth black coat and broad shoulders. Your mane is coarse but well-kept, your hooves are trim and powerful, and your cutie mark is a silvery crown.”

A mass of shadows boiled out from the cave. Trixie forced herself to be still as they swept forward, and when the darkness pulled back, the most incredible stallion stood in its wake. His appearance far surpassed Trixie’s expectations; he had taken each of her playful details and perfected it.

Except for one.

“You don’t have green eyes.”

The stallion turned to face her, his aforementioned features blazing with icy-blue fire.

“My eyes are my own. Surely one so munificent will forgive this small indulgence?”

Trixie could not help smiling.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie forgives you. But you’ll stand out if they stay as they are.”

Immediately, the stallion’s eyes dimmed, until the unnatural radiance went out of them and they became a bold blue in color.

“There,” he said. “And now, O She Who Freed Me, let us commence the deconstruction of your unfortunate foe.”

He began to move off, straight in the direction of Ponyville, though Trixie had not told him the way. Perhaps, in a mind less clouded, that would have been seen for the ominous signal it was. As it happened, Trixie merely adjusted her cloak and hurried after her new acquaintance.

“Hold on!” she said. “If you’re going to serve Trixie, you should follow where Trixie leads.”

A light flared in the stallion’s eyes, but he lowered his head and waited until Trixie had passed him.

“That’s better,” she said. “My wagon is just over that hill. I don’t suppose you mind pulling while I ride?”

“No. I think you’ll find I am quite used to having others in my shadow…”

Chapter 02

Twilight Sparkle was deep in one of the library tomes when a small pink dragon (his name was Spike) popped up beside her. For a moment, Spike stood beside his friend’s study table—just tall enough to peer over it—and waited to see if she would acknowledge his presence.

“Portals to Anywhere,” he finally said, quoting the tome’s title. “Creating magical windows that let in light, air, and unspeakable monstrosities.” Below this was another, slightly smaller line, “The author is not responsible for any unspeakable monstrosities that actually appear after use of this text. Trans-dimensional portals should always be opened with care and extremely large firearms.”

Twilight did not look up and Spike wondered if it would do any good to point out that it had been almost twenty-four hours since she had talked, eaten, or otherwise moved from her current position. Sometimes it was hard to tell with Twilight.

“So… did you want breakfast? Or are you just going to read all day again?”

“Yes,” said Twilight, “that is nice.”

She still had not glanced away from her book. Spike began to feel slightly concerned. When it came to focus, Twilight Sparkle could make a laser jealous. Of course, her voluminous knowledge certainly came in handy, and had saved Ponyville on many occasions. But while it was always possible that studying magical windows might be good for Twilight, collapsing from hunger and dehydration would certainly not be.

So Spike got to work. Popping a balloon behind Twilight had no effect, nor did banging two cymbals, tugging her tail, or dangling a rubber snake in front of the tome. Clearly, it was time to bring out the big guns.

“Would you look at that?” said Spike. “We’re fresh out of checklist parchment.”

He was still turning round when a Twilight-shaped blur (traveling roughly Mach 2) blew straight through him on its way to the supply closet.

“What?! No we aren’t! There’re three hundred twenty-two and one-quarter rolls, exactly like the last time I counted.”

“Good morning, Twilight.”

“Oh! Hi, Spike. Why are you lying on the floor like that?”

“Ugh. Never mind,” said Spike, picking himself up and giving his scales a good dust off. “Happy Saturday.”

“Saturday? It’s not Saturday.”

Spike pointed to a calendar clock on the far side of the room.

“Oh my gosh!” cried Twilight. “It is Saturday! And I’m supposed to meet Applejack so I can show her my new crop-growing spell! Why didn’t you remind me sooner?”

“Hellooooo? You. Reading. Deaf to the world. Ring any bells?”

“Don’t be silly! I’m not that bad.”

A burst of magic from Twilight’s horn snapped her tome shut and floated it back to one of the library’s overflowing bookshelves. In another moment, Twilight was upstairs in her bedroom, where she had a look in her full-body mirror. Not because she was concerned about appearances, but because she wanted to have one more go with the spell she had been practicing before her reading binge.

“Like lightning-speed chameleon skin, make my color change begin!”

A flash of magic brightened the bedroom, after which Twilight stared eagerly into the mirror. So far as she could tell, her tail and mane—both stripped dark blue, violet, and rosy pink—looked just the same as ever, as did her lavender coat and star-sparkle cutie mark.

“Pony feathers,” she said, walking back downstairs. “I can’t seem to get this one.”

“Well,” replied Spike, “if you sat down and had some food, you’d have plenty of time to—”

“Anyway, I’m off! See you later!”

“BREAKFAST!” shouted Spike.

His only response was the slamming front door. This was immediately followed by the growling of a ferocious animal. Greatly alarmed, Spike hurried to help his friend against whatever had ambushed her. But when he opened the door, he found Twilight standing alone, looking rather embarrassed to boot. The growl repeated, and this time Spike recognized exactly where it was coming from.

“You know,” said Twilight, grinning awkwardly at her stomach, “maybe I could use a little food before I head out…”

Twenty minutes later, Twilight had finished a hearty breakfast and promised Spike that no, she wouldn’t stop by the book store again and spend all her money on a cartload of spell tomes… at least, not today. After that, she wished him a pleasant morning and set off to Applejack’s farm. Already it was shaping up to be a beautiful day, and as Twilight cantered through the cobblestone plaza that served as Ponyville’s main thoroughfare, she found that nearly everyone had come out to enjoy the weather. Most of the townsfolk appeared to be shopping; the line at Sugarcube Corner wound halfway around the building and the nearby vendor stalls—selling everything from fruit and vegetables to spices and jewelry—were mobbed. The less active citizens had taken to relaxing with friends at the local cafés, where they could sit outside under parasols and enjoy fresh lemonade or sweet berry cordial. And of course, there were also ponies of a more industrious nature, getting their hooves dirty with house repairs, cleaning, and gardening.

Under normal circumstances, Twilight would gladly have stopped to greet friends and ask if anyone needed help. Today, however, she had important business and kept straight on until she reached a prairie on the outskirts of town. In this location, Ponyville’s widest street merged into a highroad, which gradually curved toward a distant mountain range. Even now, Twilight fancied she could feel a breeze wafting down from the snow-covered peaks. As she paused to savor the coolness, she noticed a yellow gypsy wagon on the highroad. The wagon was much too far away to be recognized, though Twilight could barely make out a powerful black stallion in the harness.

For a moment, she watched him. But when a pair of blue-tailed butterflies twirled up from a dandelion, Twilight turned away, laughing, and cantered along in their wake. By the time the butterflies led her to Sweet Apple Acres, she had completely forgotten about the wagon, and was filled with excitement at the prospect of helping one of Ponyville’s most important—and hardworking—families.

“Now,” said Twilight as she looked around, “where would Applejack be?”

It was an excellent question. Sweet Apple Acres was a humongous property. Most of the land had been devoted to apple trees, naturally, and forests of them grew for miles in every direction. But there were fields too, corn and carrots mainly, though blueberries, grapes, and celery made the odd appearance. Near the front of the property, a winding dirt road led to a bright red barn-house, its window planters filled with lilies and marigolds. The barn’s front door was open and wisps of cooking smoke rose from the chimney.

Twilight could only assume that meant someone was home and decided to see who it was. As she passed between the well and the henhouses, a cheery voice called her name.

“Twilight! Over here!” Applejack’s unmistakable country twang arose from the far side of a large rectangular hay bale. A moment later, Applejack herself popped into view, wearing a tan cowboy hat that complimented her orange coat and light-yellow mane. “Be right with you! Just got a mite more work to finish.”

She gave Twilight a wave and disappeared once more behind the hay. As Twilight watched, a smaller bale was suddenly flung up to land on top of the larger one. Five more bales followed it, after which Applejack reappeared, flicking dirt away from her cutie marks (a trio of scrumptious-looking apples) with sweeps of her top-knotted tail.

“There,” she said. “We’ll be putting a tarp over these in case it rains tonight, but we had to get ’em piled up first. You ready to show me your fancy new spell?”

“Ready!” said Twilight. “Where should we start?”

“Right over here.”

Applejack about-faced and trotted down the length of a cornfield. Beyond it, two smaller fields had been cleared and fenced. Both of them were barren, though the rightmost one had a stunted rosebush growing near its center. Applejack ignored this, and brought Twilight to the field that was completely empty.

“Welp, here we are. I figured on tryin’ pumpkins this year but they just ain’t comin’ up.”

“No problem!” said Twilight.

Taking a small step forward, she raised her head and summoned an aura of magical power around her horn. At the same time, a vine wriggled through the soil in front of her hooves. Another followed it, and another, until they had covered the field. Twilight increased her concentration and the vines began producing—first a jumble of dark-green leaves and then scores of baby pumpkins.

“Yee-haw!” cried Applejack. “Git along little pumpkins!”

Encouraged, Twilight focused more of her magic. The baby pumpkins doubled in size.

“Don’t make ’em too big,” said Applejack. “The small ones taste better.”

Twilight nodded and decreased the potency of her spell, feeling slightly disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to see how far she could take it. Still, Applejack was happy and that was the main thing. Suddenly, Twilight scented the rosebush in the adjacent field and had a brilliant idea.

With a jerk of her head, she renewed and redirected her magic. The scraggly rosebush exploded outwards, fifty years of normal growth taking place in the blink of an eye. The results were even better than Twilight had hoped for; by the time she shut down her spell, the left field was full of mouthwatering mini-pumpkins and right field was brimming with fragrant flowers.

“Ta-da! What do you think of that, Applejack?”

When Applejack didn’t respond, Twilight looked over to see what the matter was. The wild-eyed frown and twitching ears were only the first signs that her friend didn’t appreciate what she had done.

“Twilight Sparkle! Do you have any idea how hard it is to pull up plants with thorns on ’em? They’re some of the worst weeds ever.”

“Weeds? Applejack, those are roses!”

Applejack’s bad mood was already passing. She lowered her head for a moment and then looked calmly at Twilight.

“Oh, honey, a weed can be anythin’! I ain’t sayin’ the roses are ugly, but this is a workin’ field! We left it fallow this year to give it a rest and now those roses’ll wear out the soil. On top of that, their thorns make them darn near impossible to clear. I remember once we had a patch of ’em by the corn crib—”

Applejack cut off abruptly, staring over Twilight’s shoulder. A huge orange pumpkin—taller than a toolshed—had continued to grow and was now lording above its lesser brethren. Even as Applejack watched, the mammoth vegetable began to quiver. The next moment—

BOOM!

Applejack lunged forward and pulled Twilight down as the shockwave passed over them. Chunks of pulpy vegetable rained from the sky, splattering everything in a soggy deluge.

“Ah ha,” said Twilight feebly. “I… er, that wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Applejack’s face had turned several shades darker, perhaps because it was drenched in pumpkin juice. Slowly, she stood and surveyed the area. There was orange goo spread clear up to the barn. Chickens were squawking in the hen house and a distant farm cat was streaking for cover.

Suddenly, Applejack started to laugh. She laughed so hard that she nearly fell over, and had to support herself by leaning against a fence post. Only when Twilight got to her own hooves and looked about did she understand. It seemed that Applejack’s strapping older brother, Big McIntosh, had been walking by the edge of the cornfield when the giant pumpkin exploded. His light red coat was spattered head to hocks in orange slush, as were his half-apple cutie marks, by far the worst casualty of the vegetable bombing.

Finally, Applejack managed to get words through her laughter.

“Big Mac,” she said, “you look like somethin’ the polecat dragged in!”

“Eeyup,” replied Big McIntosh. He licked the goo off of his face and stood thoughtfully considering. “Mighty good stock. Let’s plant more next year. Just not the a’splodin’ kind.”

“Er, actually,” said Twilight, “that was my fault. I was trying a new spell and—” She paused as Applejack nudged her in the ribs. “I mean, right! No more exploding pumpkins next year.”

Twilight smiled nervously as she waited for Big McIntosh to answer. But he only nodded in his quiet fashion and began trotting away.

“And where do you think you’re goin’?” said Applejack. “Come back here and let me clean you off a mite.”

Big McIntosh reluctantly did as she asked, after which Applejack took hold of an irrigation hose in her mouth and directed its stream to wash him off. In fact, she gave all three of them an impromptu shower under the icy water. When they were clean again, Twilight used a heating spell to dry everyone’s coat. Then Big McIntosh announced that he was going to Fluttershy’s, to see if any of her pets might like to eat up the detonated pumpkin.

“Good idea,” said Applejack. “They’ll get a free meal and clean our mess at the same time.”

“Eeyup,” replied Big McIntosh.

He nodded politely to Twilight and forged off through a cornfield. He was so tall that only the largest stalks could rise above his head, and his powerful shoulders acted like a plow to bend the plants out of his way. As Twilight watched him, she remembered about the black stallion on the highroad. A shiver ran down her back, but she dismissed it and focused on more important matters.

“Applejack, I am so sorry! I can’t believe that I—”

“Now don’t mention it,” said Applejack. “It’s as much my fault as yours. I should’ve suggested that we start with something smaller. Anyway, Big Mac’s right: Fluttershy and her critters’ll have this cleaned up in no time.”

“Yes, but—”

“Plus we got us a bumper new crop to harvest,” she waved a hoof over the field where the remaining pumpkins were still sound and safe. “We wouldn’t have none of that without you. As for the roses, we can always sell ’em. Or maybe Rarity can use ’em for decoratin’. I’ll have to ask next time I see her.”

Twilight began to feel slightly better.

“Thanks, Applejack.”

“My pleasure. And now I tell you what: my cousin, Apple Fritter, is here, and she whips up the finest meals you ever did see! Come on and let’s have lunch. Then we can mosey outside and I can get back to my chores.”

“I’ll give you a hoof,” said Twilight. “It’s the least I can do.”

“Well, I’d sure appreciate that, Twilight. Thank you kindly.”

With a warm smile, Applejack turned around and led the way to the barn house. Apple Fritter met them at the front door, and once they had explained about the exploding pumpkin, and assured her all was well, she made her cousin and Twilight sit down at the kitchen table and served them a batch of blueberry tarts, fresh from the over. A plate of buttermilk biscuits followed, along with a hay and barley casserole, a sweet potato pie, two green salads, and, of course, fresh apple cider to drink.

Twilight ate with gusto, and it was such a wonderful lunch that she asked if she could take something home for Spike. Whereupon Apple Fritter, in the spirit of her generous family, boxed up enough food for a half a dozen meals, and set the package aside for Twilight to collect later on.

When they had finished lunch and thoroughly thanked Apple Fritter, Twilight and Applejack cleaned their dirty dishes and headed outside through a door in the rear of the kitchen. At once, a lively bark greeted them and a brown-and-white sheepdog began frisking about near their legs.

“Hey there, Winona!” said Applejack. “You’re lookin’ mighty chipper today.”

“And fluffy,” noted Twilight. “I don’t remember her having so much fur.”

“Well, we’re getting into autumn now, so it’s time for Winona to start her winter coat. Ain’t that right, girl?”

Winona wagged her tail and sat up on hind legs.

“Ah ha!” said Twilight. She took a deep breath and raised her horn before reciting, “Like changing season sheepdog fur, give my coat a brand new turn!”

A flash of magic brightened the area. When it had faded, Twilight saw that Applejack was staring at her, and that her friend’s mouth had fallen open.

“Quick, quick!” said Twilight. “What do I look like?”

Applejack dashed into the kitchen and returned with a small mirror. Twilight stared eagerly into it and found a very different reflection than usual. She was now a cherry-colored unicorn with a swirly blue-and-white mane, and a stack of textbooks for her cutie mark.

“Yes!” cried Twilight. “I did it! I finally found the right focus for my color-morph spell!”

Applejack lowered the mirror.

“Twilight, that’s some truly amazin’ magic right there. Why, if we passed on the street, I wouldn’t even recognize you!”

“Exactly. I thought it might come in handy if I ever had to disguise myself.”

“It sure will. Er, how do you change back?”

“I don’t know… I haven’t got that far in the book yet.”

Applejack was about to respond when a loud CRACK! arose behind them. Startled, the two ponies leapt forward and whipped around, just in time to see a huge barrage of fireworks in the distance.

Applejack looked like she’d swallowed a stink bug.

“Twilight, there’s only one pony in the entire world who uses fireworks like that.”

“Trixie?”

“Trixie. And she’s sure got some nerve to come back here!”

“Well,” said Twilight, who wanted to be fair, “it is possible she’s learned her lesson. Maybe Trixie’s sorry for what she did and she wants to apologize. We should at least give her a chance.”

“You’re right,” grumbled Applejack. “Not that I like it, but I suppose even a boastful braggart like Trixie can change her tune.”

No sooner had Applejack finished than another series of fireworks ripped through the sky. This time the lights formed a short sentence: “GREATEST FIREWORKS EVER – STARTING NOW!”

“Then again…” said Twilight.

“Come on,” said Applejack. “Let’s see what she’s up to. If nothing else, I got me a new lasso takedown to show her.”

She reared and galloped away, Twilight hot on her hooves.

Chapter 03

When the yellow gypsy wagon first rolled into Ponyville, it attracted all the usual attention that comes from rustic townsfolk who delight in interesting travelers. As the ponies sighted Trixie, however, their mood took a turn for the worse. Most were polite enough to simply ignore their unwelcome guest, but several took to snickering behind her back, and a few actively stuck up their noses.

“Ignore them,” whispered Trixie. “They’ll come around once they see how magnificent my show is.”

The black stallion beside her nodded and held to his course, drawing the wagon with no visible effort. He was by far the largest pony in sight, and his powerful physique and regal cutie mark drew a number of curious glances. If the stallion noticed, he gave no sign, nor did he pay any attention to the crowd, whose members seemed to sense that he was not to be trifled with, and always stepped out of the way before he reached them.

“We’ll set up there,” said Trixie.

She gestured to the far end of Ponyville Plaza, directing the wagon until it had been settled in an open spot. As her companion got out of his harness, Trixie released a catch that let down the wagon’s side, creating a small stage. Further adjustments added curtains, lights, and a wide glass vase with some coins on the bottom, to make sure the audience members knew where they could direct their generosity. Last of all, Trixie readied her fireworks and drew on her purple star-studded cloak and wizard’s hat.

It was time.

“Citizens of Ponyville! Are you ready to witness the most spectacular show of the year?”

Trixie lit several fuses with her magic. Fireworks roared to life, exploding into colorful comets above town. Ponies everywhere glanced skyward to watch, and foals started cheering and clapping their hooves.

“Are you ready for a once-in-a-lifetime experience?!”

Another series of fireworks burst into flame, leaving a short advertisement in their wake. Groups of ponies began following it into the plaza, and the crowds surrounding the vendor stalls grew quiet.

“Then come one, come all, to witness the magic and grandeur of Trixie!”

The next volley of fireworks was the largest yet, filled with flower-like explosions of silver and gold. The resulting “Ooohs!” and “Aaahs!” from the crowd were music to Trixie’s ears, and she noticed with smug satisfaction that even those ponies who had so frostily greeted her were caught up in the excitement.

She was just considering what sort of pyrotechnics to use next when a colorful blur zoomed over her head. The blur stopped near the middle of the stage, revealing a pegasus pony with a light-blue coat, and a cloud and rainbow-colored lightning bolt for her cutie mark. The pegasus’ mane and tail (both of which were rather unkempt) also had rainbow colors running their length.

“Trixie?” said the new arrival, with the air of one who has stepped in something unpleasant. “When did you get—”

“Well, well!” interrupted Trixie. “It’s Ponyville’s star athlete, here to join the show. Let’s have a big round of applause for Raaaaainbow Dash!”

It was not at all what Rainbow had been expecting. Uncertainly, she hovered in place, caught between a desire to confront Trixie and her own natural showmanship, which was clearly delighting in the thunderous applause that had followed her introduction.

Meanwhile, Trixie selected a new batch of fireworks and sent them aloft. There were ten in all, and each left a flaming ring in the sky. Trixie returned her attention to the audience.

“Mares and gentlestallions! If you kindly look upward, you will see the legendary Concourse of Doom! Many have tried to fly through. None have ever succeeded. Can Rainbow Dash be the first?”

The words prompted Rainbow into immediate action.

“Psssht! You bet I can!”

She flexed her wings and zipped skyward, taking off with so much force that Trixie’s mane and tail fluttered wildly in the aftermath. Two death-defying loops, an aerial corkscrew, and a jaw-dropping dive were required to complete the course. Rainbow hit each of them perfectly, leaving her signature multihued after-blur in the wake of each movement.

“Amazing!” cried Trixie. “Let’s hear it for Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow zoomed earthward into a perfect landing. She strutted happily across the stage, basking in the riotous cheers while Trixie silently congratulated herself for turning a former enemy into a means of buying time.

The thought made her glance toward her companion. He was standing near one side of the wagon, watching the crowd. Discreetly, he shook his head, and Trixie returned to her act.

“Now,” she said, “do we have any foals in the audience with a birthday today?”

A pair of young ponies excitedly raised their front hooves. Trixie took note of their cutie marks: pom-poms on one and a leaping dolphin on the other.

“Well! The Great and Powerful Trixie wishes you a very happy birthday!”

She adjusted her fireworks and sent up a new volley. An enormous pink pom-pom appeared over town, shimmering and sparkling until a plume of blue rockets—grouped in the outline of a dolphin— leapt through it, and the whole display burst into a medley of color.

Just as the sparkles were fading, Twilight and Applejack arrived at the far end of the plaza. Owing to the crowd, they were obliged to stand quite a distance from Trixie’s stage, and had a poor view of the proceedings, at least until Applejack suggested they leap into the back of a nearby hay wagon. From this new vantage point, the view was much better. As the two friends settled in, Trixie began another display, and for the next ten minutes, the late afternoon sky became a blur of fizzing lights and colorful rockets.

“You know,” mused Applejack, “old Trixie may be a bully, a braggart, and a witch. But even I have to admit, she puts on a mighty good show.”

Twilight didn’t respond. Her eyes were watching elsewhere and what they saw disturbed her greatly.

“Applejack, do you notice anything… odd about Trixie’s assistant? The one standing next to her stage?”

“You mean besides thinkin’ that he and Big Mac would have one heck of a hoof-wrasslin’ contest?”

“Yes,” said Twilight dryly. “Besides that.”

“Uh-uh.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. Other than herself, the black stallion was the only pony who didn’t seem to be enthralled by the fireworks. In fact, he ignored them completely, and kept his gaze on the crowd. After a few moments, he began a methodical sweep, turning his head from left to right.

Twilight felt a sudden urge to run. She was halfway to her hooves before she mastered the feeling and sank back in the hay. As the stallion faced her, she forced herself to stare upward, pretending to enjoy Trixie’s display. In the next second, a jolt of panic tore through her, as though every magical instinct were crying out in alarm.

“Twilight?” said Applejack. “You okay over there? You look like you just saw the ghost of Nightmare Moon.”

“I’m… fine,” said Twilight.

A bead of sweat rolled down one side of her jaw. She glanced toward the black stallion and sighed in relief when she saw that he had taken no notice of her. Instead, he was watching Trixie light the last of her fireworks. When the final fuse was burning, Trixie leapt off the stage and the black stallion strode forward to speak with her.

“I cannot find anypony matching your description of Twilight Sparkle,” he said, low enough that no one in the audience would overhear. “Are you certain she will attend the show?”

“Why wouldn’t she?”

A wicked gleam flashed in the stallion’s eyes.

“I was only thinking that perhaps she might not put as much importance on this feud as you do. Perhaps she feels you are an unworthy recipient of her attention.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! What could possibly be more important than me? I bet Twilight’s been terrified for months, never knowing when I might come back to put her in her proper place.”

“And yet she is not here…”

Trixie swished her tail. The final fireworks had gone up and the crowd was wildly applauding. They would be expecting her to address them shortly. Trixie sniffed and returned to the conversation.

“I take it you have a suggestion?”

“That I do,” replied the stallion. “You had planned a magic show next, did you not?”

“Yes. I was going to put on a magic show and you were going to help me humiliate Twilight. We’ve already been over this!”

“Very good. I do not suggest that you alter your plan. Only that you increase its potency.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s very simple: you told me that Twilight is a student of the magical arts? If we perform a suitably potent trick, she should sense it from afar, and curiosity would drive her to investigate.”

“What kind of trick?”

The black stallion leaned forward to whisper in Trixie’s ear.

“Of course,” he added, when he had finished and drawn back, “I have promised to obey you. So you would need to grant me permission before I—”

“Yes, fine!” said Trixie. “Do whatever you have to. Just get Twilight’s attention! I want her here as soon as possible.”

The stallion made a deferential bow. Trixie whirled around and returned the way she had come. Rainbow Dash—who apparently had no interest in fireworks unless she could risk life and limb flying through them—had already hovered away, and the stage was empty.

“Thank you all! The Great and Powerful Trixie is truly honored that you like her show. The best part is that we’re just getting started—fireworks are over but it’s time for magic! Are you ready?!”

A raucous cheering moved across the plaza.

“Faaaaantastic! We’ll begin with a trick I’m certain you’ve seen many times: the disappearing pony! Of course, ordinary magicians can only make a single pony vanish. The Great and Powerful Trixie can handle three at once! Do I have any volunteers?”

Hooves shot up all over the audience. Twilight shifted uneasily in the hay wagon.

“Applejack,” she said, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”

“How bad is bad?” asked Applejack. “Should we stop it?”

“Too late.”

Indeed, a trio of ponies were already stepping forward. When asked, they introduced themselves as Bon Bon, Carrot Top, and Aloe.

“What lovely names,” said Trixie. “If you’ll all stand in front of me, we can begin.”

The trio leapt eagerly onto the stage. Trixie lined them up and began trotting around them. Each time she completed a lap, she picked up speed, until she was practically flying, her purple cloak streaming behind her. Suddenly, she paused and reared on hind legs. A brilliant flash of light burst from her horn. As one, the audience members averted their eyes. When they could look back at the stage, they found that Trixie was standing alone. All of the volunteer ponies were gone!

A moment of stunned silence turned quickly into furious applause. Trixie bowed, and couldn’t resist smiling as a shower of coins flew into her tip vase.

“Twilight,” said Applejack, “how in the name of a heap hollerin’ hog did she do that?”

Twilight peered carefully around before responding. She had felt a tremendous surge of magical power during the trick, and she doubted very much that it had come from Trixie. She also thought she had seen a strange darkness on the stage floor, as though the shadows of the three volunteers had somehow persisted for several seconds, even after the volunteers themselves were gone. Most curious of all, the black stallion was nowhere in sight.

“I don’t know. But I promise that I’m going to find out.”

Chapter 04

Trixie followed her disappearing pony act with a medley of minor enchantments and sleight-of-hoof displays. They were all well done, and thoroughly impressed the audience, especially when Trixie made an illusionary duplicate of herself appear on stage. After bowing to one another, the pair began tandem juggling a series of increasingly hazardous objects, so that what started out as a few water balloons was swiftly mixed with bowling balls, burning white sparklers, and flower pots planted with needly cactus.

“I ain’t seein’ things, am I?” said Applejack. “Trixie can’t really split in two?”

“No,” replied Twilight, “she’s using telekinesis to do the juggling and timing to make it look like her twin’s interacting with her.”

“Well, I’ll be.”

“I know—she’s gotten a lot better magically since the last time she was here. What’s even more impressive is how good her double is. Illusionary clones usually have flaws that make it easy to see they aren’t real. But Trixie’s doesn’t. I honestly can’t tell them apart.”

“Practice makes perfect,” said Applejack. “I guess that’s as true for stage tricks as it is for farming.”

“I guess it is. Anyway, I’m going home. I feel like I need to do some research.”

“Right. I’ll send Big Mac over with your food tomorrow—he’s pickin’ up a new harness in town, so he’ll be goin’ straight past the library.”

“Thank you!” said Twilight. “I’ll be sure to keep watch.”

She bid farewell to her friend and jumped out of the hay wagon. As she left the plaza, Twilight looked over one shoulder, and could not help feeling uneasy that none of the disappeared ponies had returned. But she also noticed that Trixie’s stage had a long curtain hanging over its front edge. Assuming the stage had a trap door, it would have been foal’s play for the three volunteers to drop down while everyone was blinded by the light. And if they were under the stage behind the curtain, Trixie was no doubt planning to make them reappear in another part of her act.

Of course, none of that accounted for the black stallion. Twilight mulled over him as she walked, but was unable to form any explanation as to why he had made her so deathly afraid.

Fortunately, living in a library gave Twilight access to plenty of books on unnatural phenomena. Nor was it long until she came within sight of her home.

“Oh my!” she said. “It’s beautiful…”

It was indeed; the sun was setting directly ahead and its rays had thrown a warm sheen across the town. But even without that, the Golden Oakes library was an arresting sight, because it had been built inside of a giant tree. The tree was still healthy, and in fact looked better than ever, thanks to Twilight’s growing spells and Spike’s careful pruning. Now its branches were filled with acorns and wavy leaves, the latter just beginning their annual change from green to gold. Two balconies jutted from the tree’s higher branches, and over the door in its base hung a lantern, whose glow had attracted a number of azure-winged moths.

Twilight smiled and moved forward, wiping her hooves on the welcome mat and letting herself in through the front door. Spike was glad to see her—at least once Twilight managed to convince him who she was—and he readily agreed to help find the means of undoing her color morph. The reversal spell wasn’t difficult to perform, but it was obscure enough that it took most of the evening to locate the scroll on which it had been written.

This meant that—by the time Twilight finally restored herself to her usual appearance—it was well past dinner. Spike absolutely insisted that Twilight have something to eat before beginning her research, so she gave in and, inspired by Apple Fritter’s lunch, tried her hoof at making blueberry tarts. When these promptly caught fire and had to be frantically levitated into the sink, Spike took over the kitchen and whipped up two spinach and daisy sandwiches.

“Thanks, Spike,” said Twilight. “I guess I should leave the cooking to you.”

“No problem,” said Spike. “You stick with what you’re good at, and I’ll handle the rest.”

He tramped off to do the dishes, humming something about “dragons are awesome” and “Spike the suavest sandwich-maker.” Meanwhile, Twilight ate her dinner and walked out into the main book room. This was a large circular area, with curving shelves along the walls and the wooden bust of a hippocampus mounted on a table in its center. Grabbing a blanket, Twilight snuggled down on a plush window seat and levitated a tome into her hooves.

Alas, she had had a busy day, and it wasn’t long until she was nodding over the pages. Soon she was fast asleep.

For a time, everything was peaceful. Then the dream began—it seemed a thick fog had descended on Ponyville, and those who went inside it to investigate never came out. Twilight had galloped away to warn her friends, only to find their houses empty and each of them gone. Suddenly the fog began closing in on her. Twilight ran, but couldn’t escape—each desperate turn only led to another, until she was trapped in an alley, pounding desperately on a door that blocked the only way out.

Just as the fog was about to reach her, Twilight woke up. Amazingly, the sound of frantic knocking appeared to have followed her. For a second, all was confusion. Then her mind cleared and she realized what was happening.

“Be there in a minute!” she called.

Already, the nightmare was fading. Twilight leapt up to stretch, arching her back like a cat until the last bits of sleepiness were gone. A quick glance outside revealed clear midmorning skies over Ponyville, along with a soft breeze that rustled the leaves of the library. Twilight pushed open a window to let the fresh air inside. Then she blew out her reading candles and hurried to answer the front door.

A unicorn was standing behind it, a light-aquamarine unicorn with a white-striped cyan mane and a golden lyre for a cutie mark.

“Twilight!” she gasped. “I can’t find Bon Bon anywhere! Not since that horrible trick.”

“Trick?” said Spike, who had popped down from upstairs. “What trick?”

This was apparently the wrong question, because the visiting unicorn burst into tears.

“Spike,” said Twilight, “could you get Lyra something to eat? It might help her feel better.”

Spike nodded and bustled off. Meanwhile, Twilight brought Lyra inside and kindly sat her on a comfortable cushion. She had just begun to get her guest talking when there was a light, almost hesitant knock on the front door. Upon answering, Twilight found a bluish-gray pegasus with bubbles for a cutie mark and amber-colored, slightly googly eyes.

“Oh! Hi, Derpy.”

The pegasus stood in the doorway but did not respond. Her tail drooped, her wings hung limply, and she looked altogether too woeful to speak.

“Let me guess,” said Twilight, “Carrot Top’s been missing since Trixie’s trick and you’re starting to worry?”

Derpy nodded.

“Come on in,” said Twilight.

Derpy followed her to the center of the library and stood next to Lyra.

“Muffin?” asked Spike.

Both guests reached out to accept one of the large blueberry muffins on Spike’s tray, though only Derpy took a bite. Lyra continued to sob.

“Okay,” said Twilight, “logically we should begin our investigation at once. Practically, I think we’d better wait. According to my calculations, there’s going to be another knock in 3… 2… 1…”

No sooner had the countdown ended than a brisk rapping sounded at the door. As she had expected, Twilight opened it to find a blue earth pony with a pink mane and a white hair band. Her cutie mark was an ivory-colored lotus flower.

“Mes étoiles, Twilight!” she cried. “It is zee most ’orrible t’ing! I ’ave not seen my sister—”

“Since Trixie,” finished Twilight. “Hello, Lotus. Why don’t you come in?”

Lotus smiled gratefully and stepped into the library. Upon noticing Lyra, she rushed forward and put one of her front legs around the tearful pony’s shoulders.

“Z’air, z’air,” she said. “We must ’ave faith! Twilight will ’elp us. Is zat not right, Derpy?”

Derpy nodded and finished her muffin, politely wiping her hooves on the napkin Spike had given her. This done, she cleared her throat and looked beseechingly at Twilight.

“Of course I’ll help!” said Twilight. “I just hope we can figure out what’s going on.”

She closed the door, took out a quill and some parchment for notes, and began questioning her guests.

Unfortunately, none of them could offer much information. Derpy had been shopping with Carrot Top before they went to Trixie’s show, and hadn’t noticed anything unusual until the disappearing act. Lotus told a similar story, though she had a rather disturbing statement in that—since she and Aloe were twins with a close emotional connection—she had felt as though her sister had been extremely frightened in the instant before she vanished. As for Lyra, once she had calmed down enough to talk, she was unable to say where Bon Bon had been for most of yesterday, but swore they had met up prior to Trixie’s arrival, and that nothing out of the ordinary had occurred until her friend joined the others onstage.

Twilight asked a few more questions but was unable to glean any additional facts, nor could she give an answer when the others asked if she had any idea about what had happened at Trixie’s show. All the same, having Twilight on the case was an immense relief to everyone present, partly because Twilight had never failed to solve a mystery before and partly because, if this proved to be the first time when she did, she could always request the assistance of her mentor, the great Princess Celestia of Canterlot.

“Well zen,” said Lotus, “if z’ere is noz’ing more we can do, we must leave zee matter in your ’ooves. You will let us know if we can ’elp? And also zee instant you learn somez’ing?”

“I promise,” said Twilight.

Lotus smiled, Derpy nodded, and even Lyra managed to look a little more cheerful. When they had all said thank you to Twilight and departed, Spike closed the door and voiced a question that had obviously been bothering him.

“I don’t get it. If all those ponies think Trixie made their friends disappear, why’d they come here instead of going to see her?”

“Would you?” replied Twilight. “Trixie isn’t exactly known for her patience. If the others believe she’s got the power to make them vanish, I can see why they’d rather not face her directly.”

“That’s silly. Trixie can’t really make ponies disappear… can she?”

“I don’t know, Spike. I wouldn’t have thought so myself, but there’s no denying that something very strange has happened.”

“But how can you figure it out from here?”

“How else? I’m going to read. Where’d you put our Almanac of Supernatural Entities?”

“In the Legends and Lore shelf,” said Spike, “fourth row from the top. I’ll get it!”

He bustled off at once. Twilight helped herself to one of the leftover muffins while she waited. It was still warm, smelling faintly of blueberries and butter. Twilight ate the first half plain, and was just thinking of getting some jam to go with the rest when a robin appeared in the nearest window. For a few seconds, the bird fluttered helplessly, as though it were trying to fly inside. Then it settled on the windowsill and began to peck the glass.

“Stop that!” said Twilight.

The bird pecked harder. Twilight set down her half-eaten breakfast and swung open the window.

“Now,” she said, “what’s the big idea of—AHHHHH!”

The last part of her statement owed itself to the fact that a brilliant pink and gold comet had just come tearing through the opened window and crashed into her. The resulting impact knocked bushels of books from their shelves, and sent blueberry muffins sailing in every direction.

“Hey, Fluttershy,” said Spike, who had chosen that moment to return, “when’d you get here? And why’re you standing on Twilight?”

“Because-it’s-an-emergency!” cried Fluttershy all in a rush. “There’s-a-super-scary-never-seen-anything-like-it-shadow-in-the-forest-that-keeps-getting-bigger-and-what-if-it-doesn’t-stop-and-eats-up-everything-so-that’s-why-I-need-Twilight-to-come-right-away! That is… only if you aren’t already busy?”

Fluttershy smiled timidly and moved aside. She was a slender, delicate-looking pegasus with a pale gold coat, a very long and flowing pink tail, a similarly flowing pink mane, and three pink and blue butterflies for a cutie mark.

“Why is life so complicated today?” said Twilight, and then to her friend, “Fluttershy, it’s nice to see you, but couldn’t you have used the front door?”

“Oh, no! I mean, yes, I could have used the door but what if you didn’t hear me and you didn’t answer and the big scary shadow got even bigger and scarier while I tried to find you?”

Twilight hauled herself back to her hooves.

“What shadow?”

“It’s horrible! Please, Twilight, I need your help right away!”

Fluttershy stepped out the open window and hovered above the library’s front door. She looked so distressed that Twilight immediately discarded any plans to investigate Trixie’s disappearances, mentally shoving that problem onto the back burner in order to deal with this new, unexpected crisis.

“Spike,” she said, “I’m going with Fluttershy. I’ll be back later.”

“Sounds good,” replied Spike. “I’ll clean up and see if I can find any books that might help you.”

He trundled off, scooping muffins off the floor and gulping them down in one bite each as he went. Meanwhile, Twilight gathered herself for a leap and followed Fluttershy out the window. Landing solidly on the grass, she looked up to see that her friend had already begun moving off. Fluttershy was not normally a speedy flyer—nothing at all like Rainbow Dash—but even still, she traveled at a brisk pace and Twilight, who had to go around obstacles rather than above them, was hard pressed not to fall behind.

Still, somehow she managed to keep Fluttershy in sight as they passed through the outskirts of Ponyville. Soon they were traveling over a prairie, much as Twilight had done on the previous morning. But instead of veering west toward Sweet Apple Acres, Fluttershy turned south. In this direction, the prairie stretched for several miles, until it merged into a line of trees, bright and cheerful at first but gradually fading into the murk and menace of the Everfree Forest.

It was a place few ponies cared to visit. Fluttershy lived in a cottage near its edge, kept safe by a spell that warded dangerous animals away from her property. Not that most animals would harm Fluttershy to begin with, for her many years of providing free veterinary care had given her a near-mythical reputation, and the vast majority of local beasts would sooner bite off a paw than see their beloved healer come to harm.

“How far are we going?” called Twilight.

Fluttershy pointed ahead but made no effort to explain any further. Twilight didn’t press her, and concentrated on galloping. The prairie grasses were dewy under her hooves, and every now and again an insect would buzz or some tiny creature would scamper aside as her passage disturbed it.

At last, the two ponies reached the start of the tree line. Twilight paused in the shade of a sycamore to catch her breath, while Fluttershy swooped gracefully down to land beside her.

“It’s not far now. I asked one of my friends to guard it.”

Even as Fluttershy spoke, a stoat popped out of the undergrowth. The sleek little animal immediately broke into a run, chattering wildly with every step.

“He says the shadow’s still there,” explained Fluttershy. “He was too scared to stay near it, so he came here to wait for us.”

She held out a half-crooked foreleg and the stoat scampered up until he could perch on her shoulders. He stayed for only a moment, however; as soon as it became clear that the ponies meant to go further into the forest, he leapt to the ground and dashed away. Fluttershy made no attempt to call him back and Twilight felt distinctly uneasy, because, in spite of their diminutive size, stoats were notoriously brave, and knowing that this one had been so unnerved by whatever lay ahead was not a pleasant thought.

“All right,” she said, “let’s take a look.”

With a quick spell, Twilight bound a halo of light around her horn, adjusting its brightness until she could easily see beneath the forest eaves. Then she took a deep breath and led the way forward.

“A little to the left,” said Fluttershy.

Twilight shifted direction, noting how quickly the trees became larger and how soon their leafy branches blotted out the sunlight. It was much cooler here than on the prairie, and the wind stirred up a pungent, earthly smell. Twilight wrinkled her nose, at the same time perking her ears to listen. But the forest was quiet.

“There!” said Fluttershy.

Both ponies stopped walking. At first, Twilight didn’t understand what her friend was looking at. Then she made out an irregular shadowy mass on the ground, big enough for a dozen ponies to sit comfortably within its borders. In a way, the thing was almost like a hole or a pit, except that unlike either of those it had no edges or bottom. It was just a black void, completely covering whatever lay beneath it and refusing to brighten, even when Twilight shone the light from her horn upon it.

“That’s odd,” she said. “I’ve never seen a shadow like this before. Or maybe ‘seen’ is the wrong word since we’re dealing with darkness and darkness is actually the absence of visible light as opposed to the—”

“Is it dangerous?” interrupted Fluttershy. “Should we run away?”

“Oh, Fluttershy, relax. I admit, this is certainly an unusual phenomenon. But now that I’ve seen it, I don’t think there’s any reason to be afraid, not unless we find some evidence proving it’s harmful. Of course, we should be cautious, but a bit of shadow is hardly going to hurt us.”

“No!” cried Fluttershy. “Don’t touch it! We don’t know what it might do.”

“How can I investigate unless I get closer?”

“Please, Twilight, I just know there’s something bad here.”

Twilight let out a deep sigh. Nevertheless, she stopped walking and turned around, ready to argue her point and convince Fluttershy that nothing untoward would happen. But when Twilight actually saw her friend trembling—almost cowering—in the bracken, she changed her mind and adopted a much gentler voice.

“All right, Fluttershy, you win. I’ll stay away for now. But why did you want me to come here if you don’t actually want me to do anything?”

Fluttershy stopped shaking and glanced down, a rosy blush on her cheeks.

“I… I thought that, if you saw the shadow for yourself, you might ask for help from Princess Celestia. I’m sure she’ll know what to do!”

“So am I,” said Twilight, “and the princess would be very flattered by your faith in her. But she’s much too busy to go looking into every little anomaly in her kingdom. Besides, it’s Princess Luna who’s in charge of the night, so a problem with shadows is much more likely to fall under her domain, don’t you think?”

“You mean Princess Luna might come here? To Ponyville?!”

“She’s really not so bad, Fluttershy. You just have to give her a chance.”

Fluttershy made a number of indecipherable squeaking noises.

“Anyway,” continued Twilight, “I suppose we ought to go back now. But before we do, you mentioned the shadow had gotten larger?”

“Yes, it wasn’t half this size when I found it.”

“When was that?”

“Yesterday. Big McIntosh came to see me, about animals who might like to eat a whole lot of pumpkin. I had no idea they even grew pumpkins at Sweet Apple Acres, but the squirrels love them! So I went into the forest and told all my squirrel friends they could follow Big McIntosh, and help themselves to whatever he said was all right to eat. I was going home when I found the shadow.”

“I see. What happened next?”

“Well, I hoped the shadow might go away by itself, so I left and came back this morning to check. That’s when I saw it had actually gotten bigger.”

A vague suspicion began forming in Twilight’s mind.

“Fluttershy, do you remember the exact time you passed by here yesterday?”

“No, I don’t. But it was definitely in the afternoon.”

“What about fireworks? Did you see any?”

“Oh, yes! Right above Ponyville! They were so pretty that I flew up to watch them.”

“And you found the shadow before or after?”

“After. There was a big finale and then the fireworks seemed to be over. I waited a bit, and decided to walk home instead of flying, in case I might meet an animal who needed my help. So I went back to the forest floor and a little while later I saw the shadow.”

“And how big was it then?”

“Not big at all—you could only fit three ponies inside it.”

“That,” said Twilight, “is exactly what I’m afraid of.”

Chapter 05

For a moment, the two friends stood in silence. Then a voice reached their ears—a smooth, highbrow voice that might almost have been haughty, were it not for the great warmth that underlay it. The voice slowly increased in volume as its owner drew closer.

“Ick! Is that mud? Oooooh, I should never have left home without my boots! Now I need a new hooficure and—eeeeek! Get away from me you vile bug! Away!”

Twilight glanced into the trees.

“Rarity?” she called. “We’re over here!”

There was the sound of hooves trampling on leaves. Then a brilliant white unicorn came galloping into view between the tree trunks. Her purple mane and tail were exquisitely permed, and she had light-blue eye shadow and very long eyelashes. On each of her hindquarters was a cutie mark consisting of three brilliant diamonds.

“Twilight!” she said. “Thank goodness I’ve found you.”

“Why?” said Twilight. “What’s going on?”

“I’m afraid it’s Trixie. Did you hear how she made some ponies disappear yesterday? Every gossip in my neighborhood was talking about it. Most of them haven’t taken the news kindly, and this morning, after poor Lyra ran out of her house in tears, they decided to act. When I left, there was quite a mob forming.”

“Don’t worry,” said Fluttershy, “I’m sure no one in Ponyville would ever use violence. Not even on Trixie.”

“Fluttershy, darling,” said Rarity, “if you knew that another pony had taken away one of your animals, how would you feel?”

“I don’t know… Angry?”

“Yes, and now imagine, rather than one of your animals, it was Twilight or myself who was taken.”

“I. Would. Be. FURIOUS! I… I mean, I suppose it would be very upsetting.”

“Precisely. And isn’t it possible that you might get carried away?”

“Which means we better get back,” said Twilight. “In a hurry, too. Everypony step closer.”

“Must we?” asked Rarity. “It makes me so dizzy to travel by—”

She was interrupted by a loud POOF! and a burst of magic from Twilight’s horn. All three ponies vanished, only to reappear in front of the Golden Oakes Library. Rarity promptly turned green and shut her eyes, while Twilight sat down on the grass, her sides heaving.

“Are you two all right?” asked Fluttershy. “Should I go inside and ask Spike for some water?”

“I’m… fine,” said Twilight. “Just need to rest a minute. Teleporting that far… takes a lot.” She drew a long breath and got shakily to her feet. A few more breaths and she looked almost back to normal. “Whew. Okay, I think I’m good now. How about you, Rarity?”

“World spinning,” said Rarity. “Must hold on. Fainting highly unfashionable.”

“Fainting?” cried a voice behind them. “Lady Rarity, are you sick?”

A bustle of pink scales rushed outside through the open library door. Spike had his cleaning apron on, and was carrying an ostrich-plume feather duster, which he promptly threw down as he attended to Rarity.

“Wait right there!” he said. “I’ll get you something to drink.”

He zoomed off and returned even faster, bearing a tray with a glass of iced lemonade and a clump of fresh grapes. These were promptly set down in front of Rarity, after which Spike picked up his duster and started to fan her.

“Feeling better,” said Rarity. “Royal treatment helping…”

She lifted the lemonade and sipped dainty through the straw. Spike continued his fanning.

“Er, why don’t you two stay here?” said Twilight. “We’ll check on Trixie by ourselves.”

She edged away, with Fluttershy close behind, and trotted off in the direction of Ponyville Plaza. As the two of them moved out, they could just hear Spike asking Rarity if she wanted him to feed her some grapes.

Whatever reply she gave was lost to the wind. Twilight and Fluttershy hurried on through the streets. Soon, they heard a medley of voices, as of many ponies talking at once. The voices grew louder near Ponyville Plaza, and when Twilight and Fluttershy stepped out from behind the house that had been obstructing their view, they saw a large crowd gathered near Trixie’s wagon.

Twilight lost no time in galloping forward. The crowd was certainly worked up—chanting and shouting for Trixie—but apparently its members had not yet resorted to physical coercion. Of Trixie herself, there was no sign, nor of her assistant, though whether they had fled the scene or whether they had locked themselves in the wagon remained to be seen.

“Everypony, stop!” cried Twilight. “This won’t get us anywhere! We need to be calm and assess things from a logical perspective.”

The crowd ignored her. Twilight made another futile attempt to be heard and then turned to Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy, what would you say if you saw a big nasty alligator about to chomp on a cute fluffy kitten?”

“STOOOOOP!!!”

Every pony in the crowd immediately ceased talking and whipped around, to see who had made such incredible noise.

“Thank you,” said Twilight. Fluttershy was blushing much too hard to reply, but fortunately no one was looking at her. Instead, every eye was on Twilight as she boldly cantered forward. The throng parted around her, until she reached Trixie’s stage and leapt upon it, taking the best platform from which to make her address.

“Now,” she said, “what exactly are all of you trying to accomplish out here?”

There was a guilty stir among the assembled ponies. But they didn’t back down and one of the stallions raised his head to speak.

“Where’re Carrot Top, Bon Bon, and Aloe? Trixie did something and they haven’t come back!”

“I know,” said Twilight, “and I want to find out what happened to them just as much as you do. But threatening Trixie isn’t going to help.”

“We aren’t going to hurt her, Twilight,” replied the stallion, “but we aren’t leaving until we know our friends are all right!”

It seemed this was the general sentiment. Twilight shifted nervously, trying to think of how she could disperse the crowd, because it was highly unlikely their methods would produce any results, and they might even make the situation worse.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she almost didn’t notice when another unicorn leapt onto the stage beside her. It was Rarity, who had so thoroughly recovered from her dizziness that she had galloped full tilt to reach the plaza. Now she tossed her mane and stamped with one of her forelegs, drawing the attention of everyone present.

“Twilight is perfectly correct,” she said. “One simply cannot go leaping to wild accusations without proof—for all we know, Trixie might have had nothing to do with this. How would that make all of you feel?”

Most of the ponies hung their heads.

“I thought so,” said Rarity. “Even more importantly, where are your pitchforks? And your flaming torches? Have you no sense of traditional mob fashion?”

The ponies exchanged a number of uncertain glances.

“For shame!” cried Rarity. “The whole lot of you need to go home at once. When you’ve learned how to accessorize like a properly mindless mob, you may come back, and we’ll continue this discussion. But not an instant before! Now go on! Shoo!”

She received a number of sour looks and a good deal of grumbling. But her words had struck home and the crowd thinned away.

“Thanks, Rarity,” said Twilight. “I was feeling a little lost up here.”

“It was nothing, darling, don’t say another word! Now, shall we check on poor little Trixie?”

“You really think she might be innocent?”

“Goodness no,” said Rarity. “I’d stake my mane that if there’s trouble here, she’s behind it. But I’m willing to give her a chance to explain herself. Besides, it’s plain as day that you want to investigate, and you’d hardly be able to concentrate with all those ponies about. So I feel perfectly justified in sending them away.”

Twilight couldn’t resist a chance to tease her friend.

“You’re sure they won’t come back after finding pitchforks and torches?”

“The joke’s on them if they try,” said Rarity with a wink. “I know for a fact that Applejack commandeered every torch and pitchfork for miles, to help with the farm’s midnight harvesting.”

Twilight smiled as she leapt off the stage. Rarity followed her, meeting up with Fluttershy along the way, so that a moment later, all three of them were gathered before the door of Trixie’s wagon. Twilight reached out and gave a firm knock.

There was no answer. Twilight knocked a second time. When nothing happened, she tried the doorknob. To her surprise, it wasn’t fastened, and the door swung quietly open.

The ponies were now looking in on Trixie’s private living quarters. Its furnishings were much humbler than one might have expected: a small bunk in the wall, a dark wooden coffee table, a gilded floor mirror, a burgundy carpet, and a pair of wicker chairs. Trixie’s familiar cloak and hat hung on pegs near the door, beside a bookshelf filled with hardcover tomes, most of which were devoted to the art of crafting fireworks.

“It looks like she left in a hurry,” said Fluttershy, nodding at a plate on the coffee table, which had a piece of rye toast and a gob of honey on top. “She didn’t even finish her breakfast.”

Twilight strode up the doorsteps and entered the wagon. Rarity followed her, while Fluttershy waited outside.

“There’s another piece of toast that fell on the carpet,” said Twilight. “I think somepony stepped on it.” She bent down for a closer look. “It must have been Trixie; this hoofprint’s much too small for her assistant.”

“That’s hardly surprising,” said Rarity. “If my breakfast had been disturbed by a crowd of raucous ruffians, I’m sure I’d have been just as startled, and wouldn’t have watched where I was going.”

“Trixie certainly didn’t. She got a good amount of honey on her hoof; you can see where she left tracks in the carpet. Each track gets fainter, as more of the honey comes off. But all of a sudden, the tracks disappear.”

“She must have cleaned her hoof.”

Twilight checked a nearby wastepaper basket.

“It’s empty. And I don’t see any dirty napkins, do you?”

“Perhaps she used the bed cover. Or her cloak. Rather unladylike, if you ask me.”

Twilight leaned over the green cotton bedspread. When she had finished examining it, she checked Trixie’s cloak and hat.

“Not a stain on either of them.”

“Then she wiped her hoof with something else,” said Rarity. “Honestly, Twilight, don’t you think this is a trivial detail?”

“I promise it’s not,” replied Twilight. “In fact, it’s the most disturbing development I’ve come across all day.”

Rarity was obviously taken aback.

“But why?”

“Because Trixie can’t teleport.”

“How do you know that?”

“It’s a matter of power. The bigger the mass you’re moving, the more magic you need to make it go. I got a good read on Trixie’s power yesterday, and while she’s certainly improved, she still doesn’t have enough magic to dematerialize herself.”

“Which means…”

Twilight did not respond. She was gazing into Trixie’s floor mirror, carefully studying the position of the glass.

“Yes,” she finally said, “its line of sight is perfect.”

“Perfect for what?” asked Rarity.

“I’ll tell you in a minute. But first, Fluttershy, can you do me a huge favor and fly to the library? Find Spike, tell him to gather the ingredients for a mirror look, and bring him back here as fast as you can.”

Fluttershy nodded and swept out her wings. As soon as she had lifted out of sight, Rarity stepped in front of Twilight.

“Twilight,” she said, “I simply must insist that you explain what’s going on. Why is it so important that Trixie can’t teleport? And what in Equestria is a mirror look?”

“I… think we may have a problem. I’ll answer your questions, but there’re a few things I need to clarify first. Did you go to Trixie’s show yesterday?”

“Only the second half. I missed the fireworks, because I wanted to keep my store open. But when I saw there were no ponies in the street, I closed shop and went to find out where they had gone. I reached the plaza just as Trixie was starting her magic act.”

“Did you see a black stallion?”

“Of course. He was hard to miss.”

“Why’s that?”

Rarity couldn’t quite hide a blush.

“Well, if you must know, I thought he was even handsomer than Prince Blueblood. And have you ever seen anypony with a crown for their cutie mark? If that doesn’t equal class and quality, I don’t know what does! Admittedly, he was a little out of fashion with the part in his mane, but I could fix that.”

“Was he there when you arrived?”

“No, he came out from behind the stage during the show’s second half. I was honestly surprised that such an attractive pony could hide himself for as long as he did.”

“You shouldn’t be,” said Twilight. “In fact, I’m almost certain that stallion isn’t a pony at all. He’s some kind of shapeshifter, one with extremely powerful magic.”

“So… what you’re saying is that he could be even more handsome in his real form?”

“Rarity, have we ever met a shapeshifter who was handsome in their real form?”

“Touché. But what does any of this have to do with Trixie?”

“Because, since she couldn’t have teleported, something else had to account for the disappearing tracks. I believe the stallion made Trixie vanish, and that he did the same to Bon Bon, Aloe, and Carrot Top. I’ll be able to find out for sure with a mirror look, which lets me rewind reflections, so we can see what was going on in here over the past few hours.”

There was a short silence as Rarity considered.

“You know,” she said, “if this had come from anypony besides you, I would have thought they were one carat short of a ring.”

“But since it is me?”

“I hope Spike and Fluttershy hurry back so you can cast your spell. What do you propose we do if your theory is correct?”

“I’m not sure. I hate to bother Princess Celestia, but we might not have a choice.”

The sudden flapping of wings made both ponies glance through a window.

“Surely they couldn’t be here already,” said Rarity.

Twilight stepped outside to check. To her disappointment, it was not Fluttershy and Spike passing overhead, but a pair of giggly pegasi. Both of them waved when they spotted Twilight, and one swooped down to greet her.

“Hey Twilight! What’re you looking so worried for?”

“Nothing,” said Twilight. “I’m fine, really! Absolutely, positively, one-hundred and two-tenths percent fine! It’s not like we’re in the middle of a disappearing pony crisis.”

The pegasus stood blinking in the sunlight, while Twilight tried her best not to look crazy.

“Oooookay, well, I don’t suppose you’ve seen Thunderlane, have you? Me and Cloudchaser were supposed to meet him and head out to do some wind surfing.”

“No, very sorry, Flitter, but I haven’t seen him anywhere. Maybe you should go and look for him? Preferably someplace far away? Because if we were in the middle of a disappearing pony crisis, it might not be safe to be near this wagon.”

“I’ll… take your word for that. Anyway, if you do spot Thunderlane, can you say we’ll be over by Froggy Bottom Bog? The weather’s perfect right now and we don’t want to wait for the breeze to change. Kind of strange that he didn’t meet us, though—he’s usually never late.”

“Lighten up,” called the other pegasus. “He’s probably chowing down at Sugarcube Corner and lost track of time.”

Flitter zoomed back to her friend.

“Oh my gosh! Do you remember when I dared him to eat one of Pinkie Pie’s jalapeño cupcakes?”

“And it was so hot, he snorted fire right out his nose!”

The two pegasi flew off, bubbly with laughter. Twilight let out a sigh of relief.

“Honestly, Twilight,” said Rarity, as she joined her friend outside the wagon, “sometimes I just don’t understand you. Why didn’t you tell Flitter what’s going on?”

“Because I need more evidence. I’d hate to start a panic if I’m on the wrong track.”

“I suppose that’s reasonable. Although, the next time we have to warn a bystander away, might I suggest you allow me to handle it? You’re a wonderfully talented pony, but you still have a lot to learn about acting discreetly.”

“Don’t I know it,” said Twilight. “Anyway, we shouldn’t stay here much longer. Let me close up the wagon and we can find a spot in the shade.”

Rarity agreed and the two ponies trotted toward the center of the plaza, where they soon reached a maple tree growing in one of several sandstone planters. There were benches around it, so Twilight and Rarity each took a seat, the former closing her eyes to think and the latter summoning a trail of magical sparkles, which she used for doodling dress designs in the air.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long until Spike appeared.

“Here I am!” he called.

Twilight and Rarity both glanced up to find their friend rushing toward them. Under one arm, he carried a cloth satchel.

“Thank goodness,” said Twilight, “and thank you for getting here so quickly, Spike, especially with those spell ingredients. They’re incredibly important.”

“Well, don’t thank me too much. I don’t have any nightbell.”

“None at all?”

“Not a petal—we’re completely out.”

“Then we’ll have to buy more. I hope the local florists have some in stock.”

“Fluttershy already went to check. She said, if there wasn’t any nightbell in town, she knew where a patch was growing in the Everfree Forest, and she’d fly off to harvest it before meeting us back here.”

“Perfect! You two have done an excellent job.”

“That’s my little Spikey Wikey!” added Rarity, giving Spike a playful rub on the head and making his pink scales flush a brilliant crimson.

“N-no problem,” he said. “What do you want me to do next?”

“That’s just the question I’d hoped for,” replied Twilight. “As a matter of fact, I’ve got an important job for each of you. First, Rarity, I need you to go to Sweet Apple Acres and get back all of the torches from Applejack. Stock them outside town hall, somewhere they’ll be protected and easy to access. I’ve a feeling we might need them.”

“By all means,” said Rarity. “I’ll have it done quicker than a Manehatten minute.”

She whipped around and galloped away. Twilight turned to Spike.

“Spike, do you think you can track down Rainbow Dash? I’d like her to be on emergency standby, in case we have to send a courier to Canterlot.”

Spike gave a crisp salute.

“Can do! I’ll find Rainbow Dash faster than anypony has ever found her before.”

“Good. Once you have that under control, I need you to get a quill and some parchment, because it may be imperative for us to contact Princess Celestia. Then come back here with the spell ingredients and wait for Fluttershy. Try to keep away from Trixie’s wagon, and especially from a big black stallion with a silver crown for his cutie mark. When you see Fluttershy, wave her over and stay in the area until I return. You can go inside one of the cafes if you need a place to hang out, and treat yourself and Fluttershy to whatever you’d like. Just ask the cashier to put your bill on my tab.”

“Leave it to me!” Spike was girding himself to dash away when he suddenly paused. “What are you going to do?”

“I,” said Twilight, “am going to speak with the only pony who can look fear in the face and laugh.”

Chapter 06

Twilight moved through the plaza at a brisk pace. She felt a nagging sense of apprehension, but not, as yet, a full-blown panic. True, several ponies had disappeared, but it was highly probable that either she or Princess Celestia would be able to bring them back, as soon as the black stallion’s magic could be properly examined and a method could be found for reversing its effects. As for the stallion himself, it had always been Twilight’s experience that shapeshifters preferred to act from behind the scenes, and she doubted very much that this one would blow his cover by doing something drastic, at least not until he felt ready to deal with the consequences. With luck, that would leave enough time to find out what he was planning and how to stop it. And the first step was going to Sugarcube Corner.

Fortunately, Twilight was already quite close to her destination, and soon spotted the bakery’s signature tower—which resembled a candle-topped cupcake—jutting above the nearby houses. The roof of the bakery looked like frosted gingerbread, and its many windows were tinted pink, to match the cupcake’s frosting. Out front, protected by lace-trimmed parasols, stood a number of tables and chairs.

These were inhabited by what was clearly a crowd of regulars, some of them talking together in lively groups, some of them enjoying a quieter breakfast with their significant other, and a few sitting alone to read the paper. A smiling, apron-wearing pony with a light raspberry-colored coat and a darker raspberry-colored mane and tail (both of them attractively poofy) moved about between tables, serving milkshakes, coffee, and an assortment of scrumptious goods.

“Let’s see, there’s a split banana split with two spoons for Daisy and Rose, a vanilla mousse for Lily, and Steamer, you’re in superduper luck because we just made a fresh batch of chocolate and the chocolate-chip muffins are so good I wanted to eat them all myself! I mean, I didn’t, because if I did, I couldn’t be serving them, but I really, really, REALLY wanted to! And Junebug, you ordered our amazingly apple danish—with a maple milkshake, too? Oh my gosh, I love those! But don’t worry, Mr. Karat; I didn’t forget about you. No sir, I warmed up your cherry cider caramel cinnamon cheesecake chestnut coffee cappuccino to be nice and toasty hot, just the way you like it!”

The waitress pony had said all of this extremely quickly. At the same time, she had served the delicacies on her tray with remarkable precision, placing each one before the proper customer and spilling not a drop of the various beverages. When her tray was empty, she turned around to make her way inside the bakery, but stopped upon noticing Twilight.

“Omigosh, Twilight! Would you like something to eat? What about a Bavarian cream? Do you know they even come from Bavaria? Actually, do you even know where Bavaria is? Because I have no idea! Or maybe an apricot parfait? Those make you feel like you’re out of this world! Well, not really, because if you were really out of this world you’d be in space and you can’t breathe in space so that might not feel very nice, especially since you can’t talk without breathing and if I couldn’t talk, I don’t know what—”

The waitress cut off abruptly, as Twilight strode forward and shoved a forehoof into her mouth.

“Pinkie Pie, STOP! Please! I need your help and it’s extremely important.”

“Ew eely eed ey elp?”

Twilight removed her hoof from Pinkie’s mouth.

“Yes, I need you to come with me to see the mayor. Do you think you could take the rest of the morning off?”

“Well, we’re kind of busy right now, buuuuut since it’s you, Twilight, no problem! Just let me tell Mr. and Mrs. Cake.”

Pinkie Pie whipped around and zipped into the bakery. A moment later, she reemerged, sans her serving tray and apron, the latter of which no longer covered her colorful tri-balloon cutie marks.

“All set!” she said to Twilight. “Where’re we going again?”

“Town hall. Come on!”

Twilight about-faced and broke into a canter. Pinkie Pie bounced along in her wake, easily keeping pace, even though she kept pausing to greet friends and give hugs. She knew everyone in sight, and had a never-ending store of kind words and pertinent inquiries, not only for those she met, but also about their family, friends, pets, and sundry other relations, many of who lived halfway across Equestria and whom Pinkie had never actually met.

Twilight couldn’t help feeling impressed.

“Pinkie,” she said, “how come you can remember so much about everypony in town, but you can’t even remember your own birthday?”

“Dunno. I guess other ponies are just more important to me than I am.”

Pinkie Pie veered away to greet yet another acquaintance. They were nearing the town square now, and Twilight could glimpse sunlight glinting off the narrow river that curved through the center of Ponyville. An arching bridge passed over the water, beyond which lay a wide, mostly open area dotted with colorful tents.

In the middle of this space stood the town hall, a grand three-story building finished with wood and white stucco. Twilight and Pinkie made their way inside and traveled through the main corridor, until they reached a waiting room.

Unsurprisingly, the receptionist turned out to be a friend of Pinkie’s, and he was able to confirm that, not only was the mayor in, but her door was open and she had no meetings for the rest of the morning.

“So it’s a perfect time to see her,” he added

Twilight thanked him and led the way around a corner into the building’s largest office. The mayor, or Mayor, as she preferred to be called, sat behind her desk, reading a real-estate magazine. Her coat was a light amber color and her mane and tail were shades of bluish-gray, though it had been suggested (rather scandalously) that Mayor actually dyed them this way, in order to make herself look older and more inclined to wisdom. Her cutie mark was a diploma wrapped in a bright blue ribbon, and she wore a pair of golden pince-nez on her nose.

As soon as she caught sight of her guests, Mayor invited them in, asked them to sit, and held out a well-stocked candy tray.

“Oh, boy!” said Pinkie Pie. “Are those lily lemon suckers from the royal Canterlot sweet shop?”

“That’s right,” said Mayor. “Have as many as you like.”

Pinkie Pie took a few of the candies and sprawled on a couch at the back of the room, squeeing with joy as she unwrapped the first sucker and popped it into her mouth. Mayor turned the candy tray toward Twilight, but she politely declined and settled herself in the nearest chair. Shortly thereafter, when the usual pleasantries had been exchanged, Mayor set down the candy and cleared her throat.

“It’s always a pleasure,” she said, “to receive a visit from one of Ponyville’s most prominent citizens. Unfortunately, I’ve learned that, whenever you seek me out under your own initiative, it’s almost always because you need to provide a warning of some newly discovered danger.”

“I’m afraid that isn’t going to change today,” said Twilight.

She leaned forward and explained about the disappearing ponies, the mysterious black stallion, and the strange shadow in the Everfree Forest. Mayor steepled her hooves as she listened.

“And you’re sure,” she said, when Twilight had finished, “that this stallion isn’t what he appears to be?”

“I’m positive. For one thing, he seems to have some control over shadows—there was a whole mess of them behaving strangely after Trixie’s disappearing trick. Not to mention, it can’t be coincidence that Fluttershy found her anomaly on the very same afternoon.”

“Well, what if Trixie caused it?”

“I don’t think so. Trixie might be talented for a traveling entertainer, but she isn’t a wizard. It takes a tremendous amount of power to manipulate darkness; as far as I know, there isn’t a pony in the entire world who can do it. That’s why I think the stallion is more than he’s letting on. If you need further proof, there’s the fact that he uses magic at all. Only unicorns have that ability, and he clearly looks like an earth pony. He shouldn’t have enough sorcery to light a candle, much less produce the kind of power I sensed at Trixie’s show.”

Twilight didn’t say anything about how she had felt when the stallion had looked at her, though she suspected Mayor might have guessed there was more to it, because the latter gave her a penetrating stare before asking a follow up question.

“Then, if he’s not a pony, what is he?”

“I’m not sure yet. My working theory is that he’s some kind of spirit.”

Mayor almost leapt out of her skin.

“Good heavens! Wasn’t Discord a spirit? Are we dealing with something on his level?”

“You don’t need to worry,” said Twilight. “The only shadow spirit who’s comparable with Discord was sealed away, over a thousand years ago. And that’s if he even existed in the first place; the legends are a little sketchy there. Either way, it’s much more probable that we’re dealing with a minor entity—dangerous, but nothing we can’t handle.”

“This is still highly disturbing. I’m beginning to wish I had attended the show myself, so I could have seen what happened. But I was…” Mayor paused to stare out a window. Then she smiled helplessly and turned back to Twilight. “Well, given the circumstances, I suppose there’s no point keeping it under wraps: Princess Luna is making a surprise visit to Ponyville.”

Twilight’s mouth fell open. In the back of the room, there was the sound of Pinkie Pie choking on her sucker.

“Yes,” continued Mayor, “she’s touring the countryside now, but she’s scheduled to be here this evening. It seems she had so much fun during Nightmare Night that she wanted to return. My staff and I were busy all day yesterday, making preparations.”

“Princess Luna couldn’t have asked for that,” said Twilight.

“No, she specifically requested a quiet trip. Still, she is Princess Celestia’s sister. At least we want her to have the best room in town. And the best food, the best drink, the best after-dinner ten-pony musical floorshow… Hopefully she’ll have a good time. Perhaps, if she enjoys herself enough, we could even get a bit of royal funding.”

Mayor trailed off and scratched at her chin.

“Of course,” she added, “if there’s a maniacal shapeshifting spirit vanishing our citizens, that may not make such a good impression. Not to mention, those poor ponies! Are you saying they’re lost for good?”

“No. Magic almost never makes things disappear permanently; there’s no reason to believe we can’t bring our friends back once we get the situation under control. And if Princess Luna is coming here… Well, I said before there’re no ponies with the power to manipulate darkness, but that’s not entirely true. If you count alicorns, then Princess Luna can do it. And I’ll bet she’s much better than the black stallion.”

“She’s scary-o-rific!” declared Pinkie Pie.

“Quite,” said Mayor, “but please don’t mention that to her face. In the meantime, until she arrives, we’d best take every action to find this stallion and keep him contained.”

“That’s why I’m here,” said Twilight. “I’ve got a plan and, even better, a secret weapon, one that’s going to blow our shadowy visitor right out of the water.”

She turned around to look at Pinkie Pie, who waved cheerily and popped another candy into her mouth.

Chapter 07

Twilight left the town hall in high spirits. Mayor and Pinkie Pie had liked her plan, and would soon be heading off to put the first part into effect. By now, Spike had probably found Rainbow Dash, and both Rarity and Fluttershy should be close to finishing their tasks. Best of all, Princess Luna was coming! That gave Ponyville a tremendous amount of firepower, which could be held in reserve for a worst case scenario.

In the meantime, Twilight felt more anxious than ever to perform the mirror look. Unfortunately, when she returned to the plaza, none of her friends were in sight. So she began walking past a line of shops on the plaza border, stopping at each café to peer through the windows.

To her surprise, it wasn’t Spike or Fluttershy that she found, but Rarity, lounging outside in a chair at The Lucky Horseshoe. Rarity was doodling on her napkin with a pencil, pausing every now and again to sip from a straw poking out of a coconut. When she caught sight of Twilight, she gave a vigorous “Yoo-hoo!” and waved her over.

“Chilled and mixed with lime,” she said, offering the coconut. “Would you care for a sip? It does wonders for one’s complexion.”

“No thank you. Did everything go all right at the farm?”

“Of course! Applejack is such a sweetheart. Did you know she’s growing roses now?”

“Er, yes,” said Twilight, turning rather rosy herself, “I know about the roses.”

“Well, they were simply divine! Applejack had an entire field full and she told me I could help myself. I’m already thinking I can put some on my new line of hats, if I can find a spell to keep the flowers fresh. I don’t suppose you might like to help with that, when all of this is over?”

“I’d be glad to. Were you able to get the torches?”

“Yes. Applejack said she’d pack them in a cart and her brother would bring them to town hall.”

“Good. Now I just have to think of a way to thank Big McIntosh; he’s already making a delivery for me at the library, and here I’ve gotten him roped into another one.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t mind. Their whole family loves being helpful.”

“Yes, but still…” Twilight trailed off to look at the plaza behind her. “Have you seen Spike or Fluttershy? I was hoping they’d be back by now.”

“Check under the table,” said Rarity.

Twilight did. She found, not only Spike’s satchel, but several flowering nightbells, all stacked neatly beside it.

“You’re wonderful,” said Twilight.

“Oh, it wasn’t me. I was waiting here when Fluttershy came back. She gave me the flowers and flew away home, because she had patients to tend. And Spike was chasing Rainbow Dash when she zoomed overhead. I told him to leave the satchel with me, because it would lighten his load.”

“Well, however it happened, this is perfect! I’ve got everything for my spell.”

“Good,” said Rarity. “I’ll come with you, in case you need help.”

“Are you sure? It might be dangerous.”

Rarity only smiled and rose from her seat. Side by side, the two ponies moved toward the opposite end of the plaza. Twilight’s spirits soared higher than ever, now that she was in the company of a reliable friend and the evidence she needed lay within her grasp. Even more encouraging, there was no sign of the black stallion. And Trixie’s wagon appeared unchanged since the morning, though Twilight did listen cautiously at the door, just in case, before going inside.

“You aren’t worried about Trixie’s assistant?” said Rarity, as she followed her friend. “Not that I think any stallion would harm such a charming pair of damsels, but he is rather large.”

“I’m not worried,” said Twilight. “If I’m right, this is basically a crime scene. He’d be foolish to come back.”

“What kind of crime scene?”

“We’re about to find out. Can you pull down the window shades?”

Rarity did so and Twilight removed her spell ingredients—all of which were a variety of different plant parts—from Spike’s satchel, arranging each one in front of the mirror. As Rarity looked on, Twilight summoned her magic and the ingredients started to glow. At the same time, the surface of the mirror flickered. Then, out of nowhere, a series of images flashed across it.

They were hazy at first, but rapidly increased in clarity as Twilight adjusted her spell. Soon the entire morning was being replayed in the mirror. Twilight sped past the empty, unimportant scenes, including the one in which she and her friends had investigated. At last, an image of Trixie appeared. The show mare was standing nervously at a window, but Twilight went backward further still, until Trixie looked perfectly calm, and was sitting down to eat her breakfast.

“Now,” said Twilight, “this is why it’s so important to have nightbell.”

She levitated several of the tiny black flowers and set them alongside the other ingredients. Just like that, sounds began emanating from the mirror. Most prominent was the noise of the mob, still far off but rapidly coming closer. Trixie cocked an ear and took a bite from one of two pieces of honeyed toast. The sound of the mob increased. Trixie set down her food, stood up, and peered through a window.

Instantly, her expression changed. She leapt back, bumping her coffee table and knocking half of her toast onto the floor.

“What’s going on?” she said. “Why are all of those ponies out there?”

“Why do you think?” replied a deep voice. “They’re upset at your trick.”

“At your trick! You’re the one who did it.”

“Then I suggest you tell them that. I’m sure they’ll believe you.”

“Well. Maybe I will.”

Trixie moved toward the door. Suddenly, the crowd grew louder. Her confidence evaporated.

“Do something!” she cried. “Help me!”

“How?”

“I don’t know! You’re the one who—wait! Bring them back! Those ponies from the show. Make them reappear!”

The voice practically dripped with lazy contentment.

“I’m afraid that’s impossible.”

“What?! You weren’t supposed to get rid of them permanently!”

“Oh? A shame that I misunderstood. Still, you were rather unspecific. Perhaps next time, if there is a next time, you’ll remember to give your instructions with greater specificity.”

Trixie dashed to the window on the opposite side of the wagon, stepping on the fallen toast as she moved.

“They’re getting closer! Make them go away!”

“All of them?”

“Yes, hurry!”

“Certainly. But, before I do, perhaps I should send you somewhere safe? In case a few stragglers slip by…”

“Yes!” Trixie was practically pleading. “Anything, just don’t let them get me!”

“Your wish is my command.”

Some tone about the voice made Trixie glance toward the front of the wagon. Whatever she beheld was not shown by the reflection, but Twilight had never seen anyone look so utterly terrified. Gasping, Trixie stepped back and tried to shield her face. Before it could show what happened next, the mirror went black.

“I… did the spell malfunction?” Rarity was unable to hide the uneasiness in her voice. “I thought we were going to keep watching?”

“Maybe it would be better not too,” said Twilight.

Nevertheless, she refocused her magic and tried again. It was no good; she was unable to clear away the darkness during those few seconds in which Trixie had tried to protect herself. And when the darkness faded on its own, Trixie was gone from the wagon.

“She disappeared,” said Twilight, “exactly like the others. I’m starting to wish I hadn’t been right.”

“Well,” said Rarity, “as usual, when it comes to spotting disasters, your skills are spot on. The question now is: what do we do?”

“Write to Princess Celestia. I wasn’t going to, not yet anyway, but after hearing what the stallion said about permanent disappearing, I don’t think we have any choice. I only hope he was wrong.”

Rarity nodded and the two ponies turned around. As they approached the door, it slammed shut in their faces.

“Rainbow Dash!” said Rarity. “This is a very poor time to be playing a joke on us!”

There was no response. Twilight tried the door.

“It’s locked. And… I can’t unlock it!”

She put her shoulder against the door and tried harder. Rarity came to help, but even together, they were unable to make any progress.

“All right, stand back,” said Twilight. “I’m one second away from blasting this open.”

“Now, now,” said a deep voice. “Surely violence isn’t the answer?”

Both Twilight and Rarity whipped around.

“Who said that?” whispered Rarity. “There’s nopony here…”

“Oh, I’m always here. In fact, I have been watching you two all morning. Shadows are like that. We can be completely invisible, except when I want us to be seen.”

Rarity opened her mouth, though she seemed unable to make a reply. Twilight stepped forward and spoke for both of them.

“Show yourself!” she said. “We’re not scared of you!”

“Not yet. But you will be.”

A dark pool began coalescing in the center of Trixie’s room, as though some kind of tar were seeping up through the cracks. When the pool was roughly the size of a pony, it surged higher, forming itself into a black stallion with icy blue eyes.

“Twilight Sparkle,” he said. “Savior of Ponyville, scholar of magic, and Princess Celestia’s prize student. I’ve heard so much about you from Trixie. I also need to thank you for taking care of the crowd this morning, and saving me the trouble. In fact, you gave me so much free time that I went out and had a little snack. And you even made sure his friends wouldn’t go looking for him. How kind of you.”

The stallion smiled and moved closer. Twilight threw up a force field, sealing off the opposite side of the room with a glittering, semi-transparent barrier. The stallion stood still and looked at it.

“Come now,” he said, “can’t you do better than that? I was led to believe you were talented.”

His eyes flashed and he reached out with one of his forehooves. Twilight’s force field burst like a soap bubble.

“Stay back!” she said. “I’m warning you…”

The stallion kept advancing. Twilight summoned a whirling spark of light and cast it forward. She had hoped to disorient the stallion, but he glanced at her creation and the light spark instantly died.

“Twilight!” cried Rarity. “Perhaps you should get us out of here?!”

Twilight nodded and prepared to teleport away. Once again the stallion’s eyes glowed and once again her magic was taken apart before it could achieve its purpose. Twilight fell back, utterly at a loss, while the stallion turned toward Rarity.

“What a charming young mare,” he said, “and so quick to give good advice. I admit, if I cared about beauty or wits, I would have a hard time bringing myself to hurt you. Fortunately, however…”

He took a breath and exhaled. A smoky black cloud issued from his mouth. The instant it touched Rarity, she collapsed in a heap on the floor.

“You leave her ALONE!”

As she spoke, Twilight summoned her fiercest surge of magic yet. The energy roared forth, shattering windows, cracking walls, and nearly splitting the floor in half. By the time her spell faded, the inside of Trixie’s wagon looked as though it had been struck by a bomb. But the stallion himself was unharmed.

“Ah,” he said, “now we begin to see your potential. Still, you obviously need more guidance to become proficient with destructive magic. After all, what good is firepower if it can’t even pierce a target’s defense? Like this!”

He faced forward and made a casual gesture. The force of his spell broke on Twilight like a hurricane, picking her up and hurling her backwards. The door splintered as she crashed through it, and she tumbled head over hooves on the cobblestone outside.

Desperately, Twilight tried to sit up. But her vision was spinning and every part of her body ached. In a kind of distant haze, she heard the stallion walk closer.

“I don’t usually dirty my hooves,” he said. “Still, sometimes I suppose it’s rewarding to stamp out a pest. And you’re quite a bothersome little flea, especially if you can summon Celestia before I’m ready.”

He nudged Twilight with one of his hooves, flipping her onto her back. As she looked blearily up at him, he smiled and reared, seconds away from dropping the weight of his forelegs onto her ribcage.

But it was the stallion himself who was dropped, when a heavy red blur thundered into him. The stallion hit the pavement and skidded for several feet on his side. Twilight felt a strong hoof helping her stand. When her vision finally cleared, she saw Big McIntosh watching her, the box of food he had been delivering still perched on his shoulders. Now he lowered it to the ground and placed himself squarely in front of Twilight.

“Ain’t no way to treat a lady,” he said.

The black stallion snorted and pulled himself up, glaring at Big McIntosh. Then threw back his head and leapt to attack.

Big McIntosh sprang to meet him. Their shoulders collided and they reared upward, striking with powerful forelegs. Numbly, Twilight decided that Applejack had been right: a hoof wrestling contest between these two titans would have been incredible to watch. But this fight to the death was terrifying.

“I’ll make you suffer for your interference!”

Big McIntosh ignored his enemy’s threats. He was bloodied and battered, but the wounds didn’t seem to slow him, and when the stallion charged, he fended him off with a series of jabbing forehoof strikes. Then he lunged and put himself directly parallel to his opponent, at the same time lashing out and slightly to the side with one of his back hooves. It was a neat trick and Big McIntosh executed it perfectly; the black stallion stumbled as his rear legs were kicked out from under him. Big McIntosh followed through by ramming into him, chest to chest, with all of his incredible power.

For a second time, the black stallion was thrown. Hit struck the ground hard, his head bobbing dizzily. Then he shook himself and his eyes flared with icy fire.

“Oh, you ridiculous ponies!”

Twilight felt the gathering of evil magic and saw a dark pit forming under Big McIntosh.

“Run!” she cried. “Big McIntosh, get out of there!”

Big McIntosh had already started to leap. A shadowy tendril caught him in mid-motion, wrapping itself about his hind legs and pulling him back. More tendrils flashed from the pit, until there were a dozen at least. Before Twilight could even call his name, Big McIntosh was dragged into darkness, the surface of which closed over his head like a pool of inky water.

“I’ll be back,” said the black stallion, “as soon as I get hungry again. And I’ll find you eventually. I wonder what Celestia will say when she learns I’ve devoured her favorite pupil?”

He smiled and leapt into the pit, which quickly dried up and faded away, leaving nothing but empty cobblestone behind.

Chapter 08

Twilight stood quietly in front of the wagon. Her shoulders ached, her head throbbed, and her coat was scratched by pebbles and splinters. She was also having trouble breathing, but that had nothing to do with her physical condition. In fact, her body felt strangely distant, as though it had been some other pony who had witnessed the shadows attacking Big McIntosh and the evil cloud that had brought down—

“Rarity!”

Even as she cried out, Twilight whirled and dashed up the wagon’s front steps. Rarity lay where she had fallen, in the small part of the room that had not been wrecked by magic. Twilight knelt and gently touched her shoulder.

“Rarity? Can you hear me?”

Rarity moaned and half opened her eyes. Twilight helped her to sit, at the same time grabbing one of the nightbells that had been knocked under the remnants of Trixie’s bookshelf. For such a tiny flower, the nightbell gave off a surprisingly strong odor. Twilight held it under Rarity’s nose, and, almost at once, Rarity snapped back to her senses.

“Twilight? I… was having a horrible dream.”

Twilight threw down the nightbell and gave Rarity a hug.

“Thanks goodness you’re okay!”

“I’m fine! Where’s that shadowy fiend? What happened to the décor inside this wagon? And did I truly hear Big McIntosh or was I dreaming?”

Quickly, Twilight explained. Rarity became whiter than ever.

“So the shadows took our knight in shining armor? Even after he saved your life?”

“It’s worse than I ever imagined,” replied Twilight. “And it’s all my fault! I should have realized what we were dealing with. But I never thought the stallion would turn out to be so powerful. I thought, if worse came to worse, I could at least stand my ground. But I couldn’t even touch him.”

She gestured helplessly at the bombed-out wagon.

“Perhaps not,” said Rarity, “but you can still think and there’s no pony for a thousand miles who does that better. If we can’t overpower this blackhearted vagrant, we’ll have to outfox him. It seems that’s the only way we can win, much less bring back Big McIntosh and the others.”

“I did have a plan,” said Twilight, “but I don’t know if it’ll work anymore.”

“Can you come up with a better one?”

“Not that we could use right away.”

“Then we’ll just have to give it the old Ponyville try. If nothing else, there’s an extremely important fact we can take comfort in.”

“What fact?”

“That no one in Ponyville ever has to try alone.”

Rarity pointed to the door behind them. A large crowd had formed outside the wagon; some of the ponies who had been in the plaza earlier must have seen what happened between Big McIntosh and the black stallion, and had come to investigate. More than a few looked nervous, or even downright frightened. But that hadn’t stopped them, and the overall spirit grew stronger each time a new pony joined up with the rest.

Before Twilight could address this impromptu gathering, she heard a rambunctiously familiar voice.

“All right, move aside! Super important pony coming though.”

The crowd parted and Rainbow Dash leapt forward.

“Oh, wow!” she said, after glancing around. “And you guys call me a messy house guest? Just wait until Trixie sees what you’ve done to her room.”

“If I come anywhere near enough to get my hooves on her,” said Rarity tartly, “a little furniture rearrangement will be the least of Trixie’s worries.”

“A little?! You two practically pulverized this place!”

Twilight could not help feeling better. The sight of Rainbow Dash waving her hooves, the sound of Rarity “eeeking!” as she stood and tiptoed around the dirtiest parts of the floor, and especially the warmth and concern from the crowd had all gone a long way in restoring her spirits. She got up, steadied herself, and walked out of the wagon.

“Drizzle,” she said to a nearby pegasus, “can you fly to town hall, fast as you can, and get Mayor? Please ask her to come to the plaza right away. If she wants to know why, tell her we need to refine the plan she discussed with me this morning.”

“Hey!” said Rainbow Dash. “I’m the best flyer in Ponyville! If you want someone super speedy to reach Mayor, I should go.”

“No,” said Twilight, “I need you here. Or rather in Canterlot, if this doesn’t work.”

“If what doesn’t work?”

But Twilight had already thanked Drizzle and turned away.

“Rarity,” she said, “can you explain to everypony what happened?”

“I would be delighted to,” said Rarity. “Shall I tell them the whole story?”

“Yes. I’ve a feeling you were right, and I should have gotten the word out sooner.”

Rarity nodded and faced the crowd. As she cleared her throat to call for attention, Twilight motioned for Rainbow Dash and walked way away from the wagon. When they had passed around one of the tree planters, and were relatively out of sight from the wagon, Twilight stopped.

“Um, Twilight,” said Rainbow, “you do know you’re shaking?”

“Yes,” said Twilight softly, “I know.”

She wiped her eyes and drew several broken breaths. Rainbow hovered uncertainly beside her.

“Don’t… tell anyone, okay?” said Twilight, after a moment. “I couldn’t let them see me like this. I don’t want them worried that I might not be good enough to—”

“Are you kidding? You’ve never let us down! There’s no way you’re going to start now!”

“I hope you’re right. And I’m really sorry. I don’t know where this came from. I was okay a minute ago.”

Twilight nerved herself and tried to get the image of shadows covering Big McIntosh out of her head. Behind her, she could just barely hear Rarity’s voice.

“So… what’d you want to see me about?” asked Rainbow, in an obvious bid to change the subject. “Spike said I’m supposed to be on emergency standby.”

“Yes. And I actually need to find Spike, so we can send a letter.”

“Is that all? He was by the shopping strip. Be right back.”

Rainbow zipped away. In less than a minute, she returned, holding Spike under his arms with her front hooves.

“Wow, thanks for the ride, Rainbow!” he said, as she gently set him on the ground. “I didn’t mind walking, though.”

“Yeah, but that takes forever,” said Rainbow. “And Twilight wanted you quick.”

Twilight nodded. With a flick of her tail, she steadied her emotions and pushed the doubt and fear to the back of her mind.

“Spike, did you have time to find what we need for a letter?”

“Sure did,” said Spike. He was wearing a cotton satchel very similar to the one in which he had stored Twilight’s spell ingredients. Reaching inside it, he pulled out a small scroll, a quill, and an inkpot. When he had gotten these ready, Twilight cleared her throat and began dictating:

Princess Celestia,

Emergency in Ponyville—dark creature with power over shadows attacking ponies. Need your help immediately. Please hurry.

-Twilight

“Dark creature attacking ponies?” asked Spike, when Twilight had finished. “What have I been missing?”

“In a minute,” said Twilight. “First, let’s send this.”

Spike took a deep breath, rolled up the scroll, and breathed a gout of magical green fire upon it. Under normal circumstances, the letter would have been vaporized into the ether, where it could travel almost instantly to Princess Celestia. This time, however, the paper simply blackened and shriveled, leaving nothing but a handful of ash.

“Weird,” said Spike, “it burned up.”

“Well, duh!” said Rainbow. “How else are we supposed to mail the princess?”

“No, I mean it burned up without going anywhere.”

“Try again,” said Twilight.

Spike rewrote the message on another scroll and went through the same motions. Once again, the paper burned into flakey black particles.

“It’s like there’s something blocking it,” said Spike.

Twilight forced herself to stay calm.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I thought this might happen. Spike, make up another letter.”

Spike did. Twilight thanked him, took the parchment scroll, and faced Rainbow Dash.

“It’s in your hooves now,” she said. “You need to fly to Canterlot, as fast as you can. When you get there, head straight to Princess Celestia and deliver our letter.”

Rainbow was always ready to accept a challenge.

“You got it!” she said. “I’ll fly so fast, my dust’ll be eating dust!”

Taking the scroll in her mouth, Rainbow spread both wings and catapulted skyward. In seconds, she was high over town, accelerating until she had become nothing more than a brightly-colored blur. Suddenly, a patch of sky began darkening in front her.

“That’s not a cloud,” said Spike.

Indeed it was not. It was an amorphous gathering of shadows, moving rapidly to intercept Rainbow.

“LOOK OUT!” yelled Twilight. “DON’T GET NEAR IT!”

Rainbow had already made an evasive maneuver. But as she skirted the darkness, a mass of black tendrils burst from its depths. Twilight held her breath as Rainbow dodged. Most of the tendrils passed above Rainbow’s body; the rest were skillfully avoided as she dropped into a dive. She had almost gotten clear when the last tendril lashed itself around her hind leg.

Instantly, Rainbow was jerked to a halt. The letter flew out of her mouth, tumbling to earth after she grabbed for it and missed. A second tendril used the distraction to snatch hold of her other hind leg. Rainbow kicked and struggled, but could not free herself, and was steadily pulled toward the central mass of hovering shadows.

“Not this time!” cried Twilight.

Bracing herself, she summoned her magic. A ball of fiery white light appeared over Rainbow’s back. Twilight concentrated and the light surged, until it was nearly as bright as the afternoon sun. The tendrils around it dissolved, allowing Rainbow to break free and streak forward. Now that it was a straight-up chase, the darkness had no chance of catching her, and rapidly faded to nothing as she sped away from it.

On the ground below, Twilight sighed in relief and ended her spell. A foot to her left, Spike looked utterly horrified.

“Twilight, what was that?!”

“I’ll fill you in as we walk,” said Twilight. “Hop up and let’s see if Mayor’s here.”

“But your letter… Rainbow dropped it!”

“That’s okay. It would have made things quicker, but she’ll still be able to see Princess Celestia. And there’s no way Rainbow will come back to Ponyville without convincing the princess to go with her.”

“But—”

“Spike,” said Twilight, “if you wanted to read a Daring Do book and your choices were getting it from the library or staging a midnight break-in at the Ponyville hospital to ‘borrow’ their only copy, what would you choose?”

“The… library?”

“Exactly. That’s why you aren’t Rainbow Dash. She’ll be fine. I promise!”

Spike nodded and leapt onto Twilight’s back. As the two of them moved out, Twilight gave an abbreviated explanation of the black stallion.

“So that’s what’s been happening,” said Spike. “This is awful!”

Twilight had nothing to add. Instead, she looked around the plaza. The sight of Drizzle soaring above a nearby house was a huge relief, even more so when Mayor appeared in the street below her.

“Over here!” called Twilight.

She ran forward and quickly exchanged greetings with Mayor. Then she brought her up-to-date on the black stallion’s activities.

“Well,” said Mayor, “he certainly isn’t wasting time.”

“That’s why I’d like to accelerate our plan. Did the first part go all right?”

“It did. I summoned my staff and sent them to bring every head of household in Ponyville to my office. Your bouncy friend was just as much of a help as you said she would be. It was almost humbling—I thought I was familiar with our leading citizens, but Miss Pinkie Pie has me beat by a mile. Not only could she tell us each pony’s name, address, and most probable hangout, she also knew exactly the right approach to get their attention. My staff returned with their guests in no time at all, and I explained the situation, so the heads of household could pass the word to their extended families.”
“Good. That’s what I hoped Pinkie would do—there’s nopony who can get the town mobilized faster. Where is she now?”

“She went with my secretary to the candle shop, as we’d arranged.”

“So the shop should be ready for us?”

“Yes.”

“And the torches?”

“They were delivered at town hall, a short while ago. I was helping to arrange them when your messenger asked me to come here.”

“Then we have a chance. Light is the best weapon we have against the black stallion. If he were a minor entity, we could have held him at bay with it. And even though it might not do as well now, I still think that the more light we have, the better our chances of keeping our enemy in check until Princess Celestia or Princess Luna arrive.”

Mayor looked surprised at this, so Twilight explained how she had sent Rainbow Dash to Canterlot.

“An excellent decision. I would have done the same myself.”

“Thank you,” said Twilight. “I only hope the princesses won’t delay. Meanwhile, we’d better prepare. It’ll be a few hours at least before Rainbow reaches Canterlot, and if we aren’t ready by the time it gets dark…”

“Shadows are stronger at night,” finished Mayor. “I understand completely and I agree that we should hurry as much as we can. In fact, the bell should be ringing at any moment.”

Even as she spoke, a loud chiming broke over town. It was the Ponyville clock tower and it rang seven times in succession, a rare signal that was used only in true emergencies.

The response from the townsfolk was swift and immediate. Windows were shuttered, stores were closed, and foals hustled indoors, while older ponies began streaming into the plaza. Mayor and Twilight moved to a small raised dais on the northern side. Very shortly, they had a sea of anxious faces spread out before them.

“I’ll give the address,” said Mayor.

Twilight nodded and moved aside to let Mayor speak. Fortunately, Rarity had done an excellent job of explaining things to the wagon crowd, and they, in turn, had worked quite a bit to spread the word already. That, combined with what Mayor and Pinkie Pie had told the heads of household earlier, meant that a large number of ponies came to the assembly with a good idea of what they were facing. Moreover, ever since Ponyville had faced an attack from the chaotic Discord, its citizens were keenly aware that magical threats called for swift and decisive action.

So it was that, under Mayor’s authority and Twilight’s guidance, an ambitious plan was put into action. First, torches were distributed, to be used after sundown, along with lesser numbers of lanterns, oil lamps, and the occasional miner’s hat. The Light House, Ponyville’s candle shop, also made its stock freely available, and candles were placed all across town by the unicorns, whose natural telekinesis magic allowed them to reach any spot, particularly where it would be darkest after sundown. Meanwhile, pegasi were instructed to clear the sky overhead, and to keep all clouds away, so that there would be no obstruction to the radiance of sun, moon, and stars. Below them, the powerful earth ponies dragged in huge logs and built two enormous piles of wood, to be used for bonfires, one in Ponyville Plaza and the other near town hall.

And, of course, this was only the beginning. Street lamps were cleaned and oiled, messengers were sent to check on those who had not attended the meeting, and all ponies were instructed not to move about in groups of less than three. In addition, tables, chairs, and parasols were set up at the northern end of Ponyville Plaza, and quills, parchment, inkwells, maps, and sundry other items were brought in to serve as part of a command station, creating a central location from which the town’s activities could be coordinated.

“I do believe we’re going to be ready,” said Rarity, who had stayed with Mayor and Twilight to help with the organizing.

“I hope so,” said Twilight, “but we shouldn’t feel overconfident. It could be a long night.”

Rarity nodded and went back to marking light distribution spots on one of the street maps. Twilight sat down beside her, trying to hide a wince. Her left hind leg felt painful and sore; she had landed heavily upon it when the black stallion had blasted her backwards, and the limb must have been injured worse than she thought.

But there was no time to tend it now. Twilight had just finished establishing a pegasus relay team, partly to spot for another sky shadow and partly to watch for Princess Celestia. She had also sent a different team to the Everfree forest, with instructions to contact, not only Fluttershy, but the handful of ponies who lived far enough from Ponyville that they would not have heard the alarm bells. Now Twilight felt decidedly weary. The adrenaline energy was long since gone, and her late night reading and early morning run across the prairie were both catching up with her, to say nothing of the extraordinary amount of magic she had expended during the past few hours. It would be so easy to stop and rest for a minute. It might even help her escape from the pain in her leg. Surely there was no harm in that…

Twilight lowered her head on the table. She closed her eyes and sleep rolled over her like a wave from the depths.

Chapter 09

When Twilight woke again, it was late afternoon. Mayor and Rarity were gone, and though the plaza still had a number of ponies passing to and fro, it was much less crowded than before. Still, everyone had clearly been busy. The huge pile of logs—almost two stories high—resting near the plaza’s center attested to that, as did the hundreds of lighted candles and torches placed at regular intervals on the area’s perimeter. In the sky above, Twilight could hear the flutter of pegasi, and nearer in a few unicorns were discussing how best to illuminate the depths of Hush Hoof Alley.

As Twilight sat up, she found that someone had thrown a blanket across her shoulders. She also saw that she was not alone; a very familiar pony was resting in a nearby chair, her forelegs crossed and a tan cowboy hat pulled low over her face.

“Applejack!” cried Twilight. “When did you get here? What did I miss? Where—”

“Whoa there, sugar cube,” said Applejack, as she pushed back her hat. “Hold your horses and breathe for a minute. You feelin’ okay?”

“Yes, why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, I can’t answer that, but I admit we were all a little worried after you passed out. Mayor told us to let you sleep, though. She said you were plumb tuckered, from so much magic and fancy organizin’.”

“I still should have stayed awake. Has anything happened?”

“Nope. It’s been downright quiet. Nopony’s seen the stallion and we’ve kept on gettin’ ready. I came into town when I heard the bells and helped haul in logs for the bonfires. It’ll be brighter than a nest full of phoenixes in Ponyville tonight.”

“And Princess Celestia?”

“Ain’t been no sign of her.”

“What time is it?”

Applejack told her and Twilight made some quick calculations.

“Rainbow Dash should be almost to Canterlot by now,” she said, “if she hasn’t gotten there already.”

“Could be,” said Applejack. “She does fly mighty fast when she has a mind to. But it’s still a long way.”

Twilight nodded and sat quietly, fidgeting with the hem of her blanket. Then she took a deep breath.

“Applejack, t-there’s something you have to hear. About Big McIntosh…”

“I already know. Rarity told me.”

“He saved my life.”

“I know that too. And if I stop to think about what happened to him, I’m gonna break down and bawl like I ain’t done since we lost Grandpappy Smith. But what keeps me together is knowin’ we got us a fight to win. Besides, Mayor said you figured on bringin’ every disappearin’ pony back.”

“I… can’t guarantee that’s still possible. Not after learning more about the stallion.”

Applejack’s reply was cut short by a sudden cheering. Twilight threw off her blanket and both ponies rushed out from under the canopy. What they saw made Twilight smile with relief and Applejack toss her hat in the air and cry out, “Princess Celestia!”

It was true; there was no mistaking the sleek golden-winged chariot, pulled by two pegasus stallions wearing gold-plated armor. The stallions were some of Canterlot’s famous royal guards, and they were taking the chariot on a direct route to Ponyville Plaza. It landed smoothly, its wheels rattling over the cobblestones as each guard decelerated. When all was stopped, Princess Celestia stepped gracefully to the ground.

She was very tall, more than twice the height of any other pony, with legs both long and slender. Her rainbow-hued mane and tail were constantly flowing, as though a breeze billowed around her, which Twilight knew was actually the echo of her tremendous magical power. The princess’ wings were tucked to either side of her white coat and her horn spiraled high in the air. Her cutie mark was a golden sun.

All of the townsfolk bowed as she disembarked from the chariot. Princess Celestia returned the greeting by rearing up. Her horn flashed and a burst of magic welled outward. As it touched the assembled ponies, their weariness fell away and a new strength moved into their limbs. For Twilight, the magic did even more, smoothing her battered coat and healing the wounded muscle in her leg.

“Thank you all!” said Princess Celestia. “I’m sorry to have such troublesome times be the cause of my visit. But, with your help, I’m certain everything will be put right.”

She glanced at the chariot and a blue treasure chest inlaid with rubies and emeralds floated out of its rear compartment to hover beside her. Twilight recognized the chest as the resting place for the Elements of Harmony, some of Equestria’s most precious artifacts.

“I had a feeling these might prove useful,” said Princess Celestia. “And, of course, there is something even more important, which belongs here in Ponyville.”

Once again, she faced the chariot. This time it was a pegasus who was lifted up by her magic. It was none other than Rainbow Dash, blissfully napping, though she came back to life as Princess Celestia set her on the ground.

“Ah!” she cried, jumping up and glancing about. “Are we there yet? I wasn’t really asleep!”

Twilight and Applejack had already moved forward. Both of them bowed to Princess Celestia, after which Twilight turned to Rainbow.

“You did it!”

“And I didn’t even break a sweat!” replied Rainbow. “Well, maybe when those shadows grabbed me. But only a little!”

“Rainbow Dash did an excellent job delivering her message,” said Princess Celestia. “I believe she may even have set a new record for the shortest time from Ponyville to Canterlot. She wanted to fly back alone, but I used magic to hasten our journey, and I thought it best she ride beside me.”

“Thank you so much, Princess,” said Twilight. “Do you really think we’ll need to use the Elements? Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy aren’t here now, but I’m sure we can find them. And Rarity should be with Mayor.”

For the first time, Princess Celestia looked grave.

“I hope it won’t come to that,” she said, “but I agree we would do well to be prepared. Please take the Elements, find your friends, and stay on guard.”

Twilight nodded, while Princess Celestia magically lowered the treasure chest onto her back.

“Now,” continued the princess, “for the moment, you may leave the rest to me. Our foe has been magically shielding his presence, but I can sense him now that I’m closer.”

“I bet he’s hidin’,” said Applejack cheerfully. “With you here, your majesty, I bet that varmit ain’t got half the courage to face us!”

“Then please allow me to prove you wrong.”

For a second time that day, the deep voice arose from nowhere. Twilight froze, as did the others. Only Princess Celestia did not appear to have been surprised.

“Very well,” she said, “come forth! The sooner you meet me, the sooner this will be over.”

“Indeed…”

A stone’s throw ahead of Princess Celestia, the ground began turning black. It was the same as in Trixie’s wagon, and when enough shadows were intertwined, the black stallion rose out of their depths. His eyes shone icy blue and his silver crown cutie marks had become weirdly distorted, as though they were melting into his flanks.

The ponies in the plaza and the pegasi above it gave back, though none of them ran. Twilight readied her magic and stepped a little closer to Princess Celestia. Applejack remained where she was and Rainbow Dash actually moved forward.

“You?” she said. “You’re what everypony’s been afraid of?”

The stallion turned to face her.

“Rainbow Dash,” he said. “The most talented flyer in Ponyville. Trixie hated you almost as much as she hated Twilight, something about eclipsing her popularity. Personally, I’d like to thank you; the princess will go a long way in sating my hunger.”

“I didn’t ask the princess to come here for you, ink brain,” said Rainbow. “I asked her to help us, and she’s going to kick. Your. Butt.”

“Strategy is obviously not your forte. Perhaps you should consider the reason Twilight’s spell was able to rescue you from my shadow cloud. Perhaps you should ask why she succeeded in that case, when she was unable to fight me before. The simple answer is that I wanted Twilight to win. I knew she had tasked you with flying to Canterlot after I blocked your letters. I arranged your ‘escape’ so you would go faster, and the princess could arrive here before nightfall. Two alicorns at once are too much until I grow stronger. But now Celestia is here alone, and I can destroy her without any interference from her night-commanding sister.”

Celestia’s royal guards landed in front of her and to either side.

“You seem very sure of yourself,” she said to the stallion. “If that’s true, a conflict between us is inevitable. But, in fairness, I will give you one last chance to release your captives and depart in peace.”

The stallion’s eyes flashed. Twilight felt sure he was silently laughing.

“Poor Celestia,” he said, “you still haven’t realized who I am. I suppose I can’t blame you. After all, it was Star Swirl and Silver Mane who imprisoned me. You and your sister never could work up the courage.”

“Oh, that is it!” said Rainbow Dash. “Put ’em up! Nobody insults the princess while I’m around!”

She raised her front hooves and prepared to charge. With some difficulty, Applejack restrained her. While they struggled, the stallion glanced at the treasure chest on Twilight’s back.

“Ah,” he said, “I see you’ve been preparing. I’ve been doing the same myself; stopping your letters to keep you from getting more help was only the first step. The next was taking something away, without which your precious elements become mere chunks of gaudy jewelry.”

Twilight felt a shiver move over her spine. The black stallion lifted one hoof and threw forward a tiny object, which bounced across the pavement until it came to rest in front of the princess. Looking down, everyone saw an unwrapped candy, a lily lemon sucker from the royal Canterlot sweet shop.

“Pinkie Pie!” cried Twilight.

“Well done,” said the stallion, “you finally noticed. A pity you didn’t also notice that sociability and laughter are nothing before the power of shadows. Neither is kindness. Which reminds me of another one of your friends, a pesky little pegasus who almost spoiled everything by finding my night pool on the first day. Still, she wasn’t much of a challenge; all I had to do was threaten her animals and she stayed perfectly quiet while I took her in. I simply love how easily you ponies confuse selflessness with stupidity.”

“ENOUGH!” Princess Celestia’s voice cut through the air. A golden light flared around her horn, and the fluttering of her mane and tail redoubled in strength. “You will cause no more harm.”

She began walking toward the stallion. Twilight knew better than to follow, and tried to ignore the sound of her madly thumping heartbeat as she watched the princess. When Celestia was a dozen feet from her enemy she paused and glanced skyward. A shaft of sunlight fell from the heavens—sparkling white and almost impossible to look at, because of its incredible brilliancy. The stallion cried out as it touched him. Before he could move, the sunlight enveloped his body and he melted away.

For a moment, there was silence. Applejack cleared her throat.

“Was… was that it? Did we win?”

She was still looking about when a pool of darkness blossomed under each of the royal guards. Both of them leapt away to fly, and just as quickly they were grabbed by shadowy tendrils and pulled out of sight. Princess Celestia’s horn sparkled with light. The shadows disappeared as a pair of sunbeams struck them, leaving the now-unconscious guards behind.

“Having trouble, Celestia? Or are you unable to spot such an obvious diversion?”

Another pool of darkness formed, this time beneath the princess herself. Unlike her guards, she did not try to leap clear. Instead, she stamped her left forehoof. There was the noise of a fiery whiplash and the darkness rippled and faded.

“Not at all. And your diversions leave much to be desired, both for trying to surprise me and for shifting attention from your true hiding place.”

She faced one of the nearby plaza planters, whose maple tree threw a dark shadow onto the ground. The stallion surged out of it, landing heavily on the cobblestone.

“So be it,” he said. “I wanted to have fun, but I suppose you’re right; it simply isn’t polite to play with one’s food.”

He smiled and faced the princess. Celestia stared calmly back. The stallion broke eye contact first, but only because he had turned to look at Twilight.

“Your student is precious to you,” he said. “I was hoping you might have had children, so that I could make you watch while I consumed them. But she will do in their stead.”

His eyes flashed and Twilight felt a piercing cold under her hooves. A shadow pit opened beneath her, but much different than those she had seen before. This one was more like a whirlpool than a simple conglomeration of darkness, and it swirled upwards to cage her inside.

Twilight tried to teleport, but the darkness doused her magic as soon as she summoned it. Through the spiraling shadows, she saw Applejack and Rainbow Dash hurry to reach her, along with a dozen other ponies. None of them could pass the barrier, and the fear in their eyes said plainly that no one knew how to help. When Twilight glanced down, she found her hooves sinking into the ground.

And then Celestia was beside her. Twilight had never even seen the princess move; it was as if she had been there all along. A gentle warmth came with her, banishing the chill of the stallion’s magic.

“Your life will not be extinguished here. And always remember, Twilight, when all seems lost, you should look to what you love for guidance.”

Celestia glanced upwards, her long horn shining like gold. The shadows threw themselves around it, and Twilight knew, with terrible certainty, the princess was being sacrificed to rescue her.

“No! Please, you can’t!”

Her words fell in vain. Princess Celestia lowered her head and allowed the darkness to cover her body. In the next moment, Twilight was cast backwards, onto the solid ground of the plaza. She heard a low rumbling and realized the stallion was laughing. When his whirlpool faded, the space inside it stood empty.

Princess Celestia was gone.

Chapter 11

11.

Twilight chose the third quickest route to the plaza, sacrificing speed in order to pass through areas that were more likely to be well lit, either from house lamps or from the candles and torches placed by the unicorns. The streets themselves were almost entirely deserted. Most ponies, it seemed, had stayed in their houses and locked their doors, or retreated to the brightest and safest sections of town. Of those few brave souls who were still outside, none paid any attention to Twilight. Instead, they ran swiftly past her, some looking lost and panicked, others clearly determined to reach their loved ones.

Not all were destined to make it, a point that was driven home to Twilight when she heard hoofbeats from a nearby alley, as though someone were running hard. But the beats stopped abruptly, and when Twilight glanced into the alley as she passed it, there was nothing inside but empty cobblestone and a single candle, rolling slowly over the shadowy ground.

After that, every patch of darkness took on a new menace. Twilight steered clear of them whenever possible, and kept Rarity and Applejack close beside her, so that she could teleport away with her friends at a moment’s notice. Had she not used up so much magic already, she would have skipped the journey entirely, and teleported everyone directly to the plaza. But in the end, she decided to keep as much of her power in reserve as possible, for the probability that she would need it inside the night pool was high.

Fortunately, luck was with them, and the three ponies reached the plaza in safety. Like the streets, it was eerily empty. Twilight rushed past the place where Princess Celestia had disappeared—refusing even to look at it—and hurried to Trixie’s wagon.

“It seems much worse than I remembered,” said Rarity, as everyone stopped and she peered into the ruined, bombed-out mess of Trixie’s living quarters. “Where do you suppose she keeps her fireworks?”

“Not inside,” said Twilight. “We’d have seen them earlier.”

She moved around to rear of the wagon. In this location, a number of wooden compartments had been attached to the underside of the carriage. Each compartment was secured with a padlock, and had “T. Lulamoon” painted on its front flap.

“Maybe they’re in here,” said Twilight. “I’ll try an unlocking spell.”

“No need for that,” said Applejack. “I’ll have these open in a jiffy.”

She turned around, lowered her head, and lashed out with powerful hind legs. Instantly, Twilight saw the flaw with Trixie’s security, for although the padlocks were strong, the metal loops binding them to the front of the storage compartments were not. True to her practical nature, Applejack had been the first to realize this. A few seconds later, she had kicked both rings and padlocks away from their moorings, so that each compartment could easily be opened.

Twilight did so at once. Now everyone could see a number of packages bound with coarse brown paper. Twilight and Rarity levitated them out, spread them on the ground, and magically unwrapped them.

“I must say,” decided Rarity, “Trixie is very well organized. Shells in one package, fuses in another… along with wadding, glue, and pyro dust. Everything you need for a colorful explosion.”

“Pyro dust?” said Twilight. “I thought fireworks were made from black powder?”

“So did I. But this dust is much better. I use it all the time to create special effects in my fashion shows.”

“Does that mean you know how to whip up the right kind of fireworks?”

“Unfortunately not. I’m familiar with the basics of using these ingredients, but I’d need some kind of guide to make anything complicated.”

“You mean like this kind of guide?” asked Applejack.

She was holding a scorched-looking book in her mouth, having apparently retrieved it from Trixie’s wagon. The book’s title was: Aerial Alphabets and Sky-Written Words: Making a Statement without Making a Mess.

Rarity levitated the book forward and magically flipped through the pages.

“Perfect!” she said. “It will take time, but I can do it with these blueprints.”

“How much time?” asked Twilight.

“I don’t know. I’m terribly sorry, but I’ve never done this before. I’ll move as fast as I can.”

“All right, you get to work. Applejack and I are going to start a fire.”

Rarity nodded and began levitating some of the different components. After watching her for several seconds, Twilight about-faced and cantered toward the pile of bonfire logs. Applejack followed close behind.

“Twilight, why do you suppose the princess isn’t here already? You don’t reckon she’s scared of Darkness, do you?”

“I don’t think Princess Luna’s scared of anything. My guess is that she’s confused—one moment, she’s relaxing in the countryside, the next, there’s an impossible shadow clouding the sun. Princess Luna must know that means something’s happened to her sister. But she doesn’t know what. So she fights back by creating her own light to neutralize the darkness. And all the while, she’s trying to decide what to do. Does she fly to Canterlot, gallop to Ponyville, or stay where she is? Her decision could mean the difference between saving Equestria and unwittingly destroying it. Worse, Princess Luna’s got no data to base her thinking on. So it’s safer to stay put and be patient while trying to gather some facts. That’s what I’d do.”

A few more paces and they had reached the log pile.

“Are we really gonna start a bonfire?” asked Applejack. “We thought it would be useful before, but with all that’s happened, won’t it just attract trouble?”

“Believe it or not, that’s exactly what we want. We have to get Princess Luna and Darkness here at the same time. I need them to fight each other.”

“I thought you said the princess’d lose if she did that?”

“She will. But it’s the only way of diverting enough of Darkness’ power to let me reach Trixie. And we’ve got another problem; shadows all over Ponyville are starting to wake up. According to Princess Celestia’s book, that’s a side effect of Darkness getting stronger. And like him, the shadows are hungry. A bonfire will help us keep them away.”

Twilight glanced toward the edge of the plaza. The candles and torches still burned brightly, as did the heavens above. But the blackness beyond their radiance seemed more plentiful now, and there were moments when it appeared to move on its own.

Applejack required no further convincing. Together, she and Twilight secured the base of the log pile and cleared away any loose debris that might accidentally spread the fire to some of the buildings nearby. Once all was ready, Twilight cast a heating spell and a dull orange flame appeared in the wad of twigs and grass that served as the bonfire’s kindling. The logs had already been doused with flammable starter, allowing the blaze to spread.

Twilight and Applejack helped it as well as they could, either blowing gently over the flames or adding more kindling to make them grow. After several minutes of this, the whole base of the log pile was burning. Nor did it take much longer until the fire roared suddenly upwards. A wash of light and heat moved across the plaza, banishing every bit of darkness to its edges. The bonfire had been lit.

As its flames subsided into a slower, steadier burn, a sharp CRACK! moved over the area. This noise was swiftly repeated, and when Twilight and Applejack looked toward Trixie’s wagon, they saw half a dozen fireworks shooting upward. At the apex of their flight, the fireworks burst in clouds of blue and gold, leaving a message of similar colors in the sky.

P Luna, come Pnyvll Plza –Twi

It was crude writing, nothing at all like the glamorous script of Trixie’s advertisements. Still, it was legible, and the pyro dust kept the letters burning long after a normal fire would have gone out.

“So, what do you think?” asked Rarity as she joined the others. “Hardly the most elegant message, but I suppose it makes our point.”

“You did a right peachy job,” said Applejack.

“And a fast one, too,” added Twilight. “Thank you. All we have to do now is wait.”

“Here?” asked Rarity. “What happens if that awful Darkness shows up before the princess?”

“‘A god does not concern himself with ants.’ You heard what he said. I’ve a feeling he won’t be paying much attention to us. At least, not until he deals with Princess Luna. She’s the last one who can threaten him.”

Twilight fell silent and turned her attention to the heavens. Luna’s silvery moon had been fixed in the same spot for hours, so brilliant that it seemed impossible for anything to eclipse. Behind and beside it, the stars shone on, innumerably splendid.

“Twilight… she’s here.”

Applejack’s voice was barely a whisper. Twilight shifted to see her friend facing west, and in that direction a silver-white flash had appeared in the sky. Like a meteor, the flash raced downward, traveling with incredible speed until it reached the plaza and burst into a plume of ghostly radiance. Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack nerved themselves to move forward. And there, waiting patiently to meet them amid the remnants of her light shroud, stood a slender sapphire-hued alicorn with light-blue eyes and a cloudy crescent moon for her cutie mark.

“Princess Luna,” said Twilight.

Luna stared evenly back at her. The princess’ mane and tail were dark blue—turning lighter near the edges—and both were filled with tiny light flecks, as though Luna had bound herself to the stars that fell under her dominion. Like Celestia, Luna’s intense magical power caused her mane and tail to flutter, and though she was not quite as tall as her sister, Luna was still taller than any of the ponies who were now bowing before her.

“Twilight Sparkle. It is good to meet thee again. We came as soon as we saw thy signal. Canst thou tell us what hath transpired here?”

“Princess?”

Luna shook her head, like one who has realized an obvious truth.

“Yes,” she said. “Yes, of course, you are right. My apologies. It is only concern for my sister that allowed me to slip into my old manner of speaking.”

She closed her wings and bid her subjects to rise. Twilight hurriedly explained about Darkness.

“So,” replied Luna, “another ancient foe has been freed. And he has taken Celestia. My worst fear is realized.”

“We tried to help her, your majesty,” said Applejack, “but we couldn’t do anythin’! And Twilight—”

“I have no doubt that all of you fought bravely. Nor do I doubt that Twilight has summoned me without a purpose in mind.”

Twilight scuffled her hoof through a wisp of bonfire ash. Her mouth felt dry and her heartbeat thundered. But when she nerved herself to look at Luna, she found that—somehow—the princess was already aware of her thoughts.

“So be it. I will make my stand here and entrust the rest to you. And before this night is over, perhaps you will take your place alongside of Star Swirl and Silver Mane, as the only mortals to defeat the most insidious Brother. I would like to see that. It would be a fitting tribute to Equestria’s wisest sorcerers—they who were once my friends, and whose company I have dearly missed.”

As she spoke, Princess Luna glanced upwards, where two stars—one a grizzled white and the other purest silver—shone from the heavens. The stars grew brighter as Luna stared at them, and, for a moment, it seemed to Twilight and the others that they heard a pair of distant voices, offering words of hope and encouragement.

“I believe that Darkness challenged me earlier,” said Luna. “I did not answer him then, but if you are ready to enact your plan, I will do so now.”

Twilight gave the smallest of nods. With no hesitation, Luna stepped away from her, away from everyone, leaving the warmth and safety of the bonfire to walk boldly over the cobblestone. How she answered the challenge was a mystery, even Twilight was unable to discern the magic that made Darkness aware of the princess’ presence.

But it was impossible to miss his response. First, a mocking laughter was heard. The sky shuddered and some of its stars went out. Then a mass of shadows boiled up from the ground near Princess Luna, and the awful form of Darkness rose out of their depths.

He looked much different now. His mane and tail no longer fluttered; instead, they burned, as though a dark fire were consuming them. The crown on his hindquarters had melted to a point where it was unrecognizable. And his eyes… They were no longer icy blue. They were no longer there at all.

“Princess Luna. You have finally come to meet me.”

His deep voice rumbled the pavement and stirred leaves from the ground. Luna did not reply, but she raised her head and her long horn shone like a diamond.

“No,” said Darkness. “What I have wrought will not be undone by you.”

Twilight felt his power gathering, and Luna’s welling to match it. The air howled, even as the earth trembled under their hooves. There was no mistaking would what happen next; Twilight leapt backwards and shouted a warning to her friends.

“RUN!”

She was still whipping around when the explosion struck. The force of it picked her up and slammed her into Rarity. Both ponies went down in a jumbled heap near the bonfire, lying stunned until Applejack dragged them up.

“Come on!” she said. “This way!”

The next burst of magic was already building as the trio tore out of the plaza. This time they were far enough to escape the explosion, though its roar rattled their teeth and shook every building in sight.

“Go to Fluttershy’s!” cried Twilight. “That’s where the pool is!”

Her friends buckled down to run faster. They were dashing past the darkened front of Sugarcube Corner when Rarity shrieked and tumbled across the ground.

Twilight and Applejack skidded to a halt and looked over their shoulders. A pony-sized shadow had appeared on the street behind Rarity, spewing black tendrils that were wrapping themselves around her hind legs.

“Hang on!” cried Twilight.

She summoned her magic and prepared to go back. Applejack leapt in front of her.

“No! I’ll help Rarity. You get to the night pool.”

“Are you crazy?! I’m not leaving either one of you!”

“Oh, yes you are! Because you’re the only pony who can stop this. And if you stay…”

Twilight glanced frantically about. There were dozens of shadows now, bubbling out of the pavement cracks or flowing from the sewer grates. Whether they had been sent by Darkness or whether they were acting on their own was impossible to tell. But there were far too many to fight.

“Good luck,” said Applejack. “Give Darkness a hoof to the kisser for me!”

Before Twilight could answer, her friend whirled about and charged down the street. With her mouth, Applejack grabbed a torch as she passed it, and flung the fiery brand into the shadow that had captured Rarity. There was a loud hissing and the shadow retreated. At once, Rarity stood and deployed a telekinesis spell, levitating every torch, lantern, and candle in sight, and bringing them closer. The last Twilight saw of her friends, they were standing back to back in a circle of light, with the shadows rising around them like floodwater.

A nasty jolt made Twilight drop to her knees. Another shadow had closed in, and was attempting to bind her legs. Twilight blasted it away with a beam of light from her horn. Scrambling up, she took one last look at the mound of blackness that covered the street where her friends had been. Then she swallowed a deep breath and teleported.

She materialized at the edge of the Everfree Forest. It was bright here; without the distraction of town, Luna’s moon seemed closer than ever. Twilight sat and stared at it while she fought to catch her breath. Her magic was still weary after so many exertions, and she realized that she would not have had enough power to bring Applejack and Rarity with her during a teleport. Perhaps they had known. Perhaps that was why one had not cried out for help and the other had been so insistent that Twilight desert her.

The thought made Twilight’s eyes go misty. She wiped them clear and wobbled to her hooves. Then she had a good look around.

As expected, she was only a short distance from Fluttershy’s cabin, and the place where her friend had found the night pool. If Twilight had been more certain of the pool’s location, she could have teleported directly to it. Unfortunately, that was not the case, so she must walk into the forest and hope she remembered the way.

At any rate, those were her plans. But when Twilight hurried beyond the first few trees, she found that navigating the Everfree Forest was unnecessary, because the Everfree Forest was gone. The night pool had swallowed it.

Nothing had been left behind. Twilight felt as though she were standing on the rim of a lightless ocean, one that stretched as far as her eyes could see. The ocean’s surface cast no reflections; even when Twilight peered over the edge, she could not see her face in the water. Nor was there any hint of motion or depth. It was as if reality itself had been destroyed.

A loud CRACK! made Twilight flinch and glance overhead. The ambient radiance was dimming and a dark chasm had appeared on the moon.

“It’s breaking apart! Which means Princess Luna…”

Her legs trembled as she finished the thought. There was no one left to help her now, and no reason for further delay.

Twilight pictured her friends and stepped forward into oblivion.

Chapter 12

12.

When Twilight opened her eyes, she did not understand where she was. She had expected nothing but darkness inside the night pool. Instead, there was lush grass and dandelions. It was sunny, she was standing on a hill at the outskirts of Ponyville, and the blue sky was dotted with fleecy white clouds.

After several moments of staring, Twilight gathered herself and began trotting forward. Ponyville was a good way off, though the air felt so refreshing that she didn’t mind the walk, and even stopped at regular intervals to bask in the sunlight or savor the perfume of wildflowers. This went on for quite a while, and the more time passed, the less Twilight could remember about what she was looking for, or why it had been so important to find.

Eventually, Twilight heard a pair of low voices. They were both familiar, and she followed her ears to an old willow tree, in the shade of which two ponies were resting. One had extremely bright colors, with a greenish-gray coat, a blue-and-fuchsia mane, and a trio of bowtie candies for her cutie mark. The other pony was more earthy; her coat was rustic olive, her mane and tail were solidly amber, and her cutie mark depicted three fresh carrots. When they spotted Twilight, both ponies ceased talking and gave a friendly wave.

“Hey, Bon Bon,” said Twilight. “Carrot Top.”

“Hiya, Twilight,” said Bon Bon. “We’ve been wondering if you might show up. Come and have a seat with us.”

“Yes,” added Carrot Top, “please do. It’s so beautifully peaceful here.”

They made room and Twilight settled between them. The grass around the willow was full and soft, and what with the warm sun and the rhythmic breeze, Twilight felt decidedly sleepy. As for Bon Bon and Carrot Top, they already seemed to be dozing; both of them had their eyes closed, and Carrot Top actually lowered her head to the ground.

The serenity was interrupted by a sharp BANG! and burst of color over Ponyville. It was a silvery fishtail firework, and soon the air was full of them.

“Oh!” gasped Bon Bon. “Trixie’s putting on a show again.”

“Come on, Twilight,” said Carrot Top. “You’ll love this!”

They each sprang to their hooves and galloped away. Nor were they alone; either Trixie’s show was extremely popular or something else was happening, because there were several dozen ponies—spread out all across the prairie—heading in the same direction as Bon Bon and Carrot Top. It made Twilight uncomfortable somehow, and reluctant to find out where everyone was going. Nevertheless, she got up, shook away her sleepiness, and set off on a brisk canter toward Ponyville.

Fortunately, the town wasn’t far from the willow tree, and Twilight needed only a few minutes to reach its main thoroughfare. As she began to move down a wide cobblestone street, another pony approached her from the left.

“Good morning, Twilight.”

“Fluttershy! You’re all right!”

“Yes, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I… don’t know. I thought something might have happened to you. But I can’t remember.”

“Don’t worry. You’re probably just excited about Trixie’s show. I am!”

Fluttershy smiled and continued on down the street. Twilight followed her, growing more uneasy with every step.

They had not gone far when they came across a heart-wrenching sight. It seemed a pair of blue jays had built their nest under the eaves of a nearby house, and one of their fledglings had fallen onto the ground below. Although the young bird did not appear to be hurt, it was clearly distressed about being separated from its parents.

“You poor thing!” said Twilight.

She galloped up to fledgling and waited. To her surprise, Fluttershy kept walking.

“Hey, Fluttershy! Over here.”

Fluttershy didn’t alter her course. Twilight hailed her again, and this time Fluttershy actually spread her wings and took off. In seconds, she had flown out of sight beyond the houses.

“Okay,” said Twilight, “now I know something’s wrong. Fluttershy would never pass up a chance to help an animal that needed her.”

With a gentle plume of magic, Twilight lifted the fledgling back to its nest. Seeing that all would be well, she returned to the main street, just in time to be bowled over from behind.

“Omigosh, Twilight! What are you doing here?”

There was no mistaking Pinkie Pie’s exuberant inflections. Twilight lifted herself from the pavement and brushed the dirt from her legs. Then she looked sternly at Pinkie Pie, awaiting her apology for the rough-and-tumble greeting.

But no apology was forthcoming. Instead, Pinkie Pie grabbed hold of Twilight’s foreleg and began pulling her along.

“Hurry up, hurry up, come on! Trixie’s putting on a performance and it’s going to be AMAZING! I bet Rainbow Dash is there already! I wish I could fly so I could be super-speedy, and get all the best seats at Trixie’s wonder-mazing-tastic shows!”

Twilight found it easier to go along than resist, though she couldn’t help asking, “How many shows has Trixie done?”

“At least two or three every day! Aren’t we lucky?”

Pinkie Pie released her grip on Twilight and bounced around in a circle. Abruptly, she paused, raising one hoof to point at a pegasus stallion flying over her head.

“Twilight, who’s that?”

“Where? Behind Thunderlane?”

“Wow, is that really his name? I mean, why not Lightning Road, or Hailstorm Alley, or—”

“Wait a minute,” said Twilight, “you honestly didn’t recognize him?”

“Why should I? The only pony I’m interested in is Trixie!”

Twilight didn’t know what to say about this, so she kept silent and followed Pinkie Pie further down the street. Unsurprisingly, her friend was heading to Ponyville Plaza. A large crowd was there already, its members waving streamers, brandishing air horns, and keeping their attention fixed on a stage attached to a yellow gypsy wagon.

“Welcome, welcome!” cried a voice from behind the stage’s curtains. “If everypony will kindly take their seats, my glorious show can begin!”

A hush fell over the audience. But when the curtains parted and Trixie leapt forward, the crowd went wild with cheering and hoof stamps.

“Why, thank you,” said Trixie. “It’s good to see you all know how to greet such a famous entertainer. Now, are you ready for the greatest show in Equestria?!”

The crowd roared its affirmative. Trixie smiled and glanced across the plaza. Suddenly, she did a double take. Her smile faded, but was swiftly replaced by a rapacious grin.

“You! The mousey star-sparkle unicorn standing by yourself. Come up to the stage immediately!”

Twilight swallowed and tried to back away. Alas, everyone in the audience was already turning to look at her. They were also stepping aside to clear a path by which she could reach the stage. So there was no escape.

“Oh, hurry up!” cried Trixie. “Really, if you’re going to dawdle, I’ll have to help you along.”

With a theatrical flourish, Trixie summoned her magic. A pair of roller-skates appeared on Twilight’s hooves, and Trixie cast another spell that made the skates accelerate at terrifying speeds, until Twilight was flying over the cobblestones. Trixie made no attempt to help Twilight slow down near the wagon, and there was a sickening THUD! when the latter plowed into it.

“All right, all right,” said Trixie, “no need to be dramatic.”

She reached out with telekinesis, levitating Twilight out of the roller skates and onto the stage.

“My word, you’re a mess! Here, let me get you something to drink.”

With a wave of her hoof, Trixie conjured a water-filled bucket. Magically she lifted the bucket, but instead of setting it down where Twilight could drink, she made the whole thing rise up and turn over, drenching Twilight with a deluge of icy water.

“Oops!” said Trixie. “How clumsy of me! But don’t worry; I’ll dry you off in a flash!”

Before Twilight could protest, Trixie hit her with a heat spell. Trixie made no effort to control spell’s energy, which meant that, in just a few seconds, Twilight’s mane and tail were bushier than a lightning-struck sheep.

“Oh my!” said Trixie. “Now you need a good styling. Please, allow me!”

Another flash of magic summoned a giant floating hair brush. Trixie maneuvered it behind Twilight and made it wind up like a baseball bat. Had the brush struck true, it would have slammed Twilight on the rump and sent her flying. But by this time, Twilight had recovered her wits; when the brush swung downward, she disappeared from its path and reappeared—with her mane and tail back to their usual tidiness—at the opposite end of the stage.

“Thank you,” she said, in a strangely quiet voice, “for knocking some sense into me, and reminding me what I came here to do.”

Trixie sneered and sent the brush zipping forward. Twilight caught it with her magic, gave a twist, and the whole thing burst into splinters.

“Trixie,” she said, “it’s over. We need to talk.”

“Is that so? Well, unfortunately for you, I don’t talk with ponies of lesser talent. I talk at them, and I expect to be obeyed.”

“Then you’ll have to make an exception for me.”

“What was that? I’m afraid I couldn’t hear you over my fans.”

She whirled to face the audience, rearing in delight as they cheered. At the same time, Twilight could see that something was wrong with the ponies in the plaza. Some of them looked strangely transparent, others had splashes of black spread across their coats, and a few were even missing their cutie marks.

“They’re not real… I can’t believe I didn’t notice before.”

“Of course they’re real!” cried Trixie. “You’re just jealous because they like me more than they like you. Admit it! I’m finally better than you are.”

“Trixie, your audience is made of shadows! They look like ponies and they talk like ponies, but they don’t have the hearts of ponies. And you’re fooling yourself if you think they care one whit about your act.”

“You’re lying!”

“Darkness is the liar! He built this twisted little fantasy to keep you out of his way.”

“Shut UP!”

“No! You’re going to listen to me. You—”

Twilight stopped in midsentence and threw up a force field. A bolt of lightning glanced over it and streaked into the sky. Trixie threw another bolt, and another after that, relentlessly bombarding Twilight with her magic.

Twilight didn’t fight back. She just kept blocking, strike after strike, until Trixie exhausted herself and dropped down to her knees. The audience had kept deathly quiet, but now Trixie raised her head to look at them. Slowly, she stretched out one of her forelegs, as if she were begging for help. Nobody moved.

“So it’s true.”

Trixie let her outstretched leg fall to the ground. Her head lowered, her ears went down, and her body seemed almost to wilt. At the same time, the ponies in the audience began vanishing, one by one, from the center of Ponyville Plaza outwards. When all of them were gone, the houses around where they had been sitting also disappeared, along with the pavement, the store fronts, tables, and parasols—even the sky itself—leaving Twilight and Trixie alone on a disembodied stage, with only a solitary lantern for light.

Trixie drew a shaky breath, and then stood up and wiped at her eyes. Twilight gave her a moment’s peace before moving forward.

“We don’t have much time,” she said. “I need you to help me.”

“Why should I?”

“I’m sorry, I could have sworn you just said—”

“Why should I?” repeated Trixie. “You’ve ruined my life three times. First with the Ursa Minor, then with the Alicorn Amulet. And now you’ve wrecked my illusion! Maybe it wasn’t real, but it was all I had. And I was happy! I was a star here. Why can’t you leave me alone?!”

“Trixie, haven’t you learned anything? What happened with the Ursa Minor was all because of your boasting. As for the Alicorn Amulet, you’re the one who thought it would help you take revenge on Ponyville. And when that didn’t work, you even asked me to forgive you!”

“Oh, please. You didn’t honestly believe that? I mean, ‘The Great and Apologetic Trixie’? As if I had any choice! Not with Princess Celestia and the whole town standing there.”

“Fine,” said Twilight, “if you want to go back on what you told me, I won’t try to change your mind. But right now, we have to put our differences aside and work together. Because if we don’t, Equestria isn’t going to make it.”

“So what? I’m perfectly safe here. I’ll just go back to my fantasy.”

Twilight stepped forward and raised one of her forelegs. There was a flash of movement and a loud WHAP! Trixie reeled backward, clutching her face.

“You slapped me!”

“And I’ll do it again!” cried Twilight. “I have never ever met anypony so completely and utterly selfish!”

“How dare—”

“No! You be quiet and you listen to me! There are things you need to hear.”

“I’m not listening to a word you say!”

“Oh, yes you are! Because in your heart, you know I’m right. You’re not so much of a monster that you’d let our entire world fall to Darkness.”

“Fine words coming from a pony who hates me!”

“No, Trixie. I don’t hate you. I never have. As a matter of fact, the two of us are a lot alike. We both have a passion that defines us. For you, it’s showmanship. For me, it’s magic. I think magic is more important than anything in the world. Or at least, I used to. You see, when I first came to Ponyville, all I wanted was to be left alone so I could study. But then, something amazing happened. I made friends. And the more time we spent together, the more I treasured them, until I came to care about friendship even more than I care about magic. But you haven’t reached that point yet. Your passion is still the only thing that’s important to you. Worse, it’s holding you back.”

“What do you mean?”

“Answer one question first: why do you put on your shows?”

“Because I love doing them.”

“And there’s the problem. If you really want to change the way other ponies feel about you—if you want them to adore you like they do in your dreams—then you have to stop putting on shows for yourself. Your audience must be more important.”

“That’s impossible! How am I supposed to stop enjoying my passion?”

“I didn’t say that. You can still love your shows, just like I still love my magic. Your mistake is that you’re throwing your heart into what you do and trying to hold onto it at the same time. That never works.”

“So you think that, if I put my audience first, it’ll make my shows even better?”

“I can’t say for sure. But what I can say is that I’m never stronger with magic than when I’m using it for another. Why do suppose,” added Twilight, raising her head to look straight at Trixie, “that I have the strength to be here now?”

Trixie swallowed and shuffled her hooves. She opened her mouth, but just as quickly closed it and glanced away.

“Who are you trying to fool? Even if I believed you, even if we made it out of here and somehow defeated Darkness, there’s no way I’ll ever have the chance to put on a show again. Not after everything I’ve done.”

“You’re wrong, Trixie. You can put on another show. Right here and right now.”

Twilight stamped on the stage, producing a hollow, wooden sound. The noise made Trixie’s ears perk and she stood a little taller. At the same time, something in the darkness seemed to attract her attention, and she stared at the space where her phantom audience had vanished. Just as Twilight began to press for an answer, Trixie turned back around.

“Okay, Twilight,” she said. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

Twilight took a deep breath to control her impatience.

“First, tell me everything about your relationship with Darkness. It might help.”

“There really isn’t much to say. I knew he was dangerous, but I also knew he had to honor his promises. Once I stole the key to his prison—never mind how—I used that as leverage to make him obey me. It was all going fine, until that mob showed up. I panicked when they got near my wagon and I told Darkness to keep me safe. But he tricked me and sent me here.”

“Didn’t you try to escape?”

“Of course I did! But I wasn’t strong enough. So I gave in and accepted the fantasy.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re over it, and that you’re willing to help me. Because it’s about as bad as it can be in Ponyville. When you told Darkness to ‘make them go away,’ he interpreted that as an order to destroy our reality.”

“And how can we possibly stop him? Don’t you know where we are? This night pool is the center of his power—literally, the Heart of Darkness. Everything I’ve read says there’s no way out.”

“Then we’re going to rewrite the books. I think I know how. You just be ready to give the right commands.”

“Commands for what?”

“For making Darkness come into the night pool. He has to be merged with his power for us to shut him down; that’s how he was beaten the last time. Once that’s done, you need to order him to give up, either by forsaking his magic or surrendering to Princess Luna. She was fighting him when I teleported from Ponyville, and it may be that she still is.”

“I’ll… do what I can. But what happens if Luna destroys Darkness while we’re in here with him?”

“I don’t know. I’d hoped I could teleport us, but I’m not sure I have enough magic now. Either way, that isn’t important. We have to save Equestria. No matter the cost.”

Trixie swallowed and moved skittishly backward. For a moment, it looked as if she would run away. Then she halted, bowed, and, with a theatrical flourish, made her cloak and wizard’s hat appear.

“All right, Twilight. One last show, for my audience this time!” Her cloak billowed as she swept it into place, while the stars on her hat twinkled. “Ready?”

Twilight answered by summoning a white light around her horn. As she concentrated, the light grew brighter and began rising into the air.

“Portals to Anywhere,” said Twilight. “Please let me remember enough of what I read to get this right…”

The light above her horn strengthened and expanded, until it formed a floating circle the size of a hula hoop. Twilight put more power into her spell and the circle became transparent. Now it was as if they were looking through a window into Ponyville Plaza. The view was murky and distorted; so much of the town was infested with shadows and Luna’s once glorious moon hung dimly, like a broken husk in the sky. Moreover, there were only a few candles burning beneath it, and not a single torch.

“This portal won’t let us pass through,” said Twilight, “not unless it has more magic than I can give. But at least it should provide us with a view, and a way to talk with those on the other side.”

“Very nice,” said Trixie. “Can you move it? I think there’s something shining to the left.”

“I’ll try,” said Twilight.

She concentrated and refocused her magic. The portal began to glide through the air, sweeping like a ghost over the cobblestones. Soon, both ponies saw a tiny glint of silver. Twilight guided the portal toward it and there, her long horn emitting a pitiful glow, lay a familiar figure.

“Princess Luna!”

So it was. Twilight hailed her again, but the princess did not appear to notice.

“I’m afraid poor Luna isn’t going to answer,” said a deep voice. “I’ve taken both her sight and her hearing. Filled them with shadows, if you must know. It will only be a little while until I have the rest of her.”

Darkness smiled as he rose out of a black pit on the ground near Princess Luna. He walked several paces forward and stared through the portal at Twilight.

“So that’s where you went. And here I was too busy with the princess to notice. I suppose I should congratulate you for having the ingenuity to escape my shadows. But of course, by entering the night pool, you—”

Darkness cut off abruptly. He was looking over Twilight’s shoulder, and for the first time, he appeared to be startled.

“That’s right,” said Trixie, “the Great and Powerful Trixie is no longer stuck in your trap.”

Twilight held her breath. She could see shadows gathering around Darkness, and a glint of icy fire in the sockets where his eyes had been. If she had been wrong about his relationship with Trixie, it would all end here.

“So I see,” replied Darkness. “Ah, well. I was planning to speak with you anyway, as soon as I finished my work.”

“Your work?” said Trixie. “You mean destroying Equestria!”

“No. Destroying is the province of my still-imprisoned brother. What I do involves liberation. I offer freedom from the overwhelming stress of reality. In my new kingdom there will be no suffering and no pain. Nothing but eternal peace.”

The portal flickered. Twilight struggled to keep it open, even as she fought to stop herself from being sick at the thought of what Darkness intended.

“Trixie,” she said, “let’s finish this. Tell him to come into the night pool and surrender. I can’t hold our window up much longer.”

“Not yet,” said Trixie. “I owe him payback for what he did to me.”

“Are you crazy?! If the portal closes, we can’t give any more orders!”

“I said not yet! Remember what you told me?”

Trixie glanced at Twilight, as if daring her to interrupt again. But in the instant when she shifted away from Darkness—so that he could not see her face—Trixie’s expression changed from haughtiness to pleading. Twilight was startled into silence and Trixie turned back to the portal, her face resuming its indignant expression.

Darkness was obviously pleased with what he saw.

“Very good,” he said, “you are finally putting Twilight in her place.”

“Just like I ought to do with you,” snapped Trixie, “for tricking me into that sick prison.”

“How could it be a prison when you were happy? I sent you to a place where all your dreams came true. And I can do so again. Let me fulfill my purpose and I will build you a kingdom of such impeccable magnificence that you will never wish to leave it. Nor will you have to; with my new power I can make you immortal. You will rule forever as queen and show mare!”

Twilight fidgeted uneasily, trying to decide whether she should continue trusting Trixie or whether it was time to intervene. Suddenly, she felt a tug on her hind legs. Before she could even glance down, a shadowy tendril yanked her backward, while another wrapped about her face like a muzzle.

“You know I’m right,” said Darkness. “I’m your friend. I would never hurt you…”

The tendrils constricted so harshly around Twilight that it was all she could do to breathe. With horror, she saw more on the way; Darkness was bypassing his promise not to attack Trixie by relying on his sentient shadows, whose actions had not been explicitly restricted. Now they were closing in on Trixie from behind.

“Trust me,” said Darkness. “Trust me, and I will give you everything you ever wanted.”

His smile was fiercer than ever. Twilight tried desperately to speak. A dozen feet to her left, Trixie seemed to be considering. She had just raised her head when the shadows behind her struck home. There were three of them, and each plunged like a spear into Trixie’s back. For a moment, she stood still, watching the black tendrils that now protruded from her chest. Then she gasped out a strangling cough and collapsed.

“And that,” said Darkness, “is how you deal with a pest. Puncture her lungs so she cannot speak and cast her away like the rubbish she is.”

His body melted, only to reform on the near side of the portal. Twilight could do nothing but watch.

“Take your time,” said Darkness as he walked closer to Trixie. “Once you’re dead, my promises die with you and I’ll be free. That’s the kind of anticipation I can savor.”

“I know what you mean,” said a clear voice. “I’m looking forward to freedom myself.”

Darkness whipped around to find a Trixie who was completely unharmed, stepping out from behind the portal. At the same time, the Trixie who had been pierced by shadows faded and disappeared like the illusion she was.

“Thank you for coming into the night pool,” said the real Trixie. “Now stop using magic and let all of us go home.”

Just like that, the shadows holding Twilight were gone. She dropped to her hooves, aching and gasping for breath. In front of her, Darkness was backing away. As he cowered, a silver flash stormed through the portal. Twilight’s heart leapt when she saw Princess Luna rear up, silhouetted against a moon that shone with the fury of an avenging angel.

Then the portal snapped shut and they were plunged into blackness. Twilight felt Darkness’ power surge higher than ever, only to wither and die in the same instant. Abruptly she was falling, her body pummeled under the tempestuous collapse of the night pool. Trapped within it, she would be ripped apart.

And then there was a marvelous light.

“Twilight Sparkle… My faithful student.”

Twilight felt a touch of feathery warmth on her shoulders, as though she were being embraced by a cloud. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself in a grassy meadow near the border of Ponyville. The afternoon sun shone high overhead and a gentle breeze rippled her mane. Best of all was the figure standing nearby.

“Princess Celestia! You… I… What happened?!”

Princess Celestia smiled.

“First,” she said, “please allow me to congratulate you on this truly indelible victory. Your role in defeating another of the Brothers will long be remembered by all creatures of good heart. As for what happened, you did just as I hoped. You used the knowledge from my book to help Luna shatter Darkness, and in the process allowed me to rescue those he had stolen.”

Princess Celestia swept a forehoof toward the meadow. Twilight nearly laughed for joy when she saw that the area was full of ponies. In fact, the entire town was there; everyone whom Darkness or his shadows had captured was free! Among others, Twilight noticed Lyra hugging Bon Bon, Lotus and Aloe gathering dandelions, and Applejack frolicking like a filly around Big McIntosh. A little further on, Rarity was helping Carrot Top to style her mane, Thunderlane and Derpy were chuckling as Pinkie Pie made faces, and Celestia’s royal guards stood at rapt attention, so that Rainbow Dash (with Spike on her back) and Mayor could admire their armor. At the very end of the meadow, Fluttershy sat by herself, watching the last vestiges of shadow fade from the sky.

“This was all part of your plan,” said Twilight. “You let Darkness absorb you on purpose!”

“Yes. I had to enter the same place as the ponies he had devoured. Taking them with me when I left the night pool was the only way I could save them.”

Twilight’s love for the princess grew stronger than ever, welling up until she could have danced from happiness, and she had almost decided to do so when a rush of wing beats caught her attention. In the next moment, Luna swept down to land, looking unusually cheerful. Even so, she did not speak, nor did she acknowledge Twilight with anything more than a nod.

“Twilight,” said Princess Celestia, “may I ask you to excuse me while I speak with my sister? There are details we must discuss, to ensure that Darkness never returns. And there is somepony with whom you need to have a discussion of your own. I will leave it up to you to decide her fate, and whether or not she should be tried for what she almost wrought upon us.”

Twilight bowed and hurried off. There was no question as to whom Celestia had been referring, and indeed, Trixie was standing in plain sight, under the shade of an elm tree that grew on a hill overlooking the meadow. As Twilight drew nearer, Trixie took off her cloak and her hat and set both of them down on the grass.

“Well,” she said, “it looks like everything’s back to normal.”

“For now,” agreed Twilight. “We seem to have a history of attracting adventures in Ponyville. I wonder where the next one will come from?”

“Not from me! The Great and Powerful Trixie… I mean, I’ve had enough of adventuring. I think I’ll do something peaceful next, if I’m allowed to.”

She glanced aside and looked toward the princesses. Twilight decided to be blunt.

“You don’t have to worry about them. Princess Celestia told me I’m the one who should decide if you’ll stand trial.”

“I see. And which way are you leaning?”

“Before I answer that, I’d like to ask you a question. About Darkness. I’ve been thinking and I don’t understand why you didn’t order him into the night pool. You could have done that at any time and he would have had to obey you. Why go through the whole ruse with an illusionary double from your magic act?”

Trixie shook her head.

“You’re forgetting how Darkness works, and that he’s an expert at twisting words. If I commanded him into the night pool, he might have entered it miles away from us, where my voice couldn’t reach him. Or maybe he would have appeared in the same physical space as me, and ripped me apart from inside. The point is, even though Darkness is bound by promises, his whole being is focused on how to get around them. And he’s had lifetimes of experience! I was a fool to think I could beat him at his own game, and I realized after he imprisoned me that I couldn’t risk giving him orders again. So I decided to trick him instead.”

“In other words, you knew your audience.”

“Yes. Like you told me.”

There was a moment of silence between them.

“All right, Trixie,” said Twilight, “I’m going to answer your question. Are you ready?”

“I’m ready.”

“Then my decision is… that you don’t need to be tried, or even arrested for what you did. I think you’ve learned your lesson. I think the old Trixie would have ordered Darkness into the night pool. And if that had happened… well, I agree with you that none of us would be standing here.”

Trixie turned briefly away, to wipe at her eyes.

“Thanks,” she said. “I never thought I’d be saying it to you, of all ponies, but thanks.”

“What will you do now?”

“I don’t know. I’d like to go back into show business, eventually. But first, I feel like it’s more important for me to make up for what I’ve done. I only wish I knew how.”

Twilight smiled a mischievous smile.

“You know, I just might have an idea…”

* * *

It was a quiet morning in early spring as Twilight opened the door of the Golden Oakes Library. She had been looking through a kitchen window when Derpy delivered the mail, and had seen her set down a package along with the usual letters.

“Maybe it’s my book,” said Spike, who had gone along with Twilight and was wearing an apron splotched with muffin mix. “You remember, I ordered an autographed copy of Donut Joe’s Happy Healthy Cookbook.”

“I can understand the happy part,” said Twilight, “but really, healthy donuts sound even more mythical than humans. Anyway, we’ll find out in a minute.”

From the doorway, Twilight used a medley of levitation and telekinesis to open the distant mailbox, set its letters on top of the package, and then whisk everything straight through the doorway. She felt pleased to note that the spells didn’t tax her; a few days of rest after the Battle of Afternoon Night—as the struggle against Darkness was now being called—had completely replenished her magical reserves, and, in fact, had made them stronger than ever, owing the frenetic exercise they had received.

“It’s from Trixie,” said Twilight, examining the addresses on the package. “I was wondering when we’d hear from her.”

“What’s she say?”

Twilight opened the package. It was brimming with photographs, nearly all of which showed Trixie on a different plot of ground. In some cases, the ground was rocky and barren, with snow-covered mountains in the distance. In other pictures, the ground was strewn with tall grass and ruby-colored flowers, and butterflies danced among them. The only similarity was that, in every shot, Trixie was planting a small bit of rosebush.

“Ah ha!” said Spike. “So that’s what you had her do with the roses she cleared out of Sweet Apple Acres.”

“That’s it. We gave some to Rarity, and then Trixie took the rest in her wagon when she left.”

“I still can’t believe you helped her fix that.”

“Well, I was the one who blasted it in the first place. Besides, it was good practice for my mending spells.”

Spike picked up a handful of photographs and started flipping through them.

“You know,” he said, “if you really wanted to punish Trixie, you could have made her do something a lot harder than traveling around Equestria planting flowers.”

“But I didn’t want to punish her. I wanted her to make up for what she’d done. And bringing beauty to places that need it is a great way to accomplish that.”

“So it’s kind of a quest?”

“Exactly. I gave Trixie a goal, but meeting that goal will give her a chance to learn something even more important.”

“You really think she can do that?”

Twilight took hold of a picture and held it up. The picture was different than most of the others, for it showed Trixie in a small village, having evidently just completed a show. Her wagon was parked in the background, but the stage was up and Trixie was not using it. Rather, she was standing with her audience. A pair of young foals capered on either side of her, one of whom she had let try on her cloak and hat. Several other ponies were holding fireworks, which Trixie must have given them, either for their own use or because she had invited them to be part of her show. Whoever had taken the picture had clearly done it without Trixie’s knowledge, since she was partially turned away from the camera, unaware that she was being photographed. And that made the radiant smile on her face all the more meaningful.

“Yes,” said Twilight softly, “I think she’ll be just fine.”

She put the pictures back in the package and closed it.

“Come on. Let’s see if we can’t whip up some new recipes, to tide you over until your book arrives.”

“All right!” said Spike.

He turned around and rushed down the hall. Twilight took one more look outside to watch the rising sun move over Ponyville. Then she closed the door and followed the scent of blueberry muffins into the kitchen, where Spike and breakfast would be waiting.

Chapter 10

10.

“And now,” said the stallion, “you will have the honor of witnessing the first act of Equestria’s new god.”

He strode forward and stared into the afternoon sun. An aura of magic gathered around him, making his mane and tail flutter, exactly as Celestia’s had. Twilight backed slowly away, moving closer to Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and several other ponies, with hopes that she could teleport as many to safety as possible.

But the stallion no longer seemed interested in fighting. Rather, he gazed skyward, focusing upon the sun. His eyes flashed and the light suffusing Ponyville grew dimmer.

“N-no,” said Applejack. “That ain’t possible!”

The stallion ignored her. Once more the icy fire in his eyes burned, and once more the sun darkened. Glancing higher, Twilight saw an endless shadow rising from the southern horizon.

“It’s beautiful…” whispered the stallion. “I have waited so long.”

He reared up, utterly transfixed by the oncoming void.

“Twilight!” yelled Rainbow. “Do something!”

“I… I can’t.”

Even as Twilight lowered her head, the last rays of sunlight went out. Ponyville was plunged into darkness, or would have been, if not for thousands of candles, torches, and the illumination from streetlamps and houses. These appeared to snap the stallion out of his reverie, so that he shook his head and dropped back to all fours.

“A minor nuisance,” he said, “and one I can easily sweep away.”

Twilight felt another storm of gathering magic. Her own was the merest raindrop in comparison, but she called it to life for one last effort. Beside her, Applejack and Rainbow Dash braced themselves to charge, as did every other pony.

Suddenly, a light shone from the heavens. Twilight jerked her head upwards. She found herself staring into the white radiance of Polaris, the North Star, shining dry and crisp against the inky sky. More stars appeared: the twinkling Southern Watcher, the ruddy red Hearthfire, and blue-sheened Arwen, who is most beloved by ponies. As each of these sprang into being, they were surrounded by thousands of their lesser kin, until the heavens blazed. And the moon… It had barely been a distant crescent yesterday—now it was so full and so close that it almost seemed possible to touch.

“So,” declared the stallion, “she is working against me. The dark and terrible Luna.”

He dug his right forehoof into the ground and threw back his head. The cry he unleashed was nothing that could have been made by a real pony; it was chilling, alien, and distinctly predatory. But everyone present knew it for the sounding of a challenge.

Twilight glanced around the plaza. Except for the incredible sky, there was no sign of Princess Luna. Again, the stallion roared his challenge. Polaris glimmered, Hearthfire flashed, and Arwen burned the slightest bit brighter. Aside from this, he received no response.

“Are you frightened?!” he cried. “Even your worthless sister had the courage to face me.”

Twilight felt sick to her stomach. A few paces away, Rainbow Dash was trembling with fury.

“Don’t… you dare… insult THE PRINCESS!”

Before Twilight could stop her, Rainbow spread both wings and leapt forward. Every muscle in her body contracted, accelerating it from zero to unthinkable in the blink of an eye. Twilight’s mane and tail whipped wildly in the backlash, Applejack’s hat was blown away, and the cobblestone from which Rainbow had launched herself burst into fragments.

The stallion didn’t even look at her. Just as she was about to strike him, a shadowy pair of giant wolfen jaws sprang out of the ground. Rainbow had no time to dodge—the jaws closed around her and she vanished with an earsplitting BOOM! When the jaws melted to nothing, they left only a solitary feather behind.

“Gods do not concern themselves with ants,” said the stallion. “If you see your silent princess before I do, you may tell her I’m waiting. Perhaps, if she faces me quickly, that will make me inclined to be merciful when I return.”

He smiled and sank into the ground. Most of the shadows in the plaza went with him, draining away like water until only the normal kind were left, fluttering below candle flame, star shine, and moonlight.

Twilight drew several shaky breaths around the lump in her throat. Applejack sat down beside her, staring blankly into space. The other ponies looked equally shell-shocked; the pegasi swept down for tired landings, the earth ponies hung their heads, and the unicorns let their candles fall, the flames sputtering on cold cobblestone and going out with a low hiss.

“Twilight,” said a nearby voice, “why didn’t you help the princess?”

Twilight glanced left to find Drizzle staring at her. She was just starting to answer when more ponies chimed in.

“That’s right, couldn’t magic have saved her?”

“What happened to your spells?”

“I can’t believe you didn’t do anything!”

The accusations crushed the final vestiges of Twilight’s spirit. Her breath heaving and her vision blurry, she whipped around and ran.

No one tried to stop her. When she reached the library, Twilight threw down the Elements of Harmony, locked the front door, and rushed upstairs. She lay on her bed, drew a pillow across her face, and gave herself over to sobbing.

It was a long while before she began to calm down. But even though her body subsided into weary stillness, her mind continued to race. For the first time in her life, Twilight had no plans, no ideas, and no inspiration for turning the tide. She wanted to stay in bed and never leave. And perhaps she might have done so, were it not for a nagging question, one that was directly related to Princess Celestia’s last words. As time passed, the question grew more insistent. When she could stand it no longer, Twilight sat up and gave voice to what she was thinking.

“What do I love?”

The answer was easy. Twilight wiped her eyes, got out of bed, and went down to the library’s main book room. She moved slowly, as though she could keep herself together by prolonging the inevitable disappointment. Sure enough, when she reached the end of the staircase, it all looked perfectly normal. The books sat on their shelves, quills and inkpots were spread across the writing desk, and the hippocampus bust stared regally forward. There was nothing that might help against the stallion.

Then she saw the tome.

It was white, hard-covered, and partially wrapped in sparkling gold ribbon. It had been left on the central table, right where anyone who came into the room would be sure to find it. On its front, magically affixed to the ribbon, was an enamel sun seal that marked the book as part of Princess Celestia’s private library.

Twilight felt a spark of hope. Rushing forward, she undid the ribbon and discovered that the tome had a silvery tassel attached to its spine. The tassel served as a placeholder and had been put a little more than halfway through the text. Holding her breath, Twilight opened to the appointed place and saw that it was the start of a chapter with a singular title.

“The Five Brothers.”

Twilight sat down to read. The chapter wasn’t long, but whatever ancient scribe had penned it had a gift for conveying information at a rapid pace. In less than half an hour, Twilight had gained an understanding of exactly what she was facing, of his powers and abilities, and—though it was slight—perhaps even a way to defeat him.

She was still considering when a knock sounded at the front door. Thinking that Spike had come home, Twilight closed her book and hurried into the hallway. But when she opened the door, she found, not Spike, but Rarity and Applejack. Both of them looked immensely relieved to see their friend, though neither offered a greeting. Several seconds passed, at the end of which Applejack took off her hat and held it awkwardly over her heart.

“Twilight, we… we came to say that we know you ain’t to blame for losing Princess Celestia. I should have spoken up for you, but I felt plum shocked to see her gone, and I couldn’t find my voice. A-anyway, I reckon the rest of Ponyville doesn’t blame you either. Not really. They’re just so used to you pullin’ miracles that they couldn’t tell you did your best. But they will, when they get to thinkin’ about it.”

“If there is any time to think about it,” said Rarity. “Who knows what’s going to happen next? That’s why Applejack and I came straight here after finding each other. We wanted to make sure you knew we hadn’t deserted you.”

Twilight felt a barren place within her heart come back to life.

“Thanks, you guys. Thanks so much. Friends?”

Her answer was a warm group hug. And just like that, the cure was complete.

“All right!” said Twilight. “Come in and close the door. I need to tell you my plan.”

“Plan?” said Rarity. “Is there really something we can do?”

“I hope so. It might be a long shot, but at this point—”

“At this point,” said Applejack, “I reckon that’s the only kind of shootin’ we got. Count me in!”

“And me,” said Rarity. “I’ll follow wherever you lead, Twilight. Win or lose!”

They shut the door and moved into the book room. Twilight lost no time.

“We have a chance because of Princess Celestia. She must have come here and left one of her tomes before she went to the plaza. And it told me everything I needed to know.”

“About the stallion?” asked Rarity.

“Yes. Except that, just like we already figured, he’s not a stallion. His name is Darkness and he’s one of the Five Brothers.”

“The who and the what now?” said Applejack.

Twilight adopted her lecturing voice.

“Discord, Darkness, Death, Destruction, and Doom are the Five Brothers. Legend says they were all created on the same night.”

“Are you serious? What knuckle-headed varmint would want to create somethin’ like them?”

“One without any taste in names, apparently,” said Rarity.

Twilight shook her head.

“I don’t think even the legends know that. The important thing is that all five of the brothers were sealed away. Discord was beaten by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and the rest by a combined effort from Star Swirl the Bearded and Silver Mane the Enchantress, who hunted them one at a time. Somehow, Darkness has been released.”

“But what does he want with us?”

“It’s not necessarily that he wants us; what he’s really after is fulfilling his purpose. That’s what all the Brothers want. Take Discord, for example. He set out to spread chaos. If you can believe it, he’s actually the least frightening Brother, because even though he would have made everything topsy-turvy, he wouldn’t actually have killed anyone.”

“That’s bad enough!” said Applejack. “What about the rest of ’em?”

“Death, Destruction, and Doom have goals related to their names, all too awful to mention.”

“And this Darkness fella?”

Twilight glanced through a window, where the inky blackness still lurked behind Luna’s glorious sky.

“You’re seeing it there,” she said. “It’s the end of the world.”

The room filled with silence.

“Well,” said Applejack finally, “how do we stop it?”

“That’s an excellent question. From what I’ve read, Darkness gets stronger by absorbing living creatures. He puts them in something called a night pool and uses that to fuel his power. Fluttershy actually found the pool yesterday, and brought me to see it this morning. I had suspicions but I threw away my chance to learn more, because I didn’t realize what we were dealing with. And now it’s too late; Darkness already had magic stronger than mine, and since he took in Princess Celestia…”

“He told us he was a god,” said Rarity softly. “Can that really be true?”

“Was Discord a god? He certainly had the power to warp reality. And Darkness is on the same level, except that, instead of warping reality, he wants to destroy it.”

“But he was stopped before. You said so yourself.”

“Yes. The problem is that Star Swirl and Silver Mane were the greatest sorcerers who ever lived. And it took both of them, working together, to seal away Darkness and the rest. Not only that, but they lived during the Golden Age of Magic, when ponies created all sorts of incredible artifacts, most of them with enchantments we’ve long since forgotten. Without that kind of power, I doubt we can fight Darkness directly.”

“What about the Elements of Harmony?” asked Applejack. “If we could find three others to help us, maybe we could use ’em.”

“No,” said Twilight, “we tried that before, remember? The Elements are tied to our group—if we don’t have Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, they won’t work. We’re on our own.”

“Then what’s your plan?”

“I need to speak with Trixie. If I’m right, everything hinges on her.”

“That’s all well and good,” said Rarity, “except Trixie is gone. We saw her vanish in the mirror, remember?”

“It may have looked like a disappearance, but I no longer believe it was. In fact, I don’t think Darkness could make Trixie disappear. Not unless she explicitly asked him to.”

“Why not?”

“Because whatever else Trixie may be, she’s no fool. If she released Darkness, I’ll bet she also made him promise to obey her. And according to Celestia’s book, that’s the only way to control him. It’s the only way to control any of the Brothers.”

“With a promise?” Applejack clearly found this hard to believe. “You’re tellin’ me that a pair of lowdown disrespectables like Discord and Darkness—”

“—have to honor their word,” finished Twilight. “I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. If one of the Brothers makes a promise, they have to keep it. It’s part of their nature.”

“They why on earth would they ever promise anything to begin with?”

“Because sometimes they don’t have a choice. Think about Darkness; he’d been sealed away for over a thousand years. Let’s assume Trixie learned enough to work out his weakness, his location, and the means of freeing him. That would have put every piece of leverage into her hooves. And knowing Trixie, she used it all when striking a deal. If I had to guess, I’d say she came right out and told Darkness that he could either promise to obey her, or she would leave him to rot in his prison.”

“That does sound like something she would do,” conceded Rarity. “Still, if Trixie had so much sway over Darkness, how do you explain what we saw in the mirror?”

“Good question. I was thrown off by that, too. But if you remember, what actually happened was that Darkness offered to ‘send you somewhere safe’ and Trixie agreed. Disappearing isn’t safe; it’s nonexistence.”

“Then where did she go?”

“Into the safest place that Darkness has, a place where Trixie would also be conveniently out of his way, and unable to give him any more orders.”

“Is there such a place?”

“Yes: the night pool.”

“So what you’re saying is…”

“I need to enter the source of Darkness’ power and find Trixie.”

Twilight stood quietly while her friends exchanged a hesitant glance. In the stillness, she could hear every breath of wind rustling the leaves outside. The faint scent of blueberry muffins still lingered near the kitchen door, and when Twilight looked over the book room, she was flooded with memories of happier days spent reading, in summer or in springtime, with all the windows open and the library filling with the heady fragrance of wildflowers. Other recollections brought her to the colorful crispness of long-gone autumns, when the last of the harvest was being gathered and Ponyville had lost itself in the delight of fresh cider and the joyful work of hay-making. Last of all, she remembered sitting before countless fires with Spike, curled up in blankets as they sipped mugs of steaming coco, she with a book and he gazing outside at the soft winter snow. And in her heart, Twilight wondered how much time they had until all these moments were lost to darkness forever.

“All right,” said Applejack, “let’s agree that what you’re saying it true. It sounds like an awful big risk. Maybe I should go into the pool and you should stay behind. In case this doesn’t work and we need another idea.”

“There aren’t any more ideas,” said Twilight. “And whoever enters the pool should have their own magic. It might be the only way for them to get out.”

“Then I can go,” decided Rarity. “You’re too important to risk.”

“I’m no more important than any other pony. And I have the most experience dealing with supernatural beings.”

“What about Princess Luna? Ain’t she still out there? Let’s not go forgettin’ her!”

“I’m not,” said Twilight. “I’m sure she and Darkness will find each other eventually. They’ll fight and… well, maybe Luna could have beaten him before tonight, if she used all her power over shadows. But now Darkness has Princess Celestia’s magic along with his own. I don’t think Luna can stand against that. I don’t think anyone can.”

“Then what good’ll Trixie do?”

“That’s what I have to find out. But if I’m right, Trixie can undo Darkness with a single word.”

Again, Twilight waited while her friends considered.

“Well, shoot,” said Applejack, “it doesn’t seem like we have much of a choice. Leastwise, I can’t think of anythin’ else to argue about. Guess that means I’m with you, Twilight. And if I’m goin’ down, I aim to go down fightin’! Just like Big Mac did. It’s the Apple Family way.”

“I can’t say I care much for fighting,” replied Rarity, “but, Twilight, I told you before that I would stand with you no matter what. And I’m not backing down now. What’s our next move?”

“We have to send a message to Princess Luna,” said Twilight. “I’ll need her to cause a distraction.”

“Message the princess? We don’t even know where she is!”

“She’s somewhere in the countryside around Ponyville. And we already have the perfect means to reach her.”

“Trixie’s fireworks!” cried Rarity.

“Exactly. We can use them to write a message in the sky.”

“You know how to do that?” asked Applejack.

“Only one way to find out. Come on!”

Twilight charged down the hallway, threw open the library door, and galloped off, with Applejack and Rarity close at her heels. Above them, the heavens alternately blazed and blackened, the newest battleground in an ancient war between starlight and shadow.